Ricky Hatton
A dog found abandoned on a London bus has finally found his way home - and it turns out he wasn't actually abandoned. He was just lost. The dog, a Staffordshire terrier named Boston, ended up in quite the predicament after he disappeared during a walk. Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Rescued Animals Melt Into This Woman's Arms When She Sings To Them "We took him outside and after a few seconds, we couldn't see him," his owner, Paulina Rybak, told The Evening Standard. "We started looking for him but couldn't find him." Last Thursday, Boston was spotted alone on a bus. Images of the solitary dog riding the bus made the rounds on social media and captured headlines around the world. Ricky Hatton But no one freed the sad, abandoned dog that evening. The bus driver claimed it was against regulations to remove the dog, citing the possibility of being bitten - even if, as he admitted, the dog seemed friendly enough. Just really lost. And lonely. Ricky Hatton But Boston's night would get even lonelier. When the bus was taken out of commission at the end of the night, Boston was left inside. "When I arrived around 6:30 a.m. he'd been there all night," depot worker Ricky Hatton told Sky News. "Very scared, but not aggressive. I gave him food, water and my bodywarmer." Ricky Hatton Animal control officers brought Boston to their facilities, where the search for his owner began. Fortunately, Boston didn't have to wait too long. Rybak saw Boston's picture in the local newspaper. And on Wednesday, the woman, along with her two young children, Filip and Zofia, had a tearful reunion with their wayward pet. A 39-year-old chimp named Bullet has been poked and prodded for most of his life. He was put under anesthesia over 400 times. He underwent 55 liver biopsies. He lost an arm just after his capture in the wild at age 3. And then he was abandoned on a string of tiny islands, along with 200 other chimps, off the coast of Liberia. Only 60 or so survived. And yet Bullet still trusts people. Bullet on the island where he was left after years in a laboratory | NYBC: Do the Right Thing New footage shows Bullet patiently waiting in line for a cup of water. He - and the chimps he was left with - depend on human help to survive, since they've known only the New York Blood Center's (NYBC) research facilities most of their lives. Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Woman Tries Every Day For A Month To Rescue This Dog Bullet waiting his turn for a glass of fresh water | NYBC: Do the Right Thing Bullet's plight is actually very complicated. The money NYBC had been sending to provide for the chimps was pulled in the spring of 2015. Even though Jane Goodall and other famed advocates called on the NYBC to reinstate funding, the NYBC refused to take ownership of the chimps, instead claiming they belonged to Liberia - essentially saying the chimps are Liberia's problem now. Animal advocates were outraged by the announcement and have called on the NYBC to do more for the chimps, who were used in studies for serious illnesses, like HIV and hepatitis. But since no one seemed to be willing to shoulder the responsibility for the survival of Bullet and the other chimps, their future was precarious. As it is, volunteers from organizations like The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International (HSI) have been raising money to send volunteers to Bullet and his peers. This browser does not support the video tag. NYBC: Do the Right Thing On Saturday, Sontaya must have woken up as she did any other day, ready to do what she'd done for the past two years - ferry tourists around on her back. If that sounds like a small price for an elephant to pay in exchange for food and care, it's not. Young elephants undergo something called the training crush, so called because it crushes their spirit and forces them into submission. Sontaya had almost certainly received such training when she was young, years before she came to her current home. And most elephants used in tourism, like Sontaya, exhibit repetitive behaviors such as swaying back and forth - a sign of psychological distress. Sontaya's small spot in the world, at a camp in Pattaya, Thailand, looked something like an outdoor stable - a small space where she waited when she wasn't catering to tourists. When she was needed, she'd do the exhausting work of carrying tourists in a heavy chair on her back. Dodo Shows Foster Diaries Guy Falls In Love With His Little Meatball Of A Foster Dog But this day was different: A strange truck arrived - and it would take her to Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary (BLES) in Sukhothai. Her current owners had realized that Sontaya, who was in her late 50s, was exhausted. They called BLES to rescue her. First, they said goodbye and shared the fresh-cut grass they had prepared for her journey. Then she walked onto the truck "with grace and ease," and met BLES founder, Katherine Connor, who gave her some gentle, much-deserved pets. Sontaya's skin was flaky and dry, and she had wounds on both sides of her face. But she still looked lovely in the crown of flowers that she was given for the journey. Then they were off: She had more than a 30-hour trip - some of it through the crowded streets of Pattaya. They drove through the night and stopped often for food, water and rest. By morning, Sontaya must have realized things were looking up - she even had her very own coat to keep her warm. Finally, she arrived at BLES, where her chains were removed - for good. "Sontaya is a special lady. She has such a wise and calm energy," Connor said in a blog post. "I cannot wait to watch her tired old body recover and slowly bulk up." "To see her dry and flaky skin heal," Connor said. "To know her wounds are getting better and to observe her in the forest, as she rediscovers how to be an elephant again." See more pictures of Sontaya's journey here. To support BLES' mission and elephants such as Sontaya, go here. Watch a video of Sontaya's trip: A group of Canadians were traveling through Playa Larga, Cuba, when they came across the best local resident ever: a little stray puppy. The puppy could also belong to a nearby neighbor, but stray dogs are a common sight in Cuba. Local restaurants often donate leftovers to dogs living on the streets, and many of these dogs do end up finding shelter and care. The puppy was playing in a bin of trash, but when he saw the tourists and how friendly they were, he immediately ran over to greet them. Cooper the German shepherd, a trained therapy dog, recently visited the University of Connecticut to help students stay calm during their exam period. And one sophomore physiology and neurobiology major, Kelsey Anderson, was particularly moved by the his presence in the library's lobby. "I don't know why, because I'm not much of a crier, but I just started sobbing," Anderson told The Dodo. "Then the dog came right over to me and started licking my face. I wrapped my arms around him, and it was a very nice moment." A video posted to Facebook shows Anderson's tearful interaction with Cooper. "I had my anthropology final earlier," Anderson explained. "I had gotten out of that, and I went to the library to last-minute-study for orgo," a nickname for the notoriously treacherous college course known as organic chemistry. Her grade in the course weighed heavily on this one cumulative exam, she added, and she was feeling the stress. Dodo Shows Soulmates Pig Loves To Launch Himself Onto His Dad's Lap Olivia Blackburn That's when Anderson's friend, Olivia Blackburn, stopped by to comfort her. On their way out of the library, they walked downstairs through the main lobby, and that's where they met Cooper. Olivia BlackburnFacebook/Amazing Animals & Beautiful Nature
Imagine floating down the Amazon River, as it winds its way through the Brazilian jungle. And from that dense foliage emerges a troop of bright red, bald-headed monkeys. This browser does not support the video tag. YouTube/BadLatitudeTV Encountering bald uakaris in their native habitat - an increasingly thin stretch of jungle around the Amazon River basin - is just that surreal. The monkeys live up to 20 years, reaching around 60 inches in length. Their jaws are powerful enough to clamp down and crack open a notoriously tough Brazil nut. Dodo Shows Wild Hearts Orphaned Deer Runs Back To The Wild With Her Best Friend Little else about this monkey makes sense, it seems, in monkey terms - from the absence of a long, sinewy tail to that glaring scalp, so crimson it might at first suggest a very angry, old man. That staggering redness is, of course, what makes the bald uakari so special. It's the result of capillaries lurking just beneath the skin and, according to a 2015 study published in Royal Society Open Science, a telltale indicator of the monkey's health. The redder the better. The bald uakari may be nature's brightest lightbulb, but, sadly, that lightbulb is flickering toward extinction. The world could use all the bright lights it can get. Support organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and the Amazon Conservation Organization in their fight to preserve the Amazon - which is home to one in 10 of the world's known species. FREDERICTONA New Brunswick woman says she was shocked when staff at a local spa said she couldnt bring her five-month-old son to an appointment, and says the provinces Human Rights Act needs an upgrade to address similar cases of discrimination. Sacha DeWolfe wanted her eyebrows waxed but says she was told by staff at one of the Avalon SalonSpa locations in Fredericton that she couldnt bring the infant into the spa for safety reasons. She said the wax could spill or scissors could go flying, and she also said hair dye fumes or something, DeWolfe said Tuesday. If its that unsafe, its unsafe for everybody. You would probably adjust your practices to be more safe for the public. She said the incident occurred on Feb. 5, when she arrived for her appointment carrying her son, Lennon, asleep in a car seat. Messages seeking comment from Avalon SalonSpa were not immediately returned, but a post on its Facebook page thanked customers for an outpouring of support since the story first appeared in local media. We will continue to support women, employ women and empower women in our community, reads the post. We will also continue to stand by our policies and protect our guests when they visit any Avalon location. New Brunswick is the only province that doesnt have family status as a grounds of discrimination under the Human Rights Act, but a lawyer for the Human Rights Commission says it is being considered for the next update of the Act, as early as next year. We are currently undergoing a review of our legislation and part of that is looking at family status as a protected ground, said Sarina McKinnon. A review of the legislation is done every five years. DeWolfe said she was surprised that family status is not specifically protected under the Act, but pleased it may be added. She said she has no plans to file a human rights complaint, but she said shes surprised by comments on social media saying she is in the wrong for even raising the issue. Its really disturbing and sad that the public is that quick to read something and react with such hate towards a person, she said. People should open their minds up, to not just ooh the poor thing, they did not let her eyebrows waxed. Its not about that, DeWolfe said. Although restaurants in Canada and around the world have generated fierce debates with bans on children in recent years, customers posting on the Fredericton spas Facebook page uniformly supported the businesss position, saying an infant would disrupt the soothing atmosphere for which they paid. I dont pay for relaxation to listen to other peoples children crying or running around. What about my rights as a paying consumer? asked one woman. I am a mom of 2 wonderful and maddening kids...and I have to say when I go for an eyebrow waxing, mani or a pedicure I leave my kids at home to have a relaxing spa experience, wrote another. Still, the director of the Centre for Human Rights Research at the University of Manitoba, says restricting children from going places with their parents has been found to be discrimination on the basis of family status in cases across the country. I get my nails done all the time and my eyebrows done all the time and no salon Ive ever been to have denied kids the ability to come with their parents into a salon, Karen Busby said. She said the question for the spa is, Is there a reasonable and bone fide reason to deny kids to be able to come into the place? Jordi Morgan, Atlantic vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, says businesses with specific policies should make sure those policies are clearly posted. They could be occupational health and safety related, they could be just personal safety related, they could be for the convenience of other customers. Businesses can put policies in place, he said. He said patrons who dont like the policies of a particular company have the right to simply take their business elsewhere. DeWolfe said thats what she did, and got her eyebrows waxed at another spa in the cityone which welcomed her son. Read more about: SHARE: The myth that women entrepreneurs are risk averse continues to stand in their way of getting financing to help their businesses grow, a major new study concludes. Women entrepreneurs also said they want more than just a loan from their bank, according to A Force to Reckon With: Women Entrepreneurship and Risk. They want a relationship with a bank that understands their business and their personal needs, the study found. Women entrepreneurs, in general, are not satisfied with their experiences with financial institutions, according to the report sponsored by the Bank of Montreal. In fact, in many instances women entrepreneurs reported that they felt humiliated and frustrated by financial institutions treatment of them. One woman entrepreneur said the bank wanted her father to co-sign the loan, the report noted. Indeed, 80 per cent of the women interviewed for the study said they faced obstacles in getting bank loans. Women entrepreneurs contributed $148 billion to Canadas economy in 2011, the latest year for which data is available, the study noted. Yet, they continue to struggle with assumptions they are risk averse, when in fact women entrepreneurs, like male entrepreneurs, are not all alike, said Clare Beckton, report co-author and head of Carleton Universitys Centre for Women in Politics and Public Leadership. The study, which included interviews with 100 male and female entrepreneurs across Canada over a two-year period, found women prefer to take what they call rational risks. Women are not only interested in the earnings statement but the impact of their business decisions on all aspects of their lives, Beckton said. Some contained their business rate of growth to accommodate family considerations. One slowed her growth to look after a sick child and then speeded it up later. In comparison, men take risks early in their careers but become more cautious with age as they have more to lose, the report found. If a woman entrepreneur gets turned down or has a bad experience with a bank, she wont come back, said report co-author Janice McDonald of The Beacon Agency, a strategic advisory firm. Women entrepreneurs will choose instead to self-fund or bootstrap their business, a decision that can hold back their growth rate, McDonald said. Bank of Montreal, which sponsored the study, said it has started incorporating some of the findings into its business. We know women are starting more business than men. Its a growing market segment for sure and its one that I dont think has received a lot of attention, said Susan Brown, BMO senior vice-president and head of womens strategy. The Bank of Montreal earmarked $2 billion for women entrepreneurs about 18 months ago and says nearly three-quarters has been lent out. More funds will be allocated as the $2 billion ceiling is reached. Barbara Mowat, founder and president of womens networking organization GroYourBiz.com, said she hoped the report would not just sit on a shelf gathering dust. She urged the bank to ensure it is widely circulated. Mowat also recommended creating an ombudsman to handle complaints about obstacles to financing for women entrepreneurs. Women entrepreneurs by the numbers: $60,000 average annual income earned by full-time women entrepreneurs in Canada 950,000 number of women who were self-employed in 2011 in Canada. 47 per cent Portion Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) partially or majority owned by women. 80 per cent Portion of respondents who agree women entrepreneurs face obstacles obtaining bank financing. Read more about: SHARE: OTTAWAThe countrys trade deficit expanded in March to reach its widest gap on record amid a slowdown in exports to the United States, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. The figures show Canadas trade deficit with the world grew to $3.4 billion. Closer to home, the trade surplus with the U.S. narrowed 6.3 per cent to hit its lowest level since December 1993. The March data, which saw exports fall faster than imports, cast doubts on economic growth heading into the second quarter. Canadas trade performance has come back to earth with a thud after the huge strength seen around the turn of the year, BMO senior economist Benjamin Reitzes wrote in a note to clients. The details were absolutely terrible, consistent with the headline, as exports dove 4.8 per cent, with every category lower except aerospace. Reitzes underlined chunky declines in several export categories: motor vehicles and parts dropped six per cent, metal and non-metallic mineral products slid 5.4 per cent and consumer goods fell 4.6 per cent. Overall, economists had expected a deficit of $1.4 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. Statistics Canada also revised the trade deficit for February, bumping the shortfall higher to $2.5 billion compared with the initial reading of $1.9 billion. The downgraded February number and the record deficit for March are expected to dampen first-quarter economic growth. Economists also predict the data will contribute to a weaker hand-off to the second quarter. Its tough to find a silver lining in the March trade data, said TD senior economist Leslie Preston, who still expected Canada to generate a robust real GDP number between 2.5 and three per cent for the first three months of 2016. That vigorous pace of growth is unlikely to be sustained in the second quarter. But, in her note to clients, Preston said the recent weakness in the trade picture should be put into perspective as a breather after a period of inordinate strength. She predicted exports to remain an important source of strength over the medium term with the U.S. economy on solid footing and the Canadian dollar expected to remain below 80 cents U.S. over the next couple of years. Statistics Canada said March exports fell 4.8 per cent to $41.0 billion due to declines in 10 of 11 sectors, while imports sank 2.4 per cent to $44.4 billion. The trade surplus with the U.S. tightened to $1.5 billion from $2.1 billion in February. Exports to the U.S. slid 6.3 per cent to $30.4 billion in March and imports slipped 4.8 per cent to $28.9 billion, the report said. Excluding the U.S., the data showed Canadas trade deficit with the rest of the world increased to $4.9 billion in March compared with $4.6 billion in February. SHARE: The U.K. government must stop dithering over the expansion of airport capacity around London, make a decision and set out a timetable for completing the project, a panel of lawmakers said. Prime Minister David Camerons government has squandered the opportunity to make an evidence-based decision based on a report issued last year by Howard Davies Airports Commission, the House of Commons Transport Committee said. The commission recommended the expansion of Heathrow, Europes busiest hub, but Cameron postponed making a commitment until after Thursdays London mayoral election. The delay is damaging economic growth by deterring investors uncertain about the future of Britains communications, the panel said on Wednesday. Across the world, cities are collectively planning to build more than 50 new runways with capacity to serve 1 billion additional passenger journeys by 2036. The growth of large hubs in the Middle and Far East and North America threatens our position as a hub of international aviation, the committee chairwoman, opposition Labour Party lawmaker Louise Ellman, said in an emailed statement. The government must make up its mind. Cameron, who promised no ifs, no buts in 2009 that there would be no expansion of Heathrow as he sought to win votes against the then Labour government, appointed Davies in 2012 to examine the options in order to put off a decision until after last years general election. After Davies reported in July, urging a third runway at Heathrow in preference to expanding the second airport at Gatwick, south of London, the premier delayed his response further, citing the need for more environmental research. Goldsmith Rally Zac Goldsmith, the candidate for Camerons Conservative Party in the mayoral vote, has pledged to resign as a House of Commons lawmaker for Richmond, under Heathrows flight path, if expansion there goes ahead. Cameron made his 2009 promise to block a third Heathrow runway at a rally organized by Goldsmith, and it would have been an embarrassment to the premier if hed been at odds with his candidate in such a high-profile election. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin prepared the ground for Cameron to back expansion at Heathrow during evidence to the committee in February, while hinting that a decision on the location of the airport may not be announced until after the June 23 referendum on membership of the European Union. Very Different The prime minister was talking about a specific proposal that was before Parliament at that time, which he believed to be wholly wrong as far as the future of aviation capacity was concerned, McLoughlin said of Camerons pledge. The recommendation that has come forward from the Davies Commission, if a third runway is decided as the right way forward, is very different from the proposal being looked at in 2008 and 2009. The committee said that the further environmental studies ordered by the government would take on more urgency and be more focused if the decision on the location of extra runway capacity is made first. We accept that the package of measures to mitigate environmental impacts needs careful consideration and further work. We do not accept that all of this needs to be done before a decision is taken on location, the lawmakers said. A decision on location is not the end of a process; it is the start of one. The real, independent evidence continues to point toward Heathrow, the west London airport said in an emailed statement. Only an expanded Heathrow delivers and now is the time to make it happen. Gatwick said in a statement that the continuing debate highlights the inadequacies of the Airports Commission report, which failed to address the environmental impacts of Heathrow expansion while drastically overstating the economic benefits. Read more about: SHARE: Beijing, Shanghai, the Terra Cotta Warriors and the Great Wall are all staples to a trip to China. But the country has more to offer. These are seven of the more off-the-beaten-path destinations in a country that is just heaped full of worthy travel destinations. Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park: The Danxia mountains near the city of Zhangye are so colourful that photos of them are constantly leaving people asking whether they are photoshopped. Spoiler they are not. The mountains are unique and a must-see in China. Dragons Backbone Rice Terraces: A four-hour bus ride from Guilin, and then a 40-minute hike will take you to the village of Tiantou and into the heart of the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces. A true wonder of human construction, these terraces cut beautifully through a stunning landscape of rolling green hills. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park: These mountains have been nicknamed the Avatar mountains as they were the inspiration for James Camerons Hallelujah Mountains in the movie Avatar. The jagged peaks are incredible, and like nowhere else on the planet. Mist-covered valleys, cheeky monkeys and lush foliage are also features of this fascinating park. Dunhuang Desert Oasis: Most probably dont associate China with desert, but the northern part of the country hosts a large section of the Semi-Gobi. Within the region, perhaps the most impressive dunes are located around the city of Dunhuang. Here, not only are there beautiful waves of sand, but a stunning crescent-shaped oasis with a temple built around it. The Westernmost Section of the Great Wall: Sure, the Great Wall is certainly not off-the-beaten-path. That is unless you wander as far away from Beijing as possible to see it. Out here in Jiayuguan the wall ends, and there is an impressive fort to go along with it. Making the trek this far west is a bit of a mission, but seeing the wall in the dusty flats of Western China is plenty of reward. Bifengxia: Most people travel to Sichuan Province to see panda bears. Most tend to head directly for the Panda Research Center in Chengdu. However, for those looking for a more personal visit to see the bears should make the trip to Ya'an for a visit to the Bifengxia Panda Base. Here there are lots of giant pandas and rarely any crowds. Shangri-la: The name Shangri-La might lead one to believe that this destination is full of tourists. However, the geography of the location not far from the Tibetan border and a devastating fire in 2014, have left Shangri-la a quiet destination. Its a spectacular place though, full of history and beautiful architecture. Of course, the Songzanlin Monastery is the key attraction in the city, but one could spend a week here exploring the sights and nature in the surrounding area. Brendan Van Son is a Canadian digital nomad. Read more about: SHARE: Health minister Eric Hoskins drew heat from fellow doctors and political peers on Wednesday over Ontarios stem cell transplant crisis, which has seen under-funded hospital programs rationing life-saving treatment as patients are dying on unacceptably long wait lists. A Toronto Star investigation this week revealed more than 200 of Ontarios sickest patients, who are ready for a transplant and have been matched with a donor, cannot be helped at home. Instead, the ministry has decided to outsource this critical care to hospitals in Buffalo, Cleveland and Detroit at a cost that could exceed $100 million. Cancer Care Ontario told the Star the ministry expects to pay $400,000 to $600,000 (US) per patient more than double the rate in Ontario. The money is ready to go but the patients are not. Only 19 have agreed to go south so far. The treatment requires patients to travel with a caregiver and live in the U.S. near the hospital for three to four months. These personal costs are not covered by the government program. The situation highlights the continued mismanagement of health care by this government, Conservative health critic Jeff Yurek said during Question Period. The situation did not come about without warning. In 2008, Cancer Care Ontario released a report to this government. It stated: Access to transplant services in Ontario is at imminent risk . . . Services in the Greater Toronto Area need to be augmented as there is only one program to serve the entire region. The government ignored that warning. Now the system is broken and Ontarians are suffering. Princess Margaret, the countrys leading cancer centre, closed its doors to new stem cell transplant patients at the end of March. The centres waiting list for treatment is six to eight months; international standards dictate that transplantation occur within three months of diagnosis. Princess Margarets medical director is calling for a second transplant centre to open in the GTA. We definitely need another centre in Greater Toronto Area. Thats where the pressure is, Dr. Mary Gospodarowicz told the Star. Ive never heard of a city in North America the size of Toronto that doesnt have at least two transplant centres, Dr. Irwin Walker, medical director of the bone marrow transplant program in Hamilton, said in an interview. Hoskins said in Question Period that Cancer Care Ontario is working with Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton, The Ottawa Hospital and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre to rebuild their programs. The process is expected to take two to three years. Patients now have two choices: die, or travel out of country for their treatments, Yurek said. Will the minister stop the political rhetoric and give an honest answer to Ontarians on how the government will help those seeking stem cell transplants in Ontario today, instead of two years from now? Hoskins noted the three Ontario programs responsible for stem cell transplants using unrelated donors the most complicated and expensive kind of transplant, which is growing in popularity as people have fewer siblings to rely on will receive a collective $30 million. Were working with them on the capital, were working with them on the operational (pressures), but were also providing that option for individuals for out-of-country treatments, should they so choose it, Hoskins said. Yurek tried again. Will the minister admit that they failed Ontarians, ignored the warnings of imminent collapse of the system, and offer immediate relief to patients needing life-saving stem cell transplants? Hoskins said his government has increased funding for stem cell transplants in the past four years by 600 per cent. I know Opposition doesnt want to hear the truth, but Im telling them that theyve increased the number of transplants taking place at Princess Margaret hospital by 25 per cent, Hoskins said. 600 per cent.......!!!! I cant take that seriously, Walker, Juravinskis stem cell transplant director, told the Star in an email. Weve grown 25 per cent without really getting any new capacity, Princess Margarets Gospodarowicz explained. We need to have more doctors, more nurses. We have challenges with our laboratories, pharmacy, pathology. Theres a lot of infrastructure. At Roswell Park Cancer Centre in Buffalo, where Ontarians are being treated, a team of 60 health-care workers including doctors, nurses, laboratory and pharmacy staff interact directly with stem cell patients. The scope of the treatment demands a large, cooperative team. Directors province-wide agree that staff are working harder than ever and are on the edge of burnout. But its not because a geyser of money is rushing into their programs. The Ottawa Hospital is doing 50 per cent more transplants than 18 months ago and all resources are lagging, said Dr. Chris Bredeson, the hospitals head of malignant hematology. There are not 50 per cent more people doing 50 per cent more transplants, Bredeson said. Every day is a juggling match. How are we going to get 22 patients in the same number of beds that we used to put 12? And how do you do that without making a mistake? We feel sick. It keeps me, it keeps all of us, awake. No solution will be fast enough. More on thestar.com: Ontario to spend $100M outsourcing life-saving transplants to U.S. Ontario cancer patient cant say enough about Buffalo stem cell transplant SHARE: OTTAWAThe New Democrats are pressing for more details around a discontinued tax service offered by KPMG that allowed wealthy clients to avoid paying Canadian taxes. The NDP want the House of Commons finance committee to force the accounting firm to release the names of employees and 27 clients who set up and used a tax shelter scheme in the Isle of Man. Greg Wiebe, a partner and former head of global head of tax at KPMG, told the committee the plan was set up in 1999 and complied with the laws of the day. From the time that this particular plan was developed, there was 13 or 14 years before the legislation actually shut down some of that similar planning, Wiebe told MPs Tuesday. We determined back in 2003 that (the plan) was something that we were no longer prepared to implement as an organization . . . . If we decided in 2003 that we were no longer going to implement that plan, absolutely we would not implement that plan today. Wiebe said KPMG no longer provides tax shelter services to individual clients. A CBC News investigation into KPMGs tax plan uncovered that at least 27 wealthy clients dumped $130 million into shell companies set up on the Isle of Man, off the west coast of England. For their services, KPMG pocketed between $1.5 million and $1.6 million in fees, with an average fee of approximately $100,000. The CBC reported in March that the Canada Revenue Agency had offered amnesty to 26 of those clients, shielding them from prosecution if they paid back what the tax authorities determined they owed. Wiebe was grilled about the details of that settlement by Liberal MP Jennifer OConnel (Pickering-Uxbridge), who asked if KPMG was also granted amnesty or forced to pay restitution under the deal. Because of settlement privilege, I cant talk to the details of the settlement at all, Wiebe responded. Tax dodge schemes have made headlines in Canada and across the world through the Panama Papers, an unprecedented trove of documents detailing secret offshore tax havens and the rich and famous who use them. In Canada, the Toronto Star and the CBC have been given exclusive access to the files. On May 9, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists plans to publicly release a partial database of 200,000 offshore corporations and associated names. Its not clear how the NDPs motion to get the names of the wealthy clients, or the KPMG tax planners responsible, will play out. The government is already trying to get some of that information through the federal court, but KPMG is fighting that attempt. Wiebe said the Isle of Man plan was used 16 times, but only 13 are known to CRA. When asked why the firm has not disclosed all the names, Wiebe said that KPMGs responsibility is to protect their clients affairs. Thats exactly the point of the court case that is before the federal court, Wiebe said. It is our view that it is our responsibility to keep our clients affairs private, and we take that responsibility very seriously. Outside the committee room, NDP finance critic Guy Caron said it was important to get the names of both the tax planners and clients to inform the committees investigation into tax avoidance. If we really want to pursue this, if we really want to work towards ensuring Canadians can trust the system, we need to have all the information, Caron told reporters. We want to give the committee the possibility of pursuing further the study to ensure that well have some answers. Under opposition questioning in the Commons Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is working with CRA to ensure all Canadians and all companies pay their fair share of taxes. We know that Canadians expect their government to uphold the rules, and that is exactly what we are going to do, Trudeau said. SHARE: Nova Scotia has become the fourth known province to suspend or ban the use of drug and alcohol hair testing in child protection proceedings, after New Brunswick, British Columbia and Ontario. The department has decided to suspend hair strand testing for child protection cases in Nova Scotia effective immediately, said department of community services spokeswoman Heather Fairbairn Tuesday. The move comes in the wake of a 2014 Star investigation into the Hospital for Sick Childrens Motherisk laboratory, which found that prior to 2010, the lab was using a hair test that was not recognized as the gold standard. An independent review deemed the hair test results inadequate and unreliable in 2015. They were used in potentially thousands of child protection cases in Ontario as well as in British Columbia, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, where they were routinely accepted as evidence with little scrutiny in court. The department has been reviewing the use of hair strand testing for some time. We stopped using Motherisk as soon as issues about their test results became known in 2015, said Fairbairn. Since then, questions continued to be raised about the procedures used and the differences between the drug testing laboratories. The decision to suspend all hair strand testing will enable careful consideration of these questions. For the time being, we will rely on other established methods of testing and social work practice. Motherisk ceased its hair testing practices in 2015 prior to the completion of the independent review, but some provinces were still using hair tests from other labs in some cases until very recently. Its welcome and long overdue, said Halifax lawyer Mike Dull of the suspension. Obviously, its recognition by the province of Nova Scotia that such tests are not reliable, so theyre taking active steps from preventing future harm that could result from these unreliable tests. But the question remains: What are they doing about the past harm, to families affected by these tests that theyve implicitly deemed to be unreliable by stopping to use them? Those are questions that remain unanswered. Dull is co-counsel in the case of Nova Scotia residents William McIntyre and Natacha LeRoy. Motherisk hair testing was done in child protection cases that dealt with some of their children. They are among an unknown number of Canadians outside of Ontario whose cases will not be reviewed by the ongoing Motherisk Commission in this province, chaired by retired Justice Judith Beaman, which is looking at files going back 25 years. McIntyre and LeRoys case is being reviewed by the Nova Scotia department of community services, said Dull, but its unclear when theyll receive any information. Its an atrocity, McIntyre, 50, told the Star earlier this year. How could this be just an Ontario thing? You came down and took my hair and sent it to Ontario This is not just Ontario. This is a Canada-wide situation. McIntyre and LeRoys 3-year-old son was made a ward of the province and later adopted as the result of a proceeding in which Motherisk said both parents had tested positive for traces of cocaine. McIntyre and LeRoy who were previously in a relationship and remain good friends deny using the drug at the time. McIntyre also claims that subsequent hair testing done in the U.S. showed he was negative. They say they were asking that the court grant custody of their son to McIntyre with access to LeRoy. There were 49 open child protection cases using Motherisk hair tests in Nova Scotia in 2014. The province continued to use hair testing services from other labs, including Toronto-based Dynacare, CBC reported. The lab confirmed to the Star on Tuesday it has done testing for clients in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but would not disclose who the clients were, citing its privacy policy. A Dynacare spokesperson said in an emailed statement that it provides robust, high-quality analytical toxicology service and presumptive positive tests are confirmed with more specific tests. Analysis for the presence of drugs in hair samples has been utilized and accepted as a powerful evidential tool in many criminal cases in the last decade. It is an important component of modern forensic science, Andrea Price wrote in an emailed statement. Motherisk hair tests have been used in Quebec court proceedings, but they were either requested by individuals or children and youth agencies and are not tracked by the government, a Ministry of Health spokeswoman previously told the Star. Questions have been raised for years about hair strand testing, regardless of the laboratory performing the service. Because of the effect of alcohol-based hair products, the risk for false-positive results appears high when monitoring a female population, Motherisks own manager at the time, Joey Gareri, wrote in a 2011 paper he co-authored with Motherisk founder and director Gideon Koren. Studies have also suggested that drugs appear to be incorporated more readily into darker-coloured hair, and there is also evidence that the way substances are incorporated into the hair of a single individual may vary from strand to strand. Ontarios Ministry of Children and Youth Services ordered childrens aid societies amid the independent review into Motherisk last year to stop using hair strand testing. The results from that review, released in December, were damning. In the circumstances, I have concluded that the laboratorys flawed hair-testing evidence had serious implications for the fairness of child protection and criminal cases, concluded independent reviewer Susan Lang, a retired Ontario Court of Appeal judge, last December. The suspension of hair strand testing across the country would appear to be a natural consequence of the Lang report, said Katharina Janczaruk, chair of the Family Lawyers Association of Ontario. I think a natural event flowing from this examination of hair testing is a reaffirmation that we need to look at those other factors (in child protection proceedings), we need to demand that social workers are doing their social work (role) and not simply relying on the test, that lawyers are questioning tests when tests are being made, she said. With files from Rachel Mendleson and Sarah-Joyce Battersby Read more about: SHARE: FORT MCMURRAY, ALTA.Alberta declared a state of emergency as it took sad stock Wednesday of the devastation from wildfires that torched entire neighbourhoods and forced more than 80,000 to flee the oilsands city of Fort McMurray. Fire crews, backed by helicopters and air tankers, braced for renewed incursions from waves of flame menacing the city. "The situation in Fort McMurray is not stable. It is unstable," Scott Long of Alberta Emergency Management told reporters in a Wednesday afternoon briefing. "The downtown core is being held through some Herculean efforts of the structural firefighters in the area." Premier Rachel Notley said about 1,600 buildings, most of them homes, were hit by the fire that leapt over crews late Tuesday afternoon and raced into the city. Theres been fairly significant destruction of residences, said Notley. She and her officials admitted the outlook remained grim as the fire, which obliterated neighbourhoods to the south and west, moved north. Notley flew up to survey the situation first-hand, while officials in the evacuation centre had to bolt to the south of the city as flames edged closer. Notley tweeted pictures of the fire from above. "The view from the air is heartbreaking," she wrote. "We saw areas where there was a tremendous amount of smoke," she said later at a relief centre for evacuees in Anzac. "We were way up in a helicopter and the plumes of smoke were higher than we were." Notley said the state of emergency will also ensure that the federal government pays part of the costs of the wildfire. The blazes effectively cut Fort McMurray in two late Tuesday, forcing about 10,000 north to the safety of oilsands work camps. The other 70,000 were sent streaming south in a bumper-to-bumper snake line of cars and trucks that stretched beyond the horizon down Highway 63. Some vehicles sat in ditches, the victims of engine trouble or a lack of gas. The situation took a tragic twist Wednesday when an SUV collided head on with a tractor-trailer on another southern escape road, Highway 881, killing two and shutting down the road in both directions. The wildfire was still listed out of control as it curled around the city, 435 kilometres northeast of Edmonton. By mid-day Wednesday, the looming flames forced officials to abandon the evacuation command centre near the airport. Neighbourhoods most affected are Waterways, where 90 per cent of the homes have been lost; Beacon Hill, where 70 per cent of the homes have been lost, and Abasand where half the homes have been lost. More than 30 homes have been lost in Wood Buffalo. Downtown Fort McMurray remained mostly unaffected and all 105 patients and clients in the hospital were safely airlifted to other care centres, said Notley. The wildfire roared into the southwest corner of the city Tuesday afternoon. It engulfed homes in three subdivisions and destroyed vehicles, gas stations and a motel. Most of the homes in the suburbs of Beacon Hill and Waterways were destroyed. At Anzac, volunteers served eggs and pancakes to some of the 2,500 people at the recreation centre. Chantelle Boutin said she was grateful that she and her husband found a safe refuge. The couple brought their two dogs, but one of them died from the stress. We lost our house. We lost everything, but we didnt lose our spirit, said Boutin. Robin Smith with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes the city, said it was believed everyone was out. We have RCMP patrols that are regularly looping the neighbourhoods to make sure theres no one straggling, said Smith. Mayor Melissa Blake said her city is strong and remembers Slave Lake, a community devastated by wildfires in 2011. We will hope to follow in the shadow of Slave Lake in our perseverance and resolve, said Blake. And as we look to the future, this is still a place of incredible strength, resiliency and vibrancy. The province said 255 firefighters were on scene, backed up by 12 helicopters and 17 air tankers. The military has provided rescue helicopters and 15 residents who had been cut off by fire were airlifted to safety, Long said. The story made headlines worldwide with stunning video footage of trucks and cars next to sheer walls of flame. There were haunting images of scorched trucks and charred homes and telephone poles, burned out from the bottom up, hanging in the wires like little wooden crosses. From Britain, Queen Elizabeth, in a statement, said Prince Philip and I were shocked and saddened by the news of the wildfires that are causing such devastation to Fort McMurray. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been affected. MORE ON THESTAR.COM It was like driving into the Apocalypse, Fort McMurray resident says Photos: Raging Fort McMurray wildfire Woman gives birth at oilfield camp near Fort McMurray fire Read: Minister of municipal affairs's comments on Fort McMurray Albertans open arms and doors to wildfire evacuees Fort McMurray fire Chief Darby Allen said early Wednesday there were no buildings on fire, but he expected that to change. This is a nasty, dirty fire. There are certainly areas of the city that have not been burned, but this fire will look for them and it will find them and it will want to take them, he told another briefing in Fort McMurray. Allen said a cold front was expected to move in later in the day, but that could bring with it a new enemy lightning. Fire refugees were recounting tales of narrow escapes. Shawn Brett said he was at home when his friends called him and urging him to leave. Brett said when he opened the door of his house, smoke and flames were all around the neighbourhood, so he jumped on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle and made his way through a traffic jam out of the city. I didnt have time for nothing. I literally drove through the flames. I had ashes hitting my face and the heat from the fire was that bad, he said. Everything was jammed. It was nothing but the biggest chaos Id ever seen. Wildrose Leader Brian Jean, who is member of the legislature for the area, said his home of the last 10 years was destroyed, and he expected his childhood home probably had been as well. Ontario is sending 100 forest firefighters and 19 support staff to help in Fort McMurray, Premier Kathleen Wynne said Wednesday. Our hearts go out to all the people who are affected by the fire thats raging in Alberta. We hope everyone stays safe, she told the legislature. As in other situations, we are committed to helping out other provinces in times of need. Forestry Minister Bill Mauro said the firefighters from bases in northern Ontario will begin arriving out west on Friday but its hard to say how quickly they will be deployed. Right now were in a stable situation in Ontario given weather and forest conditions so the province can spare the resources to help in Fort McMurray, he added. RELATED: How to help In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government will provide all possible assistance to Alberta. The prime minister said he had already spoken to Notley to offer his governments total support. That help ranges from satellite intelligence to help track to the fire to long-term financial help aimed at recovery. Canada is a country of people who help each other in challenging times, Trudeau told his caucus. Ive been dealing with offers of support and calls from the Atlantic provinces, all the way out to B.C., as people are looking for how they can support their friends and neighbours as people go through this difficult time. Trudeau urged people with friends or family in Fort McMurray to make sure they are OK and ask what help they need. Federal leaders called on Canadians who want to help to donate to the Red Cross. Notley, who formally requested federal help, said a memorandum of understanding had been signed with National Defence to provide helicopters for search-and-rescue efforts in isolated spots around Fort McMurray as well as transport aircraft to fly in firefighters. Our province is strong and we will get through this, she told a news conference. Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale stressed that helping Fort McMurray would be a long-term project. Were dealing with peoples emergency needs today but the recovery from this situation is going to take a considerable amount of time. Among the other federal assistance he outlined: Co-ordination and monitoring through the Government Operations Centre Satellite and geomatics support to help the province track where the fire is moving Determining what firefighting assets are available across the country Stockpiling living supplies, cots and bedding in collaboration with the Red Cross Efforts to restore communication systems following the destruction of cell-phone towers Disaster financial assistance arrangements, through which the government begins to cost-share the expense of recovery. Calgary MP and veterans affairs minister Kent Hehr, asked about the cascade of fires and floods to hit Alberta in the past few years, said: Its tremendously difficult. We know 57 per cent of national disasters are happening in Alberta. Look its a very difficult time, hopefully we learned from those floods and I have every confidence in the provincial government and the prime minister, are going to serve Alberta well in this very difficult time. Going through the floods and now these fires its a really difficult time and my hope is that to date everyone is safe and will rebuild. with files from Tonda MacCharles and Rob Ferguson Read more about: SHARE: Canadas newly expanded ground role in the Iraq War will be dangerous more dangerous than it was under the Conservatives. The CF-18s have been withdrawn. But bombing an enemy with limited air defences and no fighter jets of its own was always relatively risk-free. By comparison, the Liberal governments decision to triple the number of special forces advisers engaged in active training at or near the front lines carries with it a higher probability of casualties. Soldiers understand and accept this. As Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance told my colleague, Bruce Campion-Smith: We do danger. Thats what a military force is for. For those fighting Daesh (sometimes known as ISIS or ISIL) the immediate danger that Vance describes is hard enough. What makes matters harder and what Ottawa doesnt much talk about are the chaotic politics bedevilling Iraq. That country is not only fighting Daesh militants and their so-called Islamic State. It is also perilously close to splitting apart. Paralyzed by factional squabbling, the central government in Baghdad is virtually unable to function. That fact was underlined last week when supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr, a powerful Shiite militia leader, briefly stormed the seat of government in Baghdads Green Zone. It seems al-Sadr, whose forces have fought U.S. troops in past years, was making a point. A few days earlier, Kurdish peshmerga troops and Shiite fighters battled one another over an area north of Baghdad that is claimed by both. The Kurds say the town of Tuz Khormato is part of Iraqi Kurdistan. The Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi militia says it should be under control of the central government. The fighting between these two forces, nominal allies in the war against Daesh, follows reports of sectarian atrocities committed by Kurdish, Shiite and Turkmen militias against civilians. As the Washington Post noted, ISIS wasnt involved at all in these clashes. It will, however, almost certainly be the beneficiary. For Canada and other members of the coalition, all of this makes the fight against Daesh that much harder. Canadian troops are training Kurdish forces for a planned assault on Mosul, a city controlled by the Daesh militants since 2014. But as Time magazine has reported, the much-delayed assault is hampered by tensions between the Kurdish peshmerga and the Baghdad-controlled Iraqi army. Again the dispute centres on territory: Should areas won back from Daesh go to semi-autonomous Kurdistan? Or should they go to Iraq proper? This poses a problem for Canada. Like the U.S., Ottawa supports the concept of a unified Iraq. But in practice, it finds itself training Kurdish soldiers who dont view themselves as Iraqi and who might well end up fighting Iraqis. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan understands the importance of politics in warfare. He has said that the Wests biggest failure in the war against the Taliban was its inability to come to terms with the internal politics of Afghanistan. Similarly, he has blamed the Wests failure in Libya on its inability to understand that getting rid of Moammar Gadhafi, without having a plausible replacement available, could only make matters worse. Unfortunately, Sajjan does not appear to have applied the same logic to the war in Iraq against Daesh. The West has tried to navigate the perilous politics of Iraq. The U.S. used its influence to replace a hard-line Shiite prime minister with another who would be more respectful to the Sunni minority. But the replacement, Haider al-Abadi, has proven singularly ineffective. As the New York Times reported, lawmakers in Iraqs parliament threw water bottles at him when he tried to introduce a new cabinet. The man Abadi ousted, Nouri al-Maliki, remains in the wings plotting. And as Canada gamely tries to train troops, so it seems does every other major Iraqi politician. Thomas Walkoms column appears Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Read more about: SHARE: The owner of a chain of addiction treatment centres has been charged with defrauding patients of up to $6.1 million after allegedly hiring a pair of doctors who Ontario Provincial Police say werent licensed to practice in Ontario. John Haines, CEO and owner of Addiction Canada is facing five charges, including two counts of fraud, and one count each of money laundering, benefitting from the proceeds of crime, and trafficking in controlled substances. Richard Tucker, 30, of Mississauga, and Munish N. Malik, 46, of Richmond Hill, were charged last year with practising without a medical license at a treatment centre in Caledon, and another in Burks Falls. A subsequent investigation found that Haines had hired the two men, according to the OPP. In October 2015, Addiction Canada posted a statement on its website, saying sensationalized news reports were the result of false allegations from many disgruntled and failed former clients and families. The statement added that all our doctors and nurses are fully licensed, accredited and credentialed! According to LinkedIn, Haines has been the owner of Addiction Canada, the countrys largest private treatment organization for over 10 years. Before that, he worked as an extreme interventionist in both Canada and USA, helping thousands for the last 12 years get on a sober path. Haines and Tucker are scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Orangeville on June 30th, 2016. SHARE: Dellen Millard and Christina Noudga deserve each other. Those were the final words put to 24-year-old Noudga as she wrapped up a five-day stint on the stand Wednesday at her former lovers first-degree murder trial. I deserve you and you deserve me, Millard wrote to her in a secret letter from jail back in January 2014, despite a no-contact order. In the final moments of his cross-examination, lawyer Thomas Dungey pointed to these words displayed on screens around the courtroom and Noudga agreed they were her former boyfriends. With that, Dungey announced he had no further questions and Noudga was excused. Millard, 30, is on trial with his friend Mark Smich, 28, for first-degree murder. The pair is co-accused in the death of Ancaster dad Tim Bosma, who disappeared May 6, 2013 three years ago Friday after taking two men for a test drive in the pickup truck he was trying to sell online. The Crown alleges he was shot and then burned in an animal incinerator outside Millards air hangar near Kitchener. Noudga is charged with being an accessory after the fact to the murder. She helped Millard move key pieces of evidence during a mission the night before he was arrested including a large trailer (containing Bosmas truck) that they hauled to his mothers house in Kleinburg. In her testimony, she claimed to have had no idea what was in the trailer, yet admitted returning to wipe her fingerprints off it just hours after Millards arrest. She insisted it was only through brainstorming with Millards mom that night over wine at a hotel that they realized the truck could be inside. They wiped their prints to remove (their) involvement. This is Dellens mess, not mine, Noudga said Wednesday. Did it ever occur to you that Mr. Bosma is missing, he could be in the truck? Dungey bellowed. That didnt come to me, no, she replied dryly. Dungey, who is representing Smich, suggested Noudga is a smart woman and surely thought back on the mission after Millards arrest with concern. In addition to the trailer, Millard and Noudga also moved an incinerator into the woods at his farm and dropped off a tool box at a friends house around 4 a.m. Youve done all these exploits the night before . . . and youre saying you didnt think any of that had to do with the truck . . . you didnt put it together that this was kind of a strange night with the missions? Dungey asked. Noudga insisted she did not. Youre going to stick with that story because it will help you at your trial, Dungey suggested. Im going to stick with that story because thats what happened, she shot back. Noudga similarly claimed it never dawned on her that the letters Millard sent her from jail in which he asked her to tamper with witnesses would have been of interest to the police. She argued that because she never followed through with his instructions, the information wasnt relevant. In notes seized from her bedroom after her arrest in 2014, she references his requests to reach out to friends and writes that she could be a powerful weapon. She admitted she contemplated helping him, but said she weighed the pros and cons and decided against it and never sent that note to Millard. She swore she never responded to his requests for aid at all. Dungey pointed out we have only her word on that. Noudga suggested he could ask Millard. If Mr. Millard testifies he can be assured Ill ask him that, Dungey replied. The jury will return Monday, after scheduled legal arguments. Read more about: SHARE: The man accused of sexually assaulting a fellow York University PhD student called a line of questioning by the Crown inappropriate during cross-examination Tuesday, suggesting it would not have happened if the tables were turned. Mustafa Ururyar, 29, testified in his defence as his trial resumed Tuesday, telling the court there was only a consensual sexual encounter on the night of Jan. 31, 2015 between him and Mandi Gray. Ururyars lawyer Lisa Bristow has suggested Gray made up the sexual assault as revenge for Ururyar ending their relationship. Gray, who waived the typical publication ban on the identity of complainants in sexual assault cases, testified that she had been casually dating Ururyar for about two weeks when the alleged rape happened. She had texted him earlier that evening to come drink and then we can have hot sex. But as they went back to his apartment after drinking with fellow students at two bars, she says he suddenly began to berate her, criticizing her drinking and calling her needy and an embarrassment. He raped her in his bedroom, she told the court. Ururyar denied this in his testimony. He told Ontario Court Justice Marvin Zuker that he and Gray got to his place around 2:30 a.m. He denied being angry and saying anything insulting to Gray who seemed buzzed from the drinks shed had that night but not impaired. She told him she was looking forward to having sex with him, he said. I said I would try but couldnt promise Id be able to physically. I was still recovering from a cold Id had all week, he said. He abruptly decided to end their relationship just after they had partially undressed, gotten into bed and she had leaned in to kiss him, he said. He told her they were not compatible, he said. He said she began to cry, he tried to console her, and they proceeded to have consensual sex. Ururyar said the breakup was prompted in part by him being annoyed that night by Gray briefly rubbing his upper thigh he used the term groping as they sat next to each other at a table. He asked her to stop and she did, but she repeated the action a second time later on, coming closer to his groin, he said. He said he did not like to show affection in public spaces. Your upper thigh was attacked and rubbed, said prosecutor Jennifer Lofft in cross-examination. I think this line of questioning is inappropriate, Ururyar responded. If the tables were turned and someone had told you that I was groping Mandi you wouldnt be risking this sort of questioning. Perhaps I should just sit down, Your Honour, and Ill allow Mr. Ururyar to complete the rest of the cross-examination, Lofft said. Ururyar apologized and Zuker instructed the Crown to ask the question again. Lofft suggested that Ururyar believed he was going to fulfil a long-time fantasy about having a threesome that night and became angry when it did not happen. Ururyar denied that he was fixated on the idea of a threesome and repeated that he was not feeling well that night any way. Ururyar also testified he was in an open relationship with his girlfriend who lived in Montreal at the time and said Gray had previously been upset by him bringing up his girlfriend who was moving to Toronto in April. That was one of the reasons he wanted to break up with Gray, he said. Lofft suggested that the relationship was casual and had only been going on for two weeks, so ending it would not have elicited such strong emotions from Gray. Lofft asked Ururyar to explain the text he sent Gray five days after the alleged sexual assault: I am sorry things went as they did. I shouldnt have said and done some of the things I did. I was upset and felt wronged by you but that does not excuse my own mistakes. Ururyar said he was apologizing for the way the breakup happened. By feeling wronged, he said, he was referring to her groping him in a public space despite his earlier objection. This explanation does not make sense, Lofft said. You were being extremely cautious about what you might want to imply because you knew you had gotten carried away and raped Mandi Gray. Because you were annoyed with her, Lofft said. I was annoyed with her, Ururyar said. I did not rape her. Closing submissions in the case are scheduled for May 24. With files from Catherine Porter SHARE: More than 220 portraits in a Toronto Public Library exhibition will showcase the everyday people who lived and worked in the city throughout the 20th century. Each visage tells a unique tale. Drawn largely from Star archival photos and curated by former Star archivist Carol Elder, The Changing Face of Toronto runs May 14-July 23 at the Toronto Reference Librarys TD Gallery. Organ grinder 1922 A barrel organ-playing street musician eyes the camera. Organ grinders are a form of street performance that doesnt exist anymore, notes Nicole Dawkins, the Toronto Reference Librarys gallery curator. The shot, taken on Bay St., exemplifies how in situ portraits were becoming more common, breaking away from the formalized photo studio style of the pre-war era. Great Stork Derby 1936 A father poses with nine of his 10 children eligible for the Great Stork Derby. The contest was hatched by Charles Vance Miller, a Toronto lawyer with an odd sense of humour. He promised to bequeath $275,000 about $6 million today to the local woman who could produce the most babies in a decade. There were all sorts of families who were trying madly to reproduce to win the inheritances, says exhibition curator Carol Elder. Munitions Worker 1942 Dorothy Hyslop inspects rifle bayonets at a Toronto munitions factory, one of thousands of local women to swap her apron for coveralls during the Second World War. The bayonets, in a way, frame her face. It shows the womens part in the war effort, when women discovered that they could do mens work, says Elder. They probably always knew, but now they never forgot. Taxidermist 1964 Taxidermist Cliff McCutcheon mounts an armadillo and iguana in the Toronto workshop of Oliver Spanner & Co. Hes just looking so incredibly intently, says Elder, who noted the subtle use of airbrushing. Its just a very beautiful photograph. The scene fills the whole image. There isnt anything extraneous to distract you. Activist 1970 The gentle demeanour of Ed Clarke, a Toronto community activist, belied his decades-long fight against racial injustice. Clarke organized demonstrations in the wake of police shootings of black Canadians in the 1970s and 1980s and ran provincially as a Liberal in 1977. He was also a founding member of the Black Action Defence Committee in 1988, which two years later pressured the province into creating the Special Investigations Unit, Ontarios police watchdog. Button man 1972 Morris Hackmans factory on Adelaide St. then in its industrial prime could produce 5,000 buttons an hour. A circular logic commands the composition, Elder notes: His face is round, his glasses are round, his buttons are round In the background, standing witness to the times, are pinnable politicians like Ken Robinson, a Liberal member of parliament, and then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau and, of course, Hackmans sideburns plus a collar as wide as the Humber. Homeless chess master 1984 Street-corner chess whiz Joseph Smolij was a fixture of Yonge and Gould Sts., where he speed-clacked the checkered board all night, every night. The Star profiled him after he reunited with his long-lost sister, whom he hadnt seen in 40 years a miracle of miracles, he said. There was so much humanity in his face, Elder observes. Punker banker 1985 This portrait of Natalia Pracepa snapped in 1985, when the city still emitted more than a whiff of Toronto-the-Good primness accompanied a Toronto Star story with the headline, Bank employee fights to keep her punk hairdo. Her expression clearly showed her unhappiness with the bank, says Elder. Plus the hair. Oh God, the hair. Hair stylist 1990 Jemmie Morris, a student of Brunos School of Hair Design on Bloor St. W., practices on a mannequin. People working very intimately with their hands form a distinctive part of the exhibition, Elder says. Even though all these people were ordinary, they had a story to tell, and they offer insights into the world around them. The 223 portraits that comprise The Changing Face of Toronto were selected from 144,000 archived photos that now form part of the Toronto Public Library archives, and that were wheedled down in turn from more than 1 million images donated to the library by the Toronto Star in 2014. SHARE: Ms. X has a name, a face and a story to tell of being sexually abused by a doctor. Temerra Dixon wants you to know what happened to her in the hopes that people will get angry and loud enough to pressure the government to change the law so that doctors who molest their patients automatically lose their licences. But up until now she was only known by a single letter one of four female patients who were the focus of Dr. Javad Peirovys recent discipline hearing at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. She wasnt even allowed to fully express her outrage at the end of Peirovys discipline proceedings. The college censored a part of her victim impact statement where she was critical of the regulatory body and called for Peirovy to lose his licence. She was told victims are not allowed to make submissions on sentencing. The Toronto doctor was found guilty last year of sexually abusing the four women, and given a sixth-month suspension last week. This makes it real, Dixon, 33, told the Star in an interview this week, shortly before the CPSO lifted a publication ban on her identity at her request. People see theres a face behind Ms. X. It could be your friend, your daughter, your mother. This way its real. Ms. X doesnt even sound human. Shes furious, particularly given the fact that nearly every other form of sexual abuse leads to the mandatory revocation of a doctors licence a loophole in the legislation for which the government has no clear timeline to address. It diminishes the importance of what happened to me, she said. A married mother to a 1-year-old daughter, Dixon said shes lost confidence in the oversight of medical professionals in Ontario, and says she will never be able to see a male doctor again. I have been thoroughly disturbed that this happened but what disturbs me even further is the fact that this man was able to continue practising for the last 5 years (under restrictions but still practising), she said in the part of her original impact statement, which was not heard by the board. I understand due process but it has taken way too long and my trust in the CPSO and justice system has been marred. If Dr. Peirovy is able to continue practising as a doctor in Ontario, in Canada, it will be a gross injustice to his victims (me) and an insult to the citizens of this province. A four-member panel of the colleges discipline committee concluded last week that Peirovy is at a low-risk to reoffend and would be capable of practising with counseling and training. He must also have a female chaperone while treating female patients. The panel was chaired by former CPSO president Dr. Marc Gabel, and also included Drs. John Watts and Robert Sheppard and community member Diane Doherty. The decision to suspend Peirovy rather than revoke his licence led to an outcry from critics and the public, not to mention Dixon herself, who described the ruling as a punch in the stomach. Even the CPSOs registrar came out against it, saying the regulatory body was disappointed. It increased the pressure on Health Minister Dr. Eric Hoskins to revamp the provinces Regulated Health Professions Act, enacted in 1994, which currently allows doctors who grope to avoid losing their licences by leaving that decision to the discretion of discipline panels. The issue was highlighted by a 2014 Star investigation, and led Hoskins to launch a task force in December 2014 to study sexual abuse among health-care professionals. But 16 months later, hes unable to say when the task forces report and recommendations will be released, or when the government plans to propose amendments to the RHPA. I fully intend to release the report and recommendations and I expect to be able to do that in the relatively near future, he said in an interview last week. The foot-dragging doesnt make any sense to Dixon, who was groped under her bra by Peirovy at a Toronto walk-in clinic in February 2010 while he was examining her with a stethoscope. She had come in with a possible ear infection and some chest congestion. This should have been dealt with a long time ago, she said. Groping is a huge violation of the patients trust and safety, and shouldnt be considered less serious than other forms of sexual abuse, Dixon said. This gives me the sense that theyre telling me I should just get over it, that its minor, that its nothing serious, she said. Yes its a different form of sexual abuse, but its still under the sexual abuse umbrellaIts still very detrimental to the mental health of everybody put in this position. Peirovy denied the allegations before the discipline committee, and his lawyer did not return a request for comment this week. The committee found in July that Dixon was a reliable and credible witness whose recollection of events was clear. In particular, the Committee finds that during the course of his examination, Dr. Peirovy cupped her breasts and used his fingers to put pressure on her nipples, which she described as tweaking, the panel wrote. The Committee finds that Dr. Peirovy did not have consent to touch his patient in this manner and that there was no clinical reason to examine Ms. X in this way. The cupping of her breasts with his hand and tweaking of her nipples are actions which, to the objective observer, would be construed as sexual in nature. Dixon remembers instantly thinking that what Peirovy was doing was wrong, but she remained still. I was frozen. I had never dealt with something like that and didnt know how to react, she said. I just thought I gotta get out of here, gotta get out. After a brief conversation with Peirovy, she left, met her then-boyfriend in the waiting room and told him everything once they were outside. The next day Dixon went on the CPSOs website and got the impression that she had to fill out a formal report. I just thought, Number one theyre not going to believe me, and number 2, I have to go through this mess of paper, she said. Im angry with myself for this, but I let it go. But that changed several months later, in August 2010, when she saw Peirovys picture on TV after he had been criminally charged with sexual assault. She called the police right away. I guess someone had come forward. Whoever that was, amazing, thumbs up to them. Peirovy would ultimately be charged with six counts of sexually assaulting patients, but the Crown dropped four of them after he pled guilty in 2013 to simple assault in the other two cases. He was given a conditional discharge and 18 months probation and was ordered by the court to take counselling. Dixon said her case was among those that were withdrawn. I was so upset, she said. I flipped out. I said this is not a simple assault case. It made angry that they were going to take something I thought was more severe and dumb it down. I said you have to keep it as is. After the criminal proceedings came the discipline hearing at the CPSO, which moved at a glacial pace in Dixons view. She said she feels her testimony before the committee went well. My anger came out a bit more, she said. I was able to really voice how I feel. But when it came time to submit a victim impact statement for Peirovys penalty hearing, Dixon said her request to read the statement herself was rebuffed she was told it would be presented by the colleges lawyer and the college cut a chunk of her original statement. It was a victim impact statement and they took the impact out of my statement, she said. While not commenting specifically on Dixons case, CPSO spokeswoman Kathryn Clarke said matters that go beyond the harm and consequences as a result of the abuse are not the proper subject of victim impact statements. She said this is also the case in criminal proceedings. Dixon is calling on other patients who have been sexually abused by health care professionals to report their assaults. There needs to be more people to come forward and to scream this as loud as they can because the only way this is going to change is if people come forward, she said. If this is allowed to continue, it could be your friend, your mom, your sister. It could be anybody. Weve got to stop this now. SHARE: Brothers Khamsum Wangdu and Kunsang Namgyal came to Canada from Nepal with big dreams to continue their studies in dentistry and become certified to practise here. With Canadian accreditation, the Tibetan refugees hope to pay it forward, helping Tibetans both here and in Nepal with their dental needs. They also feel its important to be an example for others in their community to encourage higher education. We are the first members of our family to go to school, Wangdu said. If we achieve something it will inspire other Tibetans. It will give them an opportunity to see things outside the box, he said. My parents used to say no matter how much hardship you face through the process you should always get an education because this is the most important thing. So we work hard. But the road to that dream has been long and arduous. Wangdu, 26, and Namgyal, 24, must compete with hundreds of other foreign-trained dentists in Ontario for a coveted spot at either the University of Torontos Faculty of Dentistry or Western Universitys Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry. At U of T, there are only about 25 spots. At Western, another 20. I know its very difficult to get into the school and even get the license, said Wangdu. But we are always optimistic that if you work hard theres always a way. His brother nods in agreement. For the past 10 months the pair have been taking English classes and studying for the entrance exam for dental school which they will take in August. They exude determination and confidence. Over a traditional Tibetan dish of momos at a restaurant in Little Tibet in Parkdale, the two young men describe their journey to Canada and the earthquake that devastated Nepal last spring. Both were in Kathmandu when the quake struck. Wangdu was home doing laundry. Namgyal was at a nearby hospital volunteering. When the hospital building began to shake Namgyal looked up to see the ceiling fan swaying and he quickly placed a bucket on his head. Describing it now, he laughs. For days after the earthquake the two men volunteered at the hospital, helping move the injured and the dead. It was in the aftermath of the quake that they got the call from the Canadian Embassy in New Delhi, India that they were cleared to go to Canada and had to pick up their visas. At the border between Nepal and India, they said they were stopped because they didnt have anything other than birth certificates. As stateless Tibetans, they had no passport to travel between countries. A border guard asked them for money, they said. They refused, turned back and with the help of a young girl who was herding goats nearby managed to cross the border into India and continue on their way to pick up their visas. Polite and soft-spoken, the two brothers finish each other sentences. They are equally passionate about becoming dentists. Their motivation: their grandfather died in Nepal from an infection after having a tooth extracted by an unqualified dentist. The likely cause of the infection was non-sterile equipment, they said. The two young men came to Canada last June along with their mother, two sisters and a brother, joining their father Kelsang Richoe, who came to Toronto five years ago. Richoe had fled Tibet with his own parents after 1959 when China annexed the Himalayan country. They settled in a border town in Nepal, hoping one day to return to Tibet. But that day never came. And after years of living and working in a Tibetan refugee village, Richoe sought asylum in Canada. Wangdu and Namgyal, who were born in Nepal and grew up in a small village about 225 kilometres from Kathmandu, went to primary and high school nearby. After high school, they moved to Kathmandu to study dentistry. They said they had no idea they would face problems upon graduation. After five years of study, they said they were surprised to find out that because they had no status in Nepal even though they were born there the government wouldnt let them take their licensing exam to qualify to practise their profession. It was quite difficult to accept, said Wangdu. We had equally worked hard as the local students. Its a long journey and were told its not possible, its very sad its very disheartening. This wasnt the only discrimination they experienced in Nepal because of their heritage and their stateless status, said Wangdu. We always felt some discrimination there, he said. His brother nodded his head in agreement. Not just us, but all Tibetans, he continued. They dont feel the same here. Ever since we came here, even right at the airport, we felt it was different, said Wangdu. What they brought in their suitcase: Family matriarch Phurbu Lhamo brought a number of treasures to Canada from Nepal packed in her familys suitcases, including a dorjee and bell, two of the implements Buddha is often depicted holding. They sit on the altar the family created in their home. The dorjee, held in Buddhas right hand, represents skillful means, and the bell, held in Buddhas left hand, represents wisdom. The family also brought a copper statue of Tara, who is a tantric meditation deity used to understand compassion and emptiness in Tibetan Buddhism. She is adorned with a string of pearls also brought from Nepal. The copper and gold-plated statue of Buddha, front and centre on the familys altar, came from Tibet via Nepal. According to Buddhist tradition, an altar must hold images or representations of Buddhas enlightened body, speech and mind, which reminds practitioners to develop these qualities to benefit all beings. Wangdu and Namgyal, along with their mother, two sisters and brother, came to Canada with copies of Buddhist scriptures or sutras. They were originally brought out of Tibet to Nepal by the brothers grandparents in 1959. These porcelain bowls, says Wangdu, were brought to Toronto via Nepal. They are said to be from his mothers family and are estimated to be 100 years old. SHARE: As a rescue helicopter whipped above the New Zealand wilderness over the weekend, Carolyn Lloyds desperate plea caught the pilots eye. She had written H-E-L-P first in a riverbed, then again in a nearby field on North Island, where she and her daughter were lost for five terrifying days, according to The Associated Press. She had formed the large letters using stones and fern fronds in an attempt to save them from death. They were certainly keen to make their presence known, Jason Diedrichs, a pilot with Amalgamated Helicopters, later told the New Zealand Herald. They were a little bit worse for wear theyd been in there for four nights out in the open with very little food, so they were definitely feeling the effects of that. They were physically and mentally very tired, he added, so its fair to say they were pretty pleased to see us. Carolyn Lloyd, a Charlotte, N.C., resident, had been visiting her 22-year-old daughter, Rachel Lloyd, a North Carolina State University graduate who was studying abroad at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, according to the AP. Rachel Lloyd wanted to show her mother the sights, so the two set out early last week for Tararua Forest Park, a conservation park in New Zealands Wellington region. They took the Kapakapanui Track, one of the best viewpoints in the Tararua Range, according to New Zealands Department of Conservation. With little more than water, cheese and mixed nuts, the two followed orange markers to the summit and soaked up some sun before attempting to make their descent, according to the AP. On the way down, they couldnt find the orange markers, so they followed blue ones later realizing it was probably a path for pest control. It got very steep, very jungly, Rachel Lloyd later told the news agency. The markers completely stopped after about 20 minutes, but it was so steep it was physically impossible to climb back up. Soon, the mother and daughter found themselves on a ledge overlooking a 600-foot waterfall, the AP reported. As the sun slipped away and temperatures dropped to about 40 degrees, they clung to a tree trying to stay warm and awake on the treacherous terrain so they would not roll to the bottom. Carolyn Lloyd later told her husband that shed been frightened to death. She stayed awake all night and held my daughter to keep her warm, he told the New Zealand Herald. The mother-and-daughters five-day fight for life had begun. The next day, the two climbed down from the ledge and started to follow a steep and slippery stream at the waterfalls feet hoping it would be their guide. Rachel Lloyd slipped and fell headfirst into the frigid water, slamming her head on a rock, she later told the AP. Thats when I started going downhill, she told the news agency. I could never get dry and couldnt get warm the rest of the trip. Hypothermia started to set in, she told Radio New Zealand. She said she lost her hearing, her sight and then the feeling in her legs. We knew I was going to go first, she told the radio station, adding that she started telling her mother her dying wishes. My mom was basically watching me die, which was really, really hard. Her mother tried to get them to civilization, toting their snack sack on her front and her daughter, piggyback-style, on her back. Back in Charlotte, Barry Lloyd was concerned, saying he had been unable to reach his wife and daughter since they had set out for a walk in the woods. Their cellphones had lost reception and power. He was in contact with emergency crews, he said, and his sons had flown home, ready to travel with him to the other side of the world. My daughter was getting weaker, he later told the New Zealand Herald, after speaking with his wife. She doesnt have a lot of extra meat on her bones and she couldnt walk, so my wife told me she was carrying her on her back, trying to walk back up the mountains. By the third day, she was unable to continue. Shes one of these people who can eat every two hours and just burn it off, he said. But she didnt have any fuel in her body so she couldnt go any farther. It was Day 4 and Carolyn Lloyd said she was desperate for ideas. I was terrified as a mother, she told the AP. I was doing everything I could to keep her alive. She put her worries into words writing help in hopes that someone would see it and come save them. The helicopter hovered overhead Saturday, and the two women shouted and waved it down. To be honest, we were pretty relieved, Diedrichs, the rescue pilot, told the AP. Rachel Lloyd was taken to Wellington Hospital, where she was treated for hypothermia and undernourishment. After the rescue, Sgt. Anthony Harmer of Wellington Police Search and Rescue told the New Zealand Herald that the women had done everything they could to survive. Theyve been caught out unawares in their circumstances through no fault of their own, he said. Its a New Zealand environment as opposed to other environments theyve been used to. Theyve done all the right things theyve stayed together, theyve conserved their heat, theyve conserved their resources so they gave themselves the best chance possible. Rachel Lloyd said that as soon as she and her mother were able, they phoned family members back home. We called my dad and he was so wonderful just to hear his voice, I never thought I would hear it again, she told Radio New Zealand. He couldnt even formulate words, he was just blubbering. It was very emotional. I wish I could give him a big hug, she added. She said she plans to continue her classes in New Zealand. SHARE: WASHINGTONAn Army captain filed suit against President Obama on Wednesday, claiming that the president is engaged in an illegal war against Daesh, also known as the Islamic State, in Iraq and Syria. Nathan Michael Smith, who is deployed to Kuwait as an intelligence officer at Camp Arifjan, argues in the lawsuit that the president lacks the proper authorization for his campaign against Daesh, because he failed to get congressional authorization under the War Powers Resolution of 1973. In waging war against ISIS, President Obama is misusing limited congressional authorizations for the use of military force as a blank check to conduct a war against enemies of his own choosing, without geographical or temporal boundaries, reads the lawsuit, filed by Smith and his counsel, famed human rights lawyer David Remes. Yale Law School professor Bruce Ackerman is a consultant in the suit. Congress passed the 1973 War Powers Resolution in response to just such presidential overreach in the Vietnam War, and to protect against such abuses of presidential power in the future, they argue. Congressional authorization of the use of military force in 2001 and 2002 are too limited to justify the current campaign against Daesh, they say. Smith joined the military in 2010 because he saw it as a force for good in the world, the lawsuit reads. He proudly served in Afghanistan and cheered the administrations airstrikes on Daesh in Iraq and Syria in August and September of 2014. As the effort dragged on, however, he noticed that some at home were worried about presidential overreach. I began to wonder, Is this the Administrations war, or is it Americas war? The Constitution tells us that Congress is supposed to answer that question, but Congress is AWOL, he said, according to the suit. My conscience bothered me. The Constitution grants only Congress the authority to declare war, and the War Powers Resolution limits the presidents ability to deploy forces into hostile situations for more than 60 days without congressional approval, Smith argues. As a result, he was conflicted about the engagement. How could I honour my oath when I am fighting a war, even a good war, that the Constitution does not allow, or Congress has not approved? The lawsuit grew from an Atlantic piece in which Ackerman laid forth the argument at the heart of the lawsuit. In it, he argued that soldiers would make particularly plaintiffs in such a case. After a passage of months, Captain Smith saw it and was troubled by what was going on and then we started talking, Ackerman said. The lawsuits rests on five counts. First, Smith and his lawyers argue that Obama violated the War Powers Resolution, which requires that a president obtain congressional authorization for use of force within 60 days of deploying troops into a hostile situation. Second, they say he violated the Take Care clause of the Constitution by failing to publish a legal justification for the conflict. Hes not a lawyer, Ackerman says. If he could be directed to a serious and sustained argument, he would be able to read it. Without that, Smith cannot reasonably be expected to know what his duty is, Ackerman says. Third and fourth, they say Obama has exceeded his authority under the 2001 and 2002 authorizations of the use of military force. Finally, Smith and his lawyers say that Obamas campaign against Daesh represents executive overreach under the Constitution. Smith asks that a judge declare the campaign illegal unless Obama obtains congressional authorization within 30 days and asks that the administration cover his legal fees. The administration asked for a separate authorization early last year for its Daesh fight, though it had previously argued that the 2001 and 2002 authorizations of the use of military force constituted enough authority for its operations against Daesh due to its links to Al Qaeda, the group to which the 2001 authorization applied. Just last month, Obama outlined plans to expand the militarys presence in Syria to as many as 300 troops in order to continue to apply pressure to Daesh, he said. Three service members have died in combat with Daesh. The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Read more about: SHARE: STUTTGART, GERMANYThe combat death of an American Navy SEAL in Iraq shows that despite recent gains against Daesh (also known as the Islamic State) in Iraq, this fight is far from over, U.S. Defence Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday. Carter spoke at the outset of a closed-door meeting in Germany with his counterparts from 11 countries contributing to the military campaign against Daesh in Iraq and Syria. They convened at the headquarters of U.S. European Command, where Carter was presiding at a change-of-command ceremony Tuesday when news of the U.S. battlefield death reached him. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the group reaffirmed its support to further accelerate and reinforce the success of our partners on the ground and for the deployment of additional enabling capabilities in the near term. The meeting was a follow-up to a similar session Carter led in Brussels in mid-February. While we have gathered momentum since our ministerial in Brussels, this fight is far from over, Carter said in an opening statement. That point was brought into stark relief by yesterdays attack on Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq, which unfortunately claimed the life of an American service member. The Peshmerga are Kurdish militia who have generally fought more effectively against Daesh in northern Iraq than the regular Iraqi security forces. The U.S. has been training, equipping and advising Pershmerga forces as well as Iraqi security forces, and the Pentagon recently pledged up to $415 million in aid to the Kurds. Adhering to a legal ban on officially identifying a military death until 24 hours after the family has been notified, Carter did not mention the name. But his family has confirmed that Charlie Keating IV, 31, was the SEAL who was killed. Carter expressed condolences for the loss, which is the third U.S. combat death in Iraq since U.S. forces returned there in mid-2014 to help the Iraqi government regain the wide swaths of territory captured by Daesh. Wednesdays session in Stuttgart was the latest in a series with partners on strategies for increasing assistance to the Iraqis, including the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, as they seek to recapture the northern Daesh stronghold of Mosul. This comes as a political crisis in Baghdad clouds the outlook for further military advances against the militants. Carter has placed a high priority on drawing coalition members more deeply into the counter-Daesh campaign, stressing the threat posed by allowing the extremists to spread their influence. We must do this, Carter told the opening session. Its important for civilization that we do this. We can do this. Were going to. With your help, itll go faster. The Stuttgart session was attended by senior defence officials from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Britain. Norway was also invited and was expected to attend. Read more about: SHARE: PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREATheres a buzz in the air in Pyongyang this week. North Koreans are gearing up for something they havent seen in more than three decades a Workers Party Congress, the highest-level political gathering in the one-party state. Since early this year, Kim Jong Uns regime has been testing nuclear weapons and missiles and exhorting citizens to take part in a 70-Day Speed Battle to prepare for the event. Across the capital, workers have been painting buildings in bright pastels, positioning clusters of red flags on street corners and hastily planting flowers at major intersections. The state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper declared Wednesday that the battle had been an absolute success. Unceasing in the spirit of success, all workers are rushing like a storm to make the Seventh Party Congress the congress of victors and glory, the paper claimed. The article further asserted that the 70-day battle had resulted in the miraculous production of an additional 160 million kilowatts of electricity, 360,000 tons of coal and 49,000 tons of cement. Adults and schoolchildren have been recruited to participate in a variety of performances. On Wednesday afternoon, scores of young men were huddled in a pedestrian underpass near the Arch of Triumph, whittling sticks to be used in a candlelight procession. Across the street, teenage girls in white blouses and dark skirts practised twirling red flags. In front of the Gwangbok department store, creaking streetcars stuffed to the gills disgorged a constant stream of women in traditional Korean dresses and men in suits or military uniforms returning from rehearsals of some sort involving artificial flowers. The Party Congress will kick off Friday at the April 25 House of Culture, a massive edifice adorned, like all major government buildings, with large portraits of founding father Kim Il Sung and his son and successor, Kim Jong Il. Exactly what will transpire when the curtain goes up Friday remains a closely-guarded secret. But analysts outside the country expect it to be a formal coronation of sorts for Kim Jong Un, who took the helm of the tightly-controlled state in December 2011 after his fathers death and has been consolidating his rule for the past four years. The last congress was held in 1980, when Kim Il Sung was leader of the country. Read more about: SHARE: FLINT, MICH.Sipping filtered city water to show its again drinkable, President Barack Obama promised Wednesday to ride herd on leaders at all levels of government until every drop of water flowing into homes in Flint, Michigan, is safe to use. He also promised that the aging pipes that contaminated the water with lead will be replaced, but cautioned that the project will take time. Obama said he wanted to use the crisis to make long-term improvements to the city, where more than 40 per cent of residents live in poverty. Its not going to happen overnight, but we have to get started, Obama told hundreds of people gathered in a high school gymnasium. Obama spoke after he was briefed on the federal response to the water contamination and had met privately with nine residents. Obama said he understood why people are scared and angry and feel let down. He said what happened in Flint was a man-made disaster that didnt have to happen. But he said it did happen and everyone must now work together to fix it. Ive got your back, Obama said. I will not rest and Im going to make sure that the leaders at every level of government dont rest until every drop of water that flows to your homes is safe to drink and safe to cook with and safe to bathe in. He called providing safe drinking water a basic responsibility of government. After coughing several times during his remarks, Obama asked for and drank from a glass of water. He also drank city water after getting a lengthy briefing on the crisis, which forced residents to spend months drinking, cooking and bathing with bottled water. Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint in mid-January and ordered federal aid to supplement the state and local response. By then, however, the crisis was in full bloom. It took several months for the nation to focus on the beaten-down citys plight, raising questions about how race, more than half of Flints residents are black, and poverty influenced decisions that led to the tainted water supply and the sluggish response. The city, in an effort to save money while under state management, began drawing its water from the Flint River in April 2014. Despite complaints from residents about the smell and taste and health problems, city leaders insisted the water was safe. However, doctors reported last September that the blood of Flint children contained high levels of lead. The source of the citys water has been switched back to Detroit, but the lead problem still is not fully solved. Most people are drinking filtered or bottled water. The political and legal fallout is ongoing. An independent commission appointed by Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder determined the state was primarily responsible for the water contamination in Flint, and he issued an apology. The Obama administrations response, through the Environmental Protection Agency, has also come under criticism from Snyder and some in Congress who say the EPA didnt move with necessary urgency. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told Congress that, while staff repeatedly urged the state to address the lack of corrosion controls, we missed the opportunity late last summer to quickly get EPAs concerns on the publics radar screen. An inspector general is investigating the EPAs response. Congress is also grappling with how to help Flint, but progress has been slow. A Senate committee last week approved a $220 million aid package as part of a broader bill that would authorize nearly $4.8 billion for water-related projects around the country. The bill could come up for a Senate vote in May. Snyder spoke in the gymnasium during Obamas meeting and was loudly booed. Snyder said he understood why residents were angry and wanted to say he was sorry. You didnt create this problem, Snyder said. Government failed you. Many in the audience yelled back at Snyder, You failed. Snyder was booed again when Obama spoke and mentioned him along with other elected leaders he had met with Wednesday. No, no, no, Obama said. Were trying to do some business here. Outside the school, Reneta Richard, a teacher and Flint resident, said she hoped Obamas trip would lead to something positive. She recently bought a house and said shes there for the long haul. I want him to leave a check right here, right now for pipe removal and medical bills and the life were going to suffer, said Richard, 37, a single mom. This isnt going to be over in 10 years. SHARE: By all accounts we are in the midst of a deadly drug epidemic so severe and widespread few people in North America will remain untouched by it. In case you think Im exaggerating, right now we have probably the highest rates of narcotic abuse and deaths in modern history. Critics have begun pointing the finger at the medical system and its prescribers well-meaning doctors and specialists whove been giving too many patients excessively powerful opioid medications to deal with modest pain. But we can dig deeper and look at the relationship between medical education and pharmaceutical company influence as a significant contributing factor. Typically the suggestion of an epidemic is hyperbolic, but it doesnt seem so in this case. Last month, Dr. Perry Kendall, the provincial Health Officer in British Columbia said that B.C. has a bona fide public health emergency on its hands, mostly due to the alarming number of overdose deaths linked to prescription opioids. Opioids include prescription narcotics, such as Oxycontin, hydromorph Contin and fentanyl, which some say is 100 times stronger than morphine. Kendall said that there were more than 200 opioid-related overdose deaths so far this year in B.C., and if those numbers continue, therell be 800 by the end of the year. Whats happening in B.C. is just a small microcosm of what is happening across Canada, where we have some of the highest rates of prescription opioid consumption in the world. From 2006 to 2011, use of opioids in Canada rose by 32 per cent and that rise has continued unabated, despite efforts to slow it down. The United States is also in full-on damage control mode, trying to stem the incredible numbers of deaths due to opioids. In 2012, there were 259 million prescriptions written for opioids enough to give every American adult their own bottle of pills. Since 2000, the overdose death rate in the U.S. has risen by 200 per cent and there were nearly 19,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2014. Last month, I sat in a room while Dr. Vivek Murthy, the new surgeon general of the United States, told the crowd he was driven to make the opioid epidemic a top priority due to the devastation hes seen in communities all across the country. He said the U.S. experiences an overdose death every 24 minutes and the life expectancy of white, male, middle class Americans is dropping. The problems, as well as potential solutions, are complicated but I agree with Murthy when he says curbing societys exposure to opioids particularly those coming from a prescription pad in a doctors office is absolutely vital. As he said: Physicians need to be retrained to think twice or three or four times before writing that first opioid prescription. Its important to recognize that liberal prescribing of opioids is a recent problem and, since the mid-1990s, can be linked to the message-crafting activities of the pharmaceutical industry, which helped shape both patient perceptions of pain and influence how doctors thought about the safety of these drugs. Doctors were increasingly encouraged sometimes through industry-funded educational activities or by using textbooks on pain management paid for by the makers of opioids to prescribe the drugs for a much wider population of patients experiencing pain. If revising the messaging around opioids was a business-oriented strategy of the opioid makers, we cannot place the blame solely upon them. Some of that blame has to do with the co-dependent relationship between physician education and the drug industry, which funds a substantial portion of physician education in Canada. Is this epidemic not dire enough to finally build a firewall between physicians education and the pharmaceutical industry? We need unbiased, safety-oriented messages around the appropriate use of opioids and knowledge of their wicked addiction potential. We also need to remind ourselves, both patients and prescribers, that any powerful and effective drug can also be dangerous and destructive. The focus to tackle the addiction problem has to be serious, multi-faceted source control. We need greater access to addiction treatment facilities, and methods to rescue people from the depths of addiction, certainly. But we also need to curb societys underlying dependence upon drug company money for doctor training. Alan Cassels is an expert advisor with EvidenceNetwork.ca and the author of the just-published, The Cochrane Collaboration: Medicines Best Kept Secret. SHARE: Canada is back. So we have heard since Justin Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister on Nov. 4. But to what extent have the Liberals, in their first half-year in office, truly succeeded in undoing the dubious legacy of the previous government and pointing a better way forward? Certainly the Liberals have rightly undone some of the most egregious policies of the Harper government devising a more humane approach to refugees, reversing anti-labour laws, restoring the long-form census, dropping legal actions such as the defence of Harpers backwards approach to niqabs, and so on. Trudeau has appropriately challenged balanced-budget orthodoxy, moving to address poverty, strengthen infrastructure and stimulate the economy. The government has earmarked wise investments for aboriginal health, justice and opportunity and promised a new, respectful relationship with First Nations a good start to a long process. And Trudeau has shown leadership abroad, if not yet at home, on climate change. Canadians can be forgiven for momentarily basking in Trudeaus light. It would be churlish not to celebrate this change for the better. At the same time, we must not be blinded by these sunny ways to the challenges we face. As Trudeau embarks on the projects that will shape his legacy the inquiry into murdered and missing aboriginal women, consultations on the trans-Pacific trade pact, electoral reform, a new health accord we ought to bear in mind that sunnier is not enough. We also need clarity and action on key issues where the governments direction remains unclear. Three are particularly important. Anti-terror and crime policy: Even as the Supreme Court is dismantling, piece by piece, the Harper governments tough-on-crime agenda, the Liberals have quietly looked on, abdicating their leadership role. For an administration committed to evidence-based policy, the government has been strangely passive in the unmaking of Harpers blindly ideological crime policies. Similarly, despite promises to undo the worst of the previous governments overreaching anti-terror law, C-51, we have seen no action. Here, again, Trudeau should not be content to leave it to the courts to overturn dubious provisions on, for instance, pre-emptive, warrantless arrests. Toppling laws born of fear is always politically difficult, but as long as these policies remain in place, rights will be violated and people will suffer. These were mistakes of Parliaments making; they ought to be Parliaments to undo and now. National child care: As we have argued before, no single initiative would make such a big difference in the lives of Canadian families as universal, quality, affordable child care. Yet, despite the Liberal governments promise to develop a framework within its first 100 days, no progress is evident some 180 days and one budget later. This issue is urgent. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has ranked us dead last among peer nations for child care. Licenced spots exist for just 22 per cent of children under 5. And for parents trying to get their child into subsidized care, matters are even worse. In Toronto alone, almost 12,000 eligible children are in the queue. The governments generous new child benefit, while welcome, is not enough. Pharmacare: Canadas existing hodgepodge of private drug plans and patchy public coverage puts far too many Canadians at risk. At any given time, thousands face aggravated illness and needless suffering because they cant afford the rising price of drugs. There is no need for this. A recent University of British Columbia study found that not only would national pharmacare ensure that all Canadians have access to the drugs they need, it would also save billions of dollars. No wonder every other country with universal health care also covers the cost of prescription medicine. No wonder, too, that 90 per cent of Canadians support the idea, according to a recent Angus Reid poll. So why has the Trudeau government been so conspicuously silent? As negotiations on a new intergovernmental health accord get underway, pharmacare should be a top priority. There is no doubt that the Canada of today is a friendlier, more open and inclusive place than was the Canada of six months ago. But sunny ways dont mean much to those caught up in a justice and security system that damages rather than rehabilitates and threatens our privacy. To working parents who can find neither the money nor the space to ensure proper care for their children. Or to ailing Canadians unable to afford needed medicines. The sunny ways are welcome, but the true tests of this government are yet to come. Read more about: SHARE: Canadas national portrait is being drawn and the resulting picture should be considerably clearer than it was five years ago. Thats when the previous Conservative government spurned expert advice and replaced the countrys mandatory long-form census with the less-reliable, voluntary National Household Survey. As predicted, the data it collected proved wanting. Now the long-form census is back, with Statistics Canada mailing survey information to more than 15 million households, starting on Monday. StatsCan says the response so far shows enthusiasm from Canadians. All Canadian residents are legally required to be documented on a census questionnaire. One in four households, selected on a random basis, must complete the long-form survey. The rest need only finish a simple, short version. Its vital that everyone comply. Its hard to overstate the importance of the nationwide census, carried out every five years. Data from this statistical snapshot is used to decide how billions of dollars of federal transfer money is shared by territories and provinces. Census information plays a huge role in where health care funding is directed and how its spent. At the local level, it helps urban planners decide where to build schools, run transit routes, and extend assistance to vulnerable populations. Businesses use census data for market research, to project employments trends, and to guide investment. In short, its essential to get it right. One of the most glaring missteps of the Harper government was undercutting the census by making the long-form portion of the survey voluntary. Ignoring frank warnings from a broad cross-section of society, it was bent on pandering to a segment of the Conservative base that considered the long-form survey overly invasive and sought the option of opting out. Results from the 2011 census proved the folly of this policy long-form compliance dropped precipitously. The mandatory 2006 survey registered a 93.5 per cent response rate. That fell to under 70 per cent when participation was made voluntary. Statistics Canada was forced to withhold results for more than 1,000 smaller communities because data on them was unreliable due to lack of information. Furthermore, disadvantaged people and minority groups are more likely to skip a voluntary long-form census than the well-off and better-educated. That skews survey results and channels public money away from those most in need of help. The Liberal government was right to re-introduce the mandatory, long-form survey in time for the 2016 census. Key decisions will be made in coming years based on the results. For their own sake, and for that of future generations, all Canadians should to stand up and be counted. SHARE: Reggie Aggarwal, seen here in a 2010 photo, owns 10.3 percent of Cvents shares. (Dayna Smith/For The Washington Post) In 1999, Reggie Aggarwal drained his savings to start Cvent. Now he stands to make $164.41 million following its sale. Cvent, the Tysons Corner technology upstart that sells services to manage events, announced two weeks ago it was being purchased by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners for $1.65 billion, or $36 per share, in a deal expected to be finalized later this year. [Cvent, once on the brink of bankruptcy, sells for $1.65 B] Aggarwal, who owns 4.31 million shares, or 10.3 percent, of the company, is slated to receive a payout nearly the size of Cvents annual revenue which last year was $187.7 million, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday. Aggarwals windfall is boosted by a stock grant he and other executives received April 6, the same day Vista made its original offer for Cvent, according to the SEC filing. That day, eight executives received a total of 223,890 shares of the companys common stock and 523,624 stock options as part of an executive incentive plan put into place three years ago. For Aggarwal, that translated to an extra $5.14 million in stock and options, according to analysis by the executive compensation research firm Equilar. Representatives for Cvent did not immediately respond to emails and phone calls seeking comment. [Companys executives got stocks worth millions just before major deal] Vista, based in Austin, had initially offered $34 per share for Cvent, but later raised its offer to $36 following a bidding war with two other companies, according to the latest company filing. Sanju K. Bansal who invested $2 million in Cvent early on and was the companys first angel investor is expected to receive $98.85 million from the sale. Bansal owns 2.75 million shares, or 6.5 percent of Cvent, and is also the lead independent director of its board. Other executives and directors expected to receive large payouts, according to the filing, include board member Jeffrey Lieberman ($66.14 million); co-founder Charles Ghoorah ($48.04 million); chief financial officer Cynthia Russo ($1.75 million) and board member Kevin T. Parker ($502,704). Aggarwals payout will include $155.21 million from stock, $3.88 million from stock options and $5.32 million from restricted stock units, the filing shows. Last year, Aggarwal received total compensation of $1.873 million including a salary of $413,104, stock awards worth $682,522 and option awards worth $658,374, according to the companys annual report. Cvent in 2015 reported a loss of $18.82 million, or 45 cents per share, which it attributed to the sale of its consumer ticketing mobile business. This year, the company says it expects annual revenue of roughly $234.4 million. Goldman Sachs helps big institutions and billionaires bet on the markets and large corporations raise money, but new regulations have made consumer banking an attractive market for Goldman and a potentially profitable one. (JUSTIN LANE/EFE) For 147 years, Goldman Sachs has been best known as a secretive, Wall Street dealmaker with the ear of the White House. It helps big institutions and billionaires bet on the markets and large corporations raise money. What it hasnt done until now is work closely with the average American. Now, the elite New York bank is jumping into the world of retail banking, launching GS Bank to offer high-yield online savings accounts for those with as little as $1. The investment bank is also serving up retirement savings accounts. It wont be long, too, before consumers can ask mighty Goldman Sachs, which requires clients to have at least $10 million for its wealth-management services, for a loan of a few thousand dollars to fix a roof or get rid of high-interest credit cards. The move is a stark example of the changes the financial world has undertaken since the 2008 financial crisis. New regulations have made consumer banking an attractive market for Goldman and a potentially profitable one. To be successful, Goldman will have to contend not only with a crowded field of big-name banks, community institutions and credit unions, but with new technology upstarts leveraging the power of mobile phones and the Internet. And it will likely have to shake the public perception that it helped cause the financial crisis and shirked distressed homeowners in the process. Goldman Sachs has repeatedly defended its conduct, insisting that it did not mislead investors. But Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders often mentions the firm when lamenting Wall Street greed, and Goldman has been hit with billions in fines and penalties for alleged misdeeds in the era leading up to the financial crisis. If there was ever a test of whether or not the stigma . . . of Wall Streets too-big-to-fail banks has faded, it would be Goldman Sachs, said Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, a financial markets public interest group. Since the crisis, Goldman has attempted to pull back the veil to be more transparent and show the public how what it does benefits the economy. It has started a Twitter account and even hosts biweekly podcasts. It has been making efforts to engage with the public more, Goldman officials have said. Its move into retail banking is in part a response to the 2010 financial reform legislation, known as Dodd-Frank, that is helping to shape a significant and largely unnoticed transformation of the U.S. banking sector. Competition has squeezed hundreds out of small and mid-tier banks out of the market, and the survivors have fortified their balance sheets, holding onto more cash and borrowing less. But regulators arent satisfied, and there is a growing call for the big banks to be broken apart, forcing financial industry executives to continue to adapt. For Goldman, the pressure is hitting as sluggish markets and new regulations have stung some of its most historically profitable areas, including trading. The bank reported a 57 percent drop in first-quarter profits and is still smaller, in terms of total assets, than it was before the financial crisis. Now, it has launched a broad effort to diversify into new markets. We look at that platform [retail banking] as a basis for building new businesses that will contribute to the growth of the firm, said Stephen Scherr, Goldman chief strategy officer. That effort has started with the Goldman Sachs savings account, which comes with few perks but offers competitive rates that industry experts say could attract customers. The account has a 1.05 percent yield, while a one-year certificate of deposit has a 1 percent return. Both are stingy by historical standards but are much higher than what most banks are offering. (A savings account at Bank of America and Wells Fargo, for example, earns about 0.01 percent, according to Bankrate.) But Goldmans status as a newbie to this part of the financial industry also shows. Checking accounts may be coming soon, but Goldman no has plans for a physical bank branch and currently lacks the millennial calling card: a mobile app. Still, Goldman says it has seen intense interest in the savings accounts, a business it bought from GE Capital Bank earlier this year. Its pretty heartening to us . . . the extent to which consumers are open to engaging with Goldman Sachs as an institution for their business, and it is our ambition to see to it that we keep and attract customers, Scherr said. We will be successful only to the extent that our product offering is competitive and their experience is a good one. Goldmans Main Street charm offensive will continue later this year when it plans to launch an online-lending project. The bank hasnt discussed how big the loans could be, but it expects to be able to offer competitive rates. The bank is also getting into the retirement business. In March, it purchased Honest Dollar, an Austin-based start-up that helps employees set up individual retirement accounts. With a mobile app, an employee can quickly set up an account, starting by taking a picture of their drivers license, Goldman says. These new businesses will require a cultural change, industry experts say. Goldman has a well-honed playbook when it comes to pleasing the uber-wealthy, but the everyday headaches of dealing with Main Street will be new. Investing the funds of someone with $10 million or $20 million is very different than someone with a small savings account, said David Becher, an associate professor of finance at the Drexel University LeBow College of Business. Goldmans entry into the consumer banking world dates back to a fateful decision in 2008. Then the bank and its rival, Morgan Stanley, were investment banks, exempt from many of the regulatory hurdles faced by traditional retail banks. But in the early days of the crisis, Goldman and Morgan Stanley found themselves in a funding crunch and in need of government help. To get it, they became bank holding companies. If you are a bank holding company and the government is going to be on the hook for you, they want to make sure you have enough cash to deal with any crisis that comes along, Becher said. Now, under stricter government oversight, Goldman and the rest of the banking sector must convince regulators that if faced with another cash crunch, they will have enough money set aside to operate without taxpayer help. In judging whether banks are living up to those standards, regulators even rate where banks are getting their funds and view money from retail banking savings and checking accounts most favorably. Those funds, up to $250,000, are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and customers are less likely to withdraw their money in a panic if there is a crisis. That makes them more sticky during tough times and has made this sector more attractive to Goldman Sachs, which has traditionally depended on short-term loans now discouraged by regulators. Capital is so precious, said Ken Leon, global research director at S&P Global Market Intelligence. Goldman Sachss balance sheet can no longer be leveraged like it was in 2008. Goldman Sachs could also deploy those retail banking assets the money consumers have set aside in savings accounts to help fund other parts of its business. Otherwise, Goldman could use consumers savings to make loans to companies or to use for the banks other traditional businesses, industry experts say. The money doesnt sit there. They are pooled savings, and they are going to be deploying that money, said Kelleher from Better Markets. That is the whole concept of banking. An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified David Becher. He is an associate professor of finance at the Drexel University LeBow College of Business. This story has been updated. Solas Nua, the little performing arts company specializing in all cultural matters Irish, enjoyed an engaging theater run in Washington from the mid-2000s until 2011, when it suddenly curtailed its drama programming and continued off in other directions. In that short window of stage time, its successes included marshaling the talents of 21 actors for 2007s Scenes from the Big Picture, a gritty, multidimensional portrait of life in Belfast, and one of the best offerings that decade by any small troupe in town. Now, Solas Nua which in Irish Gaelic means new light has a new artistic director, Rex Daugherty, a Washington actor who appeared on Solas Nuas stages. Hes restoring theater to the groups menu, and, if his first entry is any indication, theres hope for this group to re-plant its imaginative flag forcefully on the citys theater map. The initial production is, smartly, very modest and, of course, very Irish: Wild Sky, a concise and poetic historical play by Deirdre Kinahan, a Dublin-based playwright whose family drama Moment just ended a well-received run at Studio Theatre. With Wild Sky, conjuring the events of Irelands Easter Rebellion of 1916 through the intertwining stories of two young people, played with impressive fervor by Dylan Morrison Myers and Megan Graves, the hour-long piece will be most meaningful to European history buffs and those with a sentimental attachment to the countrys centuries-long struggle for independence. The first-person stories have their absorbing moments, as Myerss Tom Farrell and Gravess Josie Dunn relate to us their movements leading up to whats become known as the Rising, a violent protest against British rule that set in motion the events culminating in the declaration of a free Ireland five years later. But if Kinahans cascade of lyrical narrative veers at times toward wordiness, Daughertys cleverly manipulated production keeps us alert and on our toes. The director has chosen a most intriguing performance space for Wild Sky: the living room of a Washington home. Theater in private houses may have its limitations, but its proved to be a viable venue for other shows, such as the winning The Duchess of Malfi that director/actor Jordan Friend assembled in a house in Chevy Chase a few years ago. (In another variation on this concept, the Welders, a playwrights collective, are now performing Gwydion Suilebhans Transmission at the Atlas Performing Arts Center to audiences of 20 in easy chairs.) The home location of Wild Sky is changing as the run continues. Last weekend, it was a coolly renovated house behind a private courtyard on a side street near Dupont Circle. The atmosphere of a warm experience began the moment you walked through the gated entrance, where you were greeted by a basket of Irish bread and the option to take part in one of two brief pre-performance tutorials. One was in Irish step dancing and the other, a short course in the Irish language, during which I learned to say hello, which was transliterated by my actor-tutor as Gia Ditch. The production itself was only slightly less involving but just as inventive. Around the 30 or so strategically situated audience members, Myers and Graves took turns advancing the story, of Toms agnosticism about the fighting and his affection for Josie. Her feelings are the opposite: Shes a fierce partisan for Irish revolution and uninterested romantically in Tom. Daugherty and three actresses, Beth Aaman, Daven Ralston and Ashley Zielinski, form a lovely, multitasking chorus, performing Irish folk songs and providing accompaniment on violin and percussion. Myers and Graves are just right, intermingling their portrayals in a way that feels both intimate and of the period. (Robert Croghans costumes help, too.) Marianne Meadowss lighting design consists entirely of three fixtures on long poles supplemented occasionally by candlelight. At key moments, the glow and the shadows they create add a soupcon of theatricality. It leads one to muse optimistically about what else the revived Solas Nua will come up with, if it can season so resourcefully from a simple recipe. Wild Sky, Deirdre Kinahan, directed and choreographed by Rex Daugherty. Set, Paige Hathaway; lighting, Marianne Meadows; costumes, Robert Croghan; music direction, Michael Winch and Aaron Bliden. About 60 minutes. Tickets, $35. Visit solasnua.org or call 202-315-1317. Performances through May 15 take place at various private residences in Washington; check the companys website for locations. Anthony and Joe Russo's "Captain America: Civil War" is jam packed with Marvel super heroes and has The Posts David Betancourt and Michael Cavna wondering if it is the new standard for super hero movies. (Erin Patrick O'Connor/The Washington Post) Its almost not fair that Captain America: Civil War is opening barely a month after Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. The movies share so much, from their escapist origins to their melodramatic themes of male honor and revenge to ambivalence toward unchecked power, that comparisons arent just inevitable, but required. Civil War is by far the more dynamic, entertaining film and not surprisingly so, considering how well Disney has shepherded the Marvel Comics Universe to big-screen dominance. Crisply photographed, thoughtfully acted and often refreshingly amusing, Civil War injects doses of much-needed fun into a genre of filmmaking thats become mired in dour pretentiousness, when its not ridiculing its own excesses in such meta-snark exercises as Deadpool. [Why Captain America is Marvels most important franchise] For all its considerable strengths, though, Civil War deserves mention with Batman v. Superman in one other respect, which is to suggest that the comic book spectacle is in danger of collapsing under its own weight. Overcrowded and overlong, it often plays less like a breathlessly awaited chapter of a rousing serial than a series of concussive set pieces strung together by vignettes that are either deeply serious or disarmingly witty, as the occasion requires. Its sheer bigness ultimately begins to work against it as does the troubling tendency of the characters to talk just enough to express their feelings of bitterness and regret, but never enough to actually clear up a misunderstanding or solve an impending crisis. For that, only bare-knuckle mano-a-mano confrontation will do. And, to quote the movie itself, these characters will never stop. [Captain America: Civil War belongs on the Mount Rushmore of superhero cinema] Civil War opens in Nigeria with an anarchic, spectacularly explosive action sequence involving gunfire, car crashes, fistfights and an acrobatic chase through a Lagos marketplace. The bludgeoning continues throughout the film, which bristles with undifferentiated hostility and aggression, amped up by a fragmented filming and editing style that gives the action a jittery, hyper-caffeinated edge. Everybodys jacked up and angry jangry! in Captain America: Civil War. The world is jangry at the Avengers for their vigilantism and wanton destruction of cities and citizens in their pursuit of justice. Captain America (Chris Evans) is jangry because the U.S. government wants to subject the team to the oversight of the United Nations. Tony Stark played in a characteristically smooth turn by Robert Downey Jr. is jangry because of abandonment issues that have lingered since the tragic death of his parents (John Slattery and Hope Davis). And Im jangry because Disney hasnt seen fit to give Scarlett Johansson her own Black Widow movie yet. Its a setup worthy of Bruce Wayne himself. But thankfully, Civil War isnt nearly the moody slog that Bat-v-Supes turned out to be, thanks in large part to directors Joe and Anthony Russo. As in their previous outing, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the brothers display a fine sense of craft here, executing the story and set pieces alike with efficiency and finesse. If the pummeling, numbingly protracted fight sequences begin to take on a sense of diminishing returns especially after an impressively choreographed showdown at the Berlin airport the Russos at least try to balance them with genuine character development during the quieter moments. As Iron Man and Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr. very nearly steals the show in Captain America: Civil War. (Film Frame/Marvel) As Captain America and Steve Rogers, Chris Evans shows off his muscles and determination. (Zade Rosenthal/Marvel) Toward that end, the filmmakers focus mostly on the title character played by Evans in another appealingly sincere, straight-arrow performance and Iron Man/Stark, who almost steals Civil War from his brother-in-arms. Downey has been accused of mugging in the past, but here hes energetically on point as a master of the universe whos been brought down a peg since the last episode. Its Tony who features in the films best scenes, including a clever, CGI-enhanced flashback thats staged not just with technical skill, but mournfully authentic emotion. (As for the fantasies of inflated potency these allegories are meant to stoke and indulge, Evans provides the films most indelible image, when he flexes improbably buff biceps and literally single-handedly prevents a helicopter from taking off.) To single out the seemingly dozens of characters who show up in Civil War by name would possess the excitement of a fourth-grade roll call. Suffice it to say that, rather than psychic powers or super-strength, casting has always been the Marvel movies secret weapon. That holds true here, up to and including charismatic newcomers Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther and 19-year-old Tom Holland, the latter of whom, as Spider-Man, plays off Downey with the seeming self-effacement of an old pro. [Welcome to the Marvel universe, Spider-Man and Black Panther] Downey and Hollands first scene together is a delight, as is the deepening friendship between Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) and some comic relief by way of a miniaturized, franchise-hopping Paul Rudd, as Ant-Man. As for the rest of the Avengers, its inexplicably reassuring to see the band get back together albeit on opposing sides of the exceptionalism-accountability debate, and without a couple of key players, whose absence is duly noted. Captain America: Civil War fills the screen with superheroes: From left, Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Captain America (Chris Evans), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan). (Disney/Marvel/Associated Press) As enjoyable as it is, Civil War often teeters on the brink of sheer overkill. As viewers approach the films second hour, they could be forgiven for wondering just how much more carnage, chaos and character-establishing they can take. The Russos are at their best when theyre camouflaging their movies real intentions, which is to tee up the more than a dozen Avengers movies planned into 2020 (including those anchored by Boseman and Holland). Captain America: Civil War acquits that duty with taste, skill and welcome pizzazz even when it threatens to become way too much of a good thing. The Sovereign has about 400 beer options, including bottles and drafts. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) G iven the way the bartenders at the Sovereign describe Dany Prignon, the Belgian brewer sounds like a sorcerer hunched over a boil kettle, madly tossing in malted barley, hops, coriander, maybe even eye of newt to concoct his fantastical beers. Of course I had to order one: The 750-milliliter bottle of Fantome de Noel, with its vaguely creepy Saint-Nick-meets-Casper-the-Friendly-Ghost label, is designed for drinking around Christmas, as if it were Santas little helper to forget about the credit card bills due in January. From what a bartender told me, the seasonal beer may also make you forget why you love Belgian beers in the first place. The last time I had that, the barman said about a previous batch in a bar far away, it was completely black. And by black, I think he meant dark, nasty and undrinkable. Apparently Prignon isnt so crazy about recipes, which means his beers can vary more by season than the Washington Wizards. Theres nothing to fear, though, about the 2015 Fantome de Noel: This batch wont curl your Christmas stockings. Its a quaff that can be knocked back any time of year, a bottle-conditioned beauty that balances caramel sweetness with roasty black-pepper spice. I wassailed the thing down to its yeasty dregs. Should you be surprised that the Sovereign knows when to stock a Fantome beer and when to flee from one? Only if youve never met Greg Engert, the beer director for the Neighborhood Restaurant Group and the driving force behind this Georgetown bistro, which since its February opening has dedicated itself to Belgian food and fermented malt beverages. Engerts the gatekeeper of the beer list, and none shall pass unless it first meets the approval of the Districts elder statesman of suds, whos all of 36. Chef Peter Smith, left, created the menu to go with the beers that Greg Engert curated. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) The Sovereign is a product of the American craft-beer movement and a rejection of it. This is not the place for those seeking the latest tongue-dissolving IPAs (has anyone marketed a Hop Till You Drop yet?) or even the place to tipple the same Trappist ales and pink elephant-branded bottles available at every bar that adopts a Belgian persona. No, the Sovereign is the obsessive comic-book guy you avoid at parties: Its draft and bottle lists bring together the obscure and the cutting-edge of Belgian brewing, 400 brands to attract only the most passionate nerds. If this sounds intimidating, well, it is. But the best place to park your beer belly is either at the dark, densely packed downstairs bar or in the heavily wooden tavern upstairs, which looks like an Elks Lodge for the Uber generation. Behind these counters hover the Sovereign staff I dub the Disciples of Greg, the geeks who have flocked here to learn from Engert. Their passion is infectious, and as the Fantome anecdote shows, they know their way around Belgian beers, down to a brewers reputation. Some floor servers, by comparison, can feel like weekend beer-pong warriors. While seated at one of the bars, Ive sampled a Boon Geuze Mariage Parfait (with its pickle-brine tickle on the nose), a Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura (like a cross between a stout and cherry vinegar), Brasserie Caracole Nostradamus (a strong dark ale that smacks of toasted raisin bread), Timmermans Oude Kriek (a limited-edition lambic so acidic it bores through any food you pair with it), Brasserie Ellezelloise Hercule Stout (like espresso infused with figs and chocolate) and De Ranke Hop Harvest (a candied orange blond ale with a hop wallop that would impress an IPA lover). Located down an alley punctuated with rat traps and candle lanterns, the Sovereign makes sampling its 50 drafts easy with the option of four-ounce pours. I havent felt this challenged and often rewarded at a beer emporium since Neighborhood Restaurant Group and Engert opened Birch & Barley/ChurchKey in Logan Circle in 2009. The Dutch-style mussels at the Sovereign are sourced from a farm in Maine . (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) Peter Smith, the restless chef behind the late PS7s in Chinatown, is tasked with executing a menu to keep pace with the ambitious beer program. To distinguish the Sovereign, Smith buys Dutch-style mussels from Acadia Aqua Farms in Maine. The bivalves are decidedly meatier than their Prince Edward Island cousins, which can sometimes mean more surface area to ferry a lackluster broth, like a pesto-and-white-wine preparation that goes down like bitter basil water. The Belgian pot fares far better, though the light, crispy frites often outshine the shellfish. I stumbled upon a recurring pattern: dishes that dont measure up to menu billing. The choucroute garnie conceals its sausage and juniper-scented sauerkraut in a rolled pork belly, which then rests on a sizable pool of Belgian stoemp potatoes, a cheffy preparation that undermines all my expectations. The mushroom vol-au-vent promises a ragout of cultivated fungus in puff pastry but delivers a creamy mix of vegetables, including some mushrooms, cut with a brown beer onion jam. The flaky pastry fades deep into the background like a ghost. Smith uses beer to good effect. The coq au gueuze is an inspired coq au vin riff: The kitchen marinates chicken in gueuze, a lambic blend, and then braises it in more gueuze and a little Dutch spirit genever, instead of red wine. Paired with bacon and herbed spaetzle, the bird supplies its own acid for balance. Rabbit braised in kriek (another lambic) comes sprinkled with dried cherries, a brilliant co-conspirator with the lambic-and-stock sauce. The chicken for coq au gueuze is marinated in a lambic blend, then braised in gueuze. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) Some of the best eating can be found on opposite ends of the menu. The irresistible flammekueches start with a traditional German flatbread layered with creme fraiche, lardons and onions, and move through several variations, each basically a topped cracker on steroids. The cheese croquettes, their crisp exteriors revealing gooey centers of gruyere, benefit from a quick dip in spicy bicky sauce, that strange tangy condiment slathered on Belgiums ubiquitous fried burger. A small bowl of onion soup gratinee casts aside the standard beef or chicken broths for a liquid built from roasted duck carcasses and cabernet sauvignon. Your spoon wont rest till the soups gone. Naomi Gallego, NRGs executive pastry chef, handles the dessert menu, which naturally features a line of sweet Liege waffles, including one topped with Nutella and bananas. Its obviousness will not stop you from devouring it. But I preferred Gallegos chocolate torte, in which she incorporates Belgiums famous confection into layers of varying density and intensity, from flourless chocolate cake to a milk chocolate cremeux. My only issue was trying to find the perfect beer to pair with it. For dessert, strawberries and cream on a waffle. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post) For stories, features such as Date Lab, Gene Weingarten and more, visit WP Magazine. Follow the Magazine on Twitter. Like us on Facebook. Email us at wpmagazine@washpost.com. Mom, heres to you. Thats the message of this weeks special offering from Food: eight remembrances of our moms and the foods they cooked for us and others. Becky Krystal , Bonnie S. Benwick , Tim Carman , Adrian Miller , Kara Elder , Emily Codik , Joe Yonan and yours truly share our stories and recipes for this Mothers Day. [More Chat Leftovers: smoking tofu on the grill; cooking with bitters] Got a memory of your own youd like to share? Todays Free Range chat is just the place to do that. As usual, it starts at noon, and as usual, feel free to bring us all your culinary questions and concerns. At the end of the hour, Ill scoop up the leftover questions so I can answer one of them in this space next week. Like Im doing with this question from last weeks chat: Do you know if any of the local culinary instututes (Lincoln Institute in Columbia; LAcademie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, e.g.) are open to the public to try out meals produced by students? I thought that would be a fun thing to try. How close are you to Rosslyn? Im hoping others will pitch in here if they know of any others, but it looks like your best bet is Culinaire, a restaurant run by students in the Art Institute of Washingtons culinary program thats open a few days a week, a few hours at a time. As to the two schools you mentioned, the Lincoln Institute doesnt offer any opportunities like the one youre looking for. However, theres a possibility of snagging student food at LAcademie de Cuisine. Campus Director Ann Connors says the school occasionally holds restaurant challenges in which students cook three-course meals for 80 to 100 people over the course of three hours. Its an exercise for the students, who invite relatives and friends, she said. If space permits, members of the general public could come: They would just have to give us a call, and we can put them on our list. The number is 301-670-8670. The meals are free. They arent free at Culinaire, but Im looking at three menus lunch, dessert and carryout that seem reasonably priced. (Texas smoked beef brisket, corn bread stuffing, frijoles a la charra, greens; $10.) The restaurant is inside the Art Institute of Washington, which is in Arlingtons Rosslyn neighborhood, and is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Director of Admissions Linda Moore says its sometimes also open for dinner, based on the schedule of classes in any given quarter. Menus change every quarter. To make a reservation, and for more information, call 703-247-3841. Nina Dunham kept her two Somali cats (one pictured) in mind during the redesign of her one-bedroom co-op in Southwest Washingtons River Park. (Deborah Jaffe/Deborah Jaffe for The Washington Post) Nina Dunham wanted her redecorated one-bedroom co-op to be totally cat-friendly. That was a challenge, especially considering that her designer, Rachel Dougan, was installing high-end furnishings from Fortuny and Fornasetti. But fortunately, Elli, 19, and Diablo, 14, Dunhams fluffy Somali cats, seem to live comfortably in the glamorous new digs, Dunham says. Here are some suggestions from Dougan on how to stylishly accommodate four-legged clients: [This owner disregarded resale and made her glam apartment a gift to herself] 1. Install a wood laminate floor. Dougan used gray laminate in Dunhams apartment, because its pet-friendly and easy to wipe clean after any spill. It also wont buckle. 2. Choose rugs strategically. In the bedroom, they used a dense-weave, high-pile wool wall-to-wall carpet. The nubby brown-and-black pattern matches the color of Dunhams cats, making hair less noticeable. The living area and kitchen have rugs made of cowhide, which Dougan says is resilient and easily cleaned. 1 of 25 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad A mid-century co-op gets a bold makeover View Photos Nina Dunham takes her one-bedroom apartment to new heights by hiring Rachel Dougan of ViVi Interiors to make her design dreams come true. Caption Nina Dunham takes her one-bedroom apartment to new heights by hiring Rachel Dougan of ViVi Interiors to make her design dreams come true. Nina Dunham wanted her one-bedroom co-op in River Park, a 1963 Charles M. Goodman complex in Southwest Washington, to reflect her personality. Her bedroom has a serene feeling with an upholstered turquoise headboard echoing the blue of the ceiling. Deborah Jaffe/Deborah Jaffe for The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. 3. Order a slipcover in the same color as your upholstery for daily use. The sectional, bought at Random Harvest, was upholstered in a luxurious olive velvet, Pierre Freys Opera-Velours. They found the same color in an indoor-outdoor fabric, and they first washed and dried samples of the fabric several times to see how durable it was. [Photos: Decorating small spaces] 4. Build a litter box niche in the bathroom. While designing a custom storage unit in the bathroom, Dougan carved out a space at the bottom for the litter box. The cats are comfortable, and the box is well hidden from guests. 5. Invest in stylish seat protectors. Dougan recommends getting some inexpensive faux or real mini sheepskin rugs to keep atop dining or occasional chairs. This type of rug is often available at Ikea. Keep them on your good chairs when you are home. Your cats will either be repelled by them or love curling up on them, but either way your seat upholstery will be saved and you can whip off the rugs before guests arrive. A cup of coffee at Le Peloton in Paris. Paul Barron, a New Zealander, and his American business partner opened the shop in 2015. (Lindsay Cox /Le Peloton) People would walk in and be, like, What are you? David Flynn recalls of the early days after he opened a coffee shop called Telescope in Paris. Vous etes quoi exactement? Four years ago, customers were confused not just by the spare decor, nothing like a traditional Parisian cafe, but by the concept: a place focused on the coffee, really good coffee, with just a few pastry options on the side. In fact, the phrase coffee shop has yet to get a French translation; the coffee shops characteristically high standards for beans, water and the processes for combining the two come so clearly from the English-speaking world. The fact is, although Paris is famous for its street-side cafes and artisanal food culture, the city generally serves up an unappetizing cup of coffee. So many of our customers over the years [asked], Where can we go for coffee? says Paul Barron, a New Zealander who runs a bike tour company here. And we had a hard time telling them where to go. But a movement was afoot. Flynn and Barron are part of a growing artisanal coffee culture in France, inspired abroad but newly infused with a French flavor and direction. Flynn, an American expat, opened Telescope in 2012. In 2015, Barron and his American business partner started their own coffee shop, Le Peloton. Some two dozen others have opened within the past five years, many, but not all, in the trendy northeast part of the capital. Americans would call this area hipster. The French call it bobo, short for bourgeois and bohemian. Many are in the same neighborhoods targeted in the terrorist cafe shootings in November. Owners Paul Barron and Christian Osburn in front of Le Peloton. They are part of a growing artisanal coffee culture in Paris. (Le Peloton Cafe) French coffee is typically bitter, says Hippolyte Courty, who runs an importer and roastery, LArbre a Cafe, supplyng both his own boutique and a handful of coffee shops and restaurants around the city. A historian and Frenchman whose previous passion was wine, Courty has studied and written about French coffee culture. He says the French, who have been drinking coffee since the 1700s, developed a taste for the bitter flavor of chicory in the early 19th century and later for the harsh-tasting robusta variety of coffee bean imported from the countrys West African colonies. By the late 20th century, most cafes in the country had contracts with a few large distributors who provided not only the affordable, bitter, lower-quality beans, but also the expensive machines that made espresso, which would otherwise require a significant investment for cafe owners. Consequently, Courty said, The quality of the coffee kept falling, and the French, who didnt pay much attention to coffee, unfortunately, paid even less. So, as a coffee scene has finally emerged in France, its not surprising that a lot of the people involved had roots elsewhere. You had a specialty coffee culture that had grown significantly in the States and in Australia, said Anna Brones, an Oregon transplant who with photographer Jeff Hargrove has published a book called Paris Coffee Revolution. As a result, a lot of the people that opened up places [in Paris] had either traveled, lived and/or worked in either one of those places. An exception is the pioneering Cafeotheque, which recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary in a cozy spot facing the Seine: It was founded by a former Guatemalan ambassador. But at most other establishments, youre likely to hear English spoken behind the counter, in some combination of British, American or Australian accents. Many of the new generation of artisanal coffee shops share a certain white-walled, wood-and-steel aesthetic some in this city call Nordic and others, more derogatively, Brooklyn. A striking number carry copies of the trendy slow-lifestylemagazine Kinfolk. David Flynn opened a micro-roastery, Belleville Brulerie. Flynn says drip or filtered coffee may be the side door to transforming French tastes. (Albin Durand/For The Washington Post) However, while they may offer expats a familiar setting in which to spend quality time with a laptop or book, they have had to adapt their business models. French coffee shops must pay higher wages than in the United States or Australia and do just a fraction of their business in high-volume takeout a term most still dont bother to translate from English since the French wont take their coffee to go. The economic realities can result in things such as the six-euro cup of filtered coffee thats almost $7 but most places have instead balanced their budgets by offering more food. You can get an unusually hearty breakfast (for Paris) at Holybelly, the coffee shop in the trendy Canal Saint-Martin neighborhood that Frenchman Nico Alary founded after training as a barista in Melbourne. Its also one of the only spots in town that youll find coffee served in a mug. Next, though, Alary has visions of taking over a classic French cafe the kind of place where the French will stand at the bar for a morning espresso and sit for hours in the evenings, preferably on sidewalk patios, talking and watching the street life pass by. The only thing really wrong with our cafe culture is our coffee, Alary says. We all love to hang out in a real Parisian cafe early in the morning and see whats going on and people-watch. It would be a dream, he said, to get Holybelly-level coffee in a traditional cafe. Belleville Brulerie staked out a specialty in varieties suited for drip or filtered coffee, as opposed to espresso. (Albin Durand/For The Washington Post) My objective is really to democratize specialty coffee, declared Aleaume Paturle, whose Paris roastery, Lomi, has grown over the past six years from a closet-size workspace to a sunlit cafe with the machinery in the back. For me, specialty coffee becomes really interesting once it reaches a greater number of people, he said. This is part philosophical but part practical. If specialty roasters can reach a certain volume, Paturle believes, they can begin asking coffee producers to tailor their growing processes specifically to French tastes. In addition to chic coffee shops, Lomi now supplies a small but growing number of traditional cafes. So does Flynn. He left Telescope, his first venture, to open a micro-roastery, Belleville Brulerie, with a French business partner in the fall of 2013. Theyve staked out a specialty in varieties suited for drip or filtered coffee as opposed to espresso which Flynn says may be the side door to transforming French tastes. There is a French phrase for a bad cup of drip coffee: jus de chausette, or sock juice. However, while people here may have certain expectations for the bitterness of their espresso, or for the passable cup of drip coffee they make at home in the morning, he says a professionally prepared cup of filtered coffee remains relatively undefined. Unlike his first venture, Flynn says the roastery needed no translation for the older residents of Belleville, this gentrifying neighborhood of northeastern Paris. They remember a time when Paris had dozens of such small establishments. We have 80-year-old ladies of the neighborhood who come by, and its funny because this space, they totally know what it is, Flynn said. They get it. Jacobs is an independent journalist and audio producer based in Paris. More from Travel: In Italy, a spiritual search for the essence of espresso Getting the buzz on Melbourne: A coffee lovers guide How to find a great cup of coffee in Charleston, S.C. or wherever you go A group of Illinois students and parents sued the Obama administration Wednesday over its stance on transgender students access to school bathrooms and locker rooms, arguing that the U.S. Education Department is illegally forcing local authorities to let children use facilities that correspond to their gender identity. The complaint alleges that the federal government has violated students fundamental right to privacy and parents constitutional right to instill moral standards and values in their children. The lawsuit represents the first legal challenge to the Obama administrations interpretation of Title IX, a federal anti-discrimination law, as providing transgender students with the right to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity instead of their biological sex. [Feds say district broke law by banning transgender student from girls locker room] The plaintiffs include female students who go to a high school that, under pressure from the Education Department, allowed a transgender girl to change in a girls locker room, according to the lawsuit, which concerns Palatine Township High School District 211. The complaint says that the plaintiffs are afraid of seeing a male in a state of undress and are afraid of being seen by, and being forced to share intimate spaces with, a male while they are in various states of undress. Every day these girls go to school, they experience embarrassment, humiliation, anxiety, fear, apprehension, stress, degradation and loss of dignity because they will have to use the locker room and restroom with a biological male, the complaint says. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois with the support of two nonprofit legal advocacy groups, the Thomas More Society and the Alliance Defending Freedom. The Obama administrations push for transgender students access to the bathrooms of their choice has been cheered by LGBT activists, but it has also sparked a backlash from other advocates, parents and lawmakers who call it a federal overreach and an assault on traditional values and student privacy. [Transgender students bathroom access is new front in battle over LGBT rights] At least 14 states considered bills this year to limit transgender students access to school bathrooms, according to the Human Rights Campaign. A North Carolina law passed this year, which prohibits local authorities from extending civil-rights protections to gay and transgender people, has drawn fierce criticism from businesses and LGBT activists. Meanwhile, transgender students have taken to the courts to fight for bathroom access. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit recently sided with Virginia teenager Gavin Grimm, who sued after he was denied access to the boys bathroom at his school; the appeals court ruled that Grimms case must be allowed to go forward. [Were human beings. Transgender teen gratified by courts ruling in bathroom case] The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit are 51 families from Palatine, Ill., where the U.S. Education Department last year found schools in violation of Title IX because of their policies on locker room access. The Palatine school system, as well as the federal departments of education and justice, are named as defendants. Palatine officials facing the loss of $6 million in federal funding ultimately decided to allow a transgender student to change in the girls locker room instead of sending her down the hall to a separate facility. The dispute led to emotionally charged public meetings that drew crowds of parents who opposed the federal governments position and wanted to see their school board stand its ground. These were among incidents reported by the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office and the Leesburg, Middleburg and Purcellville police departments. For information, contact your police or sheriffs department. ALDIE AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Piebald Sq., 42000 block, 5 p.m. April 19. Someone trying to reserve a vacation home online was told a down payment and other fees were required. The would-be renter later determined it was a scam. ASHBURN AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Lightsey Ridge Terr., 44300 block, 12:40 p.m. April 21 to 12:40 p.m. April 26. Food and coins were stolen from a residence. London Way, 43600 block, 6:15 p.m. April 17 to 6:15 p.m. April 20. An electric car charger was stolen from a residential garage. Ordinary Pl., 20200 block, 10 p.m. April 21 to 5:30 a.m. April 22. A cellphone and a bag of coins were stolen from a vehicle entered by damaging a window. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Crossroads Dr. and Blacksmith Sq., 7 p.m. April 17 to 9 a.m. April 18. A white 2000 Mazda B2000 work truck was stolen. VANDALISM Stone Hollow Dr., 22000 block, April 20. A vehicle window was damaged. CHANTILLY AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Etna Terr., 44000 block, 4:03 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. April 20. A wallet was stolen from a vehicle. HAMILTON AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Harmoney Church Rd., 18500 block, 8 a.m. April 19 to 4 p.m. April 20. Mailbox Items were stolen. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Maryland Ave., 100 block, 4 p.m. April 24. A Honda CRF 450X dirt bike was stolen from an unlocked garage. LEESBURG AREA ASSAULTS Battlefield Pkwy., 800 block, 8:24 a.m. April 20. An assault was reported. Foxridge Dr., 300 block, 9:54 p.m. April 20. A domestic assault was reported. Gateway D., 600 block, 4:19 p.m. April 18. A domestic assault was reported. King St. N., 800 block, 8:48 a.m. April 20. An assault was reported. King St. N., 800 block, 12:14 p.m. April 21. An assault was reported. Market St. E., 500 block, 7:51 p.m. April 20. A domestic assault was reported. Market St. E., 1500 block, 10:30 p.m. April 21. A domestic assault was reported. Marlow St., 100 block, 8:36 p.m. April 19. An assault was reported. Marlow St., 100 block, 9:07 p.m. April 19. An assault was reported. Millbrook Terr., 300 block, 11:31 p.m. April 18. A domestic assault was reported. Plaza St., unit block, 10:17 p.m. April 20. A domestic assault was reported. Roanoke Dr., 300 block, 10:34 p.m. April 21. A domestic assault was reported. Valley View Ave., 200 block, 4:34 p.m. April 18. A domestic assault was reported. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Adams Dr., 100 block, 4:48 p.m. April 20. A theft was reported. Andromeda Terr., 400 block, 6:31 p.m. April 19. A theft was reported. Cardinal Park Dr., unit block, 11:44 a.m. April 19. Shoplifting was reported. Catoctin Cir., 100 block, 12:17 p.m. April 20. Fraud was reported. Edwards Ferry Rd., 1200 block, 7:11 p.m. April 19. Shoplifting was reported. Edwards Ferry Rd., 900 block, 3:23 p.m. April 21. Shoplifting was reported. Edwards Ferry Rd., 1200 block, 5:10 p.m. April 21. Shoplifting was reported. Fort Evans Rd., 500 block, 2:14 p.m. April 19. Fraud was reported. King St. N., 800 block, 9 a.m. April 21. A theft was reported. Market St. E., 700 block, 12:54 p.m. April 21. Embezzlement was reported. Mount Holly Pl., 700 block, 2:33 p.m. April 19. Fraud was reported. Shenandoah St., 300 block, 8:59 a.m. April 20. A theft was reported. Silverwood Terr., 18800 block, 7:30 p.m. April 18. A theft was reported. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS Fairview St., 200 block, 3:37 p.m. April 20. A vehicle was stolen. MIDDLEBURG AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Snickersville Tpk., 39700 block, 9 a.m. April 18 to 1:30 p.m. April 21. Items were stolen from a residence entered by damaging a window. SOUTH RIDING AREATHEFTS/BREAK-INS Tanner Lane, 25000 block, April 22. Electronic toll transponders were stolen from several work vehicles. STERLING AREA ROBBERIES Sugarland Run Rd. and Sugarland Sq. Ct., 12:57 p.m. April 20. A driver of a vehicle cut off a male on a skateboard, causing him to fall. Several males got out of the vehicle, and one of them assaulted the skateboarder and robbed him of cash. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Community Plaza, 46900 block, 5 p.m. April 21. A laptop computer was stolen from a vehicle. Ferguson Ct., unit block, 2:08 to 7:30 p.m. April 19. A delivered package was stolen from a residence. The opened package was found discarded in the area. Nothing was reported missing. Oakgrove Rd., 22900 block, 10 p.m. April 24 to 11 a.m. April 26. A laptop computer was stolen from a vehicle entered by damaging a window. York Rd. N., 600 block, 10:45 p.m. April 20 to 8 a.m. April 21. A tablet computer, a wallet and a backpack were stolen from an unlocked vehicle. Md. Gov. Larry Hogan poses with a guitar that was given to him and signed by country music star Tim McGraw. It was used during a benefit concert for the University of Maryland Childrens Hospital at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore in October 2015. (Courtesy of office of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan) Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has received more than $7,000 worth of gifts since he took office in January 2015, mostly modest trinkets and items from well-wishers after the governor made his cancer diagnosis public. The gifts range from a $1 Livestrong bracelet to a $500 membership at Baltimores posh members-only Center Club, according to a filing with the State Ethics Commission. Hogan even reported two rosaries blessed at the Vatican, given to him and his wife by Pope Francis in Washington. The disclosure shows the outpouring of support for the governor after he announced in June that he had late Stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. In addition to receiving thousands of letters, the governor reported receiving prayer shawls, a miracle tie, a handmade chemotherapy hat and at least a dozen books about dealing with cancer (some hawking questionable cures). Hogans cancer is in remission, and doctors are monitoring his condition. [Hogan on cancer advocacy: Id never thought Id be in this position] Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is blessed by Pope Francis during the pontiffs 2015 visit to Washington. (Photo by Mary Natelli McCann) Hogan reported taking few particularly pricey or lavish gifts of the type that can pose trouble for elected officials. Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen, were convicted in 2014 of using the prestige of his office to receive $177,000 in loans, vacations and luxury goods from a businessman, a case now under review by the U.S. Supreme Court. McDonnell did not report receiving a $6,500 Rolex watch on his financial disclosures. Maryland ethics law generally prohibits officials from asking for gifts, or taking them from lobbyists or people doing business with their agency. But there are myriad exceptions. Doug Mayer, a spokesman for Hogan, says gifts to the governor are accepted on behalf of the state of Maryland, and those that present a possible conflict of interest are declined or returned. For example, a pair of shoes and a sweatshirt valued at $300 from Under Armour chief executive Kevin Plank were returned in December. [As governor elect, Hogan navigates gifts minefield] No other statewide elected official in Maryland reported receiving gifts, nor did Democratic legislative leaders. But the law requires reporting only gifts worth more than $20 from people who could present conflicts of interest. Hogan chose to disclose more than the law requires. Some of the most valuable items: Two tickets to the National Symphony Orchestra, from the Chinese ambassador to the United States; an autographed guitar from Tim McGraw, donated by the University of Maryland after a benefit concert; and a mounted and framed copy of the front page of the Baltimore Sun after Hogans upset victory in 2014, from developer Leonard Attman. Gifts from other political figures: Hogan keeps a digital clock counting down to the end of his first term on his desk, a present from former Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who kept a similar clock as governor of Florida. He also received books from Karl Rove, a political strategist for President George W. Bush, and from economist Arthur Laffer, who was a tax adviser to President Ronald Reagan. Presents from overseas: During Hogans 12-day trade trip to Asia last year, officials with governments, universities and businesses including Hyundai, Samsung and LG Electronics bestowed items such as tea cups and a Chinese gong. Team spirit: Hogan received gear from the leaders of the Washington Redskins, Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens. Protesters from Westbard neighborhood of Bethesda rally in April in a parking lot at Westwood shopping center to protest planned construction of up to 1,200 new townhouses and apartments. (Bill Turque/The Washington Post) The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to bring as many as 1,200 new townhouses and high-rise apartments to Bethesdas Westbard neighborhood, ending months of bitter debate over a plan that some residents contend will alter the suburban character of the community a mile north of the District line. The housing including as many as 275 income-restricted or affordable apartments and homes is part of the Westbard Sector Plan, a 30-year blueprint for growth in the southwest county area bounded by Massachusetts Avenue, Little Falls Parkway, Dorset Avenue and the Springfield neighborhood. It also includes a renovation of the Westwood Shopping Center on Westbard Avenue. A private developer, Equity One, bought the center and surrounding properties totaling 22 acres in early 2014. Most Westbard residents supported upgrades to the 1960s-era strip center. But many balked at the countys vision of a town center, where housing and retail would be combined at greater density than the area had ever seen. Critics charged that the plan imposed a new urbanist approach deeply at odds with the communitys existing makeup. [In Westbard, anger and resentment over a less suburban future] The council downsized the project by about half from the original version approved by the Montgomery Planning Board. The revisions drew support from established neighborhood leaders but kindled outspoken opposition from residents who organized into a group called Save Westbard. Council members said the project addressed several goals that made its passage imperative. These include more housing opportunities for moderate-income families as well as teachers, police and other government workers. It is also consistent with the countys push toward new construction that is less car-dependent and more compact. The shopping center dominated by a massive asphalt parking lot was regarded as a prime area for such an approach. We now know with scientific certainty what the combustion engine is doing to our planet, said Council member Hans Riemer (D-At Large). Building homes on what is already a giant parking lot just a mile from two Metros and from the D.C. line is far better for our environment than developing a farm, or bulldozing a farm an hour north on 270. The shopping center is actually 2.2 miles from the Friendship Heights Metro station and 3.3 miles from the Bethesda stop. Save Westbard presented survey data suggesting widespread opposition within the community. They said that approval of the project reflected a land-use policy process dominated by developers. The Westbard experience has united and mobilized communities across Montgomery County with the common view that the overall Montgomery County planning process is broken, opponents said to county officials in an e-mail Tuesday. It was signed by members of Save Westbard and activists from Rosemary Hills, Lyttonsville, Damascus and Luxmanor communities that anticipate some of the changes faced by Westbard. The activists said they would use every legal and political means at their disposal to reform the planning process, to put an end to unwanted overdevelopment, and to create a process that involves maximum citizen participation . Council member Roger Berliner (D-Bethesda), who represents Westbard and led the effort to downsize the original Equity One project, said he understood the reaction. Planning for the future is a hard job, particularly in places where the present is, for the most part, quite nice for the surrounding neighborhoods. But Berliner added that planning in the county is not done by plebiscite, and that the council relies on the best judgments of professional planners. And then we make the judgments we were elected to make. And every four years, our residents get to pass their own judgment, he said. Marylands air quality has improved drastically in recent years and is on track to meet strict new federal standards, according to a report this week from the states Department of the Environment. State officials say pollution controls such as vehicle emissions requirements and billions of dollars worth of investments by utilities in new power-plant technology have helped Maryland reduce air pollution to its lowest level in at least three decades. The strong partnerships and steady investments for clean air are paying off and positioning us to meet air-quality standards across the state for the first time ever, said Maryland Environment Secretary Ben Grumbles. Measurements during the past year show that Maryland met the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys 2012 standard for fine-particle air pollutants, such as the soot that smokestacks generate. The federal guideline, which Maryland has achieved statewide, calls for no more than 12 micrograms per cubic meter Maryland has also met the EPAs 2008 ground-level ozone standards in nearly every region of the state, including in the Baltimore metropolitan area, which traditionally has some of the states highest emissions levels. Environmental experts say ozone in Earths lower atmosphere can be harmful to the respiratory system and potentially diminish lung function, while ozone in the upper atmosphere is beneficial, helping filter out damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun. The EPAs 2008 ozone standards call for no more than 75 parts per billion at ground level, but states are preparing for a new EPA rule that drops the level to 70 parts per billion. Maryland expects to meet that target sometime between 2020 and 2025, according to the Department of the Environment. Three of Marylands 15 measuring stations slightly exceeded the 2008 standard in the past year, including locations in Harford and Cecil counties, where cool temperatures from the Chesapeake Bay can trap ozone in the area and where pollution tends to waft in from states to the north. The other outlier was is central Baltimore County. Grumbles warned that Maryland and other East Coast states need to take additional steps to meet the new federal ozone standards. This clear progress will be a short celebration if we do not continue to make improvements, he said. More needs to be done, within the state and beyond in upwind states, to consistently improve and maintain Marylands air quality. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and the majority-Democratic General Assembly have taken steps to ensure continued progress, namely by approving legislation this year that requires the state to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 40 percent below 2006 levels by 2030. That law, which is expected to help lower ozone and fine-particle levels, builds on a previous measure that mandated a 25 percent reduction by 2020. THE DISTRICT Police identify man fatally shot in NW A 21-year-old man who was shot and killed Tuesday afternoon in Northwest Washington was identified by police as Josiah Jones of Northwest. The incident happened just before 4 p.m. in the 4500 block of Illinois Avenue NW. When officers arrived, they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said. Dana Hegdpeth MARYLAND Man, 39, dies after being struck by train A 39-year-old man died Wednesday afternoon after he was struck by an Amtrak train near Rockville, police and transit officials said. Authorities did not immediately identify the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene of the 4:25 p.m. collision. A northbound Amtrak train traveling to Chicago hit the man near the 5700 block of Bou Avenue in Rockville, said Montgomery County police and Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham. Graham said the train involved in the fatal crash left Washington at 4:05 p.m. It was held for more than three hours while police investigated the crash. Police said the man was in the area of the tracks when, for reasons that are being investigated, he was struck by the train. MARC and Amtrak resumed normal train service shortly after 7:30 p.m. Morgan State named a national treasure Morgan State University, one of the nations oldest institutions founded to provide a college education to black students, was named a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The group will work with the university to protect its cultural legacy and its architecture, the National Trust announced Tuesday. Morgan State, the largest historically black university in Maryland, was founded in 1867, and its Baltimore-area campus includes 20 buildings eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Many were designed by black architects, and styles range from classical to brutalist. Susan Svrluga VIRGINIA Preschool staffers are charged with assault A teacher and an assistant at a Fairfax County preschool are facing misdemeanor charges for allegedly assaulting a 4-year-old student in April. The mother of the girl reported finding bruises on her daughter April 21 that she thought were sustained at James L. & Juliette McNeil Preschool Academy in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County, police said. After an investigation, the girls teacher, Lisa Campbell, 38, of Woodbridge and an assistant, Cherie Evette Diggs, 40, of Alexandria were charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. They turned themselves in to Fairfax County police this week. Police said Campbell and Diggs have been terminated from their jobs. The school declined to comment on the charges. Justin Jouvenal Man is sentenced in bombing plot A Virginia man has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for plotting to shoot up or bomb synagogues and black churches. Robert C. Doyle, who prosecutors say is a white supremacist, was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Richmond. He pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy and firearms charges. Associated Press Thursday, May 5 Woodbridge Toastmasters Club An open house meeting. Learn effective communication and leadership skills. 7:30 p.m. Ebenezer Baptist Church, 13020 Telegraph Rd., Woodbridge. 703-898-7171. woodbridge.toastmastersclubs.org. $68 membership fee. The Music Man Castaways Repertory Theatre stages the musical about a band leader who attempts to con an Iowa town. Thursday-Friday at 8 p.m. through May 22, Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Dr., Woodbridge. 703-232-1710. castawaystheatre.org. $18; seniors, military, prince william county employees and students $13; 12 and younger $9. Friday, May 6 American Legion dinner The public is invited to dinner with a different special every week. Proceeds support local veterans and the community. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Woodbridge American Legion, 3640 Friendly Post Lane, Woodbridge. 703-494-4304. vapost364.org. $5-$15. Forgotten Farms An artist reception for Andrew Morgans photography exhibit. 6-9 p.m. Through June 16. Center for the Arts, 9419 Battle St., Manassas. 703-330-2787. center-for-the-arts.org. Free. Shakespeare Opera Theatre The Merry Wives of Windsor Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and Verdis opera Falstaff Saturday at 8 p.m. Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater, 10960 George Mason Cir., Manassas. 703-993-7759. hyltoncenter.org. Single Show: $45, students $30. Double show $75, students $45. Saturday, May 7 Paws in the Park Working dog demonstrations, information booths, local rescues, a dog show and off-leash dog park. 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Prince William Forest Park, 18100 Park Headquarters Rd., Triangle. 703-221-7181. $7 per vehicle. Spring community yard sale 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Manassas Park Parks and Recreation Community Center, 99 Adams St., Manassas Park. 703-335-8872. manassasparkcommunitycenter.com. Free, vendor space $7, registration required. Community paper shred County residents may bring up to four boxes of paper for secure shredding. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Balls Ford Yard Waste Compost Facility, 13000 Balls Ford Rd.. and Prince William County Landfill, 14811 Dumfries Rd., Manassas. Free. Yoga on the Lawn Vinyasa yoga taught by certified yoga instructor Christopher Glowacki. 9 a.m. Rippon Lodge Historic Site, 15520 Blackburn Rd., Woodbridge. 703-499-9812. pwcgov.org/ripponlodge. $5. Manassas Air Show Events include helicopter and aerobatic demonstrations, fighter planes and vendors. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Manassas Regional Airport, 10400 Terminal Rd., Manassas. 703-368-9599. manassasairshow.com. Free. Brentsville Court and Trades Day The event includes an 1800s mock trial, historic tradesmen and modern flea market crafts and jewelry. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Brentsville Courthouse Historic Centre, 12229 Bristow Rd., Bristow. 703-365-7895. $5; 5 and younger free. Mustangs at Manassas The M6A Eastern Regional Car Show will be held in Manassas for the first time. The museum lawn is limited to 100 six-cylinder Mustangs. Noon-3 p.m. Manassas Museum, 9101 Prince William St., Manassas. 703-368-1873. mustang6association.org. Spectators free, Mustang registration $45. Art on the Block More than 60 local artists exhibit their work at six Occoquan galleries, including Art A La Carte, Artists Undertaking Gallery and the Loft Gallery. Each gallery hosts a reception and artists answer questions. 1-5 p.m. Historic Occoquan. 703-490-1056. loftgallery.org. Free. Feathers An exhibit of paintings and drawings by Deanna Boling. Artists reception 1-4 p.m. Through June 5, Loft Gallery, 313 Mill St., Occoquan. 703-490-1117. loftgallery.org. Free. Mary Poppins A nanny takes up residence with the Banks family in 1910 England and takes the children on magical, musical adventures. Performed by Pied Piper Theater. Saturday 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday 3 p.m. Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater, 10960 George Mason Cir., Manassas. 703-993-7759. hyltoncenter.org. $20; 11 and younger $15. Gaither Vocal Band Grammy-winning Bill Gaither leads a concert of gospel music. 6 p.m. Hylton Memorial Chapel, 14640 Potomac Mills Rd., Woodbridge. 703-590-0076. gaither.com. $20-$35. Woodbridge Community Choir Directed by Lee Irwin Culbreth, the choral group performs Pop Tunes Time Machine featuring popular songs from the 1950s to today. Saturday 8 p.m. Sunday 3 p.m. Dr. A.J. Ferlazzo Building, 15941 Donald Curtis Dr., Woodbridge. woodbridgecommunitychoir.org. Free. Sunday, May 8 Art Journaling Hosted by Yellow Brick Road Studio, no art or writing experience necessary. 2-4 p.m. Vint Hill Craft Winery, 7150 Lineweaver Rd., Vint Hill. kerryc627@yahoo.com. 540-351-0000. vinthillcraftwinery.com. $25, journal $7. Bingo Proceeds support local veterans. Doors open at noon on Sunday with games beginning at 2 p.m. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. Mondays with games beginning at 7:15 p.m. Woodbridge American Legion, 3640 Friendly Post Lane, Woodbridge. 703-494-4304. $15 minimum. Youth Orchestras of Prince William Spring Breezes is the final concert of the orchestras 34th season, includes the premiere of a composition by its own cello player, Paul Rodriguez. 3 p.m. Patriot High School, 10504 Kettle Run Rd., Nokesville. 703-590-7083. yopw.org. $10; seniors, military and students, $6; 5 and younger, free. Monday, May 9 Prince William Retired Teacher Association Meeting Canned foods will be collected. 10 a.m. First Baptist Church of Woodbridge, 13600 Minnieville Rd., Woodbridge. 703- 491-4219. $12. Job search network group Plus discussion of various topics related to the search process. 1-3 p.m. House of Mercy, 8170 Flannery Ct., Manassas. 703-659-1636. Free. Bingo Proceeds support Dale City Knights of Columbus activities and charities. Doors open at 6 p.m. with games beginning at 7:30 p.m. VFW Post 1503, 14631 Minnieville Rd., Dale City. 703-491-2378. $9 minimum. Prince William Community Band Rehearsal, for musicians 19 and older, no audition necessary. 7:30 p.m. Saunders Middle School, 13557 Spriggs Rd., Manassas. 703-791-4119. pwcb.org. Free. Wednesday, May 11 Imagination Theatre: Boxes, Boxes, Boxes! Two friends use their imaginations to build bridges, birds, a train, a plane, and even a castle from cardboard boxes. Wednesday and Saturday, 10 and 11:15 a.m. Hylton Performing Arts Center, Gregory Family Theater, 10960 George Mason Cir., Manassas. 703-993-7759. hyltoncenter.org. $10. Lake Ridge Toastmasters Club Members 18 and older develop their public speaking and leadership skills. 7:30-9:15 p.m. Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Lake Ridge. 703-491-3020. contact-8913@toastmastersclubs.org. lakeridge.toastmastersclubs.org. $34-$64 membership fee. Compiled by Sarah Lane To submit an event E-mail: pwliving@washpost.com Fax: 703-392-1406 Details: Announcements are accepted on a space-available basis from public and nonprofit organizations only and must be received at least 14 days before the Thursday publication date. Include event name, dates, times, exact address, prices and a publishable contact phone number. Prince William County These were among incidents reported by Prince William County police. For information, call 703-792-7245. DUMFRIES AREA ASSAULTS Brockenbrough Dr., 3600 block, 11 a.m. April 15. During an argument, a woman assaulted a male acquaintance and threatened him with a knife. A Dumfries woman, 39, was arrested. Kilmer Lane, 18000 block, 12:31 p.m. April 20. During an argument, a woman threatened a male acquaintance with a knife. A Dumfries woman, 24, was arrested. GAINESVILLE AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Club House Rd., 14100 block, 12:15 a.m. to 1:02 p.m. April 26. A video game system, a purse and jewelry were stolen from a residence entered through an unlocked garage door. Lick River Lane, 5600 block, midnight to 9:30 a.m. April 18. Cash, purses, cellphones and other items were stolen from a residence entered through an unlocked garage door. Tenbrook Dr., 8100 block, midnight to 7:30 a.m. April 26. A firearm, a camera, a video game system, two computer tablets, a wallet and other items were stolen from a residence entered through an unlocked garage door. MANASSAS AREA ASSAULT Postern Ct., 10900 block, 12:37 p.m. April 25. A man forcibly entered a residence of an acquaintance, then hit her. When she attempted to flee, he pulled out a handgun and prevented her for leaving for several hours. ROBBERIES Community Dr., 8100 block, 5:25 p.m. April 22. During an argument, an acquaintance assaulted a male juvenile and robbed him of cash and a cellphone. The acquaintance was treated for injuries. Shoppers Sq., 8200 block, 11:16 a.m. April 21. A man armed with a knife robbed a business of cash. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Alan Ct., 9800 block, 7:30 to 11:17 p.m. April 17. Cash, jewelry and other items were stolen from a residence entered by damaging a rear door. Forrester Lane, 7500 block, 4 a.m. April 14 to 9 p.m. April 26. A laptop computer and jewelry were stolen from a residence entered by damaging a rear door. Medway Church Loop, 11000 block, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 20. A laptop computer was stolen from a residence entered by damaging a rear basement door. NOKESVILLE AREA ANIMAL CRUELTY Fleetwood Dr., 12:10 p.m. April 22. Bystanders heard sounds of an animal in distress and found a small dog in a black trash bag on the side of the road. The dog was transported to the Prince William County Animal Shelter and evaluated by a veterinarian. Due to the dogs deteriorating condition, it was euthanized. Animal Control is seeking any information to help identify the dogs owner. THEFT/BREAK-IN Valley View Dr., 12200 block, 1:30 to 10:30 a.m. April 26. A laptop computer, prescription medicine, jewelry, clothes and a purse were stolen from a residence entered through an unlocked side door. TRIANGLE AREA ASSAULT Potomac Crest Dr., 19100 block, 9:26 p.m. April 24. During an argument, a woman hit a male relative in the head and arm with a shovel. A Triangle woman, 18, was arrested. WOODBRIDGE AREA SEXUAL ASSAULT Danville Rd., 14800 block, April 19. A man sexually assaulted a female juvenile relative on more than one occasion, beginning in 2015. A Woodbridge man, 43, was arrested. ASSAULTS Coverdale Rd., 15000 block, 7:30 a.m. April 23. During an argument, a man grabbed a female acquaintance by the neck. The woman was able to get away. The man then broke the windshield of her vehicle with his feet. The man began to argue with another male acquaintance and the two fought. A Woodbridge man and an Alexandria man, both 27, were arrested. Delaney Rd., 13200 block, 2:24 a.m. April 24. During an argument, a man broke a window of a residence cutting a female acquaintances arm. Potomac Mills Rd., 2700 block, 5 p.m. April 24. During an argument, a man assaulted a male acquaintance. Potomac Mills Rd., 14700 block, 2 p.m. April 21. A man in a bus terminal punched a male and attempted to choke him. A Petersburg man, 23, was arrested. ROBBERY Armada and Basque Places, 9:30 a.m. April 22. A male juvenile demanded shoes from a male juvenile acquaintance. When he refused, the two struggled. The male pulled out a handgun and took the acquaintances shoes. A Woodbridge youth, 16, was arrested. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Antietam Rd., 11800 block, 8:30 a.m. to 3:46 p.m. April 21. A laptop computer was stolen from a residence entered through a window. Eagle Ridge Dr., 3500 block, 7 p.m. April 22 to 1 p.m. April 23. A laptop computer and jewelry were stolen from a residence entered by damaging a rear basement window. Hunters Run Way, 14100 block, 8 a.m. April 10 to 5 p.m. April 17. An attempt was made to enter a residence by damaging a door. Jefferson Davis Hwy., 14200 block, 1:30 a.m. April 25. Cash and tires were stolen from a business entered by prying open a front door. McNamera Ct., 2000 block, 5:30 p.m. April 22 to 9:45 a.m. April 23. Several purses and jewelry were stolen from a residence entered through an unlocked window. Occoquan Rd., 13200 block, 1:15 a.m. April 26. A cash register was stolen from a business entered through an unlocked door. PEEPING TOM INCIDENT Artery Lane, 14400 block, 8:41 p.m. April 25. A man looked into a residence through a window. He fled when a resident confronted him. Manassas These were among incidents reported by Manassas police. For more information, call 703-257-8000. THEFTS/BREAK-INS Between April 18 and 25, property was stolen from vehicles and vehicles were vandalized in the following areas: 9400 block of Stonewall Road, 9200 block of Longstreet Court, 9200 block of Park Avenue, 9000 block of Grant Avenue, 9200 block of Battle Street, 10000 block of Nokesville Road, 9100 block of Ewell Street, 8300 block of Tillett Loop, 9000 block of Liberia Avenue, 9000 block of Church Street, 10300 block of Jayeselle Drive and 9700 block of Capital Court. MOTOR VEHICLE THEFT Lee Ave., 9200 block, April 19. A motorcycle was stolen. It was later recovered. Manassas Park No report was received from Manassas Park police for this edition of Local Living. For information, call 703-361-1136. THE DISTRICT Former White House worker is sentenced A former White House switchboard supervisor was sentenced Tuesday to five years probation for stealing nearly $11,000 in taxpayer funds by manipulating an employees time sheets. Andrea Turk, 46, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pleaded guilty in February to one felony count of embezzling taxpayer funds through a subordinate, identified in court only as employee A. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler also ordered Turk to pay $5,015 in restitution. Turk was director of switchboard operations at the White House, supervising 15 people, from 2009 until she was fired in August 2013. Spencer S. Hsu Man fatally shot in Petworth area of NW A man was fatally shot Tuesday in the Petworth area of Northwest, D. C. police said. He was found about 4 p.m. in the 4500 block of Illinois Avenue, between Sherman and Grant circles. He died at a hospital, said Officer Sean Hickman, a police spokesman. Victoria St. Martin and Martin Weil D.C. to expand testing of water for lead The Districts Department of General Services, the city agency responsible for lead testing, will retest all water sources in D.C. Public Schools for elevated lead levels through May. Testing includes sinks and hoses, in addition to water fountains. Tests also will be done on water sources at city recreation centers before summer camps start June 17. As test results are returned, we will remediate any issues, and we will publicly share the results, City Administrator Rashad M. Young also said in announcing the plan. In the current academic year, 17 water sources at 12 D.C. public schools tested positive for elevated lead levels. And in recent weeks, the school system has come under fire for not communicating to parents when their childrens school tested positive for the elevated levels. Perry Stein MARYLAND Police identify Brandywine victim Prince Georges County police have identified a man found fatally shot on a road in Brandywine as Ra Shaad Hargrave, 22, of Streamview Drive in Waldorf, Md. Hargrave was found in the 15100 block of General Lafayette Boulevard Monday after a shooting a was reported. said Cpl. Harry Bond, a police spokesman. Police do not think the shooting was random. Justin Wm. Moyer Prince Georges school review is extended A Prince Georges County task force created to examine policies for safeguarding children from sexual abuse in schools expects to issue recommendations by late this month, several weeks later than planned, officials said. Schools chief Kevin Maxwell created the panel in February as a major case of alleged abuse was developing, involving Deonte Carraway, 22, of Glenarden. The panels recommendations had been expected by May 2, but the deadline was extended after a flood of comments was received, officials said. Donna St. George Calvert County These were among reports received by the Calvert County Sheriffs Office and the Maryland State Police. Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call the Criminal Investigation Division at 410-535-2800 or 301-855-1194, the Crime Solvers line at 410-535-2880, or the state police Prince Frederick Barrack at 410-535-1400. CHESAPEAKE BEACH AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Woodland Pl., April 20. An iPad was stolen from a vehicle. LUSBY AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Stock Dr., 5:30 p.m. April 18 to 6 a.m. April 19. A bag, diapers, credit and debit cards, and a black wallet were stolen from a vehicle. PRINCE FREDERICK AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Dares Beach Rd., April 20. A leaf blower was stolen from the back of a work truck parked at a restaurant. Skipjack Rd., April 23. Eighteen signs for a heat and air conditioning business were stolen. SUNDERLAND AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Route 2, April 22. A tailgate was stolen from a truck at a Park & Ride. Charles County These were among reports received by the Charles County Sheriffs Office and the Maryland State Police. For information, call 301-932-2222 or 301-870-3232. The sheriffs website, ccso.us, has news reports, local crime statistics and information on crime prevention programs. REWARDS FOR INFORMATION Crime Solvers will pay a reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment. The 24-hour hotline is 866-411-8477. Callers may remain anonymous. BEL ALTON AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Bel Alton, April 23 to April 24. Property was stolen from vehicles. COBB ISLAND AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Cobb Island, April 23 to April 24. Property was stolen from vehicles. INDIAN HEAD AREA ASSAULTS Circle Ave., 12:16 a.m. April 24. A man assaulted a woman at a home. An Indian Head man, 35, was charged with assault and possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute. LA PLATA AREA HOMICIDES Yates Pl., 12800 block, 8:17 p.m. April 23. During a confrontation, a man stabbed and killed another man, 71, and forced a female youth, 12, into a vehicle at knifepoint. The girl was able to flee, and the man was arrested. A Waldorf man, 39, was charged with first-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and kidnapping. NEWBURG AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Newburg, April 23 to April 24. Property was stolen from vehicles. WALDORF AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Marston Moor Lane, April 25 to April 26. Electronic devices were stolen from a vehicle. St. Marys County These w ere among reports received by the St. Marys County Sheriffs Office and the Maryland State Police. For information, call 301-475-8008. To submit a tip, call Crime Solvers at 301-475-3333. The Leonardtown Barrack of the state police has an anonymous tip line at 301-475-2936. LEONARDTOWN AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Leonardtown, April 19. A wallet was taken from a shopping cart at a store. LEXINGTON PARK AREA ASSAULTS Coronet Pl., 10:18 p.m. April 26. Investigating a report of shots being fired at a home, officers found a man with stab wounds. A Lexington Park man, 23, and two California men, 23 and 25, were charged with five counts of first- and second-degree assault, armed robbery, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and reckless endangerment. Flower Dr., April 12. During a fight, a man someone with his a vehicle. A Lexington Park man, 35, was charged with second-degree assault, driving with a suspended license and failure to control speed to avoid a crash. Lexington Park, April 13. During a call for a woman causing disturbances in multiple locations in the county, the woman pinched and scratched a deputy and tried to kick another deputy. A woman, 35, of no fixed address was charged with second-degree assault on a law enforcement officer, alcohol beverage in a retail area, disorderly conduct, failure to obey a lawful order, disturbing the peace and second-degree assault. New Market Rd., April 20. Property was stolen. MECHANICSVILLE AREA THEFTS/BREAK-INS Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, announced Wednesday that Takata has agreed to recall another 35 million to 40 million air-bag inflators. (Evan Vucci/AP) Federal regulators have determined what is causing Takata air bags installed in millions of U.S. vehicles to explode and on Wednesday ordered that their recall be expanded and accelerated. After 11 deaths, more than 100 injuries and the recall of 24 million vehicles, three independent studies have shown that Takata air bags are prone to explode after they are degraded by age and hot, humid weather. The science clearly shows that these inflaters become unsafe over time, faster when exposed to humidity and variations of temperature, said Mark Rosekind, administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The conclusion had been anticipated after a pattern emerged in which most of the fatalities and injuries occurred in cars that were more than seven years old and kept in humid regions where temperatures fluctuated between warm and hot. Front and side Takata air bags are installed in a wide range of cars made by 14 U.S. and foreign automakers. Already, 28.8 million of the air-bag inflaters are under recall, and NHTSA on Wednesday added 35 million to 40 million more to the list. Each air bag has its own inflater, and most vehicles have two or more air bags. [Senate panel grills manufacturer of defective air bags] The Japanese firm is the worlds largest manufacturer of air bags, and replacements are in such short supply that many U.S. drivers who have received recall notices are being told it will take weeks or months before their vehicles can be repaired. People who receive notification that there is a remedy available for their vehicle should act immediately to have their inflater fixed, Rosekind said. All vehicle owners should regularly check SaferCar.gov for information about any open safety recall on their vehicle and what they can do to have it fixed free of charge. Takata agreed to an amended consent order this week that would add up to 40 million of its air bags to the recall, NHTSA said in a statement. These recalls will continue through December 2019. Unlike most air-bag makers, Takata uses ammonium nitrate to trigger a small explosion that inflates the air bag when the vehicle strikes something. But in some vehicles particularly those that were several years old and kept in regions with high humidity the ammonium nitrate burns too fast, causing the chemicals container to explode and spray drivers and passengers with metal shrapnel. Takata says it will phase out the use of ammonium nitrate in its air-bag systems by 2018. That means that some drivers may have to have their air bags replaced twice, once with a newer ammonium nitrate bag and a second time when air bars that dont use the problematic chemical become available. This recall schedule ensures the inflaters will be recalled and replaced before they become dangerous, giving vehicle owners sufficient time to have them replaced before they pose a danger to vehicle occupants, Rosekind said. NHTSA will continue to evaluate all available research and will act quickly to protect safety. He said the recall would be carried out in phases, based on the age of the inflaters and the degree to which they have been exposed to the high humidity and fluctuating high temperatures that accelerate the degradation of the chemical propellant. [Takata air bags still the biggest auto recall in history] NHTSAs aggressive actions in 2015 means this recall is already a year ahead of where it would have been if the agency had waited for this research, Rosekind said. As a result, all of the most dangerous inflaters responsible for the deaths and injuries are already under recall. The recall expansion does not apply to a modified version of the Takata air bags. Those air bags contain a chemical desiccant that absorbs moisture. NHTSA said there are about 53 million Takata inflaters in use that dont have the drying agent. About 32 million have the drying chemical. Under the consent order amended this week, Takata agreed to do additional research into the safety of the desiccated inflaters. Unless they are proven safe, Takata will be required to recall them, too. Last year, NHTSA said Takata would face a fine of up to $200 million, $70 million for mishandling the recall of the air-bag inflaters, and an additional $130 million if it further violated its settlement agreement with NHTSA. Todays action is a significant step in the U.S. Department of Transportations aggressive oversight of Takata on behalf of drivers and passengers across America, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. The acceleration of this recall is based on scientific evidence and will protect all Americans from air bag inflaters that may become unsafe. [Texas teen becomes 10th victim of an exploding Takata air bag] Huma Hanif, 17, became the 10th American to die from an exploding Takata air bag March 31, when one malfunctioned after her car hit another vehicle at an intersection in suburban Houston. The auto dealer and Honda said they had sent six air-bag recall notices to Hanifs family, but family members said they had not received the notices. Among the automakers that have had some models recalled are Acura, Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Infiniti, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen. With the departure of Ted Cruz from the presidential race Tuesday night, many national Republican loyalists lamented the future of a party that could field a nominee as polarizing as Donald Trump. But the news was particularly jarring for Virginia Republicans fresh off two days of party warfare at a state convention where Cruz came out on top. All the divisiveness last weekend for nothing, said Brian W. Schoeneman, a former member of the Fairfax County Electoral Board and a supporter of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the establishment favorite who ended his long-shot campaign Wednesday. We are the kings of self-inflicted wounds that get us nothing. At the other end of the spectrum, a Republican who identifies with the conservative wing of the state GOP said of Cruzs decision: I feel like I got smacked by a two-by-four. In the final hours of last weekends convention in Harrisonburg, Cruz and Trump supporters traded insults over the selection of 13 of 49 total delegates to the national convention in Cleveland. Not that it matters now. Officially, the state party apparatus must quickly pivot to Trump, no matter how unenthusiastic some leaders may feel about the brash billionaire. The RPV will support the nominee 100 percent, John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said Tuesday night without mentioning Trump. House Speaker William J. Howell (Stafford) released a lukewarm statement that said, in part: I am a Republican, and I will support the Republican nominee. Trumps Virginia campaign chairman, Corey Stewart, publicly derided the party as rotten and corrupt after being left off the delegates slate at the state convention. But late Tuesday, after Cruz quit, Stewarts message was all about unity. Now is the time for Virginians to come together and stand behind Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for President, said Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and a candidate for governor in 2017. Virginia is an essential state this November, and all of us need to band together to defeat Hillary Clinton. Although it wasnt a surprise, given Trumps string of primary wins, the reality hit some hard. If youre a conservative, its been a very long time since you could be happy with a presidential nominee, said Steve Albertson, who is on the partys governing board and runs the conservative Bull Elephant blog. Weve had two Bushes, John McCain, Mitt Romney now this. Albertson said he will nonetheless support Trump. The reaction shows the schism between longtime state party activists and primary voters at large, who delivered Trump a decisive win on March 1. [Are anti-Trump Republicans ready to help elect Clinton?] David Ramadan, a former House of Delegates member from Loudoun County, has been a vocal member of the Never Trump movement. Trump as the GOP nominee means a series of defeats for our Republicans in Virginia and the nation for a decade, Ramadan said. Minutes after Cruz suspended his campaign, Democrats sent out an emergency fundraising plea. The email said, We must win Virginia, or Donald Trump will be President. An artists conception of ads that would appear in a London subway station if a group called the Citizens Advertising Takeover Service C.A.T.S. can raise enough money to buy the ads. They see it as a strike against commercialism in public spaces. (Glimpse) The typical ad in a subway station or anywhere, really has one message: Buy me! Buy me! Buy me! But what if instead the message was: Aww, idnt he cute? Thats the sentiment James Turner and his comrades are hoping to evoke on Londons subway system, the Tube. Theyve formed the Citizens Advertising Takeover Service C.A.T.S. and are trying to raise $33,000 to replace every ad in a single London Tube station with large photos of cats. We spoke with the ad company who deals with the Tube, James explained on the phone from London. They said for that kind of money we could get the equivalent number of ads to take over one of the smaller stations, something like Wimbledon or Cockfosters. If we go beyond our target, we have every chance of getting into Oxford Circus, Bond Street or Marble Arch one of the big ones. A question springs to mind: Why? Also: Why cats? We did have a conversation, wondering if wed reached peak cat and should choose a different animal, James said. Then we reminded ourselves: Theres an infinite appetite for cats on the Internet. As for why do it in the first place, James insists it isnt to make a joke. Its to strike a cute and furry blow against the depressing drumbeat of crass consumerism. We are constantly faced with a barrage of advertising which tells us that buying more stuff is the route to status and happiness, James said. Riding the Tube, or the Metro in Washington, can be a stressful experience. And I think adverts and the sort of pressure to consume, the pressure to adopt these products or lifestyles, isnt helping. He added: Wouldnt it be great if public spaces were designed to make you feel good rather than slightly inadequate? And so: cats. Lots and lots of cats even your cat, if you pledge enough money: $144 for a little square photo on a poster; $3,595 for an entire poster shot by a professional photographer. The Citizens Advertising Takeover Service is the work of a collective called Glimpse, a voluntary network of creative professionals that practices what James calls culture jamming. (Another Glimpse idea: a social platform that focuses on what people like to do outside of work. It would be called LinkedOut.) James said many people think theres no alternative to what he calls corporate control of public space. We wanted to strike a small blow for sanity, he said. As of Wednesday, the crowdfunding campaign details at catsnotads.com had about $26,000 to go before the May 21 deadline. James is 35 and works for an environmental outfit he would rather not name. He said he has visited Washington and ridden our Metro. He said he found it clean and reliable (ahem) but, It was made more stressful by the sheer number of ads faced by commuters on their way to work. Of course, ads in Washington tend to be for weapons systems or against legislation. Of Metro, James said: The one redeeming factor was that the windows were heavily tinted, so it was harder to see the adverts and, inexplicably, the names of the stations. The smoke doesnt help either, James. Hey, maybe we should launch a Kickstarter to fix Metro! Top donors could bring their cats aboard. Taking a stand While were in London and thinking about the subway, train buff Garth Burleyson of Colesville, Md., pointed me to a curious little experiment underway at the Holborn Tube station. Its the sort of thing that might infuriate Washingtonians: Riders are being encouraged to stand on the right and the left of the escalator. Holborn is one the systems busiest stations, with some of the longest escalators. Few passengers walk all the way up, and they were bunching up at the bottom, waiting for space to stand on the right. (Unlike on Metro, signs on the Tube instruct people to stand on the right.) Researchers from the London School of Economics suggested that encouraging people to stand next to one another might help. A previous trial found that standing on both sides of the escalator reduced congestion by 30 percent. Of the four escalators in Holborn, one will go down, one will go up and allow walking on the left, two will go up and be for standing on both sides. It may not seem right that you can go quicker by standing still, but our experiments at Holborn have proved that it can be true, said the Tubes Peter McNaught in a news release. The current six-month experiment at Holborn is to test different ways of persuading passengers to overcome years of habit and stand on both sides, from new signs to a ghostly talking projection of a staff member. I wondered whether passengers would feel uncomfortable standing next to a stranger on the slow ride up, but a spokeswoman for the Tube told me they havent had any issues with that. Would it work here? Twitter: @johnkelly For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly. GEORGIA Guns on campuses bill vetoed by governor Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) on Tuesday vetoed a bill allowing concealed handguns on college campuses, rejecting the proposal that was easily approved by a legislature controlled by his own party in an election year. The bill would have allowed anyone age 21 and over to carry a concealed handgun with the proper permit on a public college or university campus. The veto decision comes weeks after Deal rejected a bill shielding opponents of gay marriage. That measure was backed by conservative groups but blasted by businesses as discriminatory. After the bill passed the legislature, Deal, who is in his second and final term, asked members to pass follow-up bills addressing concerns about access to on-campus day-care centers, spaces where high-schools students can take college-level courses and where disciplinary hearings are held. They declined, saying the original bill was carefully considered. Associated Press TEXAS Man who intervened in family dispute killed A young soldier shot and wounded his wife outside a Dallas-area store and then gunned down a father of three who grabbed his own gun and tried to make a citizens arrest, authorities said. Arlington police say Anthony T.J. Antell Jr., 35, saw Ricci Bradden shoot at the feet of his wife during an argument Monday outside of a Walgreens where she works, striking her once. She fled inside the store to call for help. Antell, a gym owner who had served in the U.S. Marine Corps, retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and confronted Bradden in an attempt to make a citizens arrest, but Bradden managed to slap the gun away and then fatally shot Antell, investigators said. Antells wife witnessed the killing, police said. Bradden, a 22-year-old Army private, drove away and later turned himself in to authorities. At one point, he called his commanders at Fort Hood and confessed, according to an arrest warrant. From news services KENYA Baby is rescued days after building collapse A nearly 6-month-old girl was rescued Tuesday from the rubble of a building that collapsed last week in Nairobi, raising hopes for more survivors in the disaster, which has left 23 people dead and 93 missing. The child, identified by the Kenya Red Cross as Dealeryn Saisi Wasike, was found in the ruins of the seven-story building, which collapsed Friday night. The baby was found unharmed in a washtub, said Pius Masai of the National Disaster Management Unit, which is coordinating the rescue mission. Furniture had created pockets preventing columns from falling on her and allowing air to flow into the rubble, he said. The babys mother was found dead, Masai said. The babys father, Raslon Saisi Wasike, said his wife kept Dealeryn in a washtub when she was doing her household chores. The baby had no injuries and was being treated for dehydration, said Simon Ithai, a spokesman for Kenyatta National Hospital. The two owners of the collapsed building and 21 officials from the county government were taken into custody. With housing in high demand in Nairobi, some unscrupulous developers bypass regulations to cut costs and maximize profits. Associated Press SINGAPORE 8 Bangladeshis held on suspicion of ISIS links Singapore has detained eight Bangladeshi workers on suspicion of planning attacks linked to the Islamic State militant group in their home country, authorities said Tuesday. The Ministry of Home Affairs said the eight construction and marine workers were detained last month on suspicion of being members of the Islamic State in Bangladesh. The ministry said the suspects had intended to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria but discovered that it would be difficult to make their way there. The group then focused on returning to Bangladesh, it said. The suspects made plans to overthrow the democratically elected government through the use of force, establish an Islamic State in Bangladesh and bring it under ISIS self-declared caliphate, it added in a statement, using an acronym for the Islamic State. The group had also raised monies to purchase firearms to carry out their planned terror attacks in Bangladesh. The money has since been seized, it said. The ministry said an investigation revealed documents detailing possible targets in Bangladesh and a list of government and military officials. It said the groups suspected leader had guides on making weapons and bombs, as well as radical material from the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Associated Press SPAIN King signs decree setting new election Spains king signed a decree Tuesday dissolving parliament and setting a new election for June 26 after legislators chosen in an inconclusive Dec. 20 vote failed to agree on the countrys next prime minister. King Felipe VI signed the order after the deadline for installing a new government passed. Spain has not had a repeat election since democracy was restored in the late 1970s. Spain has been in a political stalemate, and administered by a caretaker government led by conservative Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy, since newcomer parties Podemos and Ciudadanos upset the long-standing dominance of the Popular Party and the Socialists in the election. No party won enough seats to form a government, and none could reach a sufficiently strong coalition deal. Polls suggest a repeat election is unlikely to break the deadlock. Associated Press 3 Red Cross workers abducted in Congo: Three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross have been abducted in eastern Congo. The Congo-based Center of Study for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights said the three were working as drivers for the Red Cross. It said they were abducted in North Kivu province. Witnesses said the drivers were taken by militia fighters into the bush. Indian teen dies taking selfie with loaded gun: A teenager in India died after accidentally shooting himself while posing for a selfie with a loaded handgun held to his head, police said. Ramandeep Singh, 15, pulled the trigger while taking the picture with his smartphone at his home in Punjab state, police said. The handgun belonged to the teens father. India accounts for 19 of the worlds 49 recorded selfie-linked deaths since 2014. German anti-immigrant leader fined: A German court fined the anti-immigration group Pegidas best-known figure over comments on Facebook that it said incited hatred against migrants. The district court in Dresden said Lutz Bachmann has to pay 9,600 euros ($11,000) for calling foreigners cattle and trash online. Bachmann co-founded Pegida . From news services Syrian refugees await approval to enter Jordan at the Hadalat reception area on the Syrian-Jordanian border, about 200 miles northeast of the capital of Amman, Wednesday. (Raad Adayleh/AP) IRAN General warns U.S. on Strait of Hormuz The deputy commander of Irans powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps said Iranian forces will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to the United States and its allies if they threaten the Islamic republic, Iranian state media reported Wednesday. The comments by Gen. Hossein Salami, carried on state television, follow a long history of both rhetoric and confrontation between Iran and the United States over the narrow strait, through which nearly a third of all oil traded by sea passes. Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Monday criticized U.S. activities in the Persian Gulf. Americans should learn from recent historical truths, Salami said, probably referring to the January capture of 10 U.S. sailors who entered Iranian waters. The sailors were released less than a day later. If the Americans and their regional allies want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and threaten us, we will not allow any entry, Salami said, without elaborating on what he and other leaders would consider a threat. Maryam, 34, sister, center holds Omar, 9, son of slain Ahmed Shehadeh, 36, who was shot and killed by Israeli troops, as they cry among mourners while taking the last look at his body during his funeral in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday. (Nasser Nasser/AP) Lt. Rick Chernitzer, a spokesman for the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet in Bahrain, said American sailors continue to operate in accordance with professional maritime standards and international law in the Persian Gulf region. Associated Press JORDAN 59,000 Syrians stranded on border The number of Syrian refugees gathered in remote desert areas on Jordans border and waiting to enter the kingdom has risen to a new high of 59,000, the commander of the countrys border forces said Wednesday. In the past three days alone, 5,000 more Syrians arrived in two makeshift camps on the border, fleeing fighting in the city of Aleppo, Gen. Saber al-Mahayreh told reporters. Jordan and the international community are at odds over the fate of the stranded refugees. Aid groups say Jordan must speed up entry procedures because the refugees live in dire conditions. Jordan says refugees pose a potential security risk, with some coming from areas controlled by the extremist Islamic State group, and need to be vetted. About 5 million Syrians have fled their country since conflict erupted there in 2011, with more than 640,000 registered and settled in Jordan. Associated Press EGYPT Journalists standoff with police intensifies Hundreds of Egyptian journalists rallied in Cairo on Wednesday in an escalating standoff with police, threatening a strike by media workers if their demands are not met. On the steps outside their union headquarters, they chanted Journalism is not a crime while demanding Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffars departure after a police raid on the premises and the arrest of two journalists. Police severely restricted access to the headquarters. The union demanded the release of all detained journalists and a presidential apology by Tuesday, saying reporters were considering a strike if the demands were not met. The protests are the latest against the government of President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, which has banned virtually all demonstrations and cracked down on dissent. A government decision to transfer two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia last month brought protesters into the streets on two occasions, marking the largest show of public defiance of Sissi since his election in 2014. The two journalists arrested Sunday were alleged to have called for protests over the decision to transfer the islands. Associated Press Yemen peace talks resume in Kuwait: U.N.-brokered talks aimed at ending Yemens civil war have resumed in Kuwait. U.N. envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said on Twitter that the talks began after all sides in the conflict agreed to form a committee to look into what happened in Amran province, which reportedly came under attack by Yemens Shiite rebels. That attack had halted earlier talks in Kuwait City. Yemens internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, is fighting the rebels, known as Houthis. Egypt court acquits Mubarak-era premier of graft: A court in Egypt has acquitted a former prime minister of graft charges in the latest retrial linked to his time serving under longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. The court ruled that Ahmed Nazif has been absolved of the charges, including abuse of office, and that the ruling was final. Nazif served in the cabinet from 2004 until the 2011 uprising that forced Mubarak out. Many Mubarak-era figures have been cleared of corruption charges. Brazil attorney general seeks Rousseff investigation: Brazils attorney general has asked the countrys highest court to authorize an investigation into embattled President Dilma Rousseff over allegations of obstruction of justice, according to major news organizations. Rousseff was among 30 people, including ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, reportedly targeted by Attorney General Rodrigo Janot. Janots request adds to the problems buffeting Rousseff. The Senate looks likely to vote next week to suspend her and move forward with impeachment. From news services Syrians gather on May 3 at the scene where rockets hit the Dubeet hospital in the Muhafaza neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria. (SANA via Associated Press) The May 1 editorial In Syria, time for Plan B called on President Obama to reconsider the failed U.S. program to train and equip the rebels in Syria. Last year, the Pentagon ended such a program. In one year, the Pentagon managed to train only a handful of rebels, despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars. While serious questions arose about the enormous price tag, I have other questions: Who are these rebels? Can we guarantee that the training wont be turned against U.S. troops or our interests? More weapons will only add more fuel to the raging fire of violence in the region. Years of spending billions and sending weapons have failed, so why should we double down? As the Pentagon retreads the same ground, Congress is missing in action. Despite newly announced troop deployments, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) refuses to allow a debate on authorizing use of force against the Islamic State. The past four presidents have bombed the Middle East with little or no oversight from Congress. Will we allow a fifth to continue these endless wars unchecked? Barbara Lee, Washington The writer, a Democrat, represents Californias 13th District in the House. In their May 1 op-ed, Georgetowns unwilling benefactors, Maxine Crump and Richard J. Cellini did not go far enough in their recommendations for compensating descendants of Georgetown Universitys slaves. Besides providing access to records and a Georgetown education, the university would do well to give preference in hiring to the descendants. The money accrued to Georgetown as a result of selling the slaves morally belongs to their descendants and should be returned at todays value. These are material gestures that in no way compensate for the horror inflicted on these peoples ancestors and for the ongoing repercussions that infiltrate their descendants lives. Rosalind Feldman, Rockville This month marks the 100th anniversary of the Sykes-Picot Agreement that formed Iraq, Syria and the other fragile nations of the modern Middle East. The past few weeks have provided dramatic new evidence, if more were needed, that the old colonial framework created by Britain and France isnt working. Iraq and Syria are coming apart: Iraq is effectively divided into three warring regions: a Sunni area ruled by the Islamic State, a Kurdish mini-state thats nearly autonomous, and a zone from the capital south thats controlled by the Shiite-led regime. A similar fragmented structure exists in Syria. Central government in both countries has vanished. From his mountain headquarters here overlooking Irbil, Kurdish national security adviser Masrour Barzani offers a frank judgment in an interview: For 100 years, a system has been in place in Iraq that has now failed. Iraq was never built on the right foundations. It was built to serve the interests of the great powers. A hundred years of failure is enough. We need to look at new options. A similar sense that Iraq and the region are at a crossroads is expressed by Barham Salih , a former prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and former deputy prime minister of Iraq. We talked in Sulaymaniyah, 90 miles southeast of here, where he now runs the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani. After months of tensions, the political crisis in Iraq escalated with anti-government protesters storming into parliament. This is why they are protesting. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) This is not about a government reshuffle, argues Salih. The post-2003 political system put in place by the U.S. is unraveling. This is a new era. The choice is between a chaotic breakdown into warlordism or, possibly, a new constitutional arrangement that would create a more decentralized, confederal Iraq. During my visit to Iraq, I heard similar views from every Kurdish leader I met, and from some Sunnis, too. Iraq and Syria are at an inflection point, they argued. The immediate priority is to defeat the Islamic State. But the United States should be talking with its allies about a future political structure an alternative to the lines in the sand drawn by Sir Mark Sykes and Francois Georges-Picot, and to the United States post-2003 misadventure in neocolonialism. For a model of how the United States should think creatively about fixing this catastrophe, look at American policy in 1944. Victory in World War II was still a blood-soaked year away. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt had the foresight to begin thinking carefully about the institutions that would maintain peace and prosperity after the war. By the end of that year, detailed planning had begun for the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the United Nations. Heres a challenge for the rest of President Obamas term and the first months in office of the next president: Start building the foundations for a new order in the Middle East that can provide better security, governance and economic well-being for Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, and for the smaller minorities that are interwoven in the fabric of the region. Help the peoples of this shattered region build and maintain governance structures that work. The Kurds may force the question soon, with a referendum that will ask their people whether they want an independent Iraqi Kurdistan. The United States should support such a process, but if and only if its created through a negotiated agreement with the central government in Baghdad. Many Sunni and Shiite leaders in Iraq have told me privately they favor a new constitution for a confederal Iraq that would include a Sunni regional government, as well as a Kurdish one. A similar negotiation for a loose federal or confederal Syria should be part of the political transition there, too. Trying to hammer the pieces into unitary states just wont work. America tried and failed in Iraq. Now, Iran, too, finds itself unable to maintain order there. Thats the lesson of last weeks mayhem in the Shiite-dominated Iraqi parliament, which was largely an internal Shiite-on-Shiite quarrel. The Iranians are making the same mistakes the U.S. did after 2003, explains one prominent Iraqi. They went in too heavy. They thought they could do it all. But the Shiite monolith is breaking down. Fixing a shattered Middle East is the work of a generation. But its past time for the United States, Europe, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran to start thinking urgently with the people of Syria and Iraq about new structures that will finally cure the mistakes and injustices of a century ago. Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. DETROIT TEACHERS are waging another sickout, and this time nearly every public school in the city has been closed for two days. First thoughts naturally go to the students who are losing instruction time. But even when schools are in session, not a lot of learning seems to go on in Detroit, which ranks as the worst-performing big-city system in the country. It will take a lot more than money and returning teachers to the classroom to improve the options for Detroit students. Rather than tinkering with a failing system, city and state officials need to consider more sweeping changes. Students at 94 of 97 public schools in Detroit were sidelined Monday and Tuesday after the teachers union called for a sickout because of concerns over the systems troubled finances. Faced with staggering debt, the system is operating on an emergency infusion of $48.7 million in state aid that will run out June 30. Unless the state passes a rescue plan, the system wont be able to pay teachers for work they do after April 28. Teachers are right to be concerned. But the sickouts which have been employed with increasing frequency in Detroit this year to protest everything from class sizes to the poor physical condition of schools disrupt the lives of 40,000 students and their families. The tactic also may cause Michigan lawmakers, already hesitant about approving a $720 million proposed bailout, to dig in their heels. The sickouts dont lend much credibility to the claim of Detroit Federation of Teachers interim President Ivy Bailey that Teachers want to be in the classroom giving children a chance to learn and reach their potential. The fundamental fact of Detroit schools is academic failure. According to results of the 2015 National Assessment for Educational Progress, the nations report card, only 5 percent of Detroit fourth-graders and 4 percent of eighth-graders were proficient in math; reading was a tad less disastrous with 6 percent of fourth-graders and 7 percent of eighth-graders proficient. Families with the wherewithal have fled the system. State control and a succession of emergency managers have been unable to bring change. The indictment in March of a dozen school principals on federal charges of operating a bribery and kickback scheme was a reminder of the adult self-interest embedded in the system. Gov. Rick Snyder (R) has put forth a plan to split the system into two districts (one focused on educating students and the other on dealing with debt) while the Detroit school board has gone to court seeking to regain local control. Mr. Snyders plan probably has the most potential, but lawmakers would do well to consider whether even bolder action is needed. Particularly promising is a proposal by state Rep. Tim Kelly (R) to greatly expand school choice options, including offering vouchers to students to attend private schools. Vouchers could offer students a way out of failing schools where they are being treated as pawns and patsies. Now that the contours of the general election are reasonably predictable, it is time to start thinking about the tripartite institutional reckoning that should come in Novembers aftermath for the media, Republicans and Democrats. For the media, the assessment is simple, and unsparing: We underperformed our constitutionally protected role. Sure, every campaign cycle features hand-wringing over the primacy of the horse race over the substance. This one feels demonstrably worse. Mesmerized by the bright, shiny object that is Donald Trump, we collectively failed to plumb his gaping lack of policy knowledge and proposals. Not completely, just not enough, and way too late. And not just his: Distracted by Trump, we let the whole field off the hook. The purely commercial explanation for this dereliction would be that the media, television in particular, didnt want to kill the golden goose of traffic. Thats too simplistic and too sinister. I think we also believed that exposing Trumps outrage du jour was doing our job, and would, eventually, sink him. Trumps bombastic imperviousness to serious questioning television hosts and debate questioners gamely tried, only to see him talk out the clock contributed as well. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held a campaign event at Trump Tower in Manhattan, after sweeping the Indiana primary. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) The resulting paradox was that, until recently, Trump was a candidate who made himself more constantly available than any in modern memory, yet evaded serious questioning. Would voters, particularly those tempted by Trump, have cared? Perhaps not they arent supporting him for his tax plan. But that isnt the test. Our role is, or should be, to provide the information essential for voters to make an informed decision. We fell short. Republicans November reckoning could be even uglier. The party has lost the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections. Given Democrats inherent Electoral College advantage and Trumps unpopularity, Republicans appear headed to lose the White House again, along, perhaps, with control of the Senate. The party faces fundamental, interconnected decisions about what ideological path to embrace, how to attract voters in a changing America and how to manage the angry, populist, anti-establishment forces unleashed by Trump. To look back at the GOPs post-2012 autopsy report is to conclude that Democrats read the document and sent Trump as a Manchurian candidate to further alienate voters. Public perception of the Party is at record lows, the report concluded. Young voters are increasingly rolling their eyes at what the Party represents, and many minorities wrongly think that Republicans do not like them or want them in the country. Trump makes that bad situation worse, but he is not a cause of the partys problems; he is a symptom of them. The risk embedded in a Trump nomination assuming a Trump loss in the general election is that Republicans will derive the wrong lesson. The partys most conservative members will argue that Trumps failure was a matter of insufficient orthodoxy, and that the one true path to electoral success would have been to nominate a Ted Cruz-like true believer. If Republicans were doomed or, more accurately, doomed themselves to lose in 2016, it would have been better for them to lose with Cruz, who dropped out on Tuesday night. That would at least have had the cleansing, Goldwateresque effect of proving the conservative argument wrong and returning power to the suppressed voices of reason within the party. Now, that fight seems destined to be rerun in 2020. Democrats have their own rethinking to do, even if they retain the White House. Beneath the presidential level, their party is in dire shape. Since 2008, Democrats have lost 69 House seats, 13 Senate seats, 12 governorships and 900-plus seats in state legislatures. That drains the party of legislative power and empties its bench. Meantime, Clinton would take office with historically high negative ratings and be the first Democrat since Grover Cleveland in 1885 to be elected to a first term without the partys complete control of Congress. Perhaps chastened Republicans will feel a new urge to conciliation and productivity, but the experience of the Obama presidency suggests a rockier path. Finally, mirroring the Republicans with Trump, Democrats need to grapple with their ideological future and the restive forces of economic anxiety and anti-establishment anger given voice by Bernie Sanders. His presence in the race has been no boon to Clinton, but it did jump-start a necessary, unfinished debate over the partys path ahead and what will be the contours of a post-Bill Clinton, post-Obama Democratic Party. November is not the conclusion of an argument. It is, or should be, the beginning of a self-examination by all the players in this dispiriting campaign. Read more from Ruth Marcuss archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, left, and Anthony M. Kennedy, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., attend a private ceremony in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court for Justice Antonin Scalia on Feb. 19. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Wednesday shrugged off any difficulty the Supreme Court might be having reaching consensus with an equal number of ideologically divided justices. Roberts seemed careful not to say anything that would aid either Democrats demanding that the Senate vote on President Obamas nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, or Republicans who say the next president should name the replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia. At a meeting of judges, he was asked by Judge William J. Riley, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, about any difficulty the court was having without a full contingent of nine justices. Well, you know most of our cases I dont think many people realize it most of our cases are not 5 to 4, Roberts said at the conference. Its a pretty small percentage that are. [Supreme Court takes unusual action to find compromise] The Fix's Amber Phillips breaks down three ways the Merrick Garland nomination could play out. Which do you think is most likely? (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) Roberts took less than a minute to address the issue, saying that sometimes we talk about cases longer to see if we can reach some type of agreement. But thats it. Its a great loss, the loss of Justice Scalia, and there are reasons most appellate courts have an odd number of judges. But the process is pretty much what it has been. Since Scalias death Feb. 13, the court already has said it was deadlocked on several cases. And while it is true that only a small percentage of the courts cases are decided 5 to 4, the most important ones often are. [Supreme Court splits on public union case] And some court experts have said that the courts pace of accepting controversial cases has slowed, because justices do not want to accept cases for which it cannot provide a definitive answer. The court now has four consistent liberals and four justices who most often vote on the conservative side. But in public appearances, the justices have been reluctant to say that the court is having difficulty without a deciding vote. Roberts was even shy about repeating past comments on how political polarization in Washington was affecting the perception of the court and the judiciary in general. [Roberts says politics hurting perception of court] Riley reminded Roberts of those remarks and asked, Do you want to expand on that at all? No, Roberts responded. The crowd laughed, but Roberts did not say more. Riley told the crowd: His message was that were not political. Well, that is the case, Roberts said. All of us who became judges, some have a public service background, but you all know when we take the judicial oath . . . we have a new responsibility, and thats the responsibility we need to focus on and carry out. Roberts was more forthcoming in February, days before Scalias unexpected death, when he worried about the publics perception of the court being influenced by partisan politics, and he said that the problem started with the confirmation process. When you have a sharply political, divisive hearing process, it increases the danger that whoever comes out of it will be viewed in those terms. If the Democrats and Republicans have been fighting so furiously about whether youre going to be confirmed, its natural for some member of the public to think, well, you must be identified in a particular way as a result of that process, he said at a law school appearance in Boston. And thats just not how we dont work as Democrats or Republicans. The partisan perception is influenced by the fact that for the first time in generations, the courts conservatives are all Republican appointees, and the four liberals were nominated by Democrats. For decades, there had been at least one liberal Republican nominee or conservative Democratic choice. A federal judge on Wednesday directed State Department officials and top aides to Hillary Clinton to answer questions under oath by June 29 about whether they intentionally thwarted federal open-records laws by allowing Clintons use of a private email server throughout her tenure as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. The decision by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan in Washington sets the stage for responses before Julys presidential nominating conventions but does not ensure cooperation from at least six current and former top officials, including Cheryl D. Mills, who was Clintons chief of staff at State; Huma Abedin, Millss deputy who now is vice chairman of Clintons Democratic presidential campaign; and Bryan Pagliano, a Clinton staff member during her 2008 presidential campaign who helped set up the private server. While Sullivan did not permit questioning of Clinton herself for now, he wrote that the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch may ask to do so later if it thinks based on information learned during discovery, the deposition of Mrs. Clinton may be necessary. Sullivans 15-page written opinion and order came after lawyers for the government agreed to a narrowed scope of questions requested by Judicial Watch. The group filed a lawsuit over its 2013 public-records request for information concerning Abedins employment arrangement. For six months in 2012, Abedin was employed simultaneously by the State Department, the Clinton Foundation, Clintons personal office and a private consulting firm connected to the Clintons. The State Department released 52,000 pages of Hillary Clintons emails as part of a court-ordered process. Here's what else we learned from the publicly released emails. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post) Sullivan authorized Judicial Watch to seek answers about the creation and operation of Clintons email system for official State Department business, and the departments handling of Freedom of Information Act requests that could involve Clintons and Abedins emails. The court also directed the department to explain in writing by May 25 which employees had and/or used an account on the Clinton system; who handled records requests for the secretary offices emails; who inventoried Clintons and Abedins records and information; and who handled the Judicial Watch FOIA request. [How Huma Abedin operated at the center of the Clinton universe] This was a scheme designed to thwart transparency, and its come undone, Judicial Watch President Thomas J. Fitton said in an interview after the judges order. Were going to get facts that have been withheld from the American people, and hopefully figure out a way to make sure that all the records that should have been reviewed and released to the public are done so as required. Fitton said that while government lawyers have indicated that State Department employees will be available for questioning, Judicial Watch will have to issue subpoenas to former employees, and it is not clear whether they will object. Pagliano, for example, invoked his Fifth Amendment rights before a House panel in September and was granted immunity by the Justice Department as part of a criminal investigation by the FBI into the possible mishandling of classified information. Attorneys for Pagliano, Abedin and Mills did not respond to requests for comment on the judges action. The Justice Department also declined a request for comment. View Graphic Catch up on the controversy and read the emails Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said while the campaign continues to monitor developments in Judicial Watchs many, politically motivated FOIA lawsuits, the campaigns focus remained on the Justice Departments investigation into whether laws were violated by the server arrangement. Hillary Clinton has long expressed her willingness to cooperate in that review in order to help them complete their work, Fallon said. We remain confident that [the] review will affirm that nothing inappropriate took place. [U.S. judge orders discovery to go forward over Clintons private email system] In Feb. 23 remarks from the bench, Sullivan criticized the government for a constant drip of shifting explanations after it was disclosed in March 2015 that Clinton exclusively used a personal server for government business while at State and that several aides also used the server or personal email addresses. Sullivan said the server arrangement allowed Clinton and other former employees to decide after the fact what government records to disclose, apparently without ensuring that State records were secured within the departments own systems. On Wednesday, Sullivan wrote that while the department argued that it did not have to search Clintons server because it did not possess or control it at the time, such a defense did not apply when an agency purposefully sought to circumvent a FOIA request. Sullivan barred questions on the substance of Abedins employment arrangements, the handling of classified information or other matters subject to pending FBI or law enforcement investigations. Others designated for deposition are Undersecretary for Management Patrick F. Kennedy; Stephen D. Mull, executive secretary at State from June 2009 to October 2012; and Lewis A. Lukens, executive director of the executive secretariat from 2008 to 2011. Hillary Clinton is seen aboard the campaign bus in Cleveland on the third day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio. July 31, 2016 Hillary Clinton is seen aboard the campaign bus in Cleveland on the third day of a bus tour through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Melina Mara/The Washington Post The former secretary of state, senator and first lady is the Democratic nominee for president. The former secretary of state has clinched the Democratic nomination for president. The former secretary of state has clinched the Democratic nomination for president. Congressional Democrats set out on a mission Wednesday to tie Donald Trump to every possible Republican running in competitive down-ballot races, following the real estate moguls elevation to the GOPs presumptive presidential nominee. In memos, in news releases and across social media, Democrats tried to take advantage of Trumps unchallenged hold on the presidential nomination by linking Republican incumbents to his controversial statements and proposals on the campaign trail. Democrats believe Trumps triumph will allow them to make electoral inroads that could flip the Senate to their control and provide major gains in the House. The bottom line is, the battlefield is going to shift in our favor, Kelly Ward, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Wednesday. Her committee issued a memo to the Colorado news media highlighting Trumps positions and how they will play in the highly competitive race involving Rep. Mike Coffman (R), who represents Denvers eastern suburbs. The memo was headlined Coffman and Trump: Welcome to the Trump ticket. In New Hampshire, Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) is in a closely watched Senate contest with the GOP incumbent Kelly Ayotte. On Wednesday, Hassan denounced the Donald Trump-Kelly Ayotte Republican Ticket, in an effort to link the incumbent to Trumps views on defunding Planned Parenthood and blocking the consideration of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. That came as Ayotte, back home for the congressional recess this week, told local media that she would support but not formally endorse Trump. Positions like those have boosted Democratic hopes. Republicans can either embrace Trump or distance themselves, but either prospect risks alienating some important bloc of voters. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), for instance, walked a fine line in a statement Friday evening that noted his previous commitment to supporting the GOP nominee without explicitly endorsing Trump or his platform. Republicans are committed to preventing what would be a third term of Barack Obama and restoring economic and national security after eight years of a Democrat in the White House, McConnell said. As the presumptive nominee, he now has the opportunity and the obligation to unite our party around our goals. Majority control of the Senate, which was considered a close call before primary voters starting going to the polls in February, is now getting more difficult by the week for Republicans. One analyst, Charlie Cook, now gives Democrats a 60 percent chance of reclaiming the majority. Trumps rise has Democratic strategists salivating at the prospect of expanding the Senate battleground from states that were already expected to be competitive in a place as inhospitable as Arkansas. In 2010 and 2014, well-funded Democratic incumbents could not even get 40 percent of the vote there. Illustrating the perceived potency of a Trump nomination, Connor Eldridge, the Democratic challenger waging an uphill fight against Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, released a lengthy web video this week that included a variety of misogynistic comments by Trump alongside Boozmans pledge to support the eventual GOP presidential nominee. The video has drawn more than 90,000 views and media coverage in Arkansas and nationally. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) said Tuesday on Fox Business that he had no fear of losing the House until I saw the Eldridge commercial. This is a dangerous time, he said. Republicans, however, pointed to the already well-structured, well-financed campaigns that their incumbents have built in anticipation of a rocky relationship with their presidential nominee since Trump and his main rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), surged to the front of the pack earlier this year. As Donald Trump appeared to soon be the last candidate standing in the race for the GOP nomination, Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton tweeted this video, showing Republicans launching attacks at Trump. (Hillary Clinton) GOP strategists signaled Wednesday that they intended to run their campaigns against the likely Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, whose favorable ratings are at an all-time low. Republicans will continue to lay out their visions to help our country recover from eight years of the Obama economy and get people back to work. There is a reason Democrats arent lining up to campaign with Hillary Clinton. She is a toxic candidate whose failed leadership has put the security of our country at risk, said Andrea Bozek, spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Additionally, Republican super PACs for congressional candidates will probably see their cash advantage grow as some conservatives have signaled their intention to move resources from the presidential campaign to Senate and House races. This week, Freedom Partners Action Fund, one of several groups aligned with billionaires Charles and David Koch, unleashed a $2 million media campaign against Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold, a month after another Koch-aligned group, Americans for Prosperity, unveiled a more than $1 million round of ads praising Feingolds opponent, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) The Senate field has been largely set for several months. The first tier of Republican seats at risk are five incumbents running for their first reelection in states that President Obama won twice, along with the seat of retiring Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). A second tier of seats includes GOP incumbents in North Carolina, Missouri, Arizona and Iowa who were once considered safe but could be in trouble depending on how Trump performs. Democrats, facing a difficult race in one seat of their own, that of retiring Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), need to win just four seats to claim the majority if Clinton wins the presidency. House Democrats have been racing to confront this new reality, trying to line up candidates in districts that previously seemed securely in Republican hands. But House Republicans dismiss claims that their majority is at risk. The road back to majority for House Democrats this cycle doesnt exist, and they know it, said Katie Martin, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), who ran as a sunny, center-right prince of light and hope but won only his home-state primary, bowed out of the presidential race Wednesday with a reflective speech in Columbus. Throughout this campaign, I said the Lord may have another purpose for me, Kasich said. As I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith, deeper faith, that the Lord will show me the way forward and purpose for my life. The departure fully clears the field for front-runner Donald Trump to become the GOP nominee. Another rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), ended his bid Tuesday night. Kasich, 63, entered the race with an impressive resume: 18 years in the House, where he built a reputation as a budget cutter; a stint as a Fox News Channel host; and five years as the popular governor of a presidential swing state. He ran as a pragmatic conservative, one who had defied his own party and expanded Medicaid, the federal health-care program for the poor, in Ohio. People have accused me of, at times, having too big a heart, Kasich said in one GOP debate. 1 of 19 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Candidates who have dropped out of the 2016 race so far, and why View Photos With the primary season in full swing, several have dropped out in recent days. Caption With the primary season in full swing, several have dropped out in recent days. John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), who ran as a sunny, center-right prince of light and hope but won only his home-state primary, bowed out of the presidential race on Wednesday with a reflective speech in Columbus. Read the story Kyle Grillot/For the Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. That centrist appeal made him stand out in a year when candidates scrambled to the right. In polls, Kasich seemed like the GOPs most formidable general-election candidate. But he never got there. Kasich was the last serious candidate to enter the race, one he had spent 16 years preparing for. In 1999, as the chairman of the House Budget Committee, he had run for president on the bipartisan success of balancing the nations books for the first time since the 1960s. He flamed out quickly and later admitted to New Hampshire audiences that he wasnt ready for the big job. Seemingly done with politics, he took a job at Lehman Brothers and hosted Fox Newss Heartland, which spotlighted inspirational stories amid discussions of politics. He wrote three books in the same vein. In 2010, with a voter backlash creating an unexpected opportunity in Ohio, he ran against Gov. Ted Strickland (D) and won. In 2014, after his Democratic opponent was felled by scandal, he won reelection in a landslide. That encouraged Kasich to make another run for the White House as did the failure of former Florida governor Jeb Bush to gain any traction. Suddenly, a politician known by his foes for sarcasm and a short attention span was running as an optimistic party savior. The new Kasich, like the one who had hosted Heartland, was part candidate and part life coach. Pacing around a stage in shirt sleeves and chinos, Kasich would frequently single out young people in the audience and give them impromptu life lessons. God made you special, he said at one of his last town halls, in Connecticut. Do you know that? Did anyone ever tell you that? Theres never been anybody like you, and there never will be anyone like you again. You were put here for a purpose. John Kasich was never going to be president. The Fix's Chris Cillizza explains why. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) That message, a disastrous debate for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and a surge from independent voters helped Kasich place second in New Hampshires primary. By the end of February, he was the last Republican governor in the race. The high point of Kasichs campaign came on March 15, when he won the Ohio primary. He was showered in confetti and promised to return to Ohio this fall as the GOP nominee. Im getting ready to rent a covered wagon, he said then. Were going to have a big sail and have the wind blow us to the Rocky Mountains and over the mountains to California. It was an odd metaphor but an apt one. After Ohio, Kasich performed about as well as somebody trying to cross the Rockies in a sail-powered wagon. Kasich made odd strategic choices. He campaigned in Utah, even though rival Cruz was expected to dominate there and did, as the slow-building #NeverTrump movement warned Kasich that he was splitting the vote. Kasich campaigned in New York, the home turf of rival Trump, and hurt his own cause when he seemed to explain Judaism to Jewish voters in Brooklyn. In the end, Kasich was trounced in the East Coast states where he was expected to do best. In six primaries, he won just a single county: Manhattan. The rest all went to Trump. Having argued that he could slow Trump down in states where Cruz was toxic, he was right only about Cruz. The mogul soon applied one of his famous nicknames to Kasich: One-for-38. At each stop, Kasich promised not to take the low road to the White House. One of his most reliable applause lines, it frequently neutralized him as a potential critic of Trump. The day he won Ohio, he told reporters that he had been watching video clips of women reading insulting Trump quotes (a product of the anti-Trump Our Principles PAC) and would have something to say about it soon. He never mentioned the quotes again. In Indiana, Kasich first appeared to agree to a deal with Cruz, in which Kasich would withdraw and leave Cruz to face Trump alone. In turn, Kasich would not be challenged by Cruz in two later and less-critical states, Oregon and New Mexico. But Kasich appeared to undercut that deal quickly by saying that his supporters in Indiana should not shift their votes. Ive never told them not to vote for me, they ought to vote for me, he said. Strategists for both camps were both convinced that they had snookered the other. Cruz even chided reporters for calling the deal an alliance, as it was clear that Indiana voters had turned on it. For weeks, it had been clear that Kasich could not clinch the Republican nomination with the delegates still available to be won in primaries. In fact, even as the race dwindled to three active candidates, Kasich was in fourth place with fewer delegates than Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), who had dropped out weeks earlier. Fundraising was also a problem: The governor raised less than $17 million in all by the end of March, forcing him to run a lean campaign. He began April with just $1.1 million in the bank. (Cruz, by comparison, raised nearly $80 million.) Because of his meager fundraising, Kasich has leaned heavily on two super PACs, which together brought in more than $26 million and financed much of his television advertising. Kasichs last hope was that Trump also would be denied 1,237 delegates and that he would be chosen in an open party convention. By late April, his delegate-hunters were having some success in electing allies in states like Indiana and teaming up with Cruz forces to win delegates in Arizona. On Wednesday morning, the delegate team was still at work when the word came in: The campaign was over. Kasich had actually boarded the plane that was set to take him to Washington for a news conference and fundraiser. Then, he had huddled with aides, and decided to stay home and end the campaign. He would use his last moment in the national spotlight for one more session of life coaching, a 20-minute speech that touched on everything from the majesty of Michigans Upper Peninsula to the hugs he had given at town halls. I believe we all need to live a life bigger than ourselves, Kasich said. We are, as human beings, kind of hard-wired to give someone else a lift, to give someone else an opportunity. Matea Gold contributed to this report. Protesters march to show their opposition to what they called Hate Bill 2, a measure actually titled House Bill 2, which they urged lawmakers to repeal as legislators convened for a short session in Raleigh, N.C., on April 25, 2016. (Reuters) The federal government took on North Carolinas controversial bathroom bill Wednesday, giving the governor until Monday to pledge that he will walk away from the law, which Justice Department officials said violates civil rights. The state risks losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding if Gov. Pat McCrory (R) defies the warning and maintains his support for the measure, which requires transgender people to use bathrooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificates. The move sets up a confrontation between the Democratic administration and the Republican state leadership, whose swift passage of the law in an unusual March special session led to widespread public outcry, boycotts and calls for its repeal from corporate leaders. At least five federal agencies are weighing whether to withhold funds from the state. Among them is the Education Department, which, according to budget documents, provides more than $4 billion in assistance to North Carolina, much of it in the form of student loans. A spokeswoman at the Education Department said its review was ongoing. The Justice Departments evaluation that it considers the law a violation of the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act and its ban on discrimination based on sex came in a letter from Vanita Gupta, the head of the Civil Rights Division. The letter was previously reported by the Charlotte Observer but confirmed to The Washington Post. McCrory, who has defended the law as a preservation of privacy, did not respond to requests for comment. But he said in an appearance on local television Wednesday that he thought the Justice Department letter was a pretty sweeping conclusion from one federal agency about a law he described as a very common-sense rule. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory accused the Department of Justice of "Washington overreach May 4, after the federal department said that North Carolinas bathroom law violates federal civil rights. ( / AP) This is no longer just a North Carolina issue, because this conclusion by the Department of Justice impacts every state, every university and almost every employer in the United States of America, he said. James D. Esseks, who directs the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and HIV Project at the American Civil Liberties Union, hailed the move for that very reason. Its important that North Carolina understand it cant pass a discriminatory law, he said in an interview. Also, its important that every other state understand that if it passes a similarly discriminatory law, it will pay a similar price. The law, enacted to prevent local governments from extending civil rights protections to gay and transgender people, has sparked controversy across the country, including heated opposition from business groups and a host of major companies. At least two companies PayPal and Deutsche Bank said they were scrapping planned expansions in North Carolina because of the law, moves that would cost the state hundreds of jobs as well as millions of dollars that state officials had said the companies would bring to the local economies. Several states have introduced and passed religious freedom bills in the aftermath of last years Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage across the country. On Wednesday, a group of Illinois students and parents sued the Obama administration, arguing that the Education Department is illegally forcing local authorities to let children use facilities that correspond to their gender identity. The same day, a small city in Alabama recalled its own bathroom ordinance, one that punished violators with up to six months in jail and had been passed a week earlier. A Justice Department official said the decision to send the letter was not especially controversial, although it was reviewed by high-level officials. Administration officials debated whether the threatened loss of federal funds might be counterproductive at a time when public pressure from businesses, faith groups and other constituencies had persuaded some states to resist targeting transgender individuals. The Obama administration has not been shy, however, in staking out its position on the issue. Then-Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a memo in 2014 that workplace discrimination on the basis of gender identity is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A federal appeals court in Richmond recently ruled that a transgender teens discrimination lawsuit against a Virginia school board could move forward. The teen, who was born female but now identifies as a boy, alleged that the school board his civil rights when it passed a policy banning him from the boys bathroom. The Obama administration filed a statement of interest backing the student in that case and another statement of interest supporting a transgender teen in Michigan who sued school officials for not accommodating him and for allegedly failing to address bullying. Religious freedom proposals are being weighed in nearly a dozen states after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post) The U.S. Education Departments Office of Civil Rights previously found that an Illinois school district violated the law when it banned a transgender girl from the girls locker room. Department officials told the district that it risked losing federal funding if it did not accommodate the student. And President Obama, in a youth town hall in London, said the law in North Carolina and a similar one in Mississippi are wrong and should be overturned. I think its very important for us not to send signals that anybody is treated differently, he said. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper (D) has already said he would not defend his states law, and in a statement Wednesday, he called on the governor to advocate for its repeal. Enough is enough, said Cooper, who will face McCrory in a competitive gubernatorial election in November. Its time for the governor to put our schools and economy first and work to repeal this devastating law. McCrory, who signed the law in March, has repeatedly defended the measure since then, arguing that it is needed to protect peoples privacy. He has criticized what he described as a vicious nationwide smear campaign against the measure and claimed that Obamas goal is to force our high schools to allow boys in girls restrooms. Transgender advocate Candis Cox, 35, of Raleigh called the federal intervention a true triumph. Having the Justice Department on our side says that this is not just a matter of social discretion or saying theres something morally wrong here, she said, but this is something that goes against our country and the laws that we as a nation put into place. Moriah Balingit, Emma Brown, Juliet Eilperin and Sandhya Somashekhar contributed to this report. President Obama arrived here Wednesday to check in on a disadvantaged city that has been denied a most elemental government service safe drinking water but his visit turned into an outpouring of emotion from a community aggrieved by years of neglect from its elected officials. The presidents day in a city that has become a national symbol of disenfranchisement was intended to bolster confidence over a public health crisis related to toxic levels of lead contamination in Flints tap water. Obama drank from a glass filled with filtered Flint water to drive home his message that recovery efforts, slow off the mark, were finally making gains. Yet it seemed that it was the presidents mere presence that most buoyed the predominantly African American crowd of 1,000 at Northwestern Community High School, where signs above the schools water fountains read Do not drink until further notice. I see you and I hear you, Obama told the crowd. A lot of you are scared; all of you feel let down. . . . But I want to tell you that Ive got your back, that were paying attention. The president met with local and federal officials to review the response to a problem that began in April 2014, when a state- appointed city administrator approved a switch of Flints water source without required chemicals to prevent lead from being leached off water-service pipes. Obama also spoke with local residents and he singled out for praise 8-year-old Mari Copeny, whose letter to the president was cited by the White House as the spur for his visit. 1 of 37 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad RECAP: The controversial case over dangerous lead in water in a Michigan city View Photos Anger over high levels of lead in the water in Flint has led the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Caption Anger over high levels of lead in the water in Flint has led the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Jan. 25, 2016 Flint resident Angela Hickmon, 56, chants during a protest outside City Hall in downtown Flint. Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP Wait 1 second to continue. Obama emphasized that he was not interested in assigning blame, but the crowd clearly was: Boos and catcalls filled the auditorium when Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who has apologized for the states mishandling of the crisis, made brief remarks. State officials initially denied there was a problem after residents began complaining of rashes and other reactions to water that had turned brown. The governor offered his first acknowledgment of the contamination last fall. Snyder, taking the stage at the high school, apologized for a second time and tried to empathize with the crowd. I understand why youre frustrated, he said. You didnt create the problem. Government failed you. The crowd remained unconvinced, and Snyder looked uncomfortable as he quickly finished his remarks, with audience members trying to shout him down. By contrast, Obama, on the same stage a short time later, drew hearty and extended cheers and applause. Can I get some water? Obama asked after he coughed during his remarks, drawing cheers from the crowd. An aide handed him a glass a few minutes later and he took a sip, after noting it had been filtered. The Obama administration sent Flint $5 million after declaring a federal state of emergency in the city in January. On Wednesday, Obama announced modest additional resources a $10 million allocation from Health and Human Services for new Medicare facilities, including $1 million to test and treat residents for lead poisoning or other complications from the water. Meeting with federal and local officials at an area food bank, Obama told reporters that Flint had suffered a hard time and neglect long before this particular crisis. He added that the water contamination was a symptom of the broader issue and that is a city that has lost a lot of resources, lost a lot of its tax base, was cutting a lot of its services for years. Our goal here, the president added, is to use this moment in which everybodys attention is focused to see if we can start rebuilding Flint in a better direction. Im confident we are going to do that if we are all working together. In an attempt to boost spirits, he also made the point that he was a child during an era when there were far fewer rules banning lead-based paint and he ended up healthy. Im sure when I was 2 years old I was somewhere eating a paint chip, he said with a chuckle, and he encouraged parents to get medical checkups for their children. They will be fine . . . as long as were looking after them. The presidents visit had drawn criticism from some Republicans, who said that he was exploiting the political divide over the socioeconomically disadvantaged city. The two Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), had visited Flint, including for a debate in March, while the GOP candidates have stayed away. In his remarks, Obama did not talk about his Republican rivals directly, but he emphasized that the political debate over public investment in critical infrastructure was fundamentally one about protecting the public good and being fair to disadvantaged communities. Flints overseers had been attempting to cut costs when they approved the switch in water source for the citys tap water. This was a man-made disaster. This was avoidable, Obama said. Part of what contributed to this crisis was a broader mind-set, a bigger attitude, a corrosive attitude that exists in our politics. . . . It undervalues the common good and says, Were all on our own. Referring obliquely to Republicans, Obama said politicians with that mind-set maintain an attitude that is as corrosive to our democracy as the stuff that resulted in the lead in your water. It leads to systemic neglect and carelessness and callousness. The president, who was accompanied on Air Force One by two congressional Democrats from Michigan, has been criticized by Snyder for not devoting more federal funds to Flint. Activists, including the documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, had implored Obama to personally visit the city or risk a political blowback from the public. Moore tweeted sarcastically during Obamas speech: No sign yet of the thousands of Army Corps of Engineers on their way to Flint with the President to dig up the 75K pipes. Maybe they drove. At the high school, however, Obama was largely insulated from criticism from the states Democratic members of Congress who had joined him and praised his administrations response. Flint lives matter! Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) told the crowd before the president took the stage. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, who took office after the crisis was exposed, said that Obamas visit would give residents of the city of Flint some hope and lift up our spirits and lift us emotionally and spiritually. It lets us know our voices will not be forgotten. Recalling her meeting with Obama at the White House in January, Weaver added: The president said he had our backs then. And he has them now. Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to his campaign volunteers at the local headquarters in Bowling Green, Ky. Wednesday. (Austin Anthony /AP) It may not matter what Bernie Sanders meant this week when he promised to push for a contested convention this summer. Even with his victory in the Indiana primary Tuesday, it remains all but impossible for the senator from Vermont to win the nomination. Sanders used the phrase at a news conference over the weekend at which he predicted that neither he nor Hillary Clinton would arrive at the Democratic National Convention in July with the 2,383 delegates needed to win the nomination outright. Clinton was on track, even with her loss in Indiana, to secure a majority of pledged delegates. Sanderss point was that the nominee would also need a hefty supply of superdelegates the 718 party leaders and elected officials who are automatically granted a say at the convention and that he planned to persuade these Democrats to support him. Thats the part that didnt grow any more likely on Tuesday. Already, 520 superdelegates have publicly said they support Clinton, 39 have said they support Sanders and 160 have not publicly announced their choice. Sanderss argument on Sunday was that superdelegates should consider switching their allegiance to him particularly those from states that he won. Bernie Sanders won the Indiana Democratic Primary on May 3. Here's how. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) Theres little agreement with that sentiment among the superdelegates themselves. Rep. Sander M. Levin (Mich.), a superdelegate supporting Clinton, said he has spoken with many fellow superdelegates in recent weeks. The reality is that the overwhelming number who are committed to her did so because they think shell be the strongest president in these very challenging times, he said. Levin dismissed concerns that hes bucking the will of his state by supporting Clinton even though Sanders won Michigan. It was a narrow victory. It was almost a split decision, he said. I think one needs to take that into account, but also ones own experience. Mine told me that especially in these very challenging times that she would be the most effective president. Former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, one of Clintons most vocal supporters, was even more resolute. Absolutely not, he said of the possibility of superdelegates switching allegiances from Clinton. They will select whoever has won the most delegates and that will surely be Secretary Clinton, he said. Sanders has a right to contest every single primary on the calendar, just as Clinton did in 2008, Rendell added. But he is still upset by the senators suggestion at the start of the primary season that superdelegates would play a minimal role in the nomination process. In the months since, Rendell said that Sanders supporters have targeted superdelegates with vile emails and threatening emails. 1 of 42 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Highlights from Bernie Sanderss campaign, in pictures View Photos The senator from Vermont has become Hillary Clintons chief rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Caption The senator from Vermont is Hillary Clintons rival in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. June 14, 2016 Bernie Sanders arrives at the Capital Hilton to meet with Hillary Clinton in D.C. Matt McClain/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. You cant trash us in February and then come back and tell us how much you love us in May or June or July, he said. Remember, Bernies spent two months beating the hell out of superdelegates. We remember that. We remember how unworthy we were in February. [Trump promises to obliterate Clintons record] Several superdelegates supporting Sanders declined to comment, didnt respond to requests for comment or passed along perfunctory statements of support. Others supported Sanderss bid to win over superdelegates. If Senator Sanders is close or is actually leading by the time we get to the convention, I think he definitely has a case to make that in at least the states that he won, those superdelegates should be backing his campaign, said Troy Jackson, the former state Senate majority leader in Maine. James Zogby, a Sanders superdelegate from the District and the president of the D.C.-based Arab American Institute, said: I just dont think its possible or among those who support him, desirable for him to just walk away from this. And I dont think this is something that [party leaders] can wrap their heads around, because theyre used to everyone falling into line. [Delegate tracker: The race to the Democratic nomination] Tad Devine, Sanderss chief strategist, said, The contest between the two campaigns will be decided by those delegates who are free until the time they walk on the floor of the convention to support either candidate. Things have changed since the campaign began, Devine added. People should take a look at that. The role of superdelegates is not to be the first voice but to be the last voice. If one candidate got a lot stronger, and one candidate got a lot weaker, thats something they should think about. Devine acknowledged that it will be very difficult to persuade superdelegates to switch allegiances unless Sanders finishes on a very strong winning streak something Sanders aides argue is possible after Tuesdays victory in Indiana. Yes, we must stipulate that, he said. But I think we have a viable path. Even under the rosiest assumptions, Sanders would need a minimum of 159 superdelegates already publicly supporting Clinton to switch sides for him to win the nomination, according to a Washington Post analysis. There are a total of 4,769 Democratic delegates 4,051 pledged delegates allocated based on results in the states and 718 superdelegates, a few of whom get only half a vote. That special class of delegate includes every Democratic Congress member, governor and state party official, as well as prominent party members, including former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. A Democratic candidate needs 2,383 delegates to clinch the partys nomination. As of Wednesday, Clinton had 2,205 total delegates, compared with Sanders, who had 1,401, according to a tally by the Associated Press. Sanders acknowledged Sunday that he would need to win 65 percent of the remaining delegates to match Clintons current pledged delegate lead. That figure actually grew a little Tuesday, to close to 66 percent, given Sanderss relatively narrow win in Indiana. Based on polling in the remaining states, the target remains highly unlikely. And even if Sanders were to catch Clinton, he would still need 358 superdelegates to support him. If he were to hold onto his 39 superdelegates and pick up the remaining 160 undecided votes, he would still need 159 delegates now supporting Clinton to clinch the nomination. Some Sanders supporters expressed outrage that so many superdelegates appeared unwilling even to consider the possibility. Im amazed that in some of these states the voters go 60 percent or 70 percent one way or the other and the superdelegates dont flinch? I just cant get over that, said Jackson, the superdelegate from Maine. Superdelegates should be reflecting the will of their own state, not what the establishment thinks. Dottie Deans, the chairwoman of the Vermont Democratic Party, is supporting Sanders as a superdelegate and in a statement credited him for an exciting and inspiring campaign. He has a desire to ensure that those voters feel like part of the process heading into July, she said, adding that the Democratic Party will come together in July and stand behind our nominee. Devine said he does not think continuing to contest the nomination will hurt the Democratic Party heading into the fall. We can do an awful lot of good things for the party between now and then, he said, arguing that competitive contests in the upcoming states would increase voter registration and overall interest in the presidential race on the Democratic side. Ive been in campaigns that have wanted it to end, he said. That doesnt mean youre better or stronger for it. Thirteen months after launching his campaign for president on the promise of being the purest conservative in the contest before a large and exuberant crowd, Ted Cruz ended it abruptly Tuesday night in a cavernous room here in front of a small group of downtrodden supporters. Acknowledging that he had no path forward against Donald Trump, the senator from Texas suspended his bid in the state he had hoped would keep him afloat until a contested Republican convention, where his strong relationships with party activists would help him claim the nomination. Instead, his final speech was met with gasps and shouts of No! After weeks of telling backers he planned to become his partys standard-bearer at the Cleveland convention, he explained that the razor-thin track he was pursuing to the nomination was gone. Tonight, Im sorry to say, it appears that path has been foreclosed, he said. Together, we left it all on the field in Indiana. Cruz also said he would continue to fight for liberty but did not address whether he would support Trump as the nominee. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump held a campaign event at Trump Tower in Manhattan, after sweeping the Indiana primary. (Victoria Walker/The Washington Post) [Inside the night Trump became the presumptive nominee] It was a somber ending for a candidate who made a splash last year as the first major candidate to announce a presidential run and spent two weeks here in Indiana making a series of increasingly desperate high-profile moves to keep his candidacy afloat. They included naming former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina as his running mate in a bizarre announcement where Cruz spoke for half an hour and Fiorina sang to his young daughters. In his last day on the campaign trail, Cruz unloaded on Trump, calling the businessman a pathological liar and a narcissist who was proud of being a serial philanderer. The attacks were reminiscent of the broadsides that Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida launched against Trump in the waning days of his own presidential campaign and a far cry from the lavish praise Cruz heaped on Trump for most of 2015. I like Donald Trump, he had declared. Cruzs campaign hit its zenith in February when he resoundingly won the Iowa caucuses, largely through months of cultivating grass-roots support in the state. But it soon became a roller-coaster ride of crushing losses in states where Cruz expected to do well, including South Carolina and Georgia, followed by resounding wins in his home state of Texas and in Wisconsin. Cruzs campaign used its grasp of the delegate process to beat Trump at state conventions where delegates were chosen, but it was not enough to overcome the businessmans tally and strength with the electorate. That Cruz remained one of the last candidates standing in a once-crowded field would have been viewed as improbable when he entered the race 13 months earlier. Cruz is a first-term senator known for getting under the skin of his Senate colleagues and championing controversial tactics to block the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He was painted as a long-shot underdog who was too religious and too conservative to advance past the early nominating contests. [The Fixs winners and losers from Indiana primary night] But his campaign had a meticulous strategy it planned to roll out over the year that followed, and it started working soon after he announced. 1 of 53 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Ted Cruz exits the presidential race View Photos Looking back at Ted Cruzs presidential bid. Caption Looking back at the Texas senators presidential bid. May 3, 2016 Sen. Ted Cruz speaks with his wife, Heidi, by his side during a primary night campaign event in Indianapolis. Cruz ended his presidential campaign, eliminating the biggest impediment to Donald Trumps march to the Republican nomination. Darron Cummings/AP Wait 1 second to continue. It is the time for truth. It is the time for liberty. It is the time to reclaim the Constitution of the United States, Cruz said during his campaign kickoff in Lynchburg, Va., at Liberty University, which was founded by fundamentalist preacher Jerry Falwell. Cruz was immediately buoyed by impressive fundraising and the national platform that comes with announcing first. Groups backing him raised $31 million during the first week of his candidacy, and the campaign raked in $4 million. The Texans campaign employed a strategy of slowly introducing Cruz to a national audience while furiously working to shore up support with local activists and evangelical Christian leaders in the first four voting states and the South. The campaign also talked about securing the support of delegates to the July convention almost as soon as it launched, envisioning Cruz in a head-to-head matchup with an establishment rival. The campaign sent emissaries to such far-flung places as Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands to try to lock down delegate support over the summer. It was a campaign that reflected its candidate: methodical, strategic and data-driven. Cruzs campaign deployed a sophisticated data strategy that used psychographic information to appeal to the fears or hopes of potential voters. Cruz touted his outsider status and contempt for what he called the Washington cartel of politicians and lobbyists in politics to get rich. He made the enmity of his Senate colleagues a point of pride, joking about needing a food taster in the Senate dining room. Cruz labeled himself a consistent conservative, championing what he viewed as the principles of the Constitution his campaign even handed out a pocket Constitution with Cruzs photo on it. He traveled the country giving stump speeches where he roamed the stage he does not like speaking from behind a lectern that often resembled a hybrid between a Sunday sermon and a TED talk. He made it clear that no other candidate would get to the right of him, particularly on the issue of immigration. But then came Donald Trump. Cruz made an early, conscious decision to buddy up to Trump, brushing aside the businessmans caustic comments about Mexicans and praising his toughness on immigration. [Elizabeth Warren unleashes Twitter storm on Trump after Indiana] The two met at Trump Tower in July, where Cruz invited Trump to tour the U.S.-Mexico border with him. Trump went, but Cruz could not because of Senate votes. Cruz and Trump both appeared at a rally against the Iranian nuclear deal on Capitol Hill in September. As other candidates were punching at Trump during the fall and quickly seeing their poll numbers drop as the businessman swatted back with insults, Cruz lavished praise on his rival. Cruz also tacked sharply to the right to compete with Trumps rhetoric. Cruzs immigration proposals grew tougher the longer Trump was in the race. He criticized Trumps plan for mass deportation of illegal immigrants, then seemed to support it. Cruz spoke of being weary of foreign intervention but promised to carpet-bomb the Islamic State to see if sand can glow in the dark there. He introduced a bill to bar refugees from Syria and other groups. In December as Cruzs poll numbers were up nationally and in Iowa he was caught on tape at a closed-door fundraiser questioning whether Trump has the judgment to be president. Cruz moved to smooth over the fracas, but Trump pounced. A few weeks later, Trump questioned whether Cruz, who was born in Canada, is eligible to be president. Cruz then went on an offensive blitz against the businessman, assailing him for supporting partial birth abortion and bankrolling Democratic candidates. It seemed to work, with Cruz beating Trump in the Iowa caucuses. But the momentum stopped in New Hampshire, where Trump won by big margins before marching to victories in South Carolina and Nevada. Trump also upended Cruzs plan to chalk up big wins in the South, an area the campaign saw as receptive to Cruzs unyielding conservatism and his Christian faith. The campaign was hit with internal turmoil when Cruz fired his communications director, Rick Tyler, after Tyler posted on social media a video falsely purporting to show rival Rubio disparaging the Bible. Some of Cruzs most prominent backers openly questioned his campaign strategy. [Anti-Trump Republicans confront dilemma: Should they help elect Clinton?] Despite his other losses in the South, Cruz notched a win in his home state, which offered him a bonanza of delegates and kept his candidacy alive. A win in Wisconsin in April infused much-needed momentum into the campaign. Cruzs team proved adept at mastering the arcane art of delegate allocation, regularly snatching delegate support from Trump at state conventions. But as the primary calendar moved to the Northeast an area hostile to Cruz, who derided New York values on the campaign trail Trump gained momentum while Cruz flagged. Indiana, which Cruzs team had identified along with Nebraska and California as a state in which it thought it could do well, never warmed to him. Cruz announced that he and Ohio Gov. John Kasich had an agreement in which Cruz would campaign in Indiana and Kasich would not, instead focusing on Oregon and New Mexico. But the alliance turned rocky just hours after it was announced when Kasich refused to tell his supporters to vote for Cruz. The Texas Republican later said that there was no alliance, to which Kasichs chief strategist tweeted: I cant stand liars. Cruz lit into Trump across the state, criticizing the endorsement he received from boxer Mike Tyson, who served time in prison in Indiana on a rape conviction, and decrying Trump as an insecure bully. The Fiorina announcement, meant to revive Cruzs candidacy in the state, gave it no discernible boost. The two barnstormed around the state, where Cruz faced less-than-enthusiastic crowds, and confronted a pro-Trump protester in Marion. On Tuesday night, a man was selling discounted Cruz merchandise in the back of the room where Cruz delivered his remarks. T-shirts were only $5 and buttons just $1, he announced. Nearby, supporters consoled one another. His name is still on the ballot, one rationalized. When he was done speaking, Cruz hugged his wife and father, who were part of a group of family and close friends who joined him on stage. Our movement will continue, and I give you my word that I will continue this fight with all of my strength and all of my ability, Cruz said. Zezima reported from Washington. An Indian farmer poses in his dried-up cotton field at Chandampet Mandal in Nalgonda, east of Hyderabad, on April 25, 2016, in the southern Indian state of Telangana. (Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images) In the blistering sun and swirling dust, farmer Dhananjay Hanumant Suryavanshi squats on his empty land and caresses the parched earth. There is only one thought that runs over and over again in my head. Will there be good rain this year? Will there be good rain this year? Suryavanshi, 25, said. Four years of drought here and crop loss have forced his family to take two loans and sell a third of his land, and have driven him to do menial labor. In January, his mother gave up. She drank a bottle of pesticide and fell dead near the holy basil plant in the courtyard. Relentless drought, coupled with a record-breaking heat wave and bad farming practices in the western state of Maharashtra, has slashed farm output and driven farmers to desperation. This year is the worst in decades, officials say, because most farmers are also burdened by years of accumulated debt as they continue to deplete the precious groundwater. Dhananjay Hanumant Suryavanshi, 25, shows a picture of his mother, who drank a bottle of pesticide and fell dead near a holy basil plant in the courtyard in January. The burden of drought-induced loan is fueling farmer suicides in India. (Rama Lakshmi/The Washington Post) About 330 million Indians are struggling under grueling heat and drought conditions across 10 states this year, the government said, severely harming the economy of a nation where nearly half the people rely on farming. Reservoirs and rivers here in Maharashtras drought districts are almost dry, and a 50-car train now delivers water to Latur city, near Suryavanshis village. Thirsty Indians place long, serpentine lines of plastic pots and drums at the municipal water tank and village wells, and fights have broken out at water pumps. In many places, children have turned into porters for their families, running up and down with water pots all day. A 12-year-old girl collapsed and died last month here in the searing 111-degree heat after she made five trips to fetch water. My whole family is in a constant state of panic over water, said Kasi Mali, as she placed her pots in a long line. I have missed many hours of my work as a laborer because I stand here. Nearly 30 percent of Indians in cities and 70 percent in villages rely on water pumped from deep underground, because the tap- water supply is either insufficient or nonexistent. Only 17 percent of Indias farms have access to surface irrigation projects. Most farmers rely on the elusive annual rain or pump water from underground. The practice has depleted the countrys groundwater supply precipitously, alarming environmentalists and raising concerns about Indias future agricultural output. Water levels have declined in 47 percent of Indias village wells over the past decade, the government said. Indian village women carry drinking water in plastic containers on their head as they walk back to their village after collecting it from an almost dried-up well in Samba district on April 29. (Channi Anand/AP) In Latur city, there is no groundwater even 700 feet down, residents say. In the villages nearby, the water table is in far worse shape, in some places dropping to 1,000 feet below the surface. Environmental experts have repeatedly warned that the water table will disappear soon if Indias water use is not regulated. We have gone on digging so aggressively in the last 10 years to draw water for our crops that we have used up the groundwater that is meant for the next two generations, said Raju Dongare, a farmer. But what else could we depend on? There were no canals or pipes coming to our farms. Experts also say that the drought is not a natural disaster but a consequence of decades of bad farming practices. In recent years, the state government allowed the proliferation of sugar factories owned by local politicians, which led to a sort of gold rush among farmers here to cultivate water-guzzling sugar cane, said Pradeep Purandare, a former professor of water studies at the Water and Land Management Institute. Seventy percent of the water from the states dams goes to cane farms. But cane growers have drawn on groundwater, further sapping the aquifers. This year, somewhat belatedly, the administration in Latur district launched a drive to encourage farmers to shift away from cane to oil seeds, lentils and soybeans. There is a mind-set among farmers that only sugar-cane crop fetches good returns, said Pandurang Pole, the chief district official. Latur districts groundwater situation can sustain only 12,300 acres of cane cultivation, he said. But the area has about 10 times that much land under cultivation. Repeated droughts have pushed tens of thousands of farmers to leave their villages to look for work in Indias overburdened cities and towns. In Matola village, about 500 people, mostly men, have left in just the past six months. Many of the women and children left behind are selling their cattle in distress. There is no water in the sky or under the earth; there is nothing left here, said Bai Gidappa Pawar as she poured freshly ground chili powder into a jar in her kitchen. In December, her husband left for Pune city with their 16-year-old son to work in a quarry. There is not a single family here that does not have a loan hanging over its head, she said. The burden of drought-induced loans is fueling farmer suicides across India. There were 12,360 suicides by land-owning farmers and farm laborers across India in 2014, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, up from 11,772 the previous year. Since January, 43 farmers have killed themselves in Latur district alone, including Suryavanshis mother. His mother was driven to take her life after the family lost more than $4,400 because of bad harvests in the sugar-cane and soybean crop in the past three years. He was unable to pay the hospital bills to treat his fathers cancer, who died three years ago. To feed his family, Suryavanshi and his brother now load boulders onto a truck for eight hours in the sun, earning less than $3 a day to feed their children. His farm is barren now. The oppressive heat of the sun beat down on him as he said he cannot afford to feed his buffalo for long. He said his mother did farm labor for others and brought home extra money. That helped. He feels her absence keenly. In spite of all the problems, my mothers presence was like an umbrella protecting me from the harsh sun, he said. Read more Villagers just protected a sacred forest outside Indias polluted capital Indias aggressive green court takes lead role in high-stakes battles Transgender activists in India fight for inclusion at key Hindu festival Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world A woman carrying her baby is helped up a slope at a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees near the Greek village of Idomeni on May 4. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images) The European Union announced a new plan Wednesday to deal with asylum seekers, requiring member states to accept certain numbers under a quota system and imposing 250,000-euro-per-migrant fines if the countries do not. The much-anticipated plan is aimed at revamping Europes controversial regulations on handling the continents migrant crisis as nations struggle to cope with the largest number of displaced people since World War II. European leaders have been desperately seeking a solution for months. In 2015 alone, more than 1 million people poured into the continent, most fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. [The shifting sea routes of Europes refugee crisis] Many of them are stranded in makeshift border camps, seeking to enter countries that are unlikely to admit them anytime soon. In northern Greece, more than 10,000 migrants and refugees are stranded at Idomeni, trying to enter the Balkans. In northern France, thousands are similarly stuck in a ramshackle camp called the Jungle on the English Channel, from where many make illicit attempts to reach Britain however they can. View Graphic How Europe is punishing migrants Under the plan announced Wednesday, a quota system would require most of the European Unions 28 member states to accept a designated number of migrants from front-line Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Italy, which were overwhelmed with migrant landfalls last year. Unlike in previous efforts, failure to comply with the resettlement requirements of this plan triggers a penalty of 250,000 euros (about $287,000) per migrant. For months, the idea of a quota system scaled to a member states population and wealth has divided Europe. It is favored by the European Commission, the E.U. executive body in Brussels, and by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. But it is vehemently opposed by Central European leaders, many of whom have recently embraced anti-immigrant, and especially anti-Muslim, platforms. [Astonishing new numbers behind the crisis] Wednesdays threat of such high penalties has served only to fanned the flames of these leaders opposition. I am somewhat unpleasantly surprised that the commission is returning to play a proposal upon which there is no agreement, Lubomir Zaoralek, the Czech foreign minister, told reporters Wednesday afternoon. Added Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, It sounds like an idea announced during April Fools Day. Regarding the fines proposed by the European Commission, it is blackmailing, said Peter Szijjarto, Hungarys foreign minister. The quota concept is a dead-end street, and I would like to ask the commission not to run into this dead-end street anymore. As part of the announcement Wednesday in Brussels, European leaders also proposed visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in Europe, a controversial provision meant to reward Turkey for its assistance in accepting migrants sent back from Europe and, in general, in stabilizing a chaotic situation in the Mediterranean. [E.U. strikes deal to return migrants to Turkey] But many European leaders see the provision as appeasement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has come under fire for human rights abuses in recent months. For leaders in that camp, the E.U. has been too willing to sacrifice its humanitarian values for the sake of solving its domestic problems. Turkey seeks admittance to the bloc, and they worry that its assistance in the migrant crisis may allow the country to bypass certain standards. In any case, Wednesdays proposals are a long way from being enacted. The quota system, for instance, will require approval from the European Parliament and constituent capitals, which is likely to take months. By then, the composition of the E.U. itself could well look different. A British referendum on whether to remain in the union is scheduled for June 23, and, despite recent public intervention by President Obama, two polls this week suggest that the leave campaign could prevail. Read more Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti says Libya must shore up domestic support before any deliberation of outside military help. (Armend Nimani/AFP/Getty Images) Italian Defense Minister Roberta Pinotti, one of the central figures in allied deliberations on war-torn Libya, said Wednesday that the conditions are not yet right to launch a Western military operation to help stabilize that country. The Italians have been among the most vocal European powers to insist that Libyas shaky unity government must shore up domestic support and then request international assistance before any allied operation could unfold. The new Libyan government, installed this past March and backed by the United Nations, is making strides, Pinotti said in an interview with The Washington Post. But she also warned of deepening complications. The unity government not only is confronting a threat from Islamic State insurgents, but also a challenge from unruly militias and rival factions with which it still needs to build more support, she said. On Tuesday, for instance, factions in eastern Libya sought to block the unity government from exercising control over exports of oil produced in the countrys east. Importantly, Pinotti said, the unity government has also failed to secure a vote backing it in the countrys internationally recognized parliament in Tobruk. In the past few days, weve been seeing a worrisome setback, she said. She later added, the first step to stabilize Libya is having a government that can represent the different parts, and can thus take the necessary step to make a request to the international community for military assistance. Pinotti said, however, that she would push at a July 7 NATO summit in Warsaw for an effort in the central Mediterranean Sea that could see ships from the European Union, and possibly NATO, stage coordinating operations off the Libyan coast. Such an operation, she said, would be cobbled together from existing military assets in the area. But it would also be broader, she said, than a similar mission already underway in the Aegean Sea aimed at thwarting migrant smugglers trying to enter Europe via Greece. The Aegean mission is strictly tied to fighting traffickers, she said. But we think the issue of security in the Mediterranean is more complex. Arms, for example. There should be an embargo against arms. And then the issue of surveillance, for example, counterterror operations. Western allies consider the participation of Italy in any military mission involving Libya to be key, in part because of the countrys proximity to Libya as well as its longtime economic and diplomatic ties to a nation it occupied in the early 20th century. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has repeatedly ruled out any invasion involving thousands of Italian troops. But he and other Italian officials have been less clear on the specifics of what, exactly, they would consider doing. Western allies have held talks with Rome over a major contribution to at least one aspect of a possible mission helping stabilize Libya through training and advising local forces, as well as securing Tripoli and key pieces of infrastructure. Pinotti said Italy would not back away from leading such a mission if the conditions were right. But it remained unclear, she said, what that mission would look like. Maybe the only thing that Italy will do in Libya is protect our own embassy, she said. Or it may be that we will send our military advisors or trainers to train armed forces. But this all depends on the kind of requests Italy gets. She declined to say how many troops Italy would commit. But she added that Rome, under certain circumstances, would also consider joining combat operations against the Islamic State in Libya. Should Italy have reason to think that the safety of the country is at risk, Pinotti said obviously we are willing to take any necessary step against the Islamic State. Survivors recall sea tragedy as worries shift to Mediterranean migrant route U.N. says up to 500 migrants may have drowned on their way to Italy A Libyan militia takes on the refugee crisis and wins for now Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world Stefano Pitrelli in Rome contributed to this report. This April 29 image from video released by Qasion News Agency, a media opposition platform that relies on a network of activists on the ground, shows people scrambling through rubble after airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria. (Qasion News Agency/via AP) A new cease-fire arranged by the United States and Russia went into effect early Wednesday in and around the Syrian city of Aleppo, the State Department announced. While there were reports of continued fighting in some areas, it said, there had been an overall decrease in violence. There was no immediate confirmation of the deal from Moscow. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said earlier in the day that attempts at a temporary truce had failed because of ongoing attacks on the government-held side of the city by Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaedas Syrian affiliate. Adding to confusion about the arrangement, the Syrian military said the new truce would not go into effect until 1 a.m. Thursday and would last for only 48 hours, according to the governments Syrian Arab News Agency. Urgent international negotiations over the situation in Aleppo began late last week, when what had been a steady escalation of violence, despite an existing cease-fire, erupted with the bombing of an Aleppo hospital, causing dozens of civilian deaths. The United Nations and the United States charged that the hospital was struck by government aircraft. On Tuesday, another hospital was hit, this time by opposition fighters. [Gallery: Mourning and misery in Aleppo] Beyond what the State Department said was the newly agreed Aleppo truce, Russia and the United States co-chairs of an international cease-fire task force have agreed to expand their military cooperation in monitoring alleged violations throughout Syria. We look to Russia . . . to press for the Assad regimes compliance with this effort, and the United States will do its part with the opposition, Wednesdays statement said. Russia and Iran are the primary backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States heads a group of regional and European countries supporting the opposition to his rule. The opposition said that it was impractical to speak of only local cease-fires and that the cessation of hostilities must apply to all of Syria, without exception. A statement issued by Salem al-Meslet, spokesman for the opposition High Negotiations Committee, said that they remained committed to political negotiations to end Syrias civil war. But in order for a political track to work, Meslet said, there must be an improvement in humanitarian aid access and a cessation of hostilities in all areas. It is up to the international community to develop a mechanism to monitor and enforce the cessation, as well as respond to breaches. The opposition suspended participation in U.N.-organized talks about a transition government in Syria two weeks ago, charging that the government was not serious about stopping the violence. Since then, temporary new truces have been announced in Latakia, the Damascus suburb of East Ghouta and now Aleppo. The State Department said that our objective remains, and has always been, a single nationwide cessation of hostilities covering all of Syria not a series of local truces. We . . . will continue expanding this effort so we can de-escalate the violence, alleviate the suffering, and help create the conditions that enable the parties to resume negotiations. The Syrian military has denied responsibility for the April 27 bombing of al-Quds hospital, and Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov on Wednesday denied the attack even happened, according to the Russian news agency Tass. Decrying what he called the pseudo-sensational reporting of the international mass media, Konashenkov displayed aerial photographs of the hospital site from October that he said showed the building was destroyed long ago. Along with a photo he said was taken after the supposed new strike, showing identical damage, he said they indicate quite clearly that all ostensible eyewitness accounts about another airstrike were false. The strike led to international outrage and a unanimous U.N. Security Council vote Tuesday condemning any attacks against health facilities. The council was scheduled to hold another meeting on the Aleppo situation Wednesday evening. Hugh Naylor in Beirut contributed to this report. Read more: Two sides of Aleppo: Destruction and dining out In Damascus, Syrians celebrate Putin as their hero Inside Syrias war: I went to three cities. This is what I saw. Press leaks on the report of the Belgian police surveillance committee (P Committee) regarding the monitoring of the Abdeslam brothers again underscore the role of the imperialist proxy war in Syria and the complicity of police and intelligence in the attacks last November 13 in Paris and on March 22 in Brussels. Immediately after the attacks, it was reported that the terrorists were known to the intelligence services as Islamists involved in traveling and fighting in Syria and the Middle East. Now, the Belgian report confirms that the scope of these networks and the protection they enjoyed in official circles in the context of the war played an important role in allowing the attacks to proceed. The P Committee report blames the anti-terrorist services for neglecting the surveillance of Salah Abdeslam, who is accused of being the only survivor of the group that carried out the Paris attacks. His sudden arrest at the end of March in Brussels, after four months on the run, reportedly pushed the March 22 attackers into action. According to the P Committee report, the anti-terrorist services lost Salah Abdeslam's GSM phone card and ignored his USB key, confiscated in February 2015, that is, nine months before the Paris attacks. La Derniere Heure reports that these materials were seized during a police search of the Abdeslam household in the context of a drug investigation. The local police then prepared a report on this search before depositing the objects that had been seized, as required by procedure, with the Brussels tribunal. Afterwards, Brahim Abdeslam came under suspicion of wanting to travel to Syria. His file went to the well-known DR3 agency. There are conflicting reports as to whether the negligence in investigating these objects is due to the police or the DR3 counter-terrorism agency. Nonetheless, the P Committee report clearly indicates that there was an intervention by forces inside the Belgian state to protect Abdeslams data, which then disappeared. Again according to La Derniere Heure, The federal magistrate then authorized the anti-terror unit to consult the elements seized at the Abdeslam household, except Salah As USB key and GSM card. The DR3 then asked to be able to consult these materials anyway. It is only at that point that it became clear that these objects were no longer in the possession of the tribunal. The content of the telephone had, however, been saved. Indeed, there was thus at the time, in February 2015, contact information for people now known to have been involved in the Paris and Brussels attacks. The federal magistrates intervention to protect specifically the USB key and GSM card of Abdeslam, which then went missing, is remarkable. How was it possible to then lose what were such essential elements to follow up and identify an Islamist networkparticularly in the law-and-order atmosphere at the time, a few weeks after the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris? One must ask not only if this allowed the November 13 and March 22 attacks to proceed, but whether possible complicity of forces within the state with the terrorists, related to NATOs support for the Islamist militias in Syria, played a role. On Monday, official circles in Brussels sharply attacked the P committee report, which had been issued to the parliamentary commission tasked with oversight of police and intelligence activities. In a decision without precedent in Belgium, government and opposition legislators in the parliamentary commission unanimously decided to allow the police services incriminated in the report to reply point by point to its contents. Legislators are being instructed to take into account the services own defense of its activities while reading the P Committee report. Faced with the criticisms from the parliamentary commission, P Committee President Yves Keppens, a former royal prosecutor in Furnes, reacted. He told VTM, For this investigation, we worked on objective bases and with a proven method. This is always the case, and this investigation is in no way an exception. If we make observations, we are obligated to report them objectively and accurately to the parliament. The Free Trade Union of the Public Service, through its president Vincent Gilles, defended the police services. Gilles said, the methods used by the P Committee investigators are based on procedures from long ago. Some of these investigators have not faced the realities on the ground and in the judicial system for more than 15 years. Methods have changed since then. Reality has changed, too. And based on what I have been told, I consider that unfortunately they did not take these realities into account in their conclusions. Yesterday, officials of the police and the prosecutors office released emails to the press pleading that they were overrun with work, citing numerous foreign combatants in Belgium, as well as the large number of ongoing investigations. They also attacked the P Committee report, which they said was costing them even more work. The fact that Belgian cops and spies are overworked tracking foreign combatants is proof not of the errors of the P Committee report, but rather that the imperialist policy of regime change in Syria relying on an international network of Islamist terrorists has had disastrous consequences. For five years, Syrian cities have been devastated by raids carried out by Islamist militias, as well as by the bombings of Syrian government forces trying to crush them. Now, this war has begun claiming lives in Europe itself, overwhelming the very same intelligence services that initially allowed it to take shape. The services numerous failures are now well documented. When the European press was describing Salah Abdeslam as Europe's most wanted man, he had in fact been found by a policeman from Malines in the Brussels area, without this leading to his arrest, as the policemans report was blocked as it traveled up the chain of command. The police only briefly questioned Abdeslam after his arrest, while his accomplices were preparing the March 22 attacks at the Brussels airport and at a subway stop. Belgian police also overlooked warnings from Turkey that Ibrahim El Bakraoui, one of the leaders of the March 22 attacks, was a terrorist. Since last week, Salah Abdeslam has been imprisoned in France in Europes largest prison, Fleury Merogis, having been deported from Belgium. He is on intensive suicide watch. It is important to note the remarkable silence on this affair by the French media. Indeed, these revelations underscore the sordid political mechanisms through which the media and the government of French President Francois Hollande exploit the so-called war on terror to justify the imposition of police state measures. Hollande has invoked the threat of attacks to impose the ongoing state of emergency in France, which has seen hordes of riot police attack protesters opposed to an unpopular labor reform. The goal of the French government is to manipulate the reaction of the public to the attacks, to allow it to proceed with physically crushing the opposition of workers and youth to his government's hated austerity policies. The Australian government has adamantly defended its brutal refugee detention camps on Nauru and Papua New Guineas Manus Island and denounced protests by detainees after two set themselves on fire to highlight their indefinite imprisonment. Hodan Yasi, a young refugee woman from Somalia, is in a critical condition after setting herself alight on Nauru on Monday, just three days after a 23-year-old Iranian refugee, Omid Masoumali, died of injuries sustained in a similar act last week. These events further underscore the inhuman conditions and denial of basic legal and democratic rights inflicted on the nearly 1,500 refugees held in these facilities, which health professionals have likened to concentration camps. The self-immolations came just days after the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Supreme Court ruled that the Australian-run Manus Island centre violated the PNG constitutions ban on the unlawful deprivation of liberty. The Australian government has defied that ruling, insisting that the PNG government must not shut down the facility, highlighting Canberras flouting of both domestic and international law, which recognises the right of refugees to seek asylum without being punished or persecuted for doing so. Yasi, who was reportedly sent to Nauru as a 16-year-old child three years ago, is being treated in a Brisbane hospital for critical injuries after being airlifted from Nauru. Reports from Nauru suggest she has severe burns to 70 percent of her body, with her upper body and face most badly affected. The teenager was returned to Nauru less than a week ago, having been brought to Australia last November after being seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. Early last Wednesday morning, guards forcibly dragged her, screaming in protest, out of a Brisbane immigration facility. A 23-year-old Iranian refugee, Omid Masoumali, died in a Brisbane hospital last Friday after setting himself on fire on Nauru during a visit to the detention facilities by UN officials. He cried out to the officials: This is how tired we are, this action will prove how exhausted we are. I cannot take it anymore. His death may have been avoided if he had received proper medical treatment. His wife reported that it took two hours for a doctor to see Masoumali, and he received no intravenous pain relief, nor a place to lie down. Graphic videos online show him, covered in severe burns, screaming in a hospital room and pacing back and forth while his wife begs someone off camera to provide medical attention. Staff in Nauru hospital couldnt help Omid in any way because they were unequipped, Masoumalis widow told the Guardian. A lack of proper equipment and facilities was the reason that staff couldnt help and treat Omid in the Nauru hospital. That evening, Masoumali suffered a cardiac arrest and the doctors in Nauru performed emergency surgery on him before he was airlifted out. Upon arrival in Brisbane22 hours after suffering his burnsMasoumalis wife was told by doctors he was already brain dead. The government appears determined to gag Masoumalis widow. On Monday she said that she was being confined in a Brisbane hotel by immigration officials, denied access to a lawyer and sedated. Australian Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton flatly defended the delay in evacuating Masoumali, saying no flight crews were immediately available as there were mandated rest times for aviators. But this is the second time in recent years in which adequate medical treatment could have prevented the death of a detainee. Hamid Kehazaei, a Manus detainee, died in 2014 after receiving a cut in his foot that became infected. Dutton also accused refugee advocates of encouraging acts of self-harm and peddling false hope to asylum seekers that they could pressure the government into releasing them. Pressed by journalists on this allegation, Dutton offered no evidence, instead asserting that his office received advice and intelligence to that effect. The government has labelled the protests as acts of self-harm to divert from any examination of why refugees have been driven to such desperate actions. In fact, Dutton claimed that refugees were happy to be settled in Nauru, a tiny island of 10,000 people in the middle of the Pacific. Far from living in the hell hole advocates would have you believe, refugees on Nauru are free from a fear of persecution and many are building new lives, he said. In reality the latest events are not isolated incidents. Masoumalis is the third death by an Australian-detained refugee as a result of self-immolation in the past eight months. Ali Jaffari died in September and Khodayar Amini in October, both in mainland Australia. In January this year, incident logs obtained from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection under freedom of information laws revealed 188 incidents of so-called self-harm in Nauru between June 2014 and July 2015, and 55 incidents on Manus Island. These incidents included swallowing poisons, pouring boiling water over limbs, hanging by bed sheets, stuffing tea bags down throats and deep lacerations using razor blades. In one account by a visiting paediatrician, a girl as young as six attempted to hang herself with a fence tie. All the circumstances surrounding Masoumalis death point to the impact of the increasingly draconian anti-refugee measures pursued by successive Liberal-National and Labor governments. The camps on Nauru and Manus were reopened by the Greens-backed minority Labor government in 2012 for the explicit punitive purpose of detaining refugees for many years, effectively indefinitely, in order to deter any asylum seekers from trying to reach Australia by boat. Masoumali was one of 543 asylum seekers imprisoned on Nauru, including 70 children. As of March 20, some had been imprisoned for 1,000 days. The camp is squalid. A Senate inquiry reported last year that people were housed in mouldy tents without running water or clean sanitation. Most tents have no access to air-conditioning, despite temperatures typically reaching 30 degrees Celsius, with high levels of tropical humidity. There have been numerous reports of verbal and physical harassment by guards. Refugee groups claimed to have had a victory two months ago, when Immigration Minister Dutton allowed a baby and some other Nauru detainees to remain temporarily in community detention within Australia while they completed medical treatment. But Dutton has confirmed that these refugees, who included 91 children, are being forced back to Nauru. In an attempt to win votes in the looming double dissolution election, Labor Party leader Bill Shorten has pledged to find new resettlement countries for the Nauru and Manus detainees. But Labors only proposal, while in office, was to dump refugees in Malaysia, a scheme that was ruled illegal by Australias High Court because of the lack of guarantees of essential refugee rights in Malaysia, including not to be deported back to the countries they fled. The author also recommends: Two more refugees commit suicide in Australia [2 November 2015] The U.S. Attorney's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration have joined the investigation into the death of Prince, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. "They have agreed to provide federal resources and expertise in our investigation," Jason Kamerud, spokesman for the Carver County Sheriff's Office said. Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' Will Be Simulcast on Radio Stations Nationwide on Wednesday Prince was found dead inside an elevator in his Minnesota home the morning of April 21. Since that time, the Carver County Sheriff's Office has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the 57-year-old iconic musician. Since Prince's death, there have been multiple reports the artist was struggling with an addiction to painkillers. On Wednesday, the Star Tribune reported that a California doctor and addiction specialist, Dr. Howard Kornfeld, said he was scheduled to meet with Prince on April 22. Dr. Kornfeld is an opioid addiction treatment specialist. Kornfeld sent his son, Andrew, to meet with Prince a day earlier when it became clear a medical emergency may be occurring because the doctor could not get to the location that day. It was Andrew who called 911 on April 21 when Prince was found lifeless in the elevator. William Mauzy, a prominent Minneapolis attorney working with the Kornfeld family, told reporters on Wednesday he feared authorities would charge Andrew with a crime because he had medication on his person at the time of his visit to Prince's home. However, the attorney contended his client was immune from prosecution under the "Good Samaritan" law because he was the one who called 911. The Carver County Sheriff's Office did not provide any additional details on the investigation. An autopsy was preformed on Prince. The results from that exam are pending. Prince was cremated and a private service was held for family and close friends the weekend of his death. This article originally appeared in The Hollywood Reporter. When Ted Cruz ended his bid for the White House Tuesday night, making Donald Trump the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, plenty of Democrats rejoiced at what they perceived as their good fortune. Trump is eminently unelectable, one line of conventional wisdom goes just consider how he has higher unfavorability ratings than any presidential candidate in decades. There's in fact only one candidate who comes close to Trump in terms of unfavorable ratings at this point in the race in the past several election cycles: Hillary Clinton. Read more: Hillary Clinton Beats Bernie Sanders in April Fundraising Race Take a look at this chart, put together by Dartmouth political scientist Brendan Nyhan, using data gathered by FiveThirtyEight's Harry Enten. Totally unprecedented to have candidates who are so strongly disliked by so many people (data by @forecasterenten)pic.twitter.com/q493ulYHQm https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ChdFcDEUUAAnIAW.png:large Trump certainly does have a singular status among presidential candidates, outstripping Clinton by a bit 10 percentage points in polls asking people whether they view a candidate very unfavorably. But Clinton is next in line, and her high unfavorability ratings look even more jarring when you factor in that the closest dots to her on the chart belong to incumbent candidates who governed at times of extremely high levels of polarization. Compared to other non-incumbent candidates, Clinton occupies a stratum of her own. As Nyhan observes, this level of unfavorability across the board is unprecedented. Should Clinton become the Democratic presidential nominee, she will have many advantages over Trump when it comes to knowledge, experience and temperament. But given her unpopularity among large swaths of the public, she shouldn't get too comfortable just yet. U.S. News & World Report's best energy ETFs. If you're an investor in energy stocks and exchange-traded funds, low gas prices are a growing ulcer. Despite a 2016 rebound, oil prices are off 60 percent from June 2014 highs, and major energy indices are off by 30 to 60 percent. While the potential for higher oil prices looks slim in the short term in the wake of a failed meeting in Doha, Qatar, the pressure is growing among oil-producing countries to lower output. And when that happens, energy stocks will be off to the races. #10: First Trust Energy AlphaDEX Fund (FXN) The FDN is one of First Trust's AlphaDEX funds -- a set of ETFs that use enhanced indices in an attempt to outperform the market. First Trust's Energy AlphaDEX holds 61 stocks that have been identified as either having strong value or growth characteristics, then are weighted based on the fund's proprietary ranking system. This produces a fund that's about two-thirds energy production, and roughly a third in energy equipment and services. Top holdings include SM Energy (SM) and Rowan Companies (RDC). Expense ratio: 0.64 percent #9: iShares U.S. Energy ETF (IYE) The IYE is a pretty diversified fund in that it boasts 80 holdings and invests across the different "streams" and services companies. However, the fund is heavily weighted in the integrated (read:multiple streams) majors; more than 25 percent of IYE is invested in Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), and another 13.5 percent goes to Chevron Corp. (CVX). But the concentration in larger-cap companies has limited IYE's downside compared to many other energy funds, and provides some padding in the form of a 3.2 percent dividend yield. Expenses: 0.43 percent. #8: SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) The harder they fall, the bigger the bounce. XOP focuses on exploration and production companies -- the "upstream" segment of energy -- and low oil prices directly weigh on profits, and in turn, the ability to fund future profits. But rebounding prices jolt holdings like SM Energy and Devon Energy Corp. (DVN), which is why the XOP is the winningest energy ETF on this list, up 17.37 percent year to date. Note: XOP is an equal-weight fund; currently, no stock is weighed larger than 2.82 percent. Story continues Expenses: 0.35 percent. #7: Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE) The Vanguard Energy ETF is another broad-energy fund, and here, the Vanguard price advantage really shows in this sector. VDE's expense ratio is far lower than most of the options on this list. Like iShares' IYE, top holdings are heavily concentrated in Exxon Mobil and Chevron. But those concentrations aren't as high, and as a whole, there's a slightly more even distribution across a larger holdings base of 143 stocks. Yield is less than IYE too, though, at 2.8 percent. Expenses: 0.1 percent #6: iShares U.S. Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (IEO) The IEO is a more pure play on the upstream space than the XOP, as the IEO will only invest in exploration and production companies -- not integrated oil companies like XOP holdings Exxon Mobil and Chevron. As a result, top holdings in this 53-stock fund are ConocoPhillips (COP) and EOG Resources (EOG). In this case, the lack of exposure to larger-cap integrated majors hasn't hindered performance, with IEO offering less exaggerated declines (though less robust gains) than XOP. Expenses: 0.43 percent. #5: iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF (IEZ) The IEZ is way to invest in equipment and services stocks. Schlumberger Limited (SLB) and Halliburton Co. (HAL) make up roughly 30 percent of the fund this time. Also, Baker Hughes (BHI) -- which failed in an attempt to merge with Halliburton -- is a 7 percent weight. This fund will benefit from big runs in the Big Three. Expenses: 0.43 percent. #4: Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF (RYE) This equal-weight fund is dedicated to the whole sector, and the result is a balanced and solidly (though not spectacularly) performing fund that limits some downside, but not as much as other funds with big weightings in the integrated majors. The flip side is that RYE has experienced great upside amid oil's rebound, only slightly behind XOP in performance. Top holdings are Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) and Devon Energy. Expenses: 0.4 percent. #3: SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES) The XES is an equal-weight take on the oil services space, which means you don't get the monstrous overweights in Schlumberger and Halliburton. Instead, assets are very evenly invested across 33 stocks, with U.S. Silica Holdings (SLCA) and Nabors Industries (NBR) listed as the top holdings for now. The allure of this fund, then, is the diversification and not being beholden to just one or two stocks. However, the industry's smaller players have felt the most pain, weighing more heavily on XES than its peers. Expenses: 0.35 percent. #2: Fidelity MSCI Energy Index (FENY) FENY and the top fund on this list are extremely similar in their weighting toward oil and gas companies (83 percent) and equipment and services firms (17 percent). But FENY is more lopsided, with Exxon Mobil making up 24.76 percent of the fund, and Chevron next at 13.05 percent. This is a young fund, launching in October 2013, so time will tell whether Fidelity's fund will maintain its high ranking. Expenses: 0.12 percent #1: Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) The SPDRs typically are the gold standard for sector exposure, ranking in the top three for most sectors. XLE is no different here at No. 1, and it's also top at assets under management, at $13.6 billion -- roughly three times the next-largest energy ETF, VDE. That's in part thanks to its great performance, besting most of the funds on this list over most time frames, and also because of its dirt-cheap expense ratio. XOM and CVX are the top holdings of this cap-weighted fund, helping to power a 3 percent yield. Expenses: 0.14 percent More From US News & World Report Kinshasa (AFP) - Attackers armed with machetes and axes hacked at least 16 civilians to death in a night-time assault on their village in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN and local officials said Wednesday. Local administrator Bernard Amisi Kalonda said the brutal attack took place late Tuesday in the Beni region of North Kivu province, an area which has witnessed numerous massacres in the past. "Between 8 pm and 10 pm (1900 GMT and 2100 GMT), the enemy managed to get past army positions and kill peaceful residents in their homes, slashing their throats," he told AFP. "The 16 bodies are in front of me, killed by machete or axe." He was not able to say if the attackers were Ugandan rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), who have long been active in the region. The area has suffered chronic unrest for two decades fuelled by ethnic differences and claims to land, along with bids for control over valuable natural resources and rivalry between regional powers. "Around 8 pm, we heard people shouting and the sound of bullets," said Adona Lesse, head of Eringeti village, adding that a search was continuing for more possible victims. General Jean Baillaud, the military chief of the UN mission in the DR Congo known by its French acronym MONUSCO, said there were 17 dead. ADF rebels have been accused of carrying out numerous bloody attacks on civilians in Beni and the neighbouring Ituri region which the United Nations says have cost the lives of more than 500 people since 2014. The ADF launched a rebellion against Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni more than 20 years ago, but were forced to pull back into DR Congo. Active in the east of the DRC since 1995, the movement is accused of repeated human rights violations while financing its activities by trafficking tropical timber. The UN currently has a force of about 20,000 mainly military personnel operating in the giant central African country. Shree Bose Google Science Fair's First ever grand prize winner Shree Bose says that the first time she met President Obama at age 17, she was so nervous that when he walked into the Oval Office and stuck out his hand, her first reaction was to bypass the shake and go right into a bear-hug. She'd been invited to The White House as the winner of Google's first Science Fair, an annual event that invites teenagers from all over the world to submit their projects. Bose's study on drug-resistant ovarian cancer beat out over 10,000 other entries, winning her a $50,000 scholarship from Google and recognition from the president. "I was so starstruck!" she tells Business Insider, giggling at the memory of her hearty embrace, before turning more serious: "That one of the most powerful leaders in our world cared so much about kids going into science, that was just the most inspiring thing." After Bose's first prize win and presidential introduction, she became more passionate about public speaking and started giving speeches on STEM education advocacy. (For the record, the second time Bose met Obama, she was sitting next to Bill Nye at a White House Science Fair, and he came up and said "Oh, you again!" causing her to freak out all over again.) Fast-forward five years and Bose, 22, is now about to graduate from Harvard and go on to medical school at Duke in the fall. She has cofounded a company called "Piper," which makes an electronics toolkit to get kids interested in engineering. She's also continued to work with Google over the last several years, helping judge the Science Fair and, recently, being the first one to test one of the company's new products. Slides Q_A Presenter Google brought her to its New York City office to give a talk on science and her advocacy for sciences and math education while testing out a new real-time Q&A tool in its presentation app, Slides, During her presentation, students submitted more than 170 questions. Story continues To Bose, the tool helps make it easier for would-be questioners to conquer their nerves. When she's given talks in the past, she's noticed that there are always a few stragglers who approach her at the end to ask great questions that she wished should could have answered on stage this tool makes it less intimidating to submit queries from the crowd. One of the top-voted questions at Bose's presentation at Google was about how to start making the world a better place. Bose remembered how she decided to start researching cancer after a family member passed away from the disease. To start making a difference, students should first "find something that bothers you on a very personal level," she said. When she thinks back on her trajectory, she highlights the Google Science Fair as giving her the confidence to believe she could change the world and to keep asking hard questions. Although she doesn't know exactly what she wants to focus on specifically at Duke, she is considering oncology. But she does know that she wants to stay involved in igniting young peoples' passions about science and will keep helping out with Google's event "as long as they'll have me." The deadline to submit to this year's Google Science Fair is in less than two weeks. NOW WATCH: How to find out your Uber passenger rating More From Business Insider Can Shake Shacks 1Q16 Results Set the Road for Recovery? SHAKs stock performance A New Yorkbased fine casual restaurant chain, Shake Shack (SHAK) is set to announce its 1Q16 results on May 12, 2016, after the Market closes. Shake Shack went public in January 2015 at an IPO price of $21 per share. Investor optimism about SHAKs growth prospects pushed the stock up, peaking at $96.80 on May 22, 2015. Since then, the companys share price has been on a downswing as investors became wary of paying such a high multiple for its growth. Although its 4Q15 results were better than expected, the expansion plans failed to impress investors. Since March 7, 2016, the share price has declined by 13.5%. During the same period, other competitors in the fast casual restaurant space have experienced selling pressure due to an increase in wages and declining margins. Shares of SHAKs peers Panera Bread (PNRA), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), and Jack in the Box (JACK) have declined by 0.4%, 21.1%, and 2.3%, respectively. During the same period, the broader comparative benchmark index, the Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF (RPG), rose by 2.8%. RPG has 44% of its holdings invested in restaurants and travel companies. Series overview With Shake Shacks (SHAK) 1Q15 results just around the corner, this pre-earnings series will focus on what to expect in the earnings release. The series will cover analysts estimates on the companys revenue, EBITDA margins, and EPS (earnings per share). Finally, well look at the companys valuation multiple and expected stock price over the next 12 months. Lets start by looking at SHAKs 1Q16 revenue expectations. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Ernest Hemingway would have approved of the 2016 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, once he got over the fear that would surely engulf him after first experiencing the brutally quick acceleration, of course. For a man obsessed with pursuing the truth in all facets of life, it would have been the perfect vehicle, save for the heated seats, and infotainment system perhaps. I cant imagine Hemingway being a fan of turn by turn directions, or a car functioning as a WiFi hotspot either. The Hellcat, as it shall be referred to for the remainder of this article, is a vehicle without pretensea rarity in todays automotive marketplace. It is not fashionable, it is not trendy, and it is most certainly not a bold vision of things to come. Its a hulking piece of old-school hardware, a vehicle that stirs the emotions of everyone in its vicinity, positive or negative, people feel something when the Hellcat comes around. Environmentalists shed a single sustainably-sourced tear when the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 roars to life, and no doubt they scoff, and roll their eyes when reading the EPA fuel economy ratings of 13 city/ 22 highway. Id be lying if I said I didnt understand where theyre coming from on some level. To understand it, I had to ask myself one simple question: why, in this day and age, does a car like the Hellcat exist? RELATED: Check Out Photos Of The Go Mango Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat The simplest answer comes down to one word: freedom. The Hellcat roams our streetsjust because it can. Dodge built it because they felt like it, and people, buy it because they want it. Were free to do these things in America, and the Hellcat pushes the boundaries of those freedoms, which in and of itself is a quintessentially American thing to do. Common sense dictates that putting a 707-horsepower engine in a family sedan is a foolish endeavor, but Dodge aint trying to hear that noise. Common sense got thrown out the window years ago, probably around the same time the Viper was green-lit, and say what you will about FCA., but it does offer some of the most straightforward vehicles available. The Fiat 500 Abarth, Jeep Wrangler, Dodge Grand Caravan, these are no B.S. modes of transportation. FCA does what it does, nothing more, nothing less, and in a marketplace flooded with vehicles that claim to be capable of satisfying all your needs, I find the ones with a singular purpose to be refreshing. Story continues The Hellcat exists because not everyone aspires to own a car that can blow the doors off most supercars in a 0-60 sprint without making a sound, and then go park itself while you chow down on a macrobiotic bowl of mush. Some people still want a car that will scare them a little bit, that will make them feel alive by reminding them that death could be just around one poorly judged corner. During my time with the Hellcat I volunteered to drive at every opportunity. Dinners with friends, runs to Whole Foods, picking up clothes from the tailor, all the mundane around town trips that you can either turn to Uber or a deliver service for, I offered up the services of Hellcat. It came as no surprise to me that the car is a great daily driver, especially in a city like Los Angeles. After all, at its core, what more is the Charger than a rental fleet special built to comfortably seat five people, and haul all their crap in the 16.5 cu-ft trunk? And like any good contemporary family sedan, the Hellcat has a quality infotainment system in UConnect, and two USB plugs for the rear seat passengers. Oh, your family sedan doesnt have rear seat USB plugs? Once again, advantage Hellcat. RELATED: Ernest Hemingways 55 Chrysler To Be Restored In Documentary When youre at the wheel of the Hellcat, traffic magically seems to part, whether or not thats due to its bellowing exhaust note, or its imposing figure filling rearview mirrors, I cant say for sure, but other drivers are definitely aware of you. Between the path clearing presence, and 650 lb-ft of torque that backs it up, moving through a city in the Hellcat is actually quite enjoyable, even if youre reckless enough to select track mode while on your way to the farmers market. The TorqueFlite 8-speed automatic has quite possibly the hardest job of any transmission not found in a work truck, and fortunately for all of us, it excels at doing its bidding. In Eco or Street mode, the transmission shifts smoothly, and without occasion, thus taming the wild machine, making it downright docile. Select Sport or Track mode, and shifts become seriously snappy, jerking you back in your seat with every gear change. To some people that probably sounds awful, but I found it to be the quickest way to put a smile on the face of everyone in the car. Further making the case that the Hellcat is much more than a star spangled smoke machine are the superb Brembo brakes. Up front, six piston calipers clamp down on massive 15.4 discs, while four piston calipers grab 13,8 discs out back. Months before I had the Hellcat in my garage for a week, Id spent a day hustling both a Charger, and Challenger around Willow Springs Raceway, and as great as the whine of the supercharger is under hard acceleration, at the end of the day it was the stopping power that impressed me the most. At the track, bleeding off speed while keeping the chassis composed is a must, and the Hellcat manages to accomplish this with shocking ease. On city streets, repeated quick, hard stops are the norm, and the Hellcats Brembos were more than up to the task, never losing pedal feel, never feeling overly grabby. Given that many of my fellow auto scribes had gotten their hands on the car before I did, there wasnt much left of the 275/40R Pirellis, so the top notch brakes were extra welcome. The automotive journalist community has had a lot to say about the Hellcat, some of it good, some of it bad, most of it somewhere in between. For every review that waxes poetic about big ol burnouts, theres one that labels the car as nothing more than an overpriced toy, which is dumb, because in the end, isnt that what any vehicle other than an sub-compact is? The Hellcat doesnt do anything particularly different than a Toyota Camry, it just goes about doing its business in spectacular fashion, whereas the Camry is mostly a snooze-fest start to finish. The Hellcat can be docile if thats what the driver wants, but 99% of the time, its the exact opposite. The majority of the people who buy this car want it because they want everything with more on top. In that sense, the Hellcat is the most American vehicle you can buy. From the outside it is loud, brash, and unapologetic about its demeanor, but inside its comfortable and you might not know why, but you like the way things work. Unlike so many of its operators, the Hellcat is not a car desperate for your approval, or your attention, because itll always get the latter, and has no need for the former. Like it or not, at least the Hellcat is honest. RELATED: This Dodge Challenger Hellcat Is Very Down To Earth Photo Credit: Visual Vocab for BoldRide Mead Johnson: Upgrades, Target Prices, and Upcoming 1Q16 (Continued from Prior Part) 2016: A year of transition Mead Johnson (MJN) believes 2016 will be a year of transition for the company. It plans to invest heavily in reshaping its portfolio and boosting investments in new channels in China. The company also continues to evolve its brand portfolio and drive channel strategy. Its also reducing organizational layers and eliminating unnecessary cost structures. 2016 expectations Mead Johnson expects 2016 constant dollar sales growth to be modest, from 0%2%. Currency translation is expected to have an adverse impact of 200 basis points on sales growth based on the current rate. Sales for 2016 are expected to decline 6%8%. The company also expects dairy prices to have a favorable impact on cost of goods. For 2016, the company plans to reduce operating expenses by $60 million and further reinvest in select growth initiatives and protect earnings growth. Due to the challenge of the strengthening dollar, MJN expects modest, single-digit EPS growth. The company also expects sales growth to improve in the second half of the year, reflecting the phasing of growth initiatives and investments. They also expect to incur charges of $25 million$30 million associated with the Fuel for Growth program in 2016. Among Mead Johnsons peers in the food and packaging industry, Mondelez (MDLZ) has fallen 4% so far in 2016. Hershey (HSY) and Kraft Heinz (KHC) have risen 0.5% and 5.4%, respectively, in 2016. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) invests 3.8% of its portfolio in Mondelez and 2.3% in Kraft Heinz. New premium price product line in China On March 28, 2016, Mead Johnson announced the launch of its new Enfinitas premium-priced product line in China. The company expects this product to strengthen its competitiveness in the fastest-growing segment in China. This is part of the companys initiative to broaden its product portfolio. Enfinitas is specifically customized for the Chinese market. It contains lactoferrin from the milk fat globule membrane, which is recognized to provide structural and functional benefits to infants. The company should tell us more about this in its upcoming 1Q16 earnings call. Browse this series on Market Realist: Beirut (AFP) - At least 22 air strikes pounded a key rebel bastion east of the Syrian capital on Wednesday after a local freeze on fighting expired overnight, a monitoring group said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the suspected regime raids hit Eastern Ghouta as clashes with rebels erupted. The fighting was centred on the town of Deir al-Assafir, where March air strikes by the regime killed 33 civilians, 12 of them children. There was no immediate word on any casualties from the renewed fighting Wednesday, the Observatory said. The municipal council in the flashpoint town of Douma confirmed that clashes and air strikes were rocking Eastern Ghouta, a belt of countryside and small towns east of the capital. Moscow and Washington reached a deal last week on a temporary "freeze" in fighting in Eastern Ghouta and in the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia. The so-called "regime of silence" is meant to reinforce a broader truce brokered by the two world powers in February. The halt in fighting was initially set for 24 hours in Eastern Ghouta but was extended twice, according to Syria's armed forces, and finally expired on Tuesday night. A military source in Damascus confirmed to AFP on Wednesday that it was not renewed a third time. The fresh fighting does not bode well for efforts to agree a "regime of silence" in the battleground second city of Aleppo, ravaged by nearly two weeks of surging violence. More than 270,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in Syria in March 2011. In the third episode of AMCs The Night Manager, Roper (Hugh Laurie) decided to trust Pine (Tom Hiddleston), and Pine began to spy on Roper in earnest as did Ropers love, Jed (Elizabeth Debicki), who now wants to learn what Roper really does for a living. Executive producer Stephen Garrett talked with Yahoo TV about the potential new alliance, how Hiddleston gets into character, and ZitterZatter. Were beginning to see more of Jed now that Pines in Ropers world. Whats the key to understanding her? Just to compare her with the Jed from the novel, in the novel, shes British and a kind of superficial, middle-class girl preoccupied with her place in society. By making her American I think America has this wonderful, much more class-less society, and the opportunity for people who were, as Jed was in the backstory weve given her, born on the wrong side of the tracks. She has an opportunity to make this amazing trajectory through society, with Ropers help. I think he acquired her as a trophy, as arm and eye candy. But I think he discovered in Jed someone so much more interesting, resourceful, and intelligent. Its almost like an arranged marriage: They have grown to feel something for one another, when its almost certain that when they met, they had no idea who the other was. They have been through this remarkable, and surprising to both of them, education. There is a strange mutual respect and something that at times probably is love. You feel that, to some extent, shes made this deal with the devil and sold her soul in order to invent herself as the person she wants to be. Youve already seen in it episode 2, this incredible sense of someone whos a creation partly of herself and partly of Roper. That creation is someone who is invulnerable, which is why just being seen physically naked is a matter of indifference to her. She knows shes a thing of beauty, and thats why shes where she is and with who she is. Seeing her cry [as Pine does] is like opening a window into her soul, and thats something that she wants to protect at all costs. Story continues Theres that great moment when she tries and fails to get Pine to go swimming with her where she tells him that one day hell live a little. What do you think he makes of Jed at this point? Again, its interesting, theres a subtle difference: In the book, hes initially very dismissive of her. Hes mean to her, rude to her, thinks she is just essentially a high-end hooker. To some extent, thats closer to the way that shes portrayed in the book. I think what you see in our version is a slow appreciation on his part that she isnt just a gangsters moll; that shes a really interesting, complex, nuanced woman in her own right. You can see it in that moment that you just described, when she disrobes and walks into the sea, that he is strangely drawn to her, and its not just her physical attractions. Another great sequence in this episode is Jonathan breaking into Ropers office. How do you create that kind of suspense on set? We did ask Tom to have in his head a ticking clock. He really is to race against time. Youve got a window of a minute to do what he needed to do. Whats interesting about Toms process and I dont know what piece of music he chose is he actually plays movie soundtracks or favorite pop, rock, classical tracks according to the mood hes trying to create for himself. Its almost certain that just before doing that [scene], hed have played himself some music that created that right sense, for him, of tension, jeopardy, and menace. It really works. Its very interesting to watch him. Hell often put his music away just before the camera starts to roll, and hes in the zone. Pine sends the documents he snaps photos of to his handler Angela Burr (Olivia Colman) through ZitterZatter. The trouble with those things is you end up just having to find a name that doesnt exist anywhere on the planet so you cant be sued for breach of copyright. The names are often not necessarily ridiculous, but slightly improbable. Theyre improbable because no one else in the real world is actually using it. The same is true of the name for Ropers company. We had other names for companies, and wed have ended up libeling real companies by suggesting that they were in fact offshoots of Ropers empire. Those two have to feel right and real, but actually not exist at all in the real world. Related: The Night Manager Episode 2 Postmortem: Everyone Book a Trip to Majorca Pine also catches a big break when Sandys wife, Caroline (Natasha Little), decides to tell Pine all about Ropers next deal. What we needed to do I suppose its for the audience to decide whether that comes off is to create enough of a history between Pine and Caroline, and just glances really, just a sense of an understanding that each of them has some hint of a suspicion that there may be chinks in the others armor. When she invites him to rub sunscreen into her back and says, Dont worry, I wont sleep with you, theres a little crack through which Pine can breach her armor, and he can see her vulnerability. But, as they say, putting pebbles along the path to that moment is a very delicate situation. Its something we talked about a lot in both the script-writing process and the editing. Related: The Night Manager Postmortem: Inside the Premiere of the Tom Hiddleston-Hugh Laurie Spy Thriller The Night Manager airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on AMC. Come back to Yahoo TV after each episode for another postmortem with executive producer Stephen Garrett. Berlin (AFP) - The UN's envoy for Syria on Wednesday made a plea for a halt in fighting in the second city of Aleppo, warning that failure to do so could lead to a "catastrophic" outcome. "The alternative is truly quite catastrophic, because we could see 400,000 people moving towards the Turkish border," Staffan de Mistura said after talks in Berlin with France and Germany's foreign ministers. The Berlin talks, which also included Syria's main opposition leader Riad Hijab, is part of a week of whirlwind diplomacy as negotiators battle to salvage a collapsing truce. De Mistura stressed that a return to peace talks hinged on a ceasefire. "The test is Aleppo now," he said. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also issued similar warnings. "If the ceasefire does not happen in the next few hours in Aleppo, everything would collapse," said Ayrault. "All the hopes that we had put on a peace process would disappear, even though that's a necessity for Syrians for all the refugees who want to return to live in their country." ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports The Lions held a 6-3 lead over the Cowboys at halftime of Sundays game, but their inability to hold onto the ball helped it go up in smoke in the second half. Quarterback Jared Goff threw an interception to open the third quarter and the Cowboys turned it into a touchdown that gave them a [more] A 5-year-old who was paralyzed as she performed a backbend is showing signs of improvement by crawling and pushing down on her legs. Read: How Friends Will Carry Wheelchair-Bound Man Whose Dream Is To See Europe Eden Hoelscher was a typically active child until she attempted a backbend in the living room of her family's California home last December. I look at her and she's collapsed on the floor from the backbend position," her mother, Kylee, told INSIDE EDITION. "She's crying, crying, My back hurts, my hips hurt, my legs hurt! It all hurts! All of a sudden her expression just changed. Eden was unable to move her legs and said her foot felt as though it was asleep. Kylee rushed her daughter to the hospital where doctors discovered she was paralyzed. They said that while doing the backbend, Eden had hyper-extended her spine -- cutting off the blood supply to her spinal cord and triggering a stroke. She was paralyzed from the chest down. Eden's dad, Nicholas, is still coming to terms with the impact a simple backbend has had on their lives. CrossFit trainer Christina Gloger said when performing a back bend, children should stay away from wood and tiled floors. Read: A Wheelchair-Bound Dad Stands Up to Walk His Shocked Daughter Down The Aisle Dont do it wearing socks and ask your parent to spot you," she said. "Any parent should be able to spot a 6-year-old, they're not heavy. All you have to do is put a hand under their back. Eden is undergoing intensive therapy at the Frazier Rehab Institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The institute has a pioneering program with a new approach to spinal cord recovery. They've discovered that our spine is a mini-brain and it can learn again, Kylee said. They send messages up from the bottom and teach your spine. Click here for more information on Eden and her recovery and to donate to her GoFundMe page. Story continues Watch: New Technology Allows Paralyzed Man to Move His Hand By Using His Thoughts Related Articles: 50 Cent has issued a written apology to the family of the autistic Cincinnati airport employee he previously mocked in an Instagram video. While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, please accept my sincere apologies for offending you, the rapper wrote. It was certainly not my intent to insult you and I wish you and your family well. Andrew Farrell, 19, and his family accepted the apology via a statement to a local news station. A great lesson can be learned from this heartbreaking situation. Regardless of the way that another person appears to you, it is never okay to publicly humiliate them via social media. We hope that this situation brings more awareness to what people with autism and other forms of social anxiety suffer through on a daily basis. Also Read: 50 Cent Under Fire for Mocking Autistic Janitor at Cincinnati Airport 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, was in the Cincinnati airport when he took notice of Farrell and began recording him, accusing him of being high on drugs. Look at him, Jackson says in the video. What kind of shit you think he took before he got to work today? He high as a motherfker right here in the airport. Pupils dilated and everything. The new generation is fking crazy. Related stories from TheWrap: 50 Cent to Develop Variety Show With A&E 50 Cent Mocks Court Appearance by Flaunting M&M's (and More Money) 50 Cent Claims Stacks of Instagram Cash Were Fake His bad. Rapper 50 Cent came under fire on Tuesday, May 3, after he posted a short video clip of himself making fun of autistic airport employee Andrew Farrell. In the since-deleted Instagram video, the In da Club rapper, real name Curtis Jackson, could be heard saying the new generation is crazy as he followed Farrell, 19, around the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. Farrell, who works as a custodian at the airport, did not appear to respond to 50 Cents taunts. PHOTOS: Biggest Celebrity Scandals of 2015 According to the BBC, Instagram user Rusty Stone identified the man as his former high school classmate and called the 40-year-old rapper out on his mean mistake. I went to school with him, Stone wrote. He has extreme social difficulties, just to let you know. He has a hard enough time getting through life without jacka--es like you making fun of him. I hope you feel good about yourself. You just lost a huge fan. After many other commenters similarly bashed 50 Cent for his insensitive antics, the rapper released a public apology to both Farrells family and anyone he may have offended. PHOTOS: Celebrity Charity While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, I am truly sorry for offending the young man, he said in a statement. It was certainly not my intent to insult him or the disability community, which is a source of great strength in America. I have apologized personally to him and his family. Farrells family has since accepted 50 Cents apology, but are hoping that the rapper makes a donation to Autism Speaks, an organization dedicated to bringing awareness to the condition. PHOTOS: Celebs Fight Back on Twitter! We would first like to thank everyone for the amazing amount of support that they have shown over the past few days, the family said in a statement. It has been an emotional roller coaster that we are ready to put to rest. Though a letter of apology will not undo what 50 Cent has put our family through, we are choosing to forgive. Story continues A great lesson can be learned from this heartbreaking situation, the statement continues. Regardless of the way that another person appears to you, it is never OK to publicly humiliate them via social media. 50 Cent has yet to respond to the familys request for a donation to Autism Speaks. mimi haist Zach Galifianakis Renee zellweger ABC7 Getty A homeless woman in Santa Monica, California, made some important celebrity friends, and now she's the subject of a new documentary. Marie Haist, who goes by Mimi, called the streets her home until she was invited to stay in a laundromat by its owner on a rainy night. She stayed there for another 20 years, ABC's Los Angeles affiliate, ABC 7, reported. During that time, the 90-year-old began making friends with patrons and helping out around the laundromat. That's how she met "Baskets" star and "Between Two Ferns" creator Zach Galifianakis. Suddenly, she found herself at the "Hangover Part III" premiere as his date. "Mimi has changed my life since I met her, the appreciation that I have for the elderly and people who need some help," Galifianakis said. She also befriended actor and filmmaker Yaniv Rokah, who has wanted to tell Haist's story for a while. On May 13, his documentary about her, "Queen Mimi," hits theaters. "To me, Mimi represents so many things: hope, human spirit, strength, survival," Rokah said. Life hasn't just become much more glamorous for Haist, but it has also become much more comfortable. She isn't homeless anymore, thanks to her famous friends. "Zach [Galifianakis] got me an apartment," Haist told ABC with a laugh. "And Renee Zellweger furnished it." Watch ABC7's segment on Haist below: NOW WATCH: This guy went from homeless to making $25,000 per Vine More From Business Insider Brussels (AFP) - The world's top brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev said Wednesday its first quarter profits fell due to weakness in the Brazilian market but that its acquisition of SABMiller was on track to be completed this year. Revenues fell 10 percent to $9.4 billion compared with the same period last year, the Belgium-based group said in a statement. The group, which is awaiting to hear later this month whether the European Commission has approved its buyout of British rival SABMiller, said it remained "cautiously optimistic" for the rest of the year. "We are making good progress towards obtaining the necessary regulatory clearances for the proposed combination with SABMiller," the company said. "We continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2016." If the $122-billion buyout, which was announced in November, gets the green light, it would be the third largest acquisition in history, bringing together AB InBev brands such as Corona, Stella Artois and Budweiser with SABMiller's Czech brand Pilsner Urquell. At the start of the first quarter, AB InBev registered a drop in sales in its North and South American markets where it conducts more than half of its activities. "Total volumes declined by 1.7 percent, with our own beer volumes down by 1.4 percent. The decline in own beer volumes was driven by Brazil which, as expected, faced challenging macroeconomic conditions and a difficult comparable, partly offset by strong results in Mexico," it said. "Our beer volumes in Brazil declined by 10 percent due to a tough comparable driven mainly by a very challenging macroeconomic environment in comparison to the first quarter last year." In order to ease competition concerns and win approval from European regulators, the Belgian-Brazilian brewer said it would offload SABMiller's European concerns, and announced last month the sale of the Peroni and Grolsch brands to Japanese beer giant Asahi Group. AB InBev sees the buyout of SABMiller as a key way to counterweight falling beer demand in big markets by building its presence in Africa and other regions where sales are going up. By Philip Blenkinsop BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR), set to increase its global beer leadership by buying SABMiller (SAB.L), reported lower than expected earnings in the first three months after it sold 10 percent less beer in its second largest market, Brazil. AB InBev shares fell as much as 4.6 percent to a seven-week low of 103.20 euros, making them among the weakest performers in the FTSEurofirst 300 index (.FTEU3) of leading European stocks. The brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona had warned in February that it was likely to have a weak start to the year in Latin America's biggest economy. Brazil, where AB InBev has two-thirds of the beer market, contracted at its sharpest rate since 1990 last year and the outlook for 2016 is nearly as bad with a political crisis now adding to its problems. Beer volumes fell 10 percent in the quarter overall from a year earlier, but did recover in April, the brewer said. AB InBev's first-quarter core profit (EBITDA) rose by 2.5 percent excluding the impact of currencies and one-offs to $3.46 billion, compared with the average forecast in a Reuters poll of $3.73 billion (2.5 billion pounds). Earnings growth was also limited by a 13.5 percent rise in sales and marketing spend. AB InBev said this investment was weighted towards the first half of the year. Eamonn Ferry, drinks analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, said that figures should improve in the second quarter, notably compared with a weak performance a year earlier, and that the early timing of Carnival and tax hikes and floods in Brazil could be considered one-offs. "The shares won't be spared, but these things should put a floor on the decline," he said. The brewer has succeeded in pushing through price hikes, but has been hit by the weakness of currencies, notably the Brazilian real and the Mexican peso, to the dollar, although Mexico was the star performer, with 13 percent more beer sold. Overall, the company retained its forecast that revenue per hectolitre would grow ahead of inflation, with strong volume increases in Mexico, an improvement in the United States and a rise in revenue in Brazil outweighing sluggish sales in China. Story continues China's manufacturing sector expanded for a second month in a row in April but only marginally, raising doubts about a recent pick-up in the world's second-largest economy. AB InBev gave no new information on its planned $100-billion-plus takeover of its nearest rival SABMiller, saying it still expected the deal offering new markets in Africa and Latin America to close in the second half of this year. (Reporting By Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Louise Heavens) Paris (AFP) - Air France-KLM said Wednesday it cut its losses in the first quarter of 2016 but passenger traffic to Paris was affected by terror attacks and the airline also warned of a difficult year ahead as it moved to cut wages of French pilots. The Franco-Dutch group enjoyed lower fuel prices but said this was likely to be offset over the rest of the year by pressure on revenue and by the negative impact of currency swings. Air France-KLM reported a net loss of 155 million euros ($178 million) in the three-month period, which was overshadowed by a deadly attack on Brussels airport. This compared to a loss of 559 million euros in the same period a year earlier. Revenue edged up 0.4 percent to 5.6 billion euros in the same period. "The global context in 2016 remains highly uncertain regarding fuel prices, the continuation of the overcapacity situation on several markets and the geopolitical and economic context in which we operate," Air France-KLM said in a statement. "As a consequence, the group expects the forecasted savings on the fuel bill to be significantly offset in the coming quarters by unit revenue pressure and negative currency impacts." The airline said it was sticking to its forecasts for this year, including cutting unit costs by around 1.0 percent and a cutting its net debt -- now standing at 4.16 billion euros -- significantly "Despite a difficult environment marked in particular by the Brussels attacks, the upgraded product offer, the commercial efforts and the ongoing network adaptation have enabled the group to limit the unit revenue decline and to retain a substantial part of the fuel savings," outgoing chief executive Alexandre de Juniac said in a statement. Two suicide bombers struck Brussels airport on March 22, while a third attacker blew himself up at on a metro train. The twin attacks, which killed 31 people, came barely four months after the November 13 attacks in central Paris that killed 130 people. Story continues Air France-KLM finance director Pierre-Francois Riolacci said traffic to Paris had been affected "terrorist events", especially for Japanese customers. Despite being hard hit by the Paris attacks, Air France-KLM managed last year to post its first annual operating profit since 2008 as it reaped the benefits of cost cutting measures as well as lower fuel prices. It also posted a net profit of 118 million euros. - Cuts to pilots' wages - The airline group has decided to push forward with cost cutting efforts as board of directors also authorised Air France to cut the wages of pilots beginning on June 1. The move follows court efforts by SNPL, the top union among pilots, to block the cuts which were accepted by a majority of pilots as part of a cost savings effort in which ground and cabin crew also accepted reductions. The pilots will see their night pay rate drop as well as a less favourable calculation for their ground preparations, which could produce up to 30 million euros in savings per year for the airline. "There has been no recourse to force," the airline group's human resources chief, Gilles Gateau, announced late Tuesday after the board meeting, noting that a local and appeals court had allowed the company to move forward. The SNPL decried management's resort to forcing through the cuts, said it would continue dispute the move in courts, and threatened a strike. That could become a costly setback to efforts to improve the company's finances as a two-week strike by the pilots in September 2014 crippled the airline and cost 416 million euros in turnover. Tensions have been running high at the French national airline, after two executives had their shirts ripped off by employees, angry at the announcement in October last year to cut another 2,900 jobs. Air pollutionan environmental problem now more associated with the developing cities like New Delhi than the capitals of the Westhas emerged as key issue in the race to elect the next London mayor, with all three leading candidates campaigning on their solutions and voters describing the problem as an important concern. The mayoral campaign comes on the heels of a series of recent reports blaming pollutionlargely from the emissions of diesel vehiclesas a leading killer in the United Kingdom. Around 40,000 people deaths annually in the country are linked to air pollution, according to a recent Royal College of Physicians report. Another report, from Kings College London, suggests as many as 9,500 people die of that cause annually in London alone. Those figuresblasted across headlines and bandied about in campaign speecheshave been absorbed by the electorate. Nearly 70% of London parents say theyre worried about their children breathing dirty air and nearly two-thirds say the city should completely ban diesel trucks from the city center, according to recent polls from the London Evening Standard. Weve got a real diesel problem in London and pretty awful streets, says Simon Birkett, the founder of the NGO Clean Air in London. In London, you can actually smell the pollution Go down Oxford Street, you can literally smell it. Read More: These Are Americas 10 Most Polluted Cities The mayoral candidates all acknowledge the scope of the problem and say they are committed to expanding a measure introduced by current Mayor Boris Johnson to create a Ultra Low Emission Zone in London beginning in 2020 that would charge owners of high-polluting vehicles who want to enter city center. The leading candidateswith the exception of Conservative Zac Goldsmithhave said they would move that date forward and expand the territory it covers. Story continues Reducing harmful emissions from Londons iconic bus fleet has also become a key campaign issue. Labour candidate Sadiq Khan and Liberal Democrat candidate Carol Pidgeon, as well as Goldsmith, all say they will ensure that the city only adds clean energy vehicles to its bus fleet, though they vary on some of the specifics, according to a report from U.K. think tank Policy Exchange. Whoever is elected, there is definitely going to be some change and accelerated action on this issue, says Richard Howard, head of environment and energy at Policy Exchange. There is a desire to tackle the problem that maybe wasnt there in the past. London represents perhaps the bestor worstexample of a growing air pollution in developed cities that thought theyd left such problems in the past. And ironically, the issue has arisenat least in partas a result of Europes aggressive efforts to address climate change. European countries and the European Union created incentives to encourage consumers to buy diesel vehicles because they emit less carbon dioxidea key contributor to global warmingthan their gasoline counterparts. The initiatives worked and in 2013 diesel vehicle penetration topped 35% in the UK, according to a government report. (In the United States the comparable figure is in the low single digits and likely to fall following the Volkswagen emissions cheating scandal). But while diesel vehicles have a smaller carbon footprint, they emit around 20 times more nitrogen oxide than gasoline-powered cars, contributing to a slew of respiratory problems and worsening conditions like asthma. Nitrogen dioxide levels at Oxford Streetcommonly thought to be the most polluted street in the countryaveraged four times the legal limit in the year leading up to August 2015, according to a Policy Exchange report. In the first two weeks of 2016, the city exceeded the maximum days of high nitrogen dioxide pollution allowed for the entire year. Read More: Preterm Births Linked to Air Pollution Cost Billions in the U.S. The fight against air pollution, which comes half a century after the country enacted its Clean Air Act to deal with the grime of London pea soup fog, extends beyond London city limits. The environmental group ClientEarth successfully sued the national government in the countrys Supreme Court last year arguing that the administrations plan to address pollution would fail to meet air quality standards. In response, the Conservative government drafted a new plan that would charge high-polluting vehicles in some of the countrys largest cities (London is left to implement its own scheme), but that strategy also faces another challenge arguing that it is insufficient. London is far from the only rich city where pollution has spiked in recent years thanks to diesel vehicles. The mayors of 20 major European citiesincluding Paris, Madrid and Athenssigned a letter in March arguing that the E.U.s diesel regulations damage human health in their cities. How can we protect the health of our fellow citizens when the European Union has rubber-stamped a permit to pollute, at the expense of public health? they wrote in a letter published in Le Monde. Some cities, like Paris, have enacted their own restrictions on cars in the city center. Globally, air pollution kills millions of people each year, with developing country cities like Beijing, New Delhi and Mexico City particularly hard hit. Policymakers in those places have used the crisis as an opportunity to tackle climate change and air pollution in one swoop with measures like reducing reliance on coal-fired power plants and industrial emissions. But the examples of European cities like London shows that there may be times when the imperative to reduce carbon emissions clashes with the need to clean the air. The only way that the world is going to get a handle on the problem is if country by country leaders take ownership of the issue, says Mount Sinai Dr. Phil Landrigan, a leading public health researcher who is leading a commission on air pollution. BEIRUT (Reuters) - Air strikes targeted a Syrian rebel-held area east of Damascus on Wednesday after an agreement aimed at halting the fighting there expired at midnight, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and rescue workers reported. The Observatory also reported fighting between rebel groups and government forces in the area targeted in the air strikes in the town of Deir al-Asafir in Eastern Ghouta. Moscow announced on Monday the temporary truce it brokered with the United States had been extended until the end of May 3. No further extension has been declared. The Civil Defence rescue service in opposition-held areas of rural Damascus said the area had been targeted by 21 raids and simultaneous mortar fire. There were no injuries, it said in a statement. (Writing by Tom Perry, editing by Angus MacSwan) The past week saw Virgin America VA and SkyWest SKYW reporting strong first-quarter 2016 results, thanks to the dip in fuel costs. On the other hand, Allegiant Travel Companys ALGT in-line earnings and revenue miss was quite a disappointment. On the non-earnings front, Delta Air Lines DAL and Alaska Air Group ALK reported healthy traffic data for the month of April. Load factor (% of seats filled by passengers) increased for both the carriers as traffic growth outpaced capacity expansion in the month. On the price front, the NYSE ARCA Airline index declined 2.6% to $88.43 over the past five trading days. Read the last Airline Stock Roundup for Apr 27, 2016. Recap of the Past Weeks Most Important Stories 1. Low-cost carrier Virgin America's first-quarter earnings (excluding special items) of 41 cents per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 36 cents. Results were aided by low fuel costs. Operating revenues came in at $364 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $362 million. Revenues also improved 11.5% from the year-ago figure. Meanwhile, capacity increased 15.8% on a 15.9% rise in traffic during the quarter. Load factor was flat on a year-over-year basis at 80.1%. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM: a measure of unit revenue) declined 3.8% to 9.88 cents in the reported quarter. Total RASM decreased 3.7% in the first quarter of 2016 and yield per passenger mile declined 3.7%. 2. St. George, Utah-based SkyWest, Inc.s first-quarter earnings of 52 cents per share was way ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 25 cents. Earnings also improved approximately 68% from the year-ago figure. Quarterly revenues of $762 million comfortably beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $738 million and expanded marginally on a year-over-year basis. SkyWests efforts to modernize its fleet by adding new aircraft and removing unprofitable/less profitable ones drove the upbeat results. Story continues 3. Alaska Air Group, the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, posted a significant rise in air traffic for Apr 2016. Revenue passenger miles (RPMs) a measure of air traffic improved 11.1% on a 10.4% capacity expansion. Load factor increased to 84.1% from 83.6% in Apr 2015 as capacity expansion was outpaced by the increase in traffic. 4. Delta Air Lines revealed a 2.7% increase in RPMs for April while capacity improved 2.5%. Load factor increased to 83.3% from 83.2% in Apr 2015 as capacity expansion lagged the increase in traffic. However, Delta witnessed a 4% drop in PRASM in the month, mainly due to foreign exchange woes. On a separate note, good news flowed in for Delta after the Mexican Federal Economic Competition Commission approved (with conditions) the carriers proposed $1.5 billion joint venture with Grupo Aeromexico. The carriers aim to strengthen their partnership with this JV. 5. Allegiant Travel Companys first-quarter 2016 earnings per share of $4.29 were line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Quarterly revenues increased 5.9% year over year to $348.6 million, narrowly missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Air traffic rose 15% year over year on an 18.8% rise in capacity, while load factor stood at 84% compared with 86.8% recorded in the year-ago quarter. Fuel expense per ASM declined 35.1% in the reported quarter, thus aiding the bottom line. Fuel price (average) declined 33.2% to $1.29 per gallon in the reported quarter. For the second quarter of 2016, the company expects cost per available seat mile (CASM), excluding fuel, to grow in the range of 4% to 6%. TRASM in the second quarter is likely to decline in the band of 10% to 8%. Performance The following table shows the price movement of the major airline players over the past week and during the last 6 months. Company Past Week Last 6 months HA -3.32% 17.85% UAL -3.90% -21.83% GOL -0.28% -21.78% DAL -1.63% -15.28% JBLU -2.35% -20.38% AAL -6.28% -24.22% SAVE -9.16% 24.53% LUV -6.22% -7.50% VA 0.50% 49.41% ALK -5.34% -9.04% The table shows that almost all airline stocks traded in the red over the past week with shares of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines depreciating the most (9.16%). Virgin America was the sole gainer over the period on the back of its impressive first-quarter results. Over the past six months as well, most airline stocks traded in the red leading to the NYSE ARCA Airline index declining 4.49%%. Shares of Virgin America appreciated the most (49.41%) during the period while American Airlines AAL emerged as the biggest laggard (24.22%). What's Next in the Airline Space? Latin American carrier Copa Holdings CPA is slated to release its first-quarter 2016 results on May 5. Moreover, multiple traffic updates for the month of April are expected over the next few days. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report DELTA AIR LINES (DAL): Free Stock Analysis Report COPA HLDGS SA-A (CPA): Free Stock Analysis Report SKYWEST INC (SKYW): Free Stock Analysis Report ALLEGIANT TRAVL (ALGT): Free Stock Analysis Report ALASKA AIR GRP (ALK): Free Stock Analysis Report AMER AIRLINES (AAL): Free Stock Analysis Report VIRGIN AMERICA (VA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Matt Scuffham TORONTO (Reuters) - A wildfire in the Alberta city of Fort McMurray is set to become the costliest ever Canadian natural disaster for insurers, with 1,600 buildings destroyed and another 19,000 under threat, analysts and industry sources say. The bill for insurers is expected to be several times more than the C$700 million ($544 million) paid out for a wildfire in Slave Lake, Alberta, in 2011. The fire in Slave Lake, a small town 250 km (155 miles)northwest of the city of Edmonton, led to the destruction of 374 homes, less than a quarter of the number of structures already destroyed at Fort McMurray, and damaged another 52. "If you're looking at four times that of Slave Lake you're getting to well over C$2 billion ($1.6 billion) so there is a possibility that this may become the biggest catastrophic claim in Canada," said DBRS analyst Stewart McIlwraith. The unchecked fire, now in its fourth day Wednesday, has prompted the full evacuation of Fort McMurray's 88,000 residents. It has not, however, endangered the major oil producers in the area, the heart of the oil sands industry. The fire is also likely to exceed the C$1.9 billion in losses caused by the Alberta floods of 2013, which set the record for the costliest Canadian disaster. Those losses were limited by the fact that many policies did not cover the type of flooding experienced. Shares in Intact , Canada's largest property and casualty insurer, closed nearly 4 percent lower. The company said it has the biggest exposure of any insurer to the region. "It could be quite significant in terms of a loss for them," said Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan. Intact declined to comment on the likely scale of its losses, but Chief Executive Charles Brindamour told analysts on the company's results call that "there are lots of similarities between Fort McMurray and Slave Lake." Analysts said other insurance providers with exposure to the region include Toronto-Dominion Bank and international insurers Aviva and RSA . The Insurance Bureau of Canada, which represents Canadian home, cars and business insurers, said it was too early to speculate on the cost of claims. The average price of homes in Slave Lake is much lower than that of homes in Fort McMurray, where a decade long oil boom sent housing prices soaring. Experts say in Fort McMurray insurance policies would likely cover all damage to property and belongings damaged by the wildfire. (With additional reporting by Euan Rocha and John Tilak in Toronto; Editing by Mary Milliken) By Nandita Bose CHICAGO (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's business marketplace, which connects businesses with suppliers, has generated $1 billion in sales in its first year, making it a significant player in a fragmented industry worth more than $8.2 trillion in the United States. Amazon Business offers U.S. businesses exclusive pricing and discounts for buying in bulk, free two-day shipping for orders of more than $49, tax exemption and the option to get products delivered with an Amazon guarantee. "We are continuing to grow at a rate of 20 percent month-on-month, and that highlights ... how strong the need is in this segment," Amazon Vice President Prentis Wilson told Reuters on Tuesday. The business marketplace, which Amazon has described as one of its important areas for growth, extends its role as a middleman for third-party vendors, which account for more than 40 percent of the company's sales. This also helps Amazon gain an edge in the fast-growing online business-to-business sector, which is likely to account for about 12 percent of B2B sales in the United States by 2020, according to estimates by Forrester Research in 2015. Wilson said Amazon added more than 30,000 sellers and more than 300,000 businesses to its platform in the past year and continues to add "thousands of customers" every week. Amazon's customers on the platform range from companies like Cardinal Financial Corp to consumer products makers like Henkel & Co and institutions like the University of California-San Diego and the University of Illinois. Some of the most widely sold products on the platform include computer and information technology equipment, office supplies, lab equipment and food service supplies. Amazon Business has also started beta testing an offer to extend lines of credit to businesses that register on its platform, Wilson said. These lines of credit could range from tens of thousands of dollars up to $1 million, Wilson added. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn) Amber Heard looked totally stunning at Monday's Met Gala, but surprised some when she showed up without husband Johnny Depp on her arm. Instead, the Aquaman star perfectly accessorized her silky high-slit Ralph Lauren gown with Kimball Hastings, Ralph Lauren's head of PR, who dressed her for the event. Splash News PHOTOS: The 13 Best-Dressed Stars at the 2016 Met Gala Heard wasn't the only starlet who flew solo at the gala, an understated theme of the evening seemed to be ladies letting their less fashion-forward men stay home in favor of taking a designer or stylist as their plus one. Beyonce notably stepped out without her husband, Jay Z, or her wedding band, stunning the crowd in her Givenchy dress and letting a stylist worry about the details. Getty Images WATCH: Rita Ora Rocks 'Not Becky' Pin to Met Gala After-Party Oscar winner Alicia Vikander left boyfriend Michael Fassbender at home, instead opting to pose in her metallic Louis Vuitton dress with the fashion house's creative director, Nicolas Ghesquiere. Getty Images PHOTOS: The 11 Worst-Dressed Stars at the 2016 Met Gala Nicki Minaj's boyfriend (fiance? husband? We can't keep it straight.) Meek Mill is technically on house arrest right now, but this probably wouldn't be his scene anyway. The rapper rolled with the Moschino gang on the Gala red carpet, posing alongside creative director Jeremy Scott in her sexy, strappy gown. Getty Images MET GALA 2016: Kanye West vs. Taylor Swift and 5 Other Near-Awkward Run-Ins at the Met Gala Cindy Crawford looked positively stunning in her silver-scaled Balmain dress, and posed with the brand's creative director, Olivier Rousteing, though hubby Rande Gerber joined her for the after party. Getty Images WATCH: Blake Lively, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and More Go 'Vogue' in Met Gala Video Booth After Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds looked devastatingly dapper at the White House reception for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau back in March, we were hoping he'd rock the Met Gala carpet with wife Blake Lively. However, Lively held things down just fine on her own, masking her growing baby bump in a gorgeous pink Burberry cape gown and posing alongside the company's CEO and chief creative officer Christopher Bailey. Story continues Getty Images WATCH: 18 Outrageous Looks That Prove the Met Gala Is the Only Fashion Event That Matters Related Articles From Cosmopolitan Well, this is going to be fun. Amber Rose is getting her own weekly primetime talk show, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series, which doesn't have a title yet, will premiere this summer on VH1 and will be produced by Dr. Phil and his son Jay McGraw's production company. "Amber has inspired millions of young women by overcoming homelessness to become a wildly successful entrepreneur," VH1 GM Chris McCarthy told the outlet. "A true multihyphenate, she is a devoted mother, a strong advocate for women's rights and a celebrated author all of which make her an ideal host. Amber is a perfect addition to the VH1 family because our audience is interested in hearing unique perspectives from those who are unapologetically themselves and not afraid to take a stand on issues they are passionate about." Amber slays every talk show appearance she does, so I'm pumped she'll get to take the reigns. "Join us as we break all the rules and redefine late-night," Amber told THR. "Watch out Fallon, here comes Muva!" Follow Kate on Twitter. By Joseph Ax (Reuters) - Fifteen members of an Ohio Amish sect convicted in a spate of beard- and hair-cutting attacks on other adherents to their faith lost a bid on Wednesday to have their convictions thrown out, after a U.S. appeals court ruled they had failed to challenge them in a timely manner. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati also rejected the claim from some defendants that their prison sentences, which ranged from 3-1/2 years to nearly 11 years, were unjustly long. The case involved an Amish sect in the rural community of Bergholz, southeast of Cleveland. Federal prosecutors said the bishop, Samuel Mullet, was a "cult leader" who orchestrated five attacks as retaliation for personal and spiritual disagreements with other Amish. Beards are an essential aspect of religious expression for Amish men, while Amish women do not cut their hair. Several victims testified at the 2012 trial regarding the humiliation they experienced as a result of the assaults. A jury convicted 16 members of hate crimes, conspiring to conceal evidence and other counts. The 6th Circuit, however, tossed the hate crime convictions in 2014, prompting U.S. District Judge Aaron Polster to reduce the prison sentences for the eight defendants who were still serving time. All but one of the 16 defendants subsequently challenged their convictions on the lesser counts, while the eight resentenced defendants also appealed the length of their prison terms. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel from the 6th Circuit said the defendants could not appeal their convictions on the lesser charges after having failed to do so the first time around. The panel also said Polster's sentences were an appropriate exercise of his discretion. Wendi Overmyer, a lawyer for Mullet, said they were "disappointed" in the ruling and would consider their legal options. Lawyers for the other defendants did not immediately comment on the decision. (The story corrects day of ruling from Tuesday to Wednesday in first and ninth paragraphs) (Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by David Gregorio) Amy Schumer shared the best beauty hack pre Met Gala [Photo: Getty] When shes not giving us the Lols by setting fire to her ladyparts, Amy Schumer is sorting out our life, by coming up with the beauty hack of all beauty hacks. Before Monday nights Met Gala, the comedian/actress/writer/producer posted a video to Instagram showing the genius way she combats chafing: by applying deodorant to her inner thighs. Brilliant. A video posted by @amyschumer on May 2, 2016 at 9:16pm PDT And lets face it when youve opted to go bare-legged the old inner thigh rub can be a real problem. Hoisting up the slit in her Alexandra Wang gown, the star rubbed on a generous amount of anti-p and shared the clever hack with the world with the caption No chafe #nothighgapnoproblem. Well certainly be trying this one, if the weather in the UK cheers up enough for us to actually ditch our 100 deniers. Brrrr. Thanks for the tip Amy! What do you think of Amys beauty hack? Let us know @YahooStyleUK Emma Watsons Met Gala Outfit Was Made Entirely Out Of Plastic Bottles Met Gala: What Everyone Wore LUANDA, May 4 (Reuters) - Angola needs to fight money laundering and financing terrorism by focussing on ethics and morality in its banking sector the central bank's governor, Valter Filipe da Silva, said. An international money-laundering watchdog removed Angola from its blacklist in February, after reforms that included licensing banks and setting up a monitoring agency, but banks in Africa's No. 2 oil exporter are still deemed risky. Last year, the risk of financial crime and difficulty in monitoring clients forced Standard Chartered to stop its dollar-clearing operations in Angola. Bank of America stopped selling dollars to Angolan banks from December. "It is necessary to place again ethics and morality in Angolan banking and must this be placed to the service of the common good," Da Silva said at an event on Tuesday. "We must do so by implementing the prudential rules and good national practices and international and all standards to combat money laundering and terrorism financing." The Financial Action Task Force, which sets international standards for anti-money laundering and fighting terrorist financing, had added Angola to its black list in 2010. Angola has a dwindling amount of crude to sell as more of its oil flows to China for debt repayment, leaving little revenue for anything from oil sector development to health care. (Reporting by Herculano Coroado; Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Louise Ireland) San Francisco (AFP) - Apple confirmed Tuesday that it has hired robotics star and Google X lab co-founder Yoky Matsuoka to work on health projects. Matsuoka, a winner of the MacArthur genius award, last year left her job as a vice president at Google-owned Nest. Her plan to take a job at San Francisco-based one-to-many messaging service Twitter was derailed last year by a "life-threatening illness," Matsuoka wrote in an online post at medium.com. "A new future has begun to fill my mind again," she wrote at the time, saying medical treatment was working and she had yet to work out new plans for her future. "When you get another chance at life, there's an opportunity to start from scratch and I feel so lucky to have this." Matsuoka will answer to Apple chief operating officer Jeff Williams, who oversees health projects, including software kits that let application makers or researchers take advantage of capabilities of the iPhone and the Apple Watch. The MacArthur Foundation website described Matsuoka as a leader in the field of neurorobotics, a field that combines robotics with how the human nervous system coordinates muscle and skeletal movements. In 2009, she helped start Google X Lab devoted to "moonshots" such as self-driving cars and Internet-linked eyewear. Matsuoka became part of the Nest team after Google bought the startup two years ago. BEIJING (Reuters) - Apple Inc has lost a battle for the use of the "iPhone" trademark on leather goods in China after a Beijing court ruled against the world's biggest technology company in favor of a local firm, state media reported. The Beijing Municipal High People's Court said Xintong Tiandi can continue to use the phrase "iPhone" on its leather goods, according to the Legal Daily, the official newspaper of China's Justice Ministry. In a statement, Apple said it was disappointed with the ruling. "We intend to request a retrial with the Supreme People's Court and will continue to vigorously protect our trademark rights," the company said. The U.S. tech company has repeatedly found itself tangled in intellectual property disputes in China where the sheer number of companies means trademarks are often taken by little-known players. Some enterprising firms are quick to snap up trademarks that are known overseas but not registered locally, in the hope of a pay-off down the line. In 2002, Apple applied for the "iPhone" trademark for computer hardware and software in China, but that was only approved in 2013. Xintong Tiandi created its trademark for leather goods in 2007, the first year Apple's iPhone went on sale. The U.S. firm has been disputing the Chinese firm's intellectual property rights since 2012. The Beijing court dismissed Apple's appeal, saying the U.S. firm could not prove the "iPhone" brand was well-known in China before 2009, when it first started selling the handsets on the mainland. In 2012, Apple paid $60 million to end a protracted legal dispute over the iPad trademark in China, which had hampered some sales and delayed the introduction of a new iPad in the country. Apple has been facing tougher times in Greater China - its second-largest market. Last week, billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn said he had sold his entire stake in the firm. He cited risks to the stock because of the economic slowdown in the People's Republic and worries about how the country could become more prohibitive in doing business. (Reporting by Paul Carsten; Additional reporting by Yimou Lee in Hong Kong and Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Ryan Woo and Alistair Bell) Why Apple's Stock Fell following Its Fiscal 2Q16 Results (Continued from Prior Part) Sales fell 26% in Greater China Apples (AAPL) revenue in China (FXI) fell 26% YoY (year-over-year), from $16.8 billion in fiscal 2Q15 to $12.5 billion in fiscal 2Q16. Revenue from Greater China includes China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan (EWT). The United States continued to be Apples largest market, generating revenue of $19.1 billion in fiscal 2Q16. However, this was a 10% fall in revenue compared to fiscal 2Q15. Revenue from Europe fell 5% to $11.5 billion, whereas revenue from the Asia-Pacific region fell 25% to $3.2 billion in 2Q16. Revenue from Japan saw a significant rise of 24% to $4.3 billion. China remains an important market for Apple Falls in revenue in China were driven by a sluggish Chinese economy coupled with the saturation of the smartphone market and the strong US dollar. Last week, Chinas regulators banned some of Apples digital services such as iBooks and iTunes. The Chinese government has disallowed a number of foreign products and services in the past to protect domestic companies from competition. Apple generates more than 60% of its revenue from non-US markets. Its revenue could fluctuate drastically due to currency headwinds. It will be interesting to see the performance of other companies in the technology sector, including Samsung (SSNLF) and Lenovo (LNVGY), and how their revenues will be impacted by currency fluctuations. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Cairo (AFP) - The Arab League said Wednesday it will strive to ensure that all of those behind mounting violence in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo face "international justice". The pan-Arab organisation met in Cairo as fighting that raged in the divided city threatened a complete breakdown of a truce between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and non-jihadist rebels. More than 280 civilians have been killed in the fighting since April 22, with Assad's regime launching air strikes on the rebel-held east Aleppo while rebels shell the regime-controlled west. The Arab League said it had decided to "work on bringing all those who participated in and contributed to the brutal attacks against innocent civilians in Aleppo and other Syrian cities to international justice". The 22-member bloc denounced the "the Syrian regime's brutal actions against unarmed civilian residents" in Aleppo, calling the attacks "a massacre," in a resolution announced after the meeting. It also denounced the Islamic State group and "all terrorist groups" which are committing crimes against civilians in Aleppo and other Syrian cities. The meeting of the bloc's delegates was requested by the Gulf nation of Qatar after Russia announced it would not ask the Syrian government to cease its air strikes on the city. All member states approved the resolution except Lebanon, which abstained from voting. More than 270,000 Syrians have been killed in the conflict which began March 2011, and millions have been displaced to other parts in Syria and abroad. Lexmark Gets a Buyer after a Long Sales Process (Continued from Prior Part) Arbitrageurs will probably want to have some of this deal in their portfolios This deal is a combination of a private equity spread and strategic logic. Generally speaking, private equity deals have wide spreads, but little to no strategic logic. In other words, its all about cheap financing and faith that the private equity firm can run the company better than it has traditionally been run. On the other hand, strategic deals will have commercial logic. However, the profit potential tends to be small unless there are regulatory issues with the transaction. In this case, youre getting the best of both worlds. So why is the spread so wide? As a general rule, a 21% annualized return and a 5:1 risk-to-reward ratio would be associated with a risky transaction. Given the fact that Lexmark probably doesnt have any national security issues and there doesnt appear to be antitrust risk, regulatory approval should be pro forma. So, why is the spread wide? The most likely reason is that theres a lot of pain with arbitrageurs lately. The Baker Hughes-Halliburton deal was blocked in the US. The Pfizer- Allergan merger scuttled over new tax laws in the US. The Staples-Office Depot merger was also blocked. There was a story in the press that said Anbang pulled its offer due to instruction from Chinese regulators. Could another situation happen here where Chinese regulators decide that they dont want Apex to buy Lexmark? If the financial situation in China gets worse, will financing disappear? That said, a 21% annualized return and a 5:1 risk-to-reward ratio is probably fair compensation for taking those risks. Merger arbitrage resources Other important merger spreads include the deal between Cigna (CI) and Anthem (ANTM) and KLA-Tencor (KLAC) and Lam Research (LRCX). For a primer on risk arbitrage investing, read Merger Arbitrage Must-Knows: A Key Guide for Investors. Story continues Investors who are interested in trading in the tech sector can look at the iShares Global Technology ETF (IXN). Browse this series on Market Realist: Google has announced on its blog that it is making additions and updates to Google Maps to ensure that Olympics fans, visitors and Rio residents can easily get around the city once the Olympic torch arrives this summer. More than 10,000 athletes, half a million travelers and tens of thousands of volunteers are expected to join the existing 6 million residents of Rio de Janeiro for the event, leading Google to launch enhanced maps of 25 official indoor venues and 12 official outdoor venues of the upcoming games for desktop, Android and iOS. To use the indoor maps to make the most of the Olympics experience, users just need to open Google Maps on a computer or mobile phone, search for a place that has indoor maps, zoom into the place, and click on it. At the bottom right of the screen users will have the option to choose from the buildings' different floors to find their way around. Points of interest such as restrooms and information desks will also be given. Google already has more than 3 billion square feet of indoor maps worldwide, so even if you are not heading to Rio this summer Google Maps can help you get around venues all across the world. NEW YORK (Reuters) - An artist from Long Island, New York has ended his lawsuit blaming indicted drug executive Martin Shkreli and Wu-Tang Clan leader Robert "RZA" Diggs for stealing his illustrations for a one-of-a-kind album that Shkreli bought for $2 million. Jason Koza, of Copiague, New York, on Tuesday dismissed his copyright infringement case against Diggs, Wu Tang producer Tarik "Cilvaringz" Azzougarh and Paddle8 NY LLC, which auctioned the "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin" album to Shkreli in November. "The dispute has been resolved," Koza's lawyer Peter Scoolidge said in an email on Wednesday. He declined to elaborate. Stephen Rothschild, a lawyer for Diggs, was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday. Shkreli had been dropped from the case on April 18. The former chief of Turing Pharmaceuticals is known for having sparked outrage last year when he raised the price of the anti-parasitic infection drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent. Koza, a Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, sued Diggs after finding his art had been used in the packaging of "Shaolin," and Shkreli for letting three works depicting other Wu-Tang members accompany a Jan. 29 article at Vice.com. Shkreli has bragged that he had no plans to listen to the hip-hop group's album, but bought it to "keep it from the people." He has pleaded not guilty to fraud charges announced in December, which are unrelated to Daraprim. The case is Koza v Diggs et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-00956. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish) Matthew Rhys, Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg, and Keri Russell (Credit: Scott Gries/FX Networks) The Americans showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields are in the TV spy biz, so they know plenty about trying to get answers from people. But instead of digging into a deep trunk of disguises or planning a long sting that leads to blackmail fodder, the Js decided to go the straightforward route and simply ask fans of their FX drama to submit answers to a series of questions the producers posed on Yahoo TV. Its no surprise that viewers of this smart, intense spy thriller/family and marriage drama had a lot of insightful things to say, and Weisberg and Fields provided equally smart and interesting responses to fans answers, including examples from the series and their own lives and giving us some juicy nuggets to chew on like why we all seem to not only be okay with, but rooting for, the murder of Pastor Tim. Its the perfect thing to get you in the mood for tonights The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears, a stellar, game-changing installment that is also the first episode of The Americans directed by star Matthew Rhys. Related: Bates Motel, Once Upon a Time, and Hannibal Showrunners Ask the Fans (Credit: Eric Liebowitz/FX) JOE WEISBERG AND JOEL FIELDS ASK: Are secrets necessary to sustain relationships? ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Fans responses to this question suggest most of them dont see things as being strictly black-and-white. Alex W. wrote, I dont know [that theyre necessary], but they are probably inevitable, not only in romantic relationships/marriages, but probably in all relationships at work, for example, I have co-workers with whom I will discuss politics and those with whom I wont, just as I have coworkers around whom I will swear and those around whom I would not. From Lisa B.: Some things may need to be kept secret to avoid irreparable damage to the relationship. Maya T. sees it less as an issue of secrets, and more about the need to have an interior life, writing, Yes, I believe secrets are necessary to sustain relationships. It is naive to believe they are not sometimes we need to go through certain experiences to learn and grow it is a mistake to share everything with a partner especially if it will hurt them. Story continues Of course, there are those who do think secrets can only lead to relationship woes. Heidi J. wrote, Secrets between the people? Yes. Secrets from the other person? No. And Guy K. is even more resolute: Absolutely not! Successful marriages have NO secrets! I have been married 22 years, and have no secrets. WEISBERG AND FIELDS RESPOND: I think, as with all of the things that really interest us in this show, different answers are simultaneously true, Fields says. For me, the most dangerous secrets are the ones we keep from ourselves. If we tell ourselves that we have to not have secrets from anybody else, well invariably start keeping them from ourselves. To me, the greatest place to start is the challenge of self-scrutiny. If we can be honest with ourselves, then we have a hope within our relationship, and then from there, I think, as honest as we can be in relationships, the better they are. I dont think theyre necessary for a relationship, but I think denying they are a part of life puts one on the path, potentially, to hiding things from the most important person. Weisberg: I remember about 20 years ago I read an interview with Kenny Loggins. He talked about how he and his wife had gone [through] this program where they told each other every single thing they thought or felt. If one of them thought the other one looked ugly in the morning, they were like, You look ugly this morning. I remember reading that and thinking, Thats not a good idea. I dont know if this qualifies exactly as secrets, but I think people do have to have private, interior lives where they think and feel things and dont share everything with a partner. Which is slightly different than failing to tell your new wife that youre actually a KGB agent operating under an assumed identity and the marriage is fake, Fields jokes. I also think theres a big difference between thoughts and actions, and that extends to secrets. Theres a big difference between what Joe calls the interior monologue, which we all have alas, mine is far too boring to share every detail of, Im sure. Thats not a matter of sparing my wife secrets, its a matter of sparing her the boredom of my interior monologue. Adds Weisberg, Thats very different to how one comports oneself in the world. (Credit: Eric Liebowitz/FX) JOE WEISBERG AND JOEL FIELDS ASK: Do parents need to keep secrets from their kids? ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Most fans were in agreement on this one: its up to parents to decide what they should keep from their children, but there are things that should be kept from them. Wrote Brian G., [For] certain secrets the child would probably need the experience and understanding of being an adult themselves. Beyond that, a kid typically only views their parents as either mom or dad, not just a flawed individual. From Melissa M.: Absolutely. Because children are so ego-centric and self-absorbed (not in a morally degenerate sort of way, but in a developmentally-appropriate sort of way), they see hardships and problems as their fault. Their brains cant process that things happen in their life that arent directly caused by them. And Joseph W. added, I think parents do need to keep secrets from their kids, just as kids should keep secrets from their parents. No matter how much parents want to be their kids friends, and no matter how much kids want to act like adults, they are simply different. Important things shouldnt remain a secret, but the little things dont necessarily have to be shared all the time. Its almost like a mutual respect. I also think it could actually be unhealthy if every single detail about your life is shared with your kids and visa versa. But Guy K., who wrote about absolute transparency in response to secrets in a marriage above, thinks the same level of honesty should also be present between parents and children. He wrote, Absolutely not. We tell our kids everything. If they are old enough to ask, they are old enough to receive an honest answer. When a family member went to jail, we tried to keep it a secret from the kids, but ultimately it was just too hard on the family [kids tend to think whispers are about them, and get paranoid], and we told the kids everything. WEISBERG AND FIELDS RESPOND: I think thats pretty smart. I think that also has limits to it, Fields says about Guy K.s answer. I think, generally speaking, you want to be truthful with kids pretty much all the time, but I find it hard to believe that there arent times that you want to keep secrets from kids because theyre not yet old enough to know some things. Kids will ask for the gory details of things possibly before theyre old enough to know them. I think its okay as a parent to hold some of that back, but youre not going to hold it back forever. Youre going to make a judgment about when they should know. Says Weisberg about Guy K.s call for total honesty with children, I think thats a very insightful and thoughtful response. Personally, one of the things I struggle with, as silly as it sounds, is should the Tooth Fairy be kept a secret? Should I lie to my child about the Tooth Fairy, because they take such pleasure in that little magical moment of childhood? Everybody kind of gets that fun. They probably know its all about fun, but on some level, I cant help but feel that Im being dishonest with my child, and I dont want to. Ill also say what I think is so insightful about [that] response the person wrote about his family member is, there are ways of being honest without giving all of the gory details. When one of my kids asks for something and I feel theyre not ready for all the specific details, I will say to them, Look, I dont think youre ready for all the details of that. Heres what I can tell you now, and when youre older I can tell you more. That seems to be working so far. Weisbergs also onboard with Brian G. The sooner my kids figure out Im a flawed individual, the happier Im going to be, he jokes. I tell them that all the time. (Credit: Craig Blankenhorn/FX) JOE WEISBERG AND JOEL FIELDS ASK: How does Philip and Elizabeths marriage make you think about your own? ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: The most interesting, and common, answers to this question revealed how fans of the show see the parallels between their lives and the Jennings. Not in a were married spies who sometimes have to have sex with other people for the job-kinda way, of course, but in the ways that The Americans is really about the relationship of this couple with extraordinary job pressures. Honestly, thats our favorite thing about the show, Weisberg says. It really is. We feel that when you take the espionage out of it and people can relate, particularly things in their marriages and their families, we feel like weve done a good job. As for specific responses from viewers, Stiver36 wrote, Everyone has faces they put on [with] different scenarios/people. I have a married face and a work face, just like Philip and Elizabeth. The series made it more apparent [to me]. Mary T. wrote, I relate to the sense that they are together and co-parenting, but at the same time, they are living these other lives. I think we dont realize how much we can compartmentalize the different parts of our lives until it happens to us. And Joseph W. wrote, Im not married, so I cant speak about my marriage, but it does amaze me that despite the constant clashing and extramarital affairs, there is an undeniable trust between Philip and Elizabeth. They both know every decision that the other makes is for the good of their family and the KGB. WEISBERG AND FIELDS RESPOND: I heard somebody say something really interesting along similar lines, Weisberg says. They said that its very common that theres a pattern where people either hold their st together at work, but not at home, or hold their st together at home, but not at work. Says Fields, Very insightful answers. It reminds me of an interview I read recently with an author who was talking about how he is periodically recognized. He doesnt think of himself as a famous person; he just thinks of himself as somebody who is periodically recognized. What he was saying is sometimes hell be finishing a meal at a restaurant and the waiter whos been serving him will say, Oh, by the way, I read such-and-such, and I really liked your work. Then, he would immediately think back over his whole experience at that restaurant and think about how he behaved and how he treated that waiter. Whats interesting about that is this question of, do we have these different faces? Would we want to be one way if we were recognized and another way if were anonymous? (Credit: Patrick Harbron/FX) JOE WEISBERG AND JOEL FIELDS ASK: Do the 80s seem like a better or worse time to live? ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: The show makes me nostalgic for the 80s, which is when I was in high school, Alex W. wrote. Among the many things I love about the show, the excellent re-creation of that period of time is one of the most notable. You really do a great job capturing the look and feel, and I think we the viewers fill in the zeitgeist of the 80s with our imaginations. Lisa B. wrote, It WAS a better time for many reasons. For one thing, the Cold War never seemed tangible like the terrorism of today is. Heidi J. said, I suppose better: less outside influence (celebrities, friends via social media), [we were] less connected to everyone and everything all the time. Plus, I was less scared of the Cold War than I am of the current radical groups. And F. De Gagne summed it up in this pithy, but deep response: Yes, it was less noisy in the 80s. WEISBERG AND FIELDS RESPOND: Thats very kind, Weisberg says about the shout-out to the shows attention to period detail. Were certainly very obsessive about it. Its nice to know that thats bleeding through. And actually, that pithy response about [the 80s] being less noisy, I think its a smart response also, because it goes beyond the simple meaning of the word noisy. It was a time without email, without texting, without cellphones. Our lives were less noisy, and they were less cluttered, and we were able to focus more on singular things. On the sense that the 80s seemed safer from international violence than modern times, Weisberg says, Joel and I feel differently about this he talks a lot about feeling that those nuclear weapons were very tangible and could have dropped on us at any moment. I never felt that. I always felt like, Eh, there are nuclear weapons, and theyre not coming. I feel like the terrorism today is more tangible, so I agree with that. Adds Fields: I watched The Day After, and I was pretty convinced that that st could happen at any moment. The Day After, by the way, is the title of the May 11 episode of The Americans, and the 1983 TV movie of the same title the nuclear destruction-themed movie that scared the bejesus out of so many of us who watched it when it originally aired is on the Jennings familys channel surfing list in the episode. (Credit: Eric Liebowitz/FX) JOE WEISBERG AND JOEL FIELDS ASK: Is it weird to root for the enemy? ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: I dont think it is any more weird than being sympathetic toward, say, the Corleone family in The Godfather movies, who were, after all, terrible people who deserved to go to prison for their many crimes, Alex W. wrote. I wouldnt say that I am rooting for Phillp and Elizabeth, per se, in an operational or political sense, but I am sympathetic toward their humanity, Alex W. wrote. From Gary O.: No, its strangely therapeutic and exciting. Seeing the other side as having a cause they genuinely believe in breaks the good vs. evil illusion we grow up under. The military industrial complex on both sides serves as the true villain. And hiding in full sight in America is just plain edge of the seat fun. Jennifer A. added, Were rooting for people, for a family, for a marriage, as opposed to rooting for an enemy, while Melissa M. expanded on that idea, writing, Yes and no. Personally, Ive tried hard to identify and reject American exceptionalism, and the notion that just being a citizen of one country makes you morally superior to citizens of other countries. Its weird to root for Phil and Liz not because of their communist roots and tenets, but because theyre doing horrible, horrible things. From Jan B.: I really dont root for any of the KGB folks. Yes, at times, Philips almost turned me, but ultimately, with how hes played, or had to play, Martha, I could never root for him. And given that Elizabeth and Philip have been living this lie and subjecting their innocent kids to it, well, thats just not for me. And Mary C. said, Yes, but lately I am rooting for the U.S. Im glad Stan is finally putting things together. (Credit: Eric Liebowitz/FX) WEISBERG AND FIELDS RESPOND: Unlike the Corleone family, at the end of the day, Philip and Elizabeth, even if you dont agree with their personal philosophy or politics or morality, they at least have a personal politics, philosophy, and morality. Thats better than just being a gangster, I suppose, Weisberg says. He is also happy to hear some appreciation for oft-hapless FBI guy Stan: Go Stan! You know, Stans had a rough time. That guy usually ends up on the losing side of things. Weve gotten feedback on that. It does feel good when things fall his way, both personally and plot-wise. Ill just say we like those answers, Fields says, adding in response to Jan B.s criticisms of Philip and Elizabeth, Id say thats a fair response also. I dont think theres anything wrong with that on the emotional spectrum. (Credit: Jeff Neumann/FX) On the Pastor Tim front, Fields calls the desire for Pastor Tim to meet violence, or death, shocking, but adds, Whats interesting about that, its very easy to see how our emotions can get triggered to such extremes. If you think about it, what has Pastor Tim done but be inconveniently located in the wrong church proximate to this family? Then, be as open and supporting as humanly possible. Yet the feeling is that he should be killed. Talk about rooting for the enemy its interesting to see how easy it is to trigger the thing that kind of starts to dehumanize him, to make it okay to [think the KGB should] kill him. He seems weird. He seems creepy. You can immediately put all of these things on him that, if you step back, arent really there, because you want to feel a certain way. Theres an outcome that would seem satisfying. Its very human and disturbing. I think, at their core, if all is going well with the show, then the audience is relating to this family. You want to root for a family. Pastor Tims character now is a threat to this family. If you care about a family, you want to get rid of any threats to what you care about. Often you start telling yourself a story that justifies doing that. (Credit: Eric Liebowitz/FX) JOE WEISBERG AND JOEL FIELDS ASK: Does the show change your feelings about the Soviet Union? ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Most fans agreed the show has provided food for thought, even if it hasnt completely changed their perceptions about the Soviet Union. Lisa B. wrote, It actually has enlightened me about issues I never paid attention to when I was a teenager in the 80s, while Joseph W. added that the show does give them a bit of humanity. And Caryln L. wrote, The Soviet Union in the show seems almost like a character and not at all like the Russia/foreign policy issues, as we know today. It isnt until Reagan comes on TV and Elizabeth gets really annoyed by him that Im brought into the Cold War mindset. WEISBERG AND FIELDS RESPOND: Ha. Well, good, Weisberg says. I think theres something nice about that disappearing and reappearing over the course of the show. And, Well, okay is Fields response to Mary C.s answer that, No, I think they are still a cold, inhumane country. (Credit: Eric Liebowitz/FX) JOE WEISBERG AND JOEL FIELDS ASK: Do you ever feel like a spy in your own life? ANALYZING THE ANSWERS: Many parents answered that they often feel like spies while trying to keep up with their children, especially their teenagers. And Alex W. summed up what many fans wrote, that he often feels like hes being spied on. As a physician, I am trained to observe peoples appearance and behavior. Often I end up being the keeper of a lot of intimate secrets of my patients, he wrote. Aside from matters related to work, I am aware that we Americans now live in a surveillance state even if I am not personally the subject of surveillance, I have the knowledge that the [government] has the power and inclination to intercept communications, and that has changed my outlook on personal freedom, politics, and life in general. WEISBERG AND FIELDS RESPOND: Ive certainly been aware in the past decade now how many people feel that way, Fields says of people feeling as though theyre under surveillance while going about their everyday lives. I feel that way so little, even though I recognize the empirical truth about how much those things have changed. Its not like I think those people are crazy; I dont feel it myself. Weisbergs take on the matter: The thing that strikes me about that arena, it seems that somehow society has made this full circle, where we all started living in these small communities where everybody knew everybodys business. Everybody knew everybody and everything about everybody. Then, we migrated to these big cities where people became anonymous. You got the benefit of anonymity and being able to create and re-create who you were. You had a real loss of connection. Now, with technology were sort of back into this place where there are more cameras and theres more connection. Everybody is starting to know everything about everybody again. Whether its good or bad, its interesting that in some weird technological sense, we have returned to this world where youre all interconnected. In some combination of the best and the worst of all of it. Two more stand-out responses: Brian G. wrote, At times, yes; not because my secrets are threatening to my nation or my family, but [because] there are precious few people to whom I can take off my Clark-like disguise and be open and honest. Says Fields, I think thats a very relatable sentiment. We all yearn for those few people in our lives with whom we can truly share ourselves. And Joseph W. wrote, I feel like at work, you try to have the mindset of a spy to know whats going on in your surroundings and figure out a way to advance your career with the intel youve collected. Says Fields, That makes a lot of sense. You tend not to be as open at work as you are at home. I think thats a thing we talk a lot about with the show, whats the line between manipulation and normal behavior, of how you act with people when you have different agendas and some of your agendas you cant be open about? Philip and Elizabeth do that in the service of espionage, and it gets called manipulation. If you just do it in the service of doing your job or getting ahead at work or accomplishing projects at work where youre not going to be 100 percent transparent about every last thing you do all the time, thats just normal human behavior without a derogatory word being attached to it. The Americans airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX. Ted Cruz unleashed a stream of invective at Republican presidential primary foe Donald Trump on Tuesday, as voters headed to the polls in the crucial Indiana primary. Among the now-departed candidate's pronouncements: Trump is a "pathological liar." Could that be true? Mic asked a prominent political psychologist. Trump "has trouble with the truth and he has said things that he's quite frankly wrong about and that appear to be flat-out lies and fabrications," said Bart Rossi, who holds a doctorate from Fordham University. That doesn't mean he's pathological, though: "I see him as a master manipulator. He's deliberate in his fabrication," said Rossi, whose career has included psychological evaluations of prison inmates and police officers. "'Pathological' means that someone is going to go from one lie to the next to the next," possibly without control, Rossi said. In Trump's case, it could very well be the opposite, according to Rossi. Trump doesn't appear to be delusional: "He knows what he's saying is wrong." In the world according to Cruz ironically, the man Trump nicknamed "Lyin' Ted" while accusing him of underhanded campaign tactics Trump would ostensibly fit the profile of a pathological liar. For example, Cruz claimed Friday that practically everything Trump says is bull, which would match the description at hand. Cruz: Trump is a "pathological liar" and "utterly amoral."pic.twitter.com/ZgnqzJLuX2 The big difference is that by definition, pathological liars spread falsehoods even when there's nothing to be gained, whether it be cheating someone out of money or trying to avoid hurting someone's feelings. When Trump claimed Muslims celebrated in New Jersey after 9/11, he set off a hunt for evidence that didn't materialize. Didn't matter to Trump, though: "That's just a complete fabrication and he seems to be able to say anything and get away with it," Rossi said. Story continues The blustering billionaire frontrunner does display traits of an authoritarian personality, which Rossi said is based on observation, not a medical examination. "What happens is a lot of these so called authoritarian figures, they really stretch things; they spin and they make things up that are really not true," Rossi said. "In Trump's case to present himself as this authoritarian figure, he will basically say almost anything to get more attention [for] himself." On top of that, Trump's penchant for exaggeration may feed on itself because he derives what Rossi called "secondary gains" as a result: "He gets encouraged because he can say things that are outrageous and get away with it and he goes down that road again." In short, Trump a former reality show star knows what his audience wants to hear and how to convey it. Source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images "With Trump, it's not the accuracy of what he says that's most important to his followers," Rossi said. "They don't even care if he's going to build [a] wall" on the U.S.-Mexico border, as he's promised to do (on Mexico's tab). By saying he'll build the wall, Trump is positioning himself as a strong leader who cares about bolstering national security or protecting American jobs supposedly being pilfered by immigrants and anyway, as Rossi put it, "His followers want him to be a smackdown and a putdown artist." Trump's talk, whether claiming President Barack Obama was not born in the United States or by some other unproven remark, has been "lethal" to his opponents, and Cruz is potentially next on the chopping block as he stares down what could be his seventh straight loss in Tuesday's Indiana GOP primary. If he becomes the nominee and Hillary Clinton defeats Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination, Rossi has a bit of advice for the woman Trump calls "Crooked Hillary." "They should [call him] Bankrupt Donald," he said. "I don't think she should get into the gutter with him, but I think she should have a pushback." By Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Lawyers for more than 700 asylum seekers seeking a new life in Australia but held instead in Papua New Guinea filed an injunction on Wednesday aiming to halt their transfer to a much-criticized detention center on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru. Under Australia's hard-line immigration policy, asylum seekers intercepted trying to reach the country by boat after paying people smugglers are sent for processing to a camp in Manus Island in Papua New Guinea or to Nauru. Papua New Guinea ordered the closure of the Manus camp after the country's Supreme Court ruled the facility unlawful, leaving the fate of the 850 people held there up in the air. Australia and Papua New Guinea each claim each other is responsible for settling the hundreds held on Manus. The injunction, filed in Australia's High Court, calls for the asylum seekers to be sent to Australia and not to Nauru, Matthew Byrnes, one of the lawyers acting on behalf of the majority of those held on Manus, told Reuters. "We are hopeful that we will be successful with this filing," he said. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull maintains the asylum seekers will not be resettled in Australia. The detention center on Nauru houses about 500 people and has been widely criticized by the United Nations and human rights agencies for harsh conditions and reports of systemic child abuse. Many staying there have self-harmed. A Somali woman on Monday set herself on fire at the camp, the second such attack in a week, with critics blaming Australia's policy. "With two refugees setting themselves on fire after being sent to offshore detention camps, will (the minister for immigration) finally accept the consequences of putting desperate people in a situation even worse than the trauma they are fleeing?," said Adam Bandt, member of Parliament for the Australian Greens. The detainees on Manus and Nauru are mostly refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East, Afghanistan and South Asia. (Additional reporting by Matt Siegel; Editing by Nick Macfie) Philadelphia police are seeking the men who were caught on video assaulting school police officers outside a city school on Monday, May 2. Police released the video on Tuesday, asking for the publics assistance in identifying the men in the video. Police said two school police officers were escorting Northeast High School students away from the school at dismissal time when they observed two adults assaulting a student. The officers separated the two to stop the attack before an argument started between the officers and the suspects. One of the suspects then pushed and shoved the officers. When the officers defended themselves, police said, one of the suspects threw an officer to the ground. Another suspect punched the second officer, police said. A third man joined in the attack on the officers. The three suspects fled the scene when other police officers arrived. Local media reported one officer suffered a broken jaw and underwent surgery after being taken to the hospital. The second officer suffered a sprained ankle and bruising. Police described one suspect as a black man standing at 5 feet, eight inches and weighing 185 pounds with a muscular build. He is thought to be 20 years old and has a dark complexion, dreadlocks and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants, according to police. The second suspect is described by police as a black man standing at five foot 10 inches with a muscular build. He is 20 years old with a medium complexion, blond and black hair, and wearing a green muscle t-shirt and red sweatpants, police said. The third suspect is described as a black man standing at six feet tall with a thin, muscular build and a dark complexion, according to police. Police said he was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and black pants. Credit: YouTube/Philadelphia Police Department On Wednesday May 4, 2016, the attorney for a California doctor told the press that representatives for Prince had reached out to arrange a meeting with Dr. Howard Kornfeld, who specializes in addiction treatment. Dr. Kornfeld never met or spoke to Prince and had arranged for his son, Andrew, to fly to Minnesota to meet with him. Andrew Kornfeld went to Paisley Park on April 21 to meet with Prince and made the call to 911 when Prince was found in the elevator. Sydney (AFP) - Australia's most wanted Islamic State terror suspect, linked to several attacks on home soil, has been killed in a US air strike in Iraq, Canberra said on Thursday, warning others will be targeted. The death of Neil Prakash is considered significant by Australian and US authorities because of his highly prominent and influential role as a senior recruiter for the jihadist group. Attorney General George Brandis called him "the most dangerous Australian involved with ISIL in the Middle East," using an acronym for the self-proclaimed Islamic State. He said Washington had told Canberra that Prakash died in Mosul, Iraq, on April 29 after Australia provided intelligence on his identity and location. "Neil Prakash was a prominent ISIL member and a senior terrorist recruiter and attack facilitator," he said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Marise Payne. "Prakash has been linked to several Australia-based attack plans and calls for lone-wolf attacks against the United States. He is considered to be Australia's most prominent ISIL recruiter." Since the start of their campaign, the US military and its coalition partners have launched more than 12,000 air strikes against the IS group and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said more Australians were in their sights. "Australians who think they can go to Syria and Iraq and fight with Daesh have to recognise that they will be targeted," he told Sky News, referring to IS by another acronym. "They are waging war against Australia and they are enemies of Australia once they choose to wage that war in those theatres." - Home-grown extremists - US authorities also told the government that Australian woman Shadi Jabar Khalil Mohammad was killed in an air strike near the Syrian city of Al-Bab on April 22, along with her Sudanese husband. "Mohammad and her husband, Abu Sa'ad al-Sudani, were both active recruiters of foreign fighters on behalf of ISIL, and had been inspiring attacks against Western interests," said Brandis. Story continues In Washington, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said al-Sudani was involved in planning attacks against the United States, Canada and Britain, though he did not provide details of the plots. "Both al-Sudani and his wife were active in recruiting foreign fighters in efforts to inspire attacks against Western interests," Cook added. Mohammad was the sister of Farhad Jabar, a 15-year-old who shot dead police employee Curtis Cheng in Sydney last October. The teenager was killed in gunfire shortly afterwards. Prakash, who left Australia in 2013 and was known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, was linked to an alleged terror plot on Anzac Day last year, when Australia honours its war dead. He has also appeared in IS propaganda videos, including one last year calling for attacks on Australia. "His death disrupts and degrades ISIL's ability to recruit vulnerable people in our community to conduct terrorist acts," added Brandis, who said that between 50 and 59 Australians had so far been killed fighting for jihadists in Iraq or Syria. At least 110 more are still battling with Islamic State. Australia has long been concerned about home-grown extremism and raised the terror threat alert level to high in September 2014. At least six attacks have been foiled on Australian soil over the past 18 months, according to the government. But several have taken place, including the terror-linked murder of Cheng. SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian citizen believed to be a top recruiter for the Islamic State has been killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq, disrupting the militant group's ability to lure new fighters, the Australian government said on Thursday. Attorney-General George Brandis said the United States had advised him that Prakash, who was linked to several Australia-based attack plans and calls for lone-wolf attacks against the United States, was killed in an airstrike in Mosul on April 29. Melbourne-born Prakash had appeared in ISIL propaganda videos and magazines and had actively recruited Australian men, women and children, and encouraged acts of terrorism, Brandis said. "He is considered to be Australias most prominent ISIL recruiter," Brandis said in a joint statement with Defence Minister Marise Payne. "His death disrupts and degrades ISIL's ability to recruit vulnerable people in our community to conduct terrorist acts." Australia last year announced financial sanctions against Prakash, including threatening anyone giving financial assistance to him with punishment of up to 10 years in jail. The country is on alert for attacks by radicalized Muslims or by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East. Prakash, who is believed to have relocated to Syria in 2014, joined two other Australian Islamic State fighters on the United Nations sanctions list, Mohamed Elomar and Khaled Sharrouf, who appeared in images last year holding the severed heads of Syrian soldiers. Brandis said he had also been advised by the U.S. government that a second Australian citizen involved in the radical Sunni group, Shadi Jabar Khalil Mohammad, was killed on April 22 in a U.S. airstrike near Al Bab in Syria. Mohammad and her Sudanese husband, Abu Sa'ad al-Sudani, were both active recruiters of foreign fighters on behalf of ISIL, and had been inspiring attacks against Western interests, Brandis said. Mohammad was also the sister of Farhad Mohammad, the 15-year-old boy who shot dead police accountant Curtis Cheng at police headquarters in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta in October. Farhad Mohammad was killed in a gunfight with police outside the building. (Reporting by Jane Wardell; Editing by David Gregorio) Westpac Banking Corporation (WBK), Australia's second largest bank, missed earnings on May 1, when it reported the biggest loan impairment charges in six years for the six months ending March 31. Profits clocked in at A$3.9 billion, lower than the expected A$4.025 billion. This miss sent shares into the weeds, as low as $22.71 on Monday, down from $23.59 at Friday's close. At the heart of the miss were corporate debt loans and lower commodity prices. This isn't good news for Australia's banking industry, and Westpac is the first big bank to report in the country, with other major institutions reporting later this week into next. And they're all in the same boat. Many of these Australian banks made loans to the coal and steel industry. Both of these industries are struggling massively right now. The world is moving away from coal as a power source faster than ever before, and China's slowing growth is slashing demand for iron ore and steel. These factors could mean Australian banking debt could climb to its highest level in eight years by 2018, according to Bloomberg: [Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBAUF), Westpac Banking Corp., National Australia Bank Ltd. (NABZY) and Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.(ANZBY)] posted combined bad-debt charges of A$3.8 billion, up 9.3 percent from 2014, and the first time the measure had increased in six years, according to their filings. Money banks need to set aside for loans deemed likely to sour is set to hit A$7.2 billion by 2018, the highest since 2010, according to the mean estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Does this spell the demise of Australia's banks? Not quite... [More from StreetAuthority.com: What's Making Emerging Markets Pop?] This slump comes on the heels of six consecutive years of record profits for these four banks. And get this... The percentage of total loans exposed to the mining industry is less than 2% for Westpac, National and Commonwealth, with Australia & New Zealand's exposure coming in at a hair above 2%. Story continues Back in early March I warned you about the possible bad debt U.S. banks were holding in the oil industry. Well, JPMorgan Chase's (NYSE: JPM) exposure to the oil industry is three times as high as these Australian banks (as a percentage of total loans). So while the banking industry in Australia could be in for a rough patch, the underlying fundamentals could mean stability and a return to growth over the long term. Share prices in the four major banks experienced a sharp pullback in the first few days of May after Westpac broke the news that it missed earnings. I think this could be a good opportunity to take a position. Take a look: Over the past year, these four banks have traded down, as commodity prices have steadily declined. But each have bottomed out in February, and again in April to set up the start of a bullish run higher. From a technical perspective, Westpac is the first to break higher out of its downtrend. That's why I see this blip in Westpac's earnings as a buying opportunity. [More from StreetAuthority.com: Why I'd Buy The Model 3 And You Should Buy Tesla] Beyond the corporate loans to companies in the commodity industry, Westpac -- indeed all four major bank s-- have a great track record. In 2015, according to the World Bank, only 1% of all loans made by Australian banks were non-performing. That's better than banks in the United States, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom, and far better than struggling economies. In fact, one of the reason why Australian banks are so stabile is that the Australian economy hasn't been in recession for 24 years. Not even during the Great Financial Crisis did Australia's economy slip into recession. And this stability translates into the highest returns in the sector of all the developed countries. The banking sector, for sure, has some hiccups coming, but Australian banks stand to fare better than most. Risks To Consider: The downturn in the Chinese economy is not over. Its appetite for coal, iron, steel and other industrial commodities is waning. As Australia is a major supplier of these commodities, the downturn could still affect Australian companies, or -- as noted -- banks that loan to companies in the commodities arena. [More from StreetAuthority.com: In This Merger Of Big Brand Names, Who Comes Out On Top?] That means commodity prices and the Chinese economy could be long-term weaknesses for Australian banks, even though loans to companies in these markets make up a small percentage of total loans. It's a knock-on effect. The other risk is in the extreme short-term. The other Australian banks are set to release earnings very shortly. If they release similar reports to Westpac, the whole sector could see more red. Action To Take: It would be prudent to wait until the rest of the banking sector releases earning before taking a position in any of them. But once earnings are all out in the open, consider adding Westpac Banking Corporation (NYSE: WBK) to your portfolio. With the strength and stability of an economy that's gone 24 years without a recession, WBK, and the banking sector in general, could yield steady gains over the long term. Editor's Note: Did you know less than half of all stocks yielding 6% or more can be found in the United States? That's causing many American investors to overlook hundreds of high-yields -- many up to 8%... 10... even 12%. See all the facts here, and get the name of a little-known stock yielding 13% today. Related Articles Sydney (AFP) - Dubbed "Carpageddon" and backed by the man who threatened to kill Johnny Depp's dogs, the latest plan to control introduced species in Australia will use the herpes virus to eradicate millions of predatory fish. The National Carp Control Plan will cost Aus$15 million (US$11 million) to spread the virus through the aggressive common carp, introduced to Australia in the mid-1800s. And it has brought Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce another brush with notoriety after his threat last year to put down Hollywood star Depp's dogs after he and wife Amber Heard breached Australia's quarantine laws. Joyce strutted and yelled in an extraordinary show in parliament on Monday when he reported the carp scheme to members. In a booming rasp, the red-faced Joyce branded the fish "disgusting mud-sucking creatures", and kept shouting "CAAARP" and "venereal disease" to the amusement of some MPs. "Carp are the worst freshwater aquatic pest in Australia," he said in a statement, estimating the cost to the economy at Aus$500 million a year. "Current control measures, including trapping, commercial fishing and exclusion, are expensive and largely ineffective at controlling carp over large areas or for any length of time." But the virus developed in Israel had worked elsewhere. "We've seen in lakes, in Japan, lakes that are multiple times the size of Sydney Harbour, we've lost 70 percent of the European carp in two weeks," Joyce said. According to Science Minister Christopher Pyne, who came up with "Carpageddon", the virus has no impact on humans and is carp specific. "Suddenly, there will be literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions of tonnes of carp that will be dead in the River Murray," Pyne said. Carp account for 80-90 percent of the fish biomass in southeastern Australia's Murray-Darling river system. The plan hopes to wipe out 95 percent of them over 30 years and allow native species such as silver perch and Murray cod to thrive. Story continues The virus attacks the carp's kidneys, skin, gills and stops them breathing. "They have the virus for a week before they show any symptoms and it suddenly kills them within 24 hours," said Pyne. Carp have spread across Australia, except the Northern Territory. James Bradley, the author of a bestselling book about his fathers service at Iwo Jima, now says he doubts his father was one of the six servicemen who were captured raising an American flag in the iconic photograph from the 1945 battle. Bradley told the New York Times he now believes his father had raised a flag with his fellow soldiers earlier in the day, but was likely not one of the men depicted in the famous picture. The revelation comes after the Marine Corps opened an investigation last week into whether the soldiers in the famous photograph had been misidentified. Two Omaha historians, Eric Krelle and Stephen Foley, were the first to raise doubts about the identities of the soldiers in the photo. They had studied footage and other photographs from that day of battle (Feb 23, 1945) and had concluded based on clothing and weapons that one of the soldiers, James Bradleys father, was misidentified. The figure thought to be Bradley was probably actually another soldier, Harold Henry Schultz, who died in 1995, Krelle and Foley argue. The photo, which quickly became the most widely printed photo from WWII, was taken by Joe Rosenthal and printed in TIME. (Reuters) - Fourth seed Victoria Azarenka pulled out of the Madrid Open with a back injury on Wednesday ahead of her third round game against American Louisa Chirico. The 26-year-old Belarusian had been the highest seed left in the women's draw after Agnieszka Radwanska, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza all lost. "Unfortunately in my first match I think I tweaked my back a little bit. It was really cold, and, I don't know, I think it's much easier to get a little bit hurt when it's that cold," Azarenka told reporters. "The second match obviously I was in a lot of discomfort. Having a day off I thought it was going to get better. Today before my warm-up it did feel better, but once I started hitting it came back." Azarenka, who beat Britain's Laura Robson in her opening game and has twice been a finalist in Madrid, said she hoped to recover in time to play in Rome next week, her last claycourt event before the French Open. Qualifier Chirico, at 19 the youngest player left in the tournament, will face Australia's Daria Gavrilova in the quarter-finals. Gavrilova upset defending champion and fifth seed Petra Kvitova 6-3 6-4. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis) By Sanjeev Miglani and Serajul Quadir DHAKA, May 4 (Reuters) - Bangladesh's central bank chief will meet the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and a senior executive from global financial messaging service SWIFT next week to seek the recovery of about $81 million stolen by hackers, officials in Dhaka said. Two Bangladesh Bank officials said the bank believed both the New York Fed and SWIFT bore some responsibility for the February cyber heist. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity since they were not authorised to brief the media. The bank's governor Fazle Kabir, New York Fed President William Dudley and a SWIFT representative will meet in Basel, Switzerland around May 10, they and another person briefed by the central bank said. It was not immediately clear who would represent SWIFT. Spokeswomen for SWIFT and the New York Fed declined comment. Hackers tried to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank's settlement account at the New York Fed in early February by sending fraudulent transfer orders through SWIFT. Of the 35 transfer orders sent, 30 were blocked. Four transfers to a Philippine bank for a total of $81 million went through while a $20 million transfer to a Sri Lankan company was reversed because the hackers mis-spelled the name of the firm. "There is a responsibility the New York Fed has to accept," said one of the Bangladesh Bank officials. "If you stopped 30 transactions, why did you not stop the others? "SWIFT also bears responsibility," the official said. "It's supposed to be a closed system. Now you have seen they have disclosed that there have been attacks previously on its software." Last week, SWIFT acknowledged that the Bangladesh Bank attack was not an isolated incident but one of several recent criminal schemes that aimed to take advantage of the global messaging platform used by about 11,000 financial institutions. The other Bangladesh Bank official said lawyers would be present at the meeting. Ajmalul Hussain, a Dhaka-based lawyer hired by the central bank to help it retrieve the funds, could not be reached for comment. His office said he was out of the country. Story continues It was not immediately known if Bangladesh Bank had retained any U.S. or European law firm to help recover the money. However the bank said in an internal report in March it was considering "preparing the ground to make a legitimate claim for the loss of funds" against the New York Fed "through a legal process." Both central bank officials said Kabir, the governor, would be accompanied by an official from the accounts and budgeting department on the trip to Basel and would seek the recovery of the stolen funds. Basel is the headquarters of the Bank for International Settlements, a group of major central banks. The stolen $81 million was sent to a bank in the Philippines and quickly passed on to casinos and casino agents. Most of it remains missing. However, one junket operator has returned about $10 million to authorities in Manila and promised to hand over another $5 million. One of the Bangladesh Bank officials expressed confidence that there would be a resolution to the dispute soon, though he didn't provide any evidence for the optimism. (Additional reporting by Jim Finkle and Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) U.S. President Barack Obama will attend a Three Amigos leaders summit in Ottawa and address a joint session of Parliament on June 29, the White House confirmed Wednesday. Obama had promised to visit Canada during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's trip to Washington in March for a state dinner, and now Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is also expected to be in Ottawa for the summit that will immediately precede Obama's address. Gov. Gen. David Johnston will host Nieto at an official state dinner, which will be followed by an event in his honour at the National Art Gallery. The Governor General's office confirmed the dates for Nieto's visit, June 27 to 29, in a statement Wednesday. The meeting would be the first between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in more than 2 years. Parliamentarians will also have to stay in Ottawa longer than previously thought to hear Obama's speech, as the House of Commons was expected to rise for summer break on June 23. The last U.S. president to address a joint session of Parliament was Bill Clinton in 1995. Former prime minister Stephen Harper postponed the last North American leaders summit in January 2015 amid tensions over the Keystone XL pipeline, food labelling and a range of other issues. Pena Nieto's visit to Ottawa is strictly dependent on Canada lifting its requirement that all Mexican visitors have a visa, a controversial measure put in place in 2009 to curb bogus asylum claims. That policy has strained relations between the two countries and led the Mexican ambassador to Canada to declare that he was "really mad" at the former Harper government for the move. CBC News has learned that there has been significant progress on this file since the Liberal government's election, something Trudeau promised last summer in the lead-up to the Oct. 19 election campaign. Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion was tasked by the prime minister with finding a solution to this problem in his ministerial mandate letter. Beirut (AFP) - Following are key moments in the battle for Aleppo, the former commercial capital of Syria, since civil war broke out in March 2011. - First demos - - April-May 2011: Thousands of students demonstrate in Aleppo, a northern city that had been spared the sort of violent protests that erupted elsewhere in the country. The demos are swiftly crushed by students who back the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and security forces. - Aleppo drawn into war - - July 20, 2012: Fierce fighting breaks out between the army and rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), a group comprised of civilians and army deserters, in several city districts. In August, troops backed by heavy artillery and warplanes secure central Christian neighbourhoods after a two-week offensive. Since then, the city has been divided between loyalist districts in the west and rebel-controlled areas in the east. Each side has tried to wear the other down. Aleppo province has become a theatre of operations for most of the factions fighting in Syria's war. They include the Islamic State (IS) group, the Al-Qaeda affiliated Al-Nusra Front, various rebel groups, the army and pro-regime militias, Lebanese Hezbollah fighters and Kurdish militiamen. - January 15, 2013: More than 80 people are killed in an Aleppo university massacre over which the regime and rebels accuse each other of responsibility. - City landmarks destroyed - - April 24, 2013: Months of fighting around the Ummayad mosque destroys its minaret, an architectural and cultural landmark. Both sides blame the other for the destruction. Other landmarks that have suffered are the souk, which was partially destroyed by fire in September 2012, and the UNESCO-listed citadel, which was damaged by a blast in July 2015. - Barrel bombs - - December 15, 2013: Regime attacks air strikes using "barrel bombs" on rebel districts kill 76 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The bombs are made of TNT packed into oil drums that are dropped from the air. Story continues In late July 2014, Human Rights Watch says the number of neighbourhoods hit by barrel bombs has almost doubled in five months, causing almost 1,700 deaths. - Shredding the ceasefire - - February 1, 2016: The regime launches an offensive against the rebels in Aleppo province backed by Hezbollah fighters and Russian aircraft. More than 500 people are killed in 10 days, according to the Observatory. The rebels are squeezed between regime forces and unfriendly fighters from the IS and Kurdish groups, and suffer a string of defeats. - February 27: A "cessation of hostilities" is declared but it excludes IS and Al-Nusra Front. Warplanes begin to strike rebel-held areas of Aleppo again on March 11. - April 22: The ceasefire is effectively destroyed by the start of large-scale regime raids in Aleppo. Since then, more than 250 civilians have been killed, mostly by barrel bombs. - May 3: A rebel coalition goes on the offensive in pro-regime areas of Aleppo. - France's UN ambassador Francois Delattre says Aleppo "is to Syria what Sarajevo was to Bosnia". - May 4: Fierce fighting rages in Aleppo and regime raids hit rebel regions. Since April 22, more than 280 people have died in the unrest, according to the Observatory. * Rebar, iron ore, coke extend losses * Open interest in rebar, iron ore fall with prices * Nickel may be next target for China regulators - broker By Manolo Serapio Jr MANILA, May 4 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators appear to have successfully popped a mini-bubble for now in steel and other commodity futures, scaring off speculators who piled in last month to drive steep gains in the prices of raw materials from coal to cotton. China has vowed that it won't allow its commodity futures markets to become a "hot-bed" for speculators, fearing that price movements not based on fundamentals could skew investment decisions and hamper efforts to rein in overcapacity. The price of the most traded steel product on the Shanghai Futures Exchange - which jumped nearly 17 percent in just four days in mid-April - fell for the second consecutive day on Wednesday and has given up all of its gains since the buying flurry began. At the same time, the level of open interest - the number of open contracts - has dropped sharply, suggesting many investors have liquidated their positions before prices fall even further. "Speculative funds have exited the market at the moment and I think it's time to take a break," said a researcher at a Shanghai-based fund, who declined to be named because he is not allowed to speak to media. Prices retreated after commodity exchanges in Dalian, Shanghai and Zhengzhou increased transaction costs and widened trading limits, making speculative investment more difficult. David Flanagan, chief executive of Australian iron ore miner Atlas Iron, said last month that "mom and pop" trading was affecting prices and cited a meeting with the manager of a Chinese steel mill. "Her maid is earning a multiple of her salary by trading iron ore futures," he told reporters in Perth. "That has an influence on the iron ore price." REBAR GIVES UP GAINS Reinforced steel used in construction, known as rebar, led the mid-April surge, along with iron ore, coking coal and coke as investors jumped on the coattails of a rally in steel prices after China boosted spending on construction to spur growth. Story continues The buying spread to other commodity futures including cotton and eggs, raising fears of a boom-and-bust cycle similar to China's stock market crash last summer. Open interest in rebar on the Shanghai exchange fell to 2.7 million lots this week from 3.7 million lots on April 18. On the Dalian Commodity Exchange, open interest in its most-active iron ore contract fell to less than 800,000 lots on Tuesday, the lowest since November 2015. But a surge in open interest on nickel futures in Shanghai as traders bet on a recovery in prices from 13-year lows led a broker to warn that trading in the metal could soon face curbs. "It will probably be only a matter of time before Chinese regulators step in to dampen this trading," broker Triland said in a note this week. Open interest on Shanghai nickel has doubled to more than 650,000 lots in the past month, outstripping trade in London as traders look to improving order books at stainless steel mills in China. In the long run, however, analysts said prices would be dictated by the fundamental drivers of supply and demand. "Ultimately the fundamentals are going to dictate (direction) even if we get these brief periods where prices are volatile," said Daniel Hynes, commodity strategist at ANZ Bank. ($1 = 6.4971 Chinese yuan) (Additional reporting by Ruby Lian in SHANGHAI, Melanie Burton in MELBOURNE and James Regan in SYDNEY; Editing by Richard Pullin and Ed Davies) Bernie Sanders has won the Indiana Democratic Primary, giving him a solid victory that will not be enough to change the trajectory of the Democratic nomination fight. Sanders, the democratic socialist from Vermont who has run a surprisingly strong insurgent campaign against the Hillary Clinton machine, is projected to win around 53% of the vote in the Hoosier State. This is a state Clinton would have liked to win, as it would have bolstered the narrative that she is certain to be the Democratic Partys presidential nominee. The delegate math still shakes out well for Clinton. With all delegates in the Democratic Party awarded proportionally, it is virtually impossible for Sanders to catch up to Clinton. Still, Sanders has vowed that he will take the fight all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July. Though Sanders win in Indiana may not push him to the partys nomination, it will give him the momentum to keep his campaign going. See original article on Fortune.com More from Fortune.com Matching washer and dryer pairs are a popular choice although some don't make a great couple. Their coordinating style makes a statement, but you'll question how a terrific washer and a noisy dryer that's tough on clothes ended up together. Enter the matchmaker. Consumer Reports' tests found pairs that are worth a look. Now about the prices. The top-rated pairs are expensive. Blame it on rising manufacturing costs, larger capacities, stainless drums, and added cycles and features. Our tests have found that basic cycles can handle most laundry needs. So ask yourself if you want to pay extra for a bedding cycle or one for your jeans. The washer and dryer Buying Guides highlight the advantages of each washer type and features. Use the Ratings selector to narrow choices and the Features & Specs tab to compare features. Our brand reliability offers helpful information and so do user reviews. If you have questions email me at kjaneway@consumer.org. Full washing machine Ratings and recommendations. Full clothes dryer Ratings and recommendations. The Quietest Couples Consider machines that scored very good or better in our noise tests if placing near bedrooms. You'll know they're working but they shouldn't disturb you. Note that wash times are based on the normal wash cycle heavy-soil setting. You'll save about 15 minutes using the normal-soil setting. Many washers and dryers have a steam setting. We found it slightly improved a washer's stain removal. Steam removed more odors than dryers without steam, but left clothes wrinkled. The dryers highlighted here have moisture sensors, the most important feature. It turns off the machine when laundry is drythat saves energy and is easier on fabrics. For more details see our Ratings of washing machines and dryers. Kenmore set Kenmore Elite 41072 front-loader and Kenmore Elite 81072 electric dryer Price: $1,000 each Here's the deal: The washer is near the top of our Ratings and made our top picks. It has 14 cycles, offers excellent washing, was gentle on fabrics, and has a jumbo capacityit fit about 25 pounds of our laundry. Claimed capacity is 5.2 cubic feet. The dryer excelled at its job and also has a jumbo capacity. Claimed capacity is 9 cubic feet. Consider this: Wash time is 95 minutes. The Accela-Wash option offers comparable performance and saves 15 to 20 minutes. Need to know: Each machine is 29 inches wide2 more than usualbut can be stacked. Gas dryer is Kenmore Elite 91072, $1,100. Story continues LG duos LG WM8500HVA front-loader and LG DLEX8500V electric dryer Price: $1,450 each Here's the deal: The washer is near the top of our Ratings and both machines make the recommended list. They have jumbo capacities, each holding about 26 pounds of our laundry. Claimed capacity is 5.2 cubic feet for the washer, 9 for the dryer. The washer was superb at cleaning and gentle on fabrics and has 14 cycles; the dryer aced its job. Consider this: It took 90 minutes to do a normal wash on the heavy soil setting, but the TurboWash option offers comparable wash performance in 15 to 20 minutes less time. Need to know: Each machine is 29 inches wide, two more than usual, but can be stacked. Only available in a graphite-steel finish. Gas dryer is LG DLGX8501V, $1,550. LG WM4270HWA front-loader and LG DLEX4270W electric dryer Price: $1,000 each Here's the deal: Neither made our top picks but both were impressive at their task and relatively quiet. Claimed capacity is 4.5 cubic feet for the washer, and 7.4 for the dryer. The washer fit 22 pounds of our laundry, was gentle on fabrics, and has 14 cycles. Consider this: Normal wash time on heavy-soil setting is 75 minutes. The TurboWash option offers comparable cleaning and saves 15 to 20 minutes. Need to know: Machines can be stacked. Each is 27 inches wide. Gas dryer is the LG DLGX4271W, $1,030. Maytag mates Maytag Maxima MHW8100DC front-loader and Maytag Maxima MED8100DC Price: $1,400 each Here's the deal: This recommended front-loader offers excellent washing and held 22 pounds of our laundry. Claimed capacity is 4.5 cubic feet. It was gentle on fabrics and there are 11 wash cycles. The dryer was superb at its task and among the quietest tested. Claimed capacity is 7.3 cubic feet. Both machines are made in America. Consider this: The washer took 75 minutes using the normal cycle on heavy-soil setting. Need to know: Gas dryer is Maytag Maxima MGD8100DC, $1,500. Appliances can be stacked. Each is 27 inches wide. Maytag Bravos MVWB855DW HE top-loader and Maytag Bravos MEDB855DW electric dryer Price: $1,000 each Here's the deal: The washer made our top picks, delivers impressive cleaning, and was among the most water efficient of the HE top-loaders. It fit about 26 pounds of our laundry. Claimed capacity is 5.3 cubic feet. There are 11 wash cycles. The dryer was impressive at its job and claimed capacity is 8.8 cubic feet. These machines are made in America. Consider this: Normal wash time was 80 minutes using heavy-soil setting. This washer wasn't so gentle on fabrics, but that's true for most top-loaders. Need to know: Washer is 27 inches wide; dryer, 29. Gas dryer is the Maytag Bravos MGDB855DW, $1,100. Samsung sets Samsung WF56H9110CW front-loader and Samsung DV56H9100EW electric dryer Price: $1,450 washer, $1,200 dryer Here's the deal: These recommended models are top rated, excellent at their job, relatively quiet, and have jumbo capacities. The washer held 28 pounds of our laundry and was among the gentlest on fabrics. Claimed capacity is 5.6 cubic feet for the washer and 9.5 for the dryer. There are 15 wash cycles. Consider this: Normal wash on heavy-soil setting is 90 minutes. The SuperSpeed option saved about 15 to 20 minutes without affecting cleaning. Need to know: Each machine is 30 inches wide and can be stacked. The matching electric dryer is shown in the ratings as ending in "EG" to indicate the tested model has an onyx finish; "EW" is white and listed here as it matches the tested washer. Gas dryer is shown in ratings as the Samsung DV56H9100GG, $1,400. Samsung WF56H9100AG front-loader and Samsung DV56H9100EG electric dryer Price: $1,200 each Here's the deal: Both made our top picks. The washer has one of the largest capacities tested and fit about 28 pounds of our laundry. Claimed capacity is 5.6 cubic feet. It offers impressive cleaning and was gentle on fabrics. There are 15 wash cycles.The top-rated dryer was superb at drying and has a jumbo capacity. Claimed capacity is 9.5 cubic feet. Consider this: Normal wash time on heavy soil setting was 85 minutes, but the SuperSpeed option cut wash time of full loads by about 15 to 20 minutes without sacrificing performance. Need to know: Each machine is 30 inches wide and can be stacked. Gas dryer is Samsung DV56H9100GG, $1,300. Samsung WA56H9000AP HE top-loader and Samsung DV56H9000EP electric dryer Price: $1,200 each Here's the deal: Both are top picks. This washer has a jumbo capacity and can hold about 28 pounds of laundry. Claimed capacity is 5.6 cubic feet. Washing was impressive and there are 15 cycles. Normal wash time on heavy soil setting was 75 minutes. The dryer aced its job and has a jumbo capacity. Claimed capacity is 9.5 cubic feet. Consider this: As with most top-loaders this washer wasn't so gentle on fabrics. Need to know: Each machine is 30 inches wide. The waterproof cycle prevented the washer from becoming unbalanced when we washed several waterproof jackets. Gas dryer is Samsung DV56H9000GP, $1,300. Whirlpool pairs Whirlpool Duet WFL98HEBU front-loader and Whirlpool Duet WEL98HEBU electric dryer Price: $1,440 each Here's the deal: Both have a large capacity. Claimed capacity is 4.3 cubic feet for the washer and 7.4 for the dryer. The washer offers excellent cleaning and was gentle on fabrics. There are 13 wash cycles. Normal wash time, on heavy soil setting, is 75 minutes. That's faster than most.The dryer was superb at drying and among the quietest tested. Consider this: These machines are Wi-Fi enabled, providing remote control via your smart device that lets you monitor your laundry's progress, start/stop the machine, and more. Need to know: Made in the U.S.A. Machines have a silver finish and can be stacked. Each is 27 inches wide. Dryer is not available as a gas model. Whirlpool Cabrio WTW8500DW HE top-loader and Whirlpool Cabrio WED8500DW electric dryer Price: $1,080 each Here's the deal: The washer was impressive and made our top picks.The dryer excelled at drying. Both are relatively quiet. This washer fit 26 pounds of our laundry and was one of the gentlest on fabrics. There are 26 wash cycles. That's right, 26. Claimed capacity is 5.3 cubic feet for the washer and 8.8 for the dryer. Consider this: Normal wash time on heavy-soil setting was 80 minutes. Need to know: Washer is 28 inches wide; dryer, 29. They're made in the U.S.A. Gas dryer is the Whirlpool Cabrio WGD8500DW, $1,180. CR Tip Some HE top-loaders come with a warning not to wash waterproof items, or the manufacturer may suggest using the low-spin or no-spin mode to prevent the load from becoming unbalanced. That can cause the machine to shake too much, even damaging the machine and laundry area. Check the manual before you buy. Impressive Pairs for $1,700 or Less All were impressive at cleaning or drying though most did not make our top picks. The dryers have moisture sensors, a must. Keep in mind that most improvements in performance and efficiency are on washers. If you're set on a matching duo pick your washer and then the dryer. For more details see our Ratings of washing machines and clothes dryers. Kenmore couples Kenmore 28132 HE top-loader and Kenmore 68132 electric dryer Price: $750 each Here's the deal: The washer is the least expensive and fastest of the top picks. It took 60 minutes using normal wash on a heavy-soil setting. There are eight wash cycles. Cleaning was impressive and the washer fit about 26 pounds of our laundry. Claimed capacity is 5.3 cubic feet. This machine is relatively quiet, as is the dryer. The tested dryer was superb at drying. The dryer highlighted here is a similar model and we expect performance to be similar to tested dryer. Claimed capacity is 8.8 cubic feet. Consider this: The washer wasn't so gentle on fabrics although that's true for most HE top-loaders we've tested. The dryer is Energy Star-qualified and you will save some energy but extend drying time using the eco-mode. Need to know: Washer is 27 inches wide, standard width, and yet capacity is jumbo. When shopping reach into the bottom of the washer to see if you can grab that last sock. Dryer is 29 inches wide. Kenmore 27132 HE top-loader and Kenmore 67132 electric dryer Price: $650 each Here's the deal: Neither made our top picks but the washer came close. It performed similarly to the Kenmore above and also has eight wash cycles and a wash time of 60 minutes (normal wash, heavy-soil setting). But capacity is slightly smaller. Claimed capacity is 4.8 cubic feet. We fit about 23 pounds of laundry. The dryer was impressive at drying. Claimed capacity is 7 cubic feet. Both machines are relatively quiet. Consider this: Like most top-loaders this one wasn't gentle on fabrics. Need to know: Washer is 27 inches wide, dryer is 29. Gas dryer is the Kenmore 77132, $750. LG duos LG WM3170CW front-loader and LG DLE3170W electric dryer Price: $720 each Here's the deal: We first tested this washer in spring 2015 and found a software glitch that directed the washer to use so little water that it was unable to clean our laundry and left stains. LG said they would correct the software bug in washers in stock and in customers' homes. We bought a new LG WM3170CW washer in February 2016 and our tests found the problem has been solved, and cleaning was excellent. Claimed capacity is 4.3 cubic feet and it holds about 21 pounds of laundry. There are seven wash cycles. The dryer was excellent at its job and among the quietest we tested. Claimed capacity is 7.4 cubic feet. Consider this: Wash time is 110 minutes using the normal wash, heavy-soil setting. Save about 15 minutes by using the normal-soil setting. The front-loader's price is half of some high-scoring washers, making it a CR Best Buy. Need to know: Each machine is 27 inches wide, standard width, and can be stacked. Gas dryer is the LG DLG3171W, $820. LG WM3570HVA front-loader and LG DLEX3570HV electric dryer Price: $800 washer, $900 dryer Here's the deal: They didn't make our top picks but the washer was excellent at cleaning, gentle on fabrics, and fit about 21 pounds of our laundry. Claimed capacity is 4.3 cubic feet. There are 12 wash cycles. The dryer aced its job; claimed capacity is 7.4 cubic feet. Both machines were relatively quiet. Consider this: Wash time on normal wash heavy-soil setting was 95 minutes. The TurboWash option cut wash time of full loads by 15 to 20 minutes and offers comparable wash performance. Need to know: Each machine is 27 inches wide and stackable. They have a graphite finish. In the ratings the dryer model name ends with a "W" to indicate that the tested model was white. It costs about $100 less than the graphite finish. Gas dryer is LG DLGX3571W in white or LG DLGX3571HV in graphite. Maytag mates Maytag Maxima MHW5100DW front-loader and Maytag Maxima MED5100DW electric dryer Price: $750 each Here's the deal: The washer is recommended and a CR Best Buy. It offers excellent cleaning and energy- and water-efficiency, and was gentle on fabrics. There are eight wash cycles. Claimed capacity is 4.5 cubic feet and it fits about 22 pounds of our laundry. The dryer is Energy Star qualified and superb at drying. Our results are based on using the regular mode. The energy-saving option should provide comparable performance while saving energy, but drying time is significantly longer. Claimed capacity is 7.3 cubic feet. Consider this: Wash time is 75 minutes on normal wash heavy-soil setting, and this machine is relatively noisy. Consider that if placing near bedrooms or the family room. Need to know: Machines are made in the U.S, 27 inches wide, and stackable. Gas dryer is the Maytag MGD5100DW, $850. Maytag Bravos MVWB835DW HE top-loader and Maytag Bravos MEDB835DW electric dryer Price: $680 each Here's the deal: They didn't make the top picks but are worth considering. The washer was impressive at cleaning and took 70 minutes using the normal wash heavy-soil setting. You'll save about 15 to 20 minutes using the normal soil setting. There are 11 wash cycles. We fit about 25 pounds of our laundry in this washer. Claimed capacity is 5.3 cubic feet. This machine is relatively quiet. You'll hear it working but it shouldn't disturb you. The tested dryer was impressive at dryer and among the quietest in our tests. The dryer highlighted here is a similar model and we expect performance to be similar to the tested dryer. Claimed capacity is 8.8 cubic feet. The washer and dryer are made in the U.S. Consider this: The washer wasn't so gentle on fabrics but that's true for most HE top-loaders tested. Our tests use the normal wash heavy-soil setting. Use the normal wash normal-soil setting and it will be gentler on fabrics. Need to know: Washer is 27 inches wide, standard width, but capacity is jumbo. When shopping reach into the machine to see if you can grab that stray sock. Dryer is 29 inches wide. Both machines come only in white. Samsung sets Samsung WA52J8700AP HE top-loader and Samsung DV52J8700EP electric dryer Price: $850 each Here's the deal: The washer was impressive at cleaning and made our top picks. The jumbo capacity fit 26 pounds of our laundry. Claimed capacity is 5.2 cubic feet. There are 15 wash cycles. The dryer was excellent at its job; claimed capacity is 7.4 cubic feet. Both machines are relatively quiet. Consider this: Wash time was 75 minutes using the normal wash heavy-soil setting. The SuperSpeed cuts wash time by 15 to 20 minutes and cleaning is still impressive. However, the washer wasn't so gentle on fabrics although that's true for most top-loaders. This washer has Activewash, a water jet and built-in sink with ridges that enable you to hand wash and soak stained items before they go into the machine. Need to know: Each machine is 27 inches, the standard width, yet capacity is very large. When shopping reach into washer to see if you can touch the bottom of the tub. The dryer is Energy Star qualified and using the eco-mode can save you some energy but extends dryer time. Gas dryer is Samsung DV52J8700GP, $950. Samsung WF45H6300AG front-loader and Samsung DV45H6300EG electric dryer Price: $800 each Here's the deal: The washer was impressive overall and came close to making our top picks. It was excellent at cleaning, gentle on fabrics, and relatively quiet. There are 13 wash cycles. Claimed capacity is 4.5 cubic feet, scoring very good in our tests. The dryer aced its job but is relatively noisy. Claimed capacity is 7.5 cubic feet. Consider this: Wash time is 80 minutes using normal wash on the heavy-soil setting. Save about 15 to 20 minutes using the SuperSpeed option and cleaning will still be impressive. Need to know: Machines are 27 inches wide. Gas dryer is the Samsung DV45H6300GW, $900. How We Test Washers and Dryers In addition to washing performance Consumer Reports' washing machine tests look at how gentle a washing machine is on fabric as well as its energy and water efficiency. We look at noise and vibration, and note cycle times using the normal wash, heavy-soil setting. As for our capacity scores, models scoring excellent fit 25 or more pounds of laundry; a very good capacity score means the washer fit 20 to 24 pounds, and good, about 15 to 19 pounds. In our clothes dryer tests we run the machines with different sized loads and a variety of fabrics. We measure noise, capacity, and convenience. Models that earned excellent or very good capacity scores in our dryer tests can hold large loads as well. Kimberly Janeway More from Consumer Reports: The best matching washers and dryers Generator Buying Guide 8 ways to boost your home value Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright 2006-2016 Consumers Union of U.S. Beyonce and Jay Zs relationship has been under the spotlight for years but it all came to a head when Bey released her album Lemonade last month and seemingly dropped a whole load of cheating allegations against her husband. Although some have since argued that the stunt was just an elaborate marketing ploy, Beyonces cousin Shanica Knowles has now come forward and argued that Bey really is desperate to try and save her marriage. In fact, Shanica has said that Bey and Jay have endured numerous secret separations since tying the knot back in 2008. She explained: Beyonce has been encouraged to write about the affair rumours to help her deal with it all and help her determine whether she could work through everything or have to end the marriage. "This has been a long process and Ive heard theyve had to deal with silent separations and splits over the past few years, but Bey is praying this album will actually save her marriage. The very public way of dealing with her husbands infidelity is also a result of Beyonces anger, her cousin claims. She added to Heat magazine: Shes been through the intense anger and I think shes now learning to forgive Jay. "The next few months are going to be the test - this is make or break for them - but hes determined to do everything she can to make it work. Everyone is still very protective of Bey. Shes trying to put a brave face on things but she may not be able to get over this. "Despite doing everything in her power to make it work, this could backfire. Shes admitted that she still may end up divorcing him. Its up to Jay to continue fighting for her and prove that hes determined to do whatever it takes to keep his wife. Heres hoping that the pair manage to work things out, eh? We simply cant imagine a world without Bey and Jay as the ultimate celeb power couple. BlackRock, Inc. BLK has agreed to sell its U.K. defined contribution platform and administration business to Dutch insurer and asset manager Aegon N.V. AEG. The terms of the transaction, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2017, were not divulged. Under the transaction, BlackRock will transfer around 12 billion (($17.6 billion) of assets and 350,000 customers to Aegon. The deal will push Aegon into the top three in the U.K. workplace-savings market and create a 30 billion division. BlackRocks Paul Bucksey will become managing director of the pension and administration unit. Given its strength as a leading investment manager, BlackRock will retain its role as the primary investment manager for the clients that will be transferred to Aegon as part of the transaction. While the deal will strengthen Aegons position as a leading player in the U.K. workplace savings market, it will deepen Aegon's relationship with BlackRock, whose remaining 65 billion in U.K. defined contribution business would be focused to provide investment management services to Aegon clients. Aegon's retention of BlackRock's specialist employees and established systems will provide stability and continuity for trustees, plan sponsors and their advisors. BlackRock will grow its defined contribution investments business by supplying products to pension funds and other providers. "The pensions and investment landscape has changed significantly in the UK over the last few years," said David Blumer, head of BlackRock EMEA. "Aegon's broad retail product and digital capabilities will best serve the increased demand from employers for holistic retirement solutions in the future." Adrian Grace, CEO of Aegon UK, said: "The combined strength and breadth of expertise makes us a compelling choice. With employers demanding additional solutions to meet employees' needs to and through retirement, workplace savings are no longer just about traditional DC pensions. "This makes it an exciting market and with an expectation it will triple in size over the next 10 years. We are well positioned to take advantage, he added. The transaction is subject to regulatory and court approval. Currently, BlackRock holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), while Aegon carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked investment management firms are SEI Investments Co. SEIC and Cohen & Steers Inc. CNS, both of which sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BLACKROCK INC (BLK): Free Stock Analysis Report COHEN&STRS INC (CNS): Free Stock Analysis Report SEI INVESTMENTS (SEIC): Free Stock Analysis Report AEGON N V (AEG): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (Adds quotes, details, industry context and background) By Allison Lampert and Tim Hepher MONTREAL/PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) - Canada's Bombardier is not looking at building a bigger version of its CSeries jetliner, three people close to the company said on Wednesday. There has been persistent analyst and media speculation that Bombardier would add a third member of its slow-selling 108-130-seat jet family to compete with best-selling Airbus and Boeing models that carry at least 150 people. But despite earlier suggestions that Bombardier could enlarge its new jet to boost sales, the so-called 'CS500' version, which could cost up to $750 million to develop, is not being considered, the people said. "It is not on the table," one said, asking not to be identified. Bombardier last week scored a much-needed sale of 75 CS100 CSeries models to Delta Air Lines. Delta's new chief executive said it was potentially interested in anything larger that Bombardier could produce. Although Bombardier has toyed with the idea of building a bigger plane in the past, now is not the right time to consider breaking into the cut-throat 150-seat category as it tries to build on Delta's backing of its existing model, the people said. Some Canadian media have reported a larger CSeries could form part of a $1 billion package of federal support being negotiated between Bombardier and Canada's government. Chief Executive Alain Bellemare said last week Bombardier's focus was on its 108-seat CS100 and 130-seat CS300 models and a new business jet. "I think that, for us, is plenty. Our business case is all built around that: the CS100 and the CS300. It's funny that people are already thinking about what's next," he told Reuters. Bombardier has long argued there is a promising market in the 100-150-seat segment, just below the best-selling Airbus and Boeing models, but has suffered years of disappointing sales. One source familiar with Bombardier's thinking said it would be "suicidal" for the company to launch a CS500 anytime soon, because it would thrust the cash-strapped planemaker into direct competition with Airbus and Boeing. Story continues Industry strategists say the two giants would relish drawing the CSeries into their core market, where their high volumes and pricing power could give them a strong advantage despite the Canadian plane's partly newer technology. A second source close to the program said it would cost $500 million to $750 million to stretch the CS300. The CS300, however, has the capability to be expanded if the market needs it, the program head said last year. (Reporting by Allison Lampert, Tim Hepher, Editing by Amran Abocar; Editing by Janet Lawrence, Bernard Orr) By Allison Lampert and Tim Hepher MONTREAL/PARIS (Reuters) - Canada's Bombardier is not looking at building a bigger version of its CSeries jetliner, three people close to the company said on Wednesday. There has been persistent analyst and media speculation that Bombardier would add a third member of its slow-selling 108-130-seat jet family to compete with best-selling Airbus and Boeing models that carry at least 150 people. But despite earlier suggestions that Bombardier could enlarge its new jet to boost sales, the so-called 'CS500' version, which could cost up to $750 million to develop, is not being considered, the people said. "It is not on the table," one said, asking not to be identified. Bombardier last week scored a much-needed sale of 75 CS100 CSeries models to Delta Air Lines . Delta's new chief executive said it was potentially interested in anything larger that Bombardier could produce. Although Bombardier has toyed with the idea of building a bigger plane in the past, now is not the right time to consider breaking into the cut-throat 150-seat category as it tries to build on Delta's backing of its existing model, the people said. Some Canadian media have reported a larger CSeries could form part of a $1 billion package of federal support being negotiated between Bombardier and Canada's government. Chief Executive Alain Bellemare said last week Bombardier's focus was on its 108-seat CS100 and 130-seat CS300 models and a new business jet. "I think that, for us, is plenty. Our business case is all built around that: the CS100 and the CS300. Its funny that people are already thinking about whats next," he told Reuters. Bombardier has long argued there is a promising market in the 100-150-seat segment, just below the best-selling Airbus and Boeing models, but has suffered years of disappointing sales. One source familiar with Bombardiers thinking said it would be "suicidal" for the company to launch a CS500 anytime soon, because it would thrust the cash-strapped planemaker into direct competition with Airbus and Boeing. Industry strategists say the two giants would relish drawing the CSeries into their core market, where their high volumes and pricing power could give them a strong advantage despite the Canadian plane's partly newer technology. A second source close to the program said it would cost $500 million to $750 million to stretch the CS300. The CS300, however, has the capability to be expanded if the market needs it, the program head said last year. (Reporting by Allison Lampert, Tim Hepher, Editing by Amran Abocar; Editing by Janet Lawrence, Bernard Orr) By Martin Petty and Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - For the son and namesake of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, winning the vice presidency in next week's election is as much about restoring his family's tainted image as it is about making the country a better place. "Bongbong", as Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is known, has been leading most opinion polls ahead of the May 9 election, marking the revival of a name synonymous with martial law, torture and billions of dollars of plundered wealth. A poll published on Wednesday had him slipping to second place for the first time, but he was just two points behind Congresswoman Leni Robredo. Marcos Jr., 58, says his family is not the only issue and his popularity comes from public disenchantment with a political establishment that emerged after his father's overthrow in the iconic "people power" revolution in 1986. "We keep hearing about all these wonderful things happening to our economy and yet people are poor," he said in an interview. "That's where the frustration comes from... There's clearly a desire for something different." Unlike most other countries, elections for the Philippine president and vice-president are held separately and the two can be political rivals. The maverick mayor of the southern city of Davao, Rodrigo Duterte, 71, is leading opinion polls for president. The senior Marcos was president of the Philippines for two decades, including nine years as the head of a martial law government. Later governments have documented 75,000 cases of torture, illegal detention and disappearances in those years. The rule by the senior Marcos and his wife Imelda, known for her lavish lifestyle and thousands of pairs of shoes, has been called a kleptocratic "conjugal dictatorship". The family fled to exile in Hawaii after the ouster, where the senior Marcos died in 1989. After that, the widespread hatred of the Marcos family began to ebb. Bongbong Marcos returned from Hawaii in 1991 and rebuilt the family's political base in its stomping grounds of Ilocos Norte province, serving as governor, congressman and senator. His mother Imelda is seeking re-election next week to the House of Representatives from a district in the province, while his sister Imee is seeking re-election as the provincial governor. Political strategist Pastor "Boy" Saycon says the Marcos years were not all that bad, although he spent three months in jail at that time when the government rounded up student activists. "There was this discipline being instilled," he said. "Because that's the problem of our country today - there is no discipline." 'ENFORCED VACATION' If Bongbong wins the number two spot, he will be firmly in line to contest the presidency in a later election. Marcos gets irritated by the suggestion that the presidency is his goal. He calls the vice presidency a natural step and describes himself as a reluctant politician who had to clear the family name. "When we came back from our 'enforced vacation' we were the issue, and so to answer that we had to be also in the political stage," Marcos said. "There was very little else we could do if we were to somehow be able to continue to be able to work and to do something, and part of it is also to defend ourselves." There are old scores to settle between Marcos and another dynasty, the family of outgoing President Benigno Aquino. Aquino's father and namesake was a fierce critic of the Marcoses and his assassination in 1983 ignited the people power revolt. The president's late mother Corazon Aquino led the people power uprising before taking the presidency. Aquino has tried to derail Marcos's bid for vice-president. In October, the president said he had faith the public would reject Marcos and in February, timed with the 30-year anniversary of the revolution, the government announced it would sell gems, property and stocks confiscated from the Marcoses and would seek the return of $1 billion via court cases at home and overseas. But Marcos has opened up a clear lead in the most recent opinion polls and his anti-establishment platform is resonating with young Filipinos born long after the rule of his father. But for some of the older generation, the prospect of his family's return to the forefront of national politics is an embarrassing, retrograde step. "People from the outside cannot understand why Filipinos are putting Marcos back into power," said political analyst Dindo Manhit. "We never learn." Bongbong Marcos rejects common narratives of oppression and failed government in his father's rule. "There are many positive things to talk about from during that time," he said. "So that's what we do. It's fairly simple." (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Frankie Essex has bravely opened up about battling depression, admitting in a new interview that just last year she was on the brink of suicide. We are so glad that the TOWIE star was able to overcome this. The reality star is known for her bubbly personality but has now revealed that losing her mother Tina to suicide when she was just thirteen years old has left her damaged and still affects her to this day. Speaking out, Frankie explained: I did think about killing myself, like my mum. She was depressed and Im scared Ill fall into that hole. "But Im on antidepressants now and theyre helping me feel happier. I want to be the old Frankie again. Frankie fell into a downward spiral when she became involved in a toxic relationship with ex-boyfriend John Lyons, and also became down after piling on the pounds and creeping up to her highest ever weight. She added: Id lost all my confidence. I had a really sh*t year, probably the worst year Ive ever had, and I was really down. I lived with my boyfriend John and I had to move out. Thankfully Frankie was able to move in with her cousin Chloe Sims, who helped her see the light at the end of the tunnel. The star added to Now magazine: Im on a six-week waiting list to see a counsellor. If it wasnt for Chloe I dont know where Id be today. Were so glad that Frankie is finally getting the help that she needs. If you have been affected by this article please call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (UK) 1850 60 90 90 (ROI) or visit www.samaritans.org to find details of the nearest branch. Samaritans is available around the clock, every single day of the year. BRASILIA (Reuters) - A Brazilian congressional commission on Wednesday recommended a bill that forbids authorities from blocking popular messaging applications, just two days after a judicial order left 100 million Brazilians without Facebook Inc's WhatsApp. A Brazilian judge on Tuesday overturned a 72-hour suspension of the application used by roughly half the population of the South American country, triggering popular outcry over its second judicial suspension in only five months. The reason for the freeze was not made public due to legal secrecy in an ongoing case in a Sergipe state court, but authorities have in the past demanded data from the Facebook's encrypted messaging service. A congressional commission investigating cyber crimes proposed removing messaging applications, such as WhatsApp, from a bill that regulates the suspension of websites and other applications used for crimes such as drugs and arms trafficking. "This way the legislation makes it very clear that judges cannot block these applications, because those suspensions do not fulfill their objectives," lawmaker Sandro Alex, who helped draft the bill, said in a WhatsApp message. The legislation will now have to pass through several other congressional committees before being put to vote in the floor of the lower and upper house. Critics have said the bill would actually make it easier for judges to shut down websites and applications, hurting the freedom of speech of internet users. The judge who ordered Monday's 72-hour suspension, Marcel Maia Montalvao, in March ordered the imprisonment of a Brazil-based Facebook executive in a dispute over law enforcement demands for data from the companys encrypted messaging service for use in a drug trafficking investigation. The executive was freed after about 24 hours, when an appeals court overturned his arrest. WhatsApp had said in a statement on Monday that it was "disappointed" at the judge's decision to suspend its services, saying it had done its utmost to cooperate with Brazilian tribunals but did not possess the information the court was requesting. The company has said in the past that it does not store encrypted information from WhatsApp messages. Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg had urged Brazilians in a Facebook post to gather outside Congress on Wednesday to demand the messaging service never be blocked again. (Reporting by Alonso Soto; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Marguerita Choy) SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot has asked the Supreme Court to open an investigation of President Dilma Rousseff as part of a massive corruption investigation involving state-run oil firm Petrobras, Globo News reported on Tuesday. The lower house of Congress voted to impeach Rousseff on unrelated charges of breaking budgetary laws last month and the Senate must now decide whether to open a trial, at which point she would be suspended from office. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Sandra Maler) By Stephen Eisenhammer RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Mining companies Vale SA and BHP Billiton were hit with a 155 billion-real ($43.5 billion) civil lawsuit for the collapse of a dam at a mine last year that killed 19 people and caused damage that prosecutors said was comparable to BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The 359-page lawsuit brought by independent federal prosecutors was the result of a six-month investigation and is also against state and federal governments. Prosecutors accused the state of Minas Gerais, where the dam collapsed in November 2015, of negligence in its monitoring of the build up of waste and water sludge left over from the companies' mining venture, Samarco. The total damages, prosecutors said, were calculated on the basis of the cost of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the United States. BP's total pre-tax charge for that accident, in 2010, reached $53.8 billion. The Brazilian prosecutors also demanded an initial payment of 7.7 billion reais. A judge in Brazil now has to accept the lawsuit. Analysts said the comparison with BP's oil spill would likely be contested, but nevertheless represented another headache for companies reeling from a commodities downturn and now facing the prospect of protracted litigation. The drop in prices of commodities such as iron ore has seen BHP lose almost half of its market value, and Vale more than a quarter, over the past 12 months. BHP's shares were trading 6.5 percent lower and Vale's U.S. listed shares fell 7.5 percent in premarket trading, while the sector was down around 4 percent by 1015 GMT <.FTNMX1770>. Hunter Hillcoat, analyst at Investec in London, said the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill was "a completely unrelated incident" and the figures were an opening gambit. Paul Gait of Bernstein said the case was political as prosecutors added to the pressure on President Dilma Rousseff, who is under fire over corruption allegations. "They're implying she had radically undersold the Brazilian people and was in the pockets of business," he said. The civil action comes after the Brazilian government in March reached a settlement with Samarco, Vale and BHP, in which the companies agreed to pay an estimated 20 billion reais. Vale and BHP both said they had not received formal notice of the new claim. BHP said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange it was "committed to helping Samarco to rebuild the community and restore the environment affected by the failure of the dam". It said the March agreement provided "the long-term remedial and compensation framework for responding to the impact of the Samarco tragedy and the appropriate platform for the parties to work together". In the civil case prosecutors said the compensation agreement was insufficient and lacked the legal mechanisms to ensure the companies would fulfil their obligations, making it little more than a "letter of intent". (Additional reporting by Sonali Paul in Melbourne and Barbara Lewis in Brussels; Editing by Joseph Radford and Elaine Hardcastle) By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - A request by Brazil's prosecutor general for a Supreme Court investigation of ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva raises the odds against the ruling Workers Party emerging from scandal in time for the 2018 presidential election, analysts said on Wednesday. Already hurt by fallout from a massive corruption scheme, and impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff, the leftist party is largely resigned to her removal. Few believe she will escape conviction if the Senate votes next week to suspend her from office and open a trial over alleged budget irregularities, as expected. But the Workers Party, in power since 2003, has long considered Lula its ace in the hole for future elections. Rousseff's mentor and a hero to millions of poor voters, Lula remained popular among many even as Brazil's economy entered recession and prosecutors alleged that he may have benefited from kickbacks and obstructed justice in a probe into graft at state oil company Petrobras . The leftist icon has denied any wrongdoing. But a request by the prosecutor to press charges against him at the Supreme Court - made public on Tuesday - escalates Lula's legal problems, diminishing his ability to rally the party and mount a credible opposition to emboldened rivals. "Lula is the element that ties everything together," said Paulo Pimenta, a well-known Workers Party congressman from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. According to documents made public on Tuesday, Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot has charged Lula with participating in a scheme to stop former Petrobras executive Nestor Cervero from collaborating with the sweeping investigation into political kickbacks at the state oil firm. The Supreme Court must now decide whether to accept the charges against Lula, who was named to a ministerial post by Rousseff in March. Janot also requested an investigation into Rousseff for allegedly seeking to obstruct the Petrobras investigation. The Supreme Court is the only tribunal permitted to try sitting politicians and ministers. It was already considering whether Lula's nomination was legal, as he already faced charges of money laundering and fraud from a regional prosecutor. The Supreme Court does not conduct investigations itself, but guides prosecutors and police in the cases before it. Lula was wildly popular when he left office at the end of his two-term limit in 2010, and he has repeatedly expressed his willingness to run again. But by "criminalizing" the former president, prosecutors and political opponents could make a third term impossible and undermine a once formidable party base formed around trade unions and leftist social movements. "A Lula candidacy is what could catalyze them," said Pimenta, referring to working-class voters. Analysts at Arko Advice, a political consultancy in the capital Brasilia, said the request for a Supreme Court investigation of Lula signaled "a definitive weakening" of the former metal worker and union leader. The ex-president "could spend the rest of his political life defending himself," the analysts wrote. (Writing by Paulo Prada; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Tom Brown) Brasilia (AFP) - Brazil's outbreak of Zika -- which has been linked to the devastating microcephaly birth defect in newborns in 1,271 cases since October -- has also killed 57 of those babies, authorities said Wednesday. The Health Ministry said in that as of April 30, 3,580 suspected cases had been reported and that another 2,492 were ruled out as false alarms. While 57 babies were known to have died of the condition, another 178 deaths were suspected to have been caused by it, the data showed. Brazil, the epicenter of the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak, hosts the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro from August 5 to 21. The virus is blamed for birth defects in babies born to women infected with the virus. Despite a flurry of research, very little is known about the virus -- how long it can hide out in the human body, the degree of risk via sexual transmission, the full list of diseases and disorders it may cause, and all the mosquito types capable of transmitting it. The recent scientific consensus is that Zika causes microcephaly, a form of severe brain damage in newborns, and adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death. There is no vaccine or treatment for the virus, which in most people causes only mild symptoms -- a rash, joint pain or fever. Largely contained to Latin America and the Caribbean, Zika's range is likely to expand as summer arrives in the northern hemisphere -- and with it virus-transmitting mosquitoes. BRASILIA, May 4 (Reuters) - The senator charged with studying President Rousseff's impeachment recommended on Wednesday that she be put on trial for breaking budget laws, bringing the embattled leftist leader one step closer to suspension from office. Senator Antonio Anastasia presented his findings to a 21-member Senate impeachment committee, which is expected to vote overwhelmingly on Friday to send his recommendation to the full chamber. The Senate is due to vote on May 11 to try Rousseff, at which point she will be automatically suspended pending a trial that could last up to 180 days. Vice President Michel Temer will take over as acting president and, if Rousseff is convicted, he would serve out the remainder of her term through 2018. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Editing by Daniel Flynn) Rising Oil Stockpiles Drive Commodity Prices Lower Today (Continued from Prior Part) Latin American markets fell in line with commodity sectors Depressed Latin American markets took cues from lower commodity prices as of 2:30 PM EST today, May 4, 2016. Investors were trading with a bearish view, in line with the previous session. Larger oil stockpiles led to speculations of falling demand in the United States. The Brazilian BM&F Bovespa SA rose slightly by 0.09%, while the Mexican IPC index fell 1.2%. Brazilian markets were positive since the countrys top prosecutor requested a probe into President Dilma Rousseffs case relating to obstruction of justice. Investors are betting on impeachment proceedings against Rousseff and stability in the political system in Brazil. The decline in global crude oil prices and other essential commodities caused the Colombian COLCAP index to trade 0.92% lower. Colombia depends greatly on crude oil prices, which directly impact its export revenues. Among the Latin American indexes, the Argentinian Merval Index rose 0.19%, while the Chilean IPSA Select Index was trading 0.06% lower. Brazilian service PMI Brazilian services PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) declined to 37.4 points in April versus 38.6 points in March. Rising unemployment rates as companies resorted to layoffs in order to cut costs were a primary driver of lower PMI numbers. Colombian export growth continued to decline in March, falling 33.4% on an annual basis versus a 26.7% fall last month. Impact on the Market Among the Latin Americafocused ETFs, the iShares MSCI Brazil Capped (EWZ) rose 1.1% on May 4. The iShares MSCI Mexico Capped (EWW) was trading 1.8% lower as of 2:30 PM EST. Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Brazil are closely linked to crude oil and commodity prices. The PowerShares DB Commodity Tracking ETF (DBC) fell 0.14%. On a broad-based level, the iShares Latin America 40 (ILF) fell 0.16%, while the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) fell 1.6%. Browse this series on Market Realist: BRASILIA, May 4 (Reuters) - A government of Vice President Michel Temer would analyze allowing foreign owners to acquire a controlling stake in local airlines, one of his closest aides told Reuters on Wednesday. Wellington Moreira Franco, a chief economic adviser to Temer, said he has supported raising foreign ownership in the industry since he was aviation minister a few years ago. "Today you have legislation that limits the participation of investors," Franco said in a telephone interview. "But they would have to comply with local rules." Temer is poised to succeed President Dilma Rousseff if Brazil's Senate, as expected, suspends her term next week following impeachment proceedings. (Reporting by Alonso Soto; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) (Adds background) BRASILIA, May 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's top prosecutor requested that President Dilma Rousseff be investigated for trying to obstruct a sweeping corruption investigation involving state-run oil firm Petrobras, local media reported late on Tuesday. An investigation could well mark the political end for the beleaguered leader of the world's seventh-largest economy as it would be the first time that Rousseff would be directly implicated in Brazil's biggest-ever graft case. She is already likely to be suspended from office as early as next week on unrelated charges of breaking budgetary laws. The corruption scandal casts a shadow over 13 years of Workers Party rule that saw Brazil's middle class expand by some 40 million people since 2003 with the help of new social programs. Rousseff has consistently maintained she has done no wrongdoing, despite serving as the chairwoman of Petrobras' board for several years when much of a billion-dollar kickback scheme played out. The case has already seen executives from Brazil's biggest construction firms jailed and convicted for siphoning funds from Petrobras to bribe politicians. Around 50 politicians are under investigation, including the leaders of both houses of congress. Neither Brazil's Supreme Court, which must authorize any investigation into Rousseff, nor the office of Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot returned calls and emails requesting confirmation of the request for investigation. Globo News, Brazil's largest media conglomerate, along with the Estado de S.Paulo and Folha de S.Paulo newspapers reported the request made by the prosecutor at close to midnight on Tuesday. The request will be analyzed by Supreme Court justice Teori Zavascki and is not public because it is based on recorded phone calls between Rousseff and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, news site G1 reported. Federal Judge Sergio Moro in March made public taped phone conversations between Rousseff and Lula that fed opposition claims that Rousseff had tried to name Lula as her chief of staff in order to shield him from prosecution. Story continues LULA CHARGED Newspaper Estado de S. Paulo also reported on Tuesday that Janot had charged Lula with participating in a scheme to stop former Petrobras executive Nestor Cervero from collaborating with the investigation. The federal prosecutors' office would not confirm the charge. The Supreme Court did confirm that Janot had asked for Lula and several of Rousseff's ministers to be formally investigated, including Chief of Staff Jaques Wagner, the minister in charge of legislative affairs, Ricardo Berzoini, and Rousseff's spokesman, Edinho Silva. Janot is expanding the investigation largely because of testimony from Senator Delcidio do Amaral, who decided to collaborate with the investigation in exchange for a lighter sentence. Amaral has said both Lula and Rousseff knew about the scheme. Janot's requests add to a growing uproar over just how many senior politicians are suspected of taking kickbacks from Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known . Senior politicians will likely continue to face legal problems, and possible jail terms, well past Rousseff's expected ouster. Brazil's Senate this month will weigh her suspension ahead of a trial on charges she manipulated public accounts. The lower house of Congress voted overwhelmingly to impeach her last month. Rousseff says she has done nothing wrong. Rousseff's unpopularity mounted as Brazil fell into its worst recession in decades through what critics call her heavy-handed state intervention in the economy as a commodities boom went bust. Asked if he would avoid inviting anyone under investigation to be a minister in any government he is asked to lead, Vice President Michel Temer, first in line for the presidency, said in a television interview on Tuesday he was unsure. Prosecutors said in documents obtained by Estado de S.Paulo they did not see a reason to open an investigation of Temer, although he had been mentioned in plea bargain testimony. Janot said in the documents the "criminal organization" operating at Petrobras would not have been possible without Lula. Lula's institute said on Tuesday Janot had offered a hypothesis without proof. Rousseff's spokesman Silva, who was also the treasurer of the 2014 re-election campaign whose finances have been called into question for possibly benefiting from the Petrobras scheme, said in a statement the campaign was clean. Prosecutors in the southern city of Curitiba have also sought to investigate Lula. Their efforts have stalled as the Supreme Court weighs whether or not Rousseff can make him a minister, a move that would give him immunity from all but the high court. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello and Anthony Boadle; Writing and additional reporting by Caroline Stauffer and Brad Brook; Editing by Andrew Hay, Sandra Maler and Simon Cameron-Moore) Heathrow_airport_star_wars_day_joke LONDON It wouldn't be Star Wars Day without a bunch of brands cracking May the fourth jokes, and this year has been absolutely no exception. SEE ALSO: Oreo, Windows, MLB and Others Bring the Force for 'Star Wars' Day London's Heathrow Airport got in on the action just after midday. You've got to hand it to them that's some solid photoshopping. They weren't the only UK brand to get involved, either. The British Fashion Council (BFC) has revealed the designers shortlisted for its BFC/GQ Designer Menswear Fund. The prestigious award will see the winner receive a 150,000 grant (about US$217,000) to grow their label, as well as 50,000 value (about US$72,000) in kind services and 12 months of mentoring from industry experts. Urban label Sibling, which hit the headlines earlier this year with a River Island collaboration, is one of the shortlisted British brands, alongside designer Christopher Raeburn, who is famous for his work repurposing military fabrics. Pioneering female designer Lou Dalton, conceptual designer Craig Green and sportswear-driven creative Astrid Andersen complete the list. The fund is supported by luxury mobile manufacturer Vertu. Dylan Jones OBE, Editor of British GQ and Chair of London Collections Men, called the shortlist "a great example of the variety and spread of designers that are working here in London," while Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council, said: "As well as sheer creativity these designers also have impressive business strategies and the potential to be Britain's next big menswear brands." The shortlisted designers will participate in a mentoring program developed by the BFC that will see industry experts provide guidance on topics including branding, leadership, commercial retail, e-tail and wholesale and digital innovation. At the end of the month the designers will submit a revised business plan to the judging panel, which includes Dylan Jones, Caroline Rush, Fourmarketing's Ben Banks, The Financial Times's Charlie Porter, Gordon Watson and Jon Stanley of Vertu, The Guardian's Helen Seamons, Cerruti's Jason Basmajian, Robert Johnston from British GQ and Stephen Doig from Telegraph Luxury. The Fund is aimed at businesses that have been trading for over two years, with UK and international stockists. The winner will be announced on May 18. Britney Speaks Jason Merritt Getty final The dramatic downfall of Britney Spears hit an all-time low on January 30, 2008. Among onlooking paparazzi and helicopters, the pop star was put into an ambulance and rushed to UCLA Medical Center after days of bizarre behavior by Spears that included driving recklessly and speaking in a British accent. It was the second time in less than a month that she had been taken to a hospital for emergency psychiatric evaluation. With footage at the time surfacing of her shaving her own head and attacking paparazzi with an umbrella, it was obvious that Spears needed help. And on February 1, 2008, she got it in a legal judgment that still rules her life. While Spears was still in the hospital, her father, Jamie, was granted temporary conservatorship of his daughter, giving him control over her treatment, visitors, security, and daily life. Today, Spears performs daily at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, having recently signed a two-year extension worth $35 million. In 2015, Forbes named her the sixth-highest-earning female musician, and she will release a new album, her first since 2013, in May. In one way this is the comeback millions of her fans have been waiting for. But behind the scenes her life is controlled by the conservatorship. And new reporting from The New York Times suggests that Spears has almost no control over her career and personal life. According to the arrangement, which is typically used to protect the mentally disabled or extremely ill, Spears cannot make decisions about her personal life or finances without the approval of her conservators: her father and lawyer Andrew M. Wallet. Purchases ranging from a car to a drink at Starbucks are tracked in court documents as a way to safeguard her fortune. But there are signs that the conservatorship on Spears may one day be lifted. On Monday she was allowed to testify in a case filed against her by a former self-described manager. In at least three previous lawsuits, she was kept from testifying because of the restrictions under her conservatorship. Story continues A court-appointed lawyer, Samuel D. Ingham III, would most likely be the person to decide whether Spears still needs the conservatorship. He makes sure the conservators do not abuse their power. The Times points out, however, that there's a debate in California about whether court-appointed lawyers do enough as advocates for the rights of those under conservatorship. California's Senate Judiciary Committee said in a report last year, "In theory the court-appointed counsel should be arguing on the proposed conservatee's behalf for a less-restrictive alternative to conservatorship whenever possible." Britney Spears Vegas show Ethan Miller Getty final According to The Times, Ingham has been awarded $2 million in fees for his work on Spears' behalf since 2008. Spears' father makes $130,000 a year as a conservator and is reimbursed for the rent of an office he uses. He has also requested 1.5% of the gross revenues from the performances and merchandising tied to Spears' Vegas show. Spears' status and progress are measured by a court investigator, who files a report once every other year. Back in 2008, when Spears' father asked the court to establish a temporary conservatorship, Spears wanted to challenge it. "Britney wanted to oppose the conservatorship," Adam Streisand, who was one of two lawyers who spoke to the star at the time, told The Times. "But she was also extremely worried about her kids and seemed to understand that the best thing to do to see her kids was to accept it." Spears and her father declined to comment for the Times story, but in 2008 Spears said in an interview with MTV about the conservatorship: "I think it's too in control. If I wasn't under the restraints I'm under, I'd feel so liberated." Yet last year, she told People: "I'm in a real good place in my life. I'm the happiest I've ever been." Read the full story here. NOW WATCH: Warner Bros. just released the first trailer for its R-rated animated Batman movie More From Business Insider Murali Pillai and Low Yen Ling greeting Bukit Batok residents at a bus stop near Block 229 Bukit Batok East. (Photo: Safhras Khan/Yahoo Singapore) Lawyer Murali Pillai, the Peoples Action Partys candidate for the upcoming Bukit Batok by-election revealed his plans to help elderly residents, particularly those living alone, during his walkabout on Wednesday (4 May) morning. Murali, who is contesting in the 7 May by-election against the Singapore Democratic Partys chief Chee Soon Juan said there are plans to build an eldercare centre in the constituency to assist not only the elderly but also caregivers of such persons. He noted that one in nine residents in Bukit Batok are aged 65 and above and that an eldercare centre could help ease the needs of these residents. Speaking to the media at Block 229 Bukit Batok East, Murali said that although organisations such as St Lukes Hospital and Concern & Care Society Neighbourhood Link provide care and support for elderly residents, an eldercare centre could help residents more. An additional care centre, especially one that offers daycare services will give much needed respite, particularly to care-givers, said Murali who was accompanied by Member of Parliament (MP) for Choa Chu Kang GRC and Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF), Low Yen Ling during the walkabout. He also plans to provide elderly residents living alone with an emergency button. When activated, the emergency button will alert neighbours, relatives and community leaders of an urgent situation. PAP Murali Pillai shows reporters the emergency button during a walkabout on 4 May. (Photo: Safhras Khan/Yahoo Singapore) Residents supportive of plans: Murali When asked about the ground sentiments, Murali said residents are supportive of his plans and are happy with his initiatives. In any election, residents will assess whatever plans that are being put forward by a candidate and whether these plans are worth supporting, he said. Story continues So far, Murali has held just one rally, compared to Chee who held his third rally on Tuesday night (3 May). Murali added that he has plans for another rally and will continue to walk the ground to meet more residents. When asked to address Chees comments on national issues during SDP rallies, Murali said he would focus on talking about his plans for the constituency. On Tuesday evening, Chee had touched on CPF savings and challenges facing the elderly. Chee said what he said. There is a need to deal with the local residents as they are the ones who elect a MP, said Murali. It is one thing to talk in Parliament and push for an issue but we also need to have concrete plans to help local residents. Governor Jerry Brown Late last year, California Gov. Jerry Brown moved into a newly renovated (and historic) mansion that had sat vacant for almost five decades. The governors mansion in Sacramento hadnt housed a governor since Ronald Reagan lived there in the late 60s. Browns recent move into the mansion in downtown Sacramento created a ripple in the real estate market. At the time of the move, Brown traded in his downtown loft in the capital city for the stately residence acquired by the state in 1903. And now, the former presidential candidate (1976, 1980, and 1992) has listed his luxury home in the Oakland hills for $2.6 million. A reminder of Browns eight-year run as the citys mayor, the stunning five-level home was built in 2006. Perched high in the steep hills of Oakland, it offers amazing views of the San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge. View of San Francisco Bay Japanese-inspired building techniques were used in the construction, and the homes pictures illustrate a tranquil and meditative getaway. In fact, one floor is known as the spa level and features a sauna, wet bar, and bath. The floor also features radical roll-up doors that lead to an outdoor deck where you can unwind with an adult beverage or three. Sweet. Measuring in at just over 4,200 square feet, the three-bedroom home also features a floor devoted solely to the master suite with two walk-in closets, two decks, and a wine cellar. Downstairs, the homes oversize kitchen flows seamlessly into the living and dining areas, which are highlighted by a deck that emphasizes the homes indoor-outdoor flow. Listing agent Robin Dustan told SFgate.com that Brown and his wife are downsizing. The home is beautiful. Its very Zen, Dustan said. Roll up doors Exterior Kitchen The post California Gov. Jerry Brown Selling $2.6M Zen Home in Oakland Hills appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California would repeal mandatory jail time for convicted prostitutes under a bill approved by the state Senate amid growing concern that many are victims of human trafficking or addicts who need treatment. The measure by Senator William Monning, a Democrat, reflects a growing national conversation about whether people who exchange sex for money should be viewed as victims rather than as criminals, along with a movement in California to end mandatory sentencing for non-violent offenders. "As we learn more, particularly about women who engage in prostitution, we're learning more and more about human trafficking," Monning said. "There is also an intersection with drug and alcohol use." His bill, which the Senate voted to approve on Monday, would end the state's mandatory sentences for repeat prostitution offenders, which currently call for a minimum of 45 days in county jail for a second offense, and 90 days for a third offense. Jail time for the misdemeanor crime is not mandated for first offenders. The bill is one of about 40 trafficking-related measures before California lawmakers this session, according to the office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris. One of them, backed by Harris, would create an inter-agency task force to seek data on trafficking and develop new ways of responding to it, including new law enforcement approaches. The National Organization for Women is backing several human trafficking-related measures before lawmakers this year, and is reviewing Monning's bill, said Jerilyn Stapleton, president of the National Organization for Women's California operations. Monning's proposal, which passed the Senate 23-14 and now goes to the Assembly, also comes amid a nationwide movement to reduce the number of non-violent offenders who are imprisoned that has won support by many Republicans as well as Democrats. California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, is backing a ballot initiative that would roll back some mandatory sentencing guidelines, saying the system has taken discretion away from judges and ultimately contributed to recidivism by providing inmates with little incentive for rehabilitation. (Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Leslie Adler) By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 22-year-old man with a handgun kidnapped a teenage couple over the weekend in Southern California after their high school prom, but the abduction was foiled when the boy wrestled away the firearm and hit the suspect with it, police said on Wednesday. Jared T. James appeared in court on Wednesday in Victorville, about 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Los Angeles, to face charges of kidnapping and attempted murder, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office said. It was not immediately clear if James had entered a plea and an attorney for him could not be located. James, who had known the 17-year-old girl since their childhood, approached her and her boyfriend on Saturday outside the boy's home in Victorville, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. He threatened the two teenagers, who had just returned from their high school prom, or formal dance, with the handgun and forced them into his Honda Accord, then drove to an isolated spot off a highway, the statement said. It was then that the boy, a 17-year-old whose name has not been released, started to fight with James and the gun went off twice without hitting anyone. The girl ran away while the boy grabbed the handgun and hit James with the weapon, eventually getting free himself, according to the statement. A truck driver drove the two teenagers to a hospital, where the boy was treated for injuries to his head and face and later released, said San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Mara Rodriguez. James checked into another hospital with similar injuries from the scuffle and was tracked down by investigators who arrested him. He was in jail on bail of $1 million, Rodriguez said. (Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Alistair Bell) Cannes will have one less red carpet this year - Calvin Klein is cancelling its annual party. In years past, the design house has teamed with IFP to co-host one of the festival's splashiest events, a gala honoring women in film. Last year's fourth annual fete was held at a $50 million Cannes estate and was attended by (honorees) Emily Blunt, Sienna Miller, Rachel Weisz, Isabelle Huppert and Melanie Laurent, among other A-listers, including Jake Gyllenhaal and Harvey Weinstein with a performance by hot girl group Haim. But, sources tell THR, with the recent exit of Calvin Klein's two top creatives - designers Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli - nobody at the company is in the mood to celebrate. Costa, lead women's designer, has been with the company since 2003, while men's designer Zucchelli joined one year later in 2004. A rep for Calvin Klein confirmed that they wouldn't be hosting anything in Cannes this year, but declined to elaborate. As for IFP, a rep says the organization will be partnering this year with the Hamptons International Film Festival for a party at Cannes honoring late screenwriter Melissa Mathison. Her final film, Steven Spielberg's The BFG, is premiering this year at Cannes. The move comes after HIFF launched an inaugural Melissa Mathison Fund as part of its Screenwriters Lab. All the news lately at Calvin Klein hasn't been just about staff openings. At Monday night's Met Gala, a trio of fashionable actresses - Emma Watson, Lupita Nyong'o and Margot Robbie - all stepped out wearing Calvin Klein Collection, as did rising star Amandla Stenberg. A version of this story first appeared in the May 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday Britain would take more Syrian child refugees who had made it to Europe, in a move to quell a rebellion in his party before a referendum on EU membership. Cameron has said children fleeing the conflict in Syria are "relatively safe" once they reach Europe and that the government does not want to encourage more Syrians, including unaccompanied children, to attempt the hazardous journey to the West. But after several Conservative Party members signalled they would vote against a government immigration bill, Cameron told parliament he would talk to humanitarian groups and local councils about taking more children from the war zone. "We are going to do more for children who are already registered in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal," he said, referring to a March 20 agreement to send back migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey if they do not apply for asylum there or if their application is rejected. "But the principle we should try to cling to is that we shouldn't do anything that encourages people to make the perilous journey." The Home Office (Interior Ministry) has said up to 3,000 Syrian and other child refugees from camps in the Middle East and North Africa are to be resettled in Britain over the next four years. Cameron's spokesman said the change in the prime minister's stance was "to ensure there is support across the House on this", after several MPs expressed support for an attempt by a member of the House of Lords to force the government to take in more child refugees. With the ruling Conservatives deeply divided over whether to stay in the European Union in a referendum on June 23, Cameron is keen to reduce friction in his own party and in parliament, especially over migration. Growing fear over high levels of migration has spurred support for the "Out" campaign and Cameron, who is campaigning to keep Britain in the 28-member bloc, is keen to underline that Britain will not overstretch itself by taking in more refugees. His spokesman said the government would be talking to local councils to make sure the necessary support exists to take in more children. Until that was done, he could give no further detail on numbers. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison) Ottawa (AFP) - Canada's trade deficit expanded sharply in March to a record gap, largely due to a tumble in exports to the United States, official figures showed on Wednesday. Statistics Canada said the trade shortfall was CAN$3.4 billion, up from CAN$2.5 billion in February. March exports fell 4.8 percent to CAN$41.0 billion as exports to the US, a main trading partner, dropped 6.3 percent. Imports, meanwhile, also declined, but less dramatically, falling 2.4 percent to CAN$44.4 billion. Imports were markedly lower from China, but increased from South Korea and Algeria, according to Statistics Canada, which said imports from countries other than the United States increased 2.2 percent to CAN $15.5 billion. The agency noted in its report that Canada's trade surplus with the United States narrowed from CAN$2.1 billion in February to CAN$1.5 billion in March -- the lowest surplus since December 1993. (Adds analyst reaction, details, Canadian dollar falling) By David Ljunggren OTTAWA, May 4 (Reuters) - Canada's trade deficit in March widened to a record C$3.41 billion ($2.69 billion) as exports sank for a second month on weak demand from the crucial U.S. market, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. The deficit, far greater than a C$1.40 billion shortfall forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll, came as Canada is already struggling to deal with the prolonged effects of an oil price slump. Exports to the United States, which accounted for 74.2 percent of Canada's global total in March, fell by 6.3 percent while imports dropped by 4.8 percent. As a result, Canada's trade surplus with the United States dropped to a 22-year low of C$1.53 billion, down from C$2.12 billion in February. Peter Hall, chief economist at Export Development Canada, described the drop in exports as a concern and linked it to a drawdown in U.S. inventories which he said had cut demand for Canadian goods. "I wouldn't say this is time to push the panic button but it's time to be alert. This is something that is coming to us squarely from the United States," he said in a phone interview. The Canadian dollar weakened to C$1.2821 to the U.S. dollar, or 78.00 U.S. cents, down from C$1.2748, or 78.44 U.S. cents, shortly before the release. The Bank of Canada said on April 20 it could take Canada more than three years to recover from the oil price shock. The central bank is relying on a transition to non-energy exports to help drive the economy. March exports fell by 4.8 percent to C$40.99 billion, the lowest in more than two years. Shipments declined in 10 of 11 sectors, led by motor vehicles and parts, consumer goods and metal and non-metallic products. "Certainly as we move through the second quarter the Bank (of Canada) is going to be wanting to see indications of exports rebounding," said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada. Imports decreased by 2.4 percent to C$44.40 billion, pulled down by lower shipments of consumer goods, aircraft and other transportation equipment. Story continues March marked Canada's 19th consecutive monthly trade deficit. Export prices dropped by 2.9 percent while volumes declined by 2.0 percent. Import prices declined by 2.1 percent and volumes shrank by 0.3 percent. Statscan revised February's deficit to C$2.47 billion from an initial C$1.91 billion. ($1=$1.27 Canadian) (With additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Meredith Mazzilli) OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, pressed on a possible aid package for Bombardier Inc , said on Wednesday it is important to have global companies like the Quebec-based jet maker creating jobs in Canada. Bombardier has asked Canada for $1 billion in aid to support its new CSeries passenger jet but Trudeau's new Liberal government has not yet announced a decision. The government has previously said it wants assurances on jobs and the location of the company's headquarters, which are in the predominantly French-speaking province of Quebec. "Having important companies with a global footprint like Bombardier create those jobs here at home is an important part of the kind of economy we need to build," Trudeau told reporters on Wednesday. Trudeau said the government's goal is to have a strong aerospace sector in the short and long term that will lead to good jobs. "That is certainly our hope and that is the nature of the conversations we're having right now with Bombardier," he said. Bombardier's long-delayed and over-budget CSeries planes got some support last week in the form of a major order from Delta Air Lines . (Reporting by Leah Schnurr and David Ljunggren; Editing by G Crosse and James Dalgleish) * Forecasts 2016 operating loss of $41 mln-$47 mln * Raises 2016 revenue by 5.2 pct to $337 mln-$347 mln * Q1 revenue $72.7 mln vs analysts' estimate $66.9 mln (Adds details, background, shares) May 4 (Reuters) - Canada's Shopify Inc , a maker of software that helps retailers set up and manage online stores, forecast a bigger operating loss for the year, due to higher compensation expenses. The company, however, posted a smaller-than-expected loss for the first quarter as its revenue rose 3.6 percent from the preceding quarter, due to tie-ups with companies such as Facebook Inc. Shopify's U.S.-listed shares, which have risen more than 80 percent since their IPO in May, fell as much as 9 percent on Wednesday. The company said it expects a bigger 2016 operating loss of $41 million-$47 million, compared with a previous forecast of $36 million-$42 million. Analysts said shares were down because of profit-taking, or as investors offloaded some shares because they have become expensive. The company, founded in 2006, has been expanding aggressively and its workforce has risen eightfold over the last three years. Shopify increased its revenue forecast by about 5 percent for the year to $337 million-$347 million. "They have taken the revenue guidance up impressively, or quite a bit, but they did not do anything to the full year operating loss," said Raymond James analyst Terry Tillman. Shopify's software helps sellers provide live customer support, send order confirmations and shipping updates through the Facebook messenger platform. Shopify, which went public in May last year, has also struck deals with companies such as Amazon.com and Uber , with which it has a tie-up for same-day deliveries. "Mobile orders from Shopify merchants surpassed those of desktops in February, and have continued to climb since," said Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke. Shopify had said last week it will start providing cash advances to customers in the United States seeking financing. Story continues Net loss widened to $8.9 million in the quarter from $6.3 million, in the preceding quarter. Excluding items, Shopify posted a loss of 6 cents per share, smaller than the average analyst estimate for a loss of 9 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The Ottawa-based company posted a revenue of $72.7 million, beating the average analyst estimate of $66.9 million. (Reporting by Anet Josline Pinto and Amrutha Gayathri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) Independent oil and gas explorer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. CNQ is set to release its first-quarter 2016 results before the opening bell on Thursday, May 5. In the preceding three-month period, the Calgary, Alberta-based upstream player delivered a positive earnings surprise of 80.00% on aggressive cost control measures. As far as the earnings surprise history is concerned, the company has a good record: its beaten estimates in 3 of the last four quarters with an average beat of 47.65%. Lets see how things are shaping up for this announcement. Factors to Consider This Quarter Like any other energy player primarily involved in exploration, development and production of crude oil the fate of Canadian Natural Resources business is directly correlated with crude prices. Continued weakness in commodity prices has significantly affected the companys revenues, earnings and cash flows. However, efficiencies on the production front might be able to mitigate some of the damage. In particular, the company boasts of a strong and diverse production base with long-life and low decline rate assets. Moreover, Canadian Natural Resources has been able to reduce unit costs that will provide some buffer amid the tumbling commodity prices. Earnings Whispers Our proven model does not conclusively show that Canadian Natural Resources will beat estimates this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to be able to beat consensus estimates. That is not the case here as you will see below. Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is 0.00%. This is because the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate both stand at a loss of 27 cents. Zacks Rank: Canadian natural Resources has a Zacks Rank #3. Though a Zacks Rank #3 increases the predictive power of ESP, the companys ESP of 0.00% makes surprise prediction difficult. Story continues We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Ranks #4 and 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions. Stocks to Consider While earnings beat looks uncertain for Canadian Natural Resources, here are some utilities you may want to consider on the basis of our model, which shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter: Seadrill Partners LLC SDLP has an Earnings ESP of +3.03% and a Zacks Rank #1. The company is expected to release earnings results on May 26. Rose Rock Midstream L.P. RRMS has an Earnings ESP of +4.17% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is anticipated to release earnings on May 5. McDermott International Inc. MDR has an Earnings ESP of +100.00% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is likely to release earnings on May 5. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MCDERMOTT INTL (MDR): Free Stock Analysis Report CDN NTRL RSRCS (CNQ): Free Stock Analysis Report ROSE ROCK MIDST (RRMS): Free Stock Analysis Report SEADRILL PTNRS (SDLP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research A massive wildfire in the Canadian city of Fort McMurray forced nearly all of its 80,000 residents to evacuate. Officials called in the military to help, and its already said to be the worst fire in Albertas history. The fire was expected to grow even larger Wednesday, and already much of the town has fled to evacuation sites. On Tuesday evening, cars clogged the highways; the overwhelmed airport canceled flights because of the smoke; and nine air tankers, a dozen helicopters, and about 150 firefighters tried to beat back the flames. The Edmonton Journal reported. The very feature that gives Fort McMurray its beauty the boreal forest that rings the city and runs up against its businesses and homes makes forest fires a dangerous matter. The Athabasca River, a wide body of water that divides the city, failed to provide fire break Tuesday and flames leapt from the south bank to the north side of the river. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper as people packed families and pets into cars, trucks and campers. Line-ups snaked around gas stations and late in the evening, RCMP were advising they would travel the highway with gas to assist stranded motorists. MacDonald Island, the initial evacuation site in Fort McMurrays downtown for residents in affected neighbourhoods, itself had to be evacuated. And camps to the north of Fort McMurray where evacuees were being directed, such as the Noralta Lodge, reported they were filling up Tuesday evening. A smaller fire had started on the weekend, and burned just southwest of the city. By late Monday, itd grown to 6,500 acres. Tuesdays warmer temperature and shifting high winds blew it toward the city until it jumped highways and the wide body of the Athabasca River toward Fort McMurrays downtown. There have been no fatalities; a baby was born at an evacuation site. Fort McMurray is in Canadas oil-sands country. The booming oil industry made the citys population swell, but with oil prices down in recent months, the area has been hit hard. The region has had a warm, dry year, and Alberta could be in for a dangerous fire season. Story continues Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. After months on a bus debating Caitlyn Jenner's politics, an abundant amount of wine, an encounter with Hillary Clinton and sisterly bonding over the ups and downs of life, season two of I Am Cait has concluded. "I've never been in such close quarters with a group of girls before for such a long period of time," Candis Cayne, one of Jenner's squad members who have accompanied the former Olympian on her journey as a transgender woman, tells ET about the bus tour that took them across the country, forcing Jenner to see the good and bad of her community. "At the end of the day, I think it was a really great experience for everyone, including Caitlyn." From the very beginning of season two, there was plenty to debate with Jenner, who had become a political lightning rod thanks to her favorable views of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, while slamming Clinton's supposed lack of support for women's rights. MORE: Candis Cayne to Co-Host Lambda Legal's 2016 West Coast Liberty Awards "It was kind of the elephant in the room and we had to talk about it in order to let it go," Cayne says of her and the rest of the group -- activist Jennifer Finney Boylan, author Kate Bornstein, producer Zackary Drucker, activist Chandi Moore and newcomer Ella Giselle -- confronting Jenner on numerous occasions. "Certain people, like myself, are very active in the political spectrum and we know about our history and our oppression, so we just needed to talk about that. Not just for Caitlyn, but for everybody to hear what the LGBT community goes through." And the group was forced to face their politics head-on at a stop in Des Moines, Iowa, for the Democratic debates, even establishing a safe word ("God Bless America") to prevent emotions from flaring. There, they met Clinton, which seemingly changed Jenner's perspective on the presidential candidate. "I have to admit, I think she's very good on transgender rights," she said. Story continues For Cayne, meeting Clinton was much bigger than Jenner or the show. "It was such a moment for me personally," she says, looking back. "I look up to her and I know her track record and what she's done for women's rights. I know she's really supported trans girls out there." "I thought, 'This is my kind of girl,'" Cayne continues. "It was really cool meeting our possible next president." NBC While Jenner's reality series has meant a welcome return to primetime for Cayne, her first passion is acting. She most notably starred on Dirty Sexy Money in 2007, when she became the first transgender actor to have a recurring role on primetime TV and has since had recurring roles on Nip/Tuck and Elementary. Prior to that, she made one-episode appearances, which often involved having to educate producers about transgender people to make the roles more realistic. "If I'm going to get murdered with my head stuffed in a toilet and drowned -- which is disgusting, but it's television -- at least make it an accurate portrayal," she told Out about an early role on CSI. If there's any sign of improvement, it's her latest dip back into the acting pool. In December, she appeared on The Young and the Restless, playing a cisgender woman. "I was just playing a female character. That in itself was groundbreaking," Cayne says, adding that they left her character open to return. She appeared on the show while also filming I Am Cait, only allowing her to do one episode at the time. "We'll see what happens." Her latest gig is a guest-starring role on NBC's medical drama, Heartbeat, starring Melissa George as a world-renowned heart transplant surgeon. In the episode that airs Wednesday, May 4, Cayne plays a transgender woman with breast cancer forced to halt her transition due to the hormones she's taking. "Nobody's told this story about trans people also getting breast cancer," she says. For the show's part, Cayne says they knew how to write her character. "There might have been one little note or two little notes, but for the most part, they got it right," she says proudly. "They were really accurate. They wrote this character such complex issues and feelings." NBC While Cayne says she eyeing a number of acting gigs, none of them are Transparent, the hit Amazon dramedy, which will feature Jenner in a guest-starring role when it returns for season three. The Emmy-winning series is also co-produced by Drucker and has featured a number of transgender actors, including Alexandra Billings, Trace Lysette and season two breakout Hari Nef. "I'm really good friends with Zackary, I love the cast, I love the show. But when it comes down to it, I'm an actor. And if I go to an audition for Transparent, and I get it, great," she says, before adding: "Yes, of course. If they ask me to do something, of course I would do something." The sentiment also being the same for another season of I Am Cait. "If they come a calling, of course," Cayne says. "When it all comes down to it, we're a really good group of friends and we have a great message." And, seemingly addressing any critics of the series, Cayne adds: "People can say what they want, but I know we're doing good work." Related Articles Making up for not having any films in Official Selection at Cannes this year, Thailand is going over board to demonstrate that it has plenty of upcoming movie making talent. Thailands Ministry of Culture will be organizing the project pitching and funding event, Thai Pitch. The pitches will take place at the Thai Pavilion in Cannes International Village on Saturday and Sunday, May 14-15. The selection includes projects by newcomers Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit and Anucha Boonyawatana and by Rutaiwan Wongsirasawad, 10 years after her debut feature Oops! Theres Dad. Thamrongrattanarit, who swept the Suphanahongsa Awards earlier this year with his Freelance, will pitch Die Tomorrow, a six part film about unusual deaths, as reported by the local media. Boonyawatana, whose first film The Blue Hour debuted in the 2015 Berlin festivals Panorama section, is seeking partners for Malila, a philosophical drama about Buddhism and death. It takes the point of view of a monk whose past male lover appears in a different form. Veteran TV commercial director, Wongsirasawad presents To Become A Butterfly. The story of determination and survival features a woman raising an autistic son, but whose own fortunes seem the opposite of her childs. Production is by Rasarin Tanalerttararom, who is currently also producing established director Pen-ek Ratanaruangs Samui Song. The selection was assembled by Raymond Phathanavirangoon, who also produced Apprentice, by Singapores Boo Junfeng, which debuts in Un Certain Regard. Related stories Cannes Sets 'Hands of Stone' Special Screening as Tribute to Robert De Niro Cannes: France's Diaphana Takes Iran's 'Inversion' Cannes Market: Fortissimo Picks Up 'White King' PRAGUE (Reuters) - Central European countries dismissed on Wednesday the EU executive's proposals to share out migrants among member states, saying any plans for forced relocation of people were unacceptable or, in Hungary's view, amounted to blackmail. The European Commission published legislative proposals to reform EU asylum rules, including a "fairness mechanism" under which each of the 28 member states would be assigned a percentage quota of all asylum seekers in the bloc that it would be expected to handle. The quotas would reflect national population and wealth and, if a country found itself handling 50 percent more than its due share, it could relocate people elsewhere in the bloc. States could refuse to take people for a year - but only if they paid another country 250,000 euros per person to accommodate them. Central European countries fought the EU's decision last year to relocate 160,000 asylum seekers, with Hungary and Slovakia challenging the decision in EU courts, and the new proposal also ran into immediate stark opposition. "Regarding the fines proposed by the European Commission, it is blackmailing," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after the Visegrad group of central European countries, which includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, met in Prague. "The quota concept is a dead-end street and I would like to ask the Commission not to run into this dead-end street any more." Last year the Visegrad countries were outvoted on quotas. Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said the EU should now act on the basis of consensus. "I am somewhat unpleasantly surprised that the Commission is returning to play a proposal upon which there is no agreement," he said. "It should not propose something that divides us, that will help nothing." Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said of the proposal: "It sounds like an idea announced during April fools day." Speaking earlier, Poland's interior minister said the plan violated member states' rights while Slovakia's interior minister said the proposal would set back the bloc's efforts to tackle its migrant crisis by months. Central European countries have refused to take in any large numbers of migrants, with fears that Muslims could not integrate into their largely Christian societies. Only a fraction of the more than a million asylum-seekers that reached Europe last year, many of them Syrian refugees, aimed for central Europe, with most only crossing the region to reach Germany or other western European countries. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller; Additonal reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova in Bratislava and Wiktor Szary in Warsaw; Writing by Jason Hovet; Editing by Robin Pomeroy) Image via Facebook Image via Facebook Chance The Rapper has proven to be a charitable individual in the past. Last Christmas, Chance helped raise $60,000 in 10 days for Warmest Winter, his initiative to raise money to purchase coats for Chicagos homeless community. Now, Chance is about to give back to the community again, headlining a citywide Night for NYC event. Performing on Monday, May 9 at Terminal 5, 100% of the proceeds will go towards fighting poverty in New York City. Robin Hood, the charity behind Night for NYC, finds, funds and creates over 200 of the most effective programs, to help 1.8 million New Yorkers learn and earn their way out of poverty. Tickets for the show are $150 for General Admission and $250 for Deluxe Admission. Proceeds from each ticket will help feed a family of four for one week. Prior to his charity concert, Chance The Rapper will perform on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this Thursday, May 5. Chance is currently gearing up for the release of his upcoming mixtape, Chance 3. Purchase tickets for the event here. Related: 11 Artists Reflect on Chance the Rappers Acid Rap The post Chance The Rapper to Headline Charity Event in NY appeared first on Pigeons & Planes. More from Pigeons & Planes By Sarah Marsh HAVANA (Reuters) - French fashion house Chanel brought glamor back to Communist-ruled Cuba on Tuesday in a runway show on one of Havana's main boulevards, featuring glittering gowns, tulle cocktail dresses and models in Panama hats smoking cigars. Chanel is the first major fashion house to hold a runway show in Cuba, highlighting both warming relations with the West and new inequalities on the island. Former Cold War foes the United States and Cuba formally agreed to restore diplomatic relations last July. Celebrities, including actress Tilda Swinton and supermodel Gisele Bundchen, jetted into the Caribbean island for the show that evoked the elegance of pre-revolutionary Cuba, arriving at the venue in vintage convertibles. The Cuban contingent included former President Fidel Castro's grandson Tony, an aspiring model, which raised some eyebrows, given the leader's railings against capitalism. "It is an honor for all Cubans for this big event to take place here," said Castro, 17, whose grandfather was also known for his good looks as a young revolutionary. Karl Lagerfeld, who has been at Chanel's creative helm since 1983, has said his latest inter-seasonal Cruise collection was inspired by the "cultural richness and opening up of Cuba." Cuban motifs in the new Cruise line were exemplified in a fabric depicting turquoise and pink vintage cars used for leisurewear such as jackets, a bathrobe and skirts. Sequined black berets also recalled the non-glitzy one sported by late revolutionary hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a national hero in Cuba. By showcasing its Cruise collection in Cuba, Chanel has said it was harking back to the roots of the line, originally designed for wealthy Americans holidaying on yachts and cruises in the Caribbean to escape the winter gray. U.S. cruises to Cuba were forbidden during the country's standoff with the United States. On Monday, the first U.S. cruise ship to sail to the island since Castro's 1959 revolution docked in the capital. U.S. President Barack Obama is also chipping away at curbs on travel to Cuba. "We have been banned from Cuba, so getting to come here before it really changes, and seeing the show, was pretty epic," said one of the guests, Loic Villepontoux, on his way to the afterparty in Havana's Cathedral Square. Lagerfeld, 82, is known for his lavish show settings and has created a mock casino, supermarket and brasserie in the past. This time, he let the faded glamor of Havana, once a wealthy port, speak for itself. During a 25-minute show set to live Cuban music, his models strutted down a 160-meter (525-foot) section of the leafy Paseo del Prado, lined with ornate street lamps and bronze lions. Some Cubans criticized Chanel, the second-biggest luxury brand behind LVMH's Louis Vuitton, for choosing to showcase its new line in a country starved of material opulence. Chanel goods, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars, are not sold in Cuba and most citizens could not even dream of affording them. About 70 percent of Cuban workers work for the state, on an average salary of $25 every month. Others said the show gave their dreams wings to fly. "Just because I can't afford it doesn't mean I want to deny others that luxury," said accountant Marilia Veliz, 44. "And who knows, maybe one day. It's important to dream." (Additional reporting by Nelson Acosta; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Clarence Fernandez) One haute Havana night: For Chanel's first show in Cuba, designer Karl Lagerfeld sent models in Panama hats and Che Guevara-inspired sequin berets down El Paseo del Prado, a main thoroughfare, that's the dividing line between Centro Habana and Old Havana. Lagerfeld's muses Gisele Bundchen, a face of Chanel No. 5, and Vanessa Paradis were front-row along with Tilda Swinton and Vin Diesel, who is in Cuba shooting Fast and Furious 8. Former president Fidel Castro's grandson Tony, an aspiring model who was rumored to be walking in the show, also was in attendance. "It is an honor for all Cubans for this big event to take place here," he told Reuters. The Cruise 2016/17 collection harkened back to the glamorous, glory days of Cuba with vibrant Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile-printed dresses; embellished reinterpretations of guayaberas (the traditional Cuban shirts with pockets, which Lagerfeld dubbed a "Cuban tux"); two-tone spectator shoes; and cigar-box clutches. Colorful T-shirts were emblazoned with "Viva Coco Libre." Chanel's guests - 600 in attendance - were chauffeured to the show in candy-colored retro convertibles. And, while Chanel's luxury goods are not available in Cuba, locals lined up to take in the glitzy spectacle, many of them watching from building balconies high above the main drag. For the final walk, models danced in a conga line with festivities continuing late into the night at Plaza de la Catedral in Old Havana, in front of San Cristobal, one of Latin America's most beautiful 18th century churches. The French fashion house headed to Havana to present its Cruise 2016-2017 collection, Tuesday, May 3, in the brand's first ever Latin American catwalk show. To celebrate the event, Karl Lagerfeld crafted a collection bursting with life, with color and with sparkle, and jam-packed with references to the Caribbean island and the new chapter in its history. It was on the Cuban capital's El Paseo del Prado -- a wide boulevard lined with trees and multicolored facades -- that the French luxury brand unveiled its new collection, mixing the signature chic of Chanel with vibrant Cuban folklore inspirations. The result was a lineup of looks brimming with vivid colors, peppered with sparkle -- sequins in particular -- and channeling a multitude of references to the island. The collection, like the event, was stamped with the luxury brand's trademark traits. Even before the catwalk show took over the street, attendees were greeted on the boulevard by lion statues, a favorite symbol of Gabrielle Chanel. Tweed evidently had a strong place in the collection, and head-to-toe black-and-white looks sat alongside an array of more brightly colored pieces. Parisian chic was also channeled through the accessories and jewelry presented by the brand. There were plenty of references to Cuba in this catwalk collection. Aside from the show's soundtrack of Latin music, the collection generally seemed a little more festive than usual. Color obviously had a key role to play, along with the sequins sparkling on many garments and accessories, but this "Coco Cuba" collection also gave off a certain feeling of nonchalance. A long, flowing dress, worn over a white shirt with rolled up sleeves, was decorated with a Cuban car motif; large flowers bloomed on the necks of T-shirts and shirts; and slogans like "Viva Coco Cuba Libre" were splashed across colorful T-shirts. Plus, garments were seen adorned with patterns of all kinds, including flowers, sometimes printed and sometimes embroidered. Karl Lagerfeld even drew on Latin dance, with garments directly inspired by the cha-cha-cha and the tango. As for accessories, Chanel's iconic pearl necklaces were seen finished with flowers, along with certain bracelets and belts. Models wore Panama hats in a selection of prints and colors, as well as sequined black beret hats in a nod to the brand's native France. It's been a busy few days for the fashion elite. On Sunday night it was the glamorous occasion of President Obama's final White House Correspondents' dinner, then on Monday night it was of course, the Met Gala where the style A-list gathered to celebrate the opening of the annual fashion exhibition at the Costume Insitute. And then it was straight on a plane to the Caribbean for last night's Chanel Cruise 2017 show in Cuba. Set on Havana's Paseo del Prado, a historic boulevard that leads to the city's cultural centre, this was a fashion first as travel sanctions have only just been lifted on the island. The catwalk and its all-star cast of models and guests Gisele Bundchen, Carine Roitfeld, Tilda Swinton, Vin Diesel and even Fidel Castros grandson Tony attended were framed by the colourful buildings of the colonial avenue, La Habana Vieja, as Stella Tennant opened the show in a Guayabera shirt and loose black and white suit. Models including Binx Walton and Lineisy Montero followed in signature Chanel boucle jackets rendered in vibrant hues of lime green and bright yellow, 'Viva Coco Libre' T-shirts and multi-tonal, ruffled dresses making up a collection that was as colourful at the Cuban buildings in the backdrop. The show closed with a conga as models danced down Prado to the lively drumming and singing of a Cuban band. But while the glamourous guests, flown in from around the world, looked on from seats alongside the boulevard, civilians were cordoned off by police, blocks away from the excitement. An event as lavish and extravagant as last night's Chanel show (the French fashion house chartered over 170 vintage Chevrolets and Cadillacs to transport guests) does call into question whether its inappropriate or even offensive for an international, high fashion brand to mine inspiration from and momentarily occupy a place still ravaged by poverty. Cubans earn on average $12-25 a month and in what way is such a decadent fashion display helping already disillusioned inhabitants of the former Communist country? But that said, some Cubans have welcomed Chanel's spectacle and such developments, delighted that their country is being put on the global stage. Earlier this week Gloria Estefan stated that she thought Karl Lagerfeld's plan to bring the Cruise 2017 show to Cuba was "wonderful", adding that "Cuba was huge in the fashion world. In Cuba B.C. before Castro the fashion would come out in Paris, and it would be in Cuba the same day. And it was a very, very elegant country; people dressed to the nines there. If you look at the fashions of Cuba in the 30s, 40s, 50s, it was always cutting edge of fashion. So one day again it shall be." Story continues There's no doubt that Cuba is one of the most culturally rich destinations in the world, so it's unsurprising that the ever-evolving Lagerfeld looked further afield for influences and ideas for his latest collection. Though the luxury label have no plans to open a boutique in Cuba, the Chanel Cruise show coincides with an exhibition at the Factoria Habana, entitled 'Obra en Processo/Work in Progress,' featuring Lagerfeld's original photography, running until May 12. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? The Best Red-Carpet Looks At The White House Correspondents' Dinner The V&A's New Exhibition Is Showing Our Knickers LFW's Brightest Young Things Fox News Channels chief White House correspondent Ed Henry, who is married to NPRs Shirley Hung, has exited his network for the time being after a report that he has an affair with a Las Vegas hostess. We recently became aware of Eds personal issues and hes taking some time off to work things out, a Fox News spokeswoman told TheWrap. The latest In Touch Weekly includes an interview with the hostess, Natalia Lima, in which she describes Eds secret double life. Also Read: Fox News' Bill O'Reilly Defends Jesse Watters, Calls HuffPost Reporter 'Far-Left Zealot' Whenever he was in town, we would pretty much just have sex. He has a really high sex drive, Lima told In Touch. She said she met Henry five years ago through social media and their friendship became sexual in the spring of 2015. Prior to joining FNC, Henry was at CNN from 2004 to 2011, serving as the networks senior White House correspondent and a congressional correspondent. He and Hung married in 2010. Related stories from TheWrap: Fox News Finishes No. 1 in Daytime Among Cable Networks Fight Between Fox News, Huffington Post Reporters Caught on Video Fox News' Chris Wallace: Hillary Clinton Will Be 'Great Unifier' for Divided GOP (Adds details of safety checks, background) By Tim Hepher PARIS, May 4 (Reuters) - European regulators have ordered immediate checks on Airbus H225 Super Puma helicopters after a crash in Norway on Friday in which 13 people were killed. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said in an emergency directive that the checks should be carried out on the main gearbox of the helicopters before their next flight. The move came after investigators said they suspected a technical fault in the crash off Bergen in Norway. Norway's civil aviation authority said it had assessed the EASA bulletin and decided to uphold a temporary ban on flying the H225 in Norwegian airspace. The helicopter has also been grounded in Britain. Airbus Helicopters said on Wednesday similar measures would be introduced for the military version of the helicopter, which has been sold to France and five other nations including Brazil. The checks give some idea of the focus of the investigation, though safety experts say it is just the beginning of what could be a complex probe. Airbus said on Tuesday that investigators would explore maintenance, design and production issues. In its directive, EASA asked Super Puma operators to verify the installation of three metal struts which help to connect the rotor assembly to the helicopter. It said Airbus had already issued the same advice, which appears to focus at least partly on the aircraft's maintenance. The safety agency also went further by calling for checks for metallic particles inside the main gearbox, which sits below the rotor. In the worst Super Puma accident in 2009, the rotor flew off the helicopter after a catastrophic gearbox failure that investigators later blamed on a fatigue crack. The cause of the fatigue was never identified but a UK accident report said that a metal particle detected inside the gearbox just 36 hours before the crash could have been a sign of more serious technical problems. Airbus Helicopters said it continued to rule out a link to two accidents in which Super Pumas ditched in the North Sea 2012, without causing serious injury. Investigators blamed these on problems with a vertical shaft that was later redesigned. In the wake of recent accidents, some groups representing oil workers have expressed concerns about the Super Puma, but Airbus says the helicopter is safe to use for commercial flights. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Howard Goller and Jason Neely) Chesapeake Utilities Corporation (NYSE: CPK) disclosed that it earned a net income of $20.4 million, or $1.33 per share in the first quarter. This was 3.5 percent lower than $21.11 million or $1.44 per share earned in the same quarter last year. The company's total operating revenues fell 14 percent to $146.3 million from $170.08 million in the previous year quarter. Both earnings and revenue fell significantly from the analysts' expectations of $1.50 a share and $83.20 million. Chesapeake Utilities Corporation blamed warmer weather for reducing current quarterly earnings by $0.27 per share compared to the first quarter of 2015 or by $0.16 per share compared to normal weather conditions. The company added that the Growth in the natural gas distribution and transmission business generated $2.7 million in additional gross margin during the quarter. Its Aspire Energy of Ohio also contributed $4.2 million in gross margin and $2.6 million in operating income during the first quarter. The company's President and CEO, Michael McMasters, reacted to the results and said, "Despite significantly warmer weather, net income for the first quarter was only 3.5 percent lower than the same quarter in 2015, thanks to the continued growth and diversity of our businesses. The execution of our growth strategy and the diversity of our business portfolio have created natural hedges against adverse weather impacts." He continued, "I am pleased to report that Aspire Energy of Ohio increased our earnings per share in its first full year of operations, consistent with our projections at the time of the acquisition. We are also making significant progress on several large growth projects, including the combined heat and power plant in Florida and new natural gas transmission services on the Delmarva Peninsula, which will begin to come on line later this year. Our primary objective remains identifying and developing profitable growth opportunities to enable us to generate continued future earnings and dividend growth." Story continues See more from Benzinga 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. BEIJING (Reuters) - China's military will carry out more military exercises in the South China Sea this month involving advanced warships and submarines, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday, terming the drills routine. China claims almost all of the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of maritime trade passes each year. The Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan have overlapping claims. Xinhua said the ships, including a new guided missile destroyed, would take part in anti-submarine, anti-missile and other exercises. It did not say exactly where the drills would take place, but noted they were routine and had been planned for this year. China periodically announces such exercises in the South China Sea as it tries to demonstrate it is being transparent about its military deployments. China has been at odds with the United States of late over the strategic waterway. Washington has criticized Beijing's building of artificial islands in the South China Sea's disputed Spratly archipelago, and has conducted sea and air patrols near them. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel) The last person jailed in connection with Beijings 1989 pro-democracy Tiananmen Square protests may soon be released, according to a U.S.-based advocacy group. Miao Deshun, 25 at the time of his arrest, was convicted of throwing a basket at a burning Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) tank during the bloody crackdown on the peaceful student-led demonstration. Miao was initially handed a suspended death sentence, though this was commuted to life imprisonment in 1991. A native of Hebei province near Beijing, Miao reportedly suffers from hepatitis B and schizophrenia. He apparently hasnt had any contact with the outside world for many years after he told his family not to visit. Read More: Tank Man at 25: Behind the Iconic Tiananmen Square Photo According to the Dui Hua Foundation, Miao is set to be released from Beijings Yangqing prison on Oct. 15, after he was granted an 11-month reduction of his sentence in March. We welcome this news, and express the hope that he will receive the care he needs to resume a normal life after spending more than half of it behind bars, John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation, said in a statement. Around 1,600 Chinese people were jailed in relation to the weeks-long democracy protest. There is no official death toll, though estimates range from several hundred to as many as 3,000 people lost their lives. Read More: The Enduring Legacy of the Tiananmen Square Massacre Any reference to the protests and subsequent crackdown is heavily censored in China, meaning many Chinese are completely unaware of what transpired. Even oblique reference to the massacre like June 4, the date it unfurled remains banned from Chinese search engines and social media. Beijing (AFP) - Trade between the world's two biggest economies is mutually beneficial, Beijing said Wednesday after presumptive US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump accused China of "rape". In the run-up to Tuesday's Indiana primary, where the businessman swept to victory and his last serious challenger Ted Cruz bowed out of the race, Trump told a campaign rally: "We can't continue to allow China to rape our country, and that's what we're doing." "We're going to turn it around, and we have the cards, don't forget it," he said. "We have a lot of power with China." Asked about Trump's comments and whether Beijing was nervous about the prospect of him becoming US president, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters that the election was a US internal affair and China had no comment on it. But he went on: "I want to point out that US-China trade relations are essentially mutually beneficial and win-win in keeping with the shared interests of both sides." Hong added: "We hope that everyone can view such cooperation from an objective and reasonable perspective." Trump has repeatedly blasted the Asian giant for its trade policies, blaming it for weakening the US economy and taking American jobs. Although the comments have contributed to his populist appeal at home, they have raised eyebrows in China, where he is seen with a combination of bemusement and grudging respect. At his annual press conference in March, Premier Li Keqiang said diplomatically that the US presidential campaign was "full of clamour and very eye-catching". The Global Times newspaper, which is close to the ruling Communist party, showed no such reticence, saying that Trump's comments were "abusively racist and extremist". "The rise of a racist in the US political arena worries the whole world," it said. The paper, which often takes a nationalistic tone, sought to portray Trump's rise as an indictment of multi-party democracy. "Americans know elections cannot really change their lives. Then, why not support Trump and vent their spleen?" it said, adding: "Mussolini and Hitler came to power through elections, a heavy lesson for Western democracy." BEIJING (Reuters) - Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's largest personal computer maker, plans to invest $500 million in a technology start-up fund, the Beijing-based company said on Wednesday. The fund Lenovo Capital, which will be funded and managed by Lenovo Group, is looking to invest in sectors including artificial intelligence, robot and cloud computing, said the company's senior vice president He Zhiqiang at an event in Beijing. Lenovo has invested $100 million in more than 30 companies in areas including mobile games, security and smart home devices, according to the company's website. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Writing by Yimou Lee; Editing by Ryan Woo) From Cosmopolitan Although Rebecca Romijn does not consider Instagram models to be "true supermodels," some other supes of her generation think it's great that a large social media presence is a part of the job today. "I'm so jealous, because I feel they have this direct way to communicate with their audience that my generation didn't have," Cindy Crawford told Cosmopolitan.com at the Met Gala on Monday. "I think it's a responsibility, but it's also a great tool, because they really can be their own publicists. They can present themselves the way that they want to be presented." Carolyn Murphy says that she herself feels the pressure to build a social-media following. "I just got reprimanded last week for not Instagramming enough," she said. "And I thought that seniority ruled. I thought, Well, if I'm almost 43, isn't that Kendall Jenner's job?" Her current Instagram following is 161,000, and Murphy says her 15-year-old daughter also gets on her about upping her social media game. "It's uncomfortable for me that we kind of have to manufacture moments," Amber Valletta said, "even though sometimes they are real moments. "But at the same time, these girls are really smart and clever, and they figured out how to be brands." Still, Valletta added: "No matter how many followers you have, Christy Turlington will always be Christy Turlington." Follow Bennett on Twitter. An anti-regime media group released videos on May 3 described as showing clashes with government forces as shelling continued to be exchanged between rebel- and regime-controlled districts of Aleppo. The Syrian Army repulsed an attack by armed groups after a tunnel bombing near the Air Force Intelligence building on the outskirts of the Zahra district, according to a pro-government media channel. Local media groups said that the Syrian Army captured areas near Zahra. Anti-government activists also reported that the Syrian Army shelled areas in the outskirts of Zahra. Credit: YouTube/Thiqa Agency WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took quick aim at presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday, saying United States should not take a risk on an unreliable candidate. "He is a loose cannon, and loose cannons tend to misfire," Clinton said in an interview with CNN, citing Trump stances including a claim that climate change was a Chinese hoax. Clinton, a former secretary of state and the front-runner to win the Democratic nomination, said Trump would have to offer policy specifics in the general election on Nov. 8 and criticized him for his positions on issues including nuclear weapons and abortion. "He makes these grand statements and grand accusations," Clinton said of the real estate magnate and former reality TV star. "At some point when you're running for president, you actually have to put a little meat on the bones. You've got to tell people what it is you're going to do and how you're going to do it." Clinton lost the Democratic primary contest in Indiana on Tuesday but still looks set to win her party's nomination, leading her rival, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, by more than 800 delegates. Trump's win in Indiana on Tuesday pushed his rivals out of the race and left him as the presumptive nominee. In a preview of the likely general election battle to come, Clinton laughed when asked if she was ready to take on Trump, saying "Oh, please." "This is to me a classic case of a blustering, bullying guy who has knocked out of the way all the Republicans because they were just dumbfounded," she said. Clinton said she knows how to run a campaign against Trump and took a swipe at Trump's 16 Republican presidential rivals who started out in the 2016 campaign. "They didn't know how to deal with him," Clinton said. "They couldn't take him on on the issues because they basically agreed with them. And they didn't know how to counterpunch." (Reporting by Megan Cassella and Doina Chiacu; Additional reporting by Tim Ahmann; Editing by Frances Kerry) A new U.S. president could mean a new direction for the country's space exploration. NASA's funding and, by extension, what space exploration missions it can actually pull off is closely tied to the president's ideas, and whether or not Congress approves the budget the president asks for. Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee and Hillary Clinton is getting closer to securing the Democratic nomination, it's worth asking: How will our space program fare under a Trump presidency or a Clinton presidency? Donald Trump: The economy trumps space Source: Spencer Platt/Getty Images "NASA has been one of the most important agencies in the United States government for most of my lifetime," Trump said in a recent questionnaire for Aerospace America. "It should remain so." His opinion about NASA's budget, however, doesn't make it sound like the agency will remain a priority. "What we spend in NASA should be appropriate for what we are asking them to do," Trump said. "Our first priority is to restore a strong economic base to this country. Then, we can have a discussion about spending." And as for NASA's plan to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s, that might be off the table: "If we are growing with all of our people employed and our military readiness back to acceptable levels, then we can take a look at the timeline for sending more people into space," Trump said. Basically, economics will always trump space. Hillary Clinton: "Really, really" a NASA supporter Source: Paul Sancya/AP Hillary Clinton really likes to tell the story of how she wrote to NASA when she was a teenager, asking what she needed to do to become an astronaut. NASA wrote back saying thanks, but no girls allowed. (Thank god that's changed.) But it seems she harbors no ill will toward NASA. During her first campaign for president in 2008, Clinton said she wanted to reverse NASA's funding cuts. At a town hall meeting broadcast on C-SPAN last year, it sounded like she hadn't changed her mind. "I really, really do support the space program," Clinton said, adding that the government needs to invest in space exploration, as well as other science and technology initiatives. Story continues Clinton also supports the commercial sector of space, but has said the role of exploration and new discoveries still lies with NASA. Oh and that UFO stuff? She's going to "get to the bottom of it" and declassify all the government's secret UFO files. It sounds like Clinton can count on UFO truthers' votes. BOGOTA (Reuters) - The United States will provide intelligence to support Colombia in its fight against crime gangs, considered the biggest threat to the Andean nation's security, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Wednesday. There are about 3,000 members spread across three gangs earning millions of dollars from drug trafficking and illegal mining, the national police have said. The groups formed after a peace agreement with right-wing paramilitary groups in 2006 failed to absorb hundreds into society. "The U.S. will help with intelligence. The most effective strategy against these organizations is intelligence," Santos said in an interview with local Caracol radio. U.S. support was crucial in battling drug cartels from Cali and Medellin in the 1990s as well as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which is currently negotiating an end to five decades of war the government. Santos said that once peace is signed with the Marxist FARC rebels he will have much more military resources to combat crime gangs. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Helen Murphy) Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. CNAT is scheduled to report first-quarter 2016 results on May 5, before the market opens. Over the four trailing quarters, Conatus has posted an average earnings surprise of 7.58%, having beaten estimates in two quarters, while posting in-line results in one. Last quarter, the company posted a positive earnings surprise of 25.00%. Lets see how things are shaping up for the first quarter of 2016. Factors at Play Conatus, a development-stage biotech company, is focused on the development and commercialization of treatments targeting liver disease. The companys lead candidate, emricasan, a first-in-class, orally active pan-caspase protease inhibitor, is being developed for the treatment of patients with chronic liver disease. Emricasan is currently being evaluated in the POLT-HCV-SVR study (phase IIb) in post-orthotopic liver transplant (POLT) recipients with liver fibrosis or cirrhosis post-transplant as a result of recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, who have successfully achieved a sustained viral response (SVR) following HCV antiviral therapy; ENCORE-NF study (phase IIb) in patients with liver fibrosis resulting from nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH); and the Liver Cirrhosis (LC) study in patients with LC and model for end-stage liver disease scores of 11 to 18. In the first quarter, Conatus reported encouraging three-month data from the LC study on emricasan. Meanwhile, six-month data from the study is expected in the second quarter of 2016. Emricasan has Fast Track status in the U.S. for the treatment of LC caused by NASH. With this designation, combined with additional communications from the FDA recommending single etiology studies, the company plans to focus on an initial registration of emricasan for NASH cirrhosis, as well as a registration for NASH fibrosis. With no approved product in Conatus portfolio at the moment, investor focus is expected to remain on the companys progress on emricasan. Conatus plans to initiate a number of studies on emricasan. What Our Model Indicates Our proven model does not conclusively show that Conatus is likely to beat estimates this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. Unfortunately, this is not the case here, as elaborated below. Zacks ESP: The Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is 0.00% since the Most Accurate estimate is in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 35 cents. Zacks Rank: Although the companys Zacks Rank #3 enhances the predictive power of the ESP, its 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult. We caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Sell-rated stocks) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions. Stocks to Consider Here are some health care stocks that you may want to consider, as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter. The Earnings ESP for Zoetis Inc. ZTS is +2.44% and it carries a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to release results on May 4. The Earnings ESP for Impax Laboratories Inc. IPXL is +8.89% and it carries a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to release results on May 10. The Earnings ESP for Jazz Pharmaceuticals Public Limited Company JAZZ is +6.11% and it carries a Zacks Rank #3. The company is scheduled to release results on May 10. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JAZZ PHARMACEUT (JAZZ): Free Stock Analysis Report IMPAX LABORATRS (IPXL): Free Stock Analysis Report CONATUS PHARMA (CNAT): Free Stock Analysis Report ZOETIS INC (ZTS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (New throughout, updates with delayed vote) By Edward Krudy NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - Time ran out on Connecticut lawmakers aiming to pass a budget by the end of the state's legislative session at midnight on Wednesday as they attempt to close a funding gap of nearly $1 billion in the coming fiscal year with deep spending cuts. Democratic Party House leaders canceled the vote scheduled for late on Wednesday, saying there was not enough time for full debate and rushing the vote would "likely require a cutoff of discussions." Lawmakers now must return in a special session that could take place next week, said Adam Joseph, a spokesman for Connecticut Senate Democrats. It was unclear if the Senate would vote on Wednesday but the chances were slim, said Joseph. Democratic lawmakers, who control the legislature, have clashed with Governor Dannel Malloy, also a Democrat, over how to close a near $1 billion budget gap. They reached an agreement with Malloy on Tuesday, leaving officials scrambling to ready bills by the end of the legislative session. The budget for fiscal year 2016-2017, which starts on July 1, will cut spending $830 million, divert $100 million from transportation and other funds and sweep $30 million from various agency accounts, Joseph said. The spending plan is aimed at closing a $960 million hole in next year's finances that officials have blamed on falling capital gains tax receipts due to a volatile stock market. Malloy proposed an $18.14 billion general fund budget in February that cut discretionary spending but did not raise taxes. Since then the projected revenue shortfall for next year ballooned from $560 million to its current $960 million. Connecticut, despite being one of the wealthiest states in the nation on a per capita income basis, has struggled to recover from the financial crisis and recession of 2007-2009. The state also faces a gap of around $260 million in the current fiscal year. Malloy has said 2,000 state employees could be laid off in what he calls a "new economic reality." The governor has also frozen pay rises for managers in state government. Connecticut's budget woes, which include one of the worst funded public pension systems in the country, have increased its borrowing costs. Investors demand 0.54 of a percentage point more to hold the state's debt than to hold top-rated municipal debt, up from 0.37 of a percentage point a year ago, according to Municipal Market Data. (Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli and David Gregorio) A leader of the American Family Association, which has loudly opposed Targets transgender-inclusive bathroom policy, said Monday that the group was sending men into womens restrooms in order to test the policy. Weve already had people testing this, going into Targets, and men going in to bathrooms, there is absolutely no barrier, Sandy Rios, the director of government affairs for the AFA, told Breitbart News Daily. The chief concern for the American Family Association is predators who will take advantage. More than 1.1 million people have signed the AFAs call to boycott Target because of its policy allowing customers to use bathrooms and dressing rooms that correspond with their gender identity, not the gender assigned to them at birth. Rios said that the policy would encourage men dressed like women to use the bathrooms, and would create trauma for little girls. I think the potential for sexual predators is just enormous, she said. LGBTQ activists point out that there has been no increase in reports of sexual predators in bathrooms in the cities that have implemented trans-inclusive bathroom policies, and call this argument a red herring. Some of the largest organizations devoted to ending violence against women have also come out against the notion that such policies increase the likelihood of sex crimes, calling the notion false. Rios called the defense of transgender rights an example of the mindless, ridiculous, madness of the radical left, and encouraged listeners to sign the boycott petition against Target. (Adds earnings comparison, stock price) By Ernest Scheyder May 4 (Reuters) - Continental Resources Inc, the oil producer founded by legendary wildcatter Harold Hamm, reported a larger-than-expected first-quarter loss on Wednesday as cost cuts failed to offset falling crude prices. The company, once the largest oil producer in North Dakota's Bakken shale formation, has focused most of its budget in recent quarters on shale formations in Oklahoma, where some new wells have produced prolific quantities of oil. Overall production rose during the first quarter, leading Continental to boost its forecast for full-year output by 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). Continental, which does not hedge oil production, said it expects commodity prices to rise after low levels that have crippled the energy industry. "We are managing production volumes for higher oil and natural gas prices that we expect in second half 2016," Hamm, the company's chief executive, said in a statement. Continental posted a quarterly net loss of $198.3 million, or 54 cents per share, compared with a loss of $132 million, or 36 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, Continental lost 41 cents per share. Analysts' consensus estimate was a loss of 37 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Continental's oil sold for $25.72 per barrel, down 33 percent from the year-ago quarter. Production costs also fell, by 26 percent to $3.76 per barrel, though overall production rose 12 percent to 230,802 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). Continental said it sold acreage in Wyoming for $110 million in April and will use the funds to reduce debt. Shares of Continental fell 3 percent to close at $34.85. The company has scheduled a conference call on Thursday morning with investors to discuss the quarterly results. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Richard Chang) A new virtual reality film reliving Anne Franks time in her attic during World War II is causing controversy over its decency. The announcement was made this week that punters will be able to visit the interior of the attic where Frank hid in terror from the Nazis during 1942, which wont be to everyones taste, thats for sure. According to The Hollywood Reporter, viewers will be immersed in the presence of Anne Frank" as well as other characters from the period. Its easy to see how this could come across as hugely offensive, but the writer-director of Anne, Danny Abrahms, insists its in good taste and an essential part of history that needs to be shared. Anne Franks story has kept the memory of the Holocaust alive and promoted tolerance for generations, says Abrahms. We are deeply committed to sharing Annes experience using cutting-edge modes of storytelling so that her story can live on and reach as many young people in the world as possible. Apparently, itll offer audiences the opportunity to feel like they are thereas viewers can freely move around the environment with photo-realistic visuals, yet theres a danger the vr treatment could trivialise it. To a related but lesser degree, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam has a full 360-degree virtual reality museum tour for visitors who physically cannot access the attic due to disability or mobility, but the two seem very separate in both taste and purpose. Ethically speaking, it doesnt appear to be the most tasteful of subjects to be doing a VR film, because lets face it, Franks time hidden in the attic trying to avoid Nazis who wanted to murder her wasnt the most pleasant of times, so a VR movie experience that sells an Its as if you were there! pitch could be conceived as somewhat crass. Read more: Avengers: Infinity War 1 & 2 Will Get A Name Change Daisy Ridley Wishes Fans Happy Star Wars Day Dragonball Z Writer Apologises To Fans For Awful Movie Picture credit: BEImages Courteney Cox and Johnny McDaid are reportedly planning their wedding in an Irish castle after they broke up. The former Friends favourite and Snow Patrol rocker, below, are back on track after briefly splitting late last year. They are said to have reunited in March and have apparently fast-tracked plans for their big day. The Irish Sun reported representatives for the couple have been in touch with Castle Leslie officials and told the venue they want to tie the knot at the luxury Co Monaghan venue in late September. An insider told the paper: They are considering Castle Leslie, where Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, below, married as well as Ballintubber Abbey, where Pierce Brosnan got married. But they have their sights set on Castle Leslie. Their people are already looking at available dates in late September. The intimate castle has 20 original bedrooms and can host exclusive wedding parties of up to 70 people. But Cox, 51, and 39-year-old McDaid apparently want to keep the celebrations low-key and will limit the guest list to around 100 people. The source added their pal Ed Sheeran will play at the wedding, where guests are likely to include Coxs former Friends co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry. Pictures Getty Images Istanbul (AFP) - After more than one-and-a-half years of cohabitation, cracks are emerging in Turkey's ruling tandem of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, sparking uncertainty over the premier's future. Many believed Davutoglu would be a puppet premier when Erdogan switched to the presidency in August 2014, but the former foreign minister has made conspicuous efforts to carve out his own profile, to the possible irritation of the combative head of state. And last week's decision by the executive committee of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to remove Davutoglu's right to appoint regional party officials has been seen as a starting shot in a conflict to undermine his authority. Potential successors, who could be more pliant for Erdogan, are lurking in the background including the president's longtime henchman, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim and the youthful Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, 38, who is married to the president's eldest daughter Esra. "There is inevitably a potential for clashes and these have begun to happen," Ilter Turan, professor of political science at Bilgi University in Istanbul, told AFP. "Obviously these are men of political ambition, so there is ample reason to think there is a substantial contention for power within the ruling party." - 'Crunch meeting' - Observers say the April 29 decision by the AKP executive committee to rob Davutoglu of a key power as party chairman was a landmark moment for a party that has prided itself on unity since coming to power in 2002 after years of unstable coalitions. "We do not think that the power struggle is easy to solve," said Ozgur Altug, chief economist at BGC partners in Istanbul. "It is clear that the relationship between prime ministry and presidential palace will be tough to manage." With speculation over Davutoglu's future reaching a new intensity, the office of Erdogan announced that he would host the premier for talks on Wednesday evening. Story continues Presidential sources insisted that this was an "ordinary weekly meeting". But respected conservative commentator Abdulkadir Selvi described the talks as a "critical" encounter that would decide Davutoglu's future. "Either the difficulties that opened the way to these problems will be removed and a relationship based on confidence established, or the necessary will be done," he wrote in the Hurriyet daily. Turan said that while Turkey had a history of conflicts between presidents and prime ministers going back to the presidency of Turgut Ozal from 1989, "the AKP has so far been quite successful in not letting internal rifts develop in struggles for power." Turkish officials have always laughed off speculation of a rift between Erdogan and Davutoglu. AKP spokesman Omer Celik denied there was any "crisis" in the party, describing the decision of the party's executive committee as a "technical" move which Davutoglu had himself signed off on. - 'PM has no fear' - Mild-mannered during his long stint as foreign minister, Davutoglu has undergone a transformation as premier, whipping up crowds with nationalist and religious-tinged rhetoric in sometimes ear-splitting speeches. Erdogan, who served as premier from 2003-2014, has sought to revamp the office of Turkish president into the indisputable number one post rather than a ceremonial role. Turkish media over the weekend seized on a video showing Erdogan's ally Yildirim apparently refusing to sit next to Davutoglu at a news conference before heading on a trip to Qatar. Only when the premier shows visible irritation, points at the empty chair and orders Yildirim to sit there does the burly transport minister move into place. The premier on Tuesday, in a speech to his party, for the first time addressed the speculation head on, saying "I don't fear the discord that some try to sow or what some write, I fear only God." Davutoglu has been careful to never criticise Erdogan openly, although it is conspicuous how rarely the president praises, or so much as mentions, his prime minister. The premier has appeared far more enthusiastic about a deal with the EU to stem the flow of refugees than the president and has clashed with Erdogan over whether journalists should be held in pre-trial detention. Davutoglu has also said there is no need for haste in Erdogan's drive to create a presidential system in Turkey, a pet project of the president that risks diminishing Davutoglu's own standing. "A car that has two drivers cannot go without an accident. It will inevitably have an accident," said parliament speaker Ismail Kahraman, an ally of Erdogan. CEO Tidjane Thiam of Swiss bank Credit Suisse addresses a media briefing in Zurich, Switzerland in this October 21, 2015 file photo. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/Files Credit Suisse is cutting jobs in London, according to people familiar with the matter. The bank is putting about 130 people at risk of redundancy in the global markets business in the UK capital, according to the people. The cuts started Tuesday and are continuing into Wednesday. Of the 130, about 80 are in fixed income, with the other 50 in equities, the people said. After reporting weak results, Credit Suisse previously announced that it would accelerate cuts to the investment bank. The bank said late Tuesday that it had sold some of its distressed-credit portfolio to TSSP for about $1.27 billion. The bank said Bob Franz, head of US credit trading, and Ken Hoffman, head of distressed research and trading, would leave to form a new asset management to assist in servicing the assets. The bank will report results on Tuesday, giving an update on its distressed-credit exposure then. That business has been a thorn in the side of new CEO Tidjane Thiam, who said traders had racked up positions without telling anyone. The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that there were disagreements within Credit Suisse over how those positions had been managed and who was to blame. NOW WATCH: Broadways biggest hit Hamilton is making over $2 million a month heres why the producer thinks it could be making a lot more More From Business Insider At Monday's Met Gala, famous women wore fiber optics and latex for the "Manus X Machina" theme, while most men attending were more sedate, going for present-elegant rather than future-tech-dystopia/utopia. Two notable exceptions were Zayn Malik's gangly robot arms and Kanye West's eerie eyes. Was he wearing blue contacts, like a mixed-race girl in my junior high school did? Like the contacts worn by a tall, gay black boy I once worked across the mall from? Many on Twitter seemed to think so and BuzzFeed's Executive Editor for Culture, Saeed Jones, even suggested buying ten copies of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye to "throw" at West. One could understand why some Twitter users may have been reminded of Morrison's debut novel about a dark-skinned black girl named Pecola who has deeply internalized racism, longs to have blue eyes and eventually descends into madness. After all, long before he wore the controversial contacts, Kanye was drawing attention for weird tweet rants and other public outbursts. West wore similar contacts when performing his song "Wolves" on Saturday Night Live's 40th Anniversary last February. He had told the optometrist who outfitted him that he wanted to - no surprise - look like a wolf, according to an interview with this optometrist in People magazine. To my eyes, the lenses West wore at the Gala were grey, or perhaps silver. French critic Fanta Sylla pointed out on Twitter that his look was similar to Yaya DaCosta's silver-eyed siren in 2010's Tron: Legacy, and perhaps it was a direct allusion. I'd like to think it was inspired by The Girl With the Silver Eyes, the 1980 Willo Davis Roberts Y.A. novel that might have been circulating when Kanye was young. In that story, prickly Katie is a preteen with silver eyes, which give her the talents of telekinesis and the ability to communicate with cats. She's an outcast, literally a mutant. She spends the novel in search of others like her. These themes seem perfectly on point for the mystic-neurotic-genius personality West has long been cultivating. When asked why he wore those contacts, Kanye said gnomically, "Vibes." Light grey is beautiful because it reflects what's around it. The outcry over Kanye's eyes seemed to reflect hatred for the Kardashians and a fear that Kanye has - or will - become less himself, and less black, under their influence. There's the common view among his fans that the family has inducted West into a sort of superficial zombie cult. So much sexism is behind this anti-Kardashian sentiment. (Is America more sexist or racist? Unfortunately, there's no limit of situations allowing us to ponder this. And only black women know how deeply the answer is "both." Kanye's own lyrics and tweets that seem to prize white women over black ones are an often disgusting indication of this fact.) But more than any nefarious influence of his Met Ball companion, wife Kim, what West's silvery eyes reflected back at the world that night was the judgement of others, also a theme of The Bluest Eye. The end of the novel is narrated by Pecola's former foster sister Claudia, looking back at what caused Pecola's demise. She concludes that it was internalized racism, not only on an individual level but collectively in their community (and in the whole country). It was the gossip and judgement of the townspeople that failed to nurture Pecola through her madness, which was ugly, beautiful, wild and hard to bear (as are some of Kanye's moods). Kanye West is done. He's finished. When a black man wears coloured contacts it's over. RIP black Kanye West pic.twitter.com/rC0OEHUR6J - Lippy Lickshot (@DonDadaLipz) May 3, 2016 Judgement of black artists' aesthetic and career choices was also a theme in an April 27 Vulture article that took issue with the recent use of black actors to play CGI-cloaked aliens or to voice animated animals. Kyle Buchanan writes, rather paternalistically, that seeing black bodies is good for the culture. "Idris, Lupita, Paula, and Zoe have faces that matter. Let us see them," he concludes. But what if they don't want to be seen? What if they want to focus on their equally beautiful voices, as both Idris Elba and Lupita Nyong'o were able to do in the The Jungle Book? And why are these actors' real brown faces more important or authentic than the nuance of their real voices? Elba uses his authentic East London accent in The Jungle Book and Zootopia, while Nyong'o could finally speak in something closer to her natural Kenyan accent as a 1,000-something-year-old alien in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (a film in which John Boyega notably did the generic American accent that most black British actors end up using in American films). What's best for the culture is for these brilliant actors to stretch out their talents and practice their craft in any way they damn well desire. Nyong'o has taken to defending her choices recently. On NPR program All Things Considered, she was asked by host Neda Ulaby (not a black woman) if her recent voice and motion capture work was due to the lack of starring roles for women of color. N'yongo said no. "I think subconsciously I was excited by work that was not about my body. It wasn't about my skin or my body or its economy, whether we're talking about slavery or we're talking about fashion," she said, referring to the red carpet and magazine fame that came from playing a raped slave in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave. "12 Years a Slave is a lot about the economy of Patsey's body. And then also the exposure the film gave me was a lot about my body." She went on to elaborate on this stance yesterday in a beautiful essay in Lenny Letter, that seems to directly address the Vulture article: "I love the idea of people of color participating in mythical, magical stories, whether that's as hero, villain, sage, or sorceress. Or all of the above!" Nyong'o wrote. "I think sometimes a singular catharsis can be found in genre storytelling - as I found when playing a thousand-year-old woman (Maz Kanata in Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and a wolf mother (Raksha in The Jungle Book). I'm able to be more engaged in roles such as those than I would be in playing 'the wife' when she is written with no motivation or singularity." In other words, leave black bodies alone! Let them run as wild as wolves, or aliens, or silver-eyed mutants, or whatever Kanye was on Monday night. Why Bearish Forces Caused Oil to Fall from a 5-Month High (Continued from Prior Part) Crude oil prices could fall The IEA (International Energy Agency) estimates that crude oil production from non-OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) producers would see the biggest decline in the past 25 years. Read Non-OPEC Crude Oil Production Impacts Crude Oil Prices and Will the Crude Oil Supply and Demand Gap Narrow by Early 2017? to learn more. Previously in this series, we discussed how the supply and demand gap could widen in 2016 and 2017. Crude oil price forecasts Natixis Global Asset Management suggests that bearish sentiments could push Brent crude oil prices to as low as $30 per barrel in the short term. Barclays (BCS) suggests that Brent crude could average around $36 per barrel in 2Q16. Goldman Sachs (GS) estimates that Brent crude oil prices will average $35 per barrel in 2Q16. Oil consultancy Ritterbusch & Associates reported that WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil prices have key support at $35 per barrel. The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) estimates that Brent crude oil prices will average ~$34 per barrel in 2016 and $40 per barrel in 2017. West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices are expected to average $34 per barrel and $40 per barrel during the same period, respectively. Russia, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia are producing near-record levels. Geopolitical tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran could motivate the countries to fight for Market share. They might produce more crude oil to balance their budgets. Read How Are Oil Prices Squeezing OPEC Members Budgets? to learn more. Uncertainty in crude oil prices impacts oil and gas producers like Energy XXI (EXXI), EXCO Resources (XCO), Linn Energy (LINN), Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO), and PDC Energy (PDCE). It also impacts ETFs and ETNs like the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (SCO), the Direxion Daily Energy Bull 3x Shares ETF (ERX), the Direxion Daily Energy Bear 3x (ERY), and the iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF (IEZ). Browse this series on Market Realist: INDIANAPOLIS Moments before Ted Cruz publicly ended a campaign for president that had lasted more than a year, he stood backstage and thanked his closest friends, supporters and advisers for their help and support. Some sat at round tables. Conservative commentator and TV host Glenn Beck stood and watched. A bar table covered with Starbucks cups and an ironing board with an upright iron stood off to the side. When Cruz finished speaking, the group of about 50 people applauded several of them wiping away tears and Cruzs campaign manager, Jeff Roe, walked away from them, looking down, and shook his head. Cruzs speech to a group of a few hundred devoted followers from the main stage minutes later was met with disbelief and anguish. From the beginning, Ive said that I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory, Cruz said. Murmurs rose in the audience. Im sorry to say, Cruz said and cries of No, no! rang out it appears that path has been foreclosed. This brought an even louder NO! As Cruz announced that he was suspending his campaign with a heavy heart, a girl of about 12 began to sob. Her father stood nearby with his hand over his mouth and said, What are you doing? Cruz sought to reassure his followers inside the Grand Hall Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza hotel. Hear me now: I am not suspending our fight for liberty, he said. His father and mother, divorced 20 years ago but standing next to one another on this night, stood behind him. A gaggle of Cruzs campaign staff stood 20 feet from the stage, many of them red-eyed. After Cruz finished his speech, he began to greet supporters in the front of the crowd, but then abruptly returned backstage after just a few moments, apparently too emotional to continue. Sen. Ted Cruz gets a hug from a supporter after dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. (Photo: Chris Bergin/Reuters) Slideshow: Indiana primaries Sanders, Trump win and Cruz drops out >>> His supporters were left to pick up the pieces and to ponder their choices now that businessman and reality TV personality Donald Trump stands alone as the likely Republican nominee and the only alternative to Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. I dont know what Im going to do. I might vote for Hillary, said Jason Winters, 40, a machinist from Crawfordsville, Ind. Shes a criminal. Shes a murderer. But shes better than an authoritarian dictator. Several Cruz supporters said they would vote in the fall for down-ballot candidates in races for the House and U.S. Senate, but would not vote for a candidate for president if their only choices were Trump or Clinton. I will write in Ted Cruzs name, said Linda Bond, a 54-year-old campaign volunteer from Kansas City. Damon Hood, a 24-year-old construction worker, said he would never vote for Trump or Clinton but hoped there would be a third-party option. I will not stay home, he said. But national conservative leaders and activists who have held private meetings over the past month to determine if a third-party candidacy is viable know that their window of opportunity is effectively closed. In Texas, a third-party candidate would have to submit roughly 80,000 signatures of Texas voters who had not voted in either primary by next Monday. And that is not going to happen. Erick Erickson, a conservative radio talk show host and publisher who has been one of Trumps most vocal critics, said Tuesday that there is growing resignation among some members of the group who have been meeting to discuss a third-party bid. Erickson said that when the group convenes a conference call Wednesday, my guess is the consensus is going to be, we cant mobilize a third party to do much good. A lot of people are thinking, lets let this shake out and let there be a reckoning, Erickson said. But another person involved in the third-party talks was adamant that such work will continue to move forward. Story continues Ted Cruz hugs his father, Rafael, and wife, Heidi, after announcing the suspension of his campaign. (Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Conservatives against Trump will remain conservatives against Trump even if he gets the nomination, the Trump opponent said. We will be looking for every alternative to Donald Trump. The anti-Trump group is looking at how to provide a reason for NeverTrump voters to come out to the polls, to keep their votes for House and Senate candidates from going uncast. This could be a national write-in campaign, or a state-by-state patchwork effort. But even an anti-Trump super-PAC, Our Principles PAC, signaled that if Trump is the nominee, they will not continue to oppose him. We will continue to educate voters about Trump until he, or another candidate, wins the support of a majority of delegates to the convention, said Katie Packer, the groups chair. And many influential Republican operatives behind the scenes gave up the cause of stopping Trump days ago, resigning themselves to his nomination. He appears to me to be an amoral, arrogant, divisive man. However, I think he has tapped into the desperate frustration of many Americans and just maybe could grow as a candidate and politician. one Republican insider said. In Cruzs concession speech, he positioned himself for a future presidential run by referring to Ronald Reagans speech in 1976 after narrowly losing a contested convention to incumbent President Gerald Ford. Cruz cast himself as a Reaganesque figure who he said looked past the close horizons that preoccupied those thinking only of their own fortunes and peered far ahead into the future, concerned for coming generations of Americans. It was, for Cruz, a first attempt to portray himself as a magnanimous leader, rather than the voraciously ambitious and self-promoting politician he is considered to be by many other Republicans, especially in the Senate. When Cruz launched his candidacy in late March 2015 at Liberty University in Virginia, he was overlooked and underestimated by most political observers. He ended up running the most savvy, proficient campaign of any Republican presidential candidate, but in the end he was swamped by the Trump phenomenon. But the mention of Reagan and 1976 also raised questions about why Cruz will not continue his candidacy on to the GOP convention this year in Cleveland. One adviser noted that dropping out was an attempt to be a team player for the Republican Party. However, a Cruz endorsement of Trump seems unlikely. The Cruz adviser, asked about the chances of such an endorsement, just rolled his eyes. In the closing days before this primary vote, Cruz spoke in increasingly bitter terms about Trump. He implied that Trump is evil, said that we are staring at the abyss and it is only Indiana that can pull us back. Cruz also called Trump a serial philanderer, a pathological liar and amoral, and said that voters should choose him over Trump because we are not a petty, bigoted, angry people. Cruz still has 546 delegates bound to him on the first ballot at the Republican convention in Cleveland this July. He could use them to negotiate for input on the party platform, as many past presidential candidates in competitive primaries have done. But his campaign is just now beginning to reckon with what to do next. Former Virginia Gov. Ken Cuccinelli, tasked with overseeing Cruzs delegate operation, didnt have an answer for what will happen to those 546 delegates. Were not ready to talk about that, Cuccinelli said. And he disappeared behind a black curtain to the backstage room littered with discarded coffee cups and shattered dreams. By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - The number of U.S. visitors to Cuba has nearly doubled this year, its tourism minister said on Wednesday, as the island races to build hotels and expand Havana airport to keep up with booming demand. Tourism has taken off since Cuba and the United States announced they would work to bury the Cold War hatchet in December 2014. The Caribbean island received a record 3.5 million visitors last year. The influx has pushed capacity to the limit, prompting hotels to sharply hike prices and raising questions about how Cuba will absorb additional visitors when scheduled U.S. commercial airline service starts later this year. "With the increase in demand there have occurred problems with the confirmation of reservations and some irritation with delays at the airports, most of all in Havana," Minister Manuel Marrero said at the opening of an annual tourism fair. Still, overall satisfaction with Cuba as a destination was high, reflected by the fact that nearly half of last year's tourists were return visitors, he said. The number of visitors so far in 2016 jumped 13.5 percent on the year to 1.5 million tourists, Marrero said. Of those, 94,000 were Americans, a 93-percent jump on the year, and more than 115,000 were Cuban-Americans. Cuba's tourism infrastructure is creaking mainly in the capital, where visits were up 37 percent this year, according to the minister. Almost all Americans visit Havana as part of their itineraries as they are banned from the beach. Marrero said three new hotels were under construction around the colonial part of the city, bids were in to renovate some existing establishments, and more were on the drawing board. He said an airport expansion was planned in Havana, but gave no more details. "Until just a little while ago Cuba was a forbidden destination, and not only for Americans, but for many others from various countries who feared traveling to the island," tourism professor Jose Luis Perello, of the University of Havana, said. European tourism in Cuba was up 60 percent through April of this year, said Eric Peyre, who heads up the French hospitality company Accors operations in the island. Security threats in other traditional holiday destinations for Europeans, such as the Middle East and Africa, were adding to the Caribbean island's allure, he said. "Air France has 11 flights a week. Last week, they signed for 28 flights a week from France as from this November, 18 to Havana," he said. Accor manages three hotels in Cuba, including the 188-room Hotel Seville in Old Havana, once-favorite hangout of Chicago gangster Al Capone, which Peyre said was sold out through the end of the year. "Last year, a room and breakfast at the Seville cost $120, this year $180, and beginning in November it will cost $280," he said. (Additional reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Donald Trump Following Donald Trump's primary win in Indiana on Tuesday, some are already sounding the death knell for the Republican Party. Among them was the New York Daily News, which featured a mock-up of the GOP's mascot, apparently dead and resting in a casket, on its Wednesday cover. Trump is now widely expected to secure this year's Republican presidential nomination before the party's July convention. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the GOP, a once-great political party, killed by epidemic of Trump," the cover reads. View the cover below: Daily News May 4 cover NOW WATCH: Argentina is trolling Trump to hype a big international soccer tournament More From Business Insider This Star Wars Day, Daisy Ridley wants to use The Force for good. To mark May the Fourth, which gives Star Wars fans around the globe an opportunity to geek out, the actor, who plays Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has released a video encouraging fans to support Force For Change. Who can say no to BB-8? Star Wars: Force for Change is a charitable initiative that was matching dollar-for-dollar donations up to $1 million. The campaign has far surpassed that threshold, but fans or anyone who wants to make a difference can still donate until midnight Pacific Time Wednesday evening. Funds go to support charities like the U.S. Fund for UNICEF in support of UNICEF Kid Power, American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. This week also marks the last chance to win a trip to the real-life island where Luke Skywalker was hiding out instead of fighting alongside Han and Leia against the First Order. Fans can win a trip to Skellig Michael, the real Irish island used in the film (no word on whether any Jedi training will be available). For more information, head here. Star Wars star Daisy Ridley is teaming with Naomi Watts for Ophelia, a re-imagining of Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Claire McCarthy (2009's drama The Waiting City) is directing the project, which adapts the 2006 YA book by Lisa Klein. Semi Chellas (Mad Men) wrote the script. Covert Media is financing the film that's being produced by Daniel Bobker and Ehren Kruger and Sarah Curtis. Covert is handling international rights to the film. CAA, which packaged and arranged the financing, will represent the film's U.S. rights. Hamlet tells of the revenge plotted by Prince Hamlet on his uncle, Claudius, who killed his father, married his mother, and took the crown of Denmark. This project takes the female-centric view of the proceedings, telling the tale from the point of view of Ophelia, the daughter of Claudius' chief advisor who falls for Hamlet. (Ridley would play Ophelia while Watts would play Gertrude, the queen of Denmark and Hamlet's mother.) Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most tragic plays (spoiler alert: more characters die in it than in a season's worth of Game of Thrones) but Klein's takes a different road, landmarked with a secret wedding, characters who survive and a semi-happy ending. Producer Bobker channeled his own inner bard to provide the following quote on the project: "Sarah, Ehren & I have always treated this film like a jewel, since there's something extra precious in bringing to life a treasured female icon, celebrated for centuries as an alluring figure in the shadows of Shakespeare's most famous work, without ever really having her own story told. Whether it's for the legions of fans of romantic tragic characters, or the millions of visitors who annually seek out the classic Millais painting of Ophelia at London's Tate Gallery, Ophelia holds a special place in the heart of the cultural canon - so we couldn't be more thrilled to have the talented female team of Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, and Claire McCarthy set to make a film with our friends at Covert Media that'll finally shed light on a character who's fascinated so many for so long." Frankfurt (AFP) - The European Central Bank is set to decide on Wednesday the fate of the 500-euro banknote, which many people associate with money laundering, the black market and terrorist financing. But its possible abolition is raising hackles in countries such as Germany. The violet-coloured bill, the largest denomination banknote in the single currency area and physically also the bigger than the five other euro bills, is on the agenda of a meeting of the ECB's governing council, a bank spokesman told AFP. Notwithstanding any surprises, the council is likely to vote to stop issuing them, as the bill is believed to be favoured by criminals for moving large sums of money around without the authorities knowing. "Such notes are the preferred payment mechanism of those pursuing illicit activities, given the anonymity and lack of transaction record they offer, and the relative ease with which they can be transported and moved," according to a recent Harvard University study. Because of its size and portability, the 500-euro note has become so prized in underground finance that it can trade at more than its face value, and has become known in some circles as a "Bin Laden", the study said. The 500-euro note is "used more for hiding things than buying them," said French Finance Minister Michel Sapin in March. "It is used more to facilitate transactions which are not honest than to allow you and me to buy food to eat," Sapin said. - 'Organised crime isn't stupid' - France is pushing to step up the fight against terrorist financing in the aftermath of the bloody series of attacks in Paris in 2015. The EU Commission had said in February that it would "explore the need for appropriate restrictions on cash payments exceeding certain thresholds and to engage with the European Central Bank to consider appropriate measures regarding high denomination notes, in particular the EUR 500 note." Story continues According to ECB statistics, the 500-euro bills account for just three percent of the total number of banknotes in circulation, but 28 percent of the total value. Nevertheless, resistance to its possible abolition appears to be particularly high in Germany, where most people still prefer to make payments in cash. And when the euro was created, it was Germany that had been keen to have a 500-euro bill because it was of a similar size denomination as its 1,000-deutschemark banknote. Opponents of the note's abolition are concerned that it would simply be the first step in abolishing cash altogether and be replaced by electronic payment systems that can be completely monitored by authorities. A number of experts have suggested that doing away with the 500-euro note would not be particularly effective in fighting crime. "Organised crime isn't stupid. Most money is laundered without cash via bogus companies," said Friedrich Schneider, an expert on the shadow economy at the University of Linz in Austria in interviews to a number of German media recently. Sometime in the last few years, a young woman who had undergone a successful transplant operation was readmitted to the hospital for some follow-up tests, including a procedure to draw fluid from the sac surrounding her heart. The woman was discharged from the hospital but returned the following day complaining of severe abdominal pain. She died from a combination of intra-abdominal bleeding and cardiac arrest. An autopsy revealed that the needle that had been inserted into the heart sac had grazed her liver and ruptured an artery, resulting in death. Related: Medicare for All? Why Sanders Has the Edge over Clinton on Health Care The death certificate listed the cause of death as cardiovascular, but in fact it was due to physicians error. The tragic mishap was cited in a new study by two Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researchers examining the medical errors that have been grossly under-reported for years. They estimate that medical errors are responsible for 251,454 deaths annually. According to the study, published Tuesday by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), deaths due to gross medical error rank third nationally behind heart disease (614,348 deaths a year) and cancer (591,699 deaths a year). In all, medical errors are responsible for roughly 9.5 percent of all deaths annually, according to the new report. Cause of Death While many errors are non-consequential, an error can end the life of someone with a long life expectancy or accelerate an imminent death, wrote the co-authors, Martin A. Makary, a professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins, and research fellow Michael Daniel. Related: Hospital Equipment May Have Infected L.A. Patients with Deadly Superbug It is commonly known that hospital stays and medical procedures are fraught with risk from patients developing infections and getting the wrong medications to surgeons making a mistake by removing the wrong body part. Moreover, a recent study warned of substantial medical risks involved in simply moving a patient from the hospital back home or to nursing facilities. Story continues Yet the medical profession has done little to shed a light on the problem of medical error, according to the new study, and greater scrutiny is required. The reports 251,454 figure for deaths caused by medical error is much higher than the estimates in a 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). That report pegged deaths related to medical error at roughly 98,000. As The Washington Post notes, that 17-year-old study shocked the medical establishment and triggered internal debate over how to address the epidemic of cases. Related: Billions in Medicare Fraud Still Rampant Despite Federal Crackdown However that study was inadequate, according to Makary and Daniel, because it was not backed up by primary research, such as a detailed examination of hospital medical records or even death certificates. Instead, the IOM relied on estimates in a 1984 Harvard Medical Practices Study and 1992 research in Utah and Colorado. Makary and Daniel mounted a far more comprehensive review of more recent scholarship on the topic, including studies by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector Generals review of hospital health records in 2008, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality studies between 2000 and 2008. We calculated a mean rate of death from medical error of 251, 454 a year using the studies reported since the 1999 IOM report and extrapolating to the total number of U.S. hospital admissions in 2013, the authors wrote. While the assumptions they made in extrapolating study data to the overall U.S. population may have distorted their figures, the authors wrote, the absence of national data highlights the need for systematic measurement of the problem. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: (Adds income from discontinued operations) By Bernie Woodall DETROIT, May 4 (Reuters) - Delphi Automotive, a global vehicle components supplier, on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings that narrowly beat Wall Street expectations as its revenue grew 7 percent on strong vehicle production in all of its global regions, the company said. Delphi reaffirmed its forecast for 2016 adjusted earnings per share of between $5.80 to $6.10. Excluding one-time items, it earned $1.36 per share in the first quarter, compared with expectations by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S of $1.34 per share. Net income from continuing operations was $320 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, up from $288 million, or $0.99 per diluted share a year earlier. One-time items included $68 million in restructuring and acquisition costs. Total net income, including $105 million from discontinued operations, was $425 million, or $1.53 per diluted share, compared with $209 million, or $0.72 per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue rose 6.7 percent to $4.05 billion, near analysts' expectations of $4.09 billion. Delphi affirmed its full-year revenue forecast of between $16.6 billion and $17 billion. Last month, Delphi announced that it won an appeal with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and can be considered a British company and would not have to make adjustments to its 2009 and 2010 taxes. Delphi, once based in Troy, Michigan, was a part of General Motors Co until 1999. It emerged from a four-year bankruptcy in October 2009. Also in 2009, Delphi formed a limited liability partnership in Britain and registered in Gillingham, England. Delphi shares closed on Tuesday at $73.17, down 14 percent since the start of the year. In the first quarter, Delphi repurchased 5.6 million shares for about $370 million, leaving $137 million remaining in its buyback program. The board last month announced another $1.5 billion in share buybacks after the current authorization is spent. (Reporting by Bernie Woodall Editing by W Simon) (Adds details from Rhodes' letter to DPS staff, paragraph 6) By Suzannah Gonzales and Karen Pierog May 3 (Reuters) - Detroit school teachers were expected to return to their classrooms on Wednesday following a two-day "sick-out" over paycheck concerns after receiving assurances from officials "they will be paid for their work," a union representative said. Hundreds of teachers in Michigan's largest public school system called in sick beginning on Monday after hearing news the cash-strapped school system would run out of money to pay employees at the end of June. The Detroit public school system, or DPS, with nearly 46,000 students, has been under state control since 2009 because of a financial emergency. It will run out of money to pay employees after the fiscal year ends on June 30, the school system's state-appointed transition manager, former federal bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, has said. Detroit Federation of Teachers Interim President Ivy Bailey received a letter from Rhodes that "gave teachers and school employees the assurance they needed that they will be paid for their work," the union said in a statement. Rhodes' letter to DPS staff, a copy of which the union provided to Reuters, said the school district would honor its "contractual obligation to pay teachers what they have earned." At a membership meeting on Tuesday afternoon, union officials encouraged the school employees to return to classes on Wednesday. DPS had no immediate comment. Hundreds of teachers rallied outside school district offices earlier on Tuesday. Michigan's House of Representatives Appropriations Committee on Tuesday approved a seven-bill package that would provide $500 million to aid the school district, which would be split into two entities, and make DPS eligible for a state loan. It would also curb collective bargaining. The proposed funding was less than the $715 million requested by Republican Governor Rick Snyder and approved by the Republican-controlled Senate as part of a different plan. Story continues "Teachers, you are going to get paid," said State Representative Al Pscholka, the committee's chairman. A spokesman for House Speaker Kevin Cotter said the full House, also controlled by Republicans, could take up the legislation as soon as this week. If passed, it would still need to be approved by the Senate and signed by Snyder. Some Republicans criticized the sick-out, calling it an act of "educational malpractice." "Teacher strikes are illegal in Michigan and that's just what this is. Teachers should be paid, but shutting down schools only causes harm to the children," Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement. The legislature approved $48.7 million in supplemental funding for DPS in March, but Rhodes said the funds would only meet payroll through June. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Tuesday the Obama administration was encouraging the sides to reach an agreement. "These kids aren't getting educated and that is a real problem," Earnest said. (Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales and Karen Pierog in Chicago; Additional reporting by Susan Heavey in Washington and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Paul Simao and Peter Cooney) FRANKFURT, May 4 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom said on Wednesday its first-quarter core profit rose on the back of its ongoing success in the United States, which offset investments in its European networks. The company said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding special items, rose 12.9 percent to 5.16 billion euros ($5.93 billion), slightly ahead of the average estimate of 5.14 billion euros in a Reuters poll. Deutsche Telekom said it still expected 2016 adjusted EBITDA to rise to around 21 billion euros and free cash flow of around 4.9 billion. ($1 = 0.8708 euros) (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Maria Sheahan) * Q1 adj EBITDA 5.16 bln euros vs 5.14 bln avg expected * Investments weighs, free cash flow down 5 pct * Still sees 2016 adj EBITDA of around 21.2 bln euros (Adds details about U.S., background) FRANKFURT, May 4 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom said on Wednesday its first-quarter core profit rose on the back of its ongoing success in the United States, which offset investments in its European networks. The company said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), excluding special items, rose 12.9 percent to 5.16 billion euros ($5.93 billion), slightly ahead of the average estimate of 5.14 billion euros in a Reuters poll. Last week T-Mobile US Inc reported a net profit for its fiscal second quarter and raised its 2016 forecast for customer additions. Contributing 7.82 billion euros to Deutsche Telekom's revenues, T-Mobile US is Deutsche Telekom's biggest unit. In Europe and Germany, Deutsche Telekom is heavily investing in upgrading its fixed networks. Investments rose 11.9 percent to 2.8 billion euros in the first quarter, weighing on free cash flow, which dropped 5 percent to a lower-than-expected 822 million euros. Deutsche Telekom said it still expected 2016 adjusted EBITDA to rise to around 21 billion euros and free cash flow of around 4.9 billion. ($1 = 0.8708 euros) (Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Maria Sheahan) Devon Energy Corp. DVN reported first-quarter 2016 adjusted loss per share of 53 cents, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 60 cents. In first-quarter 2015, the company reported earnings of 22 cents per share. Lower-than-expected loss in the first quarter was primarily due to the cost saving initiatives undertaken by the company. On a GAAP basis, the company reported a loss of $6.44 per share compared with a loss of $8.88 per share in the year-ago quarter. The difference between operating and GAAP figures in the reported quarter was due to a non-cash, asset-impairment charge. Revenues Devons quarterly revenues of $2.12 billion lagged year-ago revenues of $3.26 billion by 34.9% and the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.58 billion by 17.8%. The decline in revenues was due to lower contribution from all operating segments compared with the prior-year quarter. Highlights of the Release In the first quarter 2016, Devons total production averaged 581,000 barrels of oil-equivalent (boe) per day, surpassing the mid-point of the guidance by 6,000 boe per day. Total production during the reported quarter was primarily driven by a 10% year-over-year increase in oil production in the U.S. Robust output from Devons Delaware Basin and Rockies assets was particularly notable. In addition, performance from its Jackfish 3 Project in Canada was impressive. At the field level, the company is effectively controlling its costs. Thanks to its initiatives, lease operating expenses (LOE) were down 21% year over year to $7.13 per boe. Realized Prices Realized oil prices in the quarter were $33.66 per barrel, down 31.1% from $48.87 per barrel in the year-ago quarter. Realized prices for natural gas were down 30.1% to $2.09 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf) from $2.99 per Mcf in the year-ago quarter. Total realized prices in the first quarter, including cash settlements, were $13.53 per boe, down 56.9% year over year due to lower commodities prices. Financial Health As of Mar 31, 2016, the company had a cash balance of $1,635 million, down from $2,310 million as of Dec 31, 2015. Long-term debt as of Mar 31, 2016, was $12,195 million compared with $12,056 million as of Dec 31, 2015. Devons cash flow from operating activities in first-quarter 2016 was $149 million compared with $1,648 million in first-quarter 2015. Capital expenditure was $749 million, lower than $1,717 million a year ago. Guidance Devon Energy estimates total production from its core assets for the second quarter of 2016 in the range of 527,000551,000 boe per day. The company now expects 2016 total daily production in the range of 531,000555,000 boe, up 3% from the previous expectation of 516,000-540,000 boe. Capital expenditure (capex) in the second quarter is expected in the range of $325$405 million. The company reiterated the 2016 capex guidance in the range of $1,170 million to $1,445 million. Devons 2016 E&P capital investment is estimated in a $900 million to $1.1 billion range and, for the second quarter, it is expected in a range of $250 million to $300 million. Devon Energy further lowered its 2016 LOE outlook by $50 million to a range of $1.75 billion to $1.85 billion. The company expects its field-level costs, which include both LOE and production taxes, to decline by up to $400 million for 2016. Devon is also on track to lower general and administrative expenses by $500 million from 2015 levels. Other Company Releases Anadarko Petroleum Corporation APC reported a first-quarter 2016 adjusted loss of $1.12 per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.19. TOTAL S.A. TOT reported first-quarter 2016 operating earnings of 68 cents per share, easily surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents by 54.6% Chevron Corp. CVX reported a loss per share of 39 cents, wider than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 18 cents. Our View While Devon Energy incurred a narrower-than-expected loss in the first quarter of 2016, revenues fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The persistent weakness in commodity prices has finally forced the company to incur a loss. However, Devons focus on high-quality North American properties has led to increased oil output for six quarters in a row. We expect continued strong production from the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin assets and Canadian heavy oil operations to help it to maintain strong production levels. Additionally, Devon continues to divest non-core assets and focus on its high return core assets. In April, Devon announced a deal to sell its non-core Mississippian assets in northern Oklahoma for $200 million, which is a step toward its planned divesture of $2 billion to $3 billion of non-core E&P properties. The proceeds from these divestments will help the company to lower its outstanding debt and maintain financial flexibility. Oil prices have shown remarkable gains lately on a rise in gasoline consumption, lower rig usage in the U.S. and worldwide outages. Cost-saving initiatives of the company are also in full force and are expected to generate total savings of nearly $900 million from 2015 levels, a big positive amid challenging circumstances. Devon Energy currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report TOTAL FINA SA (TOT): Free Stock Analysis Report DEVON ENERGY (DVN): Free Stock Analysis Report ANADARKO PETROL (APC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research How Altria Group Beat Earnings and Sales Estimates in 1Q16 (Continued from Prior Part) Smokeless tobaccos revenue and operating income Altria Groups (MO) smokeless tobacco product segments net revenue rose 11.4% in 1Q16 to $0.5 billion versus $0.4 billion in 1Q15. This was the highest rise among MOs three segments. The rise was due to higher pricing and higher volumes, and it was partially offset by higher promotional investments. The smokeless product segments net revenue of excise taxes rose 12.3%. The segments reported operating income rose 11.6% to $0.3 billion. This was due to higher pricing and higher volumes, which were partially offset by restructuring costs in connection with productivity initiatives and higher promotional investments by Altrias Nu Mark subsidiary. Excluding asset impairment and exit costs of $13 million, adjusted operating income rose 16.7% for smokeless products in 1Q16. Shipment volume and retail share Benefited by Copenhagen and Skoal, the smokeless tobacco segments reported domestic shipment volume rose 7.8% in 1Q16. However, this rise was offset by falls in its other portfolio brands. Combined reported shipment volumes of Copenhagen and Skoal rose 7.8%, driven by the national expansion of Copenhagen Mint. Despite higher pricing and higher volumes, Skoals retail (XRT) share fell 0.6 share points. However, the total retail share of smokeless products rose by 0.2 points to 55.1% in 1Q16. Copenhagen and Skoals combined retail share rose by 0.5 points to 51.6% in 1Q16. Peers in the smokeless products segment Peers Reynolds American (RAI), Imperial Tobacco (ITYBY), and Japan Tobacco (JAPAF) (JAPAY) also produce smokeless tobacco products. Reynolds Americans subsidiary American Snuff Company produces moist snuff brands including Grizzly and Kodiak. Imperial Tobaccos and Japan Tobaccos smokeless tobacco products are Skruf Snus and Zerostyle Mint, respectively. Other companies such as British American Tobacco (BTI) and Philip Morris International (PM) dont have presences in the smokeless tobacco segment. Story continues Focus on expansion Altrias subsidiary, the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, continues to expand Copenhagen Mint nationally with strong brand awareness and a trial generating plan. According to CEO Martin J. Barrington, Copenhagen has the essence of authenticity, masculinity, and craftsmanship, which allows the brand to compete with other smokeless brands. MO makes up 0.2% of the iShares Morningstar Multi-Asset Income ETF (IYLD). Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Donald Trump Ohio Gov. John Kasich may be getting out of the presidential race, but he may still find his way onto the Republican general-election ticket. In a Wednesday CNN interview, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said that he'd be interested in vetting Kasich as a potential vice-presidential running mate. "I'd be very interested in vetting John," Donald Trump said. "I like John, I've had a good relationship with John, I've gotten along with him well," he added. Trump also asserted that Kasich could be an asset in a general-election matchup against Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton. "I think John will be very helpful with Ohio, even as a governor," Trump said. Kasich is set to suspend his presidential campaign later on Wednesday. But as primary rivals, the relationship between Trump and Kasich hasn't always been so rosy. Leading up to Tuesday's Indiana primary, the real-estate magnate slammed Kasich for his support for the North American Free Trade Agreement. He also extensively mocked the governor's eating habits. "Every time you see him, he's eating," Trump said at a rally last week. "He's stuffing his face. I've never seen. The pizza. He ate a piece of pizza I'm telling you, it was 4 or 5 inches long by 4 or 5 inches and he couldn't get it in his mouth. And he's pushing it in with the fork and he's got 20 cameras around." Watch part of Trump's interview below: Donald Trump says he would be interested in vetting John Kasich for a VP position https://t.co/d1AgjZ5q8x https://t.co/zgnJwN3uAR CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 4, 2016 NOW WATCH: Trump just dropped more hints about a possible running mate More From Business Insider Washington (AFP) - Billionaire Donald Trump has capitalized on his media savvy and the anti-establishment anger of Republican voters to become the first political neophyte to capture the party's White House nomination since World War II hero Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. In 2010, the Grand Old Party had been overtaken by the insurgent Tea Party, whose mission was to upend politics as usual, ousting Republican and Democratic stalwarts in favor of fresh faces. The party as a whole eventually embraced that message, but Trump took it to the next level -- and made that voter rage the center of his unlikely presidential run. "The overarching environment here is anger on the far right," James Thurber, director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies at American University in Washington, told AFP. Thurber said voters were mad that "those in the establishment have not done what they said they would do -- that is, shrink government, get rid of the Affordable Care Act and stop the liberal drive with respect to gay marriage and rights and social issues." "Trump is unique, it's hard to explain, but certainly his voters come from that far angry right. They feel that they've been left behind." The Republican party machine even -- perhaps inadvertently -- directly contributed to Trump's rise. During Barack Obama's first term, Trump championed the cause of the so-called "birther" movement, questioning whether Obama was born in the US to challenge his presidency. "The Republican Party looked at that and thought, 'Hey, this is a way to energize our base.' In the short term they did very little to stop him," said John Hudak, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "That gave Donald Trump prominence in the Republican Party, and now that prominence that it gave him is something that many people in the party are coming to regret," he told AFP. Story continues "What he is is a reflection of a Republican Party that is addicted to short-term benefits and ignorant of long-term considerations." - 'Anger is driving them' - When Trump declared he was running for president on June 16, 2015, it drew little attention and two-thirds of Republicans said they would never vote for him. But three weeks later, he labeled Mexican immigrants criminals and rapists, sparking a firestorm that proved to be the lift-off of a mold-shattering campaign to "Make America Great Again!" -- fueled by obsessive media coverage. A former reality TV star who flaunted his billions, Trump paradoxically tapped into white working class anger with attacks on immigration, free trade, and a sold-out political class, which he freely admitted to having paid to do his bidding in the past. Treated as a joke initially and then as a passing phenomenon, Trump leaped from three percent support in the polls to the head of a 17-candidate field. Winning primary after primary, he forced out early favorites like Jeb Bush, the brother and son of former Republican presidents. Many traditional conservatives remain wildly opposed to his candidacy -- notably those with advanced degrees -- but Trump nevertheless has rallied the support of more than half of Republican voters. His popularity now transcends typical ideological barriers. He is both conservative and moderate, a devout capitalist who slams free trade, a supporter of gun rights who promises not to touch Americans' Social Security benefits. "I don't think it's a coherent conservative philosophy that's driving them -- I think it's anger that's driving them," Thurber said. The dormant xenophobia lurking on the American right also plays a role in his success, Hudak notes. Some of Trump's rallies have erupted in violence between his white supporters and black or Latino protesters, with the candidate tacitly approving the scuffles. - Media star - Trump's other trump card, as it were, has been his total domination of the airwaves. Seemingly every day, he gives a televised interview. Thanks to him, the Republican primary debates attracted the biggest non-sports cable TV audiences in US history. Through a mix of spectacle and controversy, Trump fine-tuned his campaign to hit media buttons -- whether by criticizing Republican senator and war hero John McCain or proposing that the US border be closed to Muslims. His promise to build a wall on the border with Mexico was a tailor-made TV soundbite, played and replayed for maximum effect. He is the only candidate whose rallies have been shown from start to finish. All that free coverage has allowed him to save tens of millions of dollars he would have spent on campaign ads. "His celebrity status was the greatest asset he brought to this, and that celebrity status was enhanced enormously by 15 seasons of 'The Apprentice,'" long-time Trump confidant Roger Stone told Politico. "To voters, there's no line between the news and reality TV. It's all TV. It's all television," Stone said. "If you see Trump in 'The Apprentice,' he's in the high-backed chair. He's perfectly lit. He's perfectly made up. He's perfectly coiffed. He's perfectly dressed. And he's decisive. He's tough. He's making decisions. "He looks and acts like what you think a president should be." Donald Trump A seemingly overwhelming primary victory in Indiana didn't stop Donald Trump from continuing his rhetorical attacks on Sen. Ted Cruz. Two minutes after almost every major news outlet projected Trump the winner in the Hoosier State, the Republican presidential frontrunner took a swing on Twitter at his rival, whom he has repeatedly accused of being "crazy." "Wow, Lyin' Ted Cruz really went wacko today. Made all sorts of crazy charges. Can't function under pressure not very presidential. Sad!" Trump tweeted. He later added that Cruz should drop out of the race with a loss in the Hoosier State. "Lyin' Ted Cruz consistently said that he will, and must, win Indiana. If he doesn't he should drop out of the race-stop wasting time & money," he wrote. Trump has attempted to undermine Cruz's legitimacy as a candidate. But the real-estate magnate on Tuesday made headlines for another round of dubious claims about his GOP rival. Earlier on Tuesday, Cruz forcefully and angrily denounced Trump's suggestion that the Texas senator's father, Rafael Cruz, was photographed and had a relationship with President John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. Trump's assertion was built off a report by the tabloid National Enquirer. "This man is a pathological liar. He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies," Cruz said at a press conference on Tuesday. "He lies practically every word that comes out of his mouth." Cruz's loss to Trump in Indiana is a devastating blow for his campaign, which hoped to pick up a significant number of delegates in order to deny Trump the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the Republican presidential nomination. Now the magnate looks to be on a relative glide path to the nomination. NOW WATCH: Argentina is trolling Trump to hype a big international soccer tournament More From Business Insider donald trump Donald Trump isn't hoping to mend broken relationships with many of his detractors from the Republican Party. Fresh off his decisive win in Indiana, which made him the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump told NBC's "Today" on Wednesday that he didn't want the support of Republican leaders who had vigorously opposed his nomination. "I am confident I can unite much of it," Trump said. "Some of it I don't want." He continued: "There were statements made about me, and those people can go away and come back after eight years after we serve two terms. Honestly, there are some people I really don't want." With the decision of Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to suspend his campaign on Tuesday, Trump is the all-but-certain Republican presidential nominee, needing fewer than 200 delegates to formally secure the nomination. Still, Trump's controversial rhetoric on the campaign trail including personal attacks on rivals and inflammatory statements about minority groups has jeopardized his relationships with former presidential opponents and Republican Party leaders. During the "Today" interview on Wednesday, hosts Matt Lauer and Savannah Guthrie pressed the real-estate mogul to answer whether he believed it was possible for Cruz to support him. Over the past few months, Trump has lobbed constant rhetorical and social-media attacks at the senator and several immediate family members including Cruz's father, Rafael, and his wife, Heidi. "I really don't know," Trump said. "And that goes for other people, too I don't know. I hope so. In Ted's case, it'd be nice. In other cases, I don't care." Guthrie pressed Trump to explain why he publicly suggested Tuesday that Rafael Cruz was somehow involved with President John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, even though there was no evidence of any relationship between the two. "Why in the world would you do that?" Guthrie asked. "This was just in response to some very, very nasty remarks made about me," Trump responded, saying he had "no idea" that he would win Indiana by a large margin. Story continues A handful of prominent Republicans on Tuesday maintained that they would not support Trump's nomination. A former top aide to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign tweeted out his reluctant support for Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Frequent Trump critic Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina indicated at a conference that Clinton had the presidency all but wrapped up. Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, another prominent intraparty Trump critic, asserted that neither Trump nor Clinton deserved the presidency. Overwhelming majority of Americans think both the D and R frontrunners are dishonest. The people are right. It matters.#WeCanDoBetter Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) May 4, 2016 NOW WATCH: Trump just dropped more hints about a possible running mate More From Business Insider By John Miller ZURICH, May 4 (Reuters) - Companies should not blame U.S. sanctions for stopping them investing in Iran, a State Department official told businesses on Wednesday, saying there were many other risks putting off would-be investors. The United States and Europe lifted sanctions in January under a deal with Tehran to limit its nuclear programme, but U.S. sanctions unrelated to the nuclear issue remain, banning dollar transactions with Iran and making it harder for companies to access finance for business in the Islamic Republic. Jarrett Blanc, the State Department's deputy lead coordinator of last year's nuclear deal, said companies should tell their Iranian partners that it was not just those remaining sanctions that were holding up business deals. "Many times, in the past 100 days, we have found international firms who have said to Iran: 'Only U.S. sanctions are preventing you from doing business'," Blanc told 400 people at a forum for European business with Iran in Zurich. "But when we dig a little deeper, and seek to answer questions about precisely your concerns, it turns out that your business decisions, not surprisingly, in fact take into account concerns well beyond sanctions." Iran has signed billions of dollars of deals with European firms since the nuclear sanctions were lifted, including a $27 billion aircraft order from Airbus. But deals requiring investment inside Iran have moved slowly. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Iran, has blamed the delays squarely on the United States. "The U.S. Treasury ... acts in such a way that big corporations, big institutions and big banks do not dare to come and deal with Iran," Khamenei said in March. Iranian businesses at the Zurich forum said European banks were staying away due to U.S. pressure, and said that could put European companies at a disadvantage to their Asian competitors. "They are going to lose opportunities soon," Majid Ghassemi, president of Bank Pasargad, told Reuters. "It is against the benefits of European investors, this kind of barrier that the Americans have put up against the banking system in Europe." Story continues Parviz Akbaroff, international business manager at infrastructure consulting company Rah Shahr, said European firms had "become subservient to U.S. interests". While the United States does not prohibit foreign banks from doing business with Iran, many are wary after facing multi-billion dollar fines during the sanctions era. Nonetheless, lawyers and consultants have consistently warned would-be investors of a wide range of other risks including complex regulations, unclear dispute mechanisms, labour issues, and corruption. Blanc said investors who acknowledge these concerns privately should communicate them to their Iranian partners. "Don't take the easy way out, by just saying 'U.S. sanctions, U.S. sanctions, U.S. sanctions'," he said. (Additional reporting by Joshua Franklin; Editing by Sam Wilkin and Robin Pomeroy) Kinshasa (AFP) - DR Congo's justice minister said on Wednesday he had ordered a probe into the alleged use of foreign mercenaries by opposition politician Moise Katumbi, who later announced his candidacy for president. Katumbi hit back at the mercenary allegations describing as a "grotesque lie" claims his camp were recruiting mercenaries specialised in "training and the use of weapons, as security guards or bodyguards". "It's a disgrace, a grotesque lie... they are simply looking to harm me.... Never will I, Moise Katumbi, take up arms for power," he told AFP, adding that his "struggle is democratic and peaceful out of respect for the constitution". Justice minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba earlier told journalists he had given orders to the general prosecutor to open a judicial case in the southeastern former province of Katanga. "We have documented proof that several former American soldiers are currently in Katanga in the service of Mr Katumbi," he said, adding that the mercenaries were being recruited via a "network with a company based in Virginia in the United States". On April 24, four members of Katumbi's entourage including an American were arrested in DR Congo's second city Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga, and transferred to Kinshasa. Thambwe accused American "ex-corporal Lewis Darryl of having tried to force a police barrier during an opposition protest" in Lubumbashi on Friday and "having tried to flee during his transfer from Ndjili airport to Kinshasa". The minister said seven other former American soldiers and at least two South Africans had been staying in residences belonging to Katumbi, "for reasons that the inquiry will clarify". - Crisis since election - Katumbi was formerly governor of Katanga, which has since been split into several different administrative regions. He joined the opposition in September after quitting as governor and leaving the party of President Joseph Kabila. Story continues Popular and charismatic, the 51-year-old wealthy businessman is also head of the prestigious Tout-Puissant Mazembe football club, three-time winner of the African Champions League. A coalition of opponents of Kabila announced Sunday that they had chosen Katumbi as their candidate to run against Kabila in the presidential election. On Wednesday Katumbi wrote on Twitter: "I accept this heavy responsibility with humility." On Friday the politician accused the regime of targeting him with "false allegations", drawing reference to the "supposed recruitment of foreign mercenaries in Katanga province" and a report, by a TV station close to the government, of "the existence of training camps". Authorities are under pressure from the international community to hold the polls as planned in November before Kabila's second -- and constitutionally last -- mandate ends, but this appears increasingly unlikely. DR Congo's political climate has grown increasingly tense, with Kabila's opponents accusing him of seeking to extend his stay in power. The country has been in crisis since Kabila's re-election in late 2011 in polls marred by irregularities and massive fraud. Kabila assumed power after his father, president Laurent Kabila, was assassinated in 2001. Drake's Views album was already off to a fast start, and it's getting even bigger. Industry forecasters now say the album could sell over 850,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending May 5, while its total equivalent album unit sum may surpass 1 million. On April 30, industry sources suggested Views was on its way to over an 800,000 sales start, and perhaps over 900,000 in total units. Further, Nielsen Music reports that Views has already sold over 770,000 copies in its first four days on sale (April 29-May 2). The album is on track to debut at No. 1 on the May 21-dated Billboard 200 chart, giving Drake his sixth chart-topper. The set was released exclusively for sale through the iTunes Store and to stream via Apple Music on April 29 by Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records. Drake Offers His POV on Love, Success & Toronto on 'Views': A First Listen The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The top 10 of the new May 21-dated Billboard 200 chart is scheduled to be revealed on Billboard's websites on Sunday, May 8. As Views has already sold more than 770,000 copies, it has earned Drake his largest sales week ever (and the week isn't even over yet). It beats his previous high, logged when Nothing Was the Same debuted at No. 1 in 2013 with 658,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen Music. Views follows Drake's five consecutive No. 1-debuting full-length albums on the Billboard 200: What a Time to Be Alive (with Future, in 2015), If You're Reading This It's Too Late (2015), Nothing Was the Same, Take Care (2012) and Thank Me Later (2010). His only charting album to miss the top was his debut EP, So Far Gone, which peaked at No. 6 in 2009. If Views starts with over 850,000 copies sold, it will be just the 10th album to sell more than 850,000 copies in a single week in the past 10 years -- and the first by a male artist to do so since Justin Timberlake's The 20/20 Experience launched with 968,000 in the week ending March 24, 2013. (The last album to sell more than 850,000 in a week was Adele's 25, which managed the feat in three separate weeks at the end of 2015.) Koror (Palau) (AFP) - A severe drought in Palau is killing marine life at the island nation's popular Jellyfish Lake, researchers say, forcing tourism operators to cancel trips to the unique Pacific destination. The lake near the capital Koror normally provides a tranquil, otherworldly experience for tourists, mostly from China, who snorkel and float among throngs of non-stinging, golden jellyfish. But with the tiny nation of 18,000 in the grip of its worst drought on record, scientists last month estimated the jellyfish population had plummeted from eight million to under 600,000. Boat operators such as Sam's Tours say even that figure is optimistic, putting the numbers at 300,000 and falling. Sam's no longer runs tours to the lake, normally one of Palau's main attractions, and four out of five operators contacted by AFP last week had adopted a similar policy. "Many tour companies including ours that have been taking guests to the lake have not seen any jellyfish," Sam's said in a statement to customers. "We at Sam's Tours have therefore decided to suspend our tours to Jellyfish Lake with immediate effect until further notice." Palau had 160,000 foreign visitors last year, more than half of them from mainland China, and tourism is the economy's largest earner. The drought, fuelled by an El Nino weather pattern, has depleted rivers and dams, forcing the government to declare a state of emergency and appeal for overseas aid. The Coral Reef Research Foundation said the lack of rainwater had increased salinity in the lake, killing off the plankton that sustain the jellyfish. "The golden jelly population could be on the verge of crashing, to the point where there are no more medusae (adults) swimming around the lake," the foundation said. It said juvenile polyps could usually go dormant and repopulate when conditions improved but current conditions on the lake were unprecedented. Story continues "This time around the situation is uncertain, as no one knows how this El Nino/La Nina scenario is going to play out," it added. The Koror state government said it was confident that eventually Jellyfish Lake would once again live up to its name. "This is a phase in the natural cycle of events in the overall realm of the ecosystem," it said. "Similar events in the past show evidence of the resilience of our natural environment to recover to normal conditions." By Peter Blaza MANILA (Reuters) - Filipinos have scoffed and slurped to show their backing for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte ahead of next week's presidential elections. The maverick mayor of the southern city is leading the "Gulp Poll" conducted by convenience store chain 7-Eleven, which has asked customers at their 1,650 outlets across the country to pick soda cups with images of their favorite presidential candidate. The popularity of Duterte's blue cup has mirrored two opinion polls last week that put the 71-year-old between seven and 12 percentage points in front of his nearest rival, Grace Poe, ahead of the May 9 national vote. "I picked Duterte because I want a change in society, and I see how well-received he is when he campaigns in other areas," said government employee Michael John Aguillon. The store's poll, first won by President Benigno Aquino in 2010, has "undecided" cups in second with those of former interior minister Manuel Roxas, vice president and opposition leader Jejomar Binay, Senator Poe and Senator Miriam Santiago all trailing. The convenience store is not the only ones to mix politics with the palate. In downtown Manila, customers at Kamuning Bakery can pick a set of stuffed pandesal, a Filipino bread roll, named after a particular candidate. Duterte's spicy pork sandwich was leading the race, bakery staff said. "I saw most of the customers ordering 'Pan de Duterte' because they like the mayor of Davao, and the second most popular ever since we started was Senator Grace Poe," Kamuning bakery owner Wilson Lee Flores said. (Editing by Patrick Johnston) What happens if nothing changes? With tens of millions of voters supporting Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders promises of political revolution, will the country accept the status quo? Thats what Hillary Clinton promises: four more years of Obamas policiesTPP. Trump, on the other hand, offers disruption. Does that mean chaos, or could it mean progress? Donald Trump could turn the countrys animus towards the Washington establishment to his advantage. He can and should run on taking power away from Beltway Bureaucrats, and retuning it to the states where it belongs. Taking on the DC cartel, as Ted Cruz describes it, would be popular. More important, it could get the country working again. Related: Dont Let Government Stifle the Next Tech Revolution The exciting thing is --- its not that hard. Across the country, there are plenty of talented governors -- 31 of them Republican -- working hard to beef up their states economies. At the Milken Global Conference this week, two Republican and two Democrat governors described their practical and successful agendas for improving their states fortunes. State Governors - Party Strength Over Time | InsideGov They both focused on job creation -- as Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said, Everything we want to do requires jobs. We have to grow the workforce. With higher payrolls come higher tax revenues, allowing for investments in transportation, education and job training that in turn attract more jobs. It is the ultimate virtuous circle, but one that has been missing from the national agenda for the past seven years. Republicans Walker and Rick Scott of Florida joined with Democrats Terry McAuliffe from Virginia and John Hickenlooper from Colorado in boasting about the reduced unemployment and deficits recorded in their respective states. All four talked about steps they were taking to develop and improve their workforces. Related: To Beat Hillary, Trump Has to Agree to a 'Presidential Makeover' Story continues Hickenlooper discussed providing tech training to kids not likely to go to college; Scott Walker has doubled the number of apprenticeships being offered to young people and emphasized opportunities for returning veterans. McAuliffe is also offering training for veterans, especially in the area of cyber security. All four men are actively seeking increased investment for their states. McAuliffe has traveled extensively internationally, pitching foreign companies on building in Virginia. He just landed a $2 billion deal with a Chinese company, insisting that it was more profitable going after foreign inflows that trying to buy companies moving in from other states. Scott took a different tack. He has often approached companies in California, pitching them on Floridas lower tax and lighter regulation. Ditto Walker, who has poached companies from neighboring Illinois. The nations governors are not allowed to print money, and most must balance their budgets. As a result, the collective income statements and balance sheets of the states are fairly healthy. Those that are not, like California, have to raise taxes to cover the budget hole; that drives businesses and tax revenues out the door. Its not too long before saner policies take hold. Related: Hillary Clinton Plays the Womans Card, and Rakes in Millions These four governors Republicans and Democrats alike -- expressed extreme frustration with the federal government. McAuliffe bemoaned the impact of sequestration, which had cut deeply into Virginias Department of Defense revenues, while Scott related his tortuous efforts to resolve the status of the Everglades, which meant dealing with no less than four federal agenciesone at a time. When asked why none of them appeared to engage with the federal governments 47 separate job-training programs instead, creating their own approaches all cited D.C waste and red tape. Questioned as to whether there were other activities they would prefer to handle without the help of the feds, all had plenty of suggestions. The point is these and other governors around the country are making important improvements in the welfare of their residents. Common sense approaches to building their local economies are working and our political leaders should encourage more of the same by restoring power to the states. For instance, the nation is currently convulsed over whether or not to support free trade. These governors are pro-trade and theyre proving the merits of a free flow of goods and services by arranging bilateral deals with foreign companies and their states. Instead of monster legislation that contains always the seeds of unintended consequences, these transactions are discrete and comprehensible. Related: Why Donald Trump Has Daddy Issues If such deals result in a loss of jobs, these governors will be held accountable. If and when President Obamas TPP results in more jobs heading out the door, he will be long gone, as will many of the legislators who cooked up the agreement. Ditto the ambition to improve the nations infrastructure. Anticipating the expansion of the Panama Canal, and in response to the labor problems impeding upgrading of West Coast ports, Rick Scott moved quickly to enlarge and refurbish Floridas seaports, anxious to cash in on the increased cargo traffic. The federal government did not provide the funding, so Florida moved forward on its own. Congress spends years crafting hideously complicated and often poorly written multi-thousand page bills dealing with trade or transportation, which few read or understand. Voters are pretty sure those mega-laws contain hidden goodies and glitches; they cant imagine there isnt a better way. There is a better way, but it is not through Congress. The federal government is propped up by legislators in the House and the Senate whose impact is measured by bills passed, not bills implemented. Their success is measured in monies appropriated, not by deliverables. President Obama takes victory laps for instituting Obamacare, notwithstanding the high deductibles and limited doctor choice that come with the healthcare law. Ted Cruz is forever reminding us that he is the only true Conservative in this race. His problem is that voters today associate conservatism with social issues like opposing abortion and same-sex marriage rather than smaller, more efficient federal government. That is a failing of the past two Republican presidential candidates, neither of whom made the case so ably articulated by Ronald Reagan, for shrinking the D.C. bloat. Donald Trump should make state empowerment the centerpiece of his economic agenda. It would not only be a popular campaign message, it is actually good policy. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: Beirut (AFP) - Economic concerns and the desire for a sense of purpose and revenge are the major factors pushing young Syrians into the arms of jihadist groups, a study released on Wednesday found. The report by peace activist group International Alert draws on interviews with 311 Syrians, their families and members of their communities in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. It found that males between the ages of 12 and 24 were most at risk of joining jihadist organisations like the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front. But instead of being attracted by the groups' ultra-conservative ideologies, young Syrians are more driven by "the need to earn a basic living, regain a sense of purpose and dignity and the belief in a moral duty to protect, avenge and defend". Young Syrian men said joining armed groups afforded them "a strong sense of purpose, honour and self-worth". "People can find a new meaning to their life in extremism. Extremism opens a door to a new life where they are wanted," one interviewee told International Alert. For young children, recruitment into jihadist groups offers them a chance to belong to a peer group that war has denied them by excluding them from class. With more than two million children out of school in Syria, IS and Al-Nusra have been "filling this gap by providing their own forms of education," the report said. The "Cubs of the Caliphate" recruitment programme run by the Sunni extremists of IS includes courses in religion and military tactics. "These 'schools' are highly segregated, exploit sectarian divisions and support divisive narratives." To prevent recruitment, the report urged host countries for the millions of Syrian refugees to enrol children in school programmes that incorporate psychiatric support and trauma treatment. The report also urged "providing alternative sources of livelihood, better access to positive social groups and institutions, and avenues for exercising non-violent activism". Story continues "If not for this job I would be on the front line with a Kalashnikov," one Syrian man who works as a peace activist in Lebanon said. Jihadist groups like IS and Al-Nusra have shot to prominence in Syria as the uprising that erupted against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 has degenerated into a devastating civil war. More than 270,000 people have been killed and nearly five million fled abroad. There is an easy story to tell about the Obama Recovery. Devastated by a financial crash, the U.S. launched a historic comeback. The private sector added jobs in 73 consecutive months, the longest stretch ever. Unemployment is lower today than in the month Reagan left office. Real GDP has grown more than 13 percent since its most-recent low in 2009, Obamas first year in office. Thats more than twice as much growth as in some western European countries, like France. Compared to how countries typically perform after financial crises, the United States has probably managed this better than any large economy on Earth in modern history, President Obama told The New York Times Magazine. But there is an opposite story that is attracting widespread support and millions of votes: The recovery is a failure. Donald Trump is an IMAX projection of white working-class grievances, calling America a third-world country. Bernie Sanderss supporters describe a country where poverty and financial insecurity are not bugs but rather features of a rigged economy. The pessimistic style is not niche: Trump and Sanders have amassed a combined 16 million votes. Recommended: The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans Living Paycheck to Paycheck Taken together, the two narratives produce a dissonant, but not contradictory, summary of America: On average, everything is getting better, but for many people, nothing is going well. This fits what statisticians call a power law distribution, where exponential equations (hence power) deliver extremely unequal rewards. Averages mean little in a power law. Imagine if 100 people enter a lottery, and 90 people win nothing; five people win $10; four people win $100, and one person wins $1,000. The lottery awards $1,450 to 100 people. The average prize is $14.50. But that statistic is nearly meaningless. Ninety percent of the participants won nothing, and one person won 69 percent of the cash. In a normal distribution, average is a useful indicator. In a power-law distribution, average is misleading. Story continues The U.S. economys power-law features, in which averages disguise massive inequalities in outcomes, go a long way in explaining how Obama can tell a story about the economy vastly different from the ones that are propelling some presidential candidates. A prime example is the pattern of income growth. Between 2009 and 2013, most measures of real personal income showed slow but steady improvement. Average hourly earnings for private sector workers grew about 7 percent. But what about the distribution? The top 1 percent saw its disposable income grow by 11 percent. Everybody else got close to nothing. For the bottom 99 percent, income actually declined through the first five years of the recovery. So far all of the gains of the recovery have gone to the top 1 percent, the economist Justin Wolfers wrote. Recommended: Opting Out of Coastal Madness to Live a Low-Overhead Life There are several contributors to this power-law dynamic in U.S. wage growth. One is that the top percentiles of earners include a large number of consistently employed executives, lawyers, doctors, financiers, and other highly educated workers whose work and compensation werent interrupted by dramatic swings within the labor force. Meanwhile the middle of the labor market has undergone painful technological and demographic shifts. Globalization and technology have "hollowed out" the middle class. Between 1979 and 2011, the income of the second and third quintiles of households grew less than one percent per year. The income of the top one percent grew five-times faster. The quality of many middle class jobs is also eroding. Research by the economists Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger found that between 2005 and 2015, the number of workers in alternative arrangements without health insurance or paid leavelike home health aides, truck drivers, and call-center workersgrew 66 percent, while the number of standard full-time jobs actually declined a bit. Another contributor to this power-law economy is that geographical opportunity has become even more spiky. Workers in rich cities earn much more than their counterparts in poorer parts of the country. Its not just because the price levels of cities are higher. Theyre also more productive. In 2001, the 50 richest metros produced 27 percent more per person than the national average. Today, they produce 34 percent more. Recommended: Why So Many Smart People Arent Happy Descriptions of average nationwide growth are, like the average lottery winner, statistically accurate representations that dissemble more than they reveal. At a time when San Francisco and Austin are bursting at the seams while Cleveland's workforce is actually shrinking, Toledo lost 4 percent of its businesses in the first four years of the recovery, and 61 percent of Detroit's adults aren't working, what sense does it make to say American cities are thriving on average? Even among Americas largest companies, outcomes are diverging. In 2015, Jason Furman, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Peter Orszag, Obamas former director of the Office of Management and Budget, published a paper on the rise in inequality between large companies. The top 10 percent of publicly traded companies earned 20 percent or more on their invested capital in the 1980s, and 100 percent or more in 2014, five times the average of the typical company. This suggests that the rise in wage inequality is driven more by a widening gap in the average earnings of workers in different companies than by a widening gap between paychecks inside individual businesses, wrote Orszag. These power-law dynamics are fractal, appearing at the family, company, and city level. Assortative matingrich marrying rich, poor cohabitating with poorconcentrates genetic, economic, and social advantages among children; corporate inequality and the return of monopolies concentrate profits among a handful of companies; geographic inequality concentrates neighborhood effects on both income and behavior. The U.S. smoking rate, for example, fell 50 percent in the last 50 years, but even this average change is heavily concentrated among the rich. The poorest families only smoke 9 percent less than they did in the 1960s. Last week, I published an article called The Average 29-Year-Old. The point was to show that media portrayals of Millennials are misleading: College-educated at 29, living in a city at 29, or married at 29 all leave out more than 60 percent of the age group. But as I wrote in the articles conclusion, even the headline was misleading. Average is easy to report. But its most useful in normal distributions, like height, where the average looks like the median. This economy is many things. But it sure isnt normal. Related Videos Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Cairo (AFP) - Egypt's top appeals court acquitted on Wednesday Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister of corruption charges after overturning his sentence for illegal profiteering, his lawyer and a judicial official said. Ahmed Nazif had been found guilty by two criminal courts in 2012 and 2015 of illegally amassing 64 million Egyptian pounds ($7.2 million) serving under the former president. He was sentenced to three years in prison in the first trial, and to five years in the second one. Both rulings were cancelled by the court of cassation, the same court that issued Wednesday's final acquittal. The court's Wednesday ruling cannot be appealed, a judicial official and Nazif's lawyer Wageeh Abdel Malak said. The court is yet to release its reasoning. Nazif was also acquitted of corruption charges in a separate case in February last year, after a criminal court had sentenced him to seven years in prison for his alleged role in awarding contracts for new vehicle license plates. Nazif and other government officials who served under Mubarak were put on trial for corruption after the strongman's overthrow in a 2011 uprising. Most have since been acquitted. Those released include Mubarak's sons, who were convicted with their father of stealing from public funds. The sons were freed in October for time served. Courts also acquitted senior interior ministry officials over the killing of hundreds of protesters during the 2011 uprising. El Chapo Guzman Before he was recaptured in January, Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman ran the largest airborne operation in Mexico. Between 2006 and 2015, Mexican authorities seized 599 aircraft 586 planes and 13 helicopters that the cartel used to ship drugs throughout Mexico and Latin America, according to information from the Mexican defense ministry (Sedena) that was obtained by Mexican newspaper El Universal. The largest legitimate airline in the country, Aeromexico, has 127 planes. If Guzman's cartel were a legal business, El Universal notes, then it would likely be one of the most successful in the country, based on its 4,771 clandestine landing strips between 550 and 1,100 yards in length dotting Mexico's northern states. "I supply more heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana than anybody else in the world," Guzman said in a Rolling Stone interview published in January. "I have a fleet of submarines, airplanes, trucks and boats." In the first three years of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's term (2012 to 2015) the military seized 55 planes and shut down 894 landing strips. Most of the aircraft were captured in Culiacan, Navolato, and Ahome municipalities in Sinaloa state, where Guzman grew up and has twice been captured. Drug plane seized Honduras "I went to the military base of the Mexican army in Sinaloa, in Culiacan, and they had more than 100 light aircraft they'd seized from drug traffickers ... And these were only the ones they'd seized," journalist Ioan Grillo told Business Insider. Story continues "They actually put them in a military base because at first they had them in the regular airport, and the drug traffickers used to go in and take them back," Grillo added. narco plane Through transparency laws, El Universal acquired information about 105 of the aircraft seized since 2006 by the Mexican government. Sixty of them were Cessnas, with the Cessna 206 the most popular version, likely because of its double side doors that allow quick off-loading, kits that allow its gas tank to be expanded, and the plane's ability to take off and land on runways as short as 300 to 400 yards. Mexico drug plane wreckage "The most sophisticated process when I was in Mexico was one of the cartels was buying commercial 727 aircraft and French-made Caravelles that could travel 570 mph," Mike Vigil, the former chief of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, told Business Insider in an interview. "The only thing that could stay with [those aircraft] was a fighter jet, and each plane would carry about 15 metric tons of cocaine," Vigil added. "They landed them in the desert and if they lost the plane it was no big deal because they were buying them for about $800,000," an expense that could easily be made up by a single drug shipment. "It's aircraft, commercial freighters, speedboats, you name it and they have it," Vigil said. "They never settle on one method of transportation or on one route. They're always exploring." NOW WATCH: EX-UNDERCOVER DEA AGENT: What I did when drug dealers asked me to try the product More From Business Insider SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador has arrested former congressman Raul Mijango, who brokered a controversial gang truce in 2012 that reduced murders in the violent Central American nation by half. Mijango, a former guerilla commander and lawmaker with the ruling Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, or FMLN, was arrested on allegations of bringing banned objects into prisons and being an associate of gang members, police said on Twitter. The truce, mediated by Mijango in 2012, lasted until 2014, and won approval from former leftist President Mauricio Funes and the Organization of American States. The pact was broken by public criticism that the deal was too beneficial to the gangs, which took advantage of less police pressure to rearm. The breakdown led to a record escalation of violence last year, with homicide rates skyrocketing to 103 per 100,000 inhabitants, the world's highest, because of fighting between the Mara Salvatrucha 13 and rival Barrio 18, authorities said. At the time of his arrest, Mijango was trying to promote a new truce. El Salvador's president, Salvador Sanchez Ceren, a 71-year-old former communist guerrilla, has taken a tough line on crime, deploying anti-gang army battalions and toughening up legislation to fight the Maras and their associates. (Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Writing by Enrique Pretel; Editing by Peter Cooney) By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - About one in five elderly U.S. men get invasive tests to look for prostate tumors even though they may not live long enough to benefit from treatment, a recent study suggests. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a government-backed panel of independent physicians, in 2008 recommended against routine prostate cancer tests for men at least 75 years old or with a limited life expectancy. The USPSTF cited concerns that widespread screening often caught harmless tumors that didnt need treatment and led to unnecessary procedures with side effects like impotence and incontinence. But when researchers reviewed data on 3,035 men over 65 who received prostate biopsies from urologists in Michigan in 2013 and 2014, they found 18 percent of these patients had a life expectancy of less than a decade. Some men with limited life expectancy may have needed biopsies because they had painful symptoms, said senior study author Dr. Khurshid Ghani of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Or, Ghani said, they may have had elevated blood levels of a substance called prostate-specific antigen (PSA). But PSA levels cant reliably distinguish between dangerous tumors and tumors that are growing so slowly that they dont need treatment, he added. Men with a limited life expectancy and a minimally elevated PSA, with no symptoms, and a normal prostate on clinical examination are unlikely to benefit from a biopsy, Ghani added by email. At least half of the men in the study were about 74 years old, and they were typically overweight. The men with limited life expectancy tended to be older and have more medical problems. Across 42 locations in Michigan that participated in the study, the proportion of biopsies done on men with limited life expectancy ranged from about 4 percent to 39 percent. Overall, 547 men with limited life expectancy received prostate biopsies, the researchers report in the journal European Urology. These men were a bit older and, compared to men with longer to live, they had significantly higher PSA levels as well as abnormal results from rectal exams, the study found. Biopsy results led to a prostate cancer diagnosis for 69 percent of men with limited life expectancy, and within this group 74 percent received treatment - but fewer than half had aggressive tumors. One limitation of the study is that some tools for estimating life expectancy can be cumbersome, and many doctors may not use them to determine whether patients needed biopsies, the authors note. Even so, older men also tend to have higher PSA levels and are more likely than younger men to have enlarged prostates for reasons that are benign or due to slow-growing tumors, said Dr. Victoria Tang of the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco VA Medical Center. Men with limited life expectancy should not be getting a prostate biopsy if a diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer will not improve the quality or length of life, Tang, who wasnt involved in the study, said by email. For these men, it makes sense for doctors to be selective about ordering a biopsy, said Dr. Quoc-Dien Trinh, a urologist at Brigham and Womens Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston who wasnt involved in the study. For example, I am not interested in diagnosing low-risk prostate cancer in a man who is 85 with three recent heart attacks, Trinh said by email. In a perfect world, doctors would be able to accurately pinpoint exactly how long it might take for tumors to have an effect on patients lives and objectively compare this to the competing risk of death from other causes, said Dr. Alexander Kutikov, a researcher at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia who wasnt involved in the study. In reality, we are still in the Wild West era with regard to our abilities to accurately assess risks surrounding each disease, Kutikov said by email. Indeed, predictive models for cancer prognosis and life expectancy are far from perfect, while effects of many treatments are not wholly known. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1X8OQHu European Urology, online April 22, 2016. Democratic progessive party leader Tsai Ing-wen attends to the talent competition of children with mental disabilities in Taiwan. [Photo/IC] Following Ma Ying-jeou's election in 2008, Taiwan endorsed the 1992 Consensus. Under this arrangement, both Taiwan and the Chinese mainland accept the principle of "one China", but each side holds its own interpretation of what that means. By doing so, Ma enabled cross-Straits relations to move forward. Negotiations between Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits re-opened for the first time in more than a decade. By 2016, senior cross-Straits officials from the two sides had met seven times and a total of 23 cross-Straits agreements had been signed. The number of direct cross-Straits flights soared from zero to 120 per day. Millions of mainland tourists visited Taiwan. And the mainland is now the island's largest trading partner. International observers praised the progress in cross-Straits relations. Support for the rapprochement was even enshrined in the 2010 National Security Strategy of the United States. Even US President Barack Obama declared:"I am very pleased with the reduction of tensions and the improvement in cross-Straits relations." Ma's solid achievements in cross-Straits relations represented a conundrum for Tsai Ing-wen's election campaign because her Democratic Progressive Party still supports "Taiwan's independence". An endorsement of the 1992 Consensus might have alienated key DPP constituencies. But an open abandonment of the 1992 Consensus would have provoked the mainland, frightened Taiwan compatriots and alarmed the global community. In order to cope with the challenge, Tsai opted to sidestep the issue by claiming to support the status quo and handle relations with the mainland in accordance with "the will of the Taiwan people" and "Taiwan constitution". Throughout her campaign, she refused to elaborate on her vague approach to cross-Straits relations. The election campaign is now over and Tsai will assume the island's leadership on May 20. She could use the opportunity to explicitly endorse the 1992 Consensus. And she has five reasons to do so. First, Tsai was careful not to reject the 1992 Consensus during her campaign. Rather, she described it as an "option". On May 20, Tsai will possess the power to choose or reject an option. Hopefully, she will choose wisely. LONDON (Reuters) - British private equity firm Electra (ELTA.L) said on Wednesday it made a total return of 15 percent in the six months ended March, helped by profit growth in its portfolio of companies. The Hotter Shoes owner said it would pay an interim dividend of 44 pence a share. Electra is undertaking a strategic review, including of the performance reporting of its companies, after activist investor Edward Bramson, who heads Sherborne Investors (SIGB.L), fought his way onto the board in 2015 after a bitter battle lasting almost two years. In January shareholder advisory firm PIRC said Electra's board was not independent enough after the appointment of U.S.-based Bramson and a supporter, Ian Brindle. Chairman Kate Barker told Reuters in a telephone interview that the board was seeking "a couple" more independent non-executive directors to address the issue. Electra has already appointed Neil Johnson, chairman of chemicals firm Synthomer (SYNTS.L), as non-executive chairman and director. Johnson is to join Electra on May 12, replacing Barker, who stood in as interim chair after Bramson's joining the board in November prompted the resignation of then Chairman Roger Yates. Barker added that the strategic review was expected to be completed in the autumn. Electra said it had invested 203 million pounds in the period, although the UK referendum on an exit from the European Union was hampering the pace of some transactions. "We've observed that the market is a little quieter because of it," Alex Fortescue, managing partner of Electra. "I think there are processes and transactions that have been put on hold pending the outcome. In terms of our portfolio, we don't see areas of key risk from a Brexit vote." Electra is building up its debt portfolio, which now stands at 59 million pounds, as part of a drive to build up its stable, cash-yielding assets. (Reporting by Freya Berry; editing by Mark Potter and Jason Neely) (Corrects first paragraph to show company has more than 28,000 stations, not 27,000) SAN FRANCISCO, May 3 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle charging network ChargePoint said on Tuesday it had received an additional $50 million in funding to allow the Silicon Valley company to expand beyond its more than 28,000 public charging stations. The new round of funding, led by Linse Capital, brings total funding ChargePoint has raised from investors to more than $164 million. ChargePoint, the world's largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network, is in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. It operates charging stations and provides cloud-based technology to property owners, governments and drivers, but does not own the stations themselves. It also sells a home charger. Despite regulators' attempts to urge car manufacturers to ramp up sales of electric cars to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the vehicles still face challenges from low gasoline prices, high battery costs and uncertain investment in recharging infrastructure. ChargePoint Chief Executive Pasquale Romano said growth will climb as more makes and models, from Tesla Motors Inc's upcoming Model 3 to the Chevy Bolt from General Motors Co , hit the market and appeal to a broader range of consumers. "Right now we've barely scratched the surface in penetration," said Romano, who added that the company was looking to enter Europe and Asia. "There aren't enough electric vehicles offered yet to fulfill everyone's personal lifestyle choices," Romano said. ChargePoint also said it had appointed as chairman its board member Bruce Chizen, the former CEO of software maker Adobe Systems Inc. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; Editing by Joseph White and Bill Rigby) Ellen DeGeneres has signed social-media star Tyler Oakley to a content-development pact, as part of the talk-show host and comedians new plan to grow her already enormous digital empire. The deal with Oakley comes with the launch of the Ellen Digital Network, a new umbrella brand encompassing all of her online content that will combine original programming and user-generated content. DeGeneres and Oakley are set to collaborate on a range of original digital projects with an aim toward developing projects for TV as well. Oakleys digital footprint includes more than 8 million YouTube subscribers, 6.2 million Instagram followers and 5.2 million on Twitter. In addition, the inaugural Ellen Digital Network programming slate features an original Damn, Daniel series for Snapchat; Ellens Pet Dish, an animated series featuring her pets from Warner Bros. digital production studio Blue Ribbon Content; a series starring 4-year-old whiz kid and viral sensation Brielle; and new episodes of tWitch & Allisons Dance Challenge. Im so excited for the Ellen Digital Network. Ill get to showcase amazing talents like Tyler Oakley and tWitch, DeGeneres said in announcing the new slate. Plus, Ill finally prove to the world that my pets can speak in human voices. The move by Ellen Digital Ventures, a partnership with Warner Bros. Television, builds on her status as one of the Internets top TV personalities and overall content creators online. Her properties include digital-video hub ellentube, The Ellen DeGeneres Show website at EllenTV.com, her official YouTube channel as well as a massive social-media fanbase. DeGeneres videos generated more than 500 million cross-platform views in March 2016, and have crested 1 billion in recent months, according to Tubular Labs. Ellens digital team announced the Ellen Digital Network at an event Wednesday in New York, timed to coincide with the two-week Digital Content NewFronts pitch-fest. The programming slate will provide advertising and brand-integration opportunities presented in a positive, high-quality environment, the company said. Story continues The new Ellen Digital Network programming slate includes: Damn, Daniel Boyz: Ellen teams up with the creators of Damn, Daniel, Joshua Holz and Daniel Lara, for an original series about the viral phenomenon debuting on Snapchat later this year. Ellens Pet Dish: Animated series chronicling her pets adventures, including sassy small talk and comedic commentary on clips from The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Shes Brielle-iant: Series for ellentube features Brielle Milla, the 4-year-old fan favorite from The Ellen DeGeneres Show, showcasing her smarts on topics including the periodic table, the human body and world geography. tWitch & Allisons Dance Challenge: Six young dancers go head-to-head in dance-competition series on ellentube hosted and judged by choreographers Stephen tWitch Boss (the DJ for The Ellen DeGeneres Show) and his wife, Allison Holker of Dancing with the Stars. The kids are vying for a chance to perform on an episode of Ellen. #MadeByYou: Weekly series featuring user-submitted clips, ranging from sleepy pets to mess-making toddlers, on ellentube. Epic or Fail: Ellens favorite game to play on her show has become a new series for ellentube, hosted by shorts-wearing Ellen staffer Andy Zenor, showcasing user-generated videos and letting viewers play along in real time. Ellen Digital Ventures, founded in 2014, is led by Jill Braff, who serves as general manager and works with Ellen show executive producers Mary Connelly, Ed Glavin, Andy Lassner and Kevin A. Leman II. On YouTube, TheEllenShow channel averages more than 300 million views per month from its nearly 16 million subscribers. On Twitter @TheEllenShow has more than 59 million followers and she has 24 million fans on Facebook for her show. Shes also huge on Instagram (28 million followers), Snapchat (average of 1 million views per day) and Vine (3.5 million followers). Related stories Webby Awards 2016 Winners: Netflix, HBO, the Onion, Tyler Oakley, Michelle Obama Pick Up Awards Discovery CEO David Zaslav, Timbaland, Tyler Oakley to Headline Variety's Entertainment & Technology Summit Michelle Obama, Netflix Among 2016 Webby Nominees BRASILIA, May 4 (Reuters) - Most Latin American currencies retreated on Wednesday as economic growth worries weighed on global markets for a second day, although the Brazilian real gained as the central bank stayed clear of intervening. Mexico's stock index underperformed other bourses in the region, falling nearly 1 percent after U.S. data showed private hiring in Mexico's largest trading partner fell in April to its lowest level in three years. The Bovespa stock index and the broader MSCI LatAm index had small gains, after a brief decline at the start of the trading session. Lackluster manufacturing data from across the world, including China, had already weighed on emerging market stocks and currencies this week, after three months of steady gains. The downbeat mood contrasted with findings of a Reuters poll showing most strategists saw emerging currencies holding their ground against the U.S. dollar throughout this year. Forecasts were revised up across the board, after two months of strong portfolio inflows into emerging markets. The Brazilian real was the only currency in Latin America to advance against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday. The real had the best performance among the 35 currencies most traded in the world, according to Thomson Reuters data, edging closer to eight-month highs by rising more than 1 percent. In equities markets, non-voting shares in miner Vale SA lost more than 5 percent after Brazilian prosecutors announced a $155 billion-real ($43.5 billion) civil lawsuit for the collapse of a dam last year. Shares in Brazilian airline Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA jumped 13 percent, their biggest intraday gain in over five weeks, after proposing investors to take losses of up to 70 percent on $780 million of outstanding bonds. Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1555 GMT: Stock indexes daily % YTD % Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 811.73 -1.14 3.39 MSCI LatAm 2188.74 0.02 19.59 Brazil Bovespa 52560.64 0.57 21.25 Mexico IPC 45201.43 -0.98 5.17 Chile IPSA 3991.90 -0.24 8.47 Chile IGPA 19633.75 -0.2 8.17 Argentina MerVal 13269.15 0.78 13.65 Colombia IGBC 9733.47 -0.3 13.88 Venezuela IBC 15382.33 0.52 5.44 Currencies daily % YTD % change change Latest Brazil real 3.5308 1.10 11.79 Mexico peso 17.7090 -0.45 -2.70 Chile peso 670.1 -0.19 5.91 Colombia peso 2940.97 -0.95 7.76 Peru sol 3.3309 0.03 2.49 Argentina peso (interbank) 14.2200 -0.07 -8.70 Argentina peso (parallel) 14.63 0.21 -2.46 (Reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) From Esquire INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA-In the failing light of Monday evening, Bernie Sanders spoke to the latest of his mass rallies. It was held in the long shadow of this city's massive monument to the soldiers from Indiana who fought in all of America's wars, from the capture of Vincennes by George Rogers Clark in the Revolution, to the capture of Cuba from Spain. It was a rally like so many others, raggedy millennial goatees and long gray ponytails gathered to hear what they wanted to hear from this most unlikely messenger, a 74-year-old senator from a whiter-than-white state. "Our ideas are the future of America. Our ideas are the future of the Democratic Party." It is worth considering whether or not he is right about this. As flawed a candidate as she is, Hillary Rodham Clinton has run a strong and decent campaign for president. If she wins the nomination, as seems increasingly likely, she will have deserved to win it. (Of course, this also means that she will run for president against He, Trump, which nobody deserves, but that's the way things go this year.) Nevertheless, HRC truly should be the last presidential candidate to be produced by the party dynamic that emerged in the aftermath of Walter Mondale's disastrous candidacy in 1984, and which gained strength throughout the 1980s and eventually reached its culmination in the presidency of Bill Clinton. One of the lasting institutions produced by that dynamic is the concept of superdelegates to the Democratic National Convention. Repeatedly on the stump, Sanders has railed against this system as having been designed to frustrate insurgent candidacies like his. There is no real argument to be mustered against this because Sanders is absolutely right. For more than 40 years, the Democratic party has had an existential terror of insurgent candidacies. The system was designed precisely in order to maintain party discipline from the top down. Democratic panjandrums were terrified of how George McGovern had "hijacked" the convention rules process at the end of the 1960s; those changes helped produce McGovern's own nomination in 1972. The results of that election struck terror in the heart of the leadership of the party. It kickstarted the New Democrat movement that produced the Democratic Leadership Council-which, ultimately, produced Bill Clinton. In between, however, the institutional Democratic Party committed itself to predictable, safe politics. It invented Super Tuesday in order to maximize the influence of conservative southern Democrats, only to have Jesse Jackson demolish that strategy in 1988. For more than 40 years, the Democratic party has had an existential terror of insurgent candidacies. Story continues In fact, it thoroughly reinvented itself principally to eliminate the possibility. In 2008, finally, Barack Obama and his campaign found ways to hack the system from within because the institutions of the party had made it virtually impossible to do it from outside. Meanwhile, of course, due to the gradual encroachment of the prion disease into its higher functions, the Republican Party apparatus became nothing but insurgencies, one after another-from Pat Buchanan submarining George H.W. Bush to the rise this year of He, Trump. This produced a serious enthusiasm imbalance between the two parties. On MSNBC yesterday, John Heilemann interviewed Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the mysteriously still-employed chairman of the DNC, and he pressed her on whether or not Sanders was right about the functions of the superdelegates. DWS ducked and dodged, clinging to the notion that the rules are the rules, and that all the candidates knew the rules when the process began, etc. etc. This is all true, and it's not what Heilemann asked. He asked for the purpose of the superdelegate system. The purpose of the system is to eliminate the possibility of insurgent candidacies like the one mustered this year by Bernie Sanders. There was something elegiac about the rally in Indianapolis, the usual talking points a little bluesier than usual as the sun fell on the last night of the campaign. There are calls in the wider world for Sanders to drop out of the race, or at least to temper his attacks on the putative nominee lest he somehow convince undecided voters to hand the Republic over to a vulgar talking yam. There is no reason for him to do so. The polls are relatively close in Indiana and, even if they weren't, his voters deserve a chance to vote for him, whether that is futile or not, because what they say matters. Night falls on us all. Ultimately, damn his eyes, Dylan Thomas was more right than he knew. Click here to respond to this post on the official Esquire Politics Facebook page. What to Expect from ETEs, ETPs, and SXLs 1Q16 Earnings (Continued from Prior Part) Energy Transfer Equitys market performance Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) is among the most-talked-about companies in the midstream energy sector following its merger agreement with Williams Companies (WMB). Its lost 5.8% of its market value since the beginning of 2016 and 61.3% in the past year. Williams Companies has lost 61.6% in the past year. ETEs subsidiaries, Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) and Sunoco Logistics Partners (SXL), have returned 1.3% and 10.0% in 2016. At the same time, the Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP), which comprises 24 midstream energy MLPs, has returned -0.2%. Together, ETP and SXL form 15.5% of AMLP. Uncertainties surrounding the ETE-WMB merger ETEs loss can be attributed to uncertainties surrounding the pending merger. Below is the series of events since the merger announcement in September. A fall in energy prices raised questions about the deals timing. ETEs replacement of its CFO, Jamie Welch, the main architect behind the ETE-WMB deal, raised concerns about the deals prospects. Later, Welch reportedly called WMB shareholders and urged them to vote against the deal in its current form. Markets speculated that ETE wanted to pull out of the deal. ETE lowered its expected merger synergies. Williams filed a lawsuit against ETEs private offering. ETE has won a motion in Delaware Court to expedite litigation against ETE. ETE said in an S-4 filing that the transaction might not qualify as an exchange but as reorganization, which could result in tax liabilities for WMBs shareholders. Keeping in mind the above uncertainties, investors will likely look for any merger updates in the 1Q16 earnings announcement. 1Q16 distributions ETE declared a distribution of $0.29 per unit for 1Q16 on April 26a 16% year-over-year increase from 1Q15. The partnership rallied following the distribution announcement. Investors might have anticipated a distribution cut. Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) declared a distribution of $1.055 per unit for 1Q16, which represents a 3.9% increase from 1Q15. Story continues ETEs and ETPs distribution remained flat compared to the previous quarter. On the other hand, Sunoco Logistics Partners (SXL) distribution continued to grow for the forty-fourth consecutive quarter. SXL declared a distribution of $0.489 per common unit for the first quarter of 2016a 17% year-over-year increase from 1Q15 and a sequential increase of 2.1%. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - Pipeline company Energy Transfer Equity has rejected two possible solutions that rival Williams Cos Inc hoped would resolve tax issues that Energy Transfer believed threatened their $17 billion tie-up. Energy Transfer said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday that Williams has proposed two alternative structures for the deal. Williams believes the new structures would allow Energy Transfer's lawyers to issue a tax opinion that is needed for the deal to close. But Energy Transfer said it does not believe the merger agreement requires it to restructure the deal. It also said the suggested changes would still create substantial risks of material taxation if the deal is completed. Williams has alleged that ETE is looking into ways to walk away from the tie-up even though the terms of the deal would not allow that. The companies have yet to schedule a vote of Williams' shareholders that is needed to ratify the deal. Williams is suing ETE in Delaware to stop a controversial offering of preferred shares to its top shareholders. It has also sued Energy Transfer's Chief Executive Kelcy Warren in Texas over the same offering. ETE said on Wednesday it has countersued Williams in Delaware, alleging that the company breached its obligations under the merger agreement by blocking a proposed public offering and suing Warren in Texas. Dallas billionaire Warren set his sights on Williams last year in order to transform his empire into one of the biggest pipeline networks in the world but the timing was poor. A prolonged drop in oil and gas prices made the deal more difficult to finance and to justify to shareholders. ETE would need to take on a heavy debt load to fund the $6 billion cash portion of the deal. Representatives for Williams declined to comment. (Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Bernadette Baum) ROME Italian composer Ennio Morricone, winner of this years original-score Oscar for Quentin Tarantinos The Hateful Eight, has cancelled several European tour dates due to back problems. The 87-year-old maestro with more than 500 movie credits to this name has two collapsed spinal vertebrae, according to a statement issued by Romes Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Orchestra. He was scheduled to perform three concerts featuring his compositions with Santa Cecilia and its chorus on May 22, 23, and 24 in Romes Auditorium Parco della Musica venue. The Santa Cecilia statement specified that doctors have told Morricone, who has been prone to back injuries for years, that he will be unable to perform until the end of June. I am very sorry, but these concerts will be rescheduled as soon as possible, the statement quoted Morricone as saying. Prior to winning his first competitive Oscar this year, Morricone had previously received an honorary Oscar in 2007, the second composer in Oscar history to accomplish that. His most notables scores include The Mission, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in America, Days of Heaven, The Untouchables and Bugsy. Related stories Oscar-Winning Composer Ennio Morricone Reflects on His Long Career Italy Cheers Ennio Morricone's Oscar Win for 'The Hateful Eight' Score Legendary Composer Ennio Morricone Wins Original Score Oscar for 'Hateful Eight' LVRM to Supply 100,000 Pounds per Month of Product PHOENIX, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2016 / Epic Stores, Corp. ("Epic" or the "Company") (EPSC), a second-hand goods retailer that operates retail stores in the United States, today announced a new product supply relationship with the Las Vegas Rescue Mission. Under terms of the agreement, the Las Vegas Rescue Mission (LVRM) expects to supply approximately 100,000 pounds per month of quality clothing, furniture, and miscellaneous product to our Las Vegas and Phoenix markets. The relationship will eliminate a majority of the wholesale product supply Epic has sourced previously and will ensure a higher level of quality product at both a favorable and consistent price level. "The Las Vegas Rescue Mission strives to be a model in the Las Vegas communities for hope and change with those in need," commented Brian Davidson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Epic Stores Corp. "The Mission was founded in 1970 to help those homeless and hungry. We could not be happier about working with an organization that has such deep roots in the Las Vegas community." The agreement will provide Epic with consistent higher quality inventory compared to prior sourcing agreements. The Las Vegas Rescue Mission will receive a predictable revenue stream to help it execute its charitable efforts. "We believe this arrangement will help both Epic and the Mission, as well as our customers," added Mr. Davidson. "This is exactly the kind of win-win-win scenario we seek to create as we continue to identify ways to serve our communities." About Epic Stores Corp. Epic is a second hand goods retailer that operates second hand retail stores in the United States. Based in Phoenix, Arizona, the company offers high quality, on-trend second hand clothing, accessories and household products at affordable prices. As of March 31, 2016, the company employed 165 employees and operated 10 retail stores in four states. Founded in 2010, Epic opened its first retail store in Phoenix, Arizona. Since that time, the company has opened additional stores in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and Texas. All of the retail stores sell products directly to consumers. The company also operates a leading wholesale business that supplies used shoes, books and clothing to distributors. Story continues Forward-Looking Statements The information in this press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Forward-looking statements often include words such as "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "projects," "intends," "plans," "believes" and words and terms of similar substance in connection with discussions of future operating or financial performance. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: (i) the adequacy of the Company's liquidity to meet its needs for the foreseeable future, (ii) the benefits expected to be recognized in connection with retail and whole sales, (iii) the Company's expectation that the current market conditions will continue. The Company's forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's business and performance, the economy and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances and results. As with any projection or forecast, forward-looking statements are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. The Company's actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in its forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The Company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or otherwise. Company Contacts Brian Davidson President and CEO Epic Stores Corp. Tel (623) 565-5758 Investor Relations Brett Maas Managing Partner Hayden IR Tel (646) 536-7331 brett@haydenir.com SOURCE: Epic Stores Corp. By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Greater disclosure of all the capital requirements faced by banks would reinforce financial stability and reassure investors no hidden dangers lurk on balance sheets, a top European Union banking regulator said on Wednesday. Andrea Enria, chairman of the European Banking Authority (EBA), said the global financial crisis following the collapse of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers in 2008 showed how opacity could destabilise markets. He said in a speech in London that while new rules have increased transparency for investors and increased market discipline on lenders, regulators should go further and publish data about the extra capital they have asked banks to hold. "Perfect knowledge and transparency are preconditions for competitive markets," Enria said in a speech in London. Under so-called Basel capital rules, banks have to hold a minimum amount of capital, known as Pillar 1. Regulators may then ask some banks to hold more capital depending on their positions and market exposure, known as Pillar 2. Enria said requiring banks to issue bonds that can be "bailed in" or written down in a crisis means that investors need more information to price such debt. "The question is, therefore, whether supervisory decisions on, for instance, Pillar 2 requirements and actions possibly triggering the suspension of payments to stakeholders should be transparent," Enria said. Some regulators are leery of publishing Pillar 2 data. The traditional view among regulators is that releasing such sensitive information could generate instability and possibly lead to a bank run, he said. "I believe that an open debate on pros and cons of unveiling supervisory decisions is necessary and cannot be delayed," Enria said. Uncertainty over Pillar 2 decisions may be affecting market valuations of lenders, and contributing to confusion among investors, as seen during sharp sell offs earlier this year in banking shares, Enria said. "If market participants are unable to compare and contrast the situation of banks vis-a-vis a specific risk, they are naturally inclined to think the worst of each and every bank," Enria said. Story continues The EBA is overseeing this year's stress tests of top banks but as there will be a smaller sample than in previous tests, the watchdog may opt for annual publication of bank-by-bank data for a wider set of lenders, Enria said. He envisaged a "central repository" of broad bank data on the watchdog's website. "This is what is already happening in the United States, and we should aim at achieving at least the same results in the single market," Enria said. (Editing by David Clarke) Brussels (AFP) - The European Commission is likely to shoot down Telefonica's blockbuster sale of British telecom giant O2 to Hong Kong group Hutchison on fears it would inflict higher prices on British consumers, a source told AFP on Wednesday. "We expect European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager to block the sale," said a source close to the matter, indicating that a decision was expected this month. A spokesman for the commission declined to comment, saying only that the EU's executive branch has until May 19 to hand down a ruling. Hutchison is controlled by one of the richest men in Asia, Li Ka-shing, and his buyout of O2 from Spain's Telefonica for A10.25 billion (14 billion euros; $15.2 billion) would create Britain's biggest mobile phone company. In case of approval of the deal by Brussels, it would be especially sensitive as it could revive accusations in the UK of meddling by the EU ahead of a June 23 referendum on whether Britain will remain in the bloc. It would also be a major setback for telecom companies in Europe which have lobbied Brussels to relax anti-trust rules in order to unify a highly-fragmented market and boost investment. Crucially, such a deal would reduce the national market in Britain to three players from four, in a downsized landscape the EU believes hurts competition. Hutchison owns operator Three and hopes to merge the company with O2. Last year, Scandinavian groups TeliaSonera and Telenor abandoned plans to merge their Danish mobile operations ahead of an almost-certain veto by the EU's anti-trust chief. Vestager, the former Danish economy minister, has already grabbed headlines for taking on Internet giant Google over anti-trust violations on its search engine and Android mobile phone platform. Hutchison and Telefonica in March offered concessions to push through the deal. Telefoncia's debt stood at 50.2 billion euros at the end of March and the company is looking to the deal to shore up its finances after years of spending billions of euros in acquisitions and capital investments. Story continues "We think that the strictly legal analysis will justify a clear decision," Telefonica CEO Jose Maria Alvarez said last week when the company presented its first quarter results. "But a negative decision cannot be disregarded, probably due to political reasons especially in the context of 'Brexit', which is basically contaminating all debates, and also the strong opposition shown by the national regulatory authorities," he added. If the sale of O2 foundered, the company would find other solutions, including new buyers for the company, he said. Shares in Telefonica closed down 1.58 percent at 9.10 euros. Luxembourg (AFP) - The EU's top court on Wednesday ruled that the bloc's new laws on plain tobacco packaging and a ban on menthol cigarettes were legal, rejecting a challenge by tobacco giant Philip Morris and others. Philip Morris, maker of iconic brands such as Marlboro, and the Polish government had lodged appeals against a tobacco directive adopted by the 28-nation European Union in 2014. "The new EU directive on tobacco products is valid," the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice said. "The extensive standardisation of packaging, the future EU-wide prohibition on menthol cigarettes and the special rules for electronic cigarettes are lawful." EU laws stating that standardised health warnings with a colour photograph must cover 65 percent of the front and back of cigarette packets are due to come into force at the end of this month, while the menthol ban will start from 2020. The tobacco directive opened the door for some countries including France and Britain to introduce plans for plain packaging. But Philip Morris and fellow maker British American Tobacco had lodged a case in the British courts criticising the packaging requirement and challenging the introduction of plain packs. Philip Morris said the judgement still did not mean plain packs were legal, adding that the court often showed showed "substantial deference" to EU law. - 'Product that kills people' - "The court has not considered whether plain packaging is legal or is capable of reducing smoking rates," senior vice president Marc Firestone said in a statement. "Those questions are currently under review by the English High Court and the World Trade Organization." But the European Commissioner for Health, Vytenis Andriukaitis, said the ruling would protect Europeans from the "terrible consequences tobacco causes". "This is a very important ruling, confirming once again the fundamental principle enshrined in the EU law -- the high level of health protection prevails over the profit that is done from trading a product that kills people," he said. Story continues Philip Morris and BAT had argued that the rules distorted the EU's single market and undercut consumer choice. But the EU court upheld the union's insistence that cigarette packaging should not "promote a tobacco product or encourage its consumption". It said the rules big health warnings "did not go beyond the limits of what is appropriate and necessary". Plain packaging, meanwhile, could "protect consumers against the risks associated with tobacco use and does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objective pursued". The court also rejected Poland's appeal against the ban on flavoured cigarettes, including menthol cigarettes. Romania had backed Poland's case. Flavoured cigarettes were a key factor in "initiating tobacco consumption and sustaining tobacco use", the court said, asserting that "menthol, by its pleasant flavour, makes tobacco products more attractive to consumers". The EU court further rejected a challenge against regulations on electronic cigarettes, including cross-border sales within the bloc, which was brought by a firm in Britain. "Submitting electronic cigarettes to a notification scheme does not seem manifestly inappropriate," the court said. The rulings had been expected as the senior lawyer to the EU court had said in December that the new laws were "proportionate". By Gabriela Baczynska and Alastair Macdonald BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union asked member states on Wednesday to grant visa-free travel to Turks in return for Ankara stopping migrants reaching Europe, but insisted Turkey must still change some laws and said it would get no "free ride". Lawmakers in the European Parliament, which along with a majority of the 28 EU governments must approve the measure if it is to take effect as Ankara wants within two months, warned that they would not vote it through until Turkey met every condition, including narrowing the scope of crimes it defines as terrorism. Governments anxious to allay public fears of a wave of immigrants from Turkey itself secured a new emergency brake to apply to all countries with visa-free travel to Europe's 26-nation Schengen zone. The EU executive stressed that only Turks with biometric passports containing facial and fingerprint data can benefit, though Turkey will only start issuing such documents later this year. The deputy head of the European Commission defended its proposals as well as plans to expand EU membership negotiations; they upheld a deal with Ankara that has helped cut migrant arrivals in Greece to dozens a day from thousands and were also a way of reversing a worsening rights situation in Turkey. "There is no free ride here," Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans told reporters, stressing that Ankara must still meet five of 72 criteria the EU imposes on states exempt from visas. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed confidence that Ankara would satisfy the criteria. "I believe that, given the progress Turkey has made on other points, there is a realistic chance that those points still outstanding will be fulfilled," she said. This week was effectively a deadline for the Commission to issue its formal recommendation on visas if it is to satisfy Ankara by July. Otherwise the migrant deal would be at risk. Feuds over the migration crisis reared their head again when a separate proposal from the Commission to spread asylum seekers around the EU according to quotas backed by effective fines for non-compliance were denounced as "blackmail" and a "dead end" by ministers from the ex-communist east who refuse to accept refugees. RIGHTS Member states, led by Germany which took in most of the 1.3 million refugees and migrants who reached Europe across the Mediterranean last year, have already mostly accepted that the visa-free regime for Turks is part of the price for what many see as the best chance for a sharp reduction in those arriving. But qualms about Turkey's treatment of some migrants and some of its own citizens notably from the Kurdish minority, as well as President Tayyip Erdogan's crackdown on the media, have fueled resistance to concessions in the European Parliament. A joint statement from the legislature on the visa issue said there would be no short-cuts in an approval procedure which officials say would normally take several weeks. Turkey's minister for EU relations, Volkan Bozkir, said he believed all 72 criteria had already been met and he hoped the process could be completed on schedule by the end of June. "There is still work to be done as a matter of urgency," the EU's Timmermans said. "But if Turkey sustains the progress made, they can meet the remaining benchmarks." Turkey agreed in March to take back any migrant who reach Greek islands by boat after paying human traffickers in return for EU cash for refugees and pledges to take to Europe directly some of the 2.7 million Syrians now on its soil. That deal was driven by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu while Erdogan kept his distance from promises of travel freedom many Turks would relish but doubt will be honored. "I hope they'll end visa requirements and everybody will travel freely but I don't believe it will be the case," travel agent Atalay Yasar said as he waited in line in Istanbul to apply for Schengen visas for his customers. Worried that anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim parties which have surged across the EU could capitalize on fears of impending visa freedoms, not just for 79 million Turks, but also for 45 million Ukrainians as well as people from Georgia and Kosovo, France and Germany have pushed for tighter controls. The Commission proposed amending the regulation that governs all EU visa-free schemes, giving it powers to suspend the waiver quickly if, say, large numbers overstay their 90-day allowance. Britain, which votes next month in a referendum on quitting the EU, is exempt from the visa and asylum quota systems. (Additional reporting by Gulsen Solaker in Ankara, Jan Lopatka in Prague, Gergely Szakacs in Budapest, Gernot Heller in Meseberg, Germany, and Seda Sezer and Melih Aslan in Istanbul; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Mark Heinrich) BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The largest political group in the European Parliament said on Wednesday it wants a greater proportion of EU carbon permits to be handed out free to industry from 2020. EU politicians are debating how to reform the Emissions Trading System (ETS). The scheme is designed to make big polluters pay for their emissions but a surplus of carbon credits following the economic crisis has crushed the market. Under the current ETS trading phase, which runs from 2013 to 2020, the majority of allowances are sold via government auctions, with most of the remainder given free to industry. The European Commission's reform for post-2020 proposes fixing the auction share at 57 percent of the total allowances, meaning a maximum of 43 percent would go free to industry. Lawmakers from the European People's Party (EPP) are calling for the share of free allocations to be higher than the 43 percent proposed by the EU executive. The overall cap on permits would not change, however, limiting the impact on trading. The hand outs are a concession worth billions of euros designed to help shelter factories and plants from added energy costs that they say could drive them out of Europe. EPP lawmakers admitted their proposal may face opposition from member states that are keen to keep the revenues raised from carbon credit auctions. The lawmakers say the change is to help avoid a trigger mechanism known as the correction factor that cuts free permits to industry across the board to ensure the total meted out by member states does not exceed that allowed under EU law. An EPP position paper, seen by Reuters, did not specify by how much it would like to raise the free allowance share. "You need a couple percentage points in order to create the room that you need," Dutch deputy Esther de Lange said. Energy intensive industries have argued that the correction factor strips them of promised permits, even for some of the best performing plants from an emissions point of view. "Those sectors that are most vulnerable ... should be protected 100 percent so it is one of our main objectives to avoid that the cross-sectoral correction factor is triggered," EPP member Ivo Belet said. The group said it was against accelerating overall carbon reductions, or moving to a more differentiated system for how permits are handed out to industry, which are other reform options floated last week in the parliament. (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; editing by David Clarke) By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed a system to distribute asylum seekers across the EU on Wednesday that aims to ease the load on states like Greece and Italy but drew immediate condemnation from governments in Eastern Europe. The European Union executive published legislative proposals to reform the so-called Dublin system of EU asylum rules that includes a "fairness mechanism" under which each of the 28 states would be assigned a percentage quota of all asylum seekers in the bloc that it would be expected to handle. The quotas would reflect national population and wealth and, if a country found itself handling 50 percent more than its due share, it could relocate people elsewhere in the bloc. States could refuse to take people for a year -- but only if they paid another country 250,000 euros per person to accommodate them. "There is no a la carte solidarity in this Union," First Vice President Frans Timmermans told reporters. "This is a way to be able to show solidarity in a situation where ... you are not able to take the refugees which were allocated to you." But at a meeting in Prague, ministers from Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic all repeated their opposition to the idea of relocation: "It makes no sense, it violates EU member states' rights," Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak told reporters. Hungary's foreign minister called it "blackmail". A two-year emergency relocation scheme was set up last year as Greece struggled to cope with the chaotic arrival of nearly a million people, many of them Syrian refugees, most of whom reached Germany. It was agreed over the furious objections of several central and eastern states, two of whom, Hungary and Slovakia, are contesting the quota system in the EU courts. In fact, only 1,441 asylum seekers have been relocated out of the 160,000 allowed for under the current temporary scheme. The proposals, which also include measures to speed up the process of handling asylum claims and tighter controls on the movements of migrants themselves, need backing from governments and the European Parliament -- a process that officials expect to be an uphill battle and involve many amendments. Germany, the bloc's main paymaster and destination for the bulk of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, has pushed hard for a permanent relocation system and has voiced frustration with the refusal of governments in the east who benefit the most from EU subsidies to take in asylum seekers. Poland, Hungary and other formerly communist states say immigration, especially from the Muslim cultures of the Middle East, would disrupt their homogeneous societies. Governments also object to paying as an alternative to taking people in. A similar proposal last year to set a payment of 0.002 percent of GDP was not taken up in the temporary scheme. The Commission did not issue its quota figures. Last year's tables gave Germany a roughly 18 percent share, France 14 percent, Poland 5.6 percent and Hungary 1.8 percent. "CONTROVERSIAL" Any reform of the system, from which Britain, Ireland and Denmark are exempt, will require majority approval by EU governments. But senior officials say EU leaders will try to avoid forcing a deal through over strong minority objections, as happened with the temporary relocation scheme last September. Even the authors of the proposal admit it is "sensitive" and "controversial" but hope it bridges diverging expectations from member states, EU sources said. Splits between east and west, north and south over migration have posed one of the biggest challenges the European Union has faced and leaders' main hope is that a new deal with Turkey to hold down the numbers arriving can take the heat out of a debate that has seen nationalist parties surge in polls across Europe. Italy has led a push for reform of a Dublin system that gives responsibility for handling asylum claims to the first country migrants arrive in. The Commission last month floated a possibility of scrapping that in favor of a central EU system but has now favored the relocation system. Chaotic movements of migrants, including many allowed by Italy and Greece to head north without being registered, have thrown the bloc's cherished Schengen system of open borders into disarray, with governments putting up new barriers to travel. EU officials hope that the deal with Turkey, from where the bulk of 1.3 million people reached Europe last year, will stem the flow and allow the Union to regain control of its external borders and hence restore order in the Schengen area. Also on Wednesday, Brussels was expected to confirm a lifting of visa restrictions on Turks as part of the deal with Ankara. The EU is offering to take in refugees directly from Turkey, which hosts 2.7 million Syrians, and such resettlements would be taken into account in countries' quotas for relocation. (Editing by Alastair Macdonald) By Pia Oppel and Martinne Geller LUXEMBOURG/LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union's highest court on Wednesday upheld a tough EU law that will standardize cigarette packs, ban menthol flavoring and restrict e-cigarette advertising, paving the way for its adoption this month and dealing a blow to Big Tobacco. The European Court of Justice's rejection of a legal challenge brought by Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco (BAT) could weigh on profits for the industry and sets a precedent for other governments to crack down on a habit that causes nearly six million deaths a year worldwide. "The court finds that, in providing that each unit packet and the outside packaging must carry health warnings ... the EU legislature did not go beyond the limits of what is appropriate and necessary," the court said in its decision, which reflected the opinion a court adviser had published in December. The legal challenge, which was also supported by Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Brands, can now be taken no further and the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) will take effect on 20 May, though wholesalers and retailers will be given a year's grace to sell stocks manufactured before that date. The TPD will ban menthol cigarettes by 2020, standardize packs and impose rules on e-cigarettes, such as limits on nicotine strength, tank size and advertising. The court also said that member states may introduce further packaging requirements, such as the "plain packaging" measures proposed in Britain, France and Ireland. These regulations, aimed at reducing the lure of smoking by forcing tobacco to be sold in uniformly drab packs with no branding, are due to come into force in the UK on 20 May, though the English High Court is expected to rule on another legal challenge brought by the tobacco companies in the coming weeks. Action on Smoking and Health, an advocacy group, said the decision was "welcome if not surprising." Japan Tobacco International, a leading player in the UK with brands such as Benson & Hedges and Camel, said the ruling "endorses the proliferation of different regulations for the same product" and "brings additional confusion." aleppo Violence in Syria's largest city has escalated so dramatically that hospitals there are being forced "to choose patients to save because there aren't enough doctors to treat everyone," a surgeon there wrote on Wednesday. The epicenter of Syria's brutal civil war shifted decisively last week to the divided city of Aleppo. There, warplanes loyal to the government have been dropping bombs with "such ferocity that even the stones are catching fire," Osama Abo El Ezz, the Aleppo coordinator for the Syrian American Medical Society, wrote in a New York Times op-ed. "As one of the few remaining doctors in Syria, I have watched the 'cessation of hostilities' that was agreed on in February crumble," El Ezz said, referring to a truce between government and rebel forces brokered by the US and Russia just over two months ago in Geneva. He continued: "We know that for the community we serve we represent a last hope, the final defenders of life in this city. But we are also among the fallen. We have all lost medical brothers and sisters to barrel bombs and missile strikes, but we keep on working through the night." People inspect the damage at the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo, April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail An airstrike on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo last week prompted international outcry as the fragile ceasefire collapsed and the city erupted in a new wave of violence, which has resulted in a "catastrophic deterioration" of the city. Under a new ceasefire arrangement, US and Russian military officials "will be sitting at the same table" at a coordination center in Geneva to monitor and document any violations of the truce, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday, in a news conference from Moscow with the UN's envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura. Story continues The truce will include Aleppo moving forward. But Jeff White, a military analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that the plan "likely won't hold up." "This is a military-technical fix to what is essentially a political-strategic problem," White tweeted. "Also, it seems that Russia has succeeded in getting the US officially involved in its (and regime) operations in Syria." Indeed, Russia a staunch ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad initially refused to include Aleppo in the cessation of hostilities agreement because of Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra's presence in parts of the city, which it used to justify the continued airstrikes. As a result, joint US-Russian efforts to end regime bombardments there have largely been made on Moscow's terms. aleppo At least 250 people have been killed in Aleppo since April 22, including at least 40 children. Aleppo's last pediatrician, Dr. Muhammad Mo'az, was killed in the strike on Al-Quds hospital. His final moments were captured on CCTV cameras just before the hospital was reduced to rubble. "We are running out of coffins to bury our friends, family and colleagues," El Ezz wrote. Government forces, while able to inflict larger-scale massacres with airstrikes, are not exclusively to blame. At least three people were killed and 17 wounded when rebels shelled a maternity clinic in a government-held area of Aleppo on Tuesday, in the sixth assault on a medical facility in the city in less than a week. The violence forced the city to cancel its Friday prayers "for the first time in Aleppo's centuries-long history" last week. It prompted Lina Sergie, an activist from Aleppo, to "think that perhaps we have crossed a line" in the war "that has never been crossed before." Indeed, many in the besieged city have already lost hope and are now simply "waiting for death," El Ezz wrote. "Some people even pray for its swift arrival to take them away from this burning city." NOW WATCH: Syrian refugees dressing up as Disney princesses perfectly captures how they dream for better lives More From Business Insider NEW YORK Donald Trump scored a landslide victory in Indianas Republican presidential primary Tuesday, dealing a knockout blow to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who abruptly ended his campaign, making the real estate mogul turned insurgent candidate the partys likely nominee this November. Just one other Republican remained in the race: Ohio Gov. John Kasich, whose advisers said he would continue to campaign. But with Kasich mathematically eliminated from amassing a majority of delegates, Trump claimed the mantle of the partys presumptive nominee a position endorsed by Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, who formally called on the party to unite behind Trump. Its been an unbelievable day and evening and year, Trump told reporters at an election night event at Trump Tower. I didnt expect this. The usually rambunctious candidate was relatively low key, as he pointedly thanked Cruz a fierce rival whom he had trashed just hours before as a wacko who cant function under pressure. But after Cruz exited the race, Trump omitted his usual nickname, Lyin Ted, and instead praised the Texas senator as a tough competitor who has an amazing future ahead of him. I dont know if he likes me or doesnt like me, but he is one hell of a competitor, Trump said. Surrounded by family, Donald Trump speaks at an election night event May 3 at Trump Tower in New York. (Photo: Mary Altaffer/AP) For Trump, it was a stunning victory in a state that had been projected as favorable to Cruz as recently as two weeks ago. But Trump came into the state with six straight victories, including last weeks sweep of five Northeastern states, including Pennsylvania. It gave him a momentum that Cruz was unable to reverse, despite his unusual move of naming a running mate former rival Carly Fiorina in hopes of gaining steam. But the gamble failed. Based on early returns and exit polls, Trump looked to claim all of Indianas 57 delegates, pushing his overall total to well above 1,000. Trump needs 1,237 to clinch the nomination and avoid a contested party convention in Cleveland in July a total he is expected to lock up by the California primary on June 7, when 172 delegates are up for grabs. Aides said he would continue to campaign in upcoming primary states until he reaches the magic number. Story continues The results called into question the fate of Kasich, who, along with Cruz, had been pressing forward in hopes of pushing Trump into a contested party convention. Also unknown was the impact Trumps Indiana win would have on the #NeverTrump movement and other outside groups trying to stop the real estate mogul. At Trump Tower, Corey Lewandowski, Trumps campaign manager, dismissed the #NeverTrump movement as a passing fad and predicted the party would soon coalesce behind his boss. I think most of the people understand that Donald Trump is going to be the nominee whether they like it or not, Lewandowski said. He is going to be the Republican nominee. Slideshow: Indiana primaries Sanders, Trump win and Cruz suspends >>> Lewandowski called on Kasich to quit the race for the good of the party insisting the party needs to unite behind Trump to make sure a Republican wins the White House. He declined to say if the campaign is taking any steps behind the scenes to make that happen though he repeatedly insisted Trump will pursue efforts to unite the party. Hes trying to bring everyone together and make sure theres one focus, Lewandowski said. That focus is ensuring that a Republican takes the White House come January. Speaking to reporters, Trump seemed intent on appearing presidential, quickly pivoting to a general election speech in which he laid out the broad themes of his campaign, including creating new jobs and strengthening the military. And he took aim at Hillary Clinton, his likely Democratic opponent, vowing he would defeat her in November. Were going after Hillary Clinton. She will not be a great president. She will not be a good president. She will be a poor president, Trump said in his speech, before pointedly linking her to NAFTA, the trade deal signed by President Bill Clinton, the candidates husband, which Trump assailed as the worst deal in American history. Trump noticeably omitted his plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a proposal that has been one of the most divisive issues of his candidacy, as well as his plan to temporarily ban foreign Muslims from entering the country amid concerns about radical terrorism. Instead, Trump spoke of a nation that is divided in many different ways and promised to unite it into a country bound by love. We are going to love each other, Trump insisted. And that love would start with Republicans, Trump predicted, repeating his claim that hes been receiving phone calls from party insiders anxious to join up with his insurgent campaign. People that have said the worst things about me, they are calling, Trump said. They want to get on the train, the Trump train, they call it. And I think its terrific. Photo credit: Nissan From Road & Track The eighth generation Nissan Skyline arrived in 1989 just as the Japanese economic bubble began to waver and shimmy. It was still a time of great optimism, and if you were a Nissan fan, there was no greater proof positive of a bright future than the return of the GT-R. After a decade and a half since the extremely rare Kenmeri was felled by the fuel crisis, the three most iconic letters in Japanese performance were back. Twenty-seven years later, we can look back at the birth of a legend and marvel at how the E-BNR32 chassis Skyline GT-R tore a hole for itself in history, the right car at the right time. It was a technological powerhouse, an utterly dominant force on the racing circuit, and at the same time relatively common. Made from 1989 to 1994, nearly 44,000 R32 GT-Rs were sold, some 15 percent of all Skyline production. Thanks to a DOT exemption for vehicles more than 25 years old, that means you can buy one yourself relatively easily. However, there are a few things to watch out for if you want to tuck a Godzilla in your garage. Where to find one Photo credit: Nissan The most common way to buy a GT-R is to import one from Japan. Even though the Japanese government makes owning an older vehicle difficult, the GT-R's large fanbase means that well-preserved examples still pass through the auctions regularly. Pristine models are a rarity, so expect to dig deep into your pocket if you're looking for a extremely clean example. Buying a car from a Japanese auction is a gamble, not least due to the ability for something to get lost in translation. You can reduce your exposure by finding a reputable importer in your area, and work with them to find a car that suits your budget. There may be something to be found locally, as the R32 has been importable since late 2014. A few specialists even import R32s and stock them in inventory. One other possibility that's often overlooked is the Canadian market. Those beer-swigging puck-chasers have a 15-year market exemption, which means everything from Mazdaspeed Autozams to V12 Toyota Centurys are already roaming the roads. With the Canadian dollar weakened by low oil prices, your American dollar goes further; just be careful that you find a car with a production date that fits the 25-year exemption. Story continues What to look for Photo credit: Nissan Unlike the R34-chassis Skyline GT-R, which has so many special editions it's practically an honorary Mustang, the R32 is relatively straightforward. Early cars are slightly lighter thanks to the addition of crash protection bars in the later models, and GT-R otaku will be able to spot generational changes by differences in the projector headlights, but the lion's share of R32s are roughly physically the same. If you're considering this purchase with an eye to collectability, note that there are a few rare special models. The NISMO variant is very rare, with just 500 produced for public consumption. If a genuine example, one of these will be 30kg lighter than the standard car thanks to a lack of ABS, air conditioning, and rear wiper. They come in gunmetal grey only, and they're also considerably more expensive than a normal GT-R. Rarer still is the N1 version, of which 228 were made. These were all white and have a few mechanical advantages over the regular R32, including a slightly stronger block and more durable steel turbine wheels in the turbos. Not quite legal for import yet, the V-spec and V-spec II models were made to celebrate the R32's total crushing of the opposition in Group A racing. Starting in spring of '93, the V-spec offered better brakes and larger wheels and tires, along with a few other modifications. Around three thousand were produced, split pretty much evenly between the two generations. Perhaps of more immediate interest is the color availability for the R32. Gunmetal grey is the most common variant, with red, silver, and blue all relatively rare. If you're looking at a grey-blue pearl car (paint code #BL0), you've got one of the rarest of the main-line GT-Rs. What to avoid Photo credit: Nissan For the most part, the R32 GT-R has benefited from an active fanbase and loving owners. However, we're talking quarter-century old cars here, and that means all the usual Japanese-car red flags apply. Common sense would dictate that you'd check for rust anyway, but to be specific, Skyline problem areas are located around the inner rear fenders and below the rear window. You should also attempt to remove the rear spats and check for hidden rust there, as debris tends to accumulate and trap water. Another physical Achilles' heel for the GT-R are its jacking points. If jacked improperly, these can be easily bent and open the door for rust starting behind the side skirts. Real carelessness with a floor jack can result in mild bending of the frame. The VIN plate on the R32 is blue, and is located under the hood on the firewall on the right side of the car. If you suspect any tampering at all, run like hell. As a legally importable Skyline will of necessity be 25 years old, many of its suspension components may be worn. If you're looking at a fresh set of coilovers, great, but all the rubber bushings throughout the suspension may be starting to become brittle or decayed. Further, torn CV axle boots, especially up front, can be an annoying expense. Mechanically speaking, the GT-R is very robust, which directly contributed to its winning racing career. The RB26 2.6-liter straight-six is a very strong engine, capable of holding 5-600 hp, and the five-speed transmission can similarly hold big power from a modified car. That said, oiling can be an issue for the former, as the early cars have narrow-drive oil pumps. Bounce off the rev-limiter a few times and you can break them. The factory oil-pressure gauge should not be trusted. Coil packs can get cooked as power levels and temperatures rise. All the usual old turbo-car foibles should be examined, including checking for boost leaks and a compression test if possible. The turbochargers use ceramic wheels for lightness, but if the car you're looking at has had the boost cranked up, it's entirely possible these will crack and explode. A naturally aspirated Hakosuka GT-R is still respectable; a non-turbo R32 is not so much fun. Happily, the RS580/N1-spec steel-wheel turbos are a common upgrade. Big grip and big power can put a hurting on a transmission, but the GT-R's five-speed is pretty stout. A grind from a third to fourth shift is pretty common, and can perhaps be addressed by using a high quality gear oil. From an electrical standpoint, the factory systems on the GT-R don't have many weak points. However, after 25 years and a mod-happy owner or two, loose connections, corrosion, and bodge-job electronics should be watched for. It's possible to replace or repair many owner-introduced faults if you're patient, but go in with your eyes open. A note on modifications The chance of finding a completely unmodified R32 GT-R is basically zilch. Not only is the Skyline a central figure in Japanese tuner culture, it's as if Nissan intended every single one to be altered as soon as it left the factory. The most obvious example is the stock boost restrictor which can be easily removed. Adding a 10 percent horsepower gain is about as difficult as putting on a hat. The mass of GT-Rs on the market will have a smattering of aftermarket parts, from upgraded brakesthe factory four-pots can be overwhelmed with hard drivingto the commonly replaced exhaust. If you were buying something like a Subaru STI, any modification would be something of a red flag as to owner type, and you'd want to tread carefully. But Japanese owners modify everything up to and including the million-dollar 2000GT. Further, a totally stock GT-R is going to be specifically targeted at the speculative collector market, and might be out of reach of the ordinary enthusiast. As with all things, moderation is the key. A Japanese-market performance ECU swap will be a pain if you want to run your GT-R on pump gas (Japanese fuel has a higher octane rating), but a known-brand of aftermarket intake and exhaust won't likely cause you any problems. Maintenance Photo credit: Nissan Low mileage is the rule in the Japanese home market, especially for a weekend driver like the GT-R. But don't be fooled into thinking that a 30-40,000 miler is automatically a creampuff. Just because mileage is low doesn't mean that all regular maintenance has been performed. The RB26 is an interference motor, so pre-emptive timing belt replacement makes for good insurance. If you're changing the oil, 10W-40 will do the trick (the factory-recommended 7.5W-40 is excessively rare). If you've purchased the car from a reputable source, it may not need much; if it's a new auction car, a full fluid flush lets you reset the clock. Parts availability is a mixed bag. On one hand, as state-side ownership grows, the number of specialist mechanics stocking parts increases. Further, your ordinary local Nissan dealership can occasionally order you Skyline specific parts with the correct part numbers. The most annoying parts to replace are minor trim pieces like window moldings. I spoke to The Smoking Tire's Matt Farah about the relatively stock 1990 GT-R he purchased recently, and he said he had success at Fontana Nissan in Eastern Los Angeles, who has two Skyline-specialist techs on staff and the ability to perform standard repair and maintenance. If you'd like to do some or most of the work yourself, an English translation of the entire GT-R shop manual can be found here: {http://www.skyline.se/dokument/R32_gtr_service_manual.pdf} Community Photo credit: Nissan To be a Autozam AZ-1 enthusiast is to condemn yourself to a lonely life spent hunting for advice using Google Translate. To be a GT-R fan is to buy a ticket to a large and passionate owners' club, many of whom are perfectly happy to help out with a newbie's questionsafter some gentle ribbing, of course. Two of the largest and most active sites are GT-R OC and GT-R USA. For both, the search button should be your first stop, but many veteran board members will help with more involved questionsthe more information the community digs up, the easier GT-R ownership can be. You Might Also Like By Eric Auchard FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Hundreds of millions of hacked user names and passwords for email accounts and other websites are being traded in Russia's criminal underworld, a security expert told Reuters. The discovery of 272.3 million stolen accounts included a majority of users of Mail.ru (MAILRq.L), Russia's most popular email service, and smaller fractions of Google (GOOGL.O), Yahoo (YHOO.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) email users, said Alex Holden, founder and chief information security officer of Hold Security. It is one of the biggest stashes of stolen credentials to be uncovered since cyber attacks hit major U.S. banks and retailers two years ago. Holden was previously instrumental in uncovering some of the world's biggest known data breaches, affecting tens of millions of users at Adobe Systems (ADBE.O), JPMorgan (JPM.N) and Target (TGT.N) and exposing them to subsequent cyber crimes. The latest discovery came after Hold Security researchers found a young Russian hacker bragging in an online forum that he had collected and was ready to give away a far larger number of stolen credentials that ended up totalling 1.17 billion records. After eliminating duplicates, Holden said, the cache contained nearly 57 million Mail.ru accounts - a big chunk of the 64 million monthly active email users Mail.ru said it had at the end of last year. It also included tens of millions of credentials for the world's three big email providers, Gmail, Microsoft and Yahoo, plus hundreds of thousands of accounts at German and Chinese email providers. "This information is potent. It is floating around in the underground and this person has shown he's willing to give the data away to people who are nice to him," said Holden, the former chief security officer at U.S. brokerage R.W. Baird. "These credentials can be abused multiple times," he said. LESS THAN $1 Mysteriously, the hacker asked just 50 roubles less than $1 for the entire trove, but gave up the dataset after Hold researchers agreed to post favourable comments about him in hacker forums, Holden said. He said his companys policy is to refuse to pay for stolen data. Story continues Such large-scale data breaches can be used to engineer further break-ins or phishing attacks by reaching the universe of contacts tied to each compromised account, multiplying the risks of financial theft or reputational damage across the web. Hackers know users cling to favourite passwords, resisting admonitions to change credentials regularly and make them more complex. It's why attackers reuse old passwords found on one account to try to break into other accounts of the same user. After being informed of the potential breach of email credentials, Mail.ru said in a statement emailed to Reuters: "We are now checking, whether any combinations of usernames/passwords match users' e-mails and are still active. "As soon as we have enough information we will warn the users who might have been affected," Mail.ru said in the email, adding that Mail.ru's initial checks found no live combinations of user names and passwords which match existing emails. A Microsoft spokesman said stolen online credentials was an unfortunate reality. "Microsoft has security measures in place to detect account compromise and requires additional information to verify the account owner and help them regain sole access." Yahoo and Google did not respond to requests for comment. Yahoo Mail credentials numbered 40 million, or 15 percent of the 272 million unique IDs discovered. Meanwhile, 33 million, or 12 percent, were Microsoft Hotmail accounts and 9 percent, or nearly 24 million, were Gmail, according to Holden. Thousands of other stolen username/password combinations appear to belong to employees of some of the largest U.S. banking, manufacturing and retail companies, he said. Stolen online account credentials are to blame for 22 percent of big data breaches, according to a recent survey of 325 computer professionals by the Cloud Security Alliance. In 2014, Holden, a Ukrainian-American who specialises in Eastern European cyber crime threats, uncovered a cache of 1.2 billion unique credentials that marked the world's biggest-ever recovery of stolen accounts. His firm studies cyber threats playing out in the forums and chatrooms that make up the criminal underground, speaking to hackers in their native languages while developing profiles of individual criminals. Holden said efforts to identify the hacker spreading the current trove of data or the source or sources of the stolen accounts would have exposed the investigative methods of his researchers. Because the hacker vacuumed up data from many sources, researchers have dubbed him "The Collector". Ten days ago, Milwaukee-based Hold Security began informing organisations affected by the latest data breaches. The company's policy is to return data it recovers at little or no cost to firms found to have been breached. "This is stolen data, which is not ours to sell," said Holden. (This version of the story has been refiled to make amends to attribution of comments by Mail.ru in paragraphs 11-12.) (Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Kentucky Derby Cocktail The 142 nd Kentucky Derby is on May 7 (post time is 6:34 p.m. EST, to be exact)but before you whip out your annual batch of mint julep recipes, weve got another idea. Charles Joly, the celebrity mixologist for the big race at Churchill Downs, shares his twist on the classic cocktail exclusively in this weeks issue of PEOPLE. Jolys Big River Smash is a close relative of the Derby julep in that they both share a base spirit: bourbon. But thats about where the similarities end. RELATED: A Cool Twist on Derby Day: Mint Julep Ice Cream We keep it light and approachable with a touch of fruit, refreshing herbs and the right amount of booze, Joly says of his drink, which calls for muddle strawberries and fresh tarragon leaves. And while youre passing out the cool concoctions at your watch party on May 7, you can offer them up with a dose of history. The name pays homage to the Mississippi, says Joly, where bourbon would begin its journey headed south to New Orleans where the French had set up shop during the Revolutionary era. RELATED: Heres Exactly What to Make for Your Kentucky Derby Party The Big River Smash Serves: 1 Muddle 1 large strawberry (stem removed), oz. lemon juice, oz. simple syrup and 3 tarragon leaves in a glass. Add 1 oz. bourbon, 1 oz. cognac and oz. dry curacao liqueur; fill with crushed ice and stir. Garnish with tarragon leaves and an orange peel twist. Ana Calderone, @anacalderone Within 24 hours, both Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich will have dropped out of the race, leaving Donald Trump the undisputed presumptive nominee for the Republican Party. TIMEs Zeke Miller was on the phone conducting an interview with Trump on Wednesday during the exact moment he found out that Kasich, his last remaining rival, would suspend his campaign this afternoon. Thats good. Thats nice. Thats interesting. Its very interesting, Trump said when he took a separate phone call and learned of Kasichs decision. So Kasich is dropping out, he then mused to TIME. Hmm Thats big. I didnt think that was going to happen. Now finding himself the nominee, Trump immediately pivoted to the general election. So now Im going to be focused on Hillary and youll be dealing with me and well see what happens, he said, predicting most of the Republican Party would unify behind him. And I think we have a very strong case against Hillary. As far as the Republican Party coming together, it will, maybe not 100%, but itll come together 99% and the 1% I dont want and it wont have any impact. Trump made clear that he would echo Bernie Sanders criticism of Hillary Clinton in the coming race. Bernie actually said shes unqualified because shes got bad judgement and its true, Trump said. Shes unqualified because of the fact that her judgement is so bad. He also made clear that case will rest heavily on trade deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was signed by her husband in the 1990s. The NAFTA is the worst trade deal in the history of any country anywhere in the world at any time, he said. And it was a Clinton trade deal. NAFTA was Clinton. And it has drained our country of manufacturing jobs and its been a disaster. Im going to talk about that. By Nandita Bose and Nathan Layne CHICAGO (Reuters) - Discount retailer Target Corp (TGT.N) is cracking down on suppliers as part of a multi-billion dollar overhaul to speed up its supply chain and better compete with rivals including Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O). The sixth-largest U.S. retailer by sales plans to tighten deadlines for deliveries to its warehouses, hike fines for late deliveries, and could institute penalties of up to $10,000 for inaccuracies in product information, according to a letter sent to suppliers and obtained by Reuters and an interview with Target's chief operating officer John Mulligan. The moves, effective May 30, are the first major steps Target has taken since Mulligan was appointed as COO late in 2015 to fix supply problems that emerged after it expanded product offerings, including fresh food, several years ago. A tighter grip on its deliveries is seen as crucial to keeping shelves stocked, maximizing sales and controlling costs. Target has already announced an investment of over $5 billion in supply chain and technology infrastructure between 2015-2017. Mulligan told Reuters in an interview on Monday that the company aims to include suppliers in the effort. "These steps are a key part of becoming more reliable," Mulligan said. The new rules and penalties are detailed in a letter sent to suppliers. They will start to take effect at the end of the month and will be rolled out over the next 60-90 days. In the letter, Target said the goal was to keep products stocked to "lower missed sales for all of us." Mulligan and Chief Executive Brian Cornell met over 200 suppliers recently to talk through the changes. He described the discussion as productive. "We had a very long question-and-answer session," Mulligan said. "Obviously there were concerns, so we listened to those and we feel very good with where we are going with our vendor partners." Next on his list for improvements is Target's international supply chain, and he has already started holding talks with vendors who import products to the Unites States, Mulligan said. Story continues Target is not the first large retailer to focus on supply chain precision. At an annual vendor conference in February, Wal-Mart informed suppliers that it was raising its standard for on-time delivery to 95 percent from 90 percent, according to a Wal-Mart presentation slide posted on a Facebook group and confirmed by several suppliers. Wal-Mart is also cutting the window for deliveries to within 1 to 2 days of a target date, depending on the product category, from 1 to 4 days previously, the Wal-Mart slide showed. A spokesman for the company declined to comment on the changes. NEW RULES Target's supply chain became more complex several years ago when it expanded its offering of perishable goods such as meat, fresh produce and dairy products. Further complications came when the retailer started catering to online shoppers by shipping orders directly from warehouses and also allowing them to pick up online orders in stores. Amy Koo, principal analyst with Kantar Retail said the new changes mean Target can hold less inventory, which is key to being an efficient retailer. "In theory, everything can move faster, and they will have less stuff in the system." Target's stores nationwide in 2015 had 8 to 9 billion items on store floors, in transit or in warehouses at any given point. The new rules, detailed in the letter, call for domestic suppliers to give a single-day arrival date for shipments to Target's warehouses. Domestic suppliers constitute the majority of Target's vendor base. These suppliers will no longer have a "grace period" to ship a few days after the promised date without penalties, the letter says. Suppliers said the current grace period for shipments is two to 12 days depending on product category. A packaged foods supplier who ships products to Target's warehouses said the cost of narrowing the delivery window to a single day will be "entirely ours, and they won't share any of that." Target will also hike fines on late shipments to 5 percent of the order cost, according to the letter, which adds that the retailer is considering "escalating charges of $5,000-$10,000" for suppliers who fail to provide complete and accurate product information. Currently, late fines range between 1-3 percent depending on the product, according to suppliers. Mulligan said Target will be flexible with suppliers during an adjustment period. The retailer, which operates 1,800 stores and 40 U.S. warehouses, will roll out the proposed changes over the summer, the letter says. Household, paper, pet products and center-store grocery suppliers have to comply with the rules in June; health and beauty vendors in July and divisions including apparel, home and electronics in August. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Jo Winterbottom and Edward Tobin) By Ginger Gibson and Alana Wise INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Ted Cruz carefully left the door open to a future run for president on Tuesday after a campaign that outlasted a long list of rivals but could not overcome the anti-establishment appeal of Donald Trump. Cruz, who still holds his U.S. Senate seat from Texas for another two years before facing re-election in 2018, told supporters in Indiana where he lost badly in the state's primary, that his campaign was suspended but that his role in the future of the party was not over. "I am not suspending our fight for liberty," Cruz said. He could be among several Republicans who may resurface in the 2020 presidential campaign after failed bids this time, should the presumptive nominee this year, Donald Trump, falter in the Nov. 8 election. The 45-year-old Cruz became a favorite of evangelicals and the party's conservative wing after he won Iowa's caucuses, the first nominating contest of the race. He built the best organization of any other Republican campaign this year, but his zealous conservatism fell victim to Trump's outsider appeal. In the days leading up to the Indiana vote, Republicans were reminded of Cruz's take-no-prisoners approach in the Senate when former House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner called him "Lucifer in the flesh" and the "most miserable son of a bitch" he had ever worked with on Capitol Hill. The next test for Cruz will be determining what role he will play in the general election and whether, after months of attacks, he will throw his support behind Trump. Trump clearly would like his support as he tries to unite the Republican Party after a bitter primary battle. "I want to congratulate Ted Cruz," Trump said in New York at a victory rally. "He's a tough, smart competitor." Cruz, the son of a Cuban immigrant, gained prominence in conservative circles as the Texas solicitor general, arguing cases on religious liberty and states' rights. After he was elected to the Senate in 2012, he alienated colleagues but drew national attention for his role in the 2013 government shutdown. In a 21-hour talkathon, in which he sought to convince lawmakers to cut funding for President Barack Obama's signature health-care law, Cruz chided the "cheap suits" and "bad haircuts" of some politicians and read the children's book "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. Cruz cast himself as the leader of a grassroots conservative army when he jumped into the White House race in March 2015, and he argued he was the only candidate who could unite disparate groups of the Republican Party, such as social conservatives and libertarians. He was buoyed by early wins in Iowa and at home in Texas, and Cruz claimed he was the Republican best suited to take on Trump after candidates favored by the party's establishment, such as Jeb Bush, left the race. As Cruz ended his campaign, vendors hawking campaign-themed apparel outside the Indianapolis event quickly discounted the merchandise bearing Cruz's campaign slogan, lowering prices from $20 a shirt to just $5. Supporters lingered in the remodeled train station where Cruz held his rally, some crying and others hugging one another as the news sunk in. Despite having long odds when he announced his candidacy, Cruz beat expectations. "Cruz certainly performed better than anyone in Washington expected, and he still has Texas wired. However, no one is stopping the Trump machine now," Texas-based Republican strategist Joe Brettell said. (Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson, Mohammad Zargham and Steve Holland in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler) Voters in Indiana handed Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz his walking papers Tuesday. His decisive defeat at the hands of New York real estate developer Donald Trump left the conservative firebrand beaten, bloodied and bereft of any hope his campaign could keep what is now the acknowledged presumptive GOP nominee from amassing the 1,237 pledged delegates he needs to win on the first ballot. The people who purport to understand politics are perplexed by Trump's success. They may have once laughed about the rumor he might have paid people to attend his announcement rally at his eponymously named Manhattan tower, but they laugh no more. The reason they don't understand, that they still don't understand, is that Trump isn't a political animal. He's a cultural phenomenon and conservatives, it has been said time and again, don't get the culture. SEE: [Editorial Cartoons on the 2016 Presidential Elections] It's actually not that hard. The American culture is, like the American people, coarse and unrefined. We are basic in our tastes, our likes and our dislikes. We largely eschew high culture in favor of the easily accessible. We prefer slogans to manifestos. We are a run-and-gun, get-up-and-go kind of people who for too long have felt the responsible institutions of society are trying to put us flat on our backs. Most of all, and this is where Trump has really struck the motherlode, we are sick and tired of the so-called smart set telling us we are wrong about just about everything. He has tapped into the profound, bubbling, boiling middle-class resentment of elites now directed at both political parties. To put it in a cultural context -- which is really the only way to explain it -- he's tapped into the same emotions that draw people to the music of Billy Joel, whose lyrics are tattooed on the souls of members of my generation. Not his entire oeuvre of course but go ahead, listen to songs like "Allentown," "Goodnight Saigon," "Movin' Out," "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant," "The Downeaster 'Alexa'" and "Miami 2017," all of which express the profound resentment so many Americans feel at the way their chance to grab a piece of the American dream has been shattered by events beyond their control. Story continues Here's how Wikipedia -- the encyclopedia for the Internet set -- describes Allentown: The song's theme is of the resolve of those coping with the decline of the American manufacturing industry and the emergence of the rust belt in the latter part of the 20th century. More specifically, it depicts the depressed, blue-collar livelihood of residents of Allentown, Pennsylvania in the wake of Bethlehem Steel's decline and eventual closure. These are the kinds of emotions and economic realities Trump has tapped into during the campaign. He's become a tenacious tiger defending the interests of the economically battered. To them, he represents one last chance to be treated fairly, to see the result of their hard work -- when they can get it -- rewarded instead of denigrated by Wall Street bankers and smarmy union officials and unfeeling corporate leaders and special interest groups pleading for special treatment in order to right some grievance from long ago. These people are the backbone of America. They have been at least since the end of the World War II, and they are unwilling, perhaps even unable to carry the burden any longer under the current cultural and political alignment. They're just looking for a break -- and they think Trump is the one to get it for them. Peter Roff is a U.S. News & World Report contributing editor and longtime observer of the Washington scene. Formerly senior political writer for United Press International he writes about public policy for a number of publications and for public policy groups including Asian Forum Japan, where he is a visiting scholar, and Frontiers of Freedom, where he is a senior fellow. He has been published widely and appears weekly on One America News' "The Daily Ledger." You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterRoff. Email him comments at roff.usnews@yahoo.com. By Justin Madden CHICAGO (Reuters) - Dozens of families on Wednesday sued two federal agencies and a suburban Chicago school district over a policy they said disregards student privacy and safety by allowing transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Fifty-one families in the Palatine, Illinois, area sued the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Justice Department and Township High School District 211 for agreeing last December to provide a changing area in the girls' locker room for transgender students. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to prevent enforcement of that agreement. That deal stemmed from a complaint filed in 2013 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois on behalf of a transgender student who was born male and identifies as female. Superintendent Dan Cates said in a statement the school district's deal with federal officials "provided workable solutions protecting the privacy and honoring the dignity of all students." He said there had no reports of issues since the deal was implemented. Dorie Turner Nolt, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said the agency would not comment on pending litigation. Officials with the Justice Department could not be reached. Legal battles over bathrooms are being fought across the country as school officials, lawmakers and Republican presidential candidates debate whether transgender people should be allowed to use restrooms that match their gender identity instead of their birth sex. Wednesday's lawsuit, representing 73 parents and 63 students, contends the Education Department is unlawfully redefining terms of the Title IX Act, a federal statute that prohibits sex-based discrimination by schools receiving federal funding. The plaintiffs also said the federal agency is forcing its political will on school districts. The lawsuit was filed by attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom, which advocates for conservative positions on religious liberty. Story continues "Every day of the school year a certain number of girls have to share the locker room space with a biological male and it makes them incredibly uncomfortable, stressed and anxious about the things going on in their school day," Jeremy Tedesco, an attorney for the families, said at a news conference in U.S. District Court in Chicago. The Justice Department told North Carolina's governor on Wednesday a new state law limiting restroom access for transgender people violates the U.S. Civil Rights Act. Last month, a U.S. appeals court ruled for a Virginia transgender student seeking access to the bathroom of his gender identity. Chicago's public school system said Tuesday it would allow transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identities. Edwin Yohnka, a spokesman for ACLU of Illinois, in an email called Wednesday's lawsuit "a sad development by groups opposed to fair and humane treatment of all students." (Additional reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit and Julia Harte in Washington; Editing by Alistair Bell) A petition may help bring more mannequins like the one on the right to the Parsons School of Design. (Photo: Getty) UPDATE: Success! Nayyara Chues efforts have made an impact and now, Parsons students interested in creating clothes for plus size women have the option to do so. As of today we have succeeded the purpose of this petition! she wrote on the online petitions page. The issue has been resolved and students at parsons are able to use plus sized mannequins to create designs! This was just the first step towards reaching the ultimate goal of a more body positive fashion industry. The average American woman is a size 14, but you wouldnt know it if you looked at the mannequins at New York Citys Parsons School of Design. Nayyara Chue, a bridal fashion design student at the school, is looking to change that. Chue started an online petition urging Parsons to provide its students with more plus-size mannequins. It has come to my attention that there is currently only one plus-size mannequin at Parsons, while there are approximately one thousand students focusing on fashion design attending at the moment, the petition reads. It is preposterous that several students cant execute their plus-size specialties at the school, even more so when the resources arent readily available to us. In addition, a mannequin costs circa 300-400 $US and isnt economically accessible to everyone within the school. Runway Riot notes that Chue, who mentions she is herself a plus-size designer, had to create her own plus-size mannequin out of duct tape, which, considering the Parsons reputation as one of the fashion schools, seems unacceptable. If the school is incubating the next generation of great designers, especially in a country where most people fall into the plus-size range, then the students should have practice and experience designing for larger bodies period. Installing more plus-size mannequins in our classrooms would open a lot of doors to emerging designers who believe in sizes higher than 8, Chue wrote in the petition. Story continues So far, Chues petition has around 3,838 signatures she originally set a goal of about 200. Seems like her message calling for inclusivity is resonating beyond the walls of Parsons. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. By Brendan Pierson May 3 (Reuters) - The father of a former investment banker at Perella Weinberg Partners and JPMorgan Chase & Co was sentenced on Wednesday to a year of home confinement and three more years of probation, for trading securities ahead of healthcare mergers based on tips from his son. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan sentenced Robert Stewart, 61, at a court hearing. She also ordered Stewart to forfeit the $150,000 he gained from the trading and to do 750 hours of community service. Before being sentenced, Stewart said he was "humiliated" and accepted responsibility for his actions. Swain said she would have sentenced Stewart to prison if not for the "unusually serious" medical condition of his wife, Claudia Stewart, who required his care. The details of her condition were not discussed. "Mr. Stewart is grateful for the opportunity to move forward with his life in a positive way," Stewart's lawyer, Seth Levine, told reporters outside the courtroom. Stewart was arrested on insider trading charges last May and pleaded guilty in August. The plea deal did not call for him to cooperate in the case against his son, Sean Stewart, 35, who is also charged with insider trading. Sean Stewart has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors said Robert Stewart, an accountant, traded on tips from Sean about mergers being worked on at Perella Weinberg and JPMorgan Chase, where Sean worked until 2011. At JPMorgan, the mergers included INC Research Holdings Inc's 2011 acquisition of Kendle International Inc and Apax Partners' buyout that year of Kinetic Concepts Inc. At Perella Weinberg, the deals included Hologic Inc's 2012 acquisition of Gen-Probe Inc, Linde AG's purchase of Lincare Holdings Inc that year, and Becton, Dickinson & Co's deal for CareFusion Corp in October. Prosecutors said that, after a regulator began inquiring about Kinetic Concepts trading, Robert Stewart arranged to have a business associate, Richard Cunniffe, make trades for a cut of what became $1.16 million in profits. Story continues Assistant U.S. Attorney Brooke Cucinella, a lead prosecutor in the case, said at Wednesday's hearing that Cunniffe kept most of that money himself. Cunniffe, an investment banker at Chatsworth Securities LLC, secretly pleaded guilty in March 2015 and agreed to cooperate with authorities. The case is U.S. v. Cunniffe, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 15-cr-287. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Additional Reporting By Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and David Gregorio) Aleppo (Syria) (AFP) - Fierce fighting raged in the war-ravaged Syrian city of Aleppo and air strikes pounded rebels east of the capital Damascus on Wednesday as diplomats scrambled to salvage a collapsing truce. Intense international efforts to bring a halt to the latest surge in Syrian fighting continued, with talks between senior diplomats in Berlin and the UN Security Council set for an urgent meeting later Wednesday. The renewed violence has threatened the complete breakdown of a landmark ceasefire between President Bashar al-Assad's regime and non-jihadist rebels brokered by Moscow and Washington in late February. Fighting has been especially intense in and around Syria's devastated second city of Aleppo, with more than 280 civilians killed since April 22. Some of the heaviest clashes in Aleppo in months continued on Wednesday as rebel forces pressed an offensive against regime troops on the city's western outskirts, a monitor said. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the fighting was "the most violent in Aleppo in over a year". The rebels have fired a barrage of rockets into regime-held neighbourhoods in western Aleppo in recent days, with three more civilians killed in the attacks early on Wednesday, Syrian state news agency SANA said. Regime warplanes were hitting the advancing rebels, giving opposition-held areas of eastern Aleppo a respite from air strikes, an AFP correspondent in the city said. Suspected regime strikes also pummelled the rebel stronghold of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus, the Observatory said, after a temporary freeze on fighting in the area expired overnight. - Flurry of talks - The district was hit with at least 22 air strikes, but there was no immediate word on casualties, it said. Russia had said on Tuesday it hoped a new ceasefire for Aleppo could be agreed "within hours" but on Wednesday said truce efforts had been stymied by jihadists. Story continues Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said a plan had been agreed for a "regime of silence" in and around Aleppo but fell apart following rocket attacks by Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate. In Berlin, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault held talks with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura. After the talks, De Mistura issued a plea for a halt in fighting in Aleppo. "The alternative is truly quite catastrophic, because we could see 400,000 people moving towards the Turkish border," said De Mistura, who this week met US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Steinmeier, who also met with Syria's main opposition leader Riad Hijab, said "the terrible images from Aleppo in recent days" showed "what is at stake" in the conflict. "Either we put peace efforts back on track... or we risk falling back into escalation, into an explosion of violence and the continuation of the civil war." The United Nations said the Syrian government had refused a request for aid access to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, warning that the area could soon be besieged. "The horrific fighting and bombardment in recent days, especially in and around Aleppo, is creating new areas with endless suffering and no access for humanitarians," Jan Egeland, who heads an international humanitarian taskforce for Syria, said in Geneva. - 'Syria's Sarajevo' - The diplomatic push aims to bring the ceasefire back from the brink and to restore hope for peace talks aimed at finally resolving a five-year war that has left more than 270,000 dead and forced millions from their homes. France on Wednesday announced it would also host talks with the Saudi, Qatari, Turkish and Emirati foreign ministers next week. The countries are all key backers of the Syrian opposition, and French government spokesman Stephane Le Foll said the Monday meeting would focus on efforts to move deadlocked peace talks forward. Wednesday's Security Council meeting was called by France and Britain to discuss the situation in Aleppo, with envoys demanding an urgent solution. "(Aleppo) is to Syria what Sarajevo was to Bosnia," France's UN ambassador Francois Delattre said. Syria's conflict erupted in 2011 after anti-government protests were put down, escalating into a multi-front war with consequences including the seizure of large parts of the country by the jihadist Islamic State group. A US-led coalition of countries battling IS in Syria and Iraq pledged Wednesday to pour more resources into the fight, after coming under strong pressure from Washington for greater contributions. In a joint statement after a meeting led by US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter in Stuttgart, coalition members pledged "the deployment of additional enabling capabilities in the near term" in order to defeat IS. (Adds details, forecast) May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. fertilizer company Mosaic Co forecast higher phosphate and potash sales for the current quarter after it reported higher-than-expected first quarter sales. The company's net sales fell 21.7 percent in the first quarter to $1.67 billion, but beat the average analyst estimate of $1.56 billion. Mosaic's Brazil unit said in March that the country's fertilizer sales had doubled in the first 10 weeks, compared with the volume seen in a similar period in 2015, with sales reaching 7.5 million tonnes considering deals from all suppliers. Plymouth, Minnesota-based Mosaic forecast current-quarter phosphate sales of 2.3 million to 2.6 million tonnes, higher than the 2.2 million tonnes it sold in the first quarter. The company said it expected potash sales of 1.9 million to 2.2 million tonnes in the current quarter, higher than the 1.5 million tonnes it sold in the first quarter. Larger rival Potash Corp of Saskatchewan last month reported an 80 percent drop in profit and cut its full-year profit forecast on weak demand and lower prices. Mosaic, which cut 8 percent of its workforce at a Canadian mine in October, on Wednesday lowered its 2016 capital expenditures to the range of $800 million to $900 million from its previous estimate of $0.9 billion to $1.1 billion. Net profit attributable to the world's largest producer of finished phosphate products fell nearly 13 percent to $256.8 million, or 73 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31 from a year earlier. Excluding items, it earned 14 cents per share, in line with analysts' average estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Manish Parashar in Bengaluru and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Maju Samuel) Cape Town (AFP) - Fists flew in the South African parliament on Wednesday as security guards physically ejected leftist opposition lawmakers in the latest outbreak of political drama over the troubled presidency of Jacob Zuma. About 10 lawmakers from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party shouted down the Speaker and refused to let Zuma deliver his budget speech, saying they did not recognise him as president. Plain-clothed security guards pulled the EFF members from their seats and bundled then out of the chamber as punches were exchanged and parliamentary benches knocked over. The country's highest court in March found Zuma had violated the constitution over the use of public funds to upgrade his private residence. After another damaging court ruling last week, he could also face almost 800 corruption charges that had been dropped in 2009. "We cannot allow an illegitimate president to speak here as if nothing has happened," EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu told parliament during chaotic scenes. "We cannot be addressed by a person who is facing corruption charges (and) undermines the constitution. He must not speak here." Criticism of Zuma has built over recent months with several stalwarts of the anti-apartheid struggle calling for him to step down, but he retains the loyalty of many in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party. Opposition parties hope to gain ground against the ANC at local government elections on August 3. Zuma calmly delivered his speech to parliament after the EFF members were removed. The president has also been beset by allegations that a wealthy Indian migrant family had such influence over him that it could decide ministerial appointments. A scene from Penrose Studios' Allumette. Imagine youre a filmmaker. Cinema is your craft, an art honed by more than a hundred years of brilliant ideas and happy mistakes. With it, you can do something that probably once felt like magic: capture any moment, idea, or feeling so anyone can relive it. Now picture something new. Its a lot like film, only it puts the audience inside your story and it feels like magic, when it works. With it, you can create entire worlds for your audience, but none of the original rules of cinema apply. How do you create your art when all of your tools have changed? This is how some filmmakers see virtual reality. And at least one director, Penrose Studios Eugene Chung, likens virtual reality to the invention of the moving picture and how it usurped the stage. I dont think anyone alive really knows much about the language of VR, Chung said in an interview before his company debuted its second VR animated feature, Allumette, at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. The film explores the sacrifices a mother makes for her daughter. In the last great art transition, the major stage play directors tried to become film directors, and a lot of them didnt succeed because they did things like put the camera in front of the stage, said Chung. Todays recipe for great film doesnt work on an Oculus or HTC headset. The medium, in its infancy, may look like film (or like someone crammed a theatrical release inside a clunky headset), but really its something entirely different. In VR, the audience controls the camera. There is no language no rulebook or established tools for telling stories, so directors and technologists are inventing it as they go. Like the stage and theater, theres a unity of time and space in VR in a way that there isnt in cinema, said Chung, so things just tend to take longer to do. You have to actually wait for that person to walk across the room. You cant go: OK, shes here and then you cut to another [scene] where shes across the room. Story continues We have experimented with lots of things including scale. For us, we want to create these big open worlds. We actually think about ourselves as creating worlds first, and then the stories and characters as secondary, said Chung. In Allumette, the viewer sees each scene as if they were perched in the clouds, a god-like view. You move the camera by looking around, like any other VR experience out today, but you can also change the scale of the set and characters simply by walking toward them. You watch it standing up. You cant try to fit the square hole of cinema into the spherical hole of VR, said director Rose Troche, whose second VR piece, Perspective Ch. 2: The Misdemeanor, also debuted at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Its not like Oh my god, I have a script laying around, Im going to do this in VR. If youre going to do it in VR, then you have to rewrite it for VR. Perspective Ch. 2: The Misdemeanor VR In stark contrast to Allumette, Troches film explores bias by capturing the perspective of police officers, suspects, and bystanders as an altercation spirals out of control. The viewer sees the film from the perspective of each character youre the cop pulling the trigger of a gun, or a 15-year-old collapsing onto the ground. You really have to watch it sitting down. In each film theres this sensation of being there and yet not. Theres a really interesting question of identity in VR, said Chung. Have you ever seen Patrick Swayze in the movie Ghost? In VR, you kind of feel that way. Lets say theres a dog here, and Im like, hey dog, and the dog doesnt respond to me the way I think it would, you feel this weird effect you feel like Patrick Swayze in Ghost. Its the Swayze Effect. Thats the weird thing about working in these new mediums, said Chung. You work in a brand-new medium, you dont have a name for things, right? When you dont have a name for them you just have to make them up. The ghostly sensation Chung described persists in The Misdemeanor, and both cases point to a defining characteristic of virtual reality mostly absent in VR film today: interactivity. Neither The Misdemeanor nor Allumette are significantly interactive, but each work successfully transports the viewer somewhere else. In both films, you eventually leave the room youre in youre no longer worrying about sitting there awkwardly with a goofy headset on while onlookers take Snaps. Pearl, Google Spotlight Stories latest animated VR short, broadly lacks interactivity, too, but Google and director Patrick Osborne did manage to insert subtle doses of viewer control into the piece. It debuted alongside Allumette and The Misdemeanor at the festival. With Pearl, its a story of a dad and his daughter growing up, and it happens in a car, throughout their lifetime in a sense at least, the growth of his daughter. There are moments where, based on how you look or who youre looking at, we move the story or not, or we take you somewhere else, so you see a surprise an Easter egg in a way but it makes sense in the moment, said Rachid El Guerrab, a project lead working on Google Spotlight Stories. You can bemoan the lack of complex interactivity in VR films today, but simply shooting 360-degree video presents major challenges for filmmakers. While recording continuous 360-degree scenes for The Misdemeanor, Troche and collaborator Morris May, founder of VR studio Specular Theory, had to blend in as extras in the film. Were hiding [in the scene]. Im in the crowd of people the sound guy, hes in a cyclist uniform. You just make your crew extras whoevers willing to come on board, Troche said. Try directing that way its really crazy. Youre like, Did we get it? It reminds me of when I shot in Super 8, and Im like, Well, I guess Ill see it when it comes back from the lab, you know? Thinking about the possibility of not just watching a movie, but somehow existing inside it, is the easiest way to realize that VR filmmakers have yet to truly realize the full potential of the medium. Yet thats what makes VRs evolution so mesmerizing. Measured in terms of polish, VR cannot yet compete with cinema. Measured by impact, it absolutely can. As Hayao Miyazaki, a master of traditional animated film, transports the audience inside his stories (see: Spirited Away, a story about crossing from childhood into adulthood), so can Chungs team pull the viewer into a story about coming to terms with loss as can Troche and Google Spotlight Stories, in diametric ways. The medium is a work in progress and maybe it always will be but its also already proven itself worthy of attention, regardless of its longevity or potential to replace cinema, like the moving picture eclipsed the stage a century ago. The ideas and idea makers are there directors and technologists hard at work, crafting the medium before our eyes. More: MobileBeat 2016 is focused on the paradigm shift from apps to AI, messaging, and chatbots. Don't miss this opportunity: July 12 and 13 in San Francisco. (The following statement was released by the rating agency) SINGAPORE, May 04 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings has affirmed Malaysia-based Tenaga Nasional Berhad's (Tenaga) Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'BBB+' and its foreign- and local-currency senior unsecured ratings at 'BBB+'. The Outlook is Stable. At the same time, the agency has affirmed Tenaga's Short-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs at 'F2' and simultaneously withdrawn these Short-Term ratings as Fitch no longer considers them relevant to the agency's coverage. KEY RATING DRIVERS Strong Position, State Support: Tenaga's ratings reflect its position as the owner and operator of Malaysia's electricity transmission and distribution network, its near 55% share of Peninsular Malaysia's power generation capacity and stable financial profile. The ratings incorporate a one-notch uplift to Tenaga's standalone rating, due to its strategic importance to the government of Malaysia (A-/Stable), which effectively owns over 60% of the company. Regulatory Framework Intact: The government allows Tenaga to adjust its regulated tariffs every six months to reflect changes in fuel costs, subject to the government's approval. The adjustment reflects the difference between actual fuel cost and the amounts stipulated in the Imbalance Cost Pass Through (ICPT) framework. Tenaga's tariff effectively increased by 2% to 37.01sen/kWh for January-June 2016 from 36.28sen/kWh for July-December 2015 due to lower fuel-cost savings in 2H15 versus 1H15, and a smaller tariff rebate to customers. Improving Cost Base: Fitch expects Tenaga's fuel costs to be lower than the amounts stipulated in the ICPT mechanism till 2017, and the company will pass on to customers the difference by way of tariff rebates. This will mainly be driven by higher coal-fired generation, which accounted for about 45% of Peninsular Malaysia's electricity generation in the financial year ended 31 August 2015 (FY15). Fitch expects the share of coal-fired generation to increase to around 55% by FYE17. Coal-fired electricity costs about 25% less than piped natural gas-based generation, and around 70% less than generation through LNG. In FY15, we estimate that about 40% of Peninsular Malaysia's electricity generation was via piped natural gas and 9% through LNG. Lower Power Purchase Commitments: Tenaga purchases about half of the electricity it sells from independent power producers under long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs). The PPAs include substantial fixed-capacity payments of about 13% of Tenaga's cash operating expenses in FY15. Tenaga has reduced its purchasing commitments to some producers after it renegotiated the purchase agreements in lieu of extensions. Tenaga does not directly benefit from the savings as these are payable to the government for its tariff stabilisation fund, in our view. Fitch capitalises 30% of Tenaga's fixed-capacity charge payments to independent power producers when calculating its leverage ratios. The amount capitalised broadly represents the unutilised proportion of the contracted capacity at the independent power producers. High Capex: Fitch expects Tenaga to incur about MYR46bn of capex from FY16 to FY19, to increase its domestic generation capacity and for maintenance. Tenaga's domestic generation capacity was 11.6 gigawatts (GW) at end-December 2015 and the company plans to add 3.4GW of new domestic capacity by December 2019. The group also plans to pursue international opportunities, as reflected in the acquisition of a 30% stake in Turkey-based Gama Enerji in December 2015. Fitch has not factored any new acquisitions in its financial forecasts for Tenaga, and will analyse the impact if and when any materialise. Fitch expects Tenaga to generate cash flows from operations of about MYR12bn per year, and to be able to comfortably fund the majority of the expected capex through internal cash generation. Strong Financial Profile: Fitch assesses Tenaga's financial profile to be stronger for its standalone rating of 'BBB' in the absence of any material debt-funded acquisitions. The agency expects that Tenaga would be able to maintain funds flow from operations (FFO) adjusted net leverage below 2.5x in the next two to three years (FY15: 1.9x). However, an upgrade would be contingent on a record of consistently implementing the fuel cost pass-through mechanism, especially in an environment of rising fuel costs. KEY ASSUMPTIONS Fitch's key assumptions within our rating case for the issuer include - Annual electricity sales growth of about 3% - Cost of coal and LNG to remain lower than amounts stipulated in the ICPT mechanism till 2017 - Over-recoveries to be passed through to customers - Capex of about MYR11bn per year till FY19 RATING SENSITIVITIES Negative: Future developments that may collectively or individually lead to negative rating actions include: - FFO-adjusted net leverage rises above 4.5x (FY15: 1.9x) on a sustained basis - FFO fixed-charge coverage below 2.5x (FY15: 9.0x) on a sustained basis - Weakening of linkages with the state Positive: Future developments that may collectively or individually lead to positive rating actions include: - A track record of consistent implementation of the fuel cost pass-through mechanism, especially in an environment of rising fuel costs - FFO-adjusted net leverage below 3.0x on a sustained basis - FFO fixed-charge coverage above 4.0x on a sustained basis - Strengthening of linkages with the state, including stronger financial support Contact: Primary Analyst Rachna Jain Associate Director +65 6796 7227 Fitch Ratings Singapore Pte Ltd 6 Temasek Boulevard #35-05 Suntec Tower Four Singapore 038986 Secondary Analyst Isabelle Katsumata Director +65 6796 7226 Committee Chairperson Sajal Kishore Senior Director +612 8256 0321 Summary of Financial Statement Adjustments: - Fitch adjusts the debt by taking 30% of annual capacity payments to independent power producers, multiplying this amount by 8x and adding it to debt. Media Relations: Leslie Tan, Singapore, Tel: +65 67 96 7234, Email: leslie.tan@fitchratings.com. 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=1003943 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1003943 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&det ail=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 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. By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday held firm on his refusal to act on President Barack Obama's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court even as some conservative activists called on senators to confirm Merrick Garland now that Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. "The leader's position has not changed on Garland," McConnell spokesman David Popp told Reuters. Since Obama nominated Garland in March, McConnell has refused to allow a confirmation vote, saying it should be up to the next president to fill the court's vacancy left by the February death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. Some conservatives on Wednesday urged the Senate to confirm Garland, a centrist federal appeals court judge, now that Trump appears in line to win the Republican nomination for the Nov. 8 election. They are concerned Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton will defeat Trump in the election and pick a far more liberal nominee than Garland for a lifetime court appointment. Other conservative voices urged McConnell to hold firm, saying that doing otherwise would alienate core Republican voters, hurting the party's election chances in the fall. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who backs McConnell's hard-line stance, has refused to hold hearings on Garland's nomination. With his victory in Tuesday's Indiana Republican primary, Trump solidified his position to land the party's presidential nomination at its July convention in Cleveland. His closest challenger, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, quit the race after being drubbed in Indiana. McConnell has repeatedly refused to say which Republican he supports for president. In an interview with Newsmax on Monday, before the Indiana vote, McConnell would say only that he intends to support the party's nominee, "whomever that may be." Trump has said he would consult with the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank on possible Supreme Court nominees if he is elected president. Leon Wolf of the conservative RedState website predicted that Republicans will lose the White House race in November with Trump as their nominee, and likely lose control of the Senate as well. Wolf wrote in a blog post, "The choices, essentially, are to confirm Garland ... or watch as President Clinton nominates someone who is radically more leftist and 10-15 years younger" than the 63-year-old Garland. But Erick Erickson, writing for the conservative website The Resurgent, said Republicans should "resist the temptation" because rushing to confirm Garland might "further depress Republican (voter) turnout" that is important to keeping the Senate under Republican control. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Will Dunham) By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who has been advising Donald Trump informally on foreign policy, will join Drone Aviation Holding Corp as vice chairman of its board of directors, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Flynn, who was chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2012-2014 and has since been advising Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, wants the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues. "Having evaluated the (company's) technologies, I believe they can positively impact our military's defense and situational awareness and that is why I am joining Jay and his team in expanding the role of persistent aerial solutions in the marketplace," Flynn said in the statement, referring to company CEO Jay Nussbaum. Drone Aviation develops and manufactures aerostats and electric-powered drones to give its customers "enhanced surveillance and communication capabilities." The company's customers include the U.S. military, Saudi Arabia and the Ecuadorian Air Force, according to its website. Flynn resigned as the head of the Pentagon's main intelligence agency a year before his term was officially due to end. He raised eyebrows among some U.S. foreign policy veterans when he was pictured sitting at the head table with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a banquet in Moscow late last year celebrating Russia Today, an international broadcasting network funded by the Russian government. He told Russia Today in an interview published on Dec. 10 that the United States and Russia should work together to resolve the Syrian civil war and defeat the Islamic State militant group. Flynn's experience would "help ensure that our tethered solutions, today and in the future, will continue to meet the needs of our soldiers and security forces at home and abroad as they respond to evolving threats," Nussbaum said in the same statement. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Paul Tait) By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, who has been advising Donald Trump informally on foreign policy, will join Drone Aviation Holding Corp as vice chairman of its board of directors, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. Flynn, who was chief of the Defense Intelligence Agency under President Barack Obama from 2012-2014 and has since been advising Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, wants the United States to work more closely with Russia to resolve global security issues. "Having evaluated the (company's) technologies, I believe they can positively impact our militarys defense and situational awareness and that is why I am joining Jay and his team in expanding the role of persistent aerial solutions in the marketplace, Flynn said in the statement, referring to company CEO Jay Nussbaum. Drone Aviation develops and manufactures aerostats and electric-powered drones to give its customers "enhanced surveillance and communication capabilities." The company's customers include the U.S. military, Saudi Arabia and the Ecuadorian Air Force, according to its website. Flynn resigned as the head of the Pentagon's main intelligence agency a year before his term was officially due to end. He raised eyebrows among some U.S. foreign policy veterans when he was pictured sitting at the head table with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a banquet in Moscow late last year celebrating Russia Today, an international broadcasting network funded by the Russian government. He told Russia Today in an interview published on Dec. 10 that the United States and Russia should work together to resolve the Syrian civil war and defeat the Islamic State militant group. Flynn's experience would "help ensure that our tethered solutions, today and in the future, will continue to meet the needs of our soldiers and security forces at home and abroad as they respond to evolving threats, Nussbaum said in the same statement. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Paul Tait) Pitcher Heath Bell Following his retirement from the MLB in March 2015, former All-Star reliever Heath Bell is lobbing a final pitch at home buyers. Known for sprinting in from the bullpen when called on to pitch, Bell is now ready to walk away from his $1.5 million home in San Diego. The high-strung pitcher was revered for his blazing fastball when he held the closer role for the San Diego Padres from 2009 to 2011, racking up 132 saves in three seasons. After leaving the Padres as a free agent in 2011, Bell had a tumultuous season with the Miami Marlins and drifted out of the big leagues two seasons later. Listed for just under $1.5 million, his five-bedroom, Mediterranean-style property is a home run. (See what we did there?) Ideal for familiesBell does have four kidsthe home has plenty of living areas, a large kitchen which opens to a breakfast area, and spacious bedrooms. There are plenty of stylish details throughout, including arched doorways, stone floors, and high ceilings. But the most impressive feature is outside. The lush courtyard has a pool, barbecue station, fireplace, and bar. There is also enough seating to entertain friends and family, and plenty of high walls and plants for privacy. Heath Bell curb appeal Bedroom Courtyard The post Former San Diego Padres Closer Heath Bell Lists San Diego Home appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles Homeowners Susan and Bob Frank with their vacation rental property. In 2005, Susan and Bob Frank built their dream retirement home in North Topsail, N.C., a popular vacation spot known for its soft sand beaches. They planned to rent out the house, affectionately called the Flip Flop Inn, until they were ready to leave their home in Raleigh, N.C., and retire. Initially unsatisfied with a rental company, they began listing and marketing their home on VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner). Susan Frank signed up for a Gold subscription with VRBO, which, at the time, advertised as a rental site for homeowners only. Rental agencies were not allowed. In 2006, Austin, Texas-based vacation rental network HomeAway acquired VRBO. Susan and Bob Frank were dismayed to learn that rental agencies would be allowed on the site but were still satisfied, overall, with the 20 or so rental inquiries they received each year. However, when Bellevue, Wash.-based online travel giant Expedia purchased HomeAway for $3.9 billion in December, the Franks say everything changed. My inquiries they just tanked, Susan Frank said. The Franks arent alone. Homeowners in regions across the U.S. say theyve been impacted negatively by recent changes at HomeAway including a different approach to displaying search results for rentals, and a new structure for charging travelers and homeowners for the service. Expedia is seeking to improve HomeAways underlying economics, going toe-to-toe with industry juggernaut Airbnb and staking its claim in the booming sharing economy. But in the process, homeowners say, the company is risking the loyalty of the people whose rental properties form the foundation of the site. New approach under Expedia One of the biggest changes is the introduction of a travelers fee also referred to as a service fee. Travelers who book through the HomeAway checkout process are now charged a fee that averages between 4 percent and 9 percent of the rental amount, not exceeding $499, the company says. Airbnb charges a similar fee. Story continues HomeAway says revenue from the fee will be invested in brand marketing and product development, ultimately improving the service. But some homeowners are upset with the change, saying the structure is not what they signed up for when they started using the service. In another switch, HomeAway search results now prioritize whats called Best Match, an algorithm that considers how frequently a homeowners calendar is updated, how often they convert inquiries into bookings, quality of photos, and how closely the listing matches the travelers preferences. The site also introduced a Book With Confidence guarantee, promising to refund customers who book or pay via HomeAway if a listing is fraudulent or misrepresented. Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. In the past, sites like VRBO relied on tiered annual homeowner subscriptions for revenue, rather than fees from travelers. Annual subscribers (including Classic, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) were given priority in search results, based on the tiered level their subscription. In Expedias first quarter earnings report last week, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced that HomeAways multi-level subscriptions would be slowly phased out. Instead, homeowners will be able to list their properties using one annual subscription at a flat rate of $349 if the owner enables online booking and $499 if he or she does not. Homeowners can also list properties for free and pay a percentage of each booking facilitated through HomeAway. The rules of the marketplace are changing, said Khosrowshahi. They will be a bit more favorable to travelers and travel preferences so the owners who are updating their calendars, who have great reviews, the owners who have terrific pictures and who put up pricing and are online bookable will tend to get more share in our marketplace. HomeAway and Expedia say the impetus for the new focus on conversions, over subscriptions, is to meet travelers expectations and increase revenue. But the changes are causing friction among many homeowners. A Change.org petition to remove the travelers fee has 1,070 supporters as of May 4 and a Facebook group called Say No to VRBO Service Fee has 2,422 followers. I feel like the Vacation Rental By Owner is not important to them anymore and that they would rather work with property managers who dont have a personal interest in the success and quality of the rental and guest relationship, said a homeowner in Hawaii, who asked not to be identified by name because shes still using HomeAway. Where once I felt like HomeAway was working for me, now I feel like they are forcing me to work for them. Ivan Arnold, a HomeAway subscriber since 2013, cites many of the same concerns. He is suing HomeAway over its new service fee, accusing the site of bait and switch tactics which have materially damaged Plaintiff and hundreds of thousands of other vacation home owners and managers. Arnold claims that HomeAway consistently represented that it would not charge fees to consumers, a promise that led homeowners to enter into year-long contracts with the company. The proposed class action suit was filed March 15 in U.S. District Court in Austin, Texas. HomeAway declined to comment for this story due to the ongoing litigation. Some homeowners say the changes give rental agencies an unfair advantage over individual homeowners, who historically made up the core base of HomeAway sites. But Expedia says its marketplace is flexible enough to accommodate individuals and agencies. The HomeAway team is very focused on making sure that they have a marketplace that individual owners can play in because those individual owners, those VRBO listings, are the heart and soul of HomeAway and having a marketplace where, obviously, the professional PMs can operate in as well, said Khosrowshahi on Expedias earnings call. Competing with Airbnb Expedia and HomeAway say the changes are necessary to adapt to consumers expectations and remain competitive in the rapidly evolving travel market. Airbnbs meteoric rise disrupted whats known as the alternative accommodations market, and its competitors have struggled to keep up. Expedias purchase of HomeAway, part of a larger acquisition spree, is meant give the company a foothold in this market. Expedia also plans to start incorporating HomeAway listings on its flagship Expedia.com and Hotels.com sites, HomeAways take rate before the latest changes lagged behind Airbnb, despite strong bookings, as shown in these charts from an Expedia financial presentation. Expedias strategy in adding the service fee and focusing on bookings is to beat Airbnb at its own game. Expedias chief financial officer, Mark Okerstrom outlined plans to compete more aggressively with Airbnb in March, when the company moved key executive John Kim, Expedias longtime chief product officer, to HomeAway. HomeAways plan to shift its main revenue source from annual homeowner subscriptions to service fees is in line with Airbnbs model. I think the players who are giving us the best inventory are gaining both booking share and audience share within our marketplace, said Khosrowshahi. Every players going to make their own decision and I think that the supply partners who play well with us, who really provide a terrific experience for our customers over a long period of time, are going to gain share in our marketplace and well build a terrific partnership with them over the long-term. Though it may seem semantic, the question of what constitutes inventory and what it means to be a partner has many homeowners fired up. HomeAway now refers to us as their partners,' said Susan Frank, the homeowner in North Topsail. My definition of a partner is one who shares in wins as well as pays for losses, so wouldnt that imply they should pay their share of our costs? Frank feels HomeAways shift from a site that facilitates owner-renter connections to a site that plays a more active role in rental listings is unfair to homeowners. The Wild West of the tech industry This friction is the latest chapter in a broader narrative about the unwritten rules of the sharing economy. Lawmakers, businesses, and users are all grappling to define the customer, seller, product, manager, and employee in this new type of transaction. Does the power ultimately lie with the person who supplies the inventory or the company that provides the technology? Many of these issues are being hammered out in the Seattle region, where Expedia is headquartered. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is currently suing the City of Seattle over a recent law that allows Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize. Uber, for its part, says drivers arent employees but independent contractors using the companys technology. Airbnb, HomeAways main competitor, is also facing a slew of legal battles as legislators try to define and regulate the nascent, on-demand industry. The peer-to-peer home rentals site is negotiating regulatory issues, safety concerns, and push-back from cities over the impact it has on housing markets. The on-demand sharing economy is the Wild West of the broader technology industry. Much of it is unexplored, lawless, and full of potential. Regulators are slow to keep up allowing fast-moving startups like Uber and Airbnb to flourish. Larisa Wells with her vacation rental home in Elkins, WV. The problem with relying on sharing economy technology to run a business as many HomeAway owners are learning is that the landscape is constantly changing. Larisa Wells, a homeowner who lists her properties on VRBO and Airbnb, recently launched a new website, at VRDirect.org, to help homeowners cope with these issues. I am organizing owners to become less reliant upon the major listing sites, or at the very least to diversify so that one company cant dramatically impact ones business overnight like HomeAway has, she said. VRDirect.org provides a place where owners can share their knowledge to shine a light behind the firewalls of the major listing companies, regain control through independence, and get back to the business of attracting and welcoming travelers to our vacation properties, she said. Many homeowners, including Susan and Bob Frank, have been migrating their listings to more traditional rental sites since the Expedia acquisition. They list their homes on vacationhomerentals.com and homeescapes.com, both of which operate similarly to VRBO in its early days. But they say neither site has yielded any inquiries. Im working right now with someone to build a new website, said Susan Frank. Im going to have a Facebook page. Im going in that direction. If I can get the rentals [HomeAway] will be history for me. I have no more trust in them. Im never going to trust them again. More from GeekWire: By Atul Prakash and Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 index slid to a three-week low on Wednesday as basic-resources stocks extended the previous day's losses and retailers came under pressure. The FTSE 100 index (.FTSE) dropped for a third straight session and closed down 73.57 points, or 1.2 percent, at 6,112.02 points, its lowest level since early April. The UK mining index fell 4.2 percent after slumping 6.8 percent on Tuesday as copper prices slipped further on concern about weakness in global manufacturing activity. Shares in BHP Billiton (BLT.L) fell 5.8 percent, after federal prosecutors in Brazil filed a 155 billion-real ($43.5 billion) civil lawsuit against iron miner Samarco and its owners Vale (VALE5.SA) and BHP over the fatal collapse of a dam in November. "The overnight news of a fresh legal challenge suggests that the March settlement between BHP, its domestic partner Vale and the Brazilian government was just the beginning of the road," Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said. "A silver lining at this early stage is the shares holding above January rising support," he said, adding its share losses were limited by hopes that a smaller figure could ultimately be agreed. Glencore (GLEN.L), which reported a fall in output of copper, zinc, lead, coal and oil following a decision to cut production because of low prices, was down 3.2 percent. Anglo American (AAL.L), Antofagasta (ANTO.L) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L) also fell. Oil company Shell (RDSa.L) also ended lower, down 2.5 percent, trimming about 13 points off the FTSE 100. Shell said on Wednesday it was cutting its 2016 spending plans another 10 percent from the target set in February, when it bought BG Group. The company said it could cut further if it needed to . London Stock Exchange (LSE.L) dropped 4.2 percent after ICE ruled out a counter-offer for the company, which is set to merge with Deutsche Boerse. Among retailers, Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) fell 6.3 percent after it reported a second straight year of profit decline and said it did not expect tough trading conditions to ease any time soon. Story continues Tesco (TSCO.L) was down 5.4 percent and Morrison (MRW.L) fell 1.8 percent. A new Kantar survey showed the big four grocers were still being squeezed. However, Next (NXT.L) rose 3.5 percent despite lowering sales guidance as investors took the advantage of its drop to a two-and-a-half-year low on Tuesday. "We expect some pent-up demand to come through from May, as temperatures rise. As such, we expect some short-term relief for Next's trading," analysts at RBC Europe said in a note. "Also sterling has recovered some lost ground versus the US dollar, meaning there will be less upwards pressure on pricing from next year." (Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Janet Lawrence, Larry King) (L-R): Dato' Jurey, Dato' Yusof and Dato' Kamil agree to work together to improve the local industry. 4 May Following the brouhaha that was sparked by a letter from Dato' Jurey Latiff Rosli, president of Federation of Film Artistes' Associations of Malaysia (GAFIM), which reportedly criticised the current National Film Development Corporation (FINAS) administration, both GAFIM and FINAS have today taken the initiative to clear up the confusion. In a press conference with the media earlier today, Dato' Jurey was present along with Deputy Chairman of FINAS Dato' Yusof Haslam and Director General of FINAS Dato' Kamil Othman to clarify the matter. "I have been bashed because it seems as though I was going against FINAS," said Dato' Jurey. "I have never gone against it, I am a strong supporter of the government." "My voice has to be heard so that the issue can be resolved. I'm hoping that once it's gotten this big, someone will 'pick up' and through political wins, the problems will be resolved," he added, referring to the issues brought up in his Switch Off 2014 campaign. He explained that since FINAS happens to be the agency handling such issues, he had no choice but to direct his frustration toward the agency in asking for a better future for the local industry. Denying any animosity toward Dato' Kamil, who joined FINAS during the time when Switch Off was taking place, Dato' Jurey said that in fact, Dato' Kamil joined FINAS because they are close friends and they have discussed it beforehand, of the changes that could and should be done. "After a year, the industry starts asking Switch Off, why their salary is still the same. What power does NGO have to change this? The pressure was on me. It's been the same issue for the past 20 years," said Jurey. (L-R): Dato' Jurey, Dato' Yusof and Dato' Kamil during the press conference. "I stand by my principle," he replied when asked whether he regretted the content of the letter which started the whole recent controversy. "I take the responsibility for it." Voicing his disappointment with social media posts that disparage him, Dato' Jurey revealed that he has handed the matter to his attorney and will be taking legal action on those who continue to denigrate him online. He also announced that this will be his last term as the president of TV Producers Association of Malaysia (PVTM), which also means he will no longer be holding the post of president of GAFIM. The decision to step down had nothing to do with the recent controversy but it was something that he had planned on doing as he has been in the industry long enough. Dato' Kamil and Dato' Yusof voiced their support for GAFIM in asking for a better future and agreed that steps should be taken to resolve the issues brought up in the letter. However, when asked to talk more about the letter, the three collectively agreed that everyone has to "move on", adding that they would like the issue to be put to rest and to focus instead on GAFIM and FINAS' united effort in improving the local film industry. Dato' Jurey previously submitted a letter on behalf of GAFIM to Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Salleh Tun Said Keruak, Minister of Communication and Multimedia, on 8 March to voice out his dissatisfaction with FINAS' administration. His action had prompted five associations to officially leave GAFIM on 26 April and recently started the trending of hashtags #KamiSokongKamil and #TakdokJureyAntaroKito on social media. The White Houses announcement on Sunday that Malia Obama, the president's oldest daughter, would be taking a gap year before attending Harvard sparked a media frenzy. It wasnt that she had finally chosen what some believe is the number one Ivy League college in the country its that people were scratching their heads over what a gap year really is. Even though gap years are slowly gaining acceptance and more students are choosing to defer college for a year, many people are still unsure about what they are and what the point of one is. Some people see it as a way for high school graduates to lounge around for a year before heading to college. Others assume that only students who didnt get into college would choose to take time off. Below are all the answers to any questions that you might have about a gap year and perhaps you or your child might end up taking one someday. Related: College Students Are Missing Out on Billions in Free Financial Aid What is a gap year? Originally a U.K. tradition, a gap year is when a student takes a year off between high school and college and uses the time to explore interests through other means than academia. The student typically defers their admission to a college for a year, though sometimes students apply to schools during their year off. Many colleges, like Harvard, actually encourage their students to take time off before diving into their studies. Delaying school allows students to recharge after completing high school and gain some life or work experience. Although there are countless things that students can do during a gap year, popular options include volunteer work, employment, travel, internships, and formal group programs, among others. Why are gap years becoming more popular? People used to think that someone who was taking time off between high school and college was doing it because they didnt get into college. Holly Bull, the president of the Center for Interim Programs, says that as gap years become the norm, theres less of a stigma attached. Story continues Bull says she noticed gap years getting attention in the U.S. when Prince William and Price Harry took time off before starting university. The spread of information has allowed people to consider it and its become more okay for people to take one. She hopes that with the news about Malia Obama, even more people will consider taking one. How many people take a year off? Not many, but the number is growing. Although there arent any official statistics, the American Gap Association found in surveys that it conducted that about 30,000 to 40,000 high school seniors defer college each year. The surveys also found that in 2015, participation in gap years jumped about 22 percent from the year prior. According to a recent study by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California Los Angeles, only 2.2 percent of freshman who graduated high school in 2015 took a year off before starting college. The report didnt say why the students had chosen to delay college, though. At Harvard, out of classes that are around 1600 students, between 80 and 110 students defer each year. Related: The Best College Towns in 2016 Why should I take a gap year? The benefits to a gap year are enormous, Bull says. Students are able to step away from the pressures of the school system and choose their own path for a period of time. Youre rested after a year, youre often more focused on what you want to study or not in college, youre that much more mature and youre not as derailed by the dramas that happen during a freshman year, Bull says. Taking a gap year might also improve your grades. Robert Clagett, the former dean of admissions at Middlebury College, conducted studies at both Middlebury and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and found that students who delayed college one year had, on average, GPAs that were 0.1 - 0.4 higher than expected. But gap years might not be a good idea for everyone. Bull suggests that only students who want to take a year off should do it. It shouldnt be forced on anyone. The key is that somebody be drawn to it because then theyll own it. Its often the first time they get to choose and create their own time. Eli, an admissions representative at Harvard, says that there isnt a specific type of student who is encouraged or not to take a gap year. It really depends on the type of student. It can be helpful for students who may feel they need that extra time for self-discovery, religious reasons or another year of growth. But arent gap years only for rich kids? No. While some formal programs, like ones that allow a yearlong immersion in a foreign country, might cost upwards of $30,000, theres no hard rule that a gap year has to involve an expensive program. For example, AmeriCorps City Year is a volunteer program that provides students with stipends. Plenty of programs also offer scholarship money. It just requires research to learn what your options are. Bull also advises students to look into opportunities with free room and board. One student that Bull worked with spent half of his year as a counselor at a wilderness education program in the U.S. and the second portion working at a fly fishing lodge in New Zealand. The student ended up only paying for his plane tickets to and from each destination Holding down a job during a students time off is also a viable option. Theres validity to just having that time to take a breather and getting a sense of the world, Bull says. Related: The Real Reason Its So Easy to Get As in College How do I choose what to do during my gap year? There are plenty of resources to help you decide what to do, including gap year counselors, the internet and USA Gap Year Fairs. Some schools, like Harvard, also offer assistance to their accepted students in planning their time off. Bull advises anyone considering taking a gap year to think about his or her core interests and then match those with an existing program, internship, volunteer work, or something else. For instance, if youre interested in medicine, think about taking an EMT course or volunteering at a hospital. The beauty of it is that its your year and your time. Youre free to do whatever you want. Theres no set definition of a gap year, so follow your interests and take advantage of the time of out of the classroom and away from textbooks. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: The White House is preparing to declare the area around a dive bar in lower Manhattan and a small neighboring park a national monument because of their importance in the struggle for LGBT rights, according to the Washington Post. President Barack Obama is set to name the area surrounding Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village part of the National Park Service, which would give it protections as a national monument, the Washington Post reports. A clash between the largely gay patrons of the bar and police in the summer of 1969 is widely viewed as one of the major sparks that helped ignite the modern LGBT rights movement. The monument designation would also include a small patch of green space across from Stonewall Inn called Christopher Park. City and state officials have agreed to give the park to the federal government if the monument designation is enacted. That decision could come as early as June, according to the Post. LGBT rights activists regularly return to Stonewall Inn and the surrounding area to celebrate new milestones in the gay rights movement, such as the Supreme Courts effective legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015. BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza/BEIRUT (Reuters) - At a hospital in northern Gaza, a young patient is being prepared for hand surgery as one of the doctors leading the operation watches on -- from nearly 200 miles away in Beirut. In the Lebanese capital Doctor Ghassan Abu Sitta is guiding colleagues at Gaza's Al-Awda hospital via an online interactive platform known as Proximie, which allows the medical teams to communicate and work together via tablet computers. Doctors in Lebanon attempted remote surgery in the region for the first time at the weekend with the tool. Its makers hope it will help doctors such as Hafez Abu Khousa in Gaza, whose patient needed specialist plastic surgery his team could not provide unaided. "It is like the consultant is with you in the same room, giving you an opinion so that the surgery can be perfect," Abu Khousa said after the operation. He was guided via live video and by his Lebanese counterpart drawing markers over an image of the patient's hand. Gaza has been run by the Islamist Hamas movement since 2007. Since then, Egypt and Israel have maintained a blockade on the territory, carefully monitoring the flow of goods and people to and fro. Restrictions on imports and fighting in the region have also affected medical facilities. (Reporting By Yara Abi Nader and Sabreen Taha; Writing by Rose Wyatt; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) Guatemala City (AFP) - A closed-door retrial of Guatemala's former military dictator Efrain Rios Montt on charges of genocide was suspended on Wednesday after plaintiffs won a battle to have his case judged separately from that of his intelligence chief. Rios Montt is accused of being ultimately responsible for the murders of 1,771 indigenous Ixil-Maya people in 1982-1983, at the height of Guatemala's 36-year civil war which ended in 1996. Now aged 89, he had been on trial in absentia since March 16 in Guatemala City. His attorneys say he suffers from dementia and is too ill to attend. A May 2013 trial delivered a conviction and an 80-year sentence, but that was overturned days later by Guatemala's constitutional court, which ordered the new trial. Hector Reyes, a lawyer for the families of Rios Montt's alleged victims, told AFP the retrial was suspended because the families had won an appeal to have Rios Montt's case handled separately from that of his ex-intelligence chief, Jose Rodriguez, who faces the same charges but in open court. No date was given for when the retrial might resume. Other legal challenges still hanging over the retrial include one from Rios Montt's lawyers arguing that their client is too senile to be judged. According to the UN, some 200,000 people died or were made to disappear during the Guatemala's long, brutal civil war. Rios Montt is accused of orchestrating an extermination policy against the indigenous population, which was perceived to be collaborating with leftwing guerrillas waging war with government forces. Should he be convicted again, he would be subject to detention in line with his health condition, meaning possible hospital internment or home confinement. Rios Montt in March 1982 deposed Lucas Garcia, who went on to die in exile in Venezuela in 2006 aged 81. BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government gave the go-ahead on Wednesday to relax rules on cannabis use by the seriously ill from early next year if they have no other treatment options. Dried cannabis flowers and cannabis extracts will be available in pharmacies on prescription and the public health system will cover the cost, according to the draft bill that is expected to come into force from spring 2017. Other countries that allow cannabis use for medical purposes include Italy and the Czech Republic. Some U.S. states have decriminalized cannabis completely. Portugal has decriminalized all drugs for personal use, but does not allow cannabis use for medical purposes. Until now, seriously ill people in Germany with cancer, AIDS, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis could only access cannabis with special approval and had to pay themselves. "Our aim is that seriously ill people are treated in the best possible way," Health Minister Hermann Groehe said in a statement. The government is to set up specially supervised plantations to grow cannabis and will import what it needs for now. IBISWorld, a market research firm, projects sales of marijuana for medical use to increase to $13.4 billion in 2020 from $3.6 billion in 2015. (This story has been corrected to clarify in third paragraph that Portugal has decriminalized all drugs for personal use, but does not allow cannabis use for medical purposes) (Reporting by Caroline Copley; Editing by Louise Ireland) Frankfurt (AFP) - Berenberg Bank, one of the oldest and most venerable institutions in private banking in Germany, is finding its squeaky clean reputation coming under scrutiny in the wake of the Panama Papers global tax evasion scandal. Berenberg may not be a household name like some of its bigger peers, but the upscale Hamburg-based bank has cultivated an impeccable image, the epitome of courtesy and discretion for both customers and employees alike. And it had remained unscathed by the multiple scandals that have tarnished Germany's major lenders such as Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank in recent years. But its pristine reputation has come under wider public scrutiny after finding itself explicitly named several times in the Panama Papers. "Germany's oldest bank is under pressure: dubious customers from all over the world and formerly good relations with Mossack Fonseca are tarnishing the image of the upscale Hanseatic bank," wrote the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. The Panama Papers are a trove of about 11.5 million leaked documents of the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that reveal the large-scale use by firms and wealthy individuals of offshore shell companies that enables the concealing of assets from tax authorities. According to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) which coordinated the release of the tax evasion data, Berenberg's Luxembourg and Swiss subsidiaries were behind around a dozen shell companies and 76 offshore accounts domiciled in Panama. The ICIJ also accused Berenberg of doing business with dubious customers reportedly linked to Hezbollah in Libya or even Colombian drug traffickers. Berenberg has admitted "like many others" to managing offshore accounts for clients -- which in itself is not illegal -- and insisted it had done so "in line with the law". Shell companies are also not illegal in themselves, and the number was just a tiny fraction of the some 1,200 in all attributed to 28 German banks. Story continues Nevertheless, the suggestion that Berenberg might be involved in potentially dodgy dealings has raised eyebrows in the German press. Part of the bank's excellent reputation was that it always appeared to be different from other institutions, noted the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. But that was now being questioned. "One of the banks that stands out particularly is -- to my great surprise -- Berenberg," Georg Mascolo, one of the team of international journalists behind the revelations. - Long and proud tradition - Berenberg was set up in 1590 by brothers Hans and Paul Berenberg, Dutch protestants who found exile in the northern port city of Hamburg. Originally, they traded in cloth and only moved into banking later. And for much of its history, the bank remained a small regional financier for shippers and merchants. Today the group employs 1,300 people in 19 branches in Hamburg, Frankfurt, London, Zurich and New York and manages around 40 billion euros ($46 billion) in assets. And it remains fiercely proud of its old name and tradition. "We're a small house and must rely on the high quality of our service," says Hans-Walter Peters, one of Berenberg's two personally liable partners. "In certain sectors, we compete directly with the major international banks," Peters told AFP. Peters was recently appointed head of the mighty BdB federation of private banks, a major distinction for a small player such as Berenberg. Hence, its possible involvement in the Panama Papers scandal "marks the worst possible start to his tenure," wrote the business daily Handelsblatt. While so many financial institutions were dealt body blows in the financial and banking crises, Berenberg appeared to go from strength to strength. It more than trebled its revenues in ten years and doubled its profits. - 'Old school' culture - But with the rapid expansion also came challenges. "The workforce is growing massively and the corporate culture is changing. Holding on to its ethical values will be one of the main challenges facing the bank," said a financial sector expert, speaking on condition of anonymity. Last year when Berenberg celebrated its 425th anniversary in grand style, it helped both the Berlin-based start-up incubator Rocket Internet and the container shipping giant Hapag Lloyd go public. As well as being Germany's oldest bank, it also pays its staff the highest salaries in the sector. In 2015, the gross remuneration for an average employee was 140,000 euros, compared with 131,000 euros at the country's biggest lender Deutsche Bank. A former employee told AFP the bank was fiercely proud of its "old school" culture, its traditions and its hierarchy. And employees enjoyed the "prestige" of working for such a "noble institution". This girl just proved to the world why you cant cry after getting a spray tan This girl just proved to the world why you cant cry after getting a spray tan When you get a spray tan, youre usually told not to shower for a few hours so the tan has time to soak into your skin. Youre given a short list of dos and donts post-tan, but one thing that is apparently missing from those verbal instructions no crying. Theres no crying in spray tans!! High school senior Skyler Davis from Ohio learned that the hard way. Davis decided to get a spray tan before her schools senior prom, because she felt like she was too pale for such a momentous occasion, she told BuzzFeed News. Although I have never gotten a spray tan before, I knew it wouldnt hurt to get one for prom, she said. When Davis left the salon, she was happy with the results. But then, about 10 minutes later, she got into a disagreement with boyfriend, which left her in tears. And those tears became disastrous. As soon as my tears started coming, I saw I had no tissues in my car and knew I was doomed, she said. All of a sudden there were white streaks on my once-tan face. Looking in the mirror, I only began to cry more, and there was absolutely nothing I could do but let the tears roll down my face and completely ruin my spray tan. Luckily for Davis and her face, the spray tan rinsed off in the shower and she was able to get re-tanned before prom. But what good is a botched spray tan if you dont take a picture and post it to Twitter? So thats exactly what Davis did after her friend convinced her that the situation was absolutely hilarious (her boyfriend thought so too, and they have since made up from the argument). The photo was retweeted thousands of times, and the people of the internet loved the photo so much, it was eventually uploaded to Imgur and Reddit. (Davis decided to delete her original tweet, because the attention became insane.) I was just a girl with a messed up spray tan, I had no idea this would ever go viral, she said. Well it did, and we hope Davis realizes that this is the best prom story ever that shell have to tell for years to come! Also: Now you know to NEVER see The Notebook right after a spray tan. The post This girl just proved to the world why you cant cry after getting a spray tan appeared first on HelloGiggles. While many of her supermodel peers were attending fashion's biggest night at the Met Gala in NYC on Monday, Gisele Bundchen traveled to Cuba to take in some sites. The 35-year-old Brazilian bombshell posted several vacation photos from the recently reopened country. MORE: Gisele Bundchen Goes Makeup-Free, Still Looks Flawless "Anyone needs a ride?" Bundchen captioned one photo of herself in a comically tiny, circular pedicab. The mother of two also shared a photo of herself climbing in a giant, branch-lined tree, writing, "I love it!! #amazingnature #Cuba #Havana." But it wasn't all fun and games. Bundchen also attended Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel show at the Paseo del Prado street in Havana on Tuesday. MORE: Gisele Bundchen Celebrates 7-Year Wedding Anniversary With Tom Brady The former runway model wore a cherry red dress with a navy beret and carried a yellow fan to see the "Cruise" collection. Getty Images Bundchen bypassed the Met Gala for the second year in a row this Monday. She last attended with her husband, Tom Brady, in 2014. The couple attended Gisele's book launch together in New York City in late April. Related Articles LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2016 / Gold and Silver Mining of Nevada, Inc. ("CJTF") ("the Company"), (PINK SHEETS: CJTF) a junior mining company in Nevada was featured on national radio broadcast. The broadcast interviewed company President N. Fred Anderson at 10:00 a.m. Mountain time on May 2, 2016. In preparation the following questions and answers were prepared. 1. How is a relatively small mining company like yours able to be going into production in such a relatively short time? Answer - Well it doesn't seem like a short time to us. We started in 2007 as a private corporation studying various properties and seriously started acquiring properties in 2009. Our first properties also included substantial piles of stockpiled ore that are certified as to grade and content. So our mining claims are in previously identified and mined properties. We merged with a public company in 2010 with the stock symbol CJTF and that is how we first became a publicly traded company. We have not sold stock to raise money but have relied on a few close associates to raise the money we have needed to build our inventory of mining properties. We don't carry a lot of overhead but instead contract out the services and work we need from geologists, accountants, lawyers, engineers, etc. and now contract operators as needed. Our newest property the Goldfield Basin is also adjoining claims with previously published assay analysis from 3 different labs that confirm that the ore is near the surface in the top 30 feet and averages 0.29 ounces per ton when the material is screened to 1/4" minus and the remaining concentrate is assayed. We believe this newest property gives us the quickest and least risk path to positive cash flow and have commenced early stages of production. We have entered into a contract with a contract operator who has all the personnel and equipment necessary to mine the ore and a currently permitted mill with 150,000 tons per year capacity ready to receive and process our ore. Our first permit for 1,000 tons has already been approved and bonded and we have started this first phase of production. Story continues 2. Why are all of your properties in Nevada? Answer - Well we are a gold and silver mining company. Nevada was originally called the silver state but is now the largest gold producing state in the U.S. The old time prospectors were able to find some gold nuggets but mostly followed silver veins in their early mining. Today over 90% of the gold mined and processed is from fine gold that has to be separated by either chemical or mechanical concentrating methods. Our newest gold field Goldfield Basin has fine gold that is as fine as Talcum powder and therefore has to be recovered with modern concentrators and large volume gravity tables. Our contract operator has a currently permitted Nevada mill equipped with these modern capabilities. 3. Why should investors be interested in your stock? Answer - We believe that an investment in the source producer of gold is a better investment than investing in ETF paper contracts. Our stock price will be reflected in the royalty returns we plan on passing on to our shareholders. We plan on distributing up to 90% of our net profits after taxes from gold production directly to our shareholders. And we do not plan on setting up big reserves for future expansion and exploration. We are confident that our Goldfield Basin project has enough rich ore to last for 20 to 30 years and that we do not need to be exploring for more gold elsewhere, therefore our shareholders will be getting royalty payments as well as seeing their stock appreciate with capital gains as the volume continues to grow. And then if gold prices go up it is an even better stock. Therefore our shareholders as per our proposed plan will be in line for royalty distributions for the life of the mine unless we get bought out and then a one-time big check. We should see some appreciation and possible capital growth in stock value as volume of production occurs. About Gold & Silver Mining of Nevada, Inc.: The company is in the business of precious metals mining and processing of massive gold and silver ore bodies in Nevada. The gold and silver located in the company owned mining claims in these districts are located adjacent to other known and established mining operators. The company is not looking for ore, but is in the process of developing previously identified ore bodies. Safe Harbor Statement This release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E and/or 27E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are based upon assumptions that in the future may prove not to have been accurate and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including statements as to the future performance of the company and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain. Although the company believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations or any of its forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause results to differ include, but are not limited to, the company's ability to raise necessary financing, retention of key personnel, timely delivery of inventory from the company's suppliers, timely product development, product acceptance, and the impact of competitive services and products, in addition to general economic risks and uncertainties. For more information please contact: Investor Relations at 801-679-3945 Visit the company web site at www.GoldandSilverMining.com SOURCE: Gold and Silver Mining of Nevada, Inc. DuckDuckGo CEO gabriel weinberg When it comes to the internet search world Google has clearly won. Game over. Even mighty Microsoft can't pilfer the internet's grip away from Google. And yet, a tiny competitor to Google called DuckDuckGo must be doing something right. It just announced that it will be giving away $25,000 to support each of nine open source projects, or $225,000 total. Last year, it gave away $125,000. In 2015, DuckDuckGo performed 3 billion searches, it says. DuckDuckGo's niche is private, anonymous internet search. For those who are creeped out by how much data Google collects on everyone, DuckDuckGo is the alternative. It doesn't gather information about you to sell ads to marketeers, like Google does. Instead, it's part of the Microsoft/Bing/Yahoo ad network (as are many other sites) and shows generic ads based on more general stuff, such as the fact that you're using English. It also has revenue-sharing agreements with certain companies in the Linux Open Source worlds, and it makes affiliate money when it directs people ot Amazon or eBay to buy something (just like most other websites). Giving up Google doesn't mean giving up maps and directions, either. Las month, DuckDuckGo launched that feature. Now, granted, $225,000 is a laughably small amount of money in the internet ad industry, especially compared to a company like Google. Google's philanthropic arm, Google.org, gives away $100 million in grants every year, plus it donates about another $1 billion in products, it says. But it just goes to show you that just because there's a Goliath dominating a market, that doesn't mean you can't launch a company and do well at least well enough to give away hundreds of thousands of dollars. NOW WATCH: A self-made billionaire gifted each of his 2,000 employees shares worth $150,000 to $1 million More From Business Insider Republicans woke Wednesday morning to the reality that businessman Donald Trump is now the de facto leader of their party, and its presumptive presidential nominee with the express backing of the Republican National Committee. And if they flipped on their televisions, they could have enjoyed their morning coffee -- or choked on it -- listening to Trump extol the journalistic integrity of the National Enquirer and wave off reams of polling data that show he will be the most unpopular presidential candidate fielded by a major US political party in modern memory. Related: Cruzs Choice of Fiorina Was a Flop in Indiana Trump won a crushing primary victory in Indiana Tuesday night, taking 53 percent of the vote to Texas Sen. Ted Cruzs 37 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasichs 8 percent. The result put him in position to win all or most of the states 57 delegates to the Republican nominating convention in Cleveland this July. Cruz and Kasich had weeks ago been forced to abandon the idea of winning a majority of the delegates outright, focusing instead on denying Trump a majority and forcing the convention into a series of votes in Cleveland during which any delegates required to vote for Trump on the first ballot would be free to switch their loyalties. Last nights result made even that modest goal practically unattainable, which Cruz acknowledged by announcing that he would suspend his campaign. Kasich remains defiant, pledging to stay in the race to the end, despite the fact that he has won only in his home state so far, and still has fewer delegates than even Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the race more than six weeks ago. Trump has promised that in a general election campaign he would become more presidential than he has been in the primary, but in his first morning as leader of the Republican Party, he went on television and defended his choice to cite the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer in one of his attacks on the Cruz campaign. Story continues Related: Trump Wins Big in Indiana, Sends Cruz Packing The newspaper had published an old photograph that showed a man who resembles Cruzs father passing out pro-Fidel Castro literature in the company of presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald not long before Oswald shot and killed president John F. Kennedy. There is no reason to believe that the picture is actually of Rafael Cruz, despite the Enquirers assertion that the photo linked him to the assassination of JFK. Trump, however, speaking to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News Wednesday morning said he had no reason to apologize for using the newspaper -- famous for reporting thinly sourced celebrity gossip -- a source material. It was a major story in a major publication, Trump insisted. It was the National Enquirer, Stephanopoulos said incredulously, pointing out that even the expert cited by the paper said the story was ridiculous. Related: Why Trump Shouldnt Keep His Promise on Social Security You cant knock the National Enquirer, Trump said, pointing out that the paper does have a few celebrity sex scandal scoops to its credit. Its brought many things to light, not all of them pleasant. When he was confronted with recent polling numbers that show him trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the general election, he responded by citing the single recent national poll showing him as the leader. The survey was conducted by Rasmussen Reports, which Trump referred to as highly respected. In fact, Rasmussen receives a C grade from the website fivethirtyeight.com, and has one of the largest biases toward Republicans of any poll that the website has not banned from its rankings for gross misconduct. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus appeared to concede that Trump will face major challenges in the general election, saying on CBS News Wednesday morning that there is work to do to bring woo minority voters and others who have been repelled by many of Trumps positions and positions taken by some of his rivals during the primary. There will also be a need to heal the self-inflicted wounds the GOP sustained during the primary. Related: Why Donald Trump Has Daddy Issues I would be lying to you all if I said, 'okay this is going to be easy, we're just going to pivot, Priebus said on CBS. We need time to unify and we will unify -- but this is what today starts. It's this unification process. Some of those wounds, though, are apparently beyond healing. Late Tuesday and early Wednesday, a number of prominent Republicans activists reiterated their promise that they would never vote for Donald Trump to be president and some did the practically unthinkable, pledging their support for Hillary Clinton. One conservative writer with the Washington Free Beacon, Lachlan Markay, posted a picture to Twitter that showed him setting his voter registration card on fire. Another, conservative website RedState.com editor Ben Howe simply tweeted the following: Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: LONDON (Reuters) - Greek banking stocks could rise 90 percent from current levels and yield premiums over German benchmark bonds narrow if Greece and its creditors can reach a deal on releasing new bailout funds and debt relief, Morgan Stanley said on Wednesday. The broker upgraded Greek bank stocks to "overweight", saying current valuations did not reflect the compression in bond yield spreads that would follow a deal with Athens' lenders and took an overly pessimistic view on the banks' return on equity targets. Passing the review would pave the way for Greek bonds to be eligible for the European Central Bank's bond purchase program, the lifting of capital controls and an eventual economic recovery, Morgan Stanley said in a note. "It won't be easy, and it's likely to be far from smooth," the banks' analysts said. However, they see passing the review as the most likely outcome. Sources told Reuters earlier this week that no deal was likely at a special meeting of euro zone finance ministers on May 9. International lenders have asked Greece 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. (Reporting by Vikram Subhedar Editing by Jeremy Gaunt) T-Mobile's 1Q16 Results: Majority of Analysts Recommend a 'Buy' (Continued from Prior Part) T-Mobiles revenue composition In the previous part of this series, we observed that T-Mobiles (TMUS) YoY (year-over-year) revenue growth was robust at ~10.6% in 1Q16. The figure reached ~$8.6 billion for the quarter. We also saw that the YoY wireless revenue growth of Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) was in the negative territory in 1Q16. Among the top four US mobile players, only Sprint (S) has not yet disclosed its results for the quarter. Now lets look at the 1Q16 performance of the key individual components of T-Mobiles revenue: service revenue and equipment revenue. T-Mobiles service revenue in 1Q16 T-Mobiles service revenue continued its solid growth trend, increasing by ~13% YoY to reach ~$6.6 billion during 1Q16. In 4Q15, this stream had increased by ~11.7% YoY. The YoY growth in the service revenue came mostly from the telecom companys postpaid component. T-Mobiles service revenue in the postpaid component grew by ~14% YoY to ~$4.3 billion in 1Q16. Meanwhile, the carriers prepaid service revenue increased by ~9.9% YoY to reach ~$2 billion in 1Q16. T-Mobiles equipment revenue in 1Q16 Year-over-year, T-Mobiles equipment revenues were stable in 1Q16. T-Mobiles equipment revenue reached ~$1.9 billion during the quarter. According to the company, year-over-year, the adoption of its leasing planJump! On Demandwas one of the factors that negatively affected the growth in the equipment revenue during the quarter. For a diversified exposure to telecom companies in the US, you may consider investing in the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV). This ETF held a total of ~2.8% in some of the US telecom players at the end of March 2016. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: One of the most controversial decisions that Star Wars creator George Lucas has made over the years was to change the sequence of events that happened when Han Solo was accosted by bounty hunter Greedo in the cantina. In the original cut of the film, Han Solo shot first at Greedo and easily killed him before the inept bounty hunter could get a shot off. In the 1997 "special edition" of the movie, Lucas re-edited the scene to make it look as though Greedo had actually shot at Han first. Why did he change this? It doesn't really matter since it was one of many questionable decisions Lucas made in the late '90s and early 2000s. The point is that most fans believe that Han should have been the one to shoot first and now they have no less of an authority than the actor who played Greedo backing them up. MUST SEE: You must watch the George R.R. Martin vs. J.R.R. Tolkien epic rap battle right now In an interview with The New York Daily News, actor Paul Blake says that it's a simple fact that Han shot first and that Greedo never had a prayer. "Of course, in it said it all in the original script, we played in the scene in English and at the end of the scene, it reads, 'Han shoots the alien.' " Blake said. "It's all it says and that's what happened. It was very painful." In fact, Blake says that he would prefer to have Han shoot first because otherwise it would make Greedo into the single worst shot in the entire galaxy if he actually missed hitting someone sitting three feet away. "He was a bit inept wasn't he?" Blake he says. "He's a worse shot than a Stormtrooper. I don't think Jabba had him under a pension plan let's put it that way." Check out the whole interview here. Related stories New set photos from Star Wars: Episode VIII look insane Everything wrong with the 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' plot It looks like an actor from 'Star Wars: Rogue One' just gave away a huge spoiler More from BGR: Over 272 million email accounts stolen from Gmail, Microsoft, Yahoo and more This article was originally published on BGR.com Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - The militant Palestinian Hamas movement accused its rival Fatah on Wednesday of organising a military cell to "breach security and stability" in the Gaza Strip. In the latest sign of tensions between the Palestinian factions, Iyad al-Bozum, the interior ministry spokesman in the Hamas-run strip, accused senior Fatah leaders of "being behind the cell and communicating with it," without naming those allegedly involved. Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007, while Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement controls the occupied West Bank. Bozum told AFP the cell was made up of "fewer than 10 people who were arrested around a month ago." He said they aimed to "affect the internal situation in the Gaza Strip and internal relations," including through "incitement," but would not provide further details. Fayez Abu Aita, spokesman for Fatah in Gaza, denied the accusations and said the charges would "complicate the internal situation and hinder reconciliation efforts." Officials from Hamas and Fatah have been meeting in the Qatari capital Doha in recent months as they seek a reconciliation agreement. Abu Aita said talks were ongoing but that "complicating matters like these affect the dialogue." The two sides agreed a unity deal in April 2014, which was supposed to lead to a technocratic government taking over administration of Gaza and the West Bank. However Hamas never accepted relinquishing its authority in Gaza, and the two sides remain at loggerheads. Today is no ordinary day today is Star Wars Day! Every year on May 4, Star Wars fans everywhere celebrate their love for the franchise by using a greeting straight from a galaxy far, far away: "May the fourth be with you." And while the term is simply a play on words deriving from the one of the saga's most famous phrases "May the Force be with you," it turns out, the Star Wars fandom weren't the first ones to coin the popular saying. Apparently, Star Wars fanatics have former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to thank for the tradition. It's believed that the phrase dates back to May 4, 1979, the day Thatcher took office as Prime Minister and two years after the release of the first Star Wars film. Thatcher's political party placed a congratulatory ad in a London paper that read "May the Fourth Be with You, Maggie. Congratulations." The terms was used again on May 4, 1994 in a U.K. Parliament defense debate. It wasn't until years later that the internet got hold of the phrase and launched it into a national holiday. In 2011, the Toronto Underground Cinema organized the first official Star Wars day complete with costume contests, games and a film festival. The rest is well, history. While every May 4 is a big day for Wookiees and Jedis alike, this year is an especially exciting time for the franchise. Not only did fans get to relish in the release of The Force Awakens but just months later, they were treated to the first trailer for the highly anticipated Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. May the 4th be with you. Every year thousands of people descend on Omaha, Nebraska, to hear what Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger have to say. The two leaders take questions from journalists and shareholders, who ask about anything from recent investments to politics. While the meeting gives shareholders an inside look into how Buffett and Munger make their investment decisions, do you ever wonder what goes on behind closed doors? Ron Olson, who has been a director at Berkshire Hathaway since 1997, tells Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer some of the topics that are discussed at Berkshire Hathaway board meetings. First of all it's fun because anything you do with Warren Buffett is fun, said Olson. We have an important agenda that Warren does not dominate. The single most important is always having a successor in mind. On top of that, he reports to us on any of the major businesses that are having any challenges. He wants us to understand the bad things more than he wants us to understand the good things and that's the focus of the meetings. In addition to his comments on Berkshire Hathaway board meetings, Olson told Yahoo Finance that one of the most interesting takeaways from this year's shareholders meeting were Buffetts comments on a Berkshire subsidiarys push to reduce incentives for Nevada homeowners to use solar panels. The way he handled that was interesting and as always done in a way in which you learned something, said Olson. Click here to view a full replay of the 2016 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting, which Yahoo Finance live-streamed exclusively. At this page you can also find our extensive coverage of the event. BROUGHT TO YOU BY RetailMeNot With Mother's Day this weekend, it's time to get shopping for the perfect, thoughtful gift. But if you have no idea where to start, fear not: we have tips and ideas to help. New dad Ben Aylesworth turned to RetailMeNot shopping expert Sara Skirboll for help picking out a gift on behalf of his baby son. As they headed to the shops at Brookfield Place in New York City, he asked her how much he should spend. "I'm not going to tell you how much to spend," Skirboll told him. "But what I can tell you is that the average person spends about $65 on a gift." She recommended he visit RetailMeNot.com, which lists great ideas and deals for Mother's Day gifts, or download the websites app to find deals as he's out and about. "The free app is actually really easy to use," she said. "It uses GPS technology to alert you of deals anywhere you are." As they walked around the mall, the app alerted them to 40 percent off items at Tory Burch and deals at Michael Kors. For more information about RetailMeNot, visit the website here. Watch: Robots Work At Amazon Warehouse Where Your Items Are Packaged Related Articles: Hill-Rom Holdings, Inc. HRC reported second-quarter fiscal 2016 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 71 cents, up 10.9% from the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EPS also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny as well as the companys expectation of 6870 cents. A double-digit improvement in Hill-Roms second-quarter adjusted operating income, revenues and a significant growth in adjusted operating margin cumulatively drove the year-over-year earnings improvement. Including one-time adjustments, Hill-Roms net income in the second quarter was $22.3 million or 33 cents per share, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 14.6% or 26.7%, respectively. Revenue Details Revenues in the fiscal second quarter increased 33% year over year to $632.6 million (up 35% at Constant Exchange Rate or CER) but missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $651 million. The upside was primarily driven by strong growth in North America and the Welch Allyn acquisition. Excluding the benefits from the Welch Allyn acquisition, the companys revenue growth was flat in the reported quarter, as strong growth in Hill-Roms U.S. business was offset by sales decline in overseas. Including Welch Allyn, domestic revenues jumped 48% to $438 million while revenues outside the U.S. surged 13% at CER to $195 million. Reportable Segments In the second quarter, North America revenues increased 9% year over year to $270 million. While North America product sales and service rose 11% at CER to $193 million, rental revenues improved 6% year over year to $76 million. Moreover, product sales and service orders grew 18% while backlog at this segment increased 24%. . Revenues at the Front Line Care segment, which includes both Welch Allyn and Respiratory Care, grossed $185 million. Revenues improved 7% at Welch Allyn, driven by 11% sales growth in the U.S. The Surgical Solutions segment revenues dropped 4% (down 3% at CER) to $95 million. Within this segment, U.S. sales growth of 8% was offset by international decline of 21%, with particular weakness observed in the Middle East and Latin America. Story continues Hill-Roms International business sales deteriorated 22% (down 21% at CER) year over year to $82 million. Similar to the first-quarter results, significant headwinds in Latin America and the Middle East primarily led to the sales decline. Margin Reported gross margin in the second quarter was 48.1%, up 300 basis points (bps) year over year despite a 26% increase in total cost of revenue. Adjusted gross margin grew 250 bps to 47.9%, on account of the Welch Allyn addition as well as organic improvements. Year-over-year product sales and service gross margin increased 360 bps to 47%, driven by the addition of Welch Allyn, favorable sales mix and improved operational efficiencies. Rental gross margin however dropped 40 bps to 52.5%. Adjusted operating margin improved 230 bps to 13.9% owing to higher gross margin and SG&A leverage. On the other hand, selling and administrative expenses increased 54.5%, while research and development expenses rose 39.7%. Outlook Hill-Rom updated its fiscal 2016 revenue guidance. The company now expects revenue in the range of $2.64$2.67 billion, compared to the earlier guidance range of $2.66$2.70 billion; hinting at low-to-mid single-digit organic growth at CER on account of expected overseas sales decline. However, negative currency impact on revenues is still expected to be 23% for the fiscal. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.66 billion. On the bottom-line front, the company revised its fiscal 2016 adjusted earnings per share expectation to the range of $3.26$3.30, compared with the prior guidance of $3.24$3.30. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $3.28. Hill-Rom also provided its earnings and revenue projection for the third quarter of fiscal 2016. The company expects reported revenues between $640$650 million, implying low-single-digit organic growth at CER and approximately 1% of negative currency impact. Third-quarter adjusted earnings per share are projected within 7577 cents. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues and EPS are pegged at $648 million and 76 cents, respectively. Our Take Hill-Rom ended second-quarter fiscal 2016 on a mixed note with the bottom line surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate and top line missing the mark. On the brighter side, the company is duly reaping the benefits of the Welch Allyn acquisition as is evident from this business contribution to revenues as well as gross margin growth in the reported quarter. The double-digit revenue growth in the emerging markets of Asia-Pacific also encourages us. The companys narrowed guidance for fiscal 2016 keeps us on the sidelines. Moreover, Hill-Roms International business continues to be challenging, primarily on account of weaknesses in the Middle East and Latin America. The company has slashed its full-year revenue expectations for its international segment citing no near-term respite from such weaknesses. Moreover, the ongoing capital crunch in the Middle East, Brazil and Mexico largely hit the international surgical business, which is not expected to improve anytime soon. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Key Picks from the Sector Better-ranked medical stocks are Baxter International Inc. BAX, SurModics, Inc. SRDX and Boston Scientific Corporation BSX. While Baxter and SurModics sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Boston Scientific carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BOSTON SCIENTIF (BSX): Free Stock Analysis Report BAXTER INTL (BAX): Free Stock Analysis Report SURMODICS (SRDX): Free Stock Analysis Report HILL-ROM HLDGS (HRC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research bernie sanders Sen. Bernie Sanders pulled off a slight upset in the Indiana Democratic primary on Tuesday. Several hours after the polls closed, multiple news outlets projected that Sanders would win in the Hoosier State. It's unclear whether what effect the Sanders win will have on the Democratic race, in which Clinton still maintains a substantial lead in popular votes, pledged delegates, and superdelegates. "The Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They're wrong," Sanders told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Still, it remains unlikely that Sanders will be able to catch up to the former secretary of state unless he scores massive upset wins in remaining contests like California, where he currently trails in most polls. But the senator has suggested recently that he does not plan to get out of the race anytime soon. In a Sunday press conference in Washington, DC, the Democratic presidential candidate promised repeatedly that he would take the campaign to a contested convention. And after briefly appearing to halt his rhetorical jabs at Clinton, the Vermont senator reprised his attacks on her alleged coziness with the financial industry. On Tuesday night, he told The AP that despite the "uphill climb" to the nomination, he would be "in this campaign to win, and we are going to fight until the last vote is cast." NOW WATCH: Watch Bernie Sanders rant on why Hillary Clinton isnt qualified to be president More From Business Insider From Esquire PART I Okay, maybe you're not so excited that Hillary Clinton is running for president. After all, she's been around for a long time, there's always some kind of controversy swirling around her, she's no spring chicken, she's married to Bill, she wears those jackets, she's got that midwestern accent, plus she's so serious and wonky all the time. What's left to be said? You've already made up your mind about her. She might not be as crazy as those guys on the other side-but that doesn't mean that you have to be happy about the prospect of another President Clinton. But what if the story isn't about what you know but rather about what you don't? Politicians always say that "there's never been more at stake in an election"-when it happens to be the election in which they're running. But what if, this time out, that's true? What if this is, like, it, the main event, the conclusion of a long-running series, the climax of a nearly metaphysical battle that started before most people had ever heard of her? Think of a story you read once upon a time in which someone is selected for a fate more profound than anybody suspects-think Harry Potter but with Hermione, the grind, the perpetual A student, as the one scarred by the Dark Lord's lightning. Sure, Hillary Clinton is an unlikely prospect for such a heroine. She's so familiar. What she says might change but she's always the same. But you've read the books. If a person seems to be an unlikely fulcrum for forces much larger than herself, that only means...she is. PART II She stands in a classroom, writing on a whiteboard. She is alone-alone as she ever is-and unhurried. There are some people in the room, but they give her space, and her back is to them. She does not turn around. She continues in her condensed handwriting. To her right hangs an American flag and, taped to the board, the text of the Pledge of Allegiance; to her left is the message left to her by the teacher who normally presides over this room. It says, in black marker, "Go Hillary! You are an inspiration to women and young girls across the globe." Then, in red, "Thank you and Happy Holidays to you and your family." Story continues Her own answer is partially hidden by her body-standing close to the board, she looks like a painter who doesn't want anyone to spy her handiwork. She's wearing a high-collared jacket that's the blazing pink of a children's antibiotic, black slacks, and black boots, surprisingly pointy and high at the heel. She is not tall, but she has a strong physical presence, and her expensive blond coif identifies her instantly, even with her back turned. She stops writing for a second and inspects what she's left behind before stepping back and allowing people to see. "Leeann-Thank you for teaching! And, Happy Holidays to you and your students! Hillary Rodham Clinton." It is the perfect HRC (as her aides call her) moment. The care that she took to find out the teacher's name and employ it; the effort she expended on her handwriting, which has the spindly flourish of calligraphy; the time and fierce concentration she applied to a message at once graceful and perfectly commonplace, to a teacher yet, in a school-she is, indeed, nothing if not diligent. And when she is finished, she does what she does with everyone she meets, greeting me by name in that bracingly enthusiastic voice of hers, then shows me to a low table set for our interview, with two bottles of water already poured to the halfway point of two identical glasses. "How are you doing tonight?" I ask. "Excellent! Excellent!" she says, though no exclamation points can quite capture the exclamatory nature of her reply-the carry of her voice in the nearly empty classroom or the sudden and almost startled alacrity of her wide-open blue eyes. "We had a good event." I have been following her campaign for more than a month by now. I have seen many good events. I have seen events in Iowa and New Hampshire, in Boston and New York, in Nashville and Charleston. I have heard her deliver variations of the same speech over and over, introduce the same plans, tell the same jokes, play the same songs-I have seen her, in other words, prove herself adept at the politician's task of making the novel seem familiar and the familiar seem novel. She never gets tired, just tiring, for she applies her indefatigability to the daily exercise of what her aides call "staying in her lane" and "executing." She doesn't try to appear extraordinary, only formidably accomplished, and on most days she succeeds at doing just that. At the same time, we have all seen history itself run a very different campaign-brutal, intemperate, improvisatory, and utterly over-the-top. There has been Trump, of course. There has been terror. And on some days they seem to have joined forces for the purpose of mocking the pretensions of a politician like Hillary Clinton-or any politician who tries to make believe that history is driven by anything more than madness and blood. Every day brings what feels like a new outrage or a new horror or a new loosening of the bonds of either civility or civilization; every day history has asked Hillary Clinton to respond. Tonight she did. Tonight, at the gymnasium of Woodbury Middle School in Salem, New Hampshire, she opened a town-hall meeting with these words: "I want to begin by saying something about the recent events in California." It has been a week since two Muslims-one of them American-born and American-raised-went on a spree of slaughter in San Bernardino. It has been one day since Donald Trump proposed refusing all Muslims entry to the United States. HRC's response was very much in keeping with who she is as a politician-she assured her audience that she's been "laying out a plan to defeat homegrown radical jihadists" and that Trump and his fellow Republicans have "been playing into ISIS's hands" with their rhetoric. She sets great store by the power of laying out plans. She holds firmly to the belief that America abandons its values at great peril, not only morally but strategically. But we know that already. What I want to know, now that the event is over and I'm sitting with her in the classroom in Salem, is whether she knows the stakes of her run-the role she's been chosen to play, herfate. Since I don't want to sound crazy, I simply ask her why she wants to be president now, at this time in history, in this season of extremism and attack. And this is how she answers, in part: "I think we're at a real turning point, and I don't want to see the America that I love-that gave me and my parents and my immigrant grandfather and everybody that I know a real chance to live up to their potential-in any way diminished. I don't think we have any choice but to wage and win this election." She knows! PART III Of course, she sounded paranoid back when she first said it-participants in apocalyptic battles always sound paranoid when they first say they're participants in apocalyptic battles. They sound especially paranoid when they answer a question in apocalyptic terms when the question was really about, well, blowjobs. This was a long time ago. This was back in 1998. Bill Clinton was the president of the United States of America. Hillary Clinton was the First Lady. He'd offended people by being a resourceful rascal. She'd offended people by saying something about cookies. They'd both offended people by trying and failing to bring about universal health care and by trying (and sort of failing) to allow gays to serve openly in the military. They'd been under investigation for years for something they'd supposedly done in Arkansas when, really, everyone knew the investigation was about sex-and secrets. He'd been accused of rape in the nascent right-wing press; she'd been accused of murder; and now they were finally caught. He had a secret, indeed-he'd had sex with a young woman in the White House and he'd testified, under oath, that he hadn't. He had sinned all right; he had sinned against her, his wife, so that now even she couldn't defend him. But she did. And she defended him by inveighing against them-against the "vast right-wing conspiracy." She sounded a little crazy. She sounded guilty of, at the very least, bad faith. Except that what she was saying turned out to be true-there really was an obscurely wealthy man, Richard Mellon Scaife, bankrolling the attacks against her and her husband; there really was a right-wing media spawned by structural changes overtaking the news business, and it had found, in the Clintons, the template for every story that was to follow. Her only error was a matter of language. She used the word vast to describe what she faced. It wasn't vast, yet- It is now. Nearly 30 years later, Richard Mellon Scaife has evolved into the Koch brothers, the then-fledgling right-wing media now claims the biggest and most powerful cable-news network among its ranks, and the money unleashed by the Citizens United decision has conjured a ring of super PACs organized specifically against her candidacy. The vast right-wing conspiracy is still here, and yet-and here's the thing-so is she. The vast right-wing conspiracy has outlasted everybody but her. From the start, the attacks on her have had a tendency to resolve themselves in the most mundane terms-the Whitewater investigation turned out to be about a husband lying about infidelity; the Benghazi investigation turned out to be about, of all things, Sidney Blumenthal. But that doesn't mean that both sides haven't known the stakes all along. She's always chosen to fight on metaphysical ground; she's always defended herself cosmically because she's been attacked cosmically, and so she's lived to fight another day. But now that day is here. She helped create the modern right wing; the modern right wing helped create her; and now there is no place for them to go except at each other. The 2016 election is nothing less than the climactic event of the last three decades of American politics, and-it's an amazing and scary thing to be able to write these words without irony-the future of the Free World lies in the balance. PART IV She likes to laugh. She's famous for it-the forced bark of her parodists. But in fact her laugh is the most spontaneous thing about her. It's the most appealing thing about her, because it shows her willingness to be entertained. She's not particularly funny, but she likes funny people. You can hear her laughing when she disappears into crowds; you can see her laughing when she's being introduced before her speeches. Her laugh overtakes her. It startles her, and sometimes she bends slightly at the waist to accommodate its force. It's restorative; it brings light into her eyes and her high, round cheekbones into sharp relief. She has a radiance sometimes, almost gravid, and it's usually when she's been laughing. It's not like that in the classroom. It's not that she doesn't laugh in private or that her laughter is meant only for public display. She laughs easily and often. But when she laughs onstage, she looks like what she is-the most famous woman in the world, laughing. In the classroom, alone, she looks both tougher and more vulnerable than you might expect. She is 68 years old, and she is all that stands between Ted Cruz and the White House, Marco Rubio and the White House, Donald Trump and the White House. It's not as if she's unaware of what happens if she happens to lose. It's not as if she's unaffected by the extremism on display on what seems a daily basis. "It certainly enhances the sense of responsibility I feel to try to make my case as effectively as possible. It's also troubling to me. It's so contrary to what I think politics should be about, and the kind of people who should run for the most important job in the world. So I try not to be distracted by it or be knocked off course by it. But I do feel extra pressure when I hear some of what they say...It's deeply offensive to me that they are setting out an agenda that's both unmoored from reality and really, at its core, mean-spirited about the American people and the struggles so many are facing." Does that mean that she considers herself a firewall between an extremist candidate and the White House? "I think to some extent that's a fair description. But I have to win. I have to win to be a firewall against that extreme partisanship and that real rejection of compromise." She helped create the modern right wing; the modern right wing helped create her; and now there is no place for them to go except at each other. A few minutes later, she's talking about a suggestion that's been made about Trump-that his very extremism will force a reckoning with currents that have lain submerged in the body politic for a long time. She rejects it. "I think that what he's saying about people is really shameless. We live in a world of instantaneous communication. When he says something, he's not just talking to whoever those people are who come to his rallies. He's talking to the whole world, and what he's saying plays right into the hands of a group like ISIS. It's fact-free but it's not cost-free. That's another reason we have to win. We have to make it very clear to the rest of the world that the United States is still the best opportunity-creator and freedom-defender that the world has ever seen." That makes three. That is the third time, in a short interview, that Hillary Clinton says that she has to win. Now, this will not surprise anyone who believes that what has always distinguished her is the overweening quality of her ambition-her willingness to say anything, do anything, countenance anything, and above all endure anything in her quest for power. And yes, an argument can be made that the determination and resolve she has exhibited since announcing her candidacy originates in the simple fact that this is her last chance. But that's just it: She is not just the first person targeted by the right wing; she is, right now, the last person with the chance to stop it. It is one thing to want to win as a matter of ambition. It is another to feel that you have to win as a matter of responsibility. She is the only candidate with a chance of winning the presidency-from either party-who speaks of preserving what we have rather than tearing it down and starting over. She is the only one who rejects the language of radicalism in her speeches. She is, indeed, the only instinctive moderate-left-leaning though she may be. The candidate who has a chance to become the first woman president turns out to be the last optimist at the apocalypse. PART V It wasn't supposed to be her. It was supposed to be him. It was supposed to be Barack Obama-he was supposed to defeat the partisan forces in which she was ensnared by transcending them altogether. She is not a transcendent figure. She does not pretend to be. She does not even want to be. When she ran against him for the Democratic nomination in 2008, her supporters believed that he was naive; his, that she was cynical. Her supporters turned out to be right. "Obama came to Washington saying there's no red America, there's no blue America," says one of Hillary Clinton's close friends. "That was just wrong. There's a battle going on over who the country works for. It's going to be a pitched battle, because people don't give up power easily. They're not going to roll over. You have to win the argument, and Hillary knows that." She has always known that, and now she has a chance to prove it. The election of 2008 was supposed to be epochal; it was not. The election of 2012 was supposed to be decisive; it was not. The president who was supposed to heal us only showed us the depth of our wounds; the country that congratulated itself for electing a black man to its highest office now stands riven by its most ancient and primal resentments and hatreds; the right wing that seemed outflanked by history in 2008 and demographics in 2012 has doubled down on unrepentant extremism. And the only person who can stop its ascendancy-who can, in the words of a close advisor, "break its back"-turns out to be the person the right wing was designed to destroy. They know it, too: the Republican candidates. Even before Donald Trump unsettled the race and unhinged the rhetoric, they measured how far they could go by how far they could go in their hostility toward Hillary Clinton. In one debate after another, they tried to prove their toughness to Republican voters by saying tough things about a woman they knew Republican voters feared and despised. Chris Christie accused her of supporting "the systemic murder of children" and vowed to "prosecute" her should he be given the opportunity to debate her. Carly Fiorina called herself "Hillary Clinton's worst nightmare." Marco Rubio, nearly trembling with his own sense of righteousness, flatly called her "a liar." And Trump bragged that his contributions to the Clinton Foundation empowered him to compel her attendance at his wedding, the implication being that he and he alone was strong enough to make Hillary kneel. She was their historical enemy, and so she was the foundation for what their campaigns would become. A presidential race in which all candidates understood that there was nothing too extreme they could say about Hillary Clinton evolved into a race in which they realized that there was nothing too extreme they could say about anything or anybody at all. And then came Paris and San Bernardino. PART VI She is not a perfect candidate. She never has been. Her friends and supporters say that, as well as her opponents. She doesn't have the oratorical powers of Barack Obama or her husband; she can't change her fortunes with a single speech. But she's a student, and she's not averse to studying herself. "She is well aware of her strengths and weaknesses," says one of her closest friends and advisors, "and so she knows how to get better. She's not the same person she was five years ago. Being able to read an audience, and then in real time to emphasize the part of the speech that people are getting: That's something she's gotten better and better at. She's better than most pundits give her credit for." This is true. Anyone who says that she's a lousy politician hasn't watched crowds respond to her or, more important, hasn't seen her respond to crowds. "She loves it," says a former aide. What's more, you can see that she loves it, and if that's not the basis of political talent, it's at least the basis of something more important if you're a Clinton-forgiveness. Moreover, she has a power that none of the other candidates except possibly Trump possess, and that's celebrity. Is celebrity a power that might help a candidate actually obtain power? We don't know yet. But when you see its pull at a Hillary Clinton campaign event, you see what it does do when it's blended with technology-it keeps people interested. It keeps them from getting bored, which is a good thing for a candidate who mentions three or four policy proposals a speech. Strangely, celebrity even humanizes her, because it mediates the distance between her and her audience. When she works the line-the border between her apparatus of security and staff and her supporters-what people do, if they get close enough, is hand her their phone so she can take a selfie with them, and what they do if they don't get close enough is hold their phone aloft so they can take a photo of her from a better angle. You can see it from behind: a picket of extended arms and a mosaic of Hillary Clinton pieced together on a hundred swaying tiny black screens. "The Tyranny of the Selfie," she says to me in the classroom. "But you're good at it." "Well, that's what people ask for. If I'm going to try to get to everybody, I have to be good at it. It used to be-and I was talking to President Obama about this the other day-it used to be that you would do an event like this [in Salem] and then you would shake hands with people and they would talk to you. They would say, 'I liked what you said about this' or 'You didn't mention that' or 'Can I tell you this?' And it was a constant learning and absorbing experience. Now it's just 'Can I take a selfie? Can I take a picture?' People just want to capture that moment, and I just try to be accommodating." Strangely, celebrity humanizes Hillary Clinton, because it mediates the distance between her and her audience. Her best moments on the stump, however, involve something much more personal than technology or celebrity. No, it's not the part of her speech where she talks about her immigrant grandfather working in the lace factory in Scranton. It's not even the part of her speech where she talks about her granddaughter and expresses hope that everybody's grandchild will have the same kind of opportunity her own grandchild has. She's no better than most politicians are at that kind of thing, and maybe a little worse, because she's so clearly trying to relate to people-if you're a normal person, you never want to seem like you're trying to act like a normal person. She is most authentic when she's drawing from an experience that no one in her audience has ever had, because it's her experience and hers alone. This is what they ask her at the town halls: "If you're elected president, are you going to be tough enough to handle the Republicans in Congress?" And this is how she answers, before being overtaken by applause: "Well, I just spent 11 hours" Of course, it's a reference to the Benghazi hearings. But it's also an invocation of everything that preceded Benghazi and her endurance in the face of it. Democrats want Hillary Clinton to stand up to Republicans just as much as Republicans want their candidates to take down Hillary Clinton; they want her to be their champion, and she gains authority when she does exactly that. What she rarely shows, however, is just how viscerally she can respond to the right's provocations. Maybe she was tired when she gave me a glimpse of it. It was late; she had just completed the event. She was sitting in a chilly classroom with the crowd long gone; she was flying back to New York that night and then to Iowa in the morning. Her face was a little sallow under the fluorescent lights, and the metallic traces of her eye shadow seemed to weigh her eyelids down. She was sitting down at a table, the chairs a little small for her, but she had managed to find a rhythm with her right hand, as she does on the stump, pointing a finger and touching the blade of her hand against the tabletop as she drove home her points about the candidates vying for the Republican nomination: "Usually in time of crisis, the country comes together. After 9/11, I was a senator from New York and I spent a lot of time with George W. Bush. He was very supportive of what we needed to do in New York, and when it came to 'You know, we need to get help,' he basically said, 'What do you need and here you go-get it.' Instead, we have these two terrible incidents, and you have Republican candidates just excoriating our president and insulting people who had nothing to do with the terrorism we were watching unfold, and who don't have realistic ideas, don't have any grounding in foreign policy or national security, and they just go off saying what they think will get a rise out of an audience. It's really distressing, because that's not how we should conduct ourselves." I had always wondered when she was going to say, These guys aren't in my freaking league. Now she had come pretty close, and the expression that I saw animate her narrowed eyes and her tightened lips was not one of anger, or even frustration. It was one of contempt. PART VII "Our country is divided," she says. Well, yesand there is no better measure of those divisions than HRC herself. Is it her destiny to keep Ted Cruz out of the White House? Ted Cruz looked in the mirror this morning and thought it his destiny to keep her out of the White House. The same idea that animates Democrats-the idea that electoral loss would lead not simply to an unsuitable president but to an unimaginable one-also animates Republicans. Indeed, everything asserted in these pages about the extremists on the right could be and is asserted by the extremists themselves about the candidacy of that notorious extremist Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her supporters see her as a woman with a proven record of idealism, competence, and, yes, moderation. She was a good if controversial First Lady. She was a good if dutiful senator. She was a good if slightly hawkish and secretive secretary of state. Why shouldn't she be a good president? She has enjoyed excellent proximity from which to weaken the Republic, and never has. Why should the prospect of her election seem so catastrophic? Now, there are two ways to answer this question. The first is to call Colin Reed, the executive director of America Rising, one of the super PACs organized to oppose her candidacy. He speaks frankly and reasonably about her vulnerabilities and how he plans to exploit them and make sure "she doesn't enjoy the advantages of an incumbent." "We've broken it down to three main buckets, in terms of our lines of attack," Reed says. "Bucket one is 'unethical'-how they make their money, foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation while she was secretary of state. Bucket two is 'untrustworthy'-the server; her willingness to say and do whatever's expedient at the time. The third bucket, the main bucket, is 'failed record,' pertaining to her time at the State Department. There's Syria and the rise of ISIS; there's the war in Libya, which she advocated; and there's the Russian reset, which only resulted in Putin becoming more aggressive. She's accomplished a lot in her life-she's a former First Lady, former senator, former secretary of state. But she doesn't have the raw political skills of a Bill Clinton or a Barack Obama, and polls show that people don't trust her, even loyal Democrats. So we're frequently pointing out instances of hypocrisy to her left. I have found hypocrisy sells; it's a good story, no matter what your political convictions are." The second way? The second way is to ask your uncle. Or your aunt. Or the person who sits next to you on the plane. This is America; a lot of people don't like Hillary Clinton. Hate, despise, and loathe Hillary Clinton, and use those words to describe their feelings. If you want to know why, you don't have to go very far to find them. "Excuse me, sir. I noticed that you have a 'Hill No!' sticker on your car. Can you tell me why?" I'm in the parking lot of the public library near my house. I live in a conservative area, where Hillary hatred is in the water. I don't have to go to it; it comes to me. "I don't like her," the man says. He's about her age, small and hunched, wearing a windbreaker and ball cap. He never stops walking as I ask him questions, and he never looks at me. "I don't like anything about her. I don't like her tax policies. And she's never done anything. The only thing she did when she was secretary of state was travel around the world. She didn't solve anything!" "Can you give me any details?" "Look at the world!" "Did her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice, solve anything?" "Sure she did! Of course she did!" "Can you give me any details?" "I'll have to look it up. But Hillary Clinton lied about Benghazi. She lied about that video. She does nothing but lie. Her whole life is a lie! Twenty-eight years-all lies!" And there it is, the fundamental tenet of Hillary hatred: all lies. It is never one thing. It is never even ten things. It is everything. It is a totality. If you listen to any Republican debate or any newscast on Fox-or if you talk to your uncle-you will discover that the talking points promulgated by Colin Reed and other members of her industrial opposition have found a vast right-wing conspiracy of sympathetic ears. You will also come to understand that they are incidental to the main project, which is the creation of a woman whose every accomplishment doubles as an indictment, and whose every admirable public utterance must have a poisonous private echo. Her record of responsible service? Her center-left instincts on domestic issues and an attitude toward foreign policy that would have pleased an Eisenhower Republican? Her devotion to a difficult marriage? Don't you see? Can't you see? All lies! She is far from an inevitability. "Twenty years ago, the job was to persuade the undecided," says an operative at one of the PACs promoting her candidacy. "Twenty to thirty percent of the voters were undecided. Now it's maybe five. So the job is to find and inspire those who already think the way that you do. Digging down. That's what the money is for. Their voter, the white conservative, is already highly motivated. Ours, not so much. If the Democratic voter comes out, we win, because there are more of us than there are of them. People of color, single women, millennials: the new majority. But if they don't come out, like 2010 or 2014, the Republicans could easily win." It is, to some extent, the first gerrymandered national election, defined by its extremities and open to unpredictable influence. Hillary Clinton could lose because the left wing of her own party regards her as compromising and therefore compromised. She could lose because of a terrorist attack that occurs a week before the election. Or she could lose simply because so many people don't like or don't trust her. Her fate may be to keep Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio out of the White House. Her fate may also be to let one of them in. PART VIII He looks older than she does. He's thinner now, with a certain delicacy of movement, and with his hair a white fire burning over the pink embers of his face, he's beginning to look like Hal Holbrook playing a one-man version of Bill Clinton. Nevertheless: It's him. He's here, at a campaign barbecue hosted by the Democrats of Story County, Iowa, at the concrete-walled Iowa State University agricultural expo. Martin O'Malley is set to speak. So is Cornel West, as an eccentric surrogate for Bernie Sanders at an event peopled almost exclusively by white farmers. So is Hillary Clinton. And so is her husband. He steps up to the podium first, on a stage improvised on a dirt floor crowded with folding tables and folding chairs. He has come to introduce her, but as soon as he steps into view, two things happen: First, he is greeted by a wave of applause that causes him to nod his head and bite his lip and lift his hand and become, by the very recognizability of his gestures, iconic. Second, he inspires a flurry of speculation amongst the reporters corralled in the back of the barn, who can't help but wonder why he's really shown up. There it is, the fundamental tenet of Hillary hatred: all lies. It is never one thing. It is never even ten things. It is everything. There is an obvious answer: It is the day after the Democratic debate in Des Moines. He always travels to the debates. He advises her and helps her prepare. She stayed overnight in Des Moines, and he stayed with her. They are married, and they have been married a long time. The answer that her aides call "overthought" is that he has come to help her-that though she won the debate locally, with the voters in Iowa, she lost nationally, with the voters of these United States. She does not always live up to the moment, and she didn't last night. The debate took place the day after the terrorist attacks in Paris. The Republicans were in an opportunistic frenzy, and she had a chance to do some statesmanship. Instead, she came up with a rather technical answer that had already been reduced to a sound bite: "It's not our fight." She also defended her Wall Street associations by invoking 9/11 and showed what makes her such a fallible candidate, speaking an excuse of improvised convenience with such moral force that it called her moral force into question. Long ago, when they introduced themselves to the nation, the Clintons did so as a package, as two for one, as a joint presidency. The nation wasn't ready for it, or maybe it was: They used her to attack him, and him to attack her, not as a political figure but in the most personal way possible-as a woman and a mother and a wife. It is different now. She talks to him every day, on the trail, by telephone. But she doesn't need him the way he needed her. She is one of a kind, and as a result she is all alone. This is not to say that the right won't do it again. It will. After it attacks her record and she is still standing, it will attack him. His personal life, and therefore hers. It will attempt to revive the oldest of the Clinton calumnies; it will suggest that their long marriage is an "arrangement" she tolerates in order to preserve her opportunity for power. It might not be Trump, but Trump has taught the party well: There is nothing that can't be said, because there is no price to be paid for saying it. And before she is allowed to become president as a woman, she will as a woman be attacked. "Yes, but there is no evidence that it works," says one of her closest advisors. "The evidence has always been to the contrary-that such things make women identify with her and make her stronger." Still, if her advisors know what lies in store, so does she. She must. "I have always known that this will be a very hard election if I'm the nominee," she told me in Salem. "Our country is divided politically, and I will have to work very hard for every vote. I'm going to have to make that case for myself." It is impossible to know what anyone's marriage might be like, much less hers. It is impossible to imagine what her life might be like, based as it is on continuing cycles of attack and endurance-based as it is on the certainty that she will be attacked and that she has no choice but to endure. She is a singular woman, locked in symbiosis with America's right wing and also with her husband. She has said that when she first met him many years ago she knew that he could one day be president. He has not said the same thing about her. Now, however, as the applause for him dies down, he tells the audience how long he's known her, and then, with his old blue eyes still winking and his voice still a midnight croak, he says, "I've watched all these debates and I think I'm going to vote for her." She does what she does when she's inordinately praised; standing in front of a blue curtain and wearing a boxy dark-blue jacket, she claps her hands along with everybody else and rocks with laughter, as if she's taken by surprise. She's in Iowa, but she could be in New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia-anywhere along the endless trail. She is bigger than he is now, and if she wins she will be bigger than he ever was. That's his fate, and perhaps that's how, in the end, he's been faithful to her-faithful to a destiny he saw written upon her by an adversarial hand; faithful to the fate he must have known about all along, and kept to himself, as one of their secrets. This article originally appears in the February 2016 issue. Washington (AFP) - US companies pulled back on hiring in April, payrolls group ADP said Wednesday, in a fresh sign of continued sluggishness in the economy. Companies added 156,000 jobs last month, about 40,000 less than analysts had expected, and down from 194,000 in March. While the ADP figures often do not match the US Labor Department's total job market assessment each month, the report could point to a likely downturn in the official data when it is reported on Friday. "The job market appears to have stumbled in April. Job growth noticeably slowed, with some weakness across most sectors," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys Analytics, which works with ADP to produce the monthly survey. "One month does not make a trend, but this bears close watching as the financial market turmoil earlier in the year may have done some damage to business hiring." The average economist forecast made before the ADP report was that the private and public sectors added 207,000 jobs last month, and that the unemployment rate held at 5.0 percent. "We are leaving our forecast intact, although this report does lower our confidence a bit," said Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics. By Saikat Chatterjee HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong is conducting a multi-pronged customs, shipping and financial sector crackdown against so-called fake trade invoicing that allows billions of dollars of capital to leave China illegally. Hong Kong's central bank told Reuters it has beefed up its scrutiny of banks' trade financing operations, while customs officials are doing more random checks on shipments crossing border posts and conducting raids on warehouses to ensure the authenticity of goods, senior officials working in shipping, logistics and banking said. The head of a logistics company said surprise customs inspections at Hong Kong border posts had doubled. The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the issues. They said the increased efforts began this year and reflected concerns about billions of dollars in illicit cash authorities suspect are being channeled through Hong Kong following a stock market crash in China last year. "Examinations and investigations reflect one of the strongest trends we are seeing now in the financial sector," said Urszula McCormack, a partner at law firm King & Wood Mallesons, which helped co-author a report published by The Hong Kong Association of Banks in February that highlighted shipping as a sector where fake invoicing can thrive. "(Hong Kong) regulators are now in enforcement mode." China has become increasingly concerned about capital outflows since the middle of last year when Chinese rushed to get money offshore for safekeeping or to invest following the stock market slump and unexpected yuan devaluation. Hong Kong is the most popular route, analysts say, because of its proximity to China. Chinese authorities have tried to staunch the outflows by tightening cross-border investment quotas, stepping up enforcement action of existing rules and restricting residents from buying financial products, such as insurance policies, offered in Hong Kong. But the trade channel had largely been left untouched given the complexity and magnitude of transactions involved. A record net $674 billion left China last year, the International Institute of Finance estimates. A further $175 billion left China in the first quarter. China had been a long-term net importer of dollars. While capital flows reflect legitimate business, analysts say the gap between trade figures reported by China and by Hong Kong for the same goods shows how imports and exports are being used to spirit cash offshore. In December, for example, the gap between Chinese imports from Hong Kong and Hong Kong's exports to China - a rough indicator of capital flowing through trade - surged to a record $1.9 billion, which many economists attributed to falsifying trade invoices. The December figures show that one dollar in every 10 of exports from Hong Kong to China may have been falsified to skirt China's capital controls, Thomson Reuters calculations show. By March, the gap was still a relatively large $1.4 billion. The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department said it was looking into the disparity between the trade figures in coordination with local and Chinese authorities. It said it would "continue to maintain vigilance over the latest trends of money laundering". China's General Administration for Customs didn't respond to faxed questions. The most popular way to fake invoices involves overstating the value of imports into China or under-stating the value of exports. A Chinese company could export goods to its Hong Kong subsidiary worth $100 each, but invoice the export at $80 each. The Hong Kong subsidiary sells them for $100 each and parks the profit in an offshore bank account. The goods involved often lack an obvious value, such as jewellery or electronic components, making it difficult for customs officials or banks to spot a fake transaction. "DETER AND DETECT" Hong Kong's de facto central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), has increased the number of onsite inspections and asked banks to strengthen trade financing surveillance since the end of 2015, two bankers said. "The HKMA has over the past years taken steps to require banks to implement better systems and controls to deter and detect suspicious transactions," Stewart McGlynn, the head of HKMA's anti-money laundering and financial crime risk said, referring to a doubling of suspicious transactions reported by banks to nearly 35,000 last year, compared with 2011. China launched a nationwide operation called "Nation's Blade" in February to counter fake trade invoicing, tax evasion and smuggling. In the southwestern province of Yunnan, 459 cases are being investigated involving products worth around 30 million yuan, China media reported. "Recently, there have been a lot of customs inspections with perhaps a 50 percent increase at times," said Alex Chen, a Shenzhen-based official at a customs brokerage firm, referring to Chinese customs actions. "Lots of people are being caught under the latest operation and many have been fined as well." Trade sources said the crackdown is also being seen in other ways. "Ever since the capital outflow problems, it has become very difficult to interact with the Chinese customs (officials)," said the head of logistics at a Hong Kong firm. "Companies on both sides of the border would take them out for wining and dining (before) ... But now they don't want to be seen with us." (Additional reporting by Michelle Chen, Stella Tsang, James Pomfret and Clare Baldwin; Editing by Neil Fullick) Hulu is prepping to shake up its business next year when it launches a new service that will live stream content from a bundle of broadcast and cable channels. The move, which Hulu confirmed Wednesday at its upfront presentation in New York, is the next step for a company that began as a place to watch next-day TV. CEO Mike Hopkins explains to The Hollywood Reporter that a number of factors contributed to Hulu's decision to begin working on such a service, which many others, including Apple, have tried. "From a branding standpoint, we're in a good spot," he says. "We have device ubiquity - our apps are on every device that matters. And when you look at what's happened in broadband over the last two or three years, this is something that can actually work with the networks that exist today. We're in a good spot infrastructure wise." The unnamed service also is a part of a larger vision that Hopkins has for Hulu, in which the service will be able to provide a more personalized viewing experience. While he won't go into specifics, he says that all of Hulu will get a lot more personalized over the next year. "We're really good at predicting the next show you may be interested in, based on the time of day or the device you're on," Hopkins adds. "It's going to be a transformative thing for Hulu and our customers." The streamer - which is owned by Disney, 21st Century Fox and silent partner NBCUniversal - is said to be in talks with all three of its owners about licensing their channels for the new live service. But while they have an incentive for Hulu to succeed, it's unclear which other networks will sign up. It was a hurdle that Apple was unable to get past when hammering out plans for its service, which were later abandoned. Without disclosing who Hulu is negotiating with, Hopkins says he is "reasonably confident that we're going to get the content we need to launch this and have it be a very good service." Story continues During its flashy presentation Wednesday, hosted by Broad City stars Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson, Hulu also revealed that it will reach 12 million U.S. subscribers this month. That's a significantly smaller base than Netflix's 47 million domestic members, but Hopkins says he's not concerned about Hulu's positioning in the streaming space. "Clearly they've got more subscribers at Netflix, but our growth is accelerating," he says. "Over the next few years, we're going to be putting up a lot of big numbers in new subscriber additions because of the content we're developing and product enhancements we're working on." Hulu is able to directly chart the growth of subscribers, up from 9 million last year, to the introduction of new programming. Onstage at the event, Hopkins revealed that Hulu had more new subscribers sign up for its service on the day of the 11.22.63 premiere than any other day in Hulu history. And the company delivered more streams during that week than any week in 2015. The presentation also featured appearances by Difficult People executive producer Amy Poehler, alongside stars Billy Eichner and Julie Klausner; the casts of Casual and The Path; The Mindy Project creator and star Mindy Kaling; and Hugh Laurie, who will star in upcoming Chance. During the morning, Hulu announced renewals of The Path and The Mindy Project, a Beatles documentary from Ron Howard and a virtual reality concert series with Live Nation. (Adds details on Obamacare, stock price) May 4 (Reuters) - U.S. health insurer Humana Inc, which plans to be bought by larger Aetna Inc, is considering ending the sale of Obamacare individual plans in some states in 2017 to stem losses there. Humana's individual business, which sells plans under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, has been a drag on results, and the company still expects to lose money this year. Humana sells plans in 15 states. The company said on Wednesday that first-quarter earnings fell 46 percent due to higher costs in individual plans, including Obamacare, and its direct-to-customer Medicare Advantage plans. UnitedHealth Group Inc said last month it was losing money and would largely exit the 34 states where it sells plans. Aetna said it is reviewing 2017 exchange participation state by state and that changes are needed to stabilize the exchanges. More than 12 million people have signed up for health insurance on the exchanges, but insurers say they are enrolling only when they need to use services. Because the market is smaller than foreseen, there is not a big enough pool of healthy users to cover the costs, they say. Humana said it is in the process of finalizing the sort of insurance plans it will offer in the business next year, but is considering a number of changes, including exiting certain states or products. It also said it may raise premium prices. Humana said there is higher use of medical services and prescriptions among 2015 members who renewed 2016 plans versus those who canceled them. New members in Obamacare plans sold outside the exchanges also had higher use than those who renewed, Humana said. In late 2015 the company set aside $176 million in reserves to cover losses on the individual business. This quarter, it earned money on the operation but increased reserves by that amount to cover additional anticipated losses, it said. Humana said it had 875,700 individual members as of March 31, a decline of 150,000 from a year earlier. Story continues Net income fell to $234 million, or $1.56 per share, in the first quarter, from $430 million, or $2.82 per share, a year earlier. It earned $1.86 per share on an adjusted basis and revenue was $13.80 billion versus $13.83 billion. Analysts expected profit of $1.81 per share on revenue of $13.76 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Shares fell 0.5 percent to $176.01. (Reporting by Amrutha Penumudi in Bengaluru and Caroline Humer in New York; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Jeffrey Benkoe) Ian Sander, who with his wife Kim Moses executive produced the??popular drama??series??Ghost Whisperer and??Profiler, died Tuesday at home after suffering a heart attack. He was 68. The couple, who married in 1994, signed a first-look deal with NBCUniversal??International Television in December, and their Sander/Moses Productions has a drama pilot in contention at ABC. Spark, a genre soap that centers on the battle for power between two rival families and a rebellious young woman, is set in an alternate history where gas and coal fuel the world. CBS' Ghost Whisperer, starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, ran for five seasons from 2005-10. A big hit for the network on Friday nights, it played in syndication in more than 150 countries. Sander and Moses??authored a companion book, Ghost Whisperer Spirit Guide,??and created Ghost Whisperer: The Other Side, a corresponding web series from a ghost's point of view. They also organized a convention for paranormal-fanatic bloggers to help generate buzz. (A 2011 article in Forbes??crowned them "Buzz Builders.") Sander??also produced the Dennis??Quaid-starring??films??D.O.A.??and??Everybody's All American, both released in 1988, and taught at USC. A native of New York and the son of an insurance??salesman, Sander graduated from the University of South California and attended Loyola Law School before launching a career as an actor. He appeared in the 1970 film??Beyond the Valley of the Dolls,??in the 1971 Broadway play No Place to Be Somebody??and on such TV series as??The Mod Squad, Medical Center and The Rockford Files.?? He segued into producing??and??received three Emmy nominations for his work on the 1990s??NBC telefilm/drama series I'll Fly Away, starring Sam Waterston and Regina Taylor. Sander also directed several episodes of I'll Fly Away, Profiler?? - which ran for four seasons on NBC - and CBS' short-lived??Reckless, a cops-and-lawyers drama that he and his wife executive produced as??well. Story continues The duo also were behind Slam 360, a marketing agency that helps producers use the internet to attract viewers. And in 2015, they executive produced an original 20-minute film for the Marriott hotel chain called French Kiss, shot entirely in Paris. Survivors also include children Aaron and Declan. A memorial service will take place at 10 a.m. on Monday at Valley Beth Shalom at 15739 Ventura Blvd. in Encino. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to a scholarship fund set up in Sander's name at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Please click on "Customize Gift" and select "The Ian Sander Scholarship Fund." See More: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016 ???? By Rajesh Kumar Singh and Neha Dasgupta NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is considering setting up an independent panel to help state-owned banks negotiate settlements with big businesses on bad loans, in order to shield bankers from a populist backlash they say is hobbling efforts to clean up their balance sheets. India's $121 billion troubled debt pile, over $100 billion of which is on the books of state-owned banks, has come under close scrutiny from prosecutors, the media and politicians. Some have blamed banks for going too easy on corporate tycoons, and do not want taxpayers propping up the struggling banking sector. The proposal, being examined by the government and in its early stages, would give the panel power to define the "haircut" a bank should face on a loan gone sour, protecting bankers from critics who want failed Indian firms to pay back in full, two finance ministry and two central bank officials said. Bad debt has hampered banks' ability to lend, threatening to throttle a nascent economic recovery. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made repairing bank balance sheets his administration's "top-most priority," a senior government official said. "Banks have been very reluctant to take a haircut where they face newspaper criticism," said a second senior official, who is familiar with discussions on the panel. He declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The second official added that the proposal had run into hurdles already, however, amid questions over how it would fit into India's existing legal framework. A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the proposal. Fear of bad headlines was one reason why state-run banks declined to consider embattled tycoon Vijay Mallya's offer to pay up to $900 million in tranches to settle about $1.4 billion his defunct Kingfisher Airlines owed, two banking sources said. Story continues Mallya now also faces a money laundering investigation. Mallya told the Financial Times late last month that he wanted a "reasonable" settlement that he could afford and banks could justify. He has denied any wrongdoing. Bad loans have piled up as subdued consumer demand hits corporate earnings, making it harder for big businesses to repay loans. GAPING CAPITAL HOLE RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has set a deadline of March 2017 for banks to clean up their books, and the government said it would inject $11 billion in state banks by March 2019 to help them repair their balance sheets. India Ratings and Research, a local affiliate of Fitch, has said the government would have to cough up as much as $45 billion if the lenders failed to raise funds from markets to address expected future capital shortfalls. Negotiated settlements, in which a bank takes a writedown on a loan gone bad, can help speed up the process. They would allow banks to more quickly establish how much money they would need to bolster their balance sheets. All state lenders including State Bank of India (SBI), the largest, are trading at a steep discount to their book values. Healthier institutions would be able to raise money from the market, reducing the burden on taxpayers. Several finance ministry officials said stake sales were more likely once valuations of state-run banks improved. Mahesh Patil, co-chief investment officer at Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co, said an independent panel for deciding haircuts on non-performing assets would accelerate decision making and help banks focus on their core lending business. "As long as these issues are there, a lot of attention goes in terms of addressing the NPAs," Patil said. "The decision-making will be much better under an independent panel." PANEL PROPOSAL The proposal envisages setting up a panel comprising leading bankers and government and central bank officials, to review some larger outstanding loans and try to arrive at a settlement, finance ministry and central bank officials said. There is also a suggestion to include judges, they added. The idea was first floated in 2014 after Modi took office, but did not gain much traction then, one of the finance ministry officials said. It resurfaced at a two-day bankers' retreat in March where lenders saw it as a way of giving them some kind of insurance while breaking the logjam on bad loans, one of the central bank officials said. Banks are trying other means to reduce non-performing loans. In March, for example, SBI asked industrialist Naveen Jindal's Jindal Steel and Power (JNSP.NS) to speed up a deal to sell a power plant to JSW Energy (JSWE.NS), run by his elder brother Sajjan, to pare debt, several sources familiar with the matter said. The deal was announced on Wednesday. (Additional reporting by Devidutta Tripathy, Douglas Busvine, Rupam Nair and Suvashree Choudhury; Editing by Mike Collett-White) India's parliament Wednesday accepted Vijay Mallya's resignation of his seat, after the embattled liquor tycoon resubmitted his letter in line with the correct procedures. The 60-year-old multimillionaire left India for Britain on March 2 owing more than $1 billion in unpaid loans, and is being investigated by India's financial crimes agency. The government has revoked his passport and asked Britain to deport him, but Mallya told the Financial Times last week he had no plans to leave and wanted to reach a "reasonable" settlement with Indian banks. Mallya had resigned from his seat in parliament's upper house -- or the Rajya Sabha -- Monday but his resignation was rejected after chairman Hamid Ansari raised doubts over the veracity of his letter sent from Britain. Ansari's spokesman Gurdeep Singh Sappal confirmed Wednesday that Mallya's resignation had been accepted. "Hamid Ansari... accepts resignation of Vijay Mallya, resubmitted unconditionally and as per correct procedure," he wrote on Twitter. "Second resignation letter was sent in original. SG (solicitor general) confirmed from Mallya that resignation tendered was genuine, voluntary and unconditional." Last month, the Rajya Sabha's ethics committee had recommended his expulsion from parliament over huge bank defaults. On Monday, Mallya said in his letter that he did not want his name to be "further dragged in the mud" and called the accusations against him "false and baseless". Critics say the government has not done enough to tackle the issue of wealthy individuals such as Mallya, once dubbed the King of Good Times for his lavish lifestyle, failing to repay bank loans. The debts relate to Mallya's now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, which shut down in 2012 having never made a profit. Last month an Indian court issued an arrest warrant for him after he repeatedly failed to appear before investigators looking into Kingfisher's finances. A two-time independent MP, he also ran a liquor empire and is a part-owner of the Force India Formula 1 team. His Twitter profile now describes him as a "former member of parliament". It should come as no surprise that the Indiana primary yielded victories for Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders. The state is populated with many working-class whites, most of whom havent gotten a raise in real terms since 1968, as well as minorities who tend to feel the system isnt working for them. I grew up in Indiana in a small town filled with migrant farm workers and laid off factory laborers forced to take cashier jobs at the big box stores that had decimated the town square retail environment. So the sentiment behind Trumps brand of populism or feeling the Bern has never struck me as particularly fringe. Their appeal seems tailored to the kinds of voters in my home state. Grappling with that and listening to what Hoosiers are saying is going to be crucial for Hillary Clinton if she wants to beat Trump in the general election. Indianas voterslike many primary voters this yearare signaling that a middle-of-the-road economic message isnt going to work for Democrats anymore. Since the Reagan revolution made a markets know best approach the status quo economic maxim in this country, Democrats have struggled to come up with a response. Clintonomics was a successful hedge for a while, a leftish-wing way of reconciling with laissez faire economics. But growth in that decade was built on a technology-driven productivity boost thats now tapped out, along with a market bubble that wasnt (and shouldnt have been) sustainable. Meanwhile, some of the policy shifts made under Bill Clinton, like the de-regulation of derivatives and move to a system of corporate compensation that allowed for runaway growth in stock options pay actually made things worse for the average Joe. (The later increased both the wealth divide and short-term thinking on the part of businesses.) Thats one reason that the economic message that Hillary has been pushing on the campaign trailthe 1990s were great and we just need to create more ladders of opportunity for people to climb their way back to that eraisnt playing well in many places. Very few people believe in trickle-down economics anymore; Democrats need to change the conventional economic wisdom to something that makes more sense in the longest, slowest recovery of the post World War II era. Story continues Indeed, a new survey out today from Democracy Corps, which is co-run by former Bill Clinton pollster Stan Greenberg, found that the Bernie Sanders style message of leveling the economic playing field, reforming big money politics, restructuring the financial, tax and trade systems to support the working and middle classes, and shoring up the social safety-net, is polling much better than Hillarys more moderate approach. Its a message thats in line with the Roosevelt Institutes Rewriting the Rules report, done by former Clinton economic advisor Joseph E. Stiglitz, which stresses the need for Democrats to stop taking the middle road, and take the populist opportunity to push a more radical economic agenda. To me, it sounds like smart advice. After all, its clear that Trump is going to run to the left (in a sense) of Hillary on economic issues, and that the core truth of a stacked deck and a system that no longer works for working people resonates more that the deep irony of that message coming from someone like Trumpa billionaire who has profited from leverage. The truth is that both mainstream Democrats and Republicans need a more resonant kitchen table economic message, one that speaks to voters felt experience. forooharbook Foroohar is an assistant managing editor at Time and the magazines economics columnist. Shes the author of Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business, available here. Madrid (AFP) - Novak Djokovic stepped up his preparations for the French Open as the top seed beat teenager Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4 in his opening match at the Madrid Masters on Wednesday. The world number one, who lifted the trophy in the Spanish capital five years ago, has not played in Madrid since 2013 when he lost his opening match to Grigor Dimitrov. The Serb's success over Croatian youngster Coric was his first clay win of 2016 following a loss in Monte Carlo to Jiri Vesely almost a month ago. "Second match on the clay-court season for me -- the first one didn't go so well for me," Djokovic said. "I had some time to recuperate emotionally and mentally. "I needed that more than physically because it has been a very successful but very demanding start of the season, first four months. I played a lot of matches. "I performed very solid in opening round, few things could have been better against a young player that I never played against." Djokovic will next face Spanish specialist Roberto Bautista Agut after the 15th seed defeated fellow countryman Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. Elsewhere, Nick Kyrgios dumped out 2013 finalist Stan Wawrinka, with the Australian seeing off the Swiss 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/2) in the second round. Wawrinka, the fourth seed, managed 11 aces but was unable to break the Kyrgios serve while losing his own four times. "It was generally a good match, I had chances in the first set," Wawrinka said. "He was serving well in the big moments. He played better on a few important points. "His serve was tough to read. it was a high-level match but a few points can make the difference." Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori was helped by a collapse from Fabio Fognini as the Italian served for victory -- Asia's top player completed a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 fightback win. "After the first set, he started playing better than me. In the third, he deserved to win. I don't know what happened to him in the last couple of games. Story continues "I had a little luck, so I tried to keep up my confidence." Czech eighth seed Tomas Berdych showed fitness after a stomach virus, advancing over Denis Istomin 6-3, 6-3, while world number nine David Ferrer beat Denis Kudla 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. French 16th seed Gilles Simon will line up against Andy Murray in the next round on Wednesday after a defeat of Estoril finalist Pablo Carreno Busta 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. - Azarenka pulls out - The women's Madrid Open was hit by a high-level injury defection as fourth seed and two-time finalist Victoria Azarenka quit before her match due to lower back pain. The premature exit handed a place in the quarter-finals to qualifier Louisa Chirico. Azarenka, from Belarus and the winner of back-to-back titles in March at Indian Wells and Miami, had advanced at the Caja Magica with a pair of straight-set wins, losing just 11 games. The world number five lost Madrid finals in 2011 and 2012. Her withdrawal came on the day that holder and two-time champion Petra Kvitova lost in the third round, going out to Australian Daria Gavrilova 6-3, 6-4. There are now no top five women's seeds left in the event. Number six Simona Halep heads the field after she beat Swiss 10th seed Timea Bacsinszky, a title-winner at the weekend in Morocco, 6-2, 6-3. Azarenka joins Roger Federer in pulling out of one of the final major tune-ups prior to the May 22 start of the French Open due to back problems. "I tweaked my back in my first match, it was cold that day," said Azarenka. "In my second match, I was in a lot of discomfort. I thought a day off would help, but today during a hit it came back again. "I just don't feel I'm able to compete today." Azarenka was unsure if she would be able to play Rome, which begins on Monday. "I want to make a smart decision for the big picture," she said. Romanian Irina Begu beat Christina McHale 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-4 while Sorana Cirstea defeated German Laura Siegemund 6-4, 7-6 (11/9). LONDON (Reuters) - Direct Line Insurance Group (DLGD.L) reported a 4.2 percent rise in first-quarter gross written premiums from continuing operations on Wednesday, in line with expectations. Britain's largest motor insurer said in a statement that gross written premiums rose to 777.8 million pounds in the quarter from a year earlier, compared with a company-supplied consensus forecast of 776 million pounds. The FTSE 100 company, whose brands include Churchill, Green Flag and Privilege, retained its forecast to achieve a full-year combined operating ratio from continuing operations between 93 percent and 95 percent. A number below 100 percent indicates a profit. Direct Line saw net investment losses of 7.7 million pounds in the quarter, however, following the sale of some high-yield assets. These were in the energy sector, a Direct Line spokeswoman said. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohnn and Noor Zainab Hussain) BEDMINSTER, NJ and DUBLIN, IRELAND / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2016 / Amarin Corporation plc (AMRN) will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss the results of the first quarter 2016, to be held Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 8:00 AM Eastern Time. To participate in this event, dial 877-407-8033 domestically, or 201-689-8033 internationally, approximately 5 to 10 minutes before the beginning of the call. Additionally, you can listen to the event online at www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=174934 as well as via the Amarin website (www.amarincorp.com). If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the event archive will be available at www.investorcalendar.com or www.amarincorp.com. You may access the teleconference replay by dialing 877-660-6853 domestically or 201-612-7415 internationally, referencing conference ID # 13635415. The replay will be available beginning approximately 2 hours after the completion of the live event, ending at midnight Eastern on June 5, 2016. About Amarin Amarin Corporation plc is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the commercialization and development of therapeutics to improve cardiovascular health. Amarin's product development program leverages its extensive experience in lipid science and the potential therapeutic benefits of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Amarin's clinical program includes commitment to an ongoing outcomes study. Vascepa(R) (icosapent ethyl), Amarin's first FDA approved product, is a highly-pure, EPA-only, omega-3 fatty acid product available by prescription. For more information about Vascepa visit http://www.vascepa.com. For more information about Amarin visit www.amarincorp.com. SOURCE: Investor Calendar WEST MELBOURNE, FL / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2016 / RELM Wireless Corporation (RWC) will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss the results of the first quarter 2016, to be held Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. To participate in this event, dial 877-407-8031 domestically, or 201-689-8031 internationally, approximately 5 to 10 minutes before the beginning of the call. Additionally, you can listen to the event online at www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=174897 as well as via the RELM Wireless website (www.relm.com). If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the event archive will be available at www.investorcalendar.com or www.relm.com. You may access the teleconference replay by dialing 877-660-6853 domestically or 201-612-7415 internationally, referencing conference ID # 13634434. The replay will be available beginning approximately 2 hours after the completion of the live event, ending at midnight Eastern on June 5, 2016. About RELM Wireless As an American Manufacturer for almost 70 years, RELM Wireless Corporation has produced high-specification two-way communications equipment of unsurpassed reliability and value for use by public safety professionals and government agencies, as well as radios for use in a wide range of commercial and industrial applications. Advances include a broad new line of leading digital two-way radios compliant with APCO Project 25 specifications. RELM's products are manufactured and distributed worldwide under BK Radio and RELM brand names. The Company maintains its headquarters in West Melbourne, Florida and can be contacted through its web site at www.relm.com or directly at 1-800-821-2900. The Company's common stock trades on the NYSE MKT market under the symbol "RWC". SOURCE: Investor Calendar SAN JUAN, PR / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2016 / Triple-S Management Corporation (GTS) will host a live webcast to discuss the results of the first quarter 2016, to be held Thursday, May 5, 2016 at 9:00 AM Eastern Time. To participate in this event, go to the event online at www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=174946 as well as via the Triple-S Management Corporation website (www.triplesmanagement.com). If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the event archive will be available at www.triplesmanagement.com. About Triple-S Management Corporation Triple-S Management Corporation is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. It is one of the leading players in the managed care industry in Puerto Rico. Triple-S Management has the exclusive right to use the Blue Cross Blue Shield name and mark throughout Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Costa Rica. With more than 50 years of experience in the industry, Triple-S Management offers a broad portfolio of managed care and related products in the Commercial, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage markets under the Blue Cross Blue Shield marks. In addition to its managed care business, Triple-S Management provides non-Blue Cross Blue Shield branded life and property and casualty insurance in Puerto Rico. For more information about Triple-S Management, visit www.triplesmanagement.com or contact kwaller@allwayscommunicate.com. SOURCE: Investor Calendar By Emily Wither NAWARAN, Iraq (Reuters) - When Islamic State swept into the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar in 2014, a few young Yazidi women took up arms against the militants attacking women and girls from their community. "They took eight of my neighbors and I saw they were killing the children," Asema Dahir told Reuters last month at a checkpoint near a front line north of Mosul. Dressed in military fatigues, the 21-year-old is now part of an all-female unit in the Kurdish peshmerga forces, which have played an important role in pushing back Islamic State in northern Iraq. The killing and enslaving of thousands from Iraq's minority Yazidi community focused international attention on the group's violent campaign to impose its radical ideology and prompted Washington to launch an air offensive. It also prompted the formation of this unusual 30-woman unit made up of Yazidis as well as Kurds from Iraq and neighboring Syria. For them, only one thing matters: revenge for the women raped, beaten and executed by the jihadist militants. Dahir said she was stunned by the brutality of the militants, some of whom were neighbors and others from outside the area. "They killed my uncle and took my cousin's wife who had only just married eight days earlier," she said, her piercing eyes clouding over. The bride, like thousands of other Yazidi women, is still being held by the militants. For matching Wider Image pictures, please click on: http://reut.rs/1SNahZe During the firefights that raged across Sinjar in 2014, Dahir said she killed two Islamic State fighters before being shot in the leg. Reuters could not independently verify the fighters' personal accounts. Well-worn photographs of children and families tucked into the edge of mirrors or pressed onto walls in the women's spartan barracks are reminders of what they have sacrificed to join the fight. Haseba Nauzad, the unit's 24-year-old commander, lost her marriage. She was living with her husband in Turkey when Islamic State swept through northern Iraq and announced its so-called caliphate over areas that included traditional Kurdish lands. "I saw them raping my Kurdish sisters and I couldn't accept this injustice," Nauzad said. Her husband wanted to pay human smugglers to take them to Europe along with more than a million others fleeing conflict in the region, but she insisted on going home to fight the Islamists. "I put my personal life aside, and I came to defend my Kurdish sisters and mothers and stand against this enemy," she said. She has lost contact with her husband since he arrived in Germany. In a conservative society where women are often expected to stay at home, these women say gender does not keep them from entering battle. "If a man can carry a weapon, a woman can do the same," said Nauzad. "The men are inspired to fight harder when they see women standing in the same battlefield as them." The women in the unit are convinced Islamic State militants are scared of women fighters "because they think if they are killed by a woman, they will not go to heaven," said Nauzad. "This story encourages more women to join the fight." (Writing by Stephen Kalin; editing by Ralph Boulton) By Phil Stewart and Andrea Shalal STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - Islamic State militants killed a U.S. Navy SEAL in northern Iraq on Tuesday after blasting through Kurdish defenses and overrunning a town in the biggest offensive in the area for months, officials said. The elite serviceman was the third American to be killed in direct combat since a U.S.-led coalition launched a campaign in 2014 to "degrade and destroy" Islamic State and is a measure of its deepening involvement in the conflict. "It is a combat death, of course, and a very sad loss," U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter told reporters during a trip to Germany. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the dead serviceman was a Navy SEAL. The SEALs are considered to be among the most able U.S. special operations forces and capable of taking on dangerous missions. The serviceman's identity and rank were not disclosed by the Pentagon. The governor of the U.S. state of Arizona, Doug Ducey, identified the slain serviceman as Charlie Keating IV, and said Keating had attended high school in Phoenix. The San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, in southern California, cited unnamed SEALs and their family members in reporting that Keating was the grandson of Charles Keating Jr., a banker who played a leading role in the U.S. savings and loan scandal of the 1980s that embroiled five U.S. senators. A senior official within the Kurdish peshmerga forces facing Islamic State in northern Iraq said the man had been killed near the town of Tel Asqof, around 28 kilometers (17 miles) from the militant stronghold of Mosul. The Islamic State insurgents occupied the town at dawn on Tuesday but were driven out later in the day by the peshmerga. A U.S. military official said the coalition had helped the peshmerga by conducting more than 20 air strikes with F-15 jets and drones. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Navy SEAL was killed "by direct fire" while on a mission to advise and assist local forces in Iraq. Carter's spokesman, Peter Cook, said the incident took place during an Islamic State attack on a peshmerga position some 3 to 5 km behind the forward line. SNIPERS AND SUICIDE BOMBERS In mid-April the United States announced plans to send an additional 200 troops to Iraq and put them closer to the front lines of battle to advise Iraqi forces in the war against the Islamic State militant group. Underscoring the complicated nature of the U.S. role in Iraq, the White House told reporters that even though the serviceman died in a combat situation, he was not on a combat mission. "He was not on the front lines. But he was two miles away, and it turns out that being two miles away from the front lines between Iraqi forces and ISIL is a very dangerous place to be," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, using an acronym for Islamic State. Last month, an Islamic State attack on a U.S. base killed Marine Staff Sergeant Louis Cardin and wounded eight other Americans providing force protection fire to Iraqi army troops. Such Islamic State incursions are rare in northern Iraq, where the Kurdish peshmerga have pushed the militants back with the help of coalition air strikes and set up defensive lines that the militants are rarely able to breach. The leader of a militia deployed alongside peshmerga in Tel Asqof said the insurgents had used multiple suicide bombers, some driving vehicles laden with explosives, to penetrate peshmerga lines. The Kurdistan Region Security Council said at least 25 Islamic State vehicles had been destroyed on Tuesday and more than 80 militants killed. At least 10 peshmerga also died in the fighting, according to a Kurdish official who posted pictures of the victims on Twitter. The peshmerga also deflected Islamic State attacks on the Bashiqa front and in the Khazer area, about 40 km west of the Kurdish regional capital Erbil, Kurdish military sources said. The Islamist militants have been broadly retreating since December, when the Iraqi army recaptured Ramadi, the largest city in the western region. Last month, the Iraqi army retook the nearby region of Hit, pushing the militants further north along the Euphrates valley. But U.S. officials acknowledge that the military gains against Islamic State are not enough. Iraq is beset by political infighting, corruption, a growing fiscal crisis and the Shi'ite Muslim-led government's fitful efforts to seek reconciliation with aggrieved minority Sunnis, the bedrock of Islamic State support. (Reporting by Phil Stewart and Andrea Shalal; Additional reporting by Isabel Coles in Erbil, Roberta Rampton in Washington, David Schwartz in Phoenix, and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Gareth Jones, Toni Reinhold) Geneva (AFP) - Israel on Wednesday rejected the concerns of a UN panel over alleged violations in its prisons, including a purported surge in solitary confinements, insisting such tactics were used only in "extremely restricted" cases. The United Nations Committee against Torture, reviewing Israel for the first time since 2009, on Tuesday asked a government delegation about reports of multiple serious abuses in prisons, particularly against detained Palestinians. Committee chair Jens Modvig cited figures indicating that solitary confinements in Israel had nearly doubled from 2012 to 2014, jumping from 390 to 755 over the period. The deputy director of the human rights department at Israel's foreign ministry, Michal Sarig-Kaduri, told the UN panel that solitary confinements were "extremely restricted and used for short and limited periods of time, for a maximum of 14 days only." She explained that while some detainees were placed in solitary confinement as a punitive measure, others were held in "separation" when they posed a threat to themselves or other inmates. "As of today, 190 prisoners, which constitutes only one percent of all prisoners, are held in separation in Israeli prisons," Sarig-Kaduri said. She also insisted that solitary confinement was not used as an interrogation technique. Modvig appeared to cast doubt on that claim and urged Israel to provide a detailed account on how often prisoners are isolated to aid investigators, including in terrorism cases. Broadly, Modvig noted that while Israel had robust prisoners rights legislation in place, key rights could easily be cast aside in the name of national security. "There are so many exceptions," Modvig said. "The concern is that these rights exist, (but) only subject to security concerns." In February, two Israeli NGOs claimed in a report that the Shin Bet domestic security agency perpetrated systematic abuses against Palestinians during interrogation. Story continues The Israeli delegation did not directly respond to questions from the UN committee about reported verbal sexual harassment and sexual assault against Palestinian female detainees. Modvig on Tuesday raised concern that Israel has no specific legal provision banning torture, with the crime covered by other offences. Israel's deputy attorney general Roy Schondorf told the panel that a bill separately enshrining a ban on torture in the criminal code was working its way through the country's parliament. Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Israel launched air raids Wednesday on the Gaza Strip after a day of tensions along the border of the Palestinian territory whose Islamist rulers warned against an escalation. Air strikes hit around Gaza's derelict international airport near the southern city of Rafah and in nearby farming areas, said the territory's Hamas-run interior ministry. Security sources in Gaza said the jets fired two missiles at the airport but said no one was hurt in the strikes. Israel's army said its warplanes had hit five sites operated by Hamas. "The (Israel armed forces) will continue to operate in order to protect the civilians of Israel from all Hamas terrorist threats above & beneath ground," spokesman Peter Lerner said on Twitter. The raids followed a bout of violence on the Gaza-Israel border Wednesday, with exchanges of fire that put a 2014 ceasefire agreement to the test. Israeli tanks shelled the Palestinian enclave at least twice, saying it was in response to mortar fire across the border, while the army designated an Israeli border town a closed military zone. A military official said up to five mortar shells in total were fired at Israeli territory, while forces were fired upon near the small border community of Nahal Oz. "In accordance with security assessments, a closed military zone has been established in the area of Nahal Oz," an army statement said. "It means that only the residents of Nahal Oz and the area can enter." Earlier the Israeli army twice confirmed its tanks had fired on targets in Gaza, saying both times it was in response to mortar rounds fired from inside the strip. Palestinian security sources reported tank fire in Al-Tufah in eastern Gaza. There were no reported casualties and no claims of responsibility for the mortar fire. - Warnings of escalation - Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another militant Palestinian group, released separate statements warning Israel against any escalation along the border. Story continues Hamas' armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassem Brigades, said it was ready to respond to Israel's strikes. "We will not permit this aggression to continue and the enemy should not invoke any reason and leave the Strip immediately," the group said in a statement. Wednesday's violence puts pressure on a ceasefire that has held since the last round of hostilities in Gaza ended in summer 2014. Despite Israeli allegations that Hamas is building new tunnels in Gaza that could reach into Israel, the border region has remained relatively quiet since then. The tunnels were cited by Israel as a key cause of the 50-day 2014 war in Gaza, which killed 2,251 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 73 Israelis, including 67 soldiers, according to the United Nations. The ceasefire which ended the conflict has been sporadically threatened by rocket fire from Gaza. Most of it has been attributed to fringe Islamist groups challenging Hamas's authority, although Israel holds Hamas responsible for all rocket fire from the territory and routinely responds with attacks on its positions. The UN's special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Nickolay Mladenov, said he was "concerned" at Wednesday's escalation. "It is critical that peace be maintained to ensure the safety and security of Israelis and Palestinians, alike," he said in a statement. During a visit to the Gaza border on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed its calmest period in years, according to comments reported by Israeli media. "We are nearing the end of close to two years since Operation Protective Edge," he said, referring to the 2014 conflict. "These have been the quietest two years we can recall since Hamas came to power." Daniel Nisman, founder of the Levantine analysis group, said the Netanyahu visit could have triggered a reaction. "Maybe for Hamas that lit one fuse too many," he told AFP. Bond investor Jeffrey Gundlach, the founder of DoubleLine Capital, told a room full of 3,000 investors that they need to prepare for a Trump presidency. When I was a kid, people said on the right are the Republicans, on the left are the Democrats. To the left of the Democrats are the liberals, the left of the liberals are the socialists, to the left of the socialists are the communists. To the right are conservatives, to the right of the conservatives are the reactionaries, Gundlach said at the 21st annual Sohn Investment Conference. He continued: People say Donald Trump is not conservative enough, but hes actually a reactionary, he said, emphasizing Trumps Make America Great Again slogan is a reactionary statement. Gundlach said said he has a feeling Trump is going to win. So I think you need to prepare for a Trump presidency. He said that many have argued that Trump doesnt belong in the party of Ronald Reagan. Gundlach then showed a campaign button from Ronald Reagans campaign that said Lets Make America Great Again. According to Gundlach, the US will get a Reagan response with Trump. He pointed out that Trump has promised to build a wall, create jobs, and invest in infrastructure. He then showed a chart comparing debt to GDP. Donald Trump is extremely comfortable with debt, Gundlach said, pointing that in debt to GDP had remained stable going into 1980 and then there was a debt-based economic boom. He added that its been stable for a while and that he thinks its going to go higher. During his presentation, Gundlach slammed Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz. He also ripped into Hillary Clinton. -- Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Read more: Amazon could be a $3 trillion company, says top VC Carson Block: This bank's business model is 'a** backward' David Einhorn: 'It was a strange quarter' Hedge Fund manager David Einhorn just revealed a bet on a five star stock By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Almost half a century ago, when he first became an active supporter of Britain's Labour Party, Rabbi Abraham Pinter said it had far less of a problem with anti-Semitism than the country as a whole. But while other political groups have recognized the need to address prejudice against Jews, Pinter said the country's main opposition party was stuck in the past. Labour now faces accusations of anti-Semitism in its ranks - from its high-profile former London mayor Ken Livingstone, who said Adolf Hitler had supported Zionism, to students at Oxford University. This has fanned concern among Jewish communities already alarmed at increasing levels of hate crimes. "The Labour Party never recognized it had a problem. It's really where it was 50 years ago," said Pinter, a former Labour councillor who speaks for the orthodox Haredi Jewish community in the Stamford Hill area of north London. "It's been there and it's still there," he told Reuters. Some within Labour say they are being accused of anti-Semitism simply for expressing legitimate criticisms of Israel. Senior figures have said prejudice is limited to a small fringe and was being used to smear party leader Jeremy Corbyn. But the row could play a role in Thursday's London mayoral election. Labour candidate Sadiq Khan, widely tipped to become the capital's first Muslim mayor, said he was appalled by Livingstone's comments and that they could harm his chances in a city home to an estimated 170,000 Jews. Moshe Menezira, manager of the Kosher Deli in Golders Green in north London, which has a large Jewish community, said there seemed to be a problem within Labour and that it was leading to many Jewish voters reconsidering whether to back Khan. "I know a lot of Labour supporters but they're in two minds because of what is going on," the 65-year-old said. Last week, Labour's leadership suspended Livingstone and ordered an inquiry into anti-Semitism in the party following comments the ex-mayor made in a radio interview that Hitler had supported Zionism in the 1930s before "he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews". Livingstone had been defending a Labour Muslim lawmaker after she apologized for posting online messages which included a suggestion that Israel should be relocated to the United States to solve the problems in the Middle East. The incidents sparked accusations from Jewish leaders that Labour leaders and those on the British political left were doing too little to combat anti-Semitism in their ranks. "There is now a cancer in their party and it is getting worse by the day," the Jewish Chronicle newspaper said in an editorial in March. "If Labour is not to lose the last residue of trust from our community, it must recognize and deal with that cancer." SUSPENSIONS Opponents of Labour have previously leveled accusations of anti-Semitism against socialist Corbyn, who was elected party leader last September. They pointed to a speech he made about the Middle East in 2009, in which he described Hamas and Hezbollah - groups designated as terrorist organizations by Britain and the United States - as "friends". Conservative Prime Minister raised those comments during heated exchanges with Corbyn in parliament on Wednesday. "Are they your friends or are they not? Because those organizations in their constitutions believe in persecuting and killing Jews," Cameron said. "They're anti-Semitic organizations, they're racist organizations, he must stand up and say they are not his friends." Corbyn replied: "Obviously anyone that commits racist acts or is anti-Semitic is not a friend of mine." The Labour leader has previously said he had used the term friends in "a collective way". The parliament exchange and the row surrounding Livingstone followed damaging headlines for Labour in February, when the co-chairman of the Oxford University Labour Club quit, saying "a large proportion of both OULC and the student left in Oxford more generally have some kind of problem with Jews". On Tuesday, Labour said it had suspended three councillors in northern and central England because of anti-Semitic remarks. Independent Jewish Voices, a human rights group set up in 2007 which criticizes some of Israel's policies, said it was concerned at sweeping suggestions that anti-Semitism was pervasive in the party. "We also reiterate our view that the battle against anti-Semitism is undermined whenever opposition to Israeli government policies is automatically branded as anti-Semitic," it said. But some Jewish leaders say Labour has more than a fringe problem, with anti-Zionism often used as a cover for being anti-Jewish. "In recent days, we have heard anti-Semitism in the Labour Party described variously as 'a smear' and as 'mood music' being manipulated by political opponents of Jeremy Corbyn," Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis wrote in Wednesday's Daily Telegraph newspaper. "There has been nothing more disheartening in this story than the suggestion that this is more about politics than about substance." 'BECOMING ACCEPTABLE' The anti-Semitism row is casting a shadow over Khan's push to become mayor of London, a city of about 8.5 million people. Most Jewish voters say they have no problem with Khan himself, who said he was disgusted by Livingstone's remarks. "I think the Labour leadership generally needs to act far more decisive and swiftly when these sorts of comments are made," he said on Tuesday. "It can't be right that there are Londoners of Jewish faith who feel the Labour party is not a place for them." In Golders Green, where Jewish men wearing skull caps push prams along the street past Kosher shops and restaurants that line the main highway, there is real concern that the row engulfing Labour could fuel prejudice in Britain. Police figures showed an increase of more than 60 percent in anti-Semitic incidents in London last year, while the Community Security Trust, which advises Britain's estimated 280,000 Jews on security matters, said 924 incidents were recorded across the country during 2015, including 86 violent assaults. Earlier this month, parliament's Home Affairs Committee said it would hold a short inquiry into anti-Semitism over concerns prejudice was on the rise. In the London Jewish Family Centre in Golders Green, Denise, 61, who declined to give her surname, said anti-Semitism in Britain had got "way worse" since she moved from South Africa four years ago. "Six to eight weeks ago I was walking across a bridge and a car stopped and the people inside called me a bloody Jew. The first time ever it's happened to me in four years," she said. The row has been disheartening for Jews involved in Labour politics who support Khan's stance. Mike Katz, the National Vice-Chairman of the Jewish Labour Movement and a Labour candidate for the London Assembly, said the expansion from about 200,000 to about 380,000 party members since Corbyn became leader had led to the number of people with anti-Semitic views also increasing. "People over recent years have found it easier to pursue a discourse where it is acceptable to say these things and blur the lines between legitimate criticism of Israel and something which goes far further," he told Reuters. Rabbi Pinter, who said he was embarrassed that he used to count Livingstone as a friend, said those in Labour who denied there was an issue were part of the problem. "People are getting concerned that this is causing anti-Semitism to become mainstream. My concern is it's becoming acceptable," he said. (Editing by Pravin Char) jim chanos Billionaire hedge fund manager Jim Chanos is betting against Elon Musk. Chanos said Wednesday he is short Tesla, the car company led by Musk, and SolarCity, where Musk is chairman. He was asked by CNBC whether he was short Tesla after Bloomberg reported that two executives responsible for building its cars, Greg Reichow and Josh Ensign, will leave the electric car maker. Here's Chanos on the issue: One of our historical sign posts, of a company in trouble is when numbers of senior people leave over a short period of time. Tesla fits that bill. We have a chart that we've had I guess we're going to have to update it this afternoon of senior executives leaving Tesla. It is a flood of people leaving in the past few years. And that is not a good sign and this is a company that can't forecast its deliveries one quarter out. And yet everybody is confident about what they're going to make in 2020 or 2025. I want to see them make the model 3 and sell it profitably. I don't think they can do it. Tesla reported first quarter numbers after the market closed on Wednesday. The company earned $1.6 billion in revenues and a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss per share of $0.57. Tesla was expected to report a quarterly adjusted loss of $0.60 per share, and revenues of $1.61 billion according to Bloomberg. Elon Musk said in a letter to investors that the company had decided to bring a plan to build 500,000 total units across the Model S, Model X and Model 3 forward two years to 2018. Chanos responded to the Tesla earnings and Musk's letter later on Wednesday when speaking at the Sohn conference. He said: He has not enough production capability, he has not enough batteries, and now he has not enough executives, so what does she do? He pulls production two years forward. Thats a showman. I love it. Chanos is also betting against SolarCity, the renewables company where Musk is chairman. He has been shorting the stock since last August. The stock has fallen about 59% since then. Story continues Here's what he told CNBC: In the last quarter, Solar City had lease revenues of 75 million dollars. If we assume no expenses, one person at headquarters to basically take the lease payments to the bank, no depreciation, no interest, whatever, they have 6 billion of capital employed in the business. 300 million divided by 6 billion is a 5 percent return on the solar leases. We think that John Hancock was using something like an 8 percent discount rate. So the problem with Solar City is they're losing money on every installation and making it up on volume. And that's a problem when you have a levered balance sheet. I think Solar City gets into financial trouble in 2016. He also said he is still short Valeant, and that he is betting against Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. NOW WATCH: THE STORY OF GOLDMAN SACHS: From foot peddlers to a powerhouse More From Business Insider jim chanos Billionaire short-seller Jim Chanos just announced a new short position in a South Africa-based telecoms company. The Kynikos Associates founder announced he was short MTN Group at the 2016 Ira Sohn conference Wednesday. Really, though, Chanos used the announcement as an opportunity to explain why he is bearish on Africa, more broadly. It has to do with China. Essentially, Chanos said, the mining industries in countries like Nigeria and South Africa had been heavily dependent on investments from China. Now, he said, "that's going into a tailspin." Nigeria, for its part, is "rapidly" running out of foreign currency reserves, Chanos said. "If oil prices stay down ... we're going to be having a big problem in 2-3 years," he said, calling that country a "borderline failed state." He said he was shorting MTN Group because 70% of their EBITDA comes from Nigeria and South Africa and almost half from Nigeria alone. He noted that some of the other countries MTN is exposed to include Uganda, Sudan, Syria, and Iran. Chanos also confirmed his short positions in Tesla, Valeant, and Alibaba on Wednesday. NOW WATCH: Broadways biggest hit Hamilton is making over $2 million a month heres why the producer thinks it could be making a lot more More From Business Insider Jodie Foster has been a working actor for 50 years, has won two Academy Awards and her name has become synonymous with gutsy, quality performances. And yet theres one honor that, until now, has eluded her a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I grew up blocks from Hollywood Boulevard and would cross it every single day of my life, says Foster. And you do that thing where youre like, Will I ever be on the Walk of Fame someday? Of course, Foster has had opportunities over the years. But it was by choice that she waited until now. I made this conscious decision that I didnt want to have a star on Hollywood Boulevard unless it was in a conjunction with a movie I was directing, admits Foster. I dont know why that was important to me; it seems silly, but thats why I waited all these years. Its an understatement to say its been well worth the wait; Fosters fourth film as director, Money Monster, hits theaters May 13 after a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and is poised to be her biggest success behind the camera yet. The film stars George Clooney as Lee Gates, the host of the financial program Money Monster, who is held hostage on the air by a disgruntled viewer named Kyle Budwell (Jack OConnell). Julia Roberts plays the shows director and producer, who tries to help secure her stars freedom, while also making sure she gets the best TV possible. Its a fast-paced, clever film that will also surprise audiences with the amount of humor that comes from the situation. It was producers Dan Dubiecki and Lara Alameddine who approached Foster with the script about four years ago. When you think of Jodie Foster, you think of a smart, strong woman who defies your expectations, say the pair via email. Shes built an amazing career of crafting unforgettable characters in some of our favorite films. It was clear within the first 45 minutes of meeting Jodie that we were talking to the director of Money Monster. She wanted to make a film that said something but at the same time was a thrilling ride. That is a rare combination in movies these days. This felt special from the start. Story continues Foster put together an all-star cast, beginning with Clooney, and says she never considered acting in the film herself. Once someone said the name Julia Roberts, it was too perfect, she notes. Nobody thought she would say yes but we figured wed ask and get a quick no before moving on. But she expressed an interest, and Im so glad, because shes amazing. George Clooney stars as a the flamboyant host of a financial TV program in Jodie Fosters Money Monster. Courtesy of TriStar Pictures To play the gun-wielding Budwell, Foster saw countless actors before selecting OConnell, who was the lead in Angelina Jolies then as-yet-unreleased Unbroken. Though Budwell was originally written as older, OConnell won her over. He came in with two strikes against him: He was British and he was young. I wondered how we would believe him as this guy from Queens, she recalls. But he came in and had the most amazing audition. He just blew us away. As an actor herself, Foster recognizes the importance of casting and has complete empathy for those coming in to audition. The first movie I directed, I had never been in a room after an actor leaves and heard producers say things like, Hes too short, hes too fat. I was just appalled, she recalls. So Ive always made it a mission to be as generous as possible because its such a gift they come in with such an open heart. Asked about what draws her to a project as a director and as an actor, Foster muses that the two are completely different. As an actor, I tend to make movies that focus on a singular character, often a lonely character, she observes. But as a director, I usually make ensemble movies. I always have a bit of lightheartedness in a film I direct; I cant really make a movie as a director without some humor. But as an actor, I tend to like characters that are serious as a heart attack. I always have a bit of lightheartedness in a film I direct; I cant really make a movie as a director without some humor. Jodie Foster Stepping behind the camera was always the aim for Foster, who began acting at the age of 3 and by 6 knew she wanted to direct. I remember seeing my first actor-director and thinking, Thats what I want to do. But I didnt think Id be able to because I didnt see any woman directors, she says. I felt the best way for me to do it would be for me to write, so I went down that path. She notes that were seeing more women directors now, especially on television and in independent movies. But for mainstream movies in the United States, its slow going. Foster hasnt yet decided on her next project, or whether she will be in front of or behind the camera. Absolutely no idea, she says with a laugh when asked. Its been a very long haul and Im already really tired and havent started the press tour yet. And while she hasnt appeared on screen since 2013s Elysium, she is by no means done with acting. Ive had a long career; its been 50 years and Ive had to take breaks and had moments where I burned out a little bit and had to find my love for it again, she notes. Im always amazed you can be sort of blase, and then you come back and get excited about something and discover it all again. Ive learned that the meaningfulness comes from the actor. Its your investment, its up to you to really take the material and make it deeper. Thats always challenging. The one thing about acting thats true is its either too challenging for one human being to have to do or its just too boring for one human to have to endure. Tipsheet What: Jodie Foster Receives a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame When: Noon, May 4 Where: 6927 Hollywood Blvd. Web: walkoffame.com Related stories From Clooney to Spielberg, 5 Big Questions About Summer Box Office Jodie Foster, Julie Taymor Want a More 'Complex Conversation' About Women in Hollywood Cannes 2016: Film Festival Unveils Official Selection Lineup John Boyega, the 24-year-old British actor who shot to fame in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, will freshen up his stage chops early next year in a new version of Georg Buchner's influential 19th century drama Woyzeck. Written by Jack Thorne, the playwright behind the upcoming two-part theater event Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the production was announced Wednesday as part of London theater company The Old Vic's upcoming season. Often described as a working-class tragedy, Woyzeck centers on a low-ranking soldier who undergoes dehumanizing treatment that pushes him to commit a shocking act of violence. The Old Vic website calls Thorne's update an unforgettable howl of rage for our time. Directed by Joe Murphy, the play is set to run Feb. 25-April 15. See More: Daisy Ridley and John Boyega of 'Star Wars' on Their Close Friendship The production will mark Boyega's first appearance on the London stage since his film career took off after turning heads in the 2011 Brit sci-fi comic thriller Attack the Block. He is set to reprise his starring role as rebel stormtrooper Finn in Star Wars: Episode VIII, due in December 2017. In the meantime, he will next be back on screens starring opposite Tom Hanks and Emma Watson in James Ponsoldt's The Circle, based on the Dave Eggars novel. The Old Vic also has confirmed that two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson will return to the stage after a quarter-century absence in politics to play the title character in King Lear, heading a cast that also includes Jane Horrocks and Rhys Ifans. Directed by Deborah Warner, it runs Oct. 25-Dec. 3. The company this summer will premiere the Broadway-bound musical adaptation of Groundhog Day, staged by Old Vic artistic director Matthew Warchus and starring Andy Karl in the Bill Murray role of Pittsburgh TV weatherman Phil Connors. Adapted by Danny Rubin from his own screenplay for the 1993 film, the show reunites Warchus with members of the key creative team from Matilda: composer-lyricist Tim Minchin, choreographer Peter Darling and designer Rob Howell. The production is set to run July 11-Sept. 17 in London, jumping to Broadway early next year. BREAKING: Star Wars: The Force Awakens John Boyega will hit the boards in 2017 in an adaptation of Woyzeck at the Old Vic. The ubiquitous Jack Thorne will script the adaptation of the iconic story about a lowly, downtrodden soldier who ends up killing his wife. The Old Vics Matthew Warchus cast Boyega in the title role. Boyega has previously had minor roles in the National Theatre and The Tricycle in Kilburn but this will be his first leading role in a major theatrical production. The character of Woyzeck originated out of an unfinished 1879 play Georg Buchner. He has been described as the first genuine working class hero albeit a tragic one and Buchners drama was hugely influential, often cited as the beginning of modern theater. It is the source of Alban Bergs seminal 1922 opera Wozzeck. In 1979, Werner Herzog adapted the play into a feature film with Klaus Kinski in the title role. The talented Boyega landed his first film lead in Joe Cornishs 2011 Attack the Block. From there he worked steadily including roles in 24: Live Another Day before exploding to global fame in JJ Abrams Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He is currently filming Episode VIII. Boyega has The Circle, opposite Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, in the pipelines. Its a miracle Jack Thorne finds the time to write anything more these days. Arguably the UKs hottest and most prolific writer, Thorne is- as Deadline revealed- adapting Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials as an event TV series for BBC One, New Line and Bad Wolf. The 37-year-old most recently wrote Sky Atlantics well-received crime series The Last Panthers, with Tahar Rahim and Samantha Morton, for which he has received a best drama series BAFTA nomination. Thorne also got noms for best mini-series for his work on Shane Meadows This Is England 90 and completed his hat-trick with a third nom for best single drama for Dont Take My Baby. Story continues His latest miniseries, an original four-parter for Channel 4, National Treasure, starring Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters and Andrea Riseborough is currently in production. The Forge is producing. Thorne is repped by Casarotto, Ramsay and Associates and WME. Boyega is repped by Identity Agency Group and WME. Related stories WME Signs Up 'Roots' Star Malachi Kirby "Diversity" Is More Than A Buzz Word For Identity Founder Femi Oguns - It's In The DNA 'The Circle' Scores Domestic Rights Deal With EuropaCorp; Spotlight Finds 'Courage' For Sales - Berlin John Kasich plans to suspend his presidential campaign, leaving Donald Trump with no major remaining rivals in his path to the Republican nomination, several news outlets reported on Wednesday. NBC News, CNN and Politico reported that the Ohio governor would abandon his bid. He won only one contest, his home state of Ohio. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called Trump the partys presumptive nominee in a tweet sent after rival Ted Cruz dropped out of the race on Tuesday. Trump trounced Cruz in the Indiana primary, and is now less than 200 delegates from securing the Republican nomination. Kasich had drawn support from some of the industrys longtime Republicans, like Harry Sloan, who co-hosted a fundraiser for him in January along with Ron Burkle and Gary Winnick. There had been some anticipation that Kasich would wage a campaign in California for the June 7 primary, with developer Rick Caruso named California state co-chair. But Kasichs campaign never took off after his Ohio victory, and it became increasingly clear that Trump would be able to secure the nomination by the end of the primary season. Related stories How Arnold Schwarzenegger Previewed Donald Trump's Political Future Arnold Schwarzenegger Announces Endorsement of John Kasich for President Hollywood Conservatives Spread Support Among GOP Field Ohio Gov. John Kasich is reportedly set to leave the race for the Republican presidential nomination on Wednesday, leaving presumptive nominee Donald Trump without any remaining foes in the GOP. Citing a senior official in the Kasich campaign, NBC News reported that Kasich would announce his decision Wednesday: Senior campaign advisor says Kasich will announce today he is suspending his campaign - @mitchellreports Word of the governor's decision came after he cancelled a planned press conference in Virginia and announced plans to make a statement in Columbus this afternoon a telltale sign that he was winding down his long-shot campaign. Read more: Donald Trump Is Now the Presumptive Republican Nominee for President Since Ted Cruz's withdrawal from the contest following Trump's Indiana primary landslide on Tuesday, Kasich has been running fourth in a two-man race. With only 153 delegates, Kasich lagged well behind Trump's 1,047 and Cruz's 565 but he also trailed Marco Rubio, who earned 171 delegates before dropping out of the race in March. During his ill-fated campaign, Kasich won only his home state of Ohio, defeating Trump in the Buckeye State primary on March 15. Kasich had hoped to hold Trump below the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the GOP nod and prevail at a contested convention in Cleveland this summer, arguing that he was the sole viable general election candidate the party could field. But Trump's overwhelming victories in key Northeastern contests and in Indiana dealt a devastating blow to forces hoping to thwart the Manhattan real estate mogul. Kasich had vowed as recently as Wednesday morning to remain in the contest, pitching himself as the party's "only hope" to defeat likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Our Only Hope #MayThe4thBeWithYou #StarWarsDayhttps://amp.twimg.com/v/17a51e84-01bb-4d64-9daf-a6d7853d1272 ... The force, it turned out, had other ideas. Senator John McCains (extremely handsome) son Jack had the perfect response to racists who attacked Old Navys ad featuring an interracial family. To the people upset about the #OldNavy #Scandal of a picture of a mixed race marriage, eat it, Jack, 30, tweeted on Monday, May 2, along with a photo of him and his wife, Air Force Reserve Captain Renee Swift, who is black. Moments later, the Navy lieutenant posted a second picture, this time from their 2013 wedding in San Francisco. I hope this one burns too, you ignorant racists, he wrote. Then Swift got in on the action, posting a third image of her and Jack. I was just in @OldNavy this weekend! Bought something for me and my husband. #LoveWins. PHOTOS: Celebrity Activists! On Friday, April 29, the retail chain offered a 30 percent discount to its customers in a tweet that featured a gorgeous interracial family (a white father, a black mother and their mixed-race child). The response was shocking. Absolutely disgusting. Whats next? Gender neutral bathrooms? Pedophilia acceptance propaganda!? Never shopping here again, fumed one troll, while another chimed in, Stop promoting miscegenation or else Im taking my $$$ elsewhere. PHOTOS: Celebrities' Political Affiliations McCain couldnt help but speak up. The mere fact that this is a conversation in the year 2016 is disheartening enough, and why this type of response like the one aimed at Old Navy merits conversation, McCain told Navy Times on Tuesday, May 3. I did not intend for this level of exposure. Mostly, I wanted to take a principled stand on an issue that shouldnt be one in the first place, he said. If there is one result I could hope for out of all of this furor, it would be helping to ensure that intolerance has no place in service, or in our national discourse. One of the biggest Hollywood talent agency shake-ups in years has seen its first big ruling. Los Angeles Superior Court judge Lisa Hart Cole has moved ahead with a tentative issued this morning and it's bad news for United Talent Agency. In April 2015, Creative Artists Agency sued over the defection of 12 agents to UTA including Gregory Cavic and Gregory McKnight, who brought with them top clients including Will Ferrell, Chris Pratt and Ed Helms. The complaint against UTA, Cavic and McKnight alleged a "lawless midnight raid" happened when the agents, still under payroll, "worked clandestinely with each other" to defect. In reaction, UTA called the lawsuit a "flailing and desperate attempt to save face" and brought a motion to delete large portions of the complaint it saw as being a "slander campaign" to publicly embarrass UTA. For example, the defendant didn't like the allegation that its push to poach agents amounted to an "illegal and unethical conspiracy." In Cole's adopted tentative opinion, however, she shrugs off the objection that the allegations are "inflammatory" and conclusory without sufficient factual support. "All of them are relevant to Plaintiff's tort claims for intentional interference and breach of fiduciary duty," states the tentative. While UTA's attorney Bryan Freedman told Cole he's pleased with her ruling, he did take the opportunity to tell the court again the "midnight raid" language is irrelevant and he alluded to proving that in a forthcoming motion for summary judgment. Additionally, Cole has decided to let CAA pursue punitive damages against Cavic and McKnight. Under California law, punitive damages are available for "oppression, fraud, or malice." The defendants argued there was not specific facts pled that rose to this standard. But the judge disagrees. "Among the wrongful acts committed by Defendants, they allegedly signed potential CAA clients with Defendant United Talent Agency during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, even though they were at the festival on behalf of CAA," she writes. "These factual allegations are sufficient to support any conclusory allegations of malice." Story continues On the other hand, the tentative does give UTA some relief at least for the time being. UTA argues that there are no allegations that it ratified the wrongful acts of those defecting agents. Cole sees the point. "A corporation is not deemed to ratify misconduct, and thus become liable for punitive damages, unless its officer, director, or managing agent actually knew about the misconduct and its malicious character," states the tentative. "There are no allegations that officers, directors or managing agents of Defendant United ratified or authorized Defendants Cavic's and McKnight's actions." CAA's attempt to win punitive damages from UTA will be stricken, though she's granting the agency an opportunity to amend the complaint with more specific facts. CAA won't, though, be allowed to seek attorney's fees. The judge ruled those as not recoverable. That won't be a problem, according to CAA's attorney Anthony Oncidi. He says he has information that specifically ties high-ranking UTA officials to the ratifying conduct, which he'll add to the amended complaint. After adopting the tentative, Cole asked the parties for an update on a portion of the dispute that is playing out in arbitration. Oncidi said, following an arbitrator's tentative ruling on May 1, "the most astounding series of shenanigans has been unleashed by the other side." Shortly thereafter Cole sent the attorneys back to their seats to hear other cases on her calendar, and later met with the parties in her chambers. Cole then set a trial to begin December 12. It's expected to last 7-10 days. The United States Justice Department announced on Wednesday that North Carolina's controversial HB2 law, often referred to simply as the "bathroom bill," violates the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Justice Department has found that HB2 violates Title IX of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating based on sex in public schools. If North Carolina fails to address the department's decision, it could sacrifice millions of dollars in federal school funding, according to WBTV. The North Carolina law, passed March 23, banned people from using public bathrooms that don't match the sex they were assigned at birth effectively barring trans people from using the bathrooms that match their gender identity. The law also prohibits municipalities in the state from passing anti-discrimination ordinances that protect gender identity and sexuality. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory has defended signing the bill into law, even as critics from both inside and outside the state have criticized the law as discriminatory. While K-pop stars may seem extremely far away from U.S. fans, a recent report on the artists' concerts indicates America is increasingly becoming a priority to touring Korean acts. Concert kickstarter website MyMusicTaste.com -- which looks at local fan demand to bring musicians to different countries and cities, doing just that for EXO's first U.S. arena tour earlier this year -- present it all in an infographic that you can check out exclusively through Billboard below. K-Pop Boy Bands Set Sights on North America for 2016 Tours Diving into the numbers, which examines from 2013 to present day, East Asia still holds the most K-pop concerts in the world, but the numbers appear to be slightly tapering off as about 50 less K-pop shows were performed in the territory (that includes Korea and Japan) last year compared to 2014. Meanwhile, areas like North America, South America and Europe have all had three consistent years of K-pop concert growth since 2013; with North America (including the U.S. and Canada) marking the second largest territory for K-pop acts. MyMusicTaste notes that currently Japan holds the most K-pop concerts abroad, with China in second, and the U.S. in third. A deeper look into the artists performing these concerts spotlights most of these touring acts are male groups. Of the 1,456 counted, 1,209 shows were held by groups (versus the 249 held by solo acts) and of those 1,209 concerts, only 181 of them were performed by female groups. BTS to Headline KCON NY; Twice Added to KCON LA Lineup When looking at a ranking of the acts with the most concerts overall, the Top 5 is dominated by boy bands with BIGBANG topping the list with 100 live shows. But the 65 concerts held by Girls' Generation, the top touring female act by far, is not far off from EXO's 74 shows. Meanwhile, XIA (of boy band JYJ) is the top solo act with 52 concerts with IU being the top female solo act with 18 shows. The Top 10 K-pop touring acts from 2013 to 2016 are as follows: Story continues 1. BIGBANG (100 concerts) 2. 2PM (94 concerts) 3. TVXQ! (87 concerts) 4. SHINee (81 concerts) 5. EXO (74 concerts) 6. Girls' Generation (65 concerts) 7. CNBLUE (52 concerts) 7. XIA (52 concerts) 9. INFINITE (47 concerts) 10. B1A4 (45 concerts) Check out even more the eye-opening K-pop concert stats in the infographic, provided by MyMusicTaste, below: (Click to Enlarge) [[{"fid":"611051","view_mode":"media_original","type":"media","attributes":{"height":5911,"width":1201,"style":"width: 100%;","class":"media-element file-media-original"}}]] Courtesy of MyMusicTaste Killer Kandyce Downer and toddler Keegan (SWNS) A woman has been jailed for life for beating a toddler so violently the youngster resembled a car crash victim. Kandyce Downer, 35, beat little Keegan Downer - who had been placed in her care just months earlier - so often she had over 200 separate injuries, including seven broken ribs, legs and severe head and brain damage. More than 80 blood spatters were found on the walls by Keegans cot by forensic officers, but the mum of four never sought medical help for the toddler. A jury at Birmingham Crown Court found Kandyce, a mother of four, guilty of murder and she will spend a minimum of 18 years behind bars. Downer, who denied murder, looked down and showed no emotion as she was jailed. Tragic: Little Keegan Downer. (SWNS) Sentencing her, Mrs Justice Frances Patterson said the murder was barbaric and called Kandyce was vicious and unfeeling. Its a horrific tale of callous conduct, at no stage have you shown any remorse, she said.. Why you changed from being a loving and caring mother to a brutal attacker of a defenceless child is a mystery. Keegan suffered considerably in the last days and months of her life. Keegan, also known as Shi-Anne, was found unconscious at Downers home in Weoley Castle, Birmingham, on September 5 last year after suffering a cardiac arrest. A computer image showing Keegans seven broken ribs. (SWNS) Shockingly, the mum-of-four delayed calling 999 after finding the tot unwell in her cot and instead drove off to dump her old blood-spotted mattress near a skip. Keegan was eventually rushed to Birmingham Childrens Hospital after paramedics arrived but was pronounced dead on arrival. A court heard the youngster died from a combination of septicaemia, blunt chest trauma, a head injury and infection. Keegans right femur also sustained serious injury. (SWNS) She also had 153 scars on her body, including her face and neck. Story continues During the three-week trial, the court heard Keegan had also suffered injuries to her brain. Keegans brain was underdeveloped because of layers of scar tissue brought on over time. As a result of the trauma Keegans brain was incarcerated in scar tissue which caused persistent pressure on it, preventing it from growing. "Keegan would have become backwards in her development, she would have regressed from what she could go physically. Family home in Weoley Castle, Birmingham, where abuse happened (SWNS) A medical professional describe Keegans facial injuries as the worst he had ever seen. Kandyce even tried to blame her teenage son for Keegans death after claiming most of the day-to-day care was down to him and her three younger children. The court heard Keegan - who was originally named Shi-Anne Rose Gi-Gi Downer - was removed from her drug addict mum days after being born in March 2014. Police fear Downer only wanted Keegan to rake in 125-a-week maintenance payments. Keegan moved into Downers home in January last year - just eight months before her death in September. The court heard Keegan was last seen by a health visitor five months before her death and an expert reported the youngster seemed fine. Judge Patterson added that before the assaults, Kandyce had been an exemplary mother You did not set out with the intention to kill Keegan but the repeated assaults upon her made death as an outcome of your conduct increasingly likely with the passage of time, she said. Christopher Millington QC, defending, said Kandyces actions were entirely out of character. She was not abusive towards Keegan from the very outset. Moments before hitting the red carpet at Monday nights Met Gala, Kanye West reportedly flew into a rage and fired his bodyguard. Read: Leaked Tapes Reveal Kanye's Epic Backstage Meltdown at 'SNL' According to the New York Daily News, the rapper became jealous after spotting his bodyguard, Steve Stanulis, chatting with his wife, Kim Kardashian, outside her hotel room on the 36th floor of the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. An eyewitness told the newspaper that "Kanye just lost it." Stanulis is a former NYPD officer and actor who has also worked as a bodyguard for Leonardo DiCaprio. He denies flirting with Kardashian. "Im a happily married man with three children and I have no comment," he said. According to the Daily News, a source close to West has also called the report "untrue." "No changes have been made to the security team," the source reportedly said. The musician has not commented on the matter but took to Twitter after the event to thank his fashion team and Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour for the night. Im really excited to get our first best dressed at the met This Gala is like the Grammys of style! pic.twitter.com/POCtXJUGzN KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 3, 2016 Thank you Anna for the invite thank you to the whole Vogue team KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 3, 2016 thank you Olivier for making 4 dresses for Kim to choose from which we chopped 2 in half KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 3, 2016 and thank you for turning my personal jean jacket into a couture piece KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 3, 2016 also to Kims hair and makeup Lorraine jewelry and the whole style squad at Balmain and the Yeezy team. KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 3, 2016 We just had fun with the future theme !!! It was a fun night all together ... KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) May 3, 2016 Also following the event, designer Zac Posen is spilling the secrets on how he got Claire Danes dress to light up. It took 30 battery packs to illuminate the LED lights that were attached to special custom-ordered French fabric. Story continues The dress is hollow inside, Posen told Good Morning America. Its as light as possible. The dress was crafted to fit the theme of Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology. Im interested in that place, where the past and the future meet, because thats universal and that hits a cord around the world to women and girls and men, Posen said. Just recognizing beauty and a magic moment and fantasy and technology." Read: Fashion And Tech Collide At The Met Gala: See The Most Eye-Catching Looks Supermodel Gigi Hadid reportedly spent $2,000 on a manicure for the Met Gala. Her press-on nails were adorned with crystals and had a chrome finish. "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology," #MetGala details : big love to my glam fam for being so much fun to create with xx @patrickta @jennifer_yepez @nailsbymarysoul @monicarosestyle A photo posted by Gigi Hadid (@gigihadid) on May 4, 2016 at 5:12am PDT Miranda Kerr spent Tuesday recovering from the opulent nights festivities. The former Victoria's Secret Angel took time out pampering with a hydrating face mask. Watch: Amy Schumer Reveals Her Trick For Staying Cool on the Red Carpet Related Articles: No awkwardness here! Kate Beckinsale celebrated the premiere of her new film, Love & Friendship, on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, and had two special guests -- her ex-boyfriend, Michael Sheen, and his current girlfriend, Sarah Silverman. The three happily posed together on the red carpet, and judging by their amazing facial expressions, there's no bad blood between the trio. Getty Images WATCH: 7 of Hollywood's Friendliest Divorces At one point, Beckinsale and Silverman gave one another a huge hug, as Sheen smiled from the sidelines. Getty Images The 42-year-old Pearl Harbor actress dated 47-year-old Sheen for 8 years, before splitting in 2003. The exes have one child together, 17-year-old Lily. Since their breakup, both Beckinsale and Sheen have had high-profile relationships. Beckinsale married her Underworld director, Len Wiseman, in 2004, but they split last November after 11 years of marriage. For his part, Sheen dated Rachel McAdams after meeting on the set of Woody Allen's 2010 film, Midnight in Paris, but the pair broke up in 2013. Sheen and Silverman, 45, have been dating since 2014. The I Smile Back star has talked about Beckinsale before, calling her "so beautiful" in a 2014 interview with Howard Stern. She also said she wasn't intimidated by Sheen's famous exes. "No, it's more like, 'Look at all these beautiful women and he loves me,'" she told Stern. "It's more like that, like, 'Wow!'" "He [Sheen] and Kate are like brother and sister," she added. "I love her, she's hilarious. She's really, really cool." WATCH: Gwyneth Paltrow Says Ex Chris Martin Is Now Like Her 'Brother' Silverman showed ET her playful relationship with her boyfriend when we caught up with her at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Grants Banquet last August, where she admitted to sexting him in her cleavage-baring dress! "I wish he was here," Silverman said. "I sent him a picture of my boobs and I was like, 'Who's going to help me out of this dress?' And now he wishes he was here!" Story continues "As I get older, it really is true what they say, that you get in your like -- not to be gross -- but, like, sexual prime," she joked. "You know, you turn into like an animal..." Watch below: Related Articles After a delay, Ingobernable, Netflixs new original series toplined by Mexican TV star Kate del Castillo, is heading to production with a twist. The show, whose star was a key player in the El Chapo saga, was originally slated to film in Mexico. It will now shoot in the U.S., I have learned. According to Spanish-language reports citing del Castillos personal trainer, Ingobernable is expected to film in San Diego. Del Castillo, who recently became an U.S. citizen, lives in California and told ABC News in March that she is afraid to go to Mexico for fear of being arrested and prosecuted. Del Castillo has been under scrutiny by the Mexican government over her connection to notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, which led to her and actor Sean Penns infamous secret meeting with El Chapo while he was on the run following his daring escape from a Mexican prison. Its a telenovela within a telenovela. Its a strange turn of events for sure, Netflix chief content officer Sarandos said at the height of the controversy in January, reaffirming the companys commitment to film the series this year. (Ingobernable picked up to series in summer 2015, long before del Castillos El Chapo ties were revealed was originally slated to begin shooting in early 2016.) Its very complicated, but so far, so good, he said. In Ingobernable, which has an order for 20 episodes, Del Castillo will play Irene Urzua, the wife of Mexicos president. A woman with a strong personality, conviction and clear ideas, Urzua is capable of creating a president, leaving a president and killing a president. Related stories 'Peaky Blinders' Season 3 Gets Netflix U.S. Debut Date Geraldo Rivera Sits Down With El Chapo Gal Pal Kate Del Castillo On Saturday Kelly Macdonald To Star In 'Black Mirror' Episode On Netflix By Humphrey Malalo NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan police have arrested a suspected key member of an Islamist militant group that was plotting attacks similar to one in 2013 on the Westgate shopping mall that killed at least 67 people, authorities said on Tuesday. Militant attacks mostly by al Shabaab militants from neighbouring Somalia have increased in recent years in Kenya, which has a large Muslim population concentrated mostly along its Indian Ocean coast. President Uhuru Kenyatta sent troops into Somalia in 2011 to join African Union military operations against al Shabaab that have driven it out of its major territorial strongholds but not ended its ability to carry out selective, deadly attacks. Al Shabaab has vowed to fight Kenya until it withdraws its troops and it claimed responsibility for the assault on the Westgate Mall in the capital Nairobi as well as on a university in eastern Kenya where at least 148 people were killed. In a statement, Kenyan police said Muhammed Abdi Ali was arrested on Friday as a suspected member of an east African militant group with links to Islamic State, which has seized large areas of Iraq and Syria and inspired offshoot groups elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa. Ali worked as a medical intern at a hospital in eastern Kenya before his arrest and also studied at a university in neighbouring Uganda, the police statement said. "Ali has been engaged in the active radicalisation, recruitment of university students and other Kenyan youth into terrorism networks," it said. His militant group was also planning "large-scale attacks akin to" the Westgate Mall, the statement said, and Ali's network included medical experts who were plotting a biological attack in Kenya using anthrax. The police statement said two suspected accomplices of Ali - Nuseiba Muhammed Haji, who is also his wife, and Fatuma Muhammed Hanshi - had been arrested in neighbouring Uganda. Police did not say whether Ali's group had links to al Shabaab. The Somali jihadist group aims to topple the Western-backed government in Mogadishu and impose its own strict version of Islamic law on the Horn of Africa country. The African Union peace force known as AMISOM has managed to push al Shabaab out of Mogadishu and large parts of Somalia although analysts say it remains a resilient force. (Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Kesha has replaced the lead counsel in her lawsuits against Dr. Luke. According to New York Supreme Court documents filed Monday, the firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP will substitute as counsel for the pop star, replacing Mark Geragos in the role. Geragos, who has previously represented Michael Jackson and Chris Brown, has made some controversial and questionable moves since the beginning of this suit. In 2014, he implied on Twitter that Dr. Luke had raped Lady Gaga -- a claim Gaga denied outright and that Dr. Like sued Geragos over for defamation. Kesha's Mother Drops Counterclaims Against Dr. Luke In February, a judge denied Kesha's request to record legally for labels other than Dr. Luke's Sony imprint Kemosabe Records. She has since appealed that ruling. Meanwhile, Kesha's California lawsuit accusing Dr. Luke of rape and other abuse has been stayed, pending the outcome of a New York lawsuit by Dr. Luke accusing Kesha of defamation. Recently, a New York judge dismissed Kesha's countersuit against Dr. Luke that alleged emotional distress, employment discrimination and gender-based hate crimes. Status conferences with judges in the cases are scheduled for May 11 in New York and May 16 in California. It is unclear whether Geragos will stay on Kesha's legal team in any lessened capacity. Billboard has reached out to Geragos for comment but did not hear back at press time. Kesha follows her mother, Pebe Sebert, in diminishing Geragos' role. Last month, Sebert split with Geragos before dropping her counterclaims of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress against Dr. Luke. Nashville-based attorneys Alex Little, Susan Neal Dickerson and Mandy Strickland Floyd of Bone McAllester Norton PLLC now represent Sebert. Dr. Luke Detente? How Kesha Was Able to Record With Zedd During Heated Legal Battle Separately, Sebert's legal team filed an emergency motion for protective order on Sunday over the deposition of her internal medicine physician Dr. Jahangir Rahman that had been scheduled for Wednesday. Story continues In the motion, Sebert's attorney Little argued that any statements his client made to her physician or her own medical condition should be unrelated to Dr. Luke's case alleging defamation and interference of contract. Rather, he argues that the request to depose Dr. Rahman "appears directed at embarrassing and oppressing Mrs. Sebert rather than discovering information relevant to the case." Dr. Luke's legal team responded to the motion on Monday, requesting a conference on the defense's emergency motion. Dr. Luke's attorney Timothy L. Warnock of Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP argued a number of reasons why Dr. Rahman's deposition should be permitted, namely that its relevance to Sebert's statements in her now-dropped counterclaims of having experienced emotional and physical trauma as a result of the alleged abuses against her daughter. "Plaintiff is entitled to test these assertions through depositions of Dr. Rahman and certain other of her medical providers," Warnock stated in his motion for a court conference. "Clearly, proof obtained from Defendant's medical providers that refutes Defendant's assertion of mental and physical injuries as a result of witnessing purported 'abuse' by Plaintiffs would constitute evidence that: (a) the alleged 'abuse' itself did not happen; and (b) Defendant published her defamatory statements about Plaintiffs with a malicious intent. Defendant also is able to preserve all evidentiary objections to any testimony that she can demonstrate does not belong in this case." KFC has heard your beauty prayers, and its answering them with not one but two chicken-flavored nail polishes. The polishes come in two finger lickin good color/flavors a bright orange (the Hot & Spicy flavor) and a glittery Thousand Islands Dressing shade (the Original flavor), sold only in Hong Kong. They work, the brand said in a statement published by Adweek, like that bad-tasting nail polish designed to make you stop biting your nails: "To use, consumers simply apply and dry like regular nail polish, and then lick again and again and again. The polishes are part of a Hong Kong campaign to build excitement around KFC, Adweek reports. The recipe for our edible nail polish is unique and was specifically designed to hold the flavor, but to also dry with a glossy coat similar to normal nail polish, says Ogilvy creative director John Koay. This campaign is designed to be intriguing and fun to increase excitement around the KFC brand in Hong Kong. The polishes arent being produced for retail yet, but KFC is asking Hong Kong fans to choose the flavor theyd like to purchase in the future. The rollout includes posters, seen above, a social media campaign, and one very special music video, below. The video does clear up a few questions (the color wears pretty well, for one), but leaves us with so many more. What does it smell like? Does it attract ants? What happens if you pet your dog? Wouldnt it ruin your appetite if youre eating, say, an apple? Theyll go unanswered for now, unless the campaign is such a success that theyre released stateside as well. Until then, well have to get our chicken flavor the old-fashioned way: by eating some. (Photos/video: KFC) Photo credit: Getty, Courtesy of St. Martin's Press From Esquire Ron Miscavige introduced his son, David, to the Church of Scientology in 1969 hoping it would help the young boy's asthma. David quickly became a devotee and climbed the ranks, growing close with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. When Hubbard died, David became the de facto leader. What has happened within the Church under his tenure has been the source of rumors and speculation for decades. Ron, who left the Church in 2012 and was later allegedly followed by private investigators sent by his own son, is telling his side of the story in a new memoir. What follows is an exclusive excerpt from the book. From Ruthless by Ron Miscavige. Copyright 2016 by the author and reprinted by permission of Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin's Press, LLC. A statement from the Church of Scientology follows. Sometime in 1987, David gained uncontested power over Scientology. Now no one in all of Scientology had the authority or courage to tell him no. Beyond the usual day-to-day concerns and headaches of the base demanding his work and attention, there was another factor pulling at Davidthe seductive lure of celebrity, most particularly Tom Cruise. The first time Tom came to the base, which also was their first meeting, David was on pins and needles, wanting to be sure everything would be suitably impressive. At that time it was very hush-hush that Tom was even involved with Scientology. All the records of his auditing sessions were kept in folders labeled with his given name, Thomas Mapother. Tom had been audited in Los Angeles by auditors who were not in the Sea Org [an order of the group's most religious members], and he was then married to Mimi Rogers, the daughter of Phil Spickler, a longtime and noted Scientologist. Spickler had run afoul of the organization some years before and had been excommunicated, so to speak. David desperately wanted to get matters under tighter controlthat is, under his controland one of his top lieutenants, Greg Wilhere, had finally arranged to bring Tom to the base for a stay and some auditing. Story continues David orchestrated every detail for maximum impact on his guest. A special dinner was prepared by Hubbard's former chef to be served at the base swimming pool/recreational area. The area looked like a clipper ship, complete with 50-foot masts with sails, a teak deck and even a lifeboat. Schedules in Los Angeles did not cooperate, however, and Tom was late arriving. David paced around anxiously, demanding, "Are they here yet?" Photo credit: Getty Images Finally, four hours after his scheduled arrival, Tom appeared but told Greg that he just wanted to settle in and get to bed and that he and Dave could meet the next morning. When Greg delivered the news to David, he hit the roof. Things smoothed out the next day, and Dave and Tom hit it off. Up on the hillside, behind a house that had been prepared for Hubbard to live in (but was never used), stood a crude rifle range. David had developed an interest in guns at one point. He and Tom used the range and had a great time. Several days before Tom's next visit, he made David a present of an automated skeet launcher to replace the manually operated one they had used on Tom's first trip. David immediately called for a complete renovation of the shooting range and had work crews up day and night for three days totally redoing it, including adding a bunker for the new skeet launcher. The purpose was solely to impress Tom Cruise. I did not see them interact much, but I have been told that they developed a sort of brotherly competitive spirit, each trying to outdo the other. One time, they allegedly raced through Los Angeles in separate cars, running red lights, each trying to beat the other to their destination. Dave's preoccupation with winning ties in with the analysis that follows. In 1953, Hubbard wrote an essay in which he detailed characteristics of a toxic personality type. He listed the following traits as indicative of such a personality (and here I am paraphrasing the original). Each point is followed by [my] analysis [of David]. 1. If something unfortunate happens to a person, the toxic personality thinks that the misfortune is either ridiculous, a mere trifle, or that the person deserves it. I once contracted scabies from sleeping on an unclean mattress at Gold [the Scientology production company that makes their training and marketing materials]. I saw Dave while I was infected, and he shouted, "Don't get near me! Stay away from me!" he was afraid that I might infect him. He had no concern for me at all. It was all about him. Photo credit: Ron Miscavige 2. If someone does something to the toxic personality, the toxic person always regards what happened as extremely important and egregiously bad and thinks the damage can never be overcome. If David ever felt that someone had crossed him, that person would go into his black book forever. You could never mitigate the damage to David if you got on his bad side. One example was Marc Yager, a onetime friend of David's. Marc was the poor sap who spent a whole year living in the swamp at Gold after he crossed David, although no one ever learned exactly what had happened. Some years later, when I needed to make up for something David regarded as damaging to him, Marc told me (in exactly these words): "I don't know how you are ever going to make up the damage." 3. Anything that another person can do is without real value, according to the toxic personality, or can be done better by someone else. Because of my sales experience, I helped the salespeople in Los Angeles improve their skills at David's behest. Later, when I was no longer doing that training, sales began to lag in some areas. When Dave learned that the organizations were naming me as the person who had helped them, his comment was "Come on, man. I could fart more sales than you." 4. The toxic personality tends to be either sexually repressed or perverted. A basic Scientology concept is that life in its many forms is a matter of simply trying to survive. Scientology divides this urge to survive into eight dynamics, as Hubbard called them, that mirror the activities of life and the universe: Survival for oneself Survival through sex and the family Survival through groups Survival as part of humankind Survival as part of all living thingsplants and animals Survival as part of the physical universe Survival as spirits or universal thought Survival through infinity, the Supreme Being, god, the creator Hubbard often talked about the second dynamic in his writings and lectures, noting how most people had hang-ups about sex, but he more or less dismissed these as trifling compared to the deeper issues that he felt posed much greater blocks to spiritual advancement. Hubbard mostly viewed relationship or marital blowups as distractions from the important work Scientology has to do to "clear the planet," Scientology's rallying cry to achieve its aims of a civilization free of crime, insanity and war. In the early days of the Sea Organization, Hubbard was loath to regulate Sea Org members' personal lives, but in the late 1970s, he finally approved an issue written by one of his messengers that put the kibosh on sexual relations among unmarried Sea Org members. David got behind the new regulations, but over time he seemed to be dead set against the second dynamic in all its forms and manifestations. His attitude seemed to be that staff members, and by extension all people on planet Earth, were more concerned about sex and having kids than with helping him expand Scientology. The culture of the Sea Org with respect to sex and the family began to change. What follows [in my words] are a few examples of actions taken while he was at the helm. Anyone in his org, RTC, who was married to someone working in a different unit on the base either had to divorce the spouse or leave RTC, to be posted to another unit. Some staff actually divorced their longtime spouses. Husbands and wives often were split up when one was assigned to an outlying organization, sometimes for years at a time. Photo credit: Ron Miscavige Women on the base were forbidden to have children, and I know that several former Sea Org members have claimed that they were pressured by colleagues or supervisors to have an abortion. I also know that if a couple wanted to keep a child, they were sent off the base to inferior postings. The church has denied that it has pressured anyone to have an abortion. People who already had children when they came to the base were not allowed to live with their children. Instead, their kids were kept at another facility ten miles away. Some staff members who had children in Los Angeles were allowed to drive down on Saturdays to spend the day with them. "Family time," it was called. Parents at the Los Angeles organizations initially had one hour each day to spend with their children. Then, under some pretext, family time was canceled, which created a great deal of stress for many parents and their children. After that, parents and their children had limited opportunities to see each other. My granddaughter Jenna Miscavige Hill wrote in her book that she had seen her parents only a few times over the course of several years and even then only briefly. Photo credit: Sinar Parman In the last decade I lived at the base, marriages were exceedingly rare. Except for one, I am not aware of any marriages between staff members, a restriction that, I am told, has only recently been relaxed. Any memos or issues that needed to be written to enforce these rules were written by others so as to put a layer of plausible deniability between their originator and enforcement of the decrees, but I am positive that any such orders came from David. The final example I'll mention comes under the heading of perversion. I know that former Scientology executive Tom Devocht and others have claimed that David has read out loud the sexual activities of individuals as confessed in their auditing sessions. Friends of mine have also observed this. Scientology representatives have denied it, saying that David has always "rigorously upheld the sanctity and confidentiality of ministerial communications." 5. The subject of food and eating is restricted by the toxic personality. While David's own food allowance runs into many hundreds of dollars each week, the food allowance for staff members at the base was sometimes reduced to less than a dollar per person per meal. That is less than $20 to feed someone for an entire weekwhile that person is working upward of 100 hours. David, meanwhile, was dining on New Zealand lamb or Maine lobster, with a personal chef on call for him, his wife and closest circle. Two entrees were prepared for each meal, in case one was not to his liking. During my nearly 27 years in the Sea Org with my son David, I observed in him on numerous occasions each of the traits I have described. I wish I was not writing this, but it is the truth, and other people I know would say and have said the same. Photo credit: Getty Images A book by Harvard psychologist Martha Stout, The Sociopath Next Door, is based on her decades of study of toxic personalities. In it she claims that one in 25 people in the United States suffers from a mental disorder that leaves them without a conscience. Such people, she writes, never feel guilt, shame or remorse. She contends that, just as some babies are born without a hand or a limb, sociopaths are born without a conscience. Of these conscienceless people is a charisma that can make them more interesting, more charming, more spontaneous, more intense, and more appealing than other people. Not all people who have these traits are sociopaths, of course, but because of their ability to seduce others with their charm, they can be tricky to identify. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions about why I mention Stout's book in this chapter. I have no doubt that it has been much harder for me to write this chapter than it is for you to read it. David, after all, is someone I have known since I peeked beneath that blanket outside the delivery room on April 30, 1960. He and I had countless wonderful moments together, and I loved him as I love all my children. Yet the truth is the truth. I believe that people change throughout their lives but that those changes are not always for the better. A spokeswoman for Scientology sent the following statement about Ruthless: "Ronald Miscavige is seeking to make money on the name of his famous son. David Miscavige has taken care of his father throughout his life, both financially and by helping him in even the most dire circumstances. "Ronald Miscavige was nowhere around when David Miscavige ascended to the leadership of the Church of Scientology, mentored by and working directly with the religion's founder L. Ron Hubbard, and entrusted by him with the future of the Church. "Any father exploiting his son in this manner is a sad exercise in betrayal. "Mr. David Miscavige's far-reaching vision and unrelenting dedication has brought the Church of Scientology to where it is today, guaranteeing its future for generations to come. Scientologists worldwide love and respect Mr. David Miscavige for his tireless work on behalf of their religion." The Church of Scientology also created a website responding to Ruthless, including video interviews with people making statements about the chapter excerpted here. You Might Also Like By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean retailer Lotte Mart stopped ordering Reckitt Benckiser (RB.L) products on Wednesday along with some e-commerce sites, after the British firm apologised for selling humidifier sterilizers linked to deadly lung injuries. During an emotional televised news conference on Monday, the head of the company's South Korean unit accepted responsibility. South Korea said last year that 92 people were thought to have died from causes related to the humidifier products, not all of them made by Oxy Reckitt Benckiser. South Korea says 530 people registered claims of lung ailments from using humidifier sterilizers made by over a dozen companies. The government banned the products, which it believes were only sold in South Korea, in 2011. Of those claims, 221 were assessed by the government as being eligible for compensation. Of those, 177 had used the sterilizer sold by Reckitt, which was the market leader, having been on sale for more than a decade. Reckitt says it has settled about 80 percent of any cases that resulted from those claims. It also set up a 5 billion won ($4.3 million) humanitarian fund in 2013 to aid the afflicted while the claims were making their way through the court system. Humidifiers are widely used in offices and homes across north Asia where the winters are dry. The sterilizers, in liquid form, were added to the water to keep it clean. "This is not an issue just for the Korean branch and the victims but for the head of the main office to get on his knees and apologise to the victims," Choi Ye-yong, who heads the Asian Citizens' Centre for Environment and Health, said on Wednesday. Lotte Mart, part of Lotte Shopping and one of South Korea's biggest discount store chains, stopped ordering Reckitt Benckiser products on Wednesday, company spokesman Yoon Ji-yoon told Reuters. Lotte Mart was among supermarket chains that sold the sterilizers under their own brand, and last month made its own public apology. Story continues South Korean e-commerce companies Coupang and Ticketmonster Inc said on Wednesday they would stop selling Reckitt Benckiser products. Its global brands include Dettol antiseptic wash and Durex condoms. South Korean prosecutors, who have opened a criminal investigation, arrested a university professor on suspicion of fabricating data in a report for Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, a prosecution official involved in the case told Reuters. The South Korean unit of Reckitt Benckiser did not have immediate comment when asked about the arrest, although the head of the unit Ata Safdar, said in his apology on Monday the company was cooperating with prosecutors. Choi and Kim Deok-jong, the father of a five-year-old boy who died in 2009 from lung disease linked by the South Korean government to the use of humidifier sterilizers, plan a protest at Thursday's Reckitt Benckiser shareholders' meeting in London, according to an activist group. Reckitt Benckiser spokeswoman Patty O'Hayer in London said the company respected everybody's right to demonstrate. "We have stepped up and acknowledged our responsibility in this tragedy and are working hard to make amends and to address the issues of all those who have been impacted," she said. "The impact on the business is understandable. People are outraged and they need to find remedy," she said, adding that the company was working with the government to get results for people. "That's what's important, not a boycott." Globally, the Reckitt Benckiser group posted revenue of 8.87 billion pounds ($12.9 billion) in 2015. (Additional reporting by Jee Heun Kahng in SEOUL and Martinne Geller in LONDON; Editing by Nick Macfie and Elaine Hardcastle) Larry Robbins Larry Robbins thinks hedge funds are playing dodgeball. They're being attacked on all sides, he said, with Warren Buffett taking pot shots, and investors complaining about poor performance. Hedge funds are even turning on other hedge funds. Investors should stick by them, though, Robbins told the audience at the Sohn Investing Conference. He said that hedge funds have been hit by "waves" of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Using an extended metaphor on boating, Robbins said that the hedge funds (the "boat") are on the right course. These waves are hitting investors, who are riding behind the boat on an inflatable tube. They're being thrown around, even though the hedge fund is maintaining its course. Robbins urged investors to hang on for the ride. "If you own something where the fundamentals have been good, but the stock prices have been bad just hold on," said Robbins. Robbins, the CEO of hedge fund Glenview Capital Management, has had a tough times in recent months. In a letter at the end of 2015, he apologized to investors for his poor performance and promised to open a no-fee fund in order to make up for it. NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy More From Business Insider Comedy Central host Larry Wilmore has opened up about the motivation behind the use of the n-word in his controversial White House Correspondents Dinner speech last Saturday, and President Obamas response. Ive talked about what this presidency has meant to me on a personal level, how much it really affected me on a personal level and why I was a supporter of Obama from that historical point of view, Wilmore told Daily Beast in a recent interview, adding that he takes personal offense whenever the president has been insulted in the past. He continued, When I think about that particular word and how its been used against our people, for me to be able to turn it on its head and have almost a private moment with the president on stage, kind of like a public solitude, where he knew what I was talking about. Usually thats something we only do behind closed doors. But to do it in public, I thought, would be a strong way to end. And I knew it would be controversial and I was ready to accept the fallout from it. Wilmore, the featured entertainer of Saturdays ritzy gathering, used the podium as a platform to roast political figures like President Obama and Donald Trump, as well as media outlets like CNN and MSNBC. His set included a shocking use of the n-word, which has caused a media ruckus in the days following the high-profile event. Because of the experience in the room, I was wasnt sure how anybody received it. I thought maybe it felt like that outside too. I really didnt know. And then Twitter started going crazy. And all these comments came in and people were saying, Oh my god, that was the best ever and I was like, Really? Thank god somebody liked it out there. Some of the things that people said in support of it were unbelievable, Wilmore said of the social media reaction to his word choice. It was just so much good validation for what I was trying to accomplish. But there was a lot of negative as well, there was plenty of both. Story continues Piers Morgan dedicated an entire guest column to the matter in the Daily Mail, noting that by using the word, Larry Wilmore let down Barack Obama, and himself. But Wilmore told the Daily Beast that he felt nothing but acceptance from the president following his speech. That embrace at the end was so nice, it just felt so genuine. He was nothing but classy the whole time, and the First Lady. At the end, we were on the dais and he was like, Hey, Larry, come over, we got to get in this picture. And Im just there thinking, I dont know, how do people feel about what I did? Did I just blow things up here? I really didnt know, so they made me feel nothing but comfortable and a part of everything. What did you think of Wilmores speech? Weigh in below. Related stories CNN Draws 3 Million Viewers for Obama Speech at White House Correspondents' Dinner Larry Wilmore Comes Out Joking in First Remarks Since White House Correspondents' Dinner 13 Questions Megyn Kelly Should Ask Donald Trump Sean Penn has settled his defamation lawsuit against Lee Daniels, who wrote a public letter of apology to the actor after accusing him of hitting women last year. "I am so sorry that I have hurt you, Sean, and I apologize and retract my reckless statements about you. How thoughtless of me. You are someone I consider a friend, a brilliant actor and true Hollywood legend and humanitarian," Daniels wrote in a joint statement with Penn obtained by PEOPLE. Along with the apology, Daniels made a donation to Penn's J/P Haitian Relief Organization. Penn filed the complaint against Daniels last September after the Empire co-creator compared the actor to his show's star Terrence Howard, who admitted to hitting his first wife. "That poor boy," Daniels said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "[Terrence] ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he's some f------ demon. That's a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America." Exes Sean Penn And Madonna Team Up In Defamation Lawsuit Penn took issue with Daniels' comments, filing a $10 million defamation suit which states that "Daniels falsely equat[ed] Penn with Howard. Even though, while he has certainly had several brushes with the law, Penn (unlike Howard) has never been arrested, much less convicted, for domestic violence, as his ex-wives (including Madonna) would confirm and attest." Madonna later did just that, filing an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE last December stating that, "While we certainly had more than one heated argument during our marriage, Sean has never struck me, 'tied me up,' or physically assaulted me, and any report to the contrary is completely outrageous, malicious, reckless and false." In his apology letter, Daniels added, "I too have been the subject of false attacks by others, like those made here. My most important role is as a father, and it is important to me that my children learn that it is wrong to reference gossip as fact, as I did here. That can be very damaging and hurtful. "Domestic violence is a very serious issue. My comments were cavalier; it was not my intention to diminish the severity of the issue, but rather to express a view regarding the disparate treatment of men of color in our national conversation. I apologize again for the distress that this has caused you and your family. My very best, Lee Daniels." In their joint statement, Penn responded, "I accept Lee's heartfelt apology and appreciate the sincerity with which it was delivered. I also accept and appreciate his generous donation to J/P HRO, which will have a transformative effect on the lives of those we serve in Haiti." Police in St. Petersburg, Russia, arrested 20 LGBT activists who unfurled a gay pride flag during the May Day parade on Sunday. According the English-language Russian news site Meduza, authorities told LGBT activists on Apri 29 that they were banned from marching. Two groups, Free Trade Unions and Green Activists, allowed LGBT activists to march along with them, as long as they did not bring the flags. However, when they did unfurl the gay pride flag, officials arrested them on the spot. The decision to ban the LGBT activists was a reversal from policy in previous years. According to a post on Russian social networking site VKontakte, and translated by the Washington Times, an LGBT activist said: "For the first time in the history of the movement in Russia, [representatives from the LGBT community] will miss out on the biggest street event of the year." LGBT activists in St. Petersburg have been banned from several other parades in the last year, according to Meduza, including the Peace March, the Anti-Fascist March and, ironically, the March Against Hate. According to the Washington Times, the LGBT activists will face fines of up to $300 and 40 hours of community services. In 2015, around 600 LGBT demonstrators marched during the May Day parade. Organizers expected more than 1,000 LGBT activists to march on Sunday. LGBT Activists at 2015 St. Petersburg May Day parade While LGBT activists were not allowed to join the labor movement parade, one group was welcomed with open arms: Neo-Nazis. A group called "Slavic Power Northwest" an offshoot of a group that has been banned in Russia marched in the parade. According to Meduza, they marched under the slogan "For the unity of Slavs and the White Race!" Libertarians seeking their party's presidential nomination say Sen. Ted Cruz should endorse them rather than Donald Trump, who rebranded the Texas Republican "Lyin' Ted" before forcing him out of the GOP primary with a crushing victory in Indiana on Tuesday. Cruz hasn't said if he will endorse Trump, whose campaign trail attacks included retweeting an unflattering photo of the senator's wife and repeating alleg ations that Cruz's father was with Lee Harvey Oswald before President John F. Kennedy's assassination. On Tuesday, Cruz called Trump a "pathological liar" and "utterly amoral." The vicious GOP primary, the Libertarians hope, will push Cruz to endorse them and deliver his socially conservative, Constitution-toting base, which they view as rational for a variety of policy reasons as well. "Ted Cruz has always been brave and stood up to the establishment of his own party, even when it came to shutting down the government, so I wouldn't put it past him," says Austin Petersen, one of three candidates seeking the Libertarian nomination at a Florida convention this month. "With Donald Trump winning, I might be the only pro-life, pro-Constitution candidate on the ballot," Petersen says. "[Cruz has] always shown the courage to buck the leadership of his own party. It would be shocking, but I don't think it would be out of character for him." New Mexico's former Republican Gov. Gary Johnson also is seeking the Libertarian nomination, which he won in 2012 before collecting more than 1 million general election votes. Johnson is doubtful Cruz would endorse him but says it would be welcome. "That would be huge, that could be the quantum leap we need, the attention we need," says Johnson, who was supported by 11 percent of responsdents in a recent hypothetical match-up against Trump (at 34 percent) and Democrat Hillary Clinton (at 42 percent) from Monmouth University. Story continues "There is an opportunity here," he says. But Johnson says it may be more realistic that the senator would say nice things about the Libertarian candidate, a wink-and-nod to disillusioned supporters, than openly defy expectations of party leaders. Unlike Cruz, Johnson takes a socially liberal stand on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, which he backed in the 2012 campaign while President Barack Obama and Clinton were still opposed. Johnson says his appeal to Cruz or his supporters would be consistent support for smaller, less intrusive government. He says Trump's proposals to deport millions of immigrants living in the country illegally and to build a border wall are fisically irresponsible and authoritarian. "I would be the smaller government guy," he says. "Although Donald Trump may say 'smaller government ,' the words coming out of his mouth suggest otherwise." Petersen, meanwhile, says religious freedom and tax policy are planks of his platform that should appeal to Cruz, who himself has staked out broadly libertarian positions against government mass surveillance and military interventions abroad while expressing support for states' rights to legalize marijuana, though Trump has some similar positions, also breaking with GOP leaders. "Trump believes in a progressive income tax, and that is absolutely opposed to the type of system Ted Cruz and I are championing," Petersen says, adding he believes Trump's support for temporarily banning Muslim immigration violates the spirit of the First Amendment. He says his campaign raised several thousand dollars on Tuesday night, an unusually large haul he attributes to Cruz exiting the GOP race. Petersen, owner of the publication The Libertarian Republic, was a staffer at FreedomWorks when the advocacy group helped Cruz pull off an upset Senate primary win against the party establishment's choice in 2012. He raised money for libertarian Ron Paul's 2008 GOP primary campaign and helped train libertarian activists overseas working with the Atlas Foundation. Before serving as governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, Johnson was an entrepreneur. He worked construction jobs in his teens before founding Big J Enterprises, which he built into a 1,000-employee construction firm that he sold in 1999. He took a job as president of Nevada-based startup Cannabis Sativa Inc., which sells marijuana-infused lozenges, in 2014 before resigning in January. The third candidate in the Libertarian race, antivirus software pioneer John McAfee, could not be reached for comment. He told U.S. News earlier this year that Americans should be "truly ashamed" for allowing Trump's name-calling rise to the top of the Republican primary. "If I can't win in a year when we have dissatisfaction and children on stage, well then the Libertarians should just give up," he said. Steven Nelson is a reporter at U.S. News & World Report. You can follow him on Twitter or reach him at snelson@usnews.com. London (AFP) - Opposition Labour lawmaker Sadiq Khan is on course to become the new mayor of London and the first Muslim leader of an EU capital, final opinion polls suggested Wednesday, despite attempts to link him to extremists. The son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver has a 12- or 14-point lead over Zac Goldsmith, his multimillionaire rival from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative party, according to two polls published ahead of Thursday's vote. In a final campaign stop in a street market in a multi-cultural district of south London, Khan joked with stallholders and their customers and posed in the spring sunshine for selfie pictures. But he condemned the divisive nature of the campaign that has seen him repeatedly forced to defend himself against claims that he has failed to condemn Muslim extremists. "I am disappointed that the Conservatives and Zac Goldsmith have decided to have a negative, divisive and increasingly desperate campaign," he told AFP. "Hopefully if I win, I'll be the mayor that unites our city again, that brings communities together." Tensions over the campaign have been exacerbated by a simmering row over anti-Semitism in the Labour party, which exploded last week with the suspension of a lawmaker and former London mayor Ken Livingstone. In angry clashes in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Cameron accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of failing to tackle the problem and attacked both him and Khan for being sympathetic to Islamic extremists. Reviving previous comments by Corbyn referring to the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement and Lebanon's powerful Shiite militia Hezbollah as "friends", Cameron said Labour was a "party that puts extremists over working people". Corbyn denied he approved of those groups and hit back by accusing the Conservatives of "systematically smearing" Khan, and urging Cameron to tackle racism in his own party, which he suggested was "endemic". Story continues Asked about Cameron's comments by a market customer, Khan joked: "He's obsessed with me! The best way to get even is to win". - 'Uncle Tom' row - Khan has urged Corbyn to take more action to tackle anti-Semitism in the Labour party, while trying to distance himself from a row that threatens not only his prospects but Labour's showing in other regional elections Thursday. But Khan was embroiled in fresh controversy when footage emerged of a 2009 interview in which he said government attempts to engage the Muslim community could not just focus on "Uncle Toms". "I regret using that phrase," which is often used against black people to suggest they are subservient to white people, Khan told ITV news. "I was wrong and I regret it." Despite the attacks, Khan appears on course to become the next occupant of City Hall, which has responsibility for transport, policing, housing and promoting economic development in the British capital. An Opinium survey for the Evening Standard newspaper put him on 35 percent compared to 26 percent for Goldsmith. His lead lengthened once second preference votes were taken into account, to 57 percent against Goldsmith's 43 percent. A second poll, by ComRes for LBC radio and ITV London news, put Khan and Goldsmith on 45 percent and 36 percent, moving to 56 percent and 44 percent on second preferences. Khan, 45, grew up in social housing and worked as a human rights lawyer before rising to be a government minister -- a back story that contrasts sharply with his rival. Goldsmith, 41, is the son of late tycoon financier James Goldsmith, and an environmentalist and Conservative lawmaker who Labour has sought to portray as out of touch. Khan told AFP: "I'm a Londoner, I'm British, I'm of Islamic faith, of course I am a proud Muslim. I'm of Asian origin, of Pakistani heritage. I'm a dad, I'm a husband, I'm a long-suffering Liverpool fan. I'm all these things. "But the great thing about this city is you can be a Londoner of any faith or none and we don't simply tolerate each other, we respect, we embrace and we celebrate each other. That's one of the great things about London." Londoners go to the polls Thursday to elect a new mayor, in a bitterly fought election that has laid bare tensions and divisions within British party politics. Polls show Labours Sadiq Khan, a former government minister, poised to defeat Conservative Party candidate Zac Goldsmith, the environmentalist scion of a billionaire businessman, after a campaign marred by accusations of smears related to Khans Muslim faith and now, a worsening feud in the Labour Party over anti-Semitism. Ken Livingstone, Labours last mayor of the capital, was suspended from the party last Thursday after defending a Member of Parliament(MP) who shared an anti-Semitic meme on her Facebook page. In lending support to Naz Shah, Livingstone claimed that Hitler had been a Zionist before he went mad, and then repeatedly refused to retract or apologize for his remarks. Others in the Labour Party were apoplectic at the onetime mayors comments, coming just days before a mayoral election the party is in good position to win, and also crucial local elections. Footage showing red-faced Labour MP John Mann calling Livingstone a disgusting Nazi apologist outside party headquarters went viral on Friday. Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn like Livingstone, a product of Labours far Left was accused of failing to take a strong enough stand against anti-Semitism, which for some in the fringes of the liberal movement is acceptable in the context of Israels policies towards Palestinians. Among his critics was Khan, who moved to distance himself from Corbyn and his party over the weekend. I am an advocate of the Labour leadership actually receiving some training on this stuff as clearly they dont understand what racism is, and there is no hierarchy when it comes to racism, he told The Observer. There are too many examples in our party of people having these views, and action does not appear to have been taken quickly enough. Story continues The affair threatens to widen the rift between the partys establishment and its left wing, already yawning in the wake of Corbyns elevation from the partys margins to its leader last year. If Labour suffers historic losses in Thursdays council elections, as some polls suggest, murmurs of rebellion among the anti-Corbynites will surely become raised voices. Read more: Everything to Know About Londons Mayoral Election While the Conservative Party is no doubt overjoyed at Labours troubles, their own London Mayor has been doing his part to tarnish his partys standing as his term in office comes to an end. Already under fire for what some consider his opportunistic support for the U.K.s withdrawal from the European Union, Boris Johnson last month made reference topart-Kenyan U.S. President Barack Obamas ancestral dislike of the British empire. Howls of fury followed, with many comparing Johnson to another towheaded, politically incorrect leader Donald Trump making hay from Obamas racial heritage. Like Trump, however, Johnson remains popular, and Goldsmith has suffered somewhat campaigning in his shadow. A photograph of the Tory candidate gingerly holding a pint in both hands during a campaign event with the mayor was widely ridiculed, and held up as evidence of his distance from the hoi polloi. Goldsmith, the son of tycoon Sir James Goldsmith, seemingly fits the stereotype of the monied Conservative ruling class especially in contrast to Khan, who has wasted no opportunity to remind voters his Pakistani immigrant father was a bus driver. Goldsmiths campaign has not always conducted itself entirely honorably either, courting controversy with sly, dog whistle references to Khans religious affiliation. Leaflets sent only to Indians, Tamils and Sikhs suggested Khan could not be trusted, including a dubious claim that he might raise taxes on family jewelry if elected. Goldsmith has repeatedly linked Khan to Muslims accused of extremist beliefs although Khan points out, as lawyer he defended clients he did not agree with. Its not doing much to dispel the stereotype of the Conservatives as the nasty party. But many in that party will be less concerned by the likely loss of London to a Labour mayor than they will be about turnout on Thursday. If all this negativity drains enthusiasm in local elections, it could spell bad news for Prime Minister David Cameron, who will need voters to turn out in droves on June 23 if his remain side is to emerge victorious in the Brexit referendum. Britains ugly political season isnt over yet. How Have IBM's Segments Performed after Its Restructuring? (Continued from Prior Part) Strategic Imperatives segment So far in this series, we saw that IBMs (IBM) fiscal 1Q16 results continued to repeat its history. Despite the negative sentiment hovering around IBM following its fiscal 1Q16 results showing four straight years of no revenue growth, the Market was focused on its Strategic Imperatives segments performance. The Strategic Imperatives segment relates to IBMs investment in cloud, analytics, mobile, social, and security technologies. Although IBM dominates the hybrid cloud space, Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) are the leading players in the cloud space. In fiscal 1Q16, IBMs Strategic Imperatives revenues grew by 17% on a YoY basis to $7 billion. Moreover, this contribution toward the companys overall revenues grew by 37%. As the above chart shows, IBM is struggling not only with the decline in revenues but with its margins too. Despite its lack of revenue growth in previous quarters, IBM managed to improve its margins due to stringent cost-control measures and strategic divestitures such as Server X and its semiconductor technologies. However, this did not continue in fiscal 1Q16 when the companys net margins fell to ~12%. Moreover, IBMs received a $1.2 billion tax refund in 1Q16, which the company received from Japans (EWJ) tax authorities. IBMs EPS includes this tax refund. Cash, debt, and cash flows As of 1Q16, IBM (IBM) held $14.9 billion in total cash and marketable securities. Its total debt stood at $45.6 billion. In fiscal 1Q16, IBM generated CFO (cash flow from operations) and FCF (free cash flow) of $3.3 billion and $2.3 billion, respectively. IBM highlighted that the company has generated free cash flow of $14.3 billion in the last 12 months. Fiscal 2016 expectations IBM has not provided revenue guidance for 2016. However, the company maintained its 2016 EPS guidance of at least $13.50. Analysts expected the company to provide EPS guidance of $13.54. IBM also expected its 2016 free cash flow to be in the $11 billion$12 billion range. Story continues Investors who want to gain exposure to IBM could consider investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). SPY invests ~0.71% of its holdings in IBM. It also has an ~8% exposure to application software. Browse this series on Market Realist: UPDATED: The company that owns the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune has rejected a buyout offer from Gannett, Americas largest newspaper operator. Tribune Companys board on Wednesday unanimously turned away the Gannett offer after thorough consideration, saying that it believed the $815 million cash bid for the ten-newspaper chain was too low. After thorough consideration, the Board has unanimously concluded that it is not prepared to engage with Gannett about a combination of our companies based on the value you indicated in the Proposal, Tribune CEO Justin C. Dearborn said in a letter to Gannett executive Robert Dickey. The Board believes that the price reflected in the Proposal understates the Companys true value and is not in the best interests of our shareholders. The offer translated to $12.25 a share and represented a 63% premium over the price of Tribune shares, which had slipped to below $8. Shares of Tribune had jumped up on the buyout news. Gannett executives had gone public with their bid in an attempt to pressure the Tribune board into accepting the offer. Chicago-based Tribune said it had engaged independent financial and legal advisers to measure the merit of the deal. Tribunes Dearborn said in a statement that the company has plans of its own that will create more value for shareholders. Tribune Publishing is in the early stages of a compelling transformation, the statement said, with a well-defined strategic plan to drive increasing monetization of our important brands, capitalize on the global potential of the LA Times and significantly accelerate our conversion of content to revenue through an enhanced digital strategy. While the Board is always open to evaluating any credible proposal that it believes to be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders, Gannetts opportunistic proposal understates the Companys true value and is not a basis for further discussion. The Board is confident that the execution of our standalone strategic plan will generate shareholder value in excess of Gannetts proposal. Story continues In its response, Tribune includes a graphic which charges that Gannett exaggerated the value of its offer in relation to the Chicago companys actual earnings. The graphic suggests Gannett claimed its $815 million offer amounted to a multiple of 5.6 times EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization), but says the offer actually amounts to 4.3 times Tribunes recent earnings. The same Tribune chart shows that Japans Nikkei Inc. last year paid 35 times EBITDA to acquire the Financial Times and that the tech billionaire Jeff Bezos paid more than 11 times earnings for the Washington Post in 2013. One significant holder of Tribune stock, said in an interview that the pressure for a sale to Gannett would continue, unless an alternative buyer willing to pay a similar premium quickly emerges. The stockholder said it was silly to use the Washington Post and Financial Times sales as a basis for comparison, since offers for those papers are far more lucrative than any that has been made for the Tribune papers. And the companys most recent sale of a substantial stake went at a discount, not a premium price. In February, Chicago entrepreneur Michael Ferro bought a controlling interest in Tribune Co. for just $44 million, the equivalent of $8.51 a share. That was a 5.5% discount on Tribunes closing price a day earlier. The second biggest Tribune Co. shareholder, Oaktree Capital Group, signaled this week that it would like to see a sale of the company go forward. Reuters quoted sources at the Los Angeles-based investment firm as saying that while they were not ready to agree to Gannetts current offer, they wanted Tribune to engage in discussions with the newspaper giant. Gannett, which publishes USA Today and more than 100 other papers, was not immediately available for comment. Related stories Gannett Bid for L.A. Times, Rest of Tribune Publishing, May Be Hard to Reject (Analysis) Gannett Makes $815 Million Bid for LA Times Owner Tribune Rupert Murdoch Fuels New Speculation About Eli Broad Acquiring LA Times What Seagate's Fiscal 3Q16 Earnings Mean for All of Us (Continued from Prior Part) Lower PC shipments negatively impact HDD demand Seagate Technology (STX) reportedly shipped ~39.2 million HDD (hard disk drive) units in fiscal 3Q16, which ended March 31. This represents a significant YoY (year-over-year) fall compared to the companys 50.1 million units shipped in fiscal 3Q15. This decline is a concern for Seagate, as it has a market share of approximately 40% in the United States. HDDs are used by PCs (personal computers). According to the market research company Gartner, PC shipments in the last quarter are expected to have fallen by 9.6% YoY to 64.8 million units, driven by the increasing dominance of mobile devices. Sales of HDDs falling since 2009 As shown in the above chart, sales of HDDs fell to 469 million units in 2015, as compared to 560 million units in 2009. In 2015, this segment saw a YoY fall of 17% compared to 2014. The Chief Executive Officer of Western Digital (WDC), Stephen Milligan, in fact, stated that the company anticipates weak demand in the March quarter, resulting in a hard drive TAM of approximately 100 million units. The unit shipments of peer companies Western Digital and Japans (EWJ) (FJP) Toshiba (TOSYY) also fell by 18% and 13%, respectively, in 4Q15. Now lets take a closer look at Seagates operating costs. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Lupita Nyong'o was taken aback when a reporter asked the Oscar-winning - and now, Tony-nominated - actress why she decided to take a role in the Broadway play Eclipsed. "A journalist asked me, 'Why would such a big star choose to do such a small play?'" she writes in a new essay for Lena Dunham's Lenny newsletter. "This question felt quite silly ... but then it went deeper than that. To me it felt like a question about our value system in this culture, the ways we define success for ourselves as well as others." In the essay titled "Why I Chose a 'Small Play' Over the Big Screen," Nyong'o, who won the best supporting actress Academy Award for her role in 2014's 12 Years a Slave, questions the value placed on "Hollywood" roles and women, especially women of color, being told what they "need to do" and not going after what they want to do. After turning down several projects, Nyong'o says, she began starring in Eclipsed, a portrait of life for women trapped by a rebel commander during the Liberian Civil War, two months ago. On Tuesday, the play earned six Tony Awards nominations, including one for Nyong'o, and is among the frontrunners for best play, The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney reports. Of her last big-screen roles - voicing Raksha in The Jungle Book, now in theaters, and Max Kanata in Star Wars: The Force Awakens - the actress says she was more engaged in the "mythical, magical stories" of genre storytelling (only appearing in animated and CGI-version) compared to playing a live-action role that doesn't challenge her, such as "the wife." Read More: 'Eclipsed': Theater Review Lupita Nyong'o in Eclipsed on Broadway. (Photo: Getty Images) So when the Broadway role came along, Nyong'o writes, "the chance to appear in Eclipsed after winning an Oscar was an opportunity to share in the incredible (and too rare) freedom of playing a fully rendered African woman. Story continues "So often women of color are relegated to playing simple tropes: the sidekick, the best friend, the noble savage, or the clown. We are confined to being a simple and symbolic peripheral character - one who doesn't have her own journey or emotional landscape." She continues, "As an African woman, I am wary of the trap of telling a single story. I decided early on that if I don't feel connected to, excited by, and challenged by the character, the part probably isn't for me." Though the actress won't write off taking lead roles in the future, Nyong'o says she is currently focused on taking risks, partly because of the larger conversation the industry has been having about diversity in films. Of the play, which features an all-female cast, playwright and director who are all of African descent, Nyong'o ends her Lenny essay by bringing it full circle: "I look at this play and see nothing about it that is 'small.'" On Tuesday morning, the actress responded to the Tony nomination for her Broadway debut by focusing on the play's message. "Our hope is to awaken something in the consciousness of our audience to affect change around the world," Nyong'o said. Her next film role will be in Queen of Katwe, which is set to hit theaters in September. luxury construction Skyrocketing rents are weighing down tenants all over the country. It has created a classic real estate squeeze play: People are shelling out more and more of their income on monthly rents, pushing them ever further from the hallowed goal of saving for a down payment on a house. And the cycle goes on But lately, something seems to be changing, at least on the luxury side of the business: Many upper-end renters are now actually seeing price cuts. One could certainly make the argument that these price breaks are being doled out to those who need them the least. But some housing experts believe the market could be arriving at a turning point where these discounts begin filtering down to the masses. Its already beginning to happen in some of the nations hottest housing markets, where yesterdays top-of-the-line buildings are dropping their prices to compete with the fresh, young properties hitting the market, creating a trickle-down effect. But its a slow processtoo slow for many at the bottom rungs. Will the process accelerate for middle-class renters? A look at some of the hottest cities in the nation illustrates whats happening. Signs of change Rents have already begun falling in New York Citys Manhattan borough as a slew of newly constructed residential towers have shot up, dotting the skyline. The increase in available apartments has led median prices in Manhattan to fall 2.8% to $3,300 in the first quarter of the year compared with a year earlier, according to an Elliman report. The high-end luxury units dropped at the fastest rate, 3.5%, to a still-nosebleed-inducing $8,228 a month, according to the report. The price reductions are partly a result of buyers snapping up new luxury condos and renting them out as well as new high-end residential rental buildings going up, says real estate appraiser Jonathan Miller, who prepared the report. Manhattan tenants with significantly lower net worth also got a break, by local standards. Rents for the cheapest 30% of units fell 2.2% year over year to $2,258 a month, according to the report. Story continues Were entering some sort of affordability threshold, Miller says. Theres only so many rent increases that can be absorbed by middle-class renters who have been hit by two years of increases. In wildly expensive San Francisco, rents also appear to be plateauing: The average asking prices have stayed steady over the past three quarters, reaching $3,620 in the first three months of 2016, according to Paragon Commercial Brokerage data. A question of time Nationally, its expected to take years, possibly even more than a decade, to trickle down to the middle- and lower-end properties. How much longer will be different in each market. There is an assumption that if you bring more units on at the high end of the market it cascades all the way down to presumably make older units more affordable, says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist of realtor.com. But prices will drop at the lower levels only when there are enough rentals to satisfy the high demand. The problem? Its more cost-effective for builders, dealing with high land and construction costs, to put up luxury towers as they can charge more to recoup their investments. And there are about 9 million more renters today in the U.S. than there were a decade ago, according to a Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University report. There were nearly 43 million tenants in 2015. More options for tenants who can afford them In Nashville, TN, renters havent been used to the kind of amenities now coming onto the market. The country music capital had about 24,000 new rental units in the pipeline as of the last quarter of 2015, according to the Greater Nashville Apartment Association. The group counted only complexes with 50 or more apartments. For the first time, Nashville is getting [rental] apartments with views, with fitness centers, with pools, says Michelle Maldonado, a local real estate agent at Lipman Group Sothebys International Realty, who concentrates on the high end of the market. The monthly rents on two-bedroom, two-bathroom units above $1,500 fell nearly 3% to an average of $2,311 over the past six months compared with a year earlier, according to the numbers Maldonado pulled from the local multiple listing service as of April 17. That was compared with the same six-month period a year ago. However, rents for the cheaper two-bedrooms in Nashville actually went up more than 4% to $1,178 a month. A wealth of new apartments for the wealthy Builders rush to respond to Denvers population boom has resulted in a glut of new buildings in the Colorado citys downtown competing with one another as well older buildings for tenants. The party is over, says Nancy Burke, vice president of government and community affairs at the Colorado Apartment Association. There is oversupply. The city had a 6.8% apartment vacancy rate as of December, the most recent data available, up from 5% in October, according to Burke. But she estimates that the vacancy rate is more like 20%the association counts only apartment buildings that are 95% or more occupied. Thats led rents to fall an average of just $20 in the last quarter of 2015 and an additional $2 in the first quarter of this year, according to rental data company Apartment Insights. Also, 20,000 more units are supposed to hit the metro area this year and next, according to the firm. To lure residents, some of these new buildings are also offering incentives ranging from a month or two in free rent to $1,000 gift cards. Were building apartments faster than people are moving into them, says Cary Bruteig, owner of Apartment Insights. New residential high-rises in Boston are also offering sweeteners to fill their floors, say local real estate professionals. And theyre poaching tenants from the citys stately brownstones, the areas traditional luxury rentals, by offering doormen, elevators, and parking spaces. As a result, some of the older brownstone units are taking a little longer to rent and were having to lower the prices a little bit, says Amy Goldberg, a Compass real estate agent in Boston. Bad timing for builders In Houston, some newly constructed buildings have had the bad luck to be opening just as the local energy industry is suffering from lower prices at the pump, leading many residents to leave, says local real estate agent Greg Nino of Re/Max Compass. Rents are falling as homeowners rent out their propertiesrather than sell at a discount. Within the Texas citys limits, the average rental price for this year through April 15 was $1,974, down about 1% from a year earlier, according to numbers that Nino pulled from the areas multiple listing service. In the western and northwestern suburbs, rents were up about 1.5% to an average $1,724. But Nino says hes seeing suburban prices start to fall 10% to 15%, depending on the neighborhood. Were saturated with so many properties for rent, he says. Its more difficult to get top dollar for a rental. The post As Luxury Rentals Get Cheaper, Will Discounts Trickle Down to Everyone? appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com. Related Articles By Ole Mikkelsen COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - A.P. Moller-Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) returned to profit at its main container shipping business in the first quarter, putting the cash rich company in a strong position as the struggling industry consolidates. The group's shares were up by 5.6 percent at 1127 GMT on Wednesday after Maersk Line confounded expectations of a loss at the container shipping business as the sector grapples with a downturn brought on by overcapacity. Rates for shipping containers transporting anything from flat-screen TVs to sportswear have been at a loss-making level for more than a year, denting profits and opening the highly fragmented sector to consolidation in an effort to cut costs and build scale. With more than 600 vessels, Maersk Line is the global market leader with a market share around 15 percent and has previously played down its ambitions, but the Copenhagen-based company acknowledged on Wednesday that recent acquisitions and vessel-sharing alliances bring new opportunities. "We still have a very strong balance sheet and have plenty of liquidity reserves for unexpected and expected investments," CEO Nils Smedegaard Andersen said. The group's cash reserves stand at about $12 billion (8.27 billion pound). Recent high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the industry include the creation of China COSCO Shipping through a state-led merger and French shipping group CMA CGM SA's deal to acquire Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL)(NEPS.SI). Container lines have also been restructuring debt and forming vessel-sharing alliances to counter the downturn. "Consolidation ... is positive when viable, stable alliances are formed, because it enables everyone to concentrate on the customer and not fight exclusively on rates," Andersen said, adding that smaller players would be vulnerable. "The small and mid-sized companies will need to consider their strategies very radically, in my opinion, if they're not in an alliance that has a future." Story continues COSTS DOWN In the first quarter Maersk reduced costs for moving a 40 ft container to $2,060, down 16 percent from a year earlier and about a third lower than four years ago. Group net profit dropped 86 percent to $224 million in the quarter, beating analysts' average forecast of $55.6 million, with the company's oil division also faring better than expected in weak energy markets. Low freight rates and weak oil prices brought revenue down by 19 percent, though this was partly offset by a 7 percent rise in container volumes and a 15 percent increase in oil production, Maersk said. "Results were better than feared," ship brokerage firm Fearnleys wrote in a note. Maersk Line made a profit of $37 million in the first three months of 2016, compared with an average forecast for a loss of $121 million in a Reuters poll of analysts. That was still down from a $714 million profit in the same quarter last year, however. Maersk reiterated its forecast for the container business to achieve full-year underlying profit significantly below last year's due to lower rates, but it forecast global demand for seaborne container transportation to rise between 1 percent and 3 percent from growth of less than 1 percent last year. The oil division made a loss of $29 million, against a consensus analyst' forecast for a $59.5 million loss. Maersk said its breakeven price for oil production had been lowered to $40-$45 a barrel from a previous range of $45-$55. Benchmark Brent crude (LCOc1) was steady at around $45 on Wednesday morning. (Additional reporting Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Mark Potter and David Goodman) Paris (AFP) - Scientists reported Wednesday they had grown human embryos in the lab for nearly two weeks, an unprecedented feat that promises advances in assisted reproduction, stem-cell therapies and the basic understanding of how human beings form. Besides opening a window onto the first steps in the creation of an individual, the findings in parallel studies may help explain early miscarriages and why in vitro fertilisation has such a high failure rate. The research also showed for the first time that newly-forming human embryos can mature beyond a few days outside a mother's womb, something that was previously thought to be impossible. But the widely hailed results also set science on a collision course with national laws and ethical guidelines, experts cautioned. Up to now, a so-called "14-day rule" -- which says that human embryos cannot be cultured in the lab for more than two weeks -- has never been seriously challenged simply because no one had succeeded in keeping them alive that long. In this case, the scientists destroyed the embryos to avoid breaching that limit. The findings were published in Nature and Nature Cell Biology. Next to nothing is known about how the small, hollow bundle of cells called a blastocyst -- emerging from a fertilised egg -- attach to the uterus, allowing an embryo to begin to take shape. "This portion of human development" -- called implantation -- "was a complete black box," said Ali Brivanlou, a professor at The Rockefeller University in New York, and the main architect of the Nature study. Building on previous work with mice, Brivanlou and colleagues concocted a chemical soup and scaffolding to duplicate this process "in vitro", or in a petri dish. "We were able to create a system that properly recapitulates what happens during human implantation," said Rockefeller scientist and lead author Alessia Deglincerti. As hoped, the blastocyst grew, beginning to divide into the different types of cells that eventually give rise to a foetus and its placenta. Story continues But unlike earlier experiments, in which growth has rarely continued beyond seven days, the embryos showed an unexpected ability to self-organise. "Amazingly, at least up to the first 12 days, development occurred normally in our system in the complete absence of maternal input," Brivanlou said in a statement. It had long been assumed that this transformation could not persist detached from the mother's uterus. "Up to now, it has been impossible to study implantation in human embryos," said Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, a professor at the University of Cambridge and an author for both studies. - Slippery slope - "This new technique provides us with a unique opportunity to get a deeper understanding of our own development during these crucial stages and helps us understand what happens, for example, during miscarriage." The breakthrough is also likely to provide a boost to research on the use of embryonic stem cells to treat certain diseases. "Only with this knowledge, specifically from human cells, can we control their ability to become cell types useful for drug screening or transplantation," said Gist Croft, also from Rockefeller University. Scientists not involved in the research hailed the results as a major milestone. "Both studies clearly demonstrate the incredible intrinsic ability of the embryo to organise itself as it starts to create the body plan -- even in the absence of a mother," said Harry Moore, a professor of reproductive biology at the University of Sheffield in England. Allan Pacey, also of Sheffield, said they could "revolutionise our understanding of the early events of human embryo development." Along with most experts commenting on findings, Pacey said ethical concerns are likely overblown. "It will not open the door to couples being able to grow babies in the laboratory -- this is not the dawn of a Brave New World scenario," he said. But the scientific community and regulators will still be faced with a decision on whether to lift or extend the 14-day rule, which is law in a dozen countries, and accepted practice in five others, including the United States and China. Most scientists argue for a loosening of the regulations. "Given the potential benefits of new research in infertility, improving assisted conception methods, there may be a case in the future for reconsidering this," said Daniel Brison, head of the department of reproductive medicine at the University of Manchester. But there remains a "slippery slope" problem, commented another expert. "If we do not use a 14-day rule, what limit will we use?," asked Henry Greely, director of the Center for Law and the Biosciences at the Stanford School of Medicine in California. "Twelve weeks or so as in many European abortion laws? Viability -- at around 23 weeks -- as in US abortion law?" "Human development is a seamless process," he added. "But ultimately lines need to be drawn." Star Wars returned to our lives in 2015 with the fantastic film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But really, did it ever leave? The film series' iconic, epic main title has been playing in fans' heads ever since A New Hope scrolled onto screens in 1977. Seriously, it's impossible to think about Star Wars without the theme music bursting into your brain, and a sense of victory-against-the-odds swelling through your chest. So why is that? We spoke with David Penn, founder and editor-in-chief of Hit Songs Deconstructed (an essential source for hit songwriting trends and analysis), for an expert musicologist's look into why John Williams' main title for Star Wars is one of the most successful (a disco version actually topped the Hot 100 for two weeks in 1977), identifiable and enduring movie themes of all-time. According to Penn, the theme is "arguably the most recognizable and iconic theme in cinema history." And that's not simply a function of the film's popularity bolstering the music. Comparing the main title to the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 during the third quarter of 2015, Penn discovered the theme shares many structural characteristics of a mainstream hit. And while the same can be said of a few other movie themes in the post-George Lucas landscape (Williams' film compositions in particular), the Star Wars main title is especially built to "reinforce the theme's primary hook/payoff in the listener's head." Using a breakdown of the Star Wars theme provided by Hit Songs Deconstructed, we're digging into what makes Williams' "Main Title" so readily identifiable and unforgettable. Below is a graphic showing how Hit Songs Deconstructed broke the song into five parts for us (set against the Death Star). Under that, via some lightsaber action, there's a graphic showing how the various sections of the Star Wars main title correspond to a hit pop song's parts. Story continues For a deeper dive on the various sections of the song, read on. Intro Length: 0:00 - 0:08 Mood: Excitement Primary Instruments: Brass Like a mainstream hit, the intro clocks in close to 10 seconds. After the 20th Century Fox Fanfare, Star Wars opens with orchestral fanfare of its own that -- even in 8 seconds -- previews the film's central storyline of this heroic (Luke), adventurous (Han) and regal (Leia) battle against a military foe. A Section Part I Length: 0:08 - 0:26 Mood: Heroic, Adventurous Primary Instruments: Brass Following the opening fanfare of the intro, the Star Wars main title heads directly into the A section, its equivalent of a chorus. This is similar to how mainstream hits increasingly forgo a verse before the first chorus. According to Penn, the K.I.S.S. Principal (Keep It Simple and Singable) that works in pop choruses applies to the Star Wars main title's A section (only in this case "keep it hummable" is more appropriate). In the A section, rhythmic and melodic repetition abounds, with each independent melodic segment being short enough (4 to 5 notes) to encourage immediate impact and memorability. Additionally, hit songs employ what Penn calls "clever WOW factors" that accentuate the melody and make the song more memorable. The Star Wars theme has two in the A section: 1) Melodic Leaps Prior to the brass instruments hitting those massive notes of victory, the melody descends down the scale for a few notes -- so when it reaches the high notes, we notice a "pronounced sense of heroism through strong melodic leaps." 2) Coming Together At the end of each melodic phrase, the orchestra unites to play the final notes together, emphasizing "a grand sense of power" as each instrument joins forces. This ties into the movie's theme of suddenly coming back together (i.e., Han Solo returning to help Luke on the Death Star run) to achieve great goals. B Section Length: 0:26 - 0:40 Mood: Compassionate Primary Instruments: Strings The B section, like the bridge to a mainstream pop hit, switches up the feeling and pace of the theme. The heroic brass punctuations of the A section are replaced by sentimental, compassionate strings in the B section. There's more notes here and they last longer, which provides a rhythmic variance from the quick-paced A/chorus section. Even within this section, repetition occurs to maximize hummability. C Section Length: 0:40 - 0:48 Mood: Excitement Primary Instruments: Brass and strings Like the pre-chorus that ushers in the return of a chorus in a mainstream hit (78 percent of top 10 hits in the third quarter had a pre-chorus), the C section of the Star Wars main title serves to "ramp up the excitement factor via fanfare/brass instrumentation." Unlike the opening intro fanfare, this also features strings, providing consistency from the B section to the return of the A section. A Section Part II Length: 0:48 - 1:06 Mood: Heroic, Compassionate, Victorious Primary Instruments: Brass and strings When the A section returns to close out the main title, it's similar to the final chorus in a pop song: The melody repeats, but with the energy level at a new peak. Also, the background instrumentation is changed up to provide additional interest. In the case of Star Wars, this means not only does the brass of the A Section I return, but strings carry over from the B and C sections, melding the heroic mood with the compassionate tone of the B section. In terms of additional instrumentation to add aural interest, Penn points out that "rapid-fire trumpets enter the mix during the second half, which add an air of triumph and victory, bringing the listener to an excited high before the main title fades out, segueing into whatever (typically quieter) music opens the film. By Rozanna Latiff KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's finance ministry said on Wednesday it would dissolve the board of advisers at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and take over its remaining assets, in an apparent move to scale down a state fund whose scandals have rocked the government. Prime Minister Najib Razak is facing calls to step down over 1MDB, which was his pet project and whose advisory board he chaired. The fund is now being investigated for money-laundering in at least six countries including the United States, Switzerland and Singapore. Last month, parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) called for 1MDB's advisory board to be abolished, after a investigation into the fund, whose debt in January had totalled about 50 billion ringgit ($12.5 billion). The PAC criticised the board for being irresponsible but stopped short of implicating Najib. However, it said Najib, who is also finance minister, was authorised to sign off on the fund's major transactions. The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing. The ministry said in a statement ownership in 1MDB's subsidiaries and four land assets would be transferred to it. It did not say what happens to debt linked to the assets. The ministry also accepted the resignation of 1MDB's board members, who collectively stepped down last month. New members would be appointed to reflect the limited business profile of 1MDB, it said. Reuters reported last year that the fund would be left as a skeletal structure and possibly dissolved under a debt repayment plan. The ministry said it would also remove Article 117 in the fund's company articles, which requires the prime minister's written approval for all its financial commitments, including investments and matters such as appointment of the board of directors. It would also change all references of "prime minister" to "minister of finance". DEFAULT LOOMING Critics say Najib was a beneficiary of 1MDB's funds, after about $681 million was deposited in his bank account before a 2013 election. Story continues Najib and 1MDB have dismissed that. The state-appointed attorney-general said the funds were a gift from Saudi Arabia's royal family and most of it was returned. But global inquiries into 1MDB's money transfers are picking up pace and weighing on Malaysia's economy and its currency.. Swiss authorities have said about $4 billion was misappropriated. Last week, 1MDB missed a deadline to pay a $50.3 million coupon on a $1.75 billion bond following a stand-off with Abu Dhabi sovereign fund International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC), which says 1MDB never met payment obligations. Another interest payment is due on May 11. "The change of board does not detract from broader global investigations into the finances of 1MDB which is still a residual overhang notwithstanding 1MDBs improved balance sheets after the sale of its energy assets," said Weiwen Ng, an ANZ Research economist. (Writing by Praveen Menon; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Robert Birsel) Malia Obama The White House announced announced Saturday that Malia Obama will attend Harvard as a member of the class of 2021 after taking a year off before her freshman year, otherwise known as a "gap year." Gap years are gaining in popularity among American students, as the New York Times reports. For example, Harvard has seen a 33% increase in the number of students taking gap years, and MIT saw their deferments double between 2009 and 2010, according to CIEE, the world's oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange program. Whether students participate in a service program in the US, travel abroad, or work on a project, there are clear benefits to taking a gap year. According to Robert Clagett, a former dean of admissions at Middlebury College and former senior admissions official at Harvard, students who take gap years, like Obama, "will frequently be more mature, more focused, and more aware of what they want to do with their college education" when they do enroll in college. And data reflects his observations: At Middlebury, researchers found that students who took a gap year have shown a "clear pattern" of attaining higher GPA's than those that didn't take gap years, even controlling for the student's performance in high school. Beyond GPA, students experience positive results. Gap years allow students a trial period without schoolwork or the pressures of testing and deadlines to figure out what they're passionate about. For example, 98% of students who responded to a 2015 survey from the American Gap Association reported that the time off school helped them develop as a person, and 97% said taking a gap year, "increased their maturity." Additionally, 84% of respondents said that taking a gap year helped them acquire useful career skills, and 77% said that a gap year helped them find their purpose in life. Story continues To assuage the concerns of parents who may think their kids will never go back to school after taking a gap year, researchers from the American Gap Association found that 90% of students were likely to return to school within a year, and 73% of survey respondents said a gap year increased their "readiness" for college. Harvard students Plus, taking a gap year can also increase student's chances of gaining acceptance into better schools. Abby Falik, the founder of Global Citizen Year a gap year program that combines service, language learning, and travel with a capstone project told NPR that 90% of students who complete the program and re-apply to college end up in "more selective" or "better-matched" schools. Students with gap year experiences, like Nick Boulos, who spent a year in France before attending college, often give them glowing reviews. "I saw, experienced and learned so much more than I could have ever dreamed to," Boulos told The Portland Press Herald. "Not only this, but it also served as a time for me to mature, see a little bit more of the real world, and really understand the big picture of what life is by seeing so many different cultures and points of view on certain topics." But while gap years are becoming more popular, many people are still cautious. Gap years are often viewed as something only wealthier families can afford and that students from poorer backgrounds should just get on with their studies. Programs like City Year an Americorps program that places students as teaching assistants in urban public schools actually pay students a small stipend, however. Regardless of how she decides to spend her gap year, Obama is sure to benefit from the time off. NOW WATCH: These striking images show just how overcrowded China's population really is More From Business Insider Mike and Angela Johnson are two of KFCs biggest fans so much so that they indulged in the fast food fried chicken at their wedding, and during every subsequent anniversary. But what do you do when your towns only KFC shuts down and you live in the secluded and icy Canadian Northwest Territories just below the Arctic Circle? Why, you drive 870 miles and spend almost $600 in gas and food just to get KFC for your wife on your 15th anniversary.[related] Thats exactly what Mike Johnson did for his wife; now thats what we call greasy true love. You Won't Believe These Things KFC Has Fried (Slideshow) When their favorite KFC restaurant located in their small city of Yellowknife the capital of the Northwest Territories shut down, Mike noted that the nearest location of their favorite fast food restaurant was 435 miles away, in Fort Smith on the border of the Northwest Territories and Alberta. So during March break, me and my son got up early one morning, drove 700 kilometers, picked up 15 buckets of KFC and drove 700 kilometers back in one day, he told The Epoch Times. Of course, since he ordered a whopping 15 buckets of chicken, it took a little while. But Johnson said it was worth the wait and every penny to make his wife happy. Were struggling how to see the mistake can be made but a man was shot with a crossbow by a fellow hunter after he was reportedly mistaken for a wild turkey. Its believed that the 61-year-old victim was hunting the birds with a friend when he was suddenly struck in the left arm with a bolt. Police were called to the incident, near Liberty Township, Michigan shortly after dawn on Sunday. The Jackson County Sheriffs Office has since confirmed that the injured man, who is believed to be from New York, was admitted to the Henry Ford Allegiance Health Clinic, where he received treatment for serious but non life-threatening injuries. The hunter (not pictured) could now face prosecution But the hunter is set to pay the cost for his mistake after police said that they plan to seek charges against a 51-year-old man for violations arising from the incident. According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, hunting season for wild turkeys usually occurs between April 18 to May 31. The names of those involved have not yet been released by police. By Gopal Sharma KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's embattled Prime Minister K.P. Oli will not resign after the main Maoist party that props up his fragile coalition said on Wednesday it would try to form a new government, plunging the Himalayan nation into crisis. An aide said the 64-year-old leader, who has been in power for just eight months, would seek cross-party talks. If those fail, a no-confidence motion could follow in parliament, holding out the prospect of more uncertainty. Oli rose to power with the backing of the Maoists after promising to resolve protests against a new constitution by southern plains dwellers and to step up efforts to rebuild homes destroyed by earthquakes last year. Increasing public anger at Oli has led the Maoists - who waged a decade-long insurgency before joining mainstream politics in 2006 - to conclude that he was an obstacle to ending the constitutional standoff. Minority Madhesis, who live along the border with India, had imposed a blockade in protest at a proposal to carve Nepal into seven federal states. They say it would divide their homeland and deprive them of a fair say in running the country. "Our party has decided to form the new government and we appeal to other political parties to help us resolve the outstanding political problems in the south through talks," said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, a leader of the unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Shrestha said the main opposition Nepali Congress party had offered to support Maoist leader Prachanda to replace Oli. Oli's grip on power has been in question for months, but aide Bishnu Rimal said he would seek clarifications from the Maoists about their concerns. "We invite all political parties including the Nepali Congress and the Madhesi groups to join this cabinet to make it a national government and resolve all outstanding problems," Rimal told Reuters. RESOLVING DEADLOCK Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times, said Prachanda could resolve the deadlock in the south by bringing the Madhesi parties and the Nepali Congress on board in a government that includes major stakeholders. Prakash Sharan Mahat, a Nepali Congress lawmaker, said his party was exploring alternatives to Oli, who he said had failed to deliver on promises. Prachanda, who goes by the nom-de-guerre he used in the insurgency that means "Fierce", will need the support of Oli's Unified Marxist-Leninist Party (UML) or other groups in a fragmented parliament to form a government. "Any new government does not mean the constitutional issue will be solved like that," said Lok Raj Baral, a commentator and former diplomat. "If any new government wants to amend the constitution, then the support of the UML will be vital." The earthquakes last year killed 9,000 people and destroyed one million homes. International donors pledged $4.1 billion for reconstruction but most of it remains unspent due to political squabbling. (Additional reporting by Ross Adkin; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Robert Birsel) Washington (AFP) - An iconic image from World War II, depicting Marines raising the US flag over Iwo Jima in Japan, is undergoing new scrutiny after it emerged one of the troops in the picture may have been misidentified. In a statement late Tuesday, the US Marine Corps said it was reviewing information provided by the Smithsonian Channel related to the photograph, taken in February 1945 during the bloody battle for the Japanese island. The Smithsonian Channel is producing a documentary about the photo and examining the identity of the six men long identified as having erected the flag. The channel has given the results of its probe to the Marines, though these have not yet been made public. "With the information and research provided by the Smithsonian Channel, who used advanced digital technology to examine battle footage, the Marine Corps decided to review their photo-enhancements, film analysis, and findings. This review is still ongoing," the Marines said. The famous photograph was taken by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal, who did not have time to get the names of all the troops in the shot. "Joe Rosenthal's photo captured a single moment in the 36-day battle during which more than 6,500 US servicemen made the ultimate sacrifice, and it is representative of the more than 70,000 US Marines, sailors, soldiers and Coast Guardsmen that contributed to the battle," the statement read. By Gabriela Lopez MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) - A maverick Mexican state governor on Wednesday tipped presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to win the upcoming U.S. election, likening his own shock victory last year to the billionaire's ascent. An outspoken rancher known as "El Bronco" (the gruff one), Jaime Rodriguez became the first independent governor in modern Mexico, capitalizing on widespread disaffection with established parties to win Nuevo Leon state on the U.S. border. "I made a bet ... I said that Trump's going to win," Rodriguez said the day after Trump's main rival for the Republican nomination, Ted Cruz, dropped out of the race. "What's Trump doing? He's taking advantage of the anger. The whole world says Trump is mad; that's what they said about me." Speaking in Nuevo Leon's capital, Monterrey, Rodriguez said he was not a Trump fan, and would not vote for him if he had a ballot. But, he added, he had met with a group of Mexican migrants in the last few days who also told him they thought Trump would win. They had faith in a Trump presidency as the real estate mogul is known as a job creator, Rodriguez said. Once a member of Mexico's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, Rodriguez won a landslide election victory in one of the country's wealthiest states last June after breaking with the PRI and running an anti-establishment campaign. The week after Rodriguez's victory, Trump launched his bid for the U.S. presidency, putting Mexico in his crosshairs and leaving the Mexican government struggling to come up with an effective strategy to counter his rhetoric. Claiming Latin America's No. 2 economy is "killing" the United States on trade, Trump has threatened to disrupt bilateral commerce worth some $500 billion a year and punish companies that move operations offshore. He has also promised to deport millions of undocumented migrants from Mexico and Central America, and force Mexico to pay for a wall on the border between the two countries. Trump's path to becoming the Republican presidential nominee received a further boost on Wednesday when U.S. media reported his last remaining challenger, Ohio Governor John Kasich, was suspending his campaign. Rodriguez is seen by political analysts as a potential candidate for the Mexican presidency in 2018. (Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Dave Graham and Alan Crosby) When asked what he packs for Cannes, Jamie Patricof, producer on Un Certain Regard selection Captain Fantastic, quips "a tuxedo and a bathing suit." There's more than a grain of truth to those twin poles of dressing for the festival, from black tie for gala premieres to beachwear for the posh hotel pools. For the former, style consultant Andrew Weitz, a onetime Hollywood agent who caters to industry executives through The Weitz Effect, says that this season's archetypal tuxedo is the Tom Ford O'Connor, with its slim peak lapel, aka "the James Bond cut." To vary nighttime premiere looks, Canali's ivory dinner jacket with satin shawl collar pairs well with tux trousers: "It's a great option: white, South of France, Cannes Film Festival - you can't go wrong." Cannes veteran Edward Walson, a producer of this year's opening-night pick, Woody Allen's Cafe Society, brings at least three tuxes to the fest, where he typically stays up to 10 days. Tuxedo jackets do double duty with jeans for parties. "It's really the most important part of your wardrobe there," he says. Shoes-wise, Weitz prefers a slim Ferragamo patent leather slip-on, which "tends to be a lot lighter to pack than lace-ups," he says. Read More: Calvin Klein Cancels Annual Cannes Party At the other end of the sartorial spectrum, Weitz counsels men against "long, baggy board shorts," or to at least "make sure it's a 2016 version that's slim and comes above the knee." One good choice is a Retromarine seersucker that can double as a walking short. Combine it with a terry cloth polo and a Bottega Veneta slip-on sneaker in jute canvas for a yacht-worthy vibe. By day, suits and sport coats are the rule for meetings, lunches and photocalls. Sylvain Corbeil, a producer on Xavier Dolan's It's Only the End of the World, indicates there should be a formality even to casual events at Cannes: "It has a longtime tradition of being unmatched, so it's more conservative in looks." Rather than a typical navy blazer, Weitz suggests one "with more pop," like a Mediterranean-blue sport jacket from Canali in a "traveling wool" that's water-resistant to withstand a downpour and so wrinkle-free, you can ball it up. It mixes easily with khaki trousers, blue jeans or "a white cotton jean - a great look," says Weitz. As for suits, an option from Isaia in a subtle plaid in super-140s wool is "a three-in-one," says Weitz. "You can wear it as a full suit, or the jacket with a pair of slacks, or the pants with any solid shirt or jacket." Story continues CANNES CANVAS: Bottega Veneta natural slip-on; $480, at Bottega Veneta, Beverly Hills; SEERSUCKER PUNCH: Retromarine swim trunks/shorts with SPF 50 filters; $165, retromarine.nyc; PERFECT SHIRT: Tom Ford polo in cotton terry cloth; $650, at Tom Ford, Beverly Hills; FRAMED UP: Barton Perreira "Ronson" shades; $610, at Optometrix, Beverly Hills BLUES TRAVELER: Lanvin waxed linen sneakers in storm blue; $490, at Lanvin, Beverly Hills; LUXE LOAFER: Prada brown shoe; $595, at Neiman Marcus, Beverly Hills (Ribbed cotton-lisle socks; about $18, londonsockcompany.com) BLUE'S CRUISE: Weitz, photographed April 22 at the Mondrian hotel in L.A., adjusts a Canali Mediterranean-blue water-resistant wool blazer, $1,595 (with white cotton/silk trousers, $375); at Canali, Beverly Hills. Isaia cotton/linen button-down sport shirt in pale pink, $545; at Isaia, Beverly Hills A leather loafer that easily transitions from a suit to jeans in what Weitz calls "the perfect shade of brown when wearing blues and grays" can be found at Prada. (The Neon Demon director Nicolas Winding Refn seconds that: "Just remember to always wear Prada to Cannes and you can't go wrong.") For a more casual shoe, Weitz recommends the Lanvin cap-toe sneaker in a blue waxed linen. And for that European elan, Weitz likes a no-show invisible sock, like those by Calvin Klein. IVORY COAT: Canali off-white wool and silk dinner jacket with satin shawl collar; $2,050, at Canali, Beverly Hills;TOP IT OFF: Tom Ford narrow bow tie, $250; lavender cotton formal shirt, $770; silk pocket square, $165; at Tom Ford, Beverly Hills; DELUXE TUX: Tom Ford wide bow tie, $250; white cotton formal shirt, $825; narrow pocket square, $165; black superfine-wool "O'Connor" tuxedo with peak lapels, $5,460; at Tom Ford, Beverly Hills; PATENT PENDING: Salvatore Ferragamo black slip-on formal shoes in patent leather with grosgrain ribbon inset; $695, at Salvatore Ferragamo, Beverly Hills. Says Weitz: "The detail of grosgrain ribbon elevates them so they're not plain, and the shape goes elegantly with any kind of tapered or tailored tuxedo pant." LAUNCH PLAID: Isaia suit (trousers not shown), $3,795; polka-dot tie, $150; pocket square, $95; at Isaia, Beverly Hills. Ermenegildo Zegna dress shirt, $395; at Ermenegildo Zegna, Beverly Hills SOUND ROLLING: Tumi four-wheeled Alpha 2 extended trip garment bag in heavyweight nylon, with exterior compartment, zip pockets and removable interior zip pouches, $975; at Tumi, Beverly Hills Weitz's pick for packing it all in (one client told him it was "life-changing") is the Tumi Alpha 2, a sleek nylon garment-bag hybrid on wheels that's great for trips that last for more than four days. Garments hang in both directions to double up on space in a zippered compartment that also includes sections for items like shoes, which he prefers couched in shoe bags holding light plastic shoe trees. Attention to these types of details goes a long way. "In Cannes, everybody's bringing their A-game," says executive vp Paul Davidson of film distributor The Orchard. "All the events, meetings, parties and screenings have a more dramatic feel, and what you wear has got to live up to the challenge." This story first appeared in the May 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. By Zelie Pollon SANTA FE, N.M. (Reuters) - A man accused of kidnapping an 11-year-old girl on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico and striking her on the head with a tire iron made his initial court appearance on Wednesday to face murder and other charges related to her death, prosecutors said. Tom Begaye, Jr, 27, was arrested on Tuesday, hours after the body of 11-year-old Ashlynne Mike was found about 6 miles (9 km) south of Shiprock pinnacle - a rock formation that is a landmark of the Navajo Nation. He appeared in court on Wednesday in Farmington, New Mexico, to face federal charges of murder, kidnapping a child and committing a crime on an American Indian reservation, prosecutors said in a statement. He did not enter a plea. Navajo tribal officials previously said Mike was kidnapped on Monday in the area of Fruitland. An FBI agent in an affidavit filed along with the criminal complaint provided new details on the abduction and her slaying. Mike's 9-year-old brother told investigators the two of them got off a school bus on Monday, with two other children, and began playing in an irrigation canal, the court papers stated. Begaye, who was driving a red van, pulled up and asked the brother and sister if they needed a ride, which they accepted because Mike had hurt her foot, according to the court papers. The boy said Begaye later parked on a remote road, took Mike from the van and came back alone before ordering the boy out of the van, the court papers stated. The boy was later found wandering alone and taken to police. Investigators used a description of the van to track Begaye to a Navajo sweat lodge outside Shiprock on the tribal reservation, according to the court papers. Begaye, a resident of Waterflow, New Mexico, following his arrest told investigators he sexually assaulted the girl and hit her over the head with a tire iron, the court papers stated. He said she was still moving when he left her on the ground, where her body was later found, according to the court papers. Story continues A judge told Begaye at his court appearance he would be provided an attorney, according to the Farmington Daily Times. Representatives from the federal public defender's office said Begaye was not yet listed as their client. He faces up to life in prison if convicted and is due back in court on Friday for a hearing on the conditions of his detention. (Reporting by Zelie Pollon in Santa Fe, writing by Alex Dobuzinskis, editing by G Crosse) Satya Nadella Microsoft's cloud business may be growing faster than Amazon's gargantuan $7 billion Amazon Web Services, but it's still not enough to close a $2 billion gap between them, says Barron's. To back up its argument, Barron's took a deep dive into Microsoft's financials from its last quarterly earnings statement. For its cloud businesses, including Azure and Office 365, Microsoft only discloses year-over-year growth rates, not total revenue (to former CEO Steve Ballmer's chagrin), but Barron's made some educated guesses. Just as bad, if not worse than the Amazon competition, Barron's estimates that the Microsoft Azure cloud which lets customers rent fundamentally unlimited supercomputing resources from Microsoft's data centers on a subscription basis isn't growing fast enough to offset sinking sales of Microsoft's lucrative Windows Server and other legacy server products. But there's some good news: Despite a period of cannibalization, revenue from sales of the Office 365 cloud productivity suite to businesses is finally catching up with the boxed Office software. Here are the takeaways from the Barron's report: In the most recent quarter, Barron's estimates that Microsoft Azure generated $560 million in revenue, versus Amazon Web Services' $2.466 billion. Despite Azure's reported 120% growth over the same period in 2015, it's the second quarter in a row where there was a projected $2 billion-ish gap between Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. Again despite Azure's growth, it only accounts for an estimated 12% of Microsoft's Server Products & Cloud Services revenue, which booked a 6% decline last quarter. With Server Products sinking an estimated $600 million from the last quarter, the $300 million growth in Azure couldn't offset it. Office 365 commercial revenue was $2.1 billion in the quarter, estimates Barron's, versus $3 billion for boxed Office commercial sales. As computer manufacturers shift to the newer Windows 10 operating system, Microsoft has seen less turbulence from the shrinking PC market than expected. But as we approach the one-year anniversary of Windows 10, Barron's says, that buffer will dissipate. Finally, Barron's estimates that revenue in Microsoft's Surface tablet and laptop division grew an estimated $400 million from the last quarter, versus a decline of $292 million in the Windows business. But that may not last forever, as consumers buy fewer PCs overall. Story continues Overall, it doesn't paint an especially rosy picture for Microsoft: Those Microsoft Office stats are encouraging, and Microsoft Azure is growing fast. But Amazon Web Services is the one for Microsoft to beat in the cloud market, and this all indicates that it's not gaining ground quickly enough to offset the diminishing demand for its traditional cash-cows. NOW WATCH: Microsoft has created an AI bot that captions photos and its shockingly accurate More From Business Insider Marian Reed posted this photo of her daughter, wearing the offending hairstyle, on her Facebook page. (Photo: Facebook) [NOTE: This story has been updated as of May 13 with an apology from the school. Please see below.] A mom is calling for racial sensitivity training at her daughters elementary school after the third-grader was reprimanded for having her natural hair pulled into a line of mini ponytails, or afro puffs, that administrators say violated the grooming code. She cried and said no one was going to want to be her friend because her hair was not as pretty as the assistant principals, Marian Reed, of Belton, Texas, told KCEN about her 9-year-old daughter after she was pulled out of gym class and sent home by assistant principal Madonna Lopez. And as a parent, thats heartbreaking, because thats just what God naturally gave her. Related: Tracee Ellis Ross Shares Heartfelt Video on Inner Beauty The girls school, Tarver Elementary, has a dress and grooming policy that bans hairstyles that could be interpreted as indecent or disruptive to the educational process, such as mohawks or even faux-hawks. But Reed was unmoved. It wasnt in a mohawk, she said. Its not shaved on the side or anything. She was a little girl being 9 years old. Reed, who is black, added that the schools actions seemed racist; she noted administrators were fine when her daughter wore the same style in the past but with a synthetic weave rather than her natural hair. Related: How Natural Hair Got This Woman Fired I dont believe that it was intended to be racial, she said. But I think the district as a whole may need some cultural diversity training. Reed, who is a competitive bodybuilder and could not be reached by Yahoo Beauty, implied that the school staff could use some sensitivity training too. They could have called me and discussed it with me without pulling her out of class and without having that conversation in front of her, because now shes questioning her natural image, the mom said. And at 9 years old, shes going to remember that for the rest of her life. Story continues Charla Trejo, the executive director of campus leadership for the Belton Independent School District, tells Yahoo Beauty that the motivation behind sending the girl home was for consistency purposes, as other students with similar styles have been reprimanded in the past. While Trejo will not respond directly to charges of racism, she does add, We are going to review our dress code. Its that time of the year. [UPDATE AS OF MAY 13: We did it!!!! Reed told Yahoo Beauty in a private Facebook message. The administrators involved in this incidenthave reviewed the incident and the current dress code for Belton ISD. [On Thursday] I met with them, at which time an apology was issued, as well as an admittance that they did not fully listen to my concern and complaint. Further, they took ownership of the misuse of the current dress code and recognized that it is outdated and not inclusive of all cultures. As a result, the dress code WILL be revised and the code referring to hair will be removed. Also, cultural diversity trainingwill become a part of mandatory training. I was even asked to review the remainder of the dress code to identify any other rules that may be culturally insensitive and/or offensive in its language and application. Further, she added, The principal is revamping the way that future violations of code are handled, as to not cause any emotional stress or damage to the child.] Reed had originally posted about the situation on her Facebook page after receiving the initial call from Lopez about her daughters hair. Please help me make this go viral! she wrote, along with a photo (above) of the do in question. I explained to [Lopez] that my daughters hair is natural, not shaven, and in six afro puffs because her hair doesnt lay flat. I explained to her that saying she was out of dress code for wearing a natural hairstyle is discriminatory! Not only that, but while I teach my daughter that her natural beauty is perfect, this assistant principal is giving my daughter the message that her natural beauty is not good enough! But comments on the Facebook post were mixed, with some criticizing Reed for flouting the rules. This is a great way to teach your kid that the rules dont apply to them and not to pick their battles This isnt about the texture of her hair or her race its about the style. Put some afro puffs in her hair that dont sit on top of her head in a straight row and get over it. Others shared Reeds point of view. How can we educate our children if the educators are this ignorant?! asked one. Another posted, There is nothing wrong with this childs hair. But there is something very wrong with a school singling a child out and declaring that something is wrong with how they look. Still, the situation is not exactly rare. Stories about kids being told to change their hairstyles pop up regularly such as those about teens in Georgia and Florida who were singled out for having their hair dyed an unnatural color, as well as a girl in the Bahamas who was suspended over her afro puff in February, prompting a #SupportThePuff social media campaign. And in 2014, a 12-year-old private school student in Florida blew up the Internet over reports that she was threatened with expulsion over her naturally puffy hair being a distraction. The school eventually relented. A Kansas mom is fed up and concerned about her kids` safety when they ride their school bus. She`s worried because she says a bus driver`s careless driving caused an injury to her kindergarteners face. Christina Denis said on Monday her kindergartener got off of his school bus right outside their home crying and with a bruised face. Denis is frustrated because she says her son Jordan has ADHD and is afraid to ride his school bus. RABAT (Reuters) - A Moroccan court has postponed for a week a decision on an appeal made by the owner of the country's sole oil refiner Samir against a ruling that placed it into liquidation, its lawyer said on Wednesday. The case of Samir is being closely watched by Morocco's government. Morocco would become reliant on energy imports should the refinery shut down for good, just as the North African kingdom is putting its finances on track by tackling huge deficits. Samir, controlled by Corral Petroleum Holdings, halted production last August due to financial difficulties. A court ruling had placed it into liquidation in March and named an independent trustee to run the company. Corral Holding lodged an appeal against the decision after talks with the government failed to to find a solution to the refinery's crisis. "The ruling on the appeal has been postponed until May 11," Corral Holding's lawyer Abdelkbir Tabih said. Saudi billionaire Mohammed al-Amoudi is the owner of Corral Holdings which controls 67.26 pct of Samir. Morocco's tax administration seized the company's bank accounts in August 2015, when the refinery was shut down, in pursuit of a 13 billion-dirham ($1.3 billion) tax claim. The Moroccan government has said Samir's total debt hovers around 44 billion dirhams ($4.55 billion). However, the trustee controlling Samir said last week the Commercial Court of Casablanca and the tax administration had lifted the freeze on its assets while it was working to restart production as quickly as possible. The trustee has been struggling to resume production at the company's 200,000 barrel per day complex within the three months set by the first court ruling. Morocco's government thinks restarting production would attract potential buyers for Samir. (Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi; Editing by Patrick Markey and Keith Weir) (Adds ING Americas, EY) May 4 (Reuters) - The following financial services industry appointments were announced on Wednesday. To inform us of other job changes, email moves@thomsonreuters.com. COMERICA INC The regional bank operator said on Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Karen Parkhill had resigned and would be replaced by General Auditor David Duprey, effective immediately. ING AMERICAS The company, which is a part of the ING Group, appointed Andrea Puerto country representative for Colombia. ERNST AND YOUNG LLP The audit firm hired Tara Ferris from the Internal Revenue Service to advise large financial institutions on information reporting related matters. THE WORLD BANK The World Bank has appointed George Richardson head of its funding team, replacing Doris Herrera-Pol, who stepped down from the position last year. BROWN SHIPLEY The UK-based wealth management firm named Guy Healey as its new head of private banking. (Compiled by Rosmi Shaji in Bengaluru) NASA named a lake in Venezuela the lightning capital of the world. It's called Lake Maracaibo and on good nights, lighting strikes there t times per hour. "Lake Maracaibo has a unique geography and climatology that is ideal for the development of thunderstorms," University of Alabama in Huntsville research scientist Dennis Buechler told NASA. It's the largest lake in South America and the host of an average 297 thunderstorms per year. Some call it the "everlasting storm." Take a look at these 6 photos: NASA Just Named This Lake Earth's Lightning Capital NASA Just Named This Lake Earth's Lightning Capital NASA Just Named This Lake Earth's Lightning Capital NASA Just Named This Lake Earth's Lightning Capital NASA Just Named This Lake Earth's Lightning Capital NASA Just Named This Lake Earth's Lightning Capital The that strikes Lake Maracaibo is bright enough to be seen from a 250-mile distance old tales suggest colonial sailors used it to navigate. Not sure where Lake Maracaibo is? Check it out on the map here. Photo credits, in order of images: Thechemicalengineer, Ruzhugo27, Ben/CC by 2.0, Flickr/Fernando Flores, Ruzhugo27, Jorge Silva Jerusalem (AFP) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Wednesday what he called "poisonous" anti-Israeli propaganda in the West which he compared to Nazism, in remarks on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day. "What led to the Holocaust is the incitement to hatred that continues today against Israel," said Netanyahu. "Anti-Semitism didn't disappear with the death of Hitler in his bunker... propaganda in the Western world against Israel is no less poisonous than that of extremist Islam and the Arab world," he said. Netanyahu singled out "British parliamentarians, Swedish officials and opinion leaders in France" for criticism in his comments at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Centre. "If throughout history, Jews were designated as enemies of humanity, today it is the state of the Jews that is the enemy of humanity, and this lie has no bounds," he said, referring to Israel. Recalling a recent UNESCO resolution on the status of Jerusalem, he accused the UN's cultural body of "spreading lies transforming victims into aggressors and aggressors into victims". In a brief ceremony marking the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, six survivors lit candles in memory of the six million Jews killed by the Nazis. Israel will come to a standstill for two minutes at 10:00 am on Thursday (0700 GMT), when sirens will be sounded in memory of Jewish victims of Nazism. A 2015 study found that some 45,000 of Israel's estimated remaining 190,000 Holocaust survivors are now living in poverty. International Holocaust Remembrance Day is held on January 27 but Israel commemorates it separately on Thursday. About six million Jews died at the hands of Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II. Nicolas Noxon, an Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker for National Geographic specials and the father of Buffy the Vampire Slayer writer-producer Marti Noxon, has died. He was 79. A pioneer in nonfiction television, Noxon died Tuesday surrounded by family at his home in Westlake Village, Calif., family spokesman Steven Reich said. The cause was pancreatic cancer. In 1985, Noxon joined Dr. Robert Ballard's expedition in the North Atlantic to explore the wreck of the Titanic. The resulting National Geographic film, Secrets of the Titanic (1986), included the first images of the doomed ocean liner and became the most popular project of his career. The 51-minute documentary also served as the inspiration for James Cameron's 1997 feature. During his long association with the National Geographic, Noxon and his team won 58 Emmys. He also wrote and produced projects in association with ABC, David Wolper, Columbia Pictures Television, Metromedia and MGM, among other companies. In 2009, he was the recipient of the International Documentary Association's Pioneer Award. Read More: Marti Noxon Inks Big Overall Deal With Skydance (Exclusive) Born in London, Noxon grew up in Canada and on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. His mother, Betty Lane, was an accomplished American painter, and his father, Gerald Noxon, was a writer who in 1948 founded the film school at Boston University. He attended Putney High School in Vermont and after graduation studied filmmaking at Antioch College in Ohio and served as an editor and writer for an educational film company in Washington. In 1960, after hearing that Wolper was planning to produce documentary television for national syndication, Noxon moved to Los Angeles and joined Wolper Productions. He became a producer and writer for the original Biography series hosted by Mike Wallace. His installments included those on Winston Churchill, Amelia Earhart, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Clarence Darrow, John Barrymore, Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Story continues Noxon also wrote and produced segments for Hollywood and the Stars, Hollywood Goes to War and The Great Director series. See More: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016 He gained his first opportunity to work with National Geographic when execs approached Wolper, who in turn brought in Noxon, who wrote and produced the first three National Geographic Specials when they premiered on CBS in the early 1960s. After Wolper sold his company in 1966, Noxon and partner Irwin Rosten organized the documentary department at MGM, the first such organization at a major studio. There he produced and supervised numerous natural history documentaries that were released theatrically as well as films on such diverse subjects as archaeology, forest fires and early child development. Noxon then returned to National Geographic as a writer-producer for a run of documentary specials including 1978's The Great Whales, for which he won an Emmy, and 1982's The Sharks, one of the highest-rated programs to air on PBS. In 1982, he joined ABC's Ripley's Believe It or Not as a writer and producer. Later, Noxon became executive producer of National Geographic Specials and head of the company's West Coast production facility. He also authored a book about his mother, Betty Lane: A Painter's Life, taken from her memoirs. Marti Noxon is executive producing and writing for the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce and Lifetime's UnREAL and is an executive producer on CBS' Code Black. Survivors also include his wife Nicky, children Christopher, Carlton, Traci and Megan and 11 grandchildren. (Adds details, quotes) ABUJA, May 4 (Reuters) - The total value of capital imported into Nigeria in the first quarter plunged to $710.97 million, a 73.79 percent decline from the same quarter a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil exporter, has been hit by its worst economic crisis in years, as low prices for crude cause government revenues to plummet. Last year, the central bank imposed currency controls to prevent a collapse of the currency, the naira. Nigeria has seen an exodus of foreign money in the last few months. In September, JP Morgan announced it would eject the country from its influential emerging markets bond index because of the currency controls. Barclays followed suit soon after. "Investors may be concerned about whether or not they will be able to repatriate the earnings from their investments, given the current controls on the exchange rate," the statistics office said. "In addition, as growth has slowed in recent quarters, there may be concerns about the profitability of such investments." A foreign exchange shortage has seen the naira drop to record lows on the parallel market in recent months. But the central bank has resisted calls from the International Monetary Fund to ease the restrictions, a stance supported by President Muhammadu Buhari. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Larry King) Baker HughesHalliburton Merger Falls Through: Impact on BHI Explaining Baker Hughess strategy On April 30, Halliburton (HAL) and Baker Hughes (BHI), the second and third largest oilfield service companies by market capitalization, terminated their proposed merger agreement. According to the terms of the transaction, BHI will receive a $3.5 billion termination fee from HAL following the termination. Read more about the proposed merger in Market Realists Baker Hughes-Halliburton: A critical deal for the oil industry. Following the break-up, BHI disclosed its strategies on May 2, focusing on the following points. improving efficiency by reducing costs: expected to result in $500 million in savings by the end of 2016 rationalization of its full-service model: BHI may reduce the scope of its onshore pressure pumping business in the United States increasing the range of its global sales channels for select countries optimization of its capital structure What are BHIs plans for its termination fee from Halliburton? In order to optimize its capital structure, Baker Hughes plans to repurchase shares totaling $1.5 billion and debt totaling $1 billion. BHI also plans to refinance its $2.5 billion credit facility, which expires in September 2016. The company will finance these programs through the merger termination fee it will receive from Halliburton. This move should improve BHIs balance sheet strength. Its long-term debt, which was $3.9 billion as of March 31, could fall 26% after this step. Along with debt refinancing, this change could lower BHIs interest costs. Baker Hughes is 0.11% of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). Baker Hughes thinks the oilfield service industry will remain challenging due to overcapacity, commoditized pricing, and low barriers to entry. BHIs management plans to thrive in this environment through cost reductions and increased operational efficiencies. BHI reduced its headcount by 2,000 in fiscal 1Q16. In fiscal 2015, it reduced its workforce by 18,000. Also, BHI can now do away with its merger-related costs, which amounted to $102 million in 1Q16. This move could improve its earnings going forward. To learn more about Baker Hughess earnings, check out Market Realists Why Did Baker Hughess 1Q16 Earnings Miss Estimates? Story continues Following the termination of the proposed merger with Halliburton, how do Wall Street analysts rate BHIs stock? Read the next part of this series to find out. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Seoul (AFP) - Recent satellite images suggest North Korea has completed the external refurbishment of a shipyard dedicated to building and launching a new class of ballistic missile submarines, a US think tank said Wednesday. While it is unlikely that any such vessel would become operational before 2020, the North's efforts to develop a working submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is clearly "making progress", according to the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University. A credible SLBM capability would take North Korea's nuclear strike threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and the potential to retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack. Last month, one of the North's experimental GORAE-class submarines carried out an SLBM test in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), launching a missile that travelled around 19 miles (30 kilometres). South Korea deemed the test a failure as the missile appeared to have exploded, but analysts at the US Korea Institute said it was a success. "It was probably intended to be limited, focusing upon the submarine's launch systems, missile ignition sequence and initial guidance operations rather than a full operational test," it said, predicting further similar launches this year before a "full-range" flight test. Satellite pictures dated April 28, five days after the test, showed post-launch maintenance activity being carried out on the submarine at the North's Sinpo South Shipyard. They also indicated that external work on the yard's submarine construction halls had been completed, and a ramp where new vessels are launched was nearly finished, the institute said. "When complete, the North will be able to build and launch submarines much larger than the GORAE-class -- including a new class of ballistic missile submarines," it added. South Korea is particularly concerned by the North's SLBM development, and its defence minister, Han Min-Koo warned Tuesday that Seoul had been slow to respond. "I don't think there's much time left for us to come up with means to cope with the threat from North Korea's SLBM," Han told a parliamentary committee. SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Wednesday a campaign was helping to cut the number of smokers, although its leader Kim Jong Un is frequently seen with a cigarette in hand in photographs in state media. The government has cut the total area planted with tobacco "as much as possible" and health warnings are required on cigarette packs, the North's official KCNA news agency said. "The number of non-smokers is remarkably increasing with each passing day," KCNA said, adding the number of male smokers was 8 percent lower in 2013 compared with four years earlier. The news agency made no mention of leader Kim's habit and the fact that he is frequently seen with a cigarette in hand in public, including at an event where he declared success in miniaturizing a nuclear warhead while standing next to a large object that looked to be a ballistic missile. Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, was also believed to be a heavy smoker, seen puffing on a cigarette on state media in 2009, a year after he was thought to have suffered a stroke, despite claiming several years earlier to have quit. The elder Kim died in December 2011 of a heart attack while on a train, the North's state media said. (Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Robert Birsel) LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2016 /Notis Global, Inc. (NGBL), a pioneer in the worldwide hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) oil industry, today issued a press release regarding progress on its "Farm" in Colorado. 2016 has been a pivotal year for Notis Global. Through Notis Global's subsidiary EWSD I, LLC ("EWSD"), and its partner Folium Biosciences, one of the nation's leading growers and processors of hemp products, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Company has made significant progress towards creating its first crop of the highest quality hemp for hemp oil production. Throughout the winter and spring the managers and the employees of the Farm have constructed new or rehabilitated the existing farmhouse office and greenhouse structures on our land in Pueblo Colorado including grading the land and erecting security fences along with upgrading wells and piping for water. State of the art temperature, circulation and humidity controls along with appropriate drainage have all been installed and are operational in 36,000 square feet of greenhouses according to Jeff Goh President and CEO. See a recently updated video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouDXJHZHqJc. The primary function of the greenhouses is to grow "mother plants" which are then cloned and grown as genetically identical plants which are cultivated into an exceptional product. The cloned plants have grown and will continue to grow very quickly in the Farm's superior conditions. "While the weather is still cool in Colorado it is getting much warmer and we expect to begin planting on May 15th according to SVP of Operations, Clint Pyatt. Notis Global has the knowledge and unique expertise to create a truly world-class operation with our partners growing crops and manufacturing products from hemp farmland and to market, sell and distribute CBD oil. About Notis Global Based in Los Angeles, Notis Global is a pioneer in the burgeoning, multi-billion dollar legal hemp industry. The Company and its partners are working to grow confidence and generate revenues in the hemp industry. Through our key partnership with Folium Biosciences, one of the largest hemp operations in the U.S., Notis is a leading provider and distributor of cannabidiol (CBD). For more information on the Company, please visit http://NotisGlobal.com. Story continues Safe Harbor Statement Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "aim," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend," "goal," "strive," or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), and including not limited to Risk Factors relating reflected in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Commission on April 13, 2016. Thus, actual results could be materially different. We advise you review our Annual Report and the Risk Factors set forth therein. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015, were prepared under the assumption that we would continue our operations as a going concern. Our independent registered public accounting firm has included a "going concern" explanatory paragraph in its report on our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015, indicating that we have sustained substantial losses from continuing operations and have used, rather than provided, cash in our continuing operations, and that these factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Continued operations and our ability to continue as a going concern are dependent on our ability to obtain additional funding in the near future and thereafter, and there are no assurances that such funding will be available at all or will be available in sufficient amounts or on reasonable terms. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Uncertainty concerning our ability to continue as a going concern may hinder our ability to obtain future financing. Without additional funds from generation of revenues through execution of our business plan, debt or equity financings, sales of assets, or other transactions, we will exhaust our resources and will be unable to continue operations. If we cannot continue as a viable entity, our stockholders would likely lose most or all of their investment in us. See Liquidity and Capital Resources under Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information regarding the Company's efforts to secure liquidity and future cash flows. The Company has granted to an investor a lien against its equity interests in EWSD and its other assets as security for repayment of a note in the amount of approximately $225,000 and retains the right to pledge all or any part of its real or personal property to secure Company's indebtedness in its sole discretion. If the Company is unable to meet the obligation that gave rise to this lien or to future liens on such stock and assets, it may default on such obligation or on future obligations and its lenders could foreclose upon, or cause the sale of, the Company's ownership of EWSD. SOURCE: Notis Global, Inc. (Adds quotes from Obama, Michael Moore, background) By Timothy Gardner FLINT, Mich., May 4 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sipped filtered water in Flint, Michigan, on Wednesday and assured angry residents that their children would be fine in the long term despite the "complete screw-up" that contaminated their drinking water with lead. Obama made the trip to the mostly African-American community to demonstrate that the water there was safe even as he predicted it would take more than two years to replace the city's aging pipes. Flint, with a population of about 100,000, was under control of a state-appointed emergency manager in 2014 when it switched its water source from Detroit's municipal system to the Flint River to save money. The city switched back in October. The river water was more corrosive than the Detroit system and caused more lead to leach from its aging pipes. Lead can be toxic, and children are especially vulnerable. "This was a man made disaster. This was avoidable. This was preventable," Obama told a crowd at a local high school. "Flint's recovery is everybody's responsibility, and I'm going to make sure that responsibility is met." The president urged parents to ensure their children were tested for lead and said residents should run their taps frequently to flush out remaining pollutants. DRINKS THE WATER After coughing repeatedly during his remarks, he asked for a glass of water, and drank it in front of the crowd. Earlier he sipped from a glass of filtered Flint water during a meeting with regulators. The White House had said that it did not know if the president would drink filtered Flint water. Obama said the crisis had resulted from government officials at all levels not paying attention. Questions linger over whether environmental regulators could have acted more urgently to help the city, where more than 40 percent of its residents live in poverty. Susan Hedman, the EPA's Midwest chief and an Obama appointee, resigned in February amid concern that she had not acted quickly on a June 2015 memo from agency scientist Miguel Del Toral that said tests showed high lead levels in water from Flint homes. Story continues Last month, lawyers representing residents of Flint filed a $220.2 million damages claim alleging that negligence on the part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had contributed to dangerous lead levels in the city's water. Three Michigan state and local officials were criminally charged in April in an investigation into lead levels in Flint's water, and the state attorney general said there would be more charges. Many residents have blamed Michigan's Republican governor, Rick Snyder, who was greeted by boos from the crowd. "You didn't create this problem, government failed you," Snyder said. Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and Flint native Michael Moore disputed Obama's assurances about the quality of the water. "A number of experts are still saying this water is not safe. It's still going through the same corroded lead pipes," he said on CNN, describing Obama's visit as "too little, too late." Obama, going off his prepared remarks, told members of the community that their anger was understandable, but he urged them not to let their children believe they would be hurt for life. "You should be angry, but channel that anger. You should be hurt, but don't sink into despair," he said. "Do not somehow communicate to our children here in this city that they're going to be saddled with problems for the rest of their lives. Because they will not. They'll do just fine." The EPA, whose budget has been squeezed by Congress, acknowledges there are issues with its lead and copper rule that need to be addressed to prevent similar crises in other cities. The agency has said it would propose changes to the rule early next year. (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Eric Walsh; Editing by Leslie Adler, Toni Reinhold) By Timothy Gardner FLINT, Mich. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama sipped filtered water in Flint, Michigan, on Wednesday and assured angry residents that their children would be fine in the long term despite the "complete screw-up" that contaminated their drinking water with lead. Obama made the trip to the mostly African-American community to demonstrate that the water there was safe even as he predicted it would take more than two years to replace the city's aging pipes. Flint, with a population of about 100,000, was under control of a state-appointed emergency manager in 2014 when it switched its water source from Detroit's municipal system to the Flint River to save money. The city switched back in October. The river water was more corrosive than the Detroit system and caused more lead to leach from its aging pipes. Lead can be toxic, and children are especially vulnerable. "This was a man made disaster. This was avoidable. This was preventable," Obama told a crowd at a local high school. "Flint's recovery is everybody's responsibility, and I'm going to make sure that responsibility is met." The president urged parents to ensure their children were tested for lead and said residents should run their taps frequently to flush out remaining pollutants. DRINKS THE WATER After coughing repeatedly during his remarks, he asked for a glass of water, and drank it in front of the crowd. Earlier he sipped from a glass of filtered Flint water during a meeting with regulators. The White House had said that it did not know if the president would drink filtered Flint water. Obama said the crisis had resulted from government officials at all levels not paying attention. Questions linger over whether environmental regulators could have acted more urgently to help the city, where more than 40 percent of its residents live in poverty. Susan Hedman, the EPA's Midwest chief and an Obama appointee, resigned in February amid concern that she had not acted quickly on a June 2015 memo from agency scientist Miguel Del Toral that said tests showed high lead levels in water from Flint homes. Last month, lawyers representing residents of Flint filed a $220.2 million damages claim alleging that negligence on the part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had contributed to dangerous lead levels in the city's water. Three Michigan state and local officials were criminally charged in April in an investigation into lead levels in Flint's water, and the state attorney general said there would be more charges. Many residents have blamed Michigan's Republican governor, Rick Snyder, who was greeted by boos from the crowd. "You didn't create this problem, government failed you," Snyder said. Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker and Flint native Michael Moore disputed Obama's assurances about the quality of the water. "A number of experts are still saying this water is not safe. Its still going through the same corroded lead pipes," he said on CNN, describing Obama's visit as "too little, too late." Obama, going off his prepared remarks, told members of the community that their anger was understandable, but he urged them not to let their children believe they would be hurt for life. "You should be angry, but channel that anger. You should be hurt, but don't sink into despair," he said. "Do not somehow communicate to our children here in this city that they're going to be saddled with problems for the rest of their lives. Because they will not. Theyll do just fine." The EPA, whose budget has been squeezed by Congress, acknowledges there are issues with its lead and copper rule that need to be addressed to prevent similar crises in other cities. The agency has said it would propose changes to the rule early next year. (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason and Eric Walsh; Editing by Leslie Adler, Toni Reinhold) The United States Oil Fund (USO) , which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, is down more than 2% over the past week, but with the benchmark oil exchange traded product up more than 20% over the past three months, some traders and technicians see USOs recent down move as an opportunity to revisit the product. Remember, USO and other oil ETFs, such as the United States Brent Oil Fund (BNO) , which tracks Brent crude oil futures, have been surging despite little in the way of significant output reductions from major oil-producing nations, such as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects oil stocks to expand by 1.5 million barrels per day in the first six months of 2016 and then slow to 200,000 barrel per day in the second half of the year due to a drop in high-cost production, like U.S. shale oil. Related: 12 Rebounding Energy ETFs Moreover, the IEA has warned that it may even lower oil demand forecasts amid slowing economic activity, which seems more likely after the International Monetary Fund already cut its global economic outlook. For now, the IEA has not made significant revisions to its demand forecasts in light of the recent IMF growth projections. Still, there are plenty of factors to consider before coming to the conclusion that oil and the related exchange traded products are completely out of the woods. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and Iran failed to find common ground during the oil freeze talks in Doha, Qatar. Trending on ETF Trends Dollar Declines Mean Go-Go Days for Commodities ETFs Gold ETF Holdings Expand as Technical Resistance Looms 32 Best ETFs to Track Crude Oil Gold ETF Traders Should Keep These 5 Factors in Mind U.S. Dollar ETF Heading Toward Strong Period The USO oil ETF remains firmly in bullish territory. The pullback is thus far run-of-the-mill and has yet to shatter any significant support levels. A retracement to the 20-day moving average is as normal as it gets leaving little for oil bulls to get worked up about, according to InvestorPlace. Story continues Oil companies are reducing costs by laying off thousands of workers and halted many new projects. Related: 32 Best ETFs to Track Crude Oil Large integrated oil companies are expected to hold up better than drilling stocks as these giants have both upstream exploration and production, along with downstream refining operations. Lending further weight behind a bullish forecast for USO is the momentum confirmation accompanying its last swing high. The new peak in USO at $11.50 was accompanied by a new high being carved out by the Relative Strength Index, which suggests the momentum of oils budding uptrend remains strong, adds InvestorPlace. Visit ETFtrends.com for more ETF news, strategy and commentary.United States Oil Fund Donald Trump Donald Trump praised Ted Cruz on Tuesday after the Texas senator dropped out of the Republican presidential race, following a big loss to the real-estate magnate in the Indiana primary. "Ted Cruz, I don't know if he likes me or if he doesn't like me, but he is one hell of a competitor," Trump said during his victory speech from Trump Tower in New York. "He is a tough, smart guy. And he has got an amazing future." "I want to congratulate Ted," he continued, commending him on a "very brave thing to do." For Trump, it was a sharp turn from months of escalating attacks on the senator he attempted to brand as "Lyin' Ted." Even earlier on Tuesday, Trump made headlines by claiming that Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, was somehow linked to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Cruz later fired back some of his harshest criticism of Trump in response. Trump went on to mock John Kasich, the Ohio governor, for staying in the race, although he did not mention him by name. Kasich is the lone remaining candidate facing Trump in the GOP race. "Down to one," Trump said. "I don't know, is there a second? I'm going to have to ask you folks the status of that." NOW WATCH: Argentina is trolling Trump to hype a big international soccer tournament More From Business Insider jeff teper sharepoint microsoft Today, Microsoft ends years of waiting by announcing that a SharePoint app is coming soon for iPhone, followed by apps for Windows 10 and Android. With the launch of this app, SharePoint's 190 million-license business will finally join the rest of Microsoft Office suite in the so-called "cloud first, mobile first" vision laid out by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. SharePoint is Microsoft's team collaboration product, and does a lot of different things you can share information on it, use it for a corporate intranet, search company documents stored in a bunch of different places, and much more. It's the kind of multi-purpose enterprise product that startups like Box love to pick on, but it's a huge product for Microsoft, generating more than $3 billion a year in revenues for the company. In addition to announcing these apps, Microsoft is officially releasing the latest version, SharePoint Server 2016. Cloud first This news also is a kind of homecoming for Microsoft Corporate VP Jeff Teper: He led SharePoint from its inception in 2000 through 2012, at which point he took a bigger-picture role in helping to lead the crucial Office 365 cloud service. He was also tasked with advising Nadella on the company's cloud shift. In late 2015, Teper rejoined SharePoint to lead it forward into the future, amid mounting competition from collaboration companies like Box and Slack. In his abscence, Teper says, the SharePoint team was more concerned with reliability and stability than advancing the product into the modern era of the smartphone even as apps like Microsoft Outlook have thrived on platforms like iPhone and Android. "When I came back last summer, the team was focused on earning the trust of businesses by making it work great," Teper says. "The biggest thing we've been working on is getting it into the cloud." sharepoint server 2016 home page Around 40 percent of SharePoint's 190 million seats (industry-speak for licenses sold) are using the Office 365 cloud version, Teper says, and he only expects that to increase. That means that those users are getting new updates to SharePoint, as a subscription model, plus the ability to access their files and sites from anywhere. Story continues Still, lots of customers use SharePoint with their on-premises servers, meaning it can be hard to access them when not connected to the corporate intranet. With SharePoint Server 2016, Teper says that it's much easier for all of SharePoint's customers to make their team sites accessible from anywhere, which is important with the new smartphone app. On both the desktop and mobile, SharePoint is designed to be the "central piece" of your working life, with deep integrations with the whole Office 365 suite, Teper says. A new SharePoint homepage can make it easier to see the integrations with other Office products. sharepoint iphone microsoft The iPhone version is available "in the coming weeks," with Android and Windows after that. That means full access to your team's files, calendars, and announcements news feed, from anywhere. Teper says that it's like "putting the intranet in your pocket." Teper also boasts of SharePoint's newfound integration with the Microsoft Graph, which is a little bit like the famed Facebook Social Graph for the workplace. It means that on mobile and desktop, SharePoint will automatically prioritize and show you the documents and project files that are relevant to you at that moment. "You no longer have to hunt for information, information hunts for you," Teper says. Serious business This news is going to make some waves: You might never guess from its status as a team-collaboration tool for the enterprise, but SharePoint has a huge and vibrant community of developers and enthusiasts. One key to its success is the fact that you can customize it to do all sorts of things. Teper even says that people have had their careers made by how well and quickly they built a SharePoint site, impressing their bosses. "I think that SharePoint was this magical app that did stuff out of the box, but could be adapted to specific needs," Teper says. Microsoft says that its partners have created a $10 billion economy around SharePoint, selling installation, customization, and migration services. And people actually love SharePoint, attending parties and mixers all over the globe to meet up with like-minded folks and pick up tips on how to use it even better. Those parties apparently get pretty wild, Teper says. "When it's time for happy hour, people have a 'SharePint,'" Teper says. "This is serious business." NOW WATCH: This handy tool solves one of the most annoying problems in Excel More From Business Insider Robin Rankin and people at Milken Global Dealmaking in 2016 has been like riding a wild bronco one minute you're on, the next you're off. Enter Robin Rankin, Credit Suisse's cohead of mergers and acquisitions. Business Insider sat down with her at the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, and instead of going through a laundry list of questions, we asked her to tell us what really matters what is the most important question facing the M&A market? Here you go, the question now is: When is it going to be the right time to reenter emerging markets and Europe? You'll recall the first quarter of this year, when markets, led by China, started to crash. Commodities crashed too, taking emerging markets down with them. Everyone thought it was the end of days that's the kind of cataclysmic movement that changes dealmaking. "It's not as if [companies] number three and four [in a sector] are not going to get together because of Brexit or the [US presidential] election," Rankin told Business Insider. It's the kind of portfolio pounding market action we saw in the first quarter that compels people like Rankin to tell their clients to hold on for a moment and wait for things to calm down. That is despite the fact that corporate balance sheets are still fat, business prospects haven't changed much, and they've done an incredible amount of work to prepare for their big deal day. The new hotness is the old hotness See, what really runs the money flow show is less investor uncertainty, and more a country's or sector's growth prospects. That's why since the volatility of Q1 has subsided, we've been seeing dealmaking increase steadily month after month. We're not seeing the megadeals of last year, but we're seeing $1 billion to $10 billion deals that Rankin says are much more "sustainable." And we've seen funds flowing out of China the source of Q1's volatility and into the United States. Chinese companies have been bidding for US assets at the fastest pace on record. Story continues "What's driving the China outbound [activity] is a desire for diversification," she explained. Anbang group That's why Rankin and her team have changed what they're doing. Instead of doing presentations about opportunities in the so-called BRIC countries (like Brazil, which is having an awful time of 2016) they are telling would-be buyers about what is going on the the US "If you're not meaningful in The States you're missing an extraordinarily large customer base, and the one thing we don't know is when European activity is going to pick up," she said. Now, none of this means that having the Fed raise rates, having a Brexit decision or having the US presidential election behind us won't give corporations a nudge, it probably will. But the questions we're dealing with here are much bigger, ultimately, so for now the market will have to work with smaller deals. "I think we have to be optimists in our business," said Rankin. "I think people would do well if there was a more exciting growth profile. Right now it's too slow growth...what's the next big thing? It's not obvious." NOW WATCH: How one simple mistake cost 'Real Housewives' superstar Bethenny Frankel millions More From Business Insider UNICEF Goodwill ambassador Orlando Bloom has traveled to war-torn eastern Ukraine to raise awareness of a global education crisis which faces children in humanitarian emergencies. The actor visited school children in classrooms around three kilometers from the front line of the conflict which started over two years ago. In Ukraine, nearly 600,000 children are in urgent need of aid and 230,000 have been forced to leave their homes. One in five schools and kindergartens in the region has been damaged and destroyed - and that's left 300,000 children in immediate need of assistance to continue their education. Bloom's visit came as it was announced that nearly a quarter of the world's school aged children - some 462 million - now live in countries affected by crisis and war. The "Pirates of the Caribbean" star said the amount of humanitarian aid given internationally to education is insufficient. Bloom also visited a damaged building now being used as a bomb shelter and met school children who are receiving counseling from UNICEF-supported psychologists, to help them recover from the traumas they have faced during the conflict. Http%3a%2f%2fi.blueprint.mashable.com%2firy_lomoxjes2v_tuho3xvdkswy%3d%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f79598%2fjellyfish-lake-thumb WELLINGTON, New Zealand The big question at Palau's Jellyfish Lake: Where are all the jellyfish? Part of a UNESCO World Heritage area, the saltwater lake has long been a source of wonder for tourists, who have delighted in snorkeling among the millions of golden jellyfish that can fill the water as thick as corn chowder. But some tourists in recent weeks have struggled to find even a single jellyfish, prompting at least one tour operator to suspend its trips. SEE ALSO: Stunning island nation of Palau will make most of its seas a huge sanctuary Scientists blame a severe drought, coupled with hotter temperatures caused by the El Nino weather pattern, a warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide and tends to push up global temperatures. Image: J.W. Alker / picture-alliance / dpa / Associated Press While scientists say there's every chance jellyfish numbers will rebound when conditions improve, they also worry that global warming poses a long-term threat to the delicate ecosystem of Palau, a tiny western Pacific island chain. "Just the past couple of weeks, the numbers have drastically declined," said Collin Joseph, a coastal manager for Palau's Koror State. He said the adult jellyfish have pretty much died out completely, while some juveniles remain. The decline is particularly concerning because the jellyfish in the lake are a unique subspecies that have developed in isolation from their lagoon ancestors. Koror State Governor Yositaka Adachi last week decided to keep the lake open, at least for now. He said in a statement that rainfall in the area over the past four months was the lowest in 65 years, but that there remained enough polyps, which produce jellyfish, to ensure the population could eventually recover. But some aren't waiting for that. "Many tour companies including ours that have been taking guests to the lake have not seen any jellyfish," Sam's Tours wrote in an April 22 note to its sales partners. "We at Sam's Tours have therefore decided to suspend our tours to Jellyfish Lake with immediate effect until further notice." Story continues Image: Reinhard Dirscherl/ullstein bild / Getty Images Scientists are still trying to figure out exactly how the hot and dry conditions are affecting the jellyfish. Governor Adachi wrote that the lack of rain had reduced runoff into the lake, which had affected the tiny plants and animals the jellyfish consume. The Coral Reef Research Foundation also noted the lack of rain had caused the lake to become saltier than ever previously recorded, in monitoring which dates back to 1998. SEE ALSO: Dazzling photos from a Pacific marine sanctuary larger than California "The exact cause of the decline in the population of golden jellies is not yet understood, but it is clear at present that young [jellyfish] are not surviving very long after release by the bottom-dwelling polyp stage," the foundation wrote in an April Facebook post. It added: "The golden jelly population could be on the verge of crashing" to the point where there were no more swimming about the lake. The foundation noted the population had crashed once before, in 1999, but had rebounded 18 months later because some polyps had survived. Image: Coral Reef Foundation / Facebook Jellyfish Lake is unusual in being a small body of seawater surrounded by land. Channels to the sea remain deep in the limestone rock beneath the lake. Below about 13 meters (40 feet), the lake has little oxygen and high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, making it dangerous for scuba divers. Due to their isolation from the ocean, five marine lakes in the area have produced five different subspecies of golden jellyfish. Scientists say a common myth about the jellyfish in the lake is that they don't sting, when in fact they can give swimmers a mild sting, which can be compounded by prolonged exposure. Image: Benjamin Lowy / Contributor / Getty Images Los Angeles-based photographer and model Amber Arbucci discovered that in 2013, when she completed a seven-hour naked photo shoot in the lake for her collection "The Girl at Jellyfish Lake." "I was so stung my eyes were swollen and I could barely walk," she told The Wall Street Journal. She wrote on her website, however, that she still found the jellyfish filled with charm "powerful, and yet so fragile all at the same time." Image: Benjamin Lowy / Contributor / Getty Images Additional reporting by Mashable. The parents of a baby boy who was born with a total of 31 fingers and toes have made a desperate plea to the public to raise funds for surgery. Three-month-old Hong Hong suffers from polydactylism, a congenital condition characterised by extra fingers or toes. He has a total of 15 fingers, 16 toes and two palms with no thumbs on either hand. In the family: Hong Hongs mother also has extra digits (CEN) Severe: The boy has 31 fingers and toes (CEN) Zou Chenglin, Hong Hongs dad, said his wife, who works in a factory in Shenzhen City, China, also has polydactylism - although her case is not as severe. He said: My wife has one extra finger and toe on each of her hands and feet, so we were worried that our child would inherit the condition. "But after going to three big hospitals in Shenzhen, doctors found no birth defects on our son during scans. Operation: Hong Hong can have surgery to remove the digits when he is six months old (CEN) Plea: The boys parents are trying to raise money for the procedure (CEN) However, the couple were shocked when Hong Hong was born with multiple extra digits, although doctors said they could operate on him when he is between six months and a year old. Now they are seeking help from local charities and public donations to raise funds for the operation, which could cost anywhere between 10,600 and 53,000. Top pic: CEN Patton Oswalt is working to preserve his wife Michelle McNamaras memory for their daughter Alice, after the crime writers unexpected death last month. She approached motherhood with the same bemused optimism she met everything else with, Oswalt tells PEOPLE in this weeks issue. She loved being a mother. McNamara, founder of the website True Crime Diary, died in her sleep April 21 at age 46. Oswalt, who wed McNamara in 2005, says his wife knew how hard parenting was, but that she faced those challenges head on for Alice, 7. She was always honest about what frustrated her and exhausted her about it, as well as what her apprehensions were about raising a daughter, especially in this world, says Oswalt, 47. She taught me it was okay to be honest and open about those seemingly negative things because, once you gave voice to them? They didnt seem too bad. For more on how Patton Oswalt is honoring his wife Michelle McNamara, pick up this weeks issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday One of the things Oswalt admired most about his wife were the creative ways she introduced Alice to a wider world. She made being a parent fun, which Im struggling to continue through this shipwreck, he says. Reading every night, and planning cool trips, and always scouring the Internet for out-of-the-way weekend activities around Los Angeles. And she has a sprawling legion of Irish siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews. Our daughter, through her, got very comfortable very quickly with meeting different people. Oswalt admits he has a tendency to get a little hermit-like and that his wife helped encourage him to be around people more. She saw how opening up to other people and experiences Id normally avoid made me calmer and stronger. But she was fighting back against 34 years of my bad habits, says Oswalt. Alice had the benefit of learning from Michelles example from the get-go. Now its up to me to carry that on. I would be beyond happy if Alice were 80 percent Michelle and maybe 20 percent me. The 20 percent will probably be pop culture knowledge, but Im doing what I can. As for Alice, Oswalt says that she is honoring her mom in her own way. When your mom dies youre the best memory of her, Alice said, according to a tweet Oswalt shared Sunday. Everything you do is a memory of her. Gone but never forgotten. In an article written for Time.com, Patton Oswalt paid tribute to his late wife, Michelle McNamara. PHOTOS: Celebrity Deaths in 2016: Stars Weve Lost In the piece, published on Tuesday, May 3, the comedian, 47, looked back on the legacy left by his love, who died in her sleep at the age of 46 on April 21. "The reaction to her passing, the people who are shocked at her senseless absence, is a testament to how she steered her life with joyous, wicked curiosity," he wrote of McNamara, who he wed in 2005. "She hasn't left a void. She's left a blast crater." The Veep actor also highlighted McNamaras many career accomplishments, from working for Michelle Obama in the '90s to the founding of her popular blog, TrueCrimeDiary.com. Oswalt also detailed the origins of McNamaras true-crime book about the unsolved multiple-homicide case of the Golden State Killer, a project she unfortunately failed to finish before her untimely death. PHOTOS: Stars Gone Too Soon The King of Queens alum then went on to explain how he sees Michelle in their 7-year-old daughter, Alice. "Five days after Michelle was gone, Alice and I were half-awake at dawn, after a night of half-sleeping. Alice sat up in bed. Her face was silhouetted in the dawn light of the bedroom windows, he shared. I couldnt see her expression. I just heard her voice: 'When your mom dies youre the best memory of her. Everything you do and say is a memory of her.' Thats the kind of person Michelle created and helped shape. That was Michelle. That is Michelle. Celebrity Health Scares Shortly after McNamara passed away, Oswalts rep told the Associated Press that her death came as a complete shock to the family. According to The Hollywood Reporter, it might be months until officials know why McNamara died as tests and toxicology reports are ongoing. What Do Analysts Expect from PBF Energy's 1Q16 Earnings? (Continued from Prior Part) PBFs stock performance PBF Energys (PBF) stock continued its falling trend from December 2015 and got off to a weak start in 2016. However, PBF started rising in February 2016. From February 8 to April 18, PBFs stock rose 20%. During this period, refining cracks started strengthening. The refining margin indicators of major refining companies also showed improvement. During the same period, Phillips 66 (PSX) and HollyFrontier (HFC) rose 12% and 13%, respectively. Delek US Holdings (DK) gained 17%. For exposure to mid-cap stocks, you can consider the iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF (IJH). The ETF also has HFC in its portfolio. PBFs recent acquisitions PBF Energy (PBF) is on an acquisitions spree. The company acquired the Chalmette refinery and related logistics assets in November 2015 for $322 million plus working capital. Also, PBF signed an agreement to purchase the Torrance refinery from ExxonMobil (XOM) for $537.5 million plus working capital to be valued at closing. To finance its acquisitions, PBF raised funds via a mixture of debt and equity. PBF raised $344 million by issuing equity and $500 million by offering senior secured notes. The acquisitions are expected to enhance PBFs refining capacities as well as its logistics capabilities. The refining capacity of the Chalmette refinery stands at 189,000 barrels per day, whereas that of the Torrance refinery stands at 155,000 barrels per day. Both are high-complexity refineries that are expected to provide a strong foothold in PADD 3 and PADD 5 areas. Plus, the associated logistics assets are likely to improve connectivity across the region. They are also likely to provide drop-down opportunities for PBF Logistics (PBFX). Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: CBS Person of Interest opened its final season right where it left off (almost a full year ago), with Reese felling all in his path as he safeguarded the Machine, now compressed into a (near-)indestructible briefcase. RELATEDPerson of Interest Final Season Preview: Finch vs. Root, Samaritans New Tricks, a Questionable Allegiance and More When morning comes, Reese meets up with Finch at a ferry, which will provide them transport to Manhattan away from any cameras, though Finch is a bit uneasy about the boat, given his past with Grace. But time is a-wasting, especially with the Machines battery dying, its crunched code screaming to be decompressed, somehow, back at the subway bunker. Root meanwhile labors to make her own way to safety, but Samaritan spies her inside a subway car and sics some civilian assets on the enemy combatant by way of some cell phone push notifications. Root bests those who confronts her, and ultimately makes her way to Bela, a Russian uber-hacker who offers safe harbor, for a moment at least. Over at the NYPD, Fusco is on the hook for the deaths of two most wanted kingpins, Elias and Dominic. And though he at first insists to IA and the FBI that he never fired his gun, that a sniper shot Dominic instead, Reese later convinces his partner to drop his defense, lest he raise too many flags and Samaritan gets wise. PHOTOSPerson of Interest Final Season: Shaws Return, Shot Machine and More In flashbacks to 2006, we learn see that upon realizing that the nascent Machine was becoming too precocious, Finch decided to erase its RAM every night at midnight, as a safeguard. If an unbridled AI ever saw us as a threat, it could lead to the extinction of mankind, he warns Nathan, who in turn wonders if Harold is willing to run the risk of someone else one day developing an ASI. When Harold shares his employee with boundary issues dilemma with Grace, she encourages him to follow his good heart. It wont steer you wrong. And Finch proceeds as planned, despite the Machines polite protests. Story continues Bela of course sells out Root, only to get a bullet in the bean from a Samaritan grunt for his trouble. Said gunman also spills about the plan to disseminate Samaritan spyware to individual computers worldwide. Reese arrives to help save Roots bacon, as well as abscond with hundreds of last-gen PlayStation consoles, which Harold later wires together and uploads the Machine into with some emergency liquid nitrogen cooling provided by Reese. And on that note, She is back up and running REMINDER: POI next airs Monday at 10/9c, and then every Tuesday and Monday, until its June 21 series finale. Launch Gallery: Person of Interest Season 5 Photos Final Season Related stories Big Bang Theory Recap: How I Disappointed Your Mother NCIS Photos: Meet the New Additions Ratings: SVU, Chicago P.D. Return From 5-Week Break to Series Lows LIMA (Reuters) - Economic growth in global metals exporter Peru will quicken to 5 to 6 percent a year from 3.3 percent in 2015 if Keiko Fujimori wins the June 5 presidential election, her new economic adviser said on Wednesday. Elmer Cuba, an economist with local consulting firm Macroconsult, who previously worked at the central bank, said he decided to join Fujimori's campaign after "long conversations" with the center-right candidate in recent weeks. "We're going to accelerate economic growth with strongly countercyclical, well-thought-out and timely economic policies to bring the economy to a growth rate of between 5 and 6 percent" a year during a five-year presidential term, Cuba said in broadcast comments at an event with Fujimori. Fujimori is a former congresswoman and the eldest daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori. Opinion polls show she is neck and neck with her centrist run-off rival Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a former World Bank economist. Cuba said a Fujimori government would need to be "imaginative" about how to finance her promised surge in infrastructure spending at the end of a decade-long mining boom. Fujimori has proposed jump-starting economic growth by building roads, irrigation canals and other public works she would pay for by tapping the Finance Ministry's nearly $7 billion rainy-day fund and possibly issuing new bonds. "Peru will not lose the fiscal prudence that it has taken us so long to win," Cuba said. Economic growth in Peru slowed sharply in 2014 as prices for the country's mineral exports tumbled and investments slipped. But the government expects growth to rise to 3.8 percent this year on rising copper production from new mining projects, such as Freeport McMoRan Inc's expansion of its Cerro Verde deposit and MMG Ltd's Las Bambas project. But Cuba called Peru's economic recovery a "mirage," saying it was being driven mainly by just a couple big mining projects. "If we remove them from the scene, growth is still slowing" to an annualized rate of between 2 and 2.5 percent, Cuba said. Cuba was previously a leader in the political party of centrist technocrat Julio Guzman, Fujimori's main rival before the country's electoral board barred him from the first-round vote on a technicality. Markets rose on April 11 after Fujimori and Kuczynski, both free-market champions, defeated a leftist rival to move on to a run-off. President Ollanta Humala cannot govern past July 28 because of term limits. (Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Peter Cooney) Los Angeles (AFP) - US swimming star Michael Phelps has withdrawn from a meeting in Atlanta next week he had been planning to use as part of his preparations for the Olympics, organizers have confirmed. A statement on the May 13-15 Atlanta Classic Swim Meet website said Phelps had informed them he would no longer be taking part. "We understand some of you may have purchased tickets to see Michael Phelps. He is no longer able to attend," organizers said. US media reports said Phelps was skipping the meet in order to be with his fiance Nicole Johnson, who is expecting the birth of his first son. Phelps, 30, retired from swimming after the London 2012 games before returning to competition in 2014. He aims to compete in his fifth Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August after appearances in Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London, where he amassed a record 18 gold medals. In a landmark ruling nearly a decade ago, a federal judge ordered tobacco companies to stop lying. After listening to 84 witnesses and perusing tens of thousands of exhibits, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler of the District of Columbia took a year to write a 1,652-page opinion detailing the companies elaborate strategy to deny the harmful effects of smoking. In short, [the companies] have marketed and sold their lethal product with zeal, with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted, Kessler wrote in United States of America v. Philip Morris USA. Kessler noted that the Justice Department, in a racketeering lawsuit, had presented overwhelming evidence of a conspiracy to defraud the public. She ordered the companies to take a number of actions, including ceasing to claim there was such a thing as a low-tar cigarette that reduced the risk of disease. The evidence showed this simply was not true. Yet in about a dozen pending lawsuits, Philip Morris continues to do just that. It routinely argues that the nations top-selling cigarette, once known as Marlboro Lights and now called Marlboro Gold, reduces the risk of cancer. This story is part of Science for Sale. Corporations are steering millions of dollars to scientific consulting firms to cast doubt on health concerns surrounding toxic chemicals. Click here to read more stories in this investigation. Don't miss another Environment investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. To find scientists willing to make this claim, Philip Morris turned to consultants for the chemical industry. The experts Philip Morris hired work for firms whose scientists regularly contend in medical journals, courtrooms, and regulatory arenas that their clients chemical products pose little or no health risks to the public. The firms have been instrumental in delaying new regulations by criticizing the work of other scientists, and emphasizing the doubt inherent in health science. The resultant uncertainty has helped delay attempts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to crack down on ubiquitous chemicals with known dangers, such as formaldehyde, arsenic, and hexavalent chromium. Story continues The irony in this arrangement is that the tobacco industry pioneered such tactics. The tobacco industry wrote the playbook for the rest of the industries, said Matt Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Whether its the chemical industry, whether its climate change you see it in industry after industry. Now, its hiring consultants who took its techniques and pushed them further in other industries, relying on their experience to contest the scientific consensus on the dangers of low-tar cigarettes. The industrys tactics continue to have catastrophic consequences. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attribute 480,000 deaths each year to smoking, equal to one in every five deaths. Since 1964, when the U.S. Surgeon General warned that smoking caused cancer, the government estimates that tobacco has killed more than 20 million Americans. That is 15 times the number of Americans who have perished in all wars combined. Although millions have quit, smoking continues to be the most preventable cause of death in the United States today. Related: The tobacco industry wrote the playbook for the rest of the industries Redesigned cigarettes At the turn of the 20th century, cigarette smoking was not yet in vogue. Lung cancer was so rare that some doctors had never seen a case. But scenes of everyone lighting up in Mad Men are no exaggeration. By 1955, two-thirds of men and almost one-third of women in the United States smoked cigarettes. Eventually, lung cancer became the leading killer among cancers in the United States. Medical researchers noticed the parallel rise. In December 1952, a brief article in Readers Digest sent shock waves by summing up research linking smoking to an epidemic of lung cancer. A year later Time reported that mice painted with tobacco tar developed tumors. A medical researcher told the magazine that it was now beyond any doubt that cigarettes cause cancer. Panic ensued at the tobacco companies. On December 14, 1953, the CEOs of the six largest cigarette makers met secretly at New Yorks Plaza Hotel to discuss a strategy for countering the bad publicity. What developed over time, as Kesslers opinion details, was a joint strategy to twist science and mislead the public about the dangers of smoking. The industry announced that it was forming a research committee to look into the matter. It hired independent scientists such as cancer researcher Clarence Cook Little to do interviews, insisting that there was no proof that cigarettes cause cancer. Don't miss another Environment investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. In reality, scientific evidence that cigarettes cause cancer was becoming overwhelming. In 1964, the Surgeon General seemed to put an end to any controversy when he released the report of an independent advisory committee that had considered more than 7,000 published articles. The Surgeon Generals warning had a profound effect on the public, prompting many smokers to quit. But the tobacco companies and their scientists would continue to deny that cigarettes cause cancer for another 35 years. To discourage smokers from quitting, companies redesigned their cigarettes to seem safer. First, they added filters. Then they introduced low-tar cigarettes. Within a few years, these cigarettes dominated the market. Marlboro Lights, which debuted in 1971, became the nations best-selling cigarette. Tobacco companies knew from extensive internal research that smokers were addicted to nicotine and needed a certain amount of it every day to satisfy their habit. Given a low-tar cigarette, they would change the way they smoked to get their fix. With the passage of a new law, the Federal Trade Commission in 1967 began testing all cigarette brands on special smoking machines that measured the amount of tar inhaled. Cigarettes were reformulated, not so much to reduce tar but to fool the machines, according to a National Cancer Institute report. Tiny holes were cut in the cigarette paper to vent tar when a cigarette was smoked by a machine. Those holes, however, didnt reduce the tar inhaled by smokers. If you reduce the amount of nicotine coming through, the person changes a pattern of it. They take bigger puffs, they take deeper puffs, they take longer puffs, they smoke more cigarettes per day to get the amount of nicotine they are seeking to satisfy their addiction, said Dr. David Burns, a retired medical professor at the University of California, San Diego, who edited some of the Surgeon Generals reports on smoking. Burns was testifying for the plaintiffs in a recent St. Louis class-action trial. Also testifying was William Farone, the research director at Philip Morris from 1977 to 1984. He said studies done at the company even before he was hired showed that smokers who switched to light cigarettes would take deeper puffs to get the same amount of nicotine theyd received from regular ones. Farone said other than those tiny holes in the paper, the differences between a Marlboro Red and a Marlboro Light were small. Public-health scientists would not figure this out for several more years. A study by the American Cancer Society published in 1995 found that the rate of lung cancer deaths among 200,000 smokers actually went up after light cigarettes began dominating sales. Experts believe that the low-burning temperature of a low-tar cigarette and deeper puffs by smokers allow more carcinogens to go deeper into the lungs. Corrective statements ordered The rewards for disputing the scientific consensus are high while the risks are low. The Justice Departments racketeering lawsuit had sought to have the tobacco industry repay illegal profits of $480 billion. But an appellate court ruled that federal racketeering laws didnt allow for fines for past behavior. Judge Kesslers only power was to order cigarette makers to stop engaging in illegal behavior. Companies appealed her order to quit making claims about low-tar cigarettes, arguing it violated their First Amendment rights. But Kesslers ruling was upheld. Nonetheless, Philip Morris hired scientists from the consulting firms Gradient Corp. and Ramboll Environ to testify in lawsuits that so-called low-tar cigarettes are safer than regular ones. Sharon Eubanks, the former Justice Department attorney who led the lawsuit, believes Philip Morris is violating Kesslers order. The order forbids public statements declaring that low-tar cigarettes have health benefits, even if such statements come from a Philip Morris consultant. To enforce the order, the Justice Department would have to file a motion with Kessler. A department spokesman would not comment on the case. Calls to Philip Morris seeking comment were not returned. After the case wound through appeals, Kessler issued a revised opinion and order in February reiterating that tobacco companies must make the following corrective statements on their websites and in advertising: Many smokers switch to low-tar and light cigarettes rather than quitting because they think low-tar and light cigarettes are less harmful. They are not . Low tar and light cigarette smokers inhale essentially the same amount of tar and nicotine as they would from regular cigarettes. All cigarettes cause cancer, lung disease, heart attacks, and premature death lights, low tar, ultra lights, and naturals. There is no safe cigarette. A decade after the original order, and five years after Kessler first issued these statements, tobacco companies are still appealing her ruling. None has printed the statements. Congress agreed with Kesslers original findings, and in 2009 passed a law also forbidding the tobacco companies from calling cigarettes light or low-tar without the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But Philip Morris says research done since Kesslers 2006 order justifies the companys claims that such cigarettes are safer than regular ones. Related: An early interview with Clarence Cook Little Very unusual position Peter Valberg of Gradient Corp. was Philip Morriss star witness in a Boston class-action lawsuit that went to trial last October after dragging on for 17 years. He has impressive credentials, having been a faculty member at the Harvard School of Public Health for 24 years and served as a consultant to the EPA and the Justice Department. Valberg has testified that he had help with his research from another principal scientist at Gradient, Julie Goodman. Valberg presented a slide show with data showing that Marlboro Lights delivered less tar to smokers. It made sense, he concluded, that the cigarettes also reduced the risk of disease. Some of Valbergs findings were based on his own unpublished analysis of public data. But the most persuasive evidence came from a study underwritten by Philip Morris. Published two years after Kesslers decision, the 24-week study analyzed urine samples of about 70 smokers who switched from full-flavored Marlboro Reds to Marlboro Lights. The test revealed that their average nicotine levels dropped significantly within six months. Related: "These people are not scientists" Don't miss another Environment investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. There was another aspect of the study that Valberg did not mention. Researchers also tracked nicotine levels of Marlboro Red smokers who did not switch. Known as the control group, these smokers were akin to patients given sugar pills, or placebos, in a drug trial. In a clinical trial, a control group allows researchers to see if a new drug is any better than a placebo. In this experiment, it enabled researchers to see if switching to Marlboro Lights was any better than not switching. In fact, switching was no better. Nicotine levels fell for all smokers. The researchers said in the published study that being in a controlled environment might have influenced how people smoked. Asked about the control group in cross-examination, Valberg seemed flustered. He argued that the goal of the study was to look at what happened to smokers who switched, not to compare them to those who did not. Dr. Peter Shields, a tobacco expert at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center who analyzed Valbergs findings for lawyers suing Philip Morris, said the study actually supports other research showing light cigarettes have no health benefits. Dr. Valberg is taking a very unusual position in tobacco class-action suit cases claiming that light cigarettes result in a 25-percent reduction in lung cancer risk in contrast to a scientific consensus that they increase lung cancer risk, Shields said. Valbergs testimony contradicts the findings of the Surgeon General, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Cancer Institute. In 2001, a panel of experts wrote a 236-page report for the National Cancer Institute, saying, In fact, the use of these cigarettes may be partly responsible for the increase in lung cancer for long-term smokers who have switched to the low-tar/low-nicotine brands. Another consultant for Philip Morris and the chemical industry, Kenneth Mundt of Ramboll Environ, has attacked the NCI report. Mundt did not testify at the Boston trial but has written expert reports in other lawsuits saying that the conclusions of some of the nations leading tobacco experts, including the authors of the NCI report, fail to address the totality of relevant evidence and largely remain unsubstantiated. Dr. Jonathan Samet, a professor at the University of Southern Californias medical school who was asked by the NCI to be one of the reviewers of its report, said the findings went through rigorous peer review. Samet himself chaired a panel of 25 experts who met for 10 days in 2002 to hash out a report on smoking for the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization. Samet said the clear consensus was that low-tar cigarettes do not reduce the risk of disease. Stanton Glantz, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco, was blunter about Mundts attack on the NCI report. Thats ridiculous, he said. Those things are put through the peer-review grinder. If anything, they are too cautious. Valberg and Mundt did not respond to interview requests. The Philip Morris study was also peer-reviewed, appearing in the journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmocology, which has a record of publishing research paid for by the chemical industry. The journals editor, Gio B. Gori, has a controversial history, first as a NCI deputy director and later as a tobacco industry consultant. In 1976, while at the NCI, Gori made national news when he claimed people could smoke as many as two packs of low-tar cigarettes a day with minimum risk of cancer. Later, Gori was paid by Brown & Williamson to write several letters to scientific journals attacking other researchers work. He also penned a manuscript in 1987 that started with this claim: During the last decade and especially in the last few years scientific evidence has been gradually emerging, and now indicates that smoking may in fact provide a net contribution in the prevention of certain diseases and in extending life expectancy. After reviewing the manuscript, another paid consultant, Peter Lee, wrote a confidential letter to a corporate officer at British American Tobacco, saying, I think the paper is pretty valueless, partly as it is completely unbalanced, partly as the (many) wild claims made are not substantiated by detailed evidence. A critique by a BAT attorney suggests that the company closely monitored the work of its consultants: It obviously needs to be honed into a first-class scientific paper. There seems to be a fairly widespread opinion that that will be difficult to do. Gori did not respond to phone messages. In February, Superior Court Judge Edward Leibensperger ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in the Boston class-action lawsuit and ordered Philip Morris to pay $4.9 million in damages. The judge wrote: Dr. Valberg's analysis of the data provided by the published studies was shown to be inconsistent and contrary to the consensus of the scientific community. Dr. Valberg's analysis has never been published or subjected to peer review. I find that the testimony of Dr. Shields was far more persuasive and credible than the testimony of Dr. Valberg. Its not the first time Valbergs work has come under attack. In 2008, Valberg agreed to try to publish scientific articles based on an asbestos defense lawyers theory that smoking causes mesothelioma, a rare cancer virtually always linked to asbestos exposure. The articles could have helped the lawyer win lawsuits, but peer reviewers attacked the manuscript and recommended its rejection. Related: A safer cigarette? Don't miss another Environment investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. Thats not science Philip Morris latest claims in court that low-tar cigarettes are safer fail to account for the industrys own internal research. Still, the company has proven extremely effective at defending itself against legal claims brought by smokers. According to Philip Morris, of the 149 smoker lawsuits that have gone to trial since 1999, verdicts have gone in the companys favor 77 times. The company says it has paid out about $467 million in judgments and interest. Its efforts to fund research to support its claims, and to hire experts willing to testify in support of them, may be one reason for its success in persuading juries not to hold it liable more often. Dr. Neal Benowitz, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who did early research on low-tar cigarettes, said testifying that light cigarettes are safer is so at odds with the scientific consensus that it would likely damage the reputation of a tobacco researcher. But Philip Morris doesnt hire scientists whove devoted their careers to studying tobacco. Valberg is not someone whos known in the tobacco research area, Benowitz said. I presume its not affecting his reputation. These people are not scientists, said Glantz, of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. They are public-relations people who happen to have degrees in science. These are people who make their living producing results that their clients want. And thats not science. This story is part of Science for Sale. Corporations are steering millions of dollars to scientific consulting firms to cast doubt on health concerns surrounding toxic chemicals. Click here to read more stories in this investigation. Related stories Copyright 2016 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C. Even though the results haven't shown it, Mike Leake remains optimistic about the progress he's making in his first season with the St. Louis Cardinals. The right-hander hopes to earn his first victory as the hosts try to avoid their sixth loss in seven games Wednesday night against the surging Philadelphia Phillies. St. Louis (13-14) signed Leake (0-3, 5.83 ERA) to a five-year deal in December with the thinking that he could help fill the hole left by John Lackey, who left for the rival Chicago Cubs. Leake, however, hasn't been sharp while allowing at least four runs in each of his five outings. He suffered another loss Friday, giving up five runs - including two homers - over seven innings in a 5-4 home defeat to Washington. "I hate to say I'm almost there. I should be there," Leake, who has allowed four homers in his last three starts, told MLB's official website. "But I am pretty positive with the direction I'm going. One month won't kill you. There are still five more months to go. Unfortunately, this month went the way it did. We have to move on." Leake might be able to break through in the win column after the Phillies (16-11) dealt St. Louis its sixth loss in eight home games, 1-0 on Tuesday. He's 2-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 20 strikeouts in his last three meetings. Maikel Franco, though, has gotten the best of Leake with four hits in six at-bats. Ryan Howard, whose sixth home run proved large Tuesday, is 7 for 21 with two homers in their matchups. The slugging first baseman, who grew up in St. Louis, is batting .331 with 12 homers and 40 RBIs over 36 games at Busch Stadium. ''This is home, this is where it all began for me,'' said Howard, who broke an 0-for-12 skid with the homer. "I guess, being at home, I do feel I see the ball a lot better.'' The Phillies, who won for only the fourth time in 14 visits, haven't scored more than four runs in their last eight but own a 2.11 ERA in their 10 victories over the past 12. Story continues "The key to a good team is bouncing back," manager Pete Mackanin said. "We bounced back from an 0-4 start and it was important for us as a team to bounce back from getting beat pretty bad (10-3 in Monday's series opener)." Adam Morgan makes his second start since replacing the injured Charlie Morton in the third of this four-game set. He allowed three runs over five innings in Friday's 4-3, 11-inning home win over Cleveland. The second-year pro pitched well in his only start against St. Louis in June, giving up one run and striking out six over 5 2/3 innings in a 9-2 victory in Philadelphia. Jhonny Peralta homered off him in that contest, while Jedd Gyorko is 1 for 6 in the matchup dating to his time with San Diego. Stephen Piscotty had one of the Cardinals' three hits Tuesday and is batting .352 with eight RBIs over his last 13 games. St. Louis has totaled six runs while hitting .186 in the losses during this 1-5 stretch. It was averaging 6.5 runs and batting .283 before the slump. A Massachusetts couple was hospitalized hours apart after their pot-bellied pig attacked them both at their farm in the same day, officials said. Shannon and Jose Hernandezs 5-year-old, 250-pound boar named Boss snapped after she took him away from the female pigs that were in heat at their Townsend farm Tuesday, she said on social media. I was by myself at (the) time, I had went to get him locked back in and he turned on me, she wrote on Facebook. The boar cut her with his tusks, giving her five big gashes on her legs and arms, she said. Emergency responders brought Shannon Hernandez, 38, to Leominster Hospital after tending to her injuries at the farm about 5:50 p.m., officials said. Less than two hours later rescuers were called back to the same farm, where Shannon Hernandezs husband had been seriously hurt by the same boar. It was while she was being tended to at the hospital that Shannon learned that her husband had been attacked. Read: 250-Pound Pig Steals the Spotlight at Couple's Engagement Photoshoot Jose Hernandez, 50, was so seriously injured that a medical helicopter was requested, but weather conditions made it impossible to fly, officials said. He was rushed to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with life-threatening injuries. I broke down, she wrote on Facebook, The nurse had to take the calls for me as they (were) trying to work on my wounds. She said she believed her husband had went down to give the boar water when he was also attacked by Boss, who had severed arteries in Jose Hernandezs hands with his tusks. The severely injured man managed to make it to the road, where someone driving by stopped and called 911, she wrote. He was given two pints of blood when he made it to the hospital and is now in stable condition, authorities said. The attacks blindsided the couple, Shannon said, calling Boss and the other pigs on her farm her pets. Story continues Sad that something we love doing hurt us this bad, wrote Shannon, who refers to herself on social media as a farmer, a breeder and a mother of animals. I know pigs can get edgy when the females come into heat but I honestly never thought he would attack me and hubby like he did, Shannon wrote. My heart aches my mind aches. Townsend Police said they conferred with Townsend Animal Control Warden Mary Letourneau, the Animal Rescue League, the Massachusetts State Veterinarian, a local vet, the Massachusetts State Animal Inspector and the owner of the pig to come to the decision to euthanize the boar. Read: Woman Takes 70-Pound Pig on Plane For Support: He's Quieter Than Most Kids A rabies test is being conducted out of an abundance of caution, police said. But Boss' behavior is not uncommon for an intact boar to exhibit when around females in heat, an expert in pig behavior told InsideEdition.com. What you have here is nothing more than normal pig behavior, Marcie Christensen, president of the California Potbellied Pig Association told IE.com. Christensen, who does not know the Hernandez family or their animals personally, said she does not believe the pig needs to be put down after an incident like this. Neuter him! Neuter him and shell see a behavior difference within six months or less, she said. Its not like a dog where you hear once they taste blood, thats it. This is purely a pig in heat. He saw a moving body and he jumped it. I would love to see right done by this pig and not see it put down. Hernandez did not respond to requests for comment. Watch: Watch This Crazed Pigeon Stalk and Attack Customers in a Parking Garage Related Articles: A mother's job is truly never done. We bet that for many of youeven the full-grown adults!Mom is your first call when, like, anything goes wrong. And Mother's Day (which falls on May 8 this year, btw) is the one day a year that is just for her. While a good deal on food can't exactly fully express one's eternal gratitude for a lifetime of love, support, and listening to us complain, it can't hurt. Here's where you and Mom can eat cheap this year. Prefer to stay home and need some no-fail Mother's Day recipes? Check out these stellar brunch ideas. Or perhaps you're on the hunt for some top-quality presents for Momlook no further than our Mother's Day gift guide. The deal: Rewards members get BOGO pretzel products from May 6 to 8. Is your mom really into pretzels? Treat her with an Auntie Anne's buy one, get one deal on all pretzel products for Pretzel Perks members. GrubHub The deal: Get a free $15 digital gift card when purchasing a gift card of $50 or more. Let mom choose where she wants dinner with a gift card from GrubHub. Insomnia Cookies The deal: Insomnia Cookies has customizable Mother's Day gift boxes through May 8. Send Mom the gift of delicious cookies with a customized box for Mother's Day. Fill it with Insomnia Cookies newest flavor, Berries N Cream. The deal: Rewards members get free breakfast when spending $15 or more on May 7 and 8. Consider breakfast for your mom handled. The deal: Get a $5 bonus card with every $25 e-gift card purchase, a $10 bonus card with every $50 e-gift card purchase, a $15 bonus card with every $75 e-gift card purchase, or a $20 bonus card with every $100 e-gift card purchase through June 19. Even better, this deal is valid through Father's Day. The deal: Get free delivery on all online orders through May 8 with code LUVMOM. Don't know what to do for Mother's Day dinner? There's no shame in the fried chicken game, because everyone loves the stuffmoms included. Jollibee is here to help with their Chickenjoy Bucket; use the code LUVMOM to get free delivery when ordering online. Story continues The deal: Get a Mother's Day dinner or breakfast shipped right to your door from Katz's Deli. Katz's Deli is offering two already-prepared meal options for Mother's Day that can be shipped right to your (or your mom's!) door. The Mother's Day Dinner includes hand-carved pastrami, sour pickles, New York deli mustard, rye bread, Katzs homemade Matzoh Ball soup, and a Katzs Deli Apron for $155. Meanwhile, the Mother's Day Breakfast in Bed has New York Bagels, lox, deli cream cheese, whitefish salad, Katzs famous pastrami hash, and Katzs signature coffee mug & egg cream scented candle for $115. The deal: Rewards members get buy one, get one free regular ice creams on May 8. If mom has got a sweet tooth, take her to Marble Slab Creamery and get a regular ice cream for free when you purchase another. Just make sure you are a Slab Happy Rewards Member. The deal: Get $5 in eRewards for every $25 worth of gift cards purchased through June 19. We love McAlister's Deli for its handcrafted sammies. Purchase $25 in gift cards, and you'll get $5 in eRewards. The deal: For every $25 in gift cards purchased online or in-restaurant, youll receive $5 Moe Rewards through June 19. Is your mom a Moe's fan? The more gift cards you buy her from the burrito chain, the more rewards you will get. In fact, for every $25 in gift cards purchased, you'll get $5 in rewards back. The deal: Heart-shaped pizzas and 15 percent off online and in-app orders from May 6 to 8 with code 15OFF. Here at Delish, we love a good heart-shaped food, especially pizza. Get one for mom from Round Table Pizza this Mother's Day. The deal: Rewards members get a free classic Cinnabon with an entree purchase on May 8. Getting dinner from Schlotzsky's on Mother's Day? Rewards members get a free Cinnabon when they order any entree! The deal: Create Your Own BBQ Bundles with up to four meat choices, sides, and bread starting at $39.99. In celebration of Mothers Day, Sonnys BBQ is offering Create Your Own BBQ Bundles, which allows guests to customize family-style meals with their choice of two, three, or four meats, plus pint-sized sides and bread. Each meal combo will be available for curbside, delivery, and drive-thru at all locations starting at $39.99. The deal: BOGO Mother's Day Timbit Donut arrangement with the code 1512 in stores on May 8. Get 20 Timbits (a.k.a. donut holes) for the price of 10 this Mother's Day! Just use the code 1512 in stores. You Might Also Like The Daily Beast Beresford Hodge - PA ImagesLONDONRishi Sunak is to become Britains third prime minister of the year after winning a hastily arranged leadership contest on Monday in the wake of Liz Truss lightning downfall. After losing out to Truss in the summer, Sunak is on his way to Downing Street after his leadership race rival, Penny Mordaunt, withdrew from the contest at the last minute. While Truss became Britains leader after being voted in by Conservative Party membersless than one percent of the President Barack Obama visited Flint, Mich., for the first time in the wake of the citys water-contamination crisis to deliver a message to the people of the poor, largely minority community: hes got their back. I see you and I hear you, and I want to hear directly from you about how this public-health crisis has disrupted your lives, President Obama said during his speech at Flint Northwestern High School. Ive come here to tell you that Ive got your back. President Obama said Wednesday that aside from fixing the citys infrastructure and getting a strong handle on the health crisis caused by the citys decision to switch its water source in spring 2014, the government has to fix the culture that led to that decisionmaking. Part of what contributed to this crisis was a broader mindset, a corrosive attitude that exists in our politics that exists in too many levels our government, Obama said Wednesday. The Presidents argument was a thinly veiled attack on conservative politicians who have argued against government overreach and the elimination of departments like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in efforts to save money. President Obama said Wednesday that a consequence of that way of thinking is an under investment in things that we all share. Obama said the problems in Flint were an extreme and tragic case of lead-contamination issues cities are facing across the country, noting reports from Mississippi, New Jersey and other states. An Associated Press analysis of EPA data found that 1,400 water systems serving 3.6 million Americans exceeded the federal lead standard at least once between the start of 2013 and last September. Flint is just a tip of the iceberg in terms of us reinvesting in our communities, the President said. Its self destructive when we dont invest in our communities. Story continues Earlier on Wednesday, President Obama visited with federal officials and met with residents of Flint who spoke to him at length about the troubles theyre dealing with as a result of the crisis. The President also drank filtered Flint water both on stage at the afternoon event and during a meeting with officials in an effort to reiterate that it is safe to drink, though unfiltered water still poses a danger to citizens. On stage with him as he spoke was Amariyanna Copeny, the 8-year-old girl who asked the President to meet with her and other residents when they traveled to Washington, D.C., earlier this year for congressional hearings. The President said her story and others he shared about people pitching in to help in Flint are proof that the citizens of that community have power. But the President did not discount the people of Flints anger. For months, citizens of the former manufacturing hub were told by their leaders that the water they were consuming was safe, even as residents protested and complained of foul smelling and poor tasting water. It wasnt until after researchers presented evidence of elevated lead in the water and in the childrens blood that officials began to act. Its not too much for all Americans to expect that their water is going to be safe, President Obama said. You should be angry, but channel that anger. Lead poisoning is known to have an adverse impact on behavioral and intellectual development, but the President said the children of Flint will make it. Do not somehow communicate that our children here in this city that theyre going to be saddled with problems for the rest of their lives, President Obama said. Theyll make it as long as were there for them. May 4 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times - Manufacturing is in a period of "deep unease" and suffered its worst month in more than three years in April, as uncertainty grows over the European Union referendum result and demand at home and abroad continues to slow. (http://bit.ly/1TksFbj) - HSBC Holdings Plc has blamed turmoil in global markets for a drop of nearly a fifth in its profits for the first three months of the year. Despite the fall in profits, HSBC said that there would be no cut to its payouts to shareholders. (http://bit.ly/1TksLQ1) The Guardian - The British government has ordered the insolvency watchdog to launch an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding BHS's slump into administration. (http://bit.ly/1TktnW3) - Asda has been ordered by the advertising watchdog to ensure future sales promotions do not mislead consumers about how much they could save, just days after the supermarket chain agreed to change potentially confusing pricing after public criticism by the government's competition regulator. (http://bit.ly/1VJdsXT) The Telegraph - UK factory output contracted for the first time in three years in April as concerns about the global economy and troubles on the high street exerted a drag on activity. (http://bit.ly/1VJdzT8) Sky News - Britain's biggest payday lender Wonga saw losses double last year as a price cap imposed by regulators, triggered a sharp fall in revenues. Wonga Group recorded a pre-tax loss of approximately 70 million pounds in 2015, compared to 37 million pounds a year earlier. (http://bit.ly/1VJdK0N) The Independent - A federal judge in New Orleans Monday allowed BP to drop its bid to avoid paying the second half of $2.3 billion in compensation promised to seafood interests harmed by the blown-out well. (http://ind.pn/1VJdX4b) (Compiled by Sangameswaran S in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney) May 4 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** Canada's Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr says members of the military with mental-health issues should not fear they will be automatically discharged when they step forward for treatment. (http://bit.ly/21w1oc4) ** Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay promised on Tuesday to consult with farmers and processors in the coming weeks to deal with the problem of so-called diafiltered milk, triggering a potential trade showdown with the United States. (http://bit.ly/21w1uR1) ** The entire 80,000-strong population of Fort McMurray was ordered to leave everything behind and evacuate quickly as an out-of-control wildfire veered into the city on Tuesday with little warning, creating the largest fire evacuation in Alberta's history. (http://bit.ly/21w1RLk) NATIONAL POST ** Gregory Wiebe, a senior partner in the global accounting giant KPMG, who has been accused of being behind a tax avoidance scheme in the Isle of Man, says a lot of international tax rules "are broken" - and they need to be fixed. (http://bit.ly/21w2g0p) ** Bombardier Inc's decision to curtail production of its largest business jets one year ago appears to be paying off, with the aircraft holding significantly more of their value than the competition. (http://bit.ly/21w2wfM) ** A dramatic increase in expected energy-related loan losses at Canadian Western Bank has reignited concerns that the effects of the energy downturn are just beginning to be felt by the country's biggest lenders. In a pre-announcement before second quarter financial results are released later this month, the Edmonton-based bank said it will record C$33 million ($26 million) of provisions for credit losses on its oil and gas production portfolio. (http://bit.ly/21w2TqH) ($1 = 1.2765 Canadian dollars) (Compiled by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru) May 4 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Wall Street Journal. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Republican front-runner Donald Trump almost certainly snared the Republican Party's presidential nomination by winning a sweeping victory in Indiana's primary Tuesday and forcing his chief rival, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, from the race. (http://on.wsj.com/1NjCqu4) - Takata Corp is preparing to recall at least another 35 million rupture-prone airbag inflators that U.S. regulators have deemed a safety risk, said people familiar with the matter, further escalating a crisis at the Japanese supplier linked to numerous deaths and injuries. (http://on.wsj.com/1rjUBpl) - MetLife Inc, one of the best-known brands in life insurance, misled tens of thousands of customers about a product that retirees seek out for safety, according to regulators, who levied a near-record $25 million fine against the company. (http://on.wsj.com/1X7JMTL) - CBS Corp said its first-quarter earnings rose 20 percent as the broadcast of Super Bowl 50 boosted the media giant's advertising sales. (http://on.wsj.com/21vlJhP) (Compiled by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru) The U.S. Attorney's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration have joined the investigation into the death of Prince, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. "They have agreed to provide federal resources and expertise in our investigation," Jason Kamerud, spokesman for the Carver County [Minn.] Sheriff's Office, said Wednesday. Prince was found dead April 21 inside an elevator in his Minnesota home. Since that time, the Carver County Sheriff's Office has been investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the 57-year-old iconic musician. Since Prince's death, there have been multiple reports that the artist was struggling with an addiction to painkillers. On Wednesday, the Star Tribune reported that a California doctor and addiction specialist, Dr. Howard Kornfeld, said he was scheduled to meet with Prince on April 22. Dr. Kornfeld is an opioid addiction treatment specialist. William Mauzy, a prominent Minneapolis attorney working with the Kornfeld family, told reporters on Wednesday he feared authorities would charge Andrew with a crime because he had medication on his person at the time of his visit to Prince's home. However, the attorney contended his client was immune from prosecution under the "Good Samaritan" law because he was the one who called 911. The Carver County Sheriff's Office did not provide any additional details on the investigation. An autopsy has been performed on Prince. The results from that exam are pending. Prince was cremated, and a private service was held for family and close friends the weekend of his death. Read More: Prince Was Set to Meet With Opioid Addiction Doctor a Day After He Died By Suzannah Gonzales (Reuters) - Music legend Prince died one day before he was scheduled to meet a doctor who specializes in addiction treatment for a "life-saving mission," the doctor's lawyer said at a news conference on Wednesday. California doctor Howard Kornfeld was first contacted by Prince representatives on April 20, one day before the singer's body was discovered at his home, attorney William Mauzy told reporters. "Dr. Kornfeld felt that his mission was a life-saving mission," Mauzy said. The news came shortly before federal authorities, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, announced they were joining the investigation into Prince's death. The cause of death remains undetermined, and it could be weeks before autopsy results are released. Police have said they found no signs of suicide or obvious trauma. Kornfeld, who runs Recovery Without Walls, a clinic in Mill Valley, California, planned to fly to Minnesota to meet with Prince on April 22, Mauzy said. In the meantime, his son, Andrew Kornfeld, a staff member at his clinic, traveled to Minnesota on April 21 for an initial discussion. When Andrew Kornfeld arrived at Paisley Park, the home-studio complex Prince owned in a Minneapolis suburb, the singer was not available, Mauzy said. A staff member found the artist unconscious in an elevator, and Kornfeld called 911. Prescription opioid medication was found at the scene, according to a law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly. Mauzy confirmed Andrew Kornfeld had opioid medication used to treat pain and addiction in his backpack, but emphasized that no drugs were given to Prince by the doctor or his son. It was not immediately clear whether Kornfeld's drugs were the same medication the law enforcement source said was found at the scene. In a statement, the U.S. Attorney's office in Minnesota said it would join the Carver County Sheriff's ongoing probe into Prince's death. "The DEA and U.S. Attorney's office are able to augment this local investigation with federal resources and expertise about prescription drug diversion," the office said. Mauzy expressed concern that Andrew Kornfeld could face charges, but said he believes he would have immunity with regard to the medication in his backpack under a Good Samaritan 911 law. The lawyer did not elaborate further on possible charges. Andrew Kornfeld was interviewed by investigators from the sheriff's office on April 21 and returned to California that night, Mauzy said. Howard Kornfeld's clinic specializes in medical treatment for chronic pain and drug and alcohol addiction, according to its website. "Dr. Kornfeld was never able to meet Prince, never talked to Prince, and was sadly not able to arrive in time to help Prince," Mauzy said. Representatives for the late singer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Joseph Ax; Editing by Andrew Hay and Sandra Maler) Image via Prince on Twitter Image via Prince on Twitter Last month when it was reported that Prince had passed away, the news came as a serious shock to the entire world. Weeks later, details continue to pour in as the public yearns for answers. The latest update to this tragic story is that Prince was reportedly seeking help for an apparent painkiller addiction just days before his death. According to The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Prince was actually scheduled to meet with addiction specialist Dr. Howard Kornfeld on April 20the day before he passed. Minneapolis-based attorney William Mauzy claims that Kornfeld, a national authority on opioid addiction treatment, was initially contacted because Prince was dealing with a grave medical emergency. Unfortunately, Kornfeld could not clear his schedule in time to make it from California to Minneapolis before April 22, so he sent his son Andrew Kornfeldwho works with himinstead. Andrew Kornfeld was expected to simply evaluate Princes health in order to work out the best treatment plan. However, when he arrived, staff members could not locate Prince on his estatewhich ultimately led to the discovery of his unresponsive body in the elevator. Andrew Kornfeld was later identified as the first 911 caller to report the news of Princes death to Minneapolis police. Prince had been rushed to the hospital just a week before his death. He was given Narcana drug used to treat narcotic overdoses in an emergency situationsand reportedly left the hospital against the doctors advice. Unfortunately, its not certain how differently this situation may have played out if Prince and Dr. Kornfeld had been able to meet. The post Prince Reportedly Sought Treatment for Painkiller Addiction Before His Passing appeared first on Pigeons & Planes. More from Pigeons & Planes A California doctor says he was scheduled to meet with Prince on April 22, the day after the legendary artist died. Dr. Howard Kornfeld was supposed to help Prince fight his addiction to painkillers, according to the Star Tribune. William Mauzy, a prominent Minneapolis attorney working with the Kornfeld family, explained that Kornfeld was called because the artist was "dealing with a grave medical emergency." Dr. Kornfeld is an authority on opioid addiction treatment, according to the report. Prince was found dead in his home on April 21. That morning, a 911 call came from an unidentified male at Prince's Minnesota residence, and said "the person is dead here" and "the people are just distraught." Kornfeld couldn't meet with Prince on April 21, so he sent his son to Paisley Park with plans to follow later. "The plan was to quickly evaluate his health and devise a treatment plan," Mauzy explained. According to Mauzy, Kornfeld's son, Andrew, arrived at Prince's home on April 21, and he was one of the people at the residence when Prince's body was found. Mauzy also claims that it was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911 that day. In the weeks since his death, reports have surfaced that Prince had painkillers in his possession, but no toxicology results have determined if there were any in his system or if they played a role in his death. Read More: Prince Death: Painkillers Found in His Possession (Report) See More: Remembering Prince: The Iconic Singer's Career Through the Years A California doctor says he was scheduled to meet with Prince on April 22, the day after the legendary artist died. Dr. Howard Kornfeld was supposed to help Prince fight his addiction to painkillers, according to the Star Tribune. William Mauzy, a prominent Minneapolis attorney working with the Kornfeld family, explained that Kornfeld was called because the artist was "dealing with a grave medical emergency." Prince Sets Record With Five Albums in Top 10 of Billboard 200 Chart Dr. Kornfeld is an authority on opioid addiction treatment, according to the report. Prince was found dead in his home on April 21. A 911 call, which came from an unidentified male at Prince's Minnesota residence who said "the person is dead here" and "the people are just distraught." Kornfeld couldn't meet with Prince on April 21, so he sent his son to Paisley Park with plans to follow later. "The plan was to quickly evaluate his health and devise a treatment plan," Mauzy explained. Details on Emergency Calls to Prince's Estate Released According to Mauzy, Kornfeld's son, Andrew, arrived at Prince's home on April 21, and he was one of the people at the residence when Prince's body was found. Mauzy also claims that it was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911 that day. In the weeks since his death, reports have surfaced that Prince had painkillers in his possession, but no toxicology results have determined if there were any in his system or if they played a role in his death. This article originally appeared in THR.com. Though the April 21 death of Prince ripped a painful hole in our cultural landscape, it has brought one unexpected, potentially positive development: shoving opiate abuse into the news. Though autopsy results are not yet available, initial reports suggest that prescription painkillers were a factor. Only a week before his death, Prince had his private jet make an emergency landing in Moline, Ill., where he reportedly received an injection of Narcan. This powerful antidote instantly knocks opiates off the corresponding receptors in the brain. People who overdose from opiates can stop breathing. But if Narcan is administered in time, patients who have stopped breathing literally awaken, alive and sobered up. As a pediatrician - and a television writer and producer on such shows as ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - I've seen the devastating effects of opiates on patients, colleagues, friends, loved ones and the public. And I have personally been wracked with despair when coping with a family member's struggle, fortunately to come through it with more insight, empathy and honesty. The problem is getting worse: According to the National Institutes of Health, prescriptions for opiates increased from 76 million in 1991 to 207 million in 2013. And now 2.1 million Americans are addicted to prescription pain relievers and another 467,000 are hooked on heroin. Read More: Prince Death Possibly an "Accidental Overdose," Says Dr. Drew Fortunately, TV can be part of the solution. America is paying a terrible price for the scourge of opiate addiction, but stories can open our eyes to this epidemic better than facts and figures ever can. Opiates relieve pain - but they're addictive because they trigger intense biochemical changes that flood the brain with feelings of pleasure and well-being. And even worse, the brain often needs more of these drugs to sustain those sensations. Prescription opiates like Percocet, Vicodin and OxyContin are expensive, so in order to sustain the dependence, many people turn to heroin. Story continues Opiate overdoses have taken such beloved actors and musicians as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger. The impact has reached epidemic proportions. The Centers for Disease Control reports that a staggering 165,000 people died of opiate overdoses between 1999 and 2014. And each day, more than 1,000 people are treated for prescription opiate overdoses in ERs across the country. For the first time, middle-aged white Americans' life expectancy, unlike any other ethnic group, has declined because of increased rates of suicide, alcohol and opiate abuse. The media gathered outside Prince's Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minn., on April 21. I'm not advocating banning opiates: Carefully managed by a physician, they can be a godsend for patients in pain. But their overprescription is a story waiting to be told - especially on TV. We must tell stories to destigmatize what it means to be dependent on these drugs. Back in the late 1990s, I spoke to Alan Leshner, then-director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He told me that if there was one thing I could do to impact the growing drug abuse problem, I should have a character say these words: "Drug addiction is a brain disease." So we did just that on ER, and I believe we were the first show to say those words when Noah Wyle's character, Dr. John Carter, became addicted to narcotics. Read More: Legendary Artist Prince Found Dead at 57 Yet there still is stigma and fear associated with drug dependency. It's "dirty" and "shameful" or shows "weakness of character." We can fight those stereotypes with compelling stories that connect with an audience emotionally. When viewers are moved and engaged, they reflect on their friends, colleagues and loved ones who might be struggling with addiction. They reimagine the problem - not as something to hide but something to confront. Consider how the power of TV helped "normalize" gay relationships. Programs like Will & Grace and Modern Family advanced the fight for the freedom to marry. These shows presented another way of thinking about people whose stories hadn't been told. Today, the Freeform network is presenting Recovery Road, tackling stories of addiction in an open and realistic way. And Nurse Jackie showed a woman's struggle at home and in the workplace. But we need more stories - across all income and ethnic groups - because millions of Americans are battling the issue. Simply put, drug addiction is a brain disease that can be treated. I'm not calling for candy-coated versions of addiction - the road to sobriety is rugged - and we must tell a range of tough, honest stories that dig deep into what it means to be human. Neil Baer Read More: Prince's Chef Says Singer Fought Throat and Stomach Pain Before Death This story first appeared in the May 13 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Check out the donor list on the website of PARSA, a respected international aid organization that works with orphans, war wounded and the disabled of Afghanistan and you'll spot the usual suspects: the American and German embassies, the International Organization for Migration and an outfit called War Child Canada. But here's a surprising name to add to the list: Prince. "Prince was really invested in orphans," says Seattle native Marnie Gustavson, executive director of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitative Support for Afghanistan (PARSA), who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter in a phone interview from Kabul, where she has lived for the past 12 years. "The reason I'm letting it be known is to honor him. And I am no longer sworn to secrecy." Prince Sets Record With Five Albums in Top 10 of Billboard 200 Chart The news of Prince's redoubtable and longstanding charitable efforts began to trickle out more fully in the wake of his death on April 21, but the extent and breadth of his interests seem to grow steadily larger by the day and, geographically at least, more eclectic. Still, few would have expected Afghanistan. A landlocked country of 30 million that has been wracked by war for going on four decades, it's one of the poorest nations in the world, still struggling to emerge from a decade of Soviet occupation, years of brutal civil war, oppression by the Taliban and, most recently, the continuing fallout of a well-intentioned but uneasy relationship with the U.S. For the last half-dozen years, Prince quietly funneled thousands of dollars to help rekindle one of PARSA's signature initiatives: an 85-year-old Afghan Scouting program, whose members and mentors are all orphans. The Afghan Scouts is designed to empower Afghan kids and steer them away from the lure of extremist groups like ISIS. Started in 1931, the program was largely dormant during periodic bouts of war, but has been growing again recently. Story continues Prince's interest and financial involvement was precisely the kind of quiet yet effective diplomacy that Americans need to engage with more, says Vali Nasr, Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Details on Emergency Calls to Prince's Estate Released "We become so narrowly focused on the horror stories in Afghanistan, the bombings, the Taliban, the kinds of issues Americans don't understand or want to have anything to do with," says Nasr. "Prince was not doing this out of a selfish need for publicity, but because it was the right thing to do in his mind. And even now, posthumously, it shows that this is a kind of a cause that somebody can support on their own, without getting looped into a larger debate about whether nation building is worth it or not." Prince's entree to Afghanistan's orphans came about through his well-known friendship with Betty Tisdale, another Seattleite whose nonprofit Helping and Loving Orphans (HALO) has offices around the world. Known as the "Angel of Saigon" for her heroic efforts to help refugees and orphans escape the war in Vietnam, Tisdale was a giant in the aid community. (She died last year at the age of 92.) Long before his death, Prince had already selected HALO as one of his favorite charitable organizations and supported the group financially for years, but his involvement with Tisdale was apparently more personal and far-reaching, according to people who knew her. "Any of us who met Betty fell in love with her," says Gustavson, "I know that's what happened with Prince. She could call him up and say, 'I need money for this, three thousand for this, five thousand for this' and he'd give it to her. She was quite secretive about it, as everyone who received from him was." Gustavson estimates that Prince donated an initial $15,000 or so starting roughly six years ago, and contributed roughly another $6,000 every year after that until his death. And Tisdale, who continued to visit Afghanistan well into her 80s and worked tirelessly to help promote organizations like PARSA, kept her word to the pop icon. "It was a strict non-disclosure agreement they had," says Gustavson. "Betty said, 'I'll tell you the donor, but you absolutely cannot tell anyone else; my support will dry up if you do.'" So the two kept quiet and got on with the heavy lifting of helping Afghanistan's orphans find a leg up in a society all too willing to abandon them. Orphans often get short shrift in Afghanistan. A child who has a mother but no father is considered an orphan and extended family, if one exists at all, is given responsibility. Orphanages are rife targets for corrupt ministry officials and governors who have been known to siphon off funds for themselves. Orphanage officials have often neglected the most basic needs of their charges: food, water, blankets and basic shelter. "Orphans are at the bottom of list," Gustavson adds. "They're just very poorly taken care of." PARSA has undertaken valiant efforts to change that, ranging from feting promising government officials to funneling money and materiel to workers who are in a position to improve the orphans' lives. Under the leadership of its founder Mary MacKay and later Gustavson, and with the help of Tisdale, Prince and others, PARSA staff and volunteers have helped refurbish dozens of orphanages across the country, often at great personal risk. In recent years, PARSA has managed to grow its Scout volunteer corps to more than 100, roughly a quarter of whom had been Scout mentors before the Soviet invasion in 1979, which catapulted the country into its decades-long conflict. How Prince's Death Was Covered by Newspapers Around the Globe "A lot of Americans may not pay attention to the issues," says SAIS's Nasr, who believes Prince's involvement showed an important and subtle understanding of foreign policy issues. "But they pay attention to the ambassadors for these issues." "Betty had a special relationship with Prince," says Gustavson. "He adored her." Gustavson says the steady drip of bad news is just part of Afghanistan's story, and that the Scouts who were helped and nurtured by Prince's funding shouldn't be forgotten. "Most Afghans are just trying to get through the next crisis, and it's been a long haul," says Gustavson, "When is Afghanistan going to fall? Well, we don't think it's going to fall. We're just really working hard in a very difficult situation. We want to give them responsibility and accountability. Even if it starts with Prince." This article originally appeared in THR.com. From Town & Country Yesterday, Princess Charlotte celebrated her first birthday with a pile of presents fit for, well, royalty. The one year old received gifts and cards from 64 countries, including a collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales from British Prime Minister David Cameron, a handmade coat from King Jigme and Queen Jetsun of Bhutan, a selection of wool teddy bears, baby blankets, and booties from the Prime Minister of New Zealand, and a rattle woven by Irish basketmaker Ciaran Hogan from her grandfather, Prince Charles. Perhaps the most extravagant present was an 18-karat white-gold rattle from the Natural Sapphire Company, featuring diamonds, rubies, and sapphires. Estimated price? $45,000. President Obama delivered his gifts for the princess-a jigsaw puzzle and a stuffed animal that looks like his own Portuguese Water Dog, Bo-in-person during his state visit to London last week. Aunt Pippa gave, perhaps, a more practical gift: a set of biodegradable diapers costing about $6. "The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are incredibly grateful for all the letters, gifts and good wishes they have been fortunate to receive in the year since Princess Charlotte was born," read a statement shared by the palace on Monday. We cant do anything in marketing without music. Its the driving force for everything, says Ann Mugglebee, president of Vibe Creative, a Culver City-based agency that specializes in producing trailers and TV spots for movies. Music for trailers has evolved from the use of score directly from the film being promoted (as in studio-produced previews for Casablanca or 2001) to a highly competitive business in which composers create libraries of original music for the sole purpose of driving audiences to new movies. When we get a job, says Mugglebee, the first go-to is the music. Theres always a lot of pressure to find the right cue. Most of the time, for editors, it starts with the music. Studio marketing departments now outsource trailer creation to several companies that specialize in selling films. They then turn to either production-music libraries or, increasingly, to boutique music suppliers whose primary job is to compose, produce and promote music created specifically for what used to be known as coming attractions. Most of the time, the composers of this music never even see the visual content. They used to send me the cut and Id just score it, says Veigar Margeirsson, the Iceland-born composer whose L.A.-based Pitch Hammer Music specializes in trailer music. But too many leaks have resulted in high security and they now supply music based on suggestions and ideas from the trailer-producing companies who hire them. Pitch Hammer creates about 100 new tracks a year, categorizing them as emotional drama, percussive action, aggressive action and a new, sound-design-based, non-tonal music they call trailer fuel. Music sets the tone, agrees Bobby Gumm, head of music for Trailer Park, a Hollywood-based company whose recent trailers include Captain America: Civil War, Zootopia and Finding Dory. Covers of classic songs are still in vogue, depending on the project. For the upcoming Suicide Squad, Gumm hired Confidential Musics John Hanson to come up with a cover of the Bee Gees I Started a Joke. And it was Gumm who suggested Verdis Requiem for a Mad Max: Fury Road teaser a classical-music choice that wound up in the movie itself. I was ecstatic, he admits. Story continues For The Jungle Book, Vibe approached The Hit House, which created a cover of the classic song The Bare Necessities. What we do is, we make you feel, says Hit House exec producer Sally House. We make you laugh, we make you cry, we make you go call your mom. (For Jungle Book) we knew that we had to make you feel inspired. And when they want to use master recordings (the original hit records), even then there is additional tweaking. House calls their approach trailerization: some sweetening, overlay or sound design, (often) to end with a huge sweeping arc at the end. Music budgets for trailers can vary widely, from $5,000 to $2 million (the higher numbers generally reflecting the use of a top artist like Jay Z or U2). A surprising aspect of todays trailer music is the fact that few trailers sport a unified, cohesive score by a single composer. They typically dont use a full track, says Margeirsson. Theyll use two seconds of one track, three seconds of another, maybe 30 seconds of another, and maybe a track from one of our competitors. Rare exceptions involve the film composers themselves contributing. On the Batman movies, Hans Zimmer would send us stuff piecemeal as he was composing it, notes Gumm. John Williams provided music for the Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone and Star Wars: The Force Awakens teasers; Michael Giacchino scored trailers for Ratatouille and Star Trek. Trailers are like the last great frontier for music, says Hit House composer Scott Miller. They just keep pushing the limits. They dont really want yesterdays music, they want tomorrows music. You cannot think big enough. Related stories What's on the Line for Hollywood's Biggest Stars & Players in Summer Movies Watch: The Joker Joins the Fun in New 'Suicide Squad' Trailer Will Smith, David Ayer Reteaming on Max Landis Spec 'Bright' larry page, google, sv100 2015 When Larry Page was a 22-year-old graduate student at Stanford in the 90s, he was struck in the middle of the night with a vision: He had somehow managed to download the entire Web and just keep the links. During a 2009 University of Michigan commencement speech, he said he immediately grabbed a pen when he awoke and wrote down what became the basis for an algorithm. He used this algorithm to power a new Web search engine now known as Google. "When a really great dream shows up, grab it!" the Google cofounder and now Alphabet CEO advised. The idea of harnessing our dreams is nothing new, Arianna Huffington points out in her sleep manifesto, "The Sleep Revolution," and many major breakthroughs, like our understanding of the structure of molecules and the periodic table of elements, were the result of dreams. "During sleep the neurons of the brain are reorganized, so we see new patterns, we see solutions, where before we could only see obstacles," she tells Business Insider. According to psychologists from UC San Diego, sleep improves our ability to come up with creative solutions to problems by assisting the brain in flagging unrelated ideas and memories and forging connections among them. REM sleep works better than any other state of being at fostering creative thinking, they conclude. Dr. Jeffrey Ellenbogen, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School and director of the Sleep Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital, also found that if an incubation period a time in which a person leaves an idea for a while includes sleep, people are 33% more likely to infer connections among distantly related ideas. "How often have we woken up with clarity about a problem or having resolved an emotional issue? That's why dreams are so important," Huffington says. woman sleeping on table So can we use the strategy of "sleeping on it" purposely for our own good? Huffington says, "yes." Story continues "If there is a particular problem we are grappling with, we can sort of incubate it by putting the question to our subconscious before we go to sleep and asking for some clarity and resolution," she explains. "Very often, I get clarity and resolution when I sleep, which is a very productive way to handle our sleep time." She suggests keeping a dream journal and a pen with a flashlight attached to it next to your bed. Before you go to sleep ask, "In what area of my life would I like to receive guidance? What question do I want answered?" Then write it down and focus on this problem or idea as you drift off to sleep. "You sort of give the message to your subconscious that you value your dreams and you want to remember them," she says. When you wake up the next morning, remain totally still to allow for better "dream recall," and once you have it secure in your mind, write down any parts of the dream you remember, even if it's just one word, image, or impression. "Before letting the outside world in, taking a momentary pause and a few deep breaths can help you recall more of your dreams, reliving the paths traveled while in your dream world," Huffington writes in her book. "As we learn to recognize the hidden meanings beneath the surface of the everyday, it becomes easier to listen to the inner whisperings that tend to get drowned in the cacophony of our waking life." NOW WATCH: Heres the one affordable habit ultra-successful people share More From Business Insider Randall Kennedy Yale University announced last week that it would retain the name of Calhoun College, one of its 12 residential colleges. The college was named for John C. Calhoun, a 19th-century alumnus who was a fervent supporter of slavery. The decision set off an angry response from students on campus, who condemned the decision at an intense university-sponsored town hall last Thursday. But one prominent race-relations expert doesn't think Yale made a mistake in its decision to keep Calhoun's name on the college. While removing the name would have been Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy's "preference," he told Business Insider recently, he could "respect the decision [Yale] made." "People speak as if you keep John C. Calhoun's name, that means you're indifferent to the legacy of racism," he continued. "I don't believe that. I think that there are people who embrace the idea of keeping his name who are deeply concerned with the legacy of slavery and racism and want to do things to address that legacy." Kennedy, who has written five books about race in America, explained that he thought in "addition, not subtraction," when grappling with historical legacies mired in racism. He said it was possible to retain the name Calhoun and change the meaning of that name. Yale Campus "I think that it is important for people to understand that symbols can mean lots of different things," he said. "It's not as if a symbol has to mean what it was intended to mean at the beginning." Kennedy's response to Yale's decision is vastly different from the one that has been prominently vocalized on campus and elsewhere. On Twitter, the hashtags #wrongmoveYale and #formerlyknownasCalhoun began trending, disparaging the decision. David Blight, a respected Civil War historian and professor at Yale, also disagreed with Yale's defense of its decision to retain Calhoun as an educational tool, calling it "absolute nonsense," according to the Yale Daily News. Story continues But Kennedy aims to probe at something deeper. He believes that when people focus extreme attention on specific individuals with repugnant ideas about slavery, they become "insufficiently attentive" to the fact that society in general was immensely racist. "If we're talking about the Antebellum America, it was a slave society for God's sake," he said. "Should it come at all as a surprise that all of these institutions have part of their wealth linked to slavery?" he asked. "Of course not. Slavery was all around; it was so deep; it was so pervasive; it was so important to the country that it's naive to think it wasn't all around. The question becomes what do we do with that?" President's Salovey's welcoming are met with a shower of money symbolizing the influence of money. #WrongMoveYale pic.twitter.com/lm0LSktzEp DOWN Magazine (@DOWNatYale) April 28, 2016 Therein may lie some of the issue for members of the Yale community so opposed to keeping Calhoun's name. "Yale does not currently have the resources to teach this painful history," Yale sophomore Julianna Simms said at the town hall, according to the Yale Daily News. "We are hemorrhaging qualified, caring faculty of color. Racial tensions boiled over on Yale's New Haven, Connecticut, campus last year, exposing feelings that Yale provided an unwelcoming environment for students of color and that pervasive racism existed. NOW WATCH: These are the most powerful members of Skull and Bones one of Americas most famous secret societies More From Business Insider LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2016 / PTS, Inc., (the "Company") (OTC Pink: PTSH) announced today that it is meeting with investors in Europe to finance the expansion of Matchedje Motor Holdings, Inc. in Mozambique. "Matchedje is progressing in its development and growth," stated Lowell Holden, President and CEO of PTS. "The time has come to increase its financial strength for carrying out its expansion plans." About PTS: PTS, Inc. is a company that is seeking to invest in synergistically related projects including waste to energy, geothermal collection fields, natural gas and petroleum production. The administrative office is in Los Angeles, CA. SAFE HARBOR FOR FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by phrases such as PTS, Inc. or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "foresees," "forecasts," "estimates" or other words or phrases of similar import. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the development, costs and results of new business opportunities. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with new business opportunities and development stage companies. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our annual report for the most recent fiscal year. Story continues Contact: Lowell Holden Email: ltholden@comcast.net Telephone: (612) 961-5656 SOURCE: PTS, Inc. Mukalla (Yemen) (AFP) - Al-Qaeda in Yemen threatened Wednesday to target the homes of officers and soldiers who took part in a government offensive that drove militants out of key areas. But militants in Zinjibar appear to have agreed to leave the Abyan provincial capital following tribal mediation to spare the city destruction, said the region's security chief Colonel Nasser Hadi. Government troops backed by air and ground support from a Saudi-led coalition launched last month a widespread operation against jihadists in south and southeastern Yemen. "We warn all military leaders and soldiers who participated in the campaign that their houses are now legitimate targets for us," said an online statement issued by the Abyan branch of Ansar al-Sharia, another name used by Al-Qaeda in Yemen. "We advise their wives and children to leave their houses because they (the houses) will be our next target," the statement said. Al-Qaeda fighters had remained in Zinjibar after government forces advanced towards the city in late April. Residents took to the streets demanding the extremists leave to spare the city any fighting. Abyan's security chief said Wednesday that Al-Qaeda militants demanded a "safe exit" from the city and nearby Jaar town, adding the militants "promised to clear the mines and explosives they planted on the edges" of Zinjibar. He said a tribal dignitary led mediation with the militants to "spare the city destruction and war." Witnesses said however that Al-Qaeda fighters were still visible in Zinjibar and Jaar. The militants last month fled the key southeastern city of Mukalla, the capital of Hadramawt province, and other coastal areas, due to the government offensive. Earlier in April, government troops pushed Al-Qaeda fighters out of Huta, the capital of Lahj province. Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is regarded by Washington as the network's most dangerous branch, and AQAP militants have come under repeated US air and drone strikes. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi against Shiite Huthi rebels who had seized the capital Sanaa and other areas. But it has recently turned its firepower against jihadists impeding the government's bid to firm up its grip on southern areas recaptured from the rebels. By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A quarter of the world's school-age children - 462 million - live in countries affected by crisis such as wars and disasters, UNICEF said on Wednesday as it unveiled details of a major new fund to help get children back in class during emergencies. Although nearly 75 million children are considered in desperate need of education or help to stay in school, the U.N. children's agency said only 2 percent of global humanitarian appeals are on average dedicated to education. The Education Cannot Wait fund, which will be launched at the first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul this month, aims to raise nearly $4 billion to reach 13.6 million children within five years and 75 million by 2030. "Education changes lives in emergencies," said Josephine Bourne, UNICEF's education chief, in a statement. "Going to school keeps children safe from abuses like trafficking and recruitment into armed groups and is a vital investment in children's futures and in the future of their communities." School also helps guard against child labor and child marriage, yet the role of education in protecting children is often overlooked during crises, UNICEF said. "It is time education is prioritized by the international community as an essential part of basic humanitarian response, alongside water, food and shelter," Bourne added. In Syria more than 6,000 schools are out of use, having been attacked, occupied by the military or turned into an emergency shelter. In Central African Republic a quarter of schools are not functioning. In periods of crisis, parents cite education as one of their top priorities, yet last year only a fraction of children identified as needing education in humanitarian response plans were reached, UNICEF said. The new fund would disburse aid at the first sign of upheaval and provide longer term funding in protracted crises, UNICEF said in a report. When crises hit, children are often forced to move repeatedly, interrupting their schooling. In the poorest communities, UNICEF said a child who is out of school for more than a year is unlikely to return. Girls are 2.5 times more likely to drop out of school than boys. UNICEF said disruption to schooling also had huge implications for long-term development. "Education can be a driver of stability, reconciliation and peacebuilding, and a buffer against future social and economic shocks," the report said. "If education is not used as a lever to break the cycle, then crises will continue to be repeated." UNICEF could not say if the number of children in crisis affected countries had increased as there were no comparable estimates for previous years. The fund will seek support from new donor countries, the commercial sector, foundations, philanthropists, diasporas and faith-based groups, as well as traditional donors. It will be launched by UNICEF with partners including the U.N. education envoy, the U.N. refugee agency and governments. (Editing by Katie Nguyen; 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.) cersei premiere HBO Cersei may be one of the most cruel and conniving characters on Game of Thrones, but even she cant handle the idea of Donald Trump becoming Americas next president (and thats saying something). In fact, Lena Headey, who seems like a delightful and incredibly level-headed person in real life was so upset that Trump may soon become the presumptive GOP nominee that she, like many others, has taken to Twitter to let the world know just how devastating it would be if the former host of The Apprentice got the GOPs approval and became the official Republican nominee (a fate that was once more well-suited to the realm of fiction). In her tweets, Headey took the presidential hopeful to task, reminding everyone that a Trump presidency would be all about fear and paranoia. And the actress knows that in order to Make America Great Again what we really deserve is a leader whos strong and, most importantly, informed about the issues and whats going on in the country. Trump, even Cersei concedes, would be the exact opposite of all that. Check it out: Here's my last thought of the night. Donald Trump cannot be the political might of this country. He will continue his tirade of aggression lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 and keep on stirring up the fear and paranoia. This country doesn't need that. lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 This country DESERVES to have a courageous, informed leader at its helm able to inspire progressive change and solution. lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 Those tweets were Headeys most cutting, but the actress had a lot to say about what the world should look like after spending some time with the president of The International Rescue Committee: Story continues Just spent a few hours in the company of David Millaband at an event for the IRC. Here's the thing I took away lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 We are dealing with a GLOBAL problem, a humanitarian issue. IF you think you can't help, you're wrong, we all can. lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 We need to speak out against lawless regimes, violence, malevolent "leaders".. . We need to rise up, empower and educate displaced youth lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 offer them opportunities. Not continue living in fear of people, good and contributory human beings lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 The IRC need volunteers, to help establish refugees in their newfound places of safety, be it driving to and from an airport.. lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 to teaching english. They need financial support, enduring financial support. Civil wars last decades, lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 the Syrian crisis will escalate before it gets better lena headey (@IAMLenaHeadey) May 4, 2016 You know what? It may just be time to launch a campaign for Cersei for president. Lets just have Headey do it in character. Shed still make a better leader and there are probably way more people whod vote for an actual fictional character before voting for the man known for once talking about his baby daughters breasts. Whos with us? (h/t: Mashable) The band have spent days disappearing and reappearing on the Internet. But now Radiohead have released a new single titled Burn The Witch, believed to be the first track from the bands long awaited ninth album The surprise track is accompanied by a claymation video directed by Chris Hopewell which was conceived, designed, built and animated in 14 days. Hopewell wrote on Instagram: So I guess we just made a Radiohead video! Its for their new track Burn The Witch. Thank you all for your kind words it does mean a lot to know its going down well. The whole video was conceived, designed, built and animated in 14 days, we finished last Thursday. I am immensely proud of everyone that worked their a***s off on it for many of them it was their first film. I shall introduce them in later posts but for now thank you! You where all bloody brilliant!!! Big love to you all! #Radiohead #burnthewitch #musicvidio. Over the weekend Radiohead erased its online presence, deleting Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts before putting out the song. It was previously claimed the band consisting of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Phil Selway and Ed OBrien are planning to release their new album in June. The groups manager Brian Message was reportedly overheard confirming the news during a conversation at The Wanstead Tap bar in London last month. The pubs official Twitter page sharde the news with the message: From the horses mouth: The new Radiohead album out in June will be like nothing like youve ever heard. Pictures Getty Images/Public Domain Victim blaming is a problem at Spelman College in Atlanta, says one sexual assault survivor who anonymously tweeted this week to announce she was leaving the school. A Twitter user with the handle "Raped at Spelman" accused the prestigious women's college, which has been ranked the number one historically black college in the nation, of failing to adequately and swiftly address her assault, which occurred at the school: I went to a party with my friends there were alot of people there and it was really fun so we decided to drink with the upperclassmen. surrounded by 4 Morehouse students who took me to another room and took turns raping me. I was in shock about what had happened. drinking under age. The Dean also said that Spelman & Morehouse are brother & sister so I should give them a pass. I never felt so worthless The account continues here. In 21 tweets, Raped At Spelman highlights t h e epid emic of se xual a ssault a t HBCU s as w ell as pre d ominantly white colleges a cross the nation. But at black instit ution s like Spelman a nd its brot herly counterpa rt, Moreho use College, t he college community encourages black women to vigorously defend the image of black me n. It's an unspoken understanding: The quest for racial justice trumps the need to call out bad even criminal behavior within in the community. This makes substantive conversations about rape and gender discriminat ion to ug her to hav e. Raped At Spelman has recei ved many messages of support from current students and alumni of Spelman, Morehouse and other HBCUs. More than 1,780 people had followed the Twitter account as of Wednesday morning. In an email, college President Mary Schmidt Campbell said the school was investigating the accusations made by the creator of the Twitter account. "Our hearts go out to this student and I want to personally offer her our full support and assistance," Campbell said Tuesday. "We are a family at Spelman and we will not tolerate any episode of sexual violence. No student should ever have to suffer and endure the experience she has recounted on social media." Story continues Graduates participate in a commencement ceremony at Spelman College in 2011. In an April statement commemorating national Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Campbell told Spelman students that combating the climate of sexual violence remained a "high priority" for the school. She also announced that students had formed a Sex Discrimination Student Commission, which would advise and collaborate with the administration on issues related to safety and equity for men and women at Spelman The organizing around sexual assault at Spel man come s just a few m onths af ter fed eral officials responded to student complaints about how Spelman and Morehouse respond to incidents of sexual violence. Last November, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the schools were among more than 150 colleges under investigation for allegedly mishandling reported rape cases. S part of the "It's On Us" campaign to prevent sexual assault at colleges. Months later, the Raped At Spelman Twitter account suggests the problem has been slow to change. Watch Mic's interview with Biden on how to end the rape crisis plaguing college campuses: Huge Deal in the Healthcare Space: Abbott Buys St. Jude Medical (Continued from Prior Part) St. Jude and Abbott merge to become a cardio powerhouse As we saw in the first part of the series, Abbott Labs (ABT) is buying St. Jude Medical (STJ) for about $30 billion in cash, stock, and assumed debt in order to become a dominant player in the cardiovascular health space. The combined company will hold the first and second market share positions in the cardiovascular device market. The companies estimate the potential addressable market to be over $30 billion per year. Abbott is also buying Alere (ALR). Its having issues getting out its financial statements. Abbott claims that it has access to enough funds to buy both companies. However, there are news reports saying that Abbott is looking for a way out of the Alere transaction. Managements comments Bringing together these two great companies will create a premier medical device business and immediately advance Abbotts strategic and competitive position, said Miles D. White, Abbotts chairman and CEO. The combined business will have a powerful pipeline ready to deliver next-generation medical technologies and offer improved efficiencies for health care systems around the world. Synergy estimates The companies estimate that the transaction will deliver ~$500 million per year in pretax synergies by 2020. The deal will be accretive to Abbotts adjusted earnings per share in the first year after completion. It will increase to $0.21 in 2017 and $0.29 in 2018. Other merger arbitrage resources Other important merger spreads include the Cigna (CI)-Anthem (ANTM) deal. Its slated to close in 2H16. For a primer on risk arbitrage investing, read Merger arbitrage must-knows: A key guide for investors. Investors who are interested in trading in the healthcare sector should look at the S&P SPDR Healthcare ETF (XLV) Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Madrid (AFP) - Real Madrid will face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final for the second time in three years after overcoming Manchester City 1-0 in their semi-final second leg on Wednesday. Brazilian midfielder Fernando deflected Gareth Bale's cross into his own net after 20 minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu for the only goal of the tie after the first leg ended goalless. Fernandinho came closest to taking City to their first ever Champions League final when his shot clipped the outside of the post a minute before half-time. Real beat Atletico 4-1 after extra time in Lisbon two years ago to win the competition for a 10th time and will be hoping for a repeat when they face Diego Simeone's men in Milan on May 28. "It is another final. It has been very difficult to get there," Madrid defender Sergio Ramos -- whose 93rd-minute header sent the previous final against Atletico into extra time -- told BeIN Sports Spain. "We have shown we know how to win a final and we are going to try and do it again." City's performance over the two legs left much to be desired, but goalkeeper Joe Hart claimed the difference between the sides had been the luck Real enjoyed in the only goal of the game. "We could easily be in the final but they managed the game well," he told BT Sport. "They've beaten us with a very lucky goal but it is what it is." City manager Manuel Pellegrini's time at the club will come to an end without European glory as he will be replaced at the end of the season by Pep Guardiola. And the Chilean lamented his side's lack of creativity to cause Madrid problems over the two legs. "We worked very well the whole game and that is why Real Madrid couldn't create chances, but after that you need creativity and players who can make the difference in the last third and we lacked that." Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane now has the chance to repeat his Champions League success as a player with Real in 2002 in his first season in charge as a coach. Story continues "In a semi-final you always have to suffer, but we've achieved our place in the final," said Zidane. Real were given a huge boost before kick-off as Cristiano Ronaldo made his return after a three-game absence due to a thigh injury. By contrast, City were dealt a massive injury blow inside 10 minutes when captain Vincent Kompany was forced off once more with a muscle problem in an injury-disrupted campaign. Ronaldo was looking to equal his own record of 17 Champions League goals in a season, but sent his first chance well over the bar with a header from Dani Carvajal's cross. However, Madrid got the luck they needed to swing the tie in their favour with their next attack as Bale was played in on the right of the City box and his intended cross spooned up off Fernando and into the far corner to leave Hart helpless. - Inexperience - The difference in European pedigree between the clubs couldn't have been starker as Madrid were playing in their 27th semi-final, whilst City were in the last four for the first time. That inexperience looked to be taking hold as City enjoyed decent spells of first-half possession without troubling the Real defence. However, they came within inches of finding the crucial away goal just before the break when Kevin De Bruyne picked out Fernandinho and the Brazilian midfielder's low driven shot clipped the outside of the post. The goalmouth action was all in City's box early in the second period as Hart denied Luka Modric and Ronaldo twice before Bale's looping header came back off the bar. Yet, out of nothing City nearly snatched the goal they needed a minute from time when top scorer Sergio Aguero's first serious effort of the tie dipped onto the roof of the net. Despite a frantic finale, though, Madrid continued their record of not conceding a goal at home in the Champions League this season to progress to their 14th European Cup final. Kinshasa (AFP) - The International Committee of the Red Cross announced Wednesday it was suspending planned travel in the restive eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after three workers were kidnapped. Armed men seized the employees -- who a local official said previously were Congolese nationals -- Tuesday in the turbulent Nord-Kivu province. "All planned ICRC travel in Nord-Kivu has been suspended until further notice," the aid agency wrote in a statement. The three kidnapped men were part of a convoy headed to the village of Kyaghala to distribute aid to people impacted by the armed conflict in the area. "We strongly condemn the kidnapping and are making every effort to reunite our colleagues with their families," said Alessandra Menegon, head of ICRC's delegation in DR Congo. "We call on the assailants to free the hostages, safe and sound, immediately," she added. Attacks against aid workers are regular occurences in the area, which has suffered chronic unrest for two decades. The strife is fuelled by local armed groups and others committing ethnic-related violence, or over land or the region's mineral wealth. In early March three Congolese workers for Save the Children were taken hostage for seven days by unidentified kidnappers in Lubero, in central Nord-Kivu province. john kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich dropped out of the presidential race Wednesday, effectively handing the Republican presidential nomination to Donald Trump. Kasich's campaign scrapped a press conference planned for early Wednesday morning in Washington, DC, and instead announced that the governor would make a statement in Columbus, Ohio. "Nobody has ever done more with less in the history of politics," Kasich said of his staff in the statement. Trump all but sealed the nomination following a landslide win Tuesday night in Indiana's primary. Kasich was the last major Republican presidential candidate remaining in the race. Sen. Ted Cruz dropped out Tuesday night following the results of the Indiana primary. The Ohio governor's campaign never really got off the ground. Though he had picked up a handful of delegates in several nominating contests and won his home state's primary, he did not take home any other primaries or caucuses and won few delegates in the past month. Even after the Indiana loss, Kasich's team insisted that the governor would stay in the race until the Republican National Convention in July. On Wednesday morning, Kasich tweeted out a "Star Wars"-parody video claiming that Kasich was the "only hope" to defeat Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton. NOW WATCH: Watch Obama roast Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner More From Business Insider By Amy Tennery NEW YORK (Reuters) - Several Republicans took to social media Wednesday to declare they will never back Donald Trump for U.S. president even after Ted Cruz, the billionaire businessman's closest rival, dropped out of the race for the party nomination. The anti-Trump declarations came from a range of quarters, including at least one Republican U.S. senator and a number of political commentators who have been leading voices of the #NeverTrump movement that has resisted his candidacy. Trump's victory in the Indiana primary on Tuesday prompted Cruz's surprise decision to suspend his campaign and left Trump a largely uncontested path to securing the roughly 200 delegates he still needs to lock down the Republican presidential nomination for the Nov. 8 election. "Reporters keep asking if Indiana changes anything for me. The answer is simple: No," U.S. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska said on Twitter. Sasse included a link to a February Facebook post in which he appealed to Trump backers to drop their support. Mark Salter, a former speech writer for Senator John McCain, said he would support former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination, over Trump. "The GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks it's on the level. I'm with her," Salter (@MarkSalter55) tweeted, referring to a common rallying cry among Clinton supporters. But the high-profile "Stop Trump" or "Never Trump" effort launched by conservative Republicans failed to significantly slow Trump's momentum and appeared not to have achieved its mission as the date nears for the Republicans' convention in July. After Trump's Indiana victory on Tuesday night, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called for the party to back Trump. "@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton, Priebus (@Reince) tweeted. Still, it was clear that Trump faces some difficulty bringing all Republicans on board. Bill Kristol, a neoconservative and editor of the Weekly Standard, offered a scathing retort to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich's call to back Trump. "If you're for Trump you functionally are for a man unfit to be president, & for the degradation of [American] conservatism," tweeted Kristol (@BillKristol) early Wednesday. "Never ever ever Trump. Simple as that," tweeted Tim Miller (@Timodc), former campaign communications director for Jeb Bush, who dropped out of the White House race earlier this year. Several Republican voters said on Twitter that they were changing their party affiliation, while some posted photos of their voter registration cards lit ablaze. (Reporting By Amy Tennery; Additonal reporting by Michelle Conlin and Steve Holland; Editing by Dan Burns and Frances Kerry) New research suggests that a dog may be more than just man`s best friend. The furry friends may also help keep your heart and mind healthy. New research also shows that you and your pup may share the same heart rate. Scientists in Australia said that the hearts of a dog owner and her dog frequently beat in sync. Ret Turner, the legendary wardrobe and costume designer who won five Emmy Awards and dressed such glamorous stars as Cher, Dinah Shore, Dolly Parton and Diana Ross, has died. He was 88. Turner, who worked often with Bob Mackie and headed NBC Studios' wardrobe department for 20 years, died Tuesday night at his home in West Hollywood, his close friend Dan Wolf told The Hollywood Reporter. Turner collected 23 Emmy nominations in all, winning for his work on musical specials starring Ross and Mitzi Gaynor, for series (Mama's Family and Carol Burnett's Carol & Company) and for a star-studded event show that celebrated Las Vegas' 75th anniversary. Turner also did wardrobe for several Emmy and Academy Awards telecasts (he dressed host Billy Crystal) as well as for the Kennedy Center's 25th anniversary show in 1996. He most recently worked on the SAG Awards show in January. Turner, whose own signature look was wearing all-black with a red tassel at the neck, partnered with Mackie and another costume design legend, the late Ray Aghayan, for Elizabeth Courtney Costumes, a design and costume rental company in Studio City. "Going to Elizabeth Courtney is like going to Disneyland," Lily Tomlin once said. "Anything you want, anything you want to be, you can be. It's all there for you." The business was known as Ret Turner Costume Rentals until its closure a few months ago. Born Walter Raymond Turner in Marianna, Fla., he made his mark collaborating with Mackie in the 1970s on CBS' The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and the couple's follow-up, The Sonny and Cher Show. He also dressed Donny & Marie Osmond, Andy Williams, Parton, Edie Adams, Bing Crosby, Bea Arthur and Ann Jillian for television shows or specials and worked on the pilot for Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. "It was all so spectacular," Turner, talking about working on variety shows back in the day, said in a 2003 interview with the Archive of American Television. "We were given a format, and we did a lot of clothes, and those dancers changed outfits sometimes eight times during a four-minute musical number, and they were all incredible looking. The costumes added an interesting element to the show. People now feel they get in the way of the show, and I can understand that. That's why they don't do them anymore." Story continues Turner, who was the oldest active member of the Costume Designers Guild, came to Hollywood in 1950 looking to become an actor. When he realized that wasn't going to happen, he got a job in the wardrobe department at NBC and assisted on shows hosted by Spike Jones and Dinah Shore. He later appeared as one of The Flying Silverman Brothers in a recurring comic sketch on The Andy Williams Show. He also worked on the opening of Disneyland in 1955, Disney World in 1971 and EPCOT in 1982. Turner went to Cher's home and dressed her in her famous (infamous?) black feather gown and headdress that she wore when she presented Don Ameche of Cocoon with his best supporting actor Oscar in 1985. (Mackie designed the outfit.) "She used to have trick phrases that she would give to Bob, like [let's do] Road Warrior meets Tammy, she would throw things like that out there," Turner said in the TV Archive interview. "Whatever it was, she certainly created quite a stir, right, wrong or indifferent." Survivors include a niece, Jean. Kim Masters contributed to this report. See More: Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2016 Money might be hard to come by in many parts of America, but its cheap in the 2016 election. Wealthy Republican donors have given nearly $400 million so far to presidential candidates with zilch to show for their efforts, including at least $63 million donated to super PACs supporting the latest GOP dropout Sen. Ted Cruz. Cruz quit the race after losing the Indiana primary election to Donald Trump, who has nearly locked up the GOP presidential nomination. With nine primary contests left, Trump now seems all but certain to win enough delegates outright to clinch the nomination, leaving no path for rivals. At this point, its no longer surprising that Trump is trouncing opponents. What is surprising, however, is the vast sum Trump foes have wasted trying to steer the nomination toward anybody other than Trump. Yahoo Finance has been tallying the millions spent in futility on this years presidential campaign, and the total spent on super PACs supporting losing Republican candidates now totals roughly $375 million. Thats more than Mitt Romneys entire estimated net worth. Its equivalent to two years worth of profits for Netflix. Cruz enjoyed the support of a small number of rich donors willing to commit large amounts of money to his cause. New York hedge-fund manger Robert Mercer of Renaissance Technologies donated at least $13 million to a Cruz super PAC, allowed to accept unlimited donations, called Keep the Promise I. Toby Neugebauer, a Texas energy investor and son of a member of Congress, gave another $10 million to a second super PAC called Keep the Promise II. The third Cruz super PAC, Keep the Promise III, collected $15 million from two Texas brothers, Dan and Farris Wilks, who became billionaires after they sold a fracking operation in 2011. Including the contributions of smaller donors, those three promise-keeping super PACs raised more than $41 million for Cruz. A fourth Cruz super PAC, Stand for Truth, raised another $11 million. That super PAC had no eight-figure donors, but federal records show that Adam Roos, CEO of Goldcrest Investments in Dallas, gave $1 million, as did Gale Alger of Palm Beach, Fla., and a Houston company called Trinity Equity Partners. Other donors gave as much as $325,000 each. Much of the money was used running ads against Marco Rubio and Donald Trump. Smaller contrubitions from other donors pushed total funding for Cruz super PACs to $63 million. Story continues As of the end of March, the super PACs supporting Cruz had spent about $42 million of the $63 million they raised, and it's likely they spent more in April as Cruz made his final stand against Trump. Still, there may be some money left to return to donors or pass on to other political groups. Interestingly, Keep the Promise II, funded entirely by Neugebauer, had almost all of its cash on hand as of March 31, suggesting some sort of deal between the donor and the candidate; Neuegbauer may have insisted, for instance, that the money be spent only on the general election. Cruz also raised at least $78.5 million for his traditional campaign, with the maximum donation being $5,400. That fundraising total is the third highest of any candidate so far, behind Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Since theres a relatively low limit on the maximum amount any individual can donate to a traditional campaign which must pay for campaign staff, travel costs, event rentals and direct campaigning expenses theres still a need for small donations from ordinary voters. But a single rich donor giving millions to a super PAC can counteract thousands of small-dollar donations to a competing candidate, which is why super PACs have become so important. Still, the lesson of 2016 is that theyre hardly decisive. Donald Trump is poised to win the Republican nomination with virtually no super PAC support. He has mastered the dark art of getting free media coverage, worth millions in itself, and finding other ways to connect with voters that dont require millions in spending. Democrat Hillary Clinton does enjoy super PAC support, totaling about $76 million in fundraising so far. But thats pretty much the entire super PAC haul on the Democratic side. Bernie Sanders doesnt accept super PAC support, and three other Democratic candidates raised a paltry amount through super PACs. The tally for now shows Republican donors have burned through about $375 million in super PAC donations meant to support failed candidates, compared with about $1 million in super PAC donations for failed Democratic candidates. If youve got money to burn, maybe that lopsided ratio is no big deal. But anybody comfortable burning money tends not to have money for all that long. Rick Newmans latest book is Liberty for All: A Manifesto for Reclaiming Financial and Political Freedom. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman . Roland Emmerich has unveiled plans for a movie about 1942s Battle of the Midway. The producer-director made the announcement Tuesday night prior to a 20th anniversary screening on the Fox lot of his 1996 blockbuster Independence Day. Emmerichs sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, will open June 24. The four-day battle took place six months after Japans attack on Pearl Harbor, and saw the U.S. Navy decisively defeat an attacking fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy. U.S. codebreakers were able to determine the time and place of the planned attack, enabling the U.S. Navy to prepare its own ambush. At the time, the Americans were the underdog, Emmerich told the crowd. It was one of those moments where, against all odds, people came together and did the impossible. A lot of pilots died in this battle. I want to make a monument to them and it would be great to make a movie about it. Universal released the movie Midway in 1976 with Jack Smight directing and Walter Mirisch producing. The cast included Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshiro Mifune, Robert Mitchum and Cliff Robertson. Independence Day Resurgence stars Jeff Goldblum, Liam Hemsworth, Vivica A. Fox, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Judd Hirsch, Sela Ward and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Dean Devlin, who produced the original film, is producing with Emmerich and Harald Kloser. Emmerichs credits as a director-producer include The Day After Tomorrow, The Patriot, 2012, 10,000 B.C., Stonewall and White House Down. News about Emmerichs announcement was reported by the Coming Soon site. Related stories Sela Ward Studied Hillary Clinton to Play President in 'Independence Day: Resurgence' 'Jason Bourne' Edges 'Independence Day' in Trailer Faceoff 20 Years Later, Theater Owners Inspired by a New 'Independence Day' In the world of Photoshop, there's a fine line between "touch-ups" and giving someone a brand new face. It's a line that many photographers and photo editors have yet to define, apparently. Rumer Willis is the latest celebrity to accuse a magazine of drastically altering her image. The 27-year-old actress took to Instagram to air her grievances over an outtake photo from Vanity Fair's May "Sisters" issue which she claims has been heavily edited by photographers Mark Williams and Sara Hirakawa. The photo in question, which sees Willis with younger sisters Scout, 24, and Tallulah, 22, seated in a 1951 Chevy Fleetline, comes from a photoshoot for an 18-page spread of famous sisters, which also features the Jaggers, the Williams and the Waterhouses. "The photographer Photoshopped my face to make my jaw smaller and I find it really offensive for anyone to try and change the way you look so drastically," she writes in the caption. "I love the way I look and I won't support anyone who would feel a need to change the way I look to make me beautiful. Whether or not they realize it, it is a form of bullying, which I won't stand for." In a statement to Pret-a-Reporter, however, Williams and Hirakawa deny the accusations: "The retouching that was done to the photograph was only done to resolve some distortion with using a wide angle lens for a group shot, and not to alter or modify anyone's face. We used a wide angle lens, and it might've made Rumer's chin look smaller from the higher angle that we shot the image. We did correct for the optics of the lens slightly as people's heads get distorted through the wide angle lens. We certainly did not intend to change the way she naturally looks. Our intention was to capture the special bond between Rumer and her sisters." The representative also makes it clear that the "image was an outtake and was not published in Vanity Fair or vf.com nor did they ever see it." Story continues Willis isn't the only celebrity to take issue with heavy-handed editing. Lena Dunham, Kerry Washington and Zendaya have all made similar complaints on Instagram. Any friends of fans of mine who posted this I would appreciate if you took it down. The photographer Photoshopped my face to make my jaw smaller and I find it really offensive for anyone to try and change the way you look so drastically. I love the way I look and I won't support anyone who would feel a need to change the way I look to make me beautiful. Whether or not they realize it, it is a form of bullying, which I won't stand for. A photo posted by Rumer Willis (@ruelarue) on May 3, 2016 at 11:55am PDT 12:35 p.m. Wednesday, May. 4: Updated with a statement from Williams and Hirakawa. From the Bush twins to Paul McCartney's daughters, some of the biggest celeb siblings in Hollywood are featured in . So it came as no surprise that the publication asked Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's three daughters to participate in the spread. While Rumer, Tallulah and Scout are all present in the glam shots, Rumer has taken to Instagram to point out something that is clearly missing: her jawline. She starts off the post by asking that fans or friends who have reposted the digitally altered image to remove it from their feeds. Source: Instagram "The photographer Photoshopped my face to make my jaw smaller and I find it really offensive for anyone to try and change the way you look so drastically," she wrote. "I love the way I look and I won't support anyone who would feel a need to change the way I look to make me beautiful. Whether or not they realize it, it is a form of bullying, which I won't stand for." Here is a side-by-side for comparison: Source: Instagram/Getty Images There's been a growing list of celebs calling out publications for unnecessary edits to photos over the past few months. In March 2016, Lena Dunham wrote about Spanish magazine Tentaciones using an altered image of her on its cover. One month later, Kerry Washington said she didn't recognize herself on the cover of Adweek. What's different in Rumer's situation is that she is not saying "don't alter photos." Instead, she's pointing out that magazines like VF have created an unrealistic beauty ideal. In her case, it means downsizing her jawline, implying that she needs to alter the way she looks in order to appear presentable. There is no proof that the photo was altered (Mic has reached out to Vanity Fair for comment) but fans have taken to the 27-year-old's post to show support and praise Willis for candidly speaking out. "WOW. So noticeable too. I am sorry you have to experience this.... know you are beautiful just the way God intended," one user commented on her Instagram photo. "I would love to see the original, unphotoshopped image. You ARE beautiful, just the way you are," said another. The internet to all digitally altered photos right now: By Dmitry Solovyov and Lidia Kelly MOSCOW/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Russia will reinforce its western and southern flanks with three new divisions by the year-end, officials said on Wednesday, threatening retaliation to NATO's plans to boost its military presence in eastern members Poland and the Baltic States. While Moscow accuses the Western alliance of threatening its Russia's security, NATO says intensified military drills and its plans for increased deployments on its eastern flank are purely defensive after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 and backed separatist rebels in Ukraine. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Monday NATO was weighing up rotating four battalions of troops through eastern member states amid rising tension in the Baltic. Russia has scrambled jets to intercept U.S. reconnaissance planes in recent weeks and made simulated attack passes near a U.S. warship in the Baltic Sea. Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the alliance would deploy "batallion-sized" multinational units on a rotational basis in the east. Andrei Kelin, a department head at Russia's Foreign Ministry, said the proposed NATO deployment was a source of concern for Moscow. Russia once held sway in eastern Europe as the Soviet-era overlord. "This would be a very dangerous build-up of armed forces pretty close to our borders," Kelin told the Interfax news agency. "I am afraid this would require certain retaliatory measures, which the Russian Defence Ministry is already talking about." Russia announced in January it would create three new military divisions and bring five new strategic nuclear missile regiments into service. On Wednesday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the new divisions would be formed by the end of this year to counter what Moscow saw as NATO's growing strength. Russian media, citing unnamed military sources, said the new Russian divisions would most likely be motorized rifle ones and number around 10,000 soldiers each. "The Ministry of Defence has adopted a series of measures to counter the growing capacity of NATO forces in close proximity to the Russian borders," Shoigu said in televised comments. The new divisions are likely to be deployed in military districts close to Russia's borders with Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states and Finland as well as Georgia and Azerbaijan. NATO TO KEEP COURSE "What we do is defensive, it's proportionate ... And therefore we will continue to respond," Stoltenberg said. "There can be no doubt that what NATO does is a reaction to the Russian behavior in Ukraine. We didn't have any troops in Baltic countries ... before the illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia's destabilizing activities in eastern Ukraine." He was speaking at news conference with NATO's new Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Curtis Scaparrotti, who said he intended to continue NATO's response so far to what the West sees as a more assertive and muscle-flexing Russia. "My intent is to continue that. I think that is the response," he said, adding NATO and Russia still needed to talk. "I do believe we should have communication, it's how we ensure that we dont have an accident or miscalculation. But I would reinforce this by saying it's expected that they adhere to international norms and international laws. And until such time, those communications will likely be limited." Scaparrotti said he was in favor of arms supplies to help Ukraine "successfully defend their territory and their sovereignty". (Additional reporting by Jack Stubbs in Moscow and Gabriela Baczynska in Brussels, Writing by Andrew Osborn and Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Richard Balmforth) MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Defence Ministry on Wednesday said an upsurge in violence by Nusra Front militants had thwarted plans to extend a truce to the Syrian city of Aleppo the previous day, Russian news agencies reported. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested on Tuesday after meeting U.N. Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura that a deal covering Aleppo was close, saying Russian and U.S. military personnel might announce a decision "in the coming hours". But such a local truce, also known as "a regime of calm," never materialised. "As a result of attacks by the Nusra Front on the Az Zagra quarters, and heavy shelling by Hellfire rocket systems of other residential areas which caused numerous deaths among civilians, the introduction of a 'regime of calm' in Aleppo was disrupted," Russian news agencies quoted Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying on Wednesday. Aleppo has been the scene of the worst surge in fighting in recent days, wrecking the first major ceasefire of the five-year-old civil war, sponsored by the United States and Russia, which had held since February. Russia and U.S. military officers were now holding "active consultations" with Syria's government leadership and the "moderate opposition" on how to introduce a "regime of calm" in Aleppo as soon as possible, Konashenkov said. The ceasefire in Aleppo and its suburbs was originally planned to last for 24 hours and to be later extended for a further two days, he was cited as saying. Rebel fighters launched an assault in Aleppo on Tuesday, firing rockets on a hospital. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the conflict, said rebel rockets had killed 19 people in government-held territory, including an unspecified number at the al-Dabit hospital. (Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Moscow (AFP) - Russia has foiled a string of plots ordered by "international terrorist organisations" active in Syria and Turkey, the FSB intelligence agency said Wednesday, adding that several suspects had been arrested. "A group of immigrants from Central Asian countries who were planning to carry out a series of terrorist acts in the Moscow region" have been arrested, the FSB said, cited by state news agency RIA Novosti. The FSB added that the attacks, which would have struck in early May, had been ordered by "the leaders of international terrorist organisations active in Syria and Turkey". Several high-profile cultural and political events occurred on May 1 in or near Moscow to mark Labour Day, a national holiday in Russia. In addition, this year the Russian Orthodox Church celebrated Easter on May 1. On May 9 hundreds of thousands of people usually flock to the heart of the Russian capital for a military display and other celebrations to mark the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. During the arrests, which occurred in Moscow but the date of which was not given, "a large number of arms and explosives" were seized, according to the FSB statement. Those arrested "are progressing towards making confessions", it added. The announcement comes amid violent clashes since April 22 between the Moscow-backed Damascus regime and Syrian rebels supported by Turkey, in Aleppo in northern Syria, despite diplomatic efforts to restore a ceasefire. Russian forces have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his offensive against "terrorist" groups and helped Damascus retake the ancient city of Palmyra at the end of March from Islamic State group fighters. Russia is regularly accused by the West and Syrian opposition fighters of launching strikes against rebels opposed to Damascus. Moscow has always denied this. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will be forced to take retaliatory measures if NATO deploys four extra battalions in Poland and the Baltic states, Interfax news agency quoted a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official as saying on Wednesday. "This would be a very dangerous build-up of armed forces pretty close to our borders," Andrei Kelin, a department head at the ministry, said. "I am afraid this would require certain retaliatory measures, which the Russian Defence Ministry is already talking about." Russia will form three new military divisions to counter what it believes is the growing strength of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) near its borders, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jack Stubbs; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov) * Deal includes lay-offs freeze, investment in small business * Tribunal hearing to begin next week * Unclear if AB InBev will keep stake after SAB takeover (Adds context) By Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Martinne Geller JOHANNESBURG/LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - SABMiller and Coca-Cola have agreed concessions with the South African government to win approval for their plan to merge African soft drink operations into what would be the continent's biggest Coke drinks bottler. The concessions, announced on Wednesday, agreed with the South African Ministry of Economic Development, include a three-year freeze on layoffs and the companies investing 800 million rand ($54 million) to support small South African businesses. Brewer SABMiller, in the process of the being taken over by Anheuser-Busch InBev, agreed in November 2014 to team up with Coke and the South African owners of local bottler Coca-Cola Sabco to create Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, which would have annual sales of $2.9 billion and operations in 12 markets across Southern and East Africa. Upon completion of the all-equity deal, Coke will own 11.3 percent of the venture, the Gutsche family that owns Coke Sabco 31.7 percent and SABMiller 57 percent. Sources familiar with the situation said there is a change-of-control clause that would allow Coke to buy SAB's stake following SAB's takeover by AB InBev, expected in the second half of this year. Coke's ambitions are unknown, but some industry sources said a continuation of the current arrangement was unlikely. They point to AB InBev's status as a PepsiCo bottler in Latin America and the fact that it does not have a history of keeping stakes and joint ventures like SAB. Coke has been moving away from outright ownership of bottling assets, which are more capital intensive and lower-margin than selling syrup and marketing, meaning there could also be an opportunity for other bottlers, such as Coca-Cola HBC or Coca-Cola Femsa, to expand. Coca-Cola declined to comment on the terms of its agreements or plans for the stake, which one source said could be worth as much as $3 billion. Story continues Last week, during AB InBev's annual meeting, company executives declined to detail their plan for Coke in Africa. LAST HURDLE The bottling deal was given a preliminary approval in December by South Africa's Competition Commission, which said it could go ahead on several conditions including limiting jobs cuts to 250 and making sure it buys cans, glass, sugar and crates from local suppliers. The Commission investigates deals for any antitrust issues and recommends remedies to the Competition Tribunal, which makes a final ruling. A Tribunal hearing on the proposed deal, which would be a last hurdle, is due to start on May 9. South Africa has a history of taking its time over approving deals, partly because regulators have a public interest mandate to safeguard jobs in addition to ensuring there is competition. "I am very happy that we have reached this agreement and hope we now have a clear path to the conclusion of this transaction," SABMiller Chief Executive Officer Alan Clark said. The $100 billion-plus takeover of SAB has also included concessions made to the South African government. Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, which will account for 40 percent of all Coke volumes sold in Africa, will be headquartered in South Africa, its largest market. The deal will also hand Coke an extra 20 brands, including soft drink Appletiser, whose fruit juice concentrate is sourced from South African producers. Coca-Cola and SABMiller agreed to maintain and grow Appletiser operations for the domestic market and use it as a base for export. ($1 = 14.6759 rand) (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng. Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop.; Editing by Mark Potter and Jane Merriman) L candidate Sadiq Khan looks set to be elected London's first Muslim mayor in Thursday's elections it would also make him the first Muslim mayor of a capital city in the European Union. However, the candidate is coming under heat for ironically his disparaging comments about moderate Muslims, calling some of them "Uncle Toms." Footage from 2009 surfaced of Khan interviewing for Iran state television channel Press TV, during he made the remarks. Sadiq Khan Khan described some Muslims who agree with him as "Uncle Toms," a derogatory slur originally referring to black men who kowtow to whites in order to ingratiate themselves: I wish we only spoke to people who agree with us. ... I've spent ... four months in this job speaking to all sorts of people. ... ordinary rank-and-file citizens of Muslim faith. And that's what good governance is about, is engaging all stakeholders. ... You can't just pick and choose who you speak to. You can't just speak to 'Uncle Toms.' You can't just speak to people who will say what you want to hear. This revelation comes at a time when Khan's party is embroiled in accusations of racism and, specifically, anti-Semitism. Britain's Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis wrote in a Telegraph op-ed published Tuesday that certain Labour Party members have a "severe" problem with anti-Semitism, which has become an "insidious virus." Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis speaks with Conservative UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Mirvis' piece was in part a response to former-London Labour mayor Ken Livingstone who, during an interview with BBC Radio London on Thursday, linked Zionists to Hitler. Livingstone has since been suspended and is under investigation for his inflammatory comments. "Let's remember, when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel," Livingstone said during the radio interview, according to the . "He was supporting Zionism this before he went mad and ended up killing 6 million Jews." Story continues Former London mayor Ken Livingstone (far right) speaks to the press. Now the Conservative Party is trying to link Khan and Livingstone as racists in the run-up to the election. Despite Khan's condemning Livingstone and calling for his suspension, the Conservative Party, known locally as the "Tories," has attempted to link the two men. Current Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson said both Khan and Livingstone were on the same "ideological continuum," the Independent reported. (Yet another political irony, given Johnson was himself recently accused of racism for writing President Barack Obama has an "ancestral dislike" for Britain because he's Kenyan.) London mayor and Conservative party member Boris Johnson. Khan used Twitter on Wednesday to address such smear campaigns head-on, arguing he is instead the candidate for "unity" and he would be "a Mayor for all Londoners." Ignore the desperate Tory campaign of fear and division. Tomorrow, vote for hope, unity and a Mayor for all Londoners #PMQs The Labour Party has found itself in the unusual position of being a progressive party accused of attacking both Jews and Muslims. Thursday's election will reveal whether or not the electorate regards these comments as mere blunders by a handful of party members or indicative of Bernie Sanders triumphed over Hillary Clinton in Indianas open primary Tuesday, boosting the grassroots candidates argument that the partys superdelegates should flip their support to him in Julys Democratic convention. Sanders spoke to thousands of supporters in Louisville, Ky., before Indianas results were in. He called for an end to closed primaries and criticized Clinton for her ties to Wall Street and paid speeches to Goldman Sachs a sign the heated rhetoric on the Democratic side shows no signs of cooling down. Meanwhile, the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump, won Indiana in a landslide, and his top rival Sen. Ted Cruz dropped out. Sanders continues to trail Clinton by hundreds of pledged delegates and faces an extremely difficult path to close that gap. And Tuesdays win doesnt propel Sanders very far; he and Clinton will roughly split Indianas 83 Democratic delegates because his victory was narrow. But the win fuels the senators argument that he should keep fighting until the end and creates a headache for Clinton, who has made a hard pivot from frontrunner to presumptive nominee. I think we can pull off one of the great political upsets in the history of the United States, Sanders said in a press conference late Tuesday night. Sanders said earlier this week that the Democratic convention will be contested, and told reporters Tuesday that the partys superdelegates, almost all Clinton backers, should take a hard look at which candidate is more likely to defeat Donald Trump. He referenced polls that show him beating Trump by a wider margin than Clinton in hypothetical matchups. Clinton, meanwhile, has pointedly shifted her focus away from Sanders and toward Trump, sending a signal that its time for him to moderate his tone and to begin unifying the party. In an interview on Tuesday with NBCs Andrea Mitchell, Clinton laughed when asked about Sanders claim that the convention will be contested in July. Story continues Slideshow: Indiana primaries Sanders, Trump win and Cruz suspends >>> He has every right to finish out this primary season, I couldnt argue with that, Clinton said. She added that Sanders will be a part of the conventions mission to unify the party and defeat Trump. She also reminded Sanders of his promise to support the Democratic nominee. He also said hell work tirelessly seven days a week to defeat Donald Trump, Clinton said. The former secretary of state invested no money on ads in the Indiana primary and spent Tuesday night at home in Chappaqua, N.Y. The Clinton campaign has dramatically reduced the amount of money it spends fighting Sanders, shifting its resources to fighting off the likely Republican challenger, Donald Trump. Still, Sanders is not accepting Clintons exit from the primary. He spent about $1.5 million in TV ads in Indiana. And his campaign has sharpened its rhetoric against Clinton since his loss in New York last month. On Tuesday, Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver sent an email to supporters sharing a Politico story about how only 1 percent of money from a Clinton-affiliated fundraising vehicle has gone to state parties. The subject line was: This news will probably make you angry. Last week, Sanders wife, Jane, called Clinton the anointed one. Sanders has also repeatedly called upon Clinton to release the transcripts of her paid speeches to Goldman Sachs and hit her for her vote to authorize the 2003 invasion of Iraq. And the senator has continued to make a somewhat contradictory argument that superdelegates should flip their vote to him. It remains to be seen whether Sanders ongoing challenge becomes a liability for Clinton in the general. Last week, Trump started quoting Sanders constantly on the stump, saying he was right to call her unqualified and that his supposed hatred for Clinton is justified. The real estate mogul also has called for Sanders to run as an independent. The Clinton campaign hopes to poach Sanders white male and young supporters weak constituencies for her in the primary and the senators enthusiastic support would ease that process. Clinton also could use Sanders help in the general election with white voters in industrial states angry about lost manufacturing jobs. Both Trump and Sanders have used her support for free trade deals against her in the Rust Belt and Appalachia. Clinton spent the past two days on a tour of heavily Trump-friendly Appalachia, where she attempted to walk back an earlier boast in a town hall in March that she would put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business. She said her earlier comments were a mistake, and that she hoped to bring jobs to West Virginia and Appalachia even as energy sources change. Sanders win is unlikely to change Clintons laserlike focus on Trump. Her campaign has relentlessly criticized Trump for his recent woman card comments, and suggested he cannot pass the commander in chief test. Were going to have a tough campaign against a candidate who will literally do or say anything, Clinton said Tuesday. Washington (AFP) - Senator Bernie Sanders mounted a come-from-behind victory in Indiana's Democratic primary, denying the former secretary of state a feather in her cap as she seeks their party's presidential nomination. Sanders, a self-declared democratic socialist, was ahead of Clinton by 53.2 percent to 46.8 percent with about three quarters of precincts reporting, although Clinton remained well ahead in the delegate battle for the nomination. PARIS (Reuters) - Sanofi (SASY.PA) sees a strong strategic fit with Medivation (MDVN.O) even though its tie-up proposal was rejected by the U.S. cancer drug maker last week, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday. The French drugmaker went public with a $9.3 billion proposal to buy Medivation on April 28 but the target said offer undervalued the company and its pipeline of drugs. U.S firm Pfizer (PFE.N) has also approached Medivation to express interest in an acquisition, raising the possibility of a bid rivaling Sanofi's, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. "We have a strong strategic complementarity with this company," Sanofi Chief Executive Olivier Brandicourt said of Medivation at the group's annual shareholder meeting in Paris. He didn't say if Sanofi would raise its offer. "We will only move forward to a point where we create value," Sanofi chairman Serge Weinberg said. "Of course, it is out of question to say here where that point is." Sanofi is keen to boost its presence in cancer treatments and already has teamed up last year with U.S firm Regeneron (REGN.O) in immuno-oncology. Immuno-oncology differs from traditional treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy as its uses or enhances the patients own immune system to be able to stop the growth of cancer cells. Brandicourt said much had still to be done to catch up with rivals such as Switzerland's Roche (ROG.S) or Novartis (NOVN.S). "We are making progress with Regeneron but coming back to Medivation, the complementarity comes from the fact they are very involved in prostate cancer," Brandicourt said. Based in San Francisco, Medivation is known for its prostate cancer treatment Xtandi while Sanofi markets its own drug for the disease, Jevtana. (Reporting by Matthias Blamont; Editing by Leigh Thomas) * GRAPHIC - Saudi corporate earnings: http://tmsnrt.rs/1W1H1nf * Q1 earnings of top 50 listed firms shrink 3 pct * Drop is less than investors had feared * But cost-cutting, efficiency gains largely responsible * These easy wins can't continue indefinitely * Pressure on retailers' margins shows damage to demand By Celine Aswad DUBAI, May 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian companies are faring better in an era of austerity than many investors feared, but they face more pain in the coming months as gains from cost-cutting and efforts to improve efficiency become more difficult. The world's largest oil exporting country is in the grip of a protracted adjustment to low crude prices, which have caused a state budget deficit of nearly $100 billion and forced the government into spending cuts. For decades, almost every corner of the economy has depended on lavish flows of petrodollars, so the austerity is bad news for Saudi corporate earnings. Last December, the government announced its harshest set of measures so far, in the form of subsidy cuts that raised domestic prices of gasoline, electricity, water and the natural gas feedstock used by the petrochemicals industry. The first-quarter earnings of listed Saudi companies, released over the last few weeks, show that many are managing to avoid a steep slide in profits. The combined net profits of the 50 biggest companies by capitalisation, which account for the vast bulk of all earnings in the stock market, fell only 3.0 percent from a year ago to 19.88 billion riyals ($5.4 billion), Reuters calculations show. That was much better than the expectations of many analysts, who had believed profits might drop at least as steeply as they did in full-year 2015, when earnings shrank 13.9 percent. Nevertheless, there were big differences in first-quarter performance between individual sectors, with industries directly exposed to consumer demand, such as retailing, hit hard. Statements by the companies attributed much of their better-than-expected earnings to cost-cutting and gains in operational efficiency - processes that cannot continue indefinitely if they want to grow. That suggests the decline in profits could accelerate later this year or next. Story continues "Companies were able to benefit from the easy wins of cutting back on excess spending this time around," said Jassim al-Jubran, senior analyst at Aljazira Capital in Riyadh. "But the next several quarters will prove companies will be scavenging for top-line growth and undergoing massive restructuring as they face further pressure from austerity." BANKS, PETCHEMS Most of Saudi Arabia's 12 listed banks beat analysts' expectations in the first quarter as their combined earnings rose 0.6 percent to 10.01 billion riyals, a slowdown from 7.2 percent growth in all of 2015. Provisions for bad loans, while generally slightly greater than a year earlier, were not as large as feared. Many analysts, however, think provisions could rise in the coming quarters as austerity continues to hurt the economy. Major construction company Saudi Binladin Group, for example, has been laying off thousands of workers and bankers believe a restructuring of some of its debt is possible. Another concern for banks is slowing deposit growth because of reduced inflows of petrodollars. Total bank deposits shrank 0.6 percent from a year earlier in March; as recently as last year, they were growing at double-digit rates. "Many believe that 1Q16 results for banks in particular were a 'lagging' indicator, not forward-looking i.e. results are more reflective of pre-subsidy change days," said one Saudi economist who works with the government, declining to be named because he is not authorised to speak to media. "In coming quarters you will start to see defaults increasing and banks getting into a mess, so results will worsen." Earnings of the top 10 petrochemical companies shrank 8.9 percent in the first quarter to 4.33 billion riyals, but that was much better than in 2015, when low product prices due to cheap oil slashed their profits 36.9 percent. Saudi Basic Industries Corp, one of the world's largest petrochemical groups, reported a 13.2 percent drop in first-quarter profit to 3.41 billion riyals, but that was better than analysts' average forecast of 2.84 billion. "In general, gross margins were able to come ahead of expectations because producers were able to control costs, both operational and general," said Jubran. So far, the impact of the subsidy cuts on petrochemical firms' margins has been far lower than analysts and even the companies themselves had expected, said Jubran. But he warned that some firms were still enjoying low feedstock prices and these would eventually rise in an environment of austerity. "Part of the current strategy adopted by companies to improve efficiency and slash costs may prove to be unsustainable, because if current prices of feedstock, which some players continue to use at discounted prices, increase then margins will compress in future quarters." The earnings of retailers reveal the effect of austerity on consumer demand in the kingdom, as some of its 10 million foreign workers are laid off and sent back to their home countries. While there have been no major lay-offs of Saudi citizens so far, their purchasing power has been curbed by less generous bonuses and overtime payments, while economic uncertainty has made them more cautious about spending. Retailing chain Fawaz Alhokair, which owns franchise rights for brands including Mango, Zara and Banana Republic, barely broke even in the January-March quarter with its net profit plunging 98 percent. This drop was partly due to unusually strong sales in the year-ago quarter, when public employees received a bonus of two months' salary to mark the accession of King Salman, but it also reflected deteriorating consumer sentiment. Mohammad al-Shammasi, head of asset management at Derayah Financial, said domestic-focused Saudi companies would face more pressure on their margins as consumers became more price-conscious and firms offered discounts to attract them. (Graphic by Gustavo Cervantes; Editing by Andrew Torchia and David Stamp) Http%3a%2f%2fi.blueprint.mashable.com%2fp_tbr_pt9fpvnlyiy1_3hi95hvu%3d%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f80634%2fduck_school_2 It's time for quack-ulus class to get started at this school. Thirteen years ago, a duck named Vanessa ran into a problem when she constructed a nest in the courtyard of Village Elementary in Hartland, Michigan. While Vanessa could easily fly in and out of the closed-off courtyard, the ducklings she hatched were stuck. SEE ALSO: Hero firefighters rescue ducklings trapped in a storm drain But the school was quite accommodating for its new duck student, and the teachers closed off a portion of the hallways to students, so Vanessa and her ducklings could trot outside and find water, reports Livingston Daily. So next year, Vanessa came back. And then again the next year. And then, every year. The idea came from now-retired teacher Ruth Darrah, who told Livingston Daily that while Vanessa was initially a bit confused, she has the routine down now and trots through the school in a matter of minutes. But just to make sure, the halls are taped off with construction paper to make sure no ball of duckling bird fuzz gets lost. [H/T: Uproxx] Stockholm (AFP) - Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reutersward, best known for his iconic sculpture of a revolver with a knotted barrel displayed outside the UN headquarters in New York, has died aged 81, Swedish officials said Wednesday. The artist, who was wheelchair bound after suffering from a stroke in 1989, died on Tuesday, Kjell Thoresson, the head of cultural affairs for the Swedish municipality of Landskrona where Reutersward lived, told AFP. Reutersward designed the oversized bronze Colt Magnum .357 with the knotted barrel, entitled "Non Violence", as a symbol of peace after the assassination of his friend John Lennon, the former Beatle, who was shot dead by Mark Chapman on December 8, 1980. Luxembourg, which had acquired one of the early versions of the work, donated the sculpture to the United Nations in 1988. Other versions are on display in a number of cities, including Stockholm, Beijing, Cape Town and Lausanne, the Swiss town where the artist lived for a long time. A former student of French artist Fernand Leger, Reutersward has had his works exhibited around the world. He also published several collections of poetry. Sean Penn will be pulling a $10 million defamation lawsuit against Empire creator Lee Daniels thanks to a settlement that includes a profuse apology and a charitable donation. The actor filed his lawsuit in Sept. 2015 after Daniels spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about domestic abuse troubles for Empire star Terrence Howard. "[Terrence Howard] ain't done nothing different than Marlon Brando or Sean Penn, and all of a sudden he's some f - in' demon," said Daniels at the time. "That's a sign of the time, of race, of where we are right now in America." Penn saw the comment as a slur on him. He blanched at being likened to someone who admitted to physically abusing women. The actor said he was never arrested for domestic violence, and in his complaint, asserted he would "no longer tolerate the reckless and malicious behavior of others, who seek to aggrandize themselves or their projects at his expense." When he amended the lawsuit in December, Penn even provided a declaration from his former wife Madonna that there was never any assault. "I am so sorry that I have hurt you, Sean, and I apologize and retract my reckless statements about you," says Daniels now in a statement that ends the lawsuit. "How thoughtless of me. You are someone I consider a friend, a brilliant actor and true Hollywood legend and humanitarian." Daniels adds, "I too have been the subject ofattacks by others, like those made here. My most important role is as a father, and it is important to me that my children learn that it is wrong to reference gossip as fact, as I did here. That can be very damaging and hurtful. Domestic violence is a very serious issue. My comments were cavalier; it was not my intention to diminish the severity of the issue, but rather to express a view regarding the disparate treatment of men of color in our national conversation. I apologize again for the distress that this has caused you and your family." Story continues "I accept Lee's heartfelt apology and appreciate the sincerity with which it was delivered," responds Penn. "I also accept and appreciate his generous donation to J/P HRO, which will have a transformative effect on the lives of those we serve in Haiti." These words bring an end to the defamation handled on behalf of Penn by attorney Mathew Rosengart and defended on behalf of Daniels by James Sammataro. Before it ended, the legal action spurred a First Amendment defense premised on whether Daniels' comments amounted to a non-actionable opinion. There was also the issue of whether Penn, as a public figure who had tolerated years of gossip stories, could show actual malice. But the answer may have to await a future court action as Penn and Daniels are moving forward. Captain America: Civil War pits Iron Man and Captain America against one another, and each hero reaches deep into their superhero network to recruit some help. Suddenly the Avengers universe is growing a lot bigger, with heroes like Spider-Man, Black Panther and Ant-Man joining the squadand theyre each getting their own film franchise. Its all part of a larger plan to bring tighten Marvels web of superheroes. All these titles are building up to Avengers: Infinity Wars, Parts I and II, out in 2018 and 2019. These films will focus on the villain Thanos, who will try to gather six powerful gems called Infinity Stones to create an Infinity Gauntlet with the power to destroy the universe. To stop him, heroes like the Guardians of the Galaxy and even Doctor Strange will likely join forces with the growing Avengers team. See how the heroes and villains connect to one another, and plan out your viewing schedule with TIMEs guide. Categories Style Icons Kate Middleton had never before agreed to a magazine fashion shoot, but if ever a publication could persuade her, its British Vogue. To mark the glossys 100th year, editors convinced the Duchess of Cambridge to appear on the June cover and in a series shot in the English countryside near Norfolka place she spends time off the grid with her young family. The relaxed photos capture the princess in easy ensembles that include some of her favorite designers like Petit Bateau and Burberry. Two of the epic images by Josh Olins are now featured in Vogue 100: A Century of Style, an exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery in London, along with a whopping 280 photos from Vogues historic archive. Of course, HRH looks completely effortless. Here, we put together the 4 staples every girl needs to steal her style. LISBON (Reuters) - A young man's attempt to take a selfie snapshot with the statue of a 16th century Portuguese king ended badly when the 126-year-old statue crashed to the ground and shattered, police said on Wednesday. The man, whom police did not identify, accidentally toppled Dom Sebastiao's statue after climbing up to its pedestal outside the ornate Rossio railway station in central Lisbon just before midnight on Tuesday. He tried to flee the scene but police caught him. He will appear before a judge at a later date. The child-sized statue of the sad-eyed, sword-wielding king stood in a niche between two horseshoe-shaped arches at the entrance to the station. Completed in 1890, the station is a protected monument. Dom Sebastiao, who ruled between 1557 and 1578, is a tragic figure in Portuguese history, dying in battle at the age of 24 during a crusade of his own making in Morocco. His body was never properly identified, giving rise to a legend that the king would one day return to claim his throne and save Portugal in times of trouble. (Reporting By Andrei Khalip, editing by Axel Bugge and Gareth Jones) Sonys The Shallows opens domestically on June 29 and starts trailering with Captain America: Civil War this weekend. Up above is a new look. Blake Lively stars in the thriller thats helmed by Jaume Collet-Serra and written by Anthony Jaswinski. Producers are Lynn Harris and Matti Leshem. Lively plays Nancy, a young woman grieving the loss her mother. When surfing off a secluded beach, she finds herself in the feeding ground of a Great White shark. Though she is stranded only 200 yards from shore, survival proves to be the ultimate test of wills, requiring all of her ingenuity, resourcefulness, and fortitude. Seen arriving in paradise in the trailer, things soon take a turn to the nightmarish as Livelys terrified Nancy must attempt to calculate a way around the massive predator. Sony won a vigorous bidding battle for the spec script in 2014, when it was known as In The Deep. Tonally, the spec was described as a cross between 127 Hours and Jaws, with a touch of Gravity thrown in for good measure. [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgdxIlSuB70&w=970&h=546] Related stories Sony Weaves 'Gamechangers' Video Series Inspired By 'Concussion' Scott Rosenberg Comes Aboard 'Jumanji' For Columbia Pictures 'Cantinflas' Star Oscar Jaenada Joins Blake Lively In Sony's 'The Shallows' NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 4, 2016 / The following statement is being issued by Levi & Korsinsky, LLP: To: All Persons or Entities who purchased Your Community Bankshares, Inc. (YCB) stock prior to May 3, 2016 . You are hereby notified that Levi & Korsinsky, LLP has commenced an investigation into the fairness of the sale of Your Community Bankshares, Inc. to WesBanco, Inc. (WSBC). Under the terms of the transaction, Your Community shareholders will receive 0.964 of a share of WesBanco common stock and $7.70 in cash for each share of Your Community stock they own, representing a value of approximately $39.05 per share. To learn more about the action and your rights, go to: http://zlk.9nl.com/your-community-ycb or contact Joseph E. Levi, Esq. either via email at jlevi@zlk.com or by telephone at (212) 363-7500, toll-free: (877) 363-5972. There is no cost or obligation to you. Levi & Korsinsky is a national firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, and Washington D.C. The firm's attorneys have extensive expertise in prosecuting securities litigation involving financial fraud, representing investors throughout the nation in securities lawsuits and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for aggrieved shareholders. For more information, please feel free to contact any of the attorneys listed below. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Joseph Levi, Esq. Eduard Korsinsky, Esq. 30 Broad Street - 24th Floor New York, NY 10004 Tel: (212) 363-7500 Toll Free: (877) 363-5972 Fax: (212) 363-7171 www.zlk.com SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Phil Morgese and his daughter, EmmaCOURTESY PHIL MORGESE BY CATHY FREE Of all the mysteries Phil Morgese has faced in life, none has been more baffling than the dilemma faced by him and other single dads: What to do about styling their girls hair? When he received full-time custody of his daughter, Emma, then age 1, I had no clue about how to fix her hair, so I decided to wing it, Morgese, 33, of Daytona Beach, Florida, tells PEOPLE. Because she already had a full head of hair and it was getting in her eyes, I taught myself how to put in little hair clips, and carried them everywhere in my pockets, he says. Then I learned about hair gel, and that was a huge victory. I thought, Wow. Now I can do anything. After moving on to ponytails and French braids, it occurred to Morgese, who works in online sales, that other dads could also use a heads up about hair tips. Emma wearing one of her dads creations COURTESY PHIL MORGESE So last October, he gave his hobby a new twist and started the Daddy Daughter Hair Factory, a free bi-weekly class held at International Academy in South Daytona, where dads and daughters of all ages can learn how to do everything from detangle long locks to coil hair into buns and share some valuable bonding time, too. The class was an instant hit, and Morgese knew that he was on to something. He has since taught nearly 300 dads mostly single, but some married to style their daughters hair, and has given his lesson plans to fathers in six other states so that they can start their own daddy-daughter hair clubs. Im more than happy to share what Ive learned, mainly because of the fun that the dads and the girls get to have together, Morgese tells PEOPLE. The dads become more confident, so that makes them better dads. And the daughters adore their dads even more for taking the time to learn how to do their hair. Its a win-win for everyone." Story continues Daddy Daughter Hair Factory class COURTESY PHIL MORGESE Greg Wickherst, 40, a single dad who recently started his own class in Pueblo, Colorado, says that Phil is an inspiration to dads who dont know the difference between a "half down and an up-do. It was a struggle at first to get Izzy (his 4-year-old) to keep still, but over time, our styling time became a daily part of our routine, he tells PEOPLE. I even started keeping a Facebook album to show Izzy some styles. Then when Phil started up the Daddy Daughter Hair Factory, I thought it would be a brilliant way for me to give back to the city of Pueblo. Daddy Daughter Hair Factory class COURTESY PHIL MORGESE I cant stress enough that its not just about hair, adds Wickherst. What were trying to do is build bonds that last a lifetime. Josh Wikel, a married nurse from Greenwood, Indiana, with a 4-year-old daughter, Ella Rose, was thrilled to learn about Morgeses daddy-daughter class on Facebook so that he could discover some new braiding techniques. Ella Rose and I now huddle round the iPhone while snuggling before bed, he tells PEOPLE, looking at pictures for potential styles." Phil and Emma COURTESY PHIL MORGESE Now leading his own class, "theres always a moment where I stand back and simply look at the flurry of activity, says Wikel. Its fun to see the smiles form and watch the bonds strengthen as the braids come together. Now that Emma Morgese is 11, with straight brown hair longer than a horse tail, her dad enjoys styling her hair into an elaborate French twist. Emma COURTESY PHIL MORGESE I used to bungle that one big time, he says, until I learned a cool way to do it with a comb. Now its much neater. Hes a pretty cool dad to do this for me, adds Emma, who is home-schooled by her father. While he does my hair every morning, we talk about a lot of neat things, like what our dream house would be like, or what kind of cats we like the best. Its one of my favorite times of the day. Emma also acts as Morgeses model at the Hair Factory classes, patiently sitting while her dad demonstrates the proper way to towel dry hair, use a comb and brush and create masterpieces with elastics and bows. Its definitely brought us closer together, Morgese says. When Im doing Emmas hair, the rest of the world just kind of shuts out. Its a nice feeling. There was no intent to deliberately mislead the public. Singapore Posts lengthy corporate governance saga has come to a close with the release of a special audit report by Drew & Napier LLC and PriceWaterHouseCoopers LLP. The special audit report showed that SingPost did not mean to deliberately deceive shareholders when it erroneously said that none of its directors have an interest in the so-called Famous acquisitions, which were completed from 2013 to 2015. In 2013, SingPost purchased a 62.5% equity stake in Famous Holdings (FHPL). In July 2014, through FHPL, SingPost snapped up a 100% stake in F.S Mackenzie, followed by the acquisition of a 90% equity stake in Famous Pacific Shipping (New Zealand) in January 2015. It soon became apparent that SingPosts lead independent director Keith Tay was also a non-executive chairman of Stirling Coleman Capital Limited (SCCL), which acted as financial arranger and adviser of the Famous acquisitions. The error appears to have been on account of carelessness in its preparation and review by certain SingPost staff. There is no evidence that there was any intention to deliberately mislead the public as to Mr Tays interest in the FSM Acquisition, said the report. As a result of the Special Audit, Keith Tay will step down from his position in SingaPost with immediate effect. He will also step down from the board of directors of FHPL, and from SingPosts Audit Committee, Nominations Committee and Executive Committee. The investments into FHPL, FSM and FPSNZ are strategic to SingPost as they are part of our internationalisation strategy to build an industry leading end-to-end eCommerce logistics network, across geographies. They have proven to be sound decisions, grounded in competitive and value adding advantage to advance SingPost's goal to become world class," SingPost said in a statement. More From Singapore Business Review By Dave McKinney CHICAGO (Reuters) - Dozens of Illinois social service providers, starved of cash by the states long-running budget stalemate, sued Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and six statewide agencies on Wednesday, seeking more than $100 million for unpaid work since July. The plaintiffs, who provide services for sex-abuse victims, the homeless, senior citizens and at-risk youth, are suffering acute financial hardship as a result of the unresolved budget fight, according to the lawsuit, filed in Cook County Circuit Court. It is the latest attempt at judicial relief by groups hurt by the state's record-setting, 11-month budget impasse between the Republican governor and Democrats controlling the legislature. The coalition of 64 organizations, calling itself Pay Now Illinois, contended that Rauners June 2015 veto of appropriation bills amounted to an unlawful impairment of the their constitutional right to seek a legal remedy for non-payment by the state of their various contracts. Weve had to deal with this uncertainty now for the 11th month, over 300 days, without being paid, said Andrea Durbin, chairwoman of Illinois Pay Now. Were seeking to be paid in full for the work we've done." Rauners office expressed empathy but urged state lawmakers to approve a spending plan. While we understand that frustration is driving many worthwhile organizations to seek solutions anywhere, including the courts, the only solution is for the General Assembly to pass a balanced, reform-oriented budget as soon as possible, Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said. In another budget-related development, a plan to change how Illinois taxes its residents and businesses stalled in the House of Representatives after a successful lobbying push by Rauner. The proposed constitutional amendment would have stricken the states flat income-tax rates and allowed state lawmakers to impose new, multi-tiered tax rates tied to an individual or companys level of income. Supporters said it would raise an additional $1.9 billion annually for the state. But facing a Wednesday deadline to pass the House, one of the measure's sponsors, State Representative Christian Mitchell, said lobbying by the governor's office convinced up to five Republicans whose backing was needed for passage to withdraw their tentative support. Its disappointing because this could have helped us with our budget crisis, Mitchell, a Chicago Democrat, told Reuters. Rauners administration said the measure would cost the state 20,000 jobs in four years and lead to a migration of 43,000 high wage earners from Illinois. (Editing by David Gregorio) (Updates with David Einhorn, Jim Chanos' picks) By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and David Randall NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) - Against a backdrop of slower economic growth, prominent hedge fund managers, including Larry Robbins, Stanley Druckenmiller and David Einhorn, said it will take longer for stocks to rise and laid out best ideas that markets barely reacted to. The remarks come as the hedge fund industry has come under fire for hefty fees, sluggish returns and even a lack of talent. Robbins, whose Glenview Capital Management LLC has fallen on hard times with heavy losses early this year and last, kicked off the Sohn Investment Conference, an annual charitable event that raises money for pediatric cancer, with a confession and warning. There would be no new and actionable ideas but his picks from last year, including drug companies AbbVie Inc and Brookdale Senior Living Inc, were still good bets, he said. "While hedge funds play dodgeball, investors go tubing," he said, warning investors to stop getting caught up in waves of fear about growth in China, oil prices, public anger over drug pricing and the coming U.S. presidential election. Stanley Druckenmiller, who now runs Duquesne Capital and rose to fame for engineering George Soros's bet against the British pound, hinted that it was time to short stocks and go long gold at a time central bankers were failing to act appropriately. And Carson Block, whose Muddy Waters Capital has built a reputation of uncovering fraudulent businesses, laid out a bet against the Bank of the Ozarks Inc, saying the Little Rock, Arkansas-based bank was making outsized loans relative to its assets and was too heavily concentrated in real estate lending. Housing starts fell nearly 9 percent in March, offering further evidence of a slowdown in U.S. growth in the first quarter. David Einhorn, who runs Greenlight Capital, talked about construction and mining equipment maker Caterpillar Inc, saying there is little chance for a recovery in the mining industry. While he did not explicitly say that he is betting against the company, he has talked about short bets for the last two years at the conference. "We don't see a return of large scale capital investment in U.S. coal mining, maybe ever," he said. Story continues Kynikos Associates' Jim Chanos, who has previously shorted the stock and followed Einhorn as the day's last speaker, joked that he should look at that idea. Chanos said he is betting against mobile phone operator MTN Group Ltd, which is facing significant competition in African markets. Some 3,000 hedge fund managers and investors crowded into Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall in New York, spreading arms and legs to be patted down by security as the presence of protesters sparked unusually tight security. The mood was darker than usual, with the hedge funds down, on average, 1.5 percent this year and some, including Robbins' Glenview Capital Management, off much more. The broader stock market is up roughly 1 percent. Investors, too, seemed unimpressed by many of the speaker's picks, with stocks such as Amazon.com barely moving after being named a top investment pick. John Khoury, who runs Long Pond Capital and boasts an impressive 16 percent average annual return since launching his fund in 2010, pitched Hyatt, saying the hotel chain's high-end business and leisure travelers would protect it from competition from home-sharing company Airbnb. He said he did not endorse the entire hotel industry, but Hyatt's stock price moved little, inching only modestly into positive territory. Amazon, a huge hit in 2015, failed to move higher after Chamath Palihapitiya, who runs venture capital firm Social Capital, pitched it. The company will be a $3 trillion company by 2025, he said, noting that its subscription service, Amazon Prime, is just beginning to find favor with customers. It was also noteworthy that investors talked mostly about names they picked long ago. Activist investor Jeff Smith, whose $5 billion Starboard Value fund just won seats on Yahoo Inc's board, talked about pharmaceutical company Depomed Inc , where he is also looking for board seats. He said management's desire to stay independent could be harming other shareholders and that it is an attractive takeover target. Meanwhile, Einhorn said he was back into a stock that he has liked before, General Motors Co, throwing cold water on the idea that ride sharing companies will take a bite out of car sales. Meanwhile, Richard Deitz, who runs VR Capital Group, said he sees a bright light in Europe and that he is betting on Greek debt and banks, because he thinks banks will be overcapitalized in several years. While fund managers mingled over coffee and cookies during intermissions, protesters calling themselves Hedge Clippers said in an open letter to Sohn management that some of its billionaire guests and presenters are causing cancer by investing in companies that pollute and bankrolling political candidates who are denying the impact of climate change. (Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Sam Forgione; Editing by Steve Orlofsky) Sonakshi Sinha graces the latest cover of Harpers Bazaar bridal issue. Dabangg actress is seen as a bohemian bride on the cover and she nails the look. The photo shoot for the cover is shot on the extensive locations of Sri Lanka. Sona is looking beautiful and graceful in an outfit by Anita Dongre. With the sexy male model who is donning a Durga tattoo besides her, this is true, one of the best covers shoots Sonakshi has ever done. The action actress of Bollywood posted the photo shoot picture on her Instagram with the caption, Boho bride for the cover of @bazaarbridein this month! Some stunning shots captured in Sri Lanka by @errikosandreou, wearing @anitadongre styled by @divyakdsouza. Hair by @marianna_mukuchyan and makeup by @niluu9999. #covergirl #harpersbazaarbride #srilanka #photoshoot" On the work front, Sonakshi is all set to be seen in two action movies Force 2 and Akira. Bill Gross Bill Gross thinks we have two choices: give money away or leave everyone screwed. In his latest investment outlook, published Wednesday, Gross explores what to him seems to be the inevitability of universal basic income. The robots have come for our jobs, and the decline in labor participation is, for Gross, a clear sign that this trend is not something we should fight but rather something we should accept. It's all over but the handouts. Here's Gross (emphasis mine): We should spend money where it's needed most our collapsing infrastructure for instance, health care for an aging generation and perhaps on a revolutionary new idea called UBI Universal Basic Income. If more and more workers are going to be displaced by robots, then they will need money to live on, will they not? And if that strikes you as a form of socialism, I would suggest we get used to it. Even Donald Trump claims he won't leave anyone out on the street a liberal Republican thought if there ever was one. And they are on the street you know. Check out any major downtown in the U.S. if you want to see our future culture. Not the stadiums with the box seats; the streets with the tents and grocery carts. But the concept of UBI is not really new or foreign to capitalistic cultures like that of the U.S. We already have sort of a UBI floor. It's called food stamps and the earned-income tax credit, but those alone will not keep the growing jobless and homeless off city and suburban streets. The question is how high this UBI should be and how to pay for it, not whether it's coming in the next decade. It is. So it's settled then: free money for everyone. Gross argues that more conservatives than liberals support the idea, and he is struck by how much Silicon Valley-types love the idea of universal basic income. (Y Combinator's Sam Altman is perhaps the face of the idea and is funding a study to explore the impacts of a universal basic income.) Story continues Gross' cynicism, on the Silicon Valley front at least, is that you need to give people money because all those iPhones won't buy themselves. Gross also argues that he's really not even sure what the holdup is: We already give people money in the form of programs like welfare and the earned income tax credit. Which is basically true! The problem for UBI and this goes a bit beyond the confines of Gross' letter is that in the US we have attached a stigma to receiving certain types of government assistance, and the sociopolitical hurdles to a basic income program are very high. Elsewhere in his outlook, the usual targets end up on Gross' bad side: central banks, politicians, and more or less the entire modern capitalism project. Also young people. "Who could say that an older generation was any less an ideal than the succeeding one?" Gross writes. "My experience of the divide between Boomers and Xers is like that; I recognize that youth will be served, but not always for the better." And so on and so forth. Read the full letter here NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy More From Business Insider CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Wednesday he was confident of meeting fiscal targets for 2016, but that stronger economic growth remained a challenge. In a speech to parliament, Gordhan said the budget deficit would be reduced to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product over the next three years, confirming the resilience of public finances. The Treasury cut the 2016 growth forecast for Africa's most industrialised economy to 0.9 percent in February from the 1.7 percent forecast earlier but said it still expected to cut its budget deficit to 3.2 percent even in the face of lower revenue, by cutting spending. "Stronger economic growth remains our most pressing challenge," Gordhan said. "By improving investment and growth in our economy, we will be able to raise revenue sustainably and expand public services." Gordhan said while the government had allowed wider budget deficits to ease pressure on the economy in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, the room to manoeuvre had shrunk bringing the need for consolidation to ensure sustainable debt. Ratings agencies have warned of possible downgrades to South Africa's investment grade credits ratings if they see evidence that Pretoria is not committed to a prudent fiscal path. The South African Reserve Bank said on Tuesday that any further ratings downgrade of South Africa's economy could lead to increased capital outflows. "Over the next three years the deficit will be reduced to 2.4 per cent, stabilising debt as a percentage of GDP and confirming the resilience of our public finances," Gordhan said. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa and James Macharia) Madrid (AFP) - Spanish construction giant Ferrovial said Wednesday it completed a buyout of 75 percent of Australian defence and service provider Broadspectrum, which runs controversial offshore detention centres for asylum seekers. Ferrovial said it had boosted its bid price by 11 percent to 1.50 Australian dollars per share, valuing Broadspectrum at 769 million Australian dollars ($580 million/729 million euros). Australia's holding of asylum seekers in offshore detention centres run by Sydney-based Broadspectrum in Papua New Guinea and Nauru has previously drawn criticism from the United Nations and rights groups. Ferrovial, which owns London's Heathrow airport, has said it will not offer to run the detention centres. "These services were not a core part of the valuation and the acquisition rationale of the offer, and it is not a strategic activity in Ferrovial's portfolio," it said in a statement last week. Campaign group No Business in Abuse warned that the new owner of Broadspectrum could face legal action for the human rights abuses it claims have occurred at the centres under Broadspectrum's watch, including alleged rape and violent attacks. "They are being sued in Papua New Guinea and Australian courts by detainees who have found an Australian lawyer to take their case," said the group's lawyer Shen Narayanasamy. "They are suing them for the amount of injury suffered after three years of unlawful detention," he added. Broadspectrum, formerly known as Transfield Services, provides services across industries such as infrastructure and energy. Ferrovial said Wednesday it had so far received acceptances on its offer for 75 percent of Broadspectrum shares. The offer period runs until May 13. Washington (AFP) - Accidents involving armored vehicles operated by American diplomatic missions abroad killed 13 people in five years and caused $4.5 million in damage, a US government report said. A report published this week by the State Department inspector general's office found that almost 60 percent of the accidents were preventable. "Mishap reports recommended driver training in 10 of the 12 mishaps involving fatalities," it said. The report covers the period between January 2010 and September 2015. Since then, there has been another fatal accident involving a US diplomatic convoy. Last month, a fast-moving motorcade carrying Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations, struck and killed a young Cameroonian boy. The Inspector General report, available online at https://oig.state.gov/system/files/isp-16-17.pdf, recommends better training for drivers at US missions. The State Department operates 4,700 armored vehicles worldwide, but only the chauffeurs of ambassadors and mission heads receive specialist training. But as the report notes, armored vehicles are harder to maneuver, slower to brake and more complicated to maintain than civilian cars. "Armored vehicle dynamics were a contributing cause in 83 percent of the mishaps involving fatalities and could be mitigated with proper training," it said. In addition to the fatalities and injuries -- 26 people were hospitalized during the period -- the 773 "mishaps" caused $4,550,483 in damage. Some 85 percent of this sum was damage to the vehicles themselves. Steven Tyler stood behind a mic in David Geffen Hall on Monday wearing a dark vest, patterned shirt and tight jeans in front of a crowd that reflected his decades of music-making an older man in a vintage tour t-shirt, an Aerosmith purist; a middle-aged blonde woman waving an American flag blanket, pulled in by the bands magnetic run in the 90s; and a boy barely in his 20s who learned about Tyler through his parents, or his judging turn on American Idol, or both, and has followed him right up until his most recent foray into country rock. The performance benefited Tylers philanthropic interest, Janies Fund, which raises awareness for girls who are victims of abuse. Tylers Nashville-based band Loving Mary rattled the hall, and Brett Ratner joined in to direct the show titled Steven Tyler Out On a Limb. The stage, home to the New York Philharmonic was transformed into a multi-tiered setup, littered with cowboy kitsch, set against the backdrop of projections, partially masked by a white fringe scrim. Some of the evening best moments stemmed from Tyler departing from the classics, and singing some his newer, fresher tracks. At times his ego showed, like saying I think you heard this on the radio before Red, White & You which debuted at number 64 on the iTunes charts and peaked at number 47. Other times, his rare off-script moments made him seem more aware, like before a song called Only Heaven: I havent done this song yet, so put your phones away. But most of the performance gave the audience what it wanted: the hits. Was Sweet Emotion a number one hit? Tyler asked to cheering audience (the song peaked at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100). What the f***, right? The rest of the set list included Cryin, Come Together, I Dont Want to Miss a Thing, Dream On and, of course the inspiration for the philanthropys name, Janies Got a Gun. Although most of Hollywoods gaze was directed toward the Met Gala, happening at the same time on the other side of Central Park, Bruce Willis, Melissa Joan Hart and several of Tylers family moments were among the other stars to attend. Story continues As the band played the last chords of the final encore, Walk This Way, four young women, representatives from Janies Fund, walked onstage to take a final bow with the band. Were told that one in five girls are sexually abused before theyre 18 years old. But because the subject is so taboo clearly that number is much greater, Tyler said earlier in the evening about his involvement with Janies Fund, adding what the charity means to him. I am in awe of young women out there who standing up against abuse, he said. They are the rock stars. Related stories Argentina's 'Paulina' Wins Prizes at Beijing Film Festival Brett Ratner, Danis Tanovic, Yojiro Takita Join Beijing Festival Jury Rat Pack Era Recalled at Starry Opening of Macau's Studio City By Michelle Conlin and Steve Holland (Reuters) - Republican John Hammond III had made no secret of his distaste for Donald Trump and his desire to halt his march to the party's presidential nomination, telling the Indianapolis Star newspaper in March that the mogul was "unfit" to lead the country. But the Republican National Committee member, a partner at law firm Ice Miller, said no anti-Trump group ever reached out to him, nor did he see any evidence that such groups were in the state until just a few days before voting in Indiana's primary election. By the time some direct mail and TV ads popped up, it was "too late" to make a difference, he said. "There was never really any early Stop Trump effort in Indiana," he told Reuters. Trump became the Republican party's presumptive nominee on Tuesday with his resounding win in Indiana's primary, which led his main rival U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas to drop out and heaped pressure on distant third-place contender John Kasich, the Ohio governor, to do the same. In the process, Trump dealt a seemingly fatal blow to the high-profile effort known as "Stop Trump" or "Never Trump" launched by conservative Republicans. The movement - led by the conservative anti-tax nonprofit Club for Growth and the Our Principles PAC - for months failed to significantly slow Trump's momentum and now appears to be on death watch, political operatives and at least three officials involved in the movement say. It emerged over the U.S. winter as initial skepticism over Trump's chances turned to anxiety among conservatives, who view many of the Manhattan real estate mogul's policy pledges as a liberal threat to their low-tax, low-spending principles. But from the start it was hobbled by poor coordination, the lack of a single, influential public leader, and the absence of an agreed-upon alternative to Trump, according to leaders in the movement as well as Republican operatives familiar with it. You have to have a plan of action to deal with him, said Republican strategist Doug Heye, a Trump opponent who has ties to people in the movement. And it appears no one really did. Publicly, leaders in the Stop Trump movement dispute the notion that they were ineffective, saying their efforts in Wisconsin helped head off a Trump win in April. They also say the groups communicate effectively with one another and that they will continue fighting despite the Indiana results. "We will continue to educate voters about Trump until he, or another candidate, wins the support of a majority of delegates to the Convention," Katie Packer, chair of the Our Principles PAC said in a statement on Tuesday. But, in private, three top officials associated with the movement conceded that Indiana was a do or die moment. LATE START, LACK OF COORDINATION The movement suffered a major setback when Republican mega donors declined to play the role of Trump Slayers. Both casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, decided not to repeat their experience in 2012, when they lavished hundreds of millions of dollars on Republican candidates only to see no returns. Deprived of such major financial backers, Club for Growth and Our Principles PAC together spent only $27 million on anti-Trump messaging, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clintons campaign and Super PAC have spent at least $78 million so far, according to FEC reports. The groups and their associates focused their messaging over the winter and spring on television and social media ads and Twitter blasts highlighting Trumps comments about women being bimbos, dogs and fat pigs, as well as his statements supporting universal health care and higher taxes. Throughout their campaign, the two groups did not coordinate directly with one another or even converse on a regular basis, according to one Club for Growth official. It wasnt until last week that Our Principles PAC and the Stop Trump effort in California, led by political consultant Rob Stutzman, even joined forces. Officials at Club for Growth said they werent aware of that California effort. Some veteran Republican operatives said Our Principles PAC had been a waste of time and money. Theyve had no leadership. Theyve spent tens of millions of dollars by now and gotten zero message, zero movement," said one Republican familiar with the workings of the movement. "The whole thing has been a disaster from the beginning. Many donors, like Trump's rival candidates, underestimated the tycoon, believing he would burn out after his early successes, Republican consultants say. Those who did come forward publicly to support the Stop Trump movement, such as Chicago Cubs owners and Our Principles PAC funders Joe and Marlene Ricketts, were swiftly treated to Trumps social media wrath. They better be careful, Trump said of the Ricketts in a Tweet in February. They have a lot to hide! By March, other wealthy families who had donated to the cause were asking reporters not to identify them in stories anymore because they didnt want their spouses and children to face abuse" from the Trump campaign. I dont think you can underestimate how effective Donalds bullying has been, even among wealthy donors, said one top official at Club for Growth. Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski dismissed the notion that donors had been fearful, saying the identity of campaign contributors has long been public information. (Additional reporting by Emily Flitter; Editing by Stuart Grudgings) Subway turkey sandwich Subway's business is in decline. The sandwich chain's revenue fell 4.3% to $1.11 billion last year, following a 2.6% drop the previous year, according to a franchise disclosure document cited by Bloomberg. It also recently lost its status as the second most popular fast-food chain in the US, based on systemwide sales. Starbucks overtook Subway to snag the second-place spot, behind McDonald's. To make matters worse, the company last year lost its most lucrative spokesman, Jared Fogle, in the worst possible way: he was convicted and sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for having sex with minors and distributing child pornography. Subway's chief marketing officer once credited Fogle for as much as half of the chain's growth since he became famous for losing more than 200 pounds while eating the restaurant's sandwiches. Subway is trying to revive sales by making some menu changes such as switching to antibiotic-free meats and removing artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives from its food in North America. But the changes might be too little, too late, according to Neil Saunders, CEO of retail consulting firm Conlumino. He says the company is facing two main problems that will plague its business going forward. 1. Subway grew too quickly. "Especially in the US, it has expanded rapidly and therefore the opportunities to grow though new store openings are fairly limited," Saunders said. "This means that one of the key engines that once drove sales is only operating with a fraction of the power it once did." Subway opened 911 new locations in the US last year, while closing 877, according to its franchise disclosure document. Subway Restaurant Subway says its outlook for 2016 is positive, however. "The outlook for 2016 is more optimistic based on the terrific feedback we received from our guests about our culinary improvements and exciting new menu offerings," the company said in a statement to Business Insider. Story continues 2. Consumers are tired of Subway's menu. Their tastes have changed, and Subway has been too slow to adapt. "While Subway remains a top choice for many consumers who love its range and competitive pricing, other consumers have become bored with the offering," Saunders said. "This is especially true of younger millennials who prefer a more diverse range of options, including salads and healthier choices." Subway rose to become one of the biggest restaurant chains in the world with more than 43,000 outlets by advertising a healthier, fresh alternative to traditional fast food like McDonald's or Burger King. The chain was a pioneer in made-to-order sandwiches, prepared right in front of customers by employees taking orders in an assembly-line fashion. But then other rivals, such as Chipotle and Panera, started offering even fresher options like antibiotic-free meats and additive-free guacamole prepared on site. Subway Subway didn't evolve quickly enough to meet diners' changing ideas about what is considered fresh and healthy. As a result, public perception regarding the quality of its food has eroded. The company's public image was hit particularly hard two years ago when blogger Vani Hari launched an online campaign against the chain for using the additive azodicarbonamide in its bread. The campaign was successful, and Subway was forced to change the recipe for its bread as a result. Now Subway is committing to remove all artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives from its food over the next two years, as well as promising to switch to antibiotic-free meats. Meanwhile the company has also been losing market share to cheaper rivals like McDonald's, Saunders said. "Pressure is growing from chains like McDonalds," Saunders said. "While these dont necessarily appeal to those wanting a healthier option, the introduction of offers like the all-day breakfast menu has definitely stimulated interest and has taken some share away from Subway." NOW WATCH: Subway is now legally required to make this change to its sandwiches More From Business Insider A hunky Norwegian naval lieutenant has been dubbed a modern-day Viking for conquering Instagram with his muscles, well-groomed beard, and tousled mane. Related: Dentist Beards Are the New Lumberjack Beards Lasse Matberg, 30 years old and 6 feet, 6 inches tall, has more than 123,000 followers on the social media site up from 500 just a year ago. All but about four of his 159 posts are photos of himself in various poses chopping wood, surfing, biking, traveling, working out at the gym, cuddling his Pomeranian, and mainly just standing around looking seductive and brawny with his long hair falling past his shoulders or pulled into a serious man bun. Related: Marc Jacobs Is Making #MalePolish a Thing Each image gets flooded with thousands of likes and hundreds of flirty, worshipful comments in a range of languages from both women and men. The first to take note of Matbergs popularity was VG TV, a Norwegian web channel. The Local (featuring Norwegian news in English) then picked up the story on April 29, noting that the modern-day Norwegian Viking is hot enough to melt snow and an apparent reincarnation of Thor. Lasse Matberg making his television debut on Wednesday. (Photo: Instagram) According to its translation, Matberg told VG TV that the comments on his posts range from the mildly inappropriate to the borderline obsessive, and that some women have proposed marriage or requested he impregnate them. British tabloid The Sun took it from there, declaring he has followers lusting thanks to his Viking-style long blond hair and bulging muscles. Matberg made his Norwegian television debut on Wednesday, appearing shirtless on TV 2. Weve reached out to Matberg for more details on his dating status, so stay tuned. In the meantime, theres this: Regarding his well-trimmed facial hair, he notes on a recent post, Representing Bearded Villains. Im part of a worldwide brotherhood and my beard is not a trend. Duly noted. Lets keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Today, Cinco de Mayos actual meaning can be easily lost in an abundance of margaritaswhich might causing celebrants to completely overlook the real history of the holiday, which dates back to strife in 19th-century Mexico and the effect of the American Civil War on Latinos living in whats now the Southwest. The holiday, which is often misconstrued as the Mexican Fourth of July, is not at all what people think it is, says David E Hayes-Bautista, Director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the School of Medicine at UCLA. Cinco de Mayo is part of the Latino experience of the American Civil War, he says. Its not about the Mexican experience. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter In the early 1860s, Mexico had fallen in immense debt to France. That situation led Napoleon III, who had flirted with supporting the confederacy, to send troops to not only overtake Mexico City, but also to help form a Confederate-friendly country that would neighbor the South. The French army was about four days from Mexico City when they had to go through the town of Puebla, and as it happened, they didnt make it, Hayes-Bautista says. In a David-and-Goliath style triumph, the smaller and less-equipped Mexican army held off French troops in the Battle of Puebla, on the fifth of May of 1862. (The French army returned the following year and won, but it was the initial Mexican victory was still impressive.) It wasnt until May 27 that the news of the Battle of Puebla finally reached California-based Latinos, who had been feeling disheartened as Union forces were falling, quite disastrously so, to Robert E. Lees Confederate troops. The news from Mexico was doubly good for that population: not only was Mexico victorious, but Californiaas a free statewas also glad for the failure of the French plan to help the Confederacy. This was particularly true for residents of Hispanic origin, who had particular reason to oppose the Souths system of white supremacy. Story continues Hayes-Bautista cites Major Jose Ramon Pico, a general who organized Spanish-speaking cavalries to fight alongside the Union in the Civil War, as a prime example of what was at stake for some Latinos. His grandmother was listed as Mulato in the 1790 census, he says. He came from an African-Mexican family, so he organized troops to fight for freedom and [linked] the Civil War to the French intervention in Mexico. MORE: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo With Vivid Images of Mexico in the 1960s By the time [Latinos in California] heard about the news of the battle, they began to raise money for the Mexican troops and they formed a really important network of patriotic organizations, says Jose Alamillo, a professor of Chicano studies at California State University Channel Islands. They had to kind of make the case for fighting for freedom and democracy and they were able to link the struggle of Mexico to the struggle of the Civil War, so there were simultaneous fights for democracy. It wasnt until much later that the holiday took on the party-friendly connotations for which its known today. The 1970s and 80s really is when the U.S. beer companies began to kind of look for ways to target the Spanish-speaking population, Alamillo says. But, despite the holidays marketing-fueled transformation into a time for drinking, its unique origins can still be seen in the way its celebratedor, rather, the way its not. Alamillo, who was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and moved to America when he was 8 years old, says he didnt learn about Cinco de Mayo until his American elementary-school education. I thought, Why would I hear about it in a classroom in the U.S., but my parents and uncles never heard about it in their schooling in Mexico?' he says. Its not a Mexican holiday, not an American holiday, but an American-Mexican holiday. KINSHASA (Reuters) - Suspected rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo attacked a village overnight, killing 16 civilians and wounding seven others, a U.N. spokesman said on Wednesday. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo reported that suspected fighters from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group, raided the village of Luna, north of Beni in North Kivu province, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. Secretary General. "The U.N. mission is deploying a fact-finding mission to gather more details about this horrific incident," he said, adding that 1,500 people fled towards Ituri province in the wake of the attack. Eastern Congo has been plagued by instability and conflict for two decades and civilians are often the target of militia, rebels and military units. Competition for the region's mineral resources has helped fuel the fighting. There were at least 17 victims including eight women and four children who were shot and hacked to death, said the Centre of Study for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights (CEPADHO), which documents violence in North Kivu. The raid on Luna took place 300 meters from two U.N. mission bases, Omar Kavota, executive director of CEPADHO, said in a statement, adding that seven of the dead were from one family. An American researcher on Congo reported in April that soldiers had taken part in massacres of civilians in northeastern Congo since 2014. The Kinshasa government has blamed most of the killings on the ADF, which has operated in the area since the 1990s. The government subsequently expelled the researcher, Jason Stearns. Political tensions are high in Congo, where President Joseph Kabila, in power since 2001, is required by the constitution to step down before the end of the year. (Reporting by Kenny Katombe and Aaron Ross; Writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg; Editing by Mark Heinrich) Damascus (AFP) - Syria's army said Wednesday it will abide by a two-day ceasefire in second city Aleppo agreed between the United States and Russia. "A truce will be in place in Aleppo for 48 hours from 1:00 am on Thursday (2200 GMT on Wednesday)," a statement from Damascus's army command said, according to the official SANA news agency and state television. Washington and Moscow agreed earlier Wednesday to work with Syria's warring parties to extend a shaky truce to Aleppo, which has seen more than 280 civilians killed in fighting since April 22. "To ensure this continues in a sustainable way, we are coordinating closely with Russia to finalise enhanced monitoring efforts of this renewed cessation," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said. Last week, Washington and Moscow agreed to monitor a truce between Bashar al-Assad's loyalist forces and opposition in rebels in Latakia and Eastern Ghouta. But the divided city of Aleppo, a major commercial centre in the north of the country, was excluded from their efforts and fierce fighting continued there. Russian officials at first said that they would not try to rein in Assad's forces, whom they said were targeting "terrorists" not party to the ceasefire. But US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN peace envoy Staffan de Mistura have since petitioned Russia for a return to a nationwide truce agreed in February. "We look to Russia as a co-chair of the International Syria Support Group to press for the Assad regime's compliance with this effort," Toner said. Once a nationwide "cessation of hostilities" is again in place, the United States and United Nations hope the warring parties will return to peace talks. T-Mobile's 1Q16 Results: Majority of Analysts Recommend a 'Buy' (Continued from Prior Part) T-Mobiles prepaid customers in 1Q16 Earlier in this series, we learned about the solid growth in T-Mobiles (TMUS) postpaid customers in 1Q16. Now lets move to the performance of the telecom companys prepaid component during the quarter. T-Mobiles prepaid customers grew by ~12.5% YoY (year-over-year) to reach ~18.4 million by the end of 1Q16. During the quarter, the carrier added ~0.81 million prepaid customers on a net basis. As you can see in the above chart, these 1Q16 net prepaid additions were significantly higher than what the company achieved during 1Q15. According to G. Michael Sievert, T-Mobiles chief operating officer, We had a record quarter on Metro PCS, the best weve ever done, and it really shows that weve got the right combination of a great value proposition well-marketed and really taking advantage of leading with the T-Mobile network as a key differentiator in the prepaid segment. Prepaid customers of Verizon and AT&T Year-over-year, AT&Ts prepaid customers in the domestic wireless component grew by a significant ~21.3%, reaching ~12.2 million by the end of 1Q16. During 1Q16, the carrier had net prepaid additions of ~0.5 million in these operations. Meanwhile, the prepaid subscribers of Verizon (VZ) decreased YoY by ~9.1% to reach ~5.4 million in 1Q16. On a net basis, the carrier lost ~0.18 million prepaid customers in 1Q16. Sprint (S) has not yet declared its results for the quarter. Instead of direct exposures to the stocks of players in the US telecom industry, you may consider diversified exposure to this space by investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). This ETF held a total of ~2.8% in some of the US telecom companies at the end of March 2016. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) put its suppliers on notice and said that each error will result in a fine. According to Reuters, Target is looking to improve its supply chain system to cut costs and improve its competitive standing against both online and brick and mortar peers. As such, the retailer will slap its suppliers with a fine of up to $10,000 for any late delivery, inaccuracies in product information and other infractions. Reuters added that Target will implement its new system on May 30. The decision has been confirmed by the company's Chief Operating Officer John Mulligan who told the publication that the new rules and penalties "are a key part of becoming more reliable." Related Link: Target Discloses Final Results Of Its Tender Offer Mulligan, along with Target's Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell detailed the rules and penalties to more than 200 of its suppliers. Target's move is not necessarily unusual for a large national retailer. Reuters noted that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) told its suppliers that it was raising its standard for on-time delivery to 95 percent from 90 percent. The retailing giant also cut the window of deliveries to within one to two days of a target date from a previous one to four days. See more from Benzinga 2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Texas Senator Ted Cruz dropped out of the 2016 presidential race Tuesday night, leaving bombastic billionaire Donald Trump as the party's presumptive nominee for the White House. Read: Ted Cruz Drops Out of GOP Race, Leaving Donald Trump The Presumptive Nominee He became emotional when he spoke to supporters in Indiana: We are suspending our campaign. We are not suspending our fight for liberty. After his speech, he hugged his father and accidentally punched and elbowed his wife, Heidi, in the face. Twitter lit with reaction following the unfortunate moment. Ted Cruz ends campaign by accidentally hitting, elbowing his wife in the face pic.twitter.com/epO1tzKgTT Jon Swaine (@jonswaine) May 4, 2016 And poor Heidi Cruz takes the loss harder than anyone - in the face. pic.twitter.com/B9Fme3ck3Q Kate Bennett (@KateBennett_DC) May 4, 2016 After his concession speech Cruz punches and then elbows his wife in the face. pic.twitter.com/jjVLzuWUJp Coganut$ (@Coganuts) May 4, 2016 Seriously, drop everything you're doing and watch this Vine of Ted Cruz accidentally punching his wife in the face https://t.co/OSlQrMDgaT Tom McKay (@thetomzone) May 4, 2016 Feedback to Donald Trumps victory has been punishing. The anti-Trump New York Daily News called it the death of the Republican Party with the harsh words on their cover: Dearly Beloved, We Are Gathered Here Today To Mourn The GOP, A Once Great Political Party Killed By Epidemic Of Trump. Story continues Today's front page: Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to mourn the @GOP https://t.co/4GqtLbXgkR pic.twitter.com/V4238JNxHU New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) May 4, 2016 Conservative talk radio host Erick Erickson said he would de-register as a member of the Republican Party if Trump secured the presidential nominee. If Trump is the Republican Party nominee, I wont be a Republican, he told the Daily Beast. Elizabeth Warren took to Facebook to blast Trump. She wrote: He attacks veterans like John McCain who were captured and puts our service members at risk by cheerleading illegal torture. "In a world with ISIS militants and leaders like North Korean strongman Kim Jong-Un conducting nuclear tests, he surrounds himself with a foreign policy team that has been called a collection of charlatans, and puts out contradictory and nonsensical national security ideas one expert recently called incoherent and truly bizarre. Read: Trump Slams Cruz After Fiorina Fell Off The Stage: 'Even I Would Have Helped Her' The polls are split on how Trump will fare against Hillary Clinton. The latest CNN poll shows Clinton leading Trump 54 percent to 41 percent. A Rasmussen poll shows Trump leading Clinton by 41 percent to 39 percent. Watch: Trump Says Ted Cruz's Dad Was With Lee Harvey Oswald Before JFK's Assassination Related Articles: Ted Cruz is ending his presidential campaign, eliminating the biggest impediment to Donald Trump's march to the Republican nomination. After losing the Indiana Republican primary to Trump, Cruz made the announcement in a speech to his supporters on Tuesday night. "From the beginning, I've said that I would continue on as long as there is a viable path to victory," he said. "Tonight, I'm sorry to say, it appears that path has been foreclosed." He continued, to boos from the crowd as his supporters caught on, "Together, we left it all on the field of Indiana. We gave it everything we've got, but the voters chose another path. And so, with a heavy heart but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign." He made no mention of Trump in his speech. Before the polls closed, Cruz was hammering to Indiana voters to think of what the future will be like under the billionaire businessman, citing the popular Back to the Future trilogy. "If anyone has seen the movie Back to the Future II, the screenwriter says that he based the character Biff Tannen on Donald Trump - a caricature of a braggadocios, arrogant buffoon who builds giant casinos with giant pictures of him everywhere he looks," Cruz told reporters. "We are looking potentially at the Biff Tannen presidency." (Tom Wilson, the actor who played Tannen, previously told The Hollywood Reporter he did not base his portrayal off Trump, nor was that notion ever suggested to him during filming.) Read More: Ted Cruz Warns of "Biff Tannen Presidency" if Donald Trump Is Elected On Tuesday night, Cruz began his speech by recalling the launch of his campaign 13 months ago, "when the pundits all said it was hopeless," and attempted to end his remarks on a similar note of optimism, as he thanked his family and his "phenomenal running mate" Carly Fiorina. Story continues "Hear me now: I give you my word that I will continue this fight with all of my strength and all of my ability," Cruz concluded, vowing to continue his fight for liberty and the Constitution. "We will continue to fight next month and next year and we will continue as long as God grants us the strength to fight on." Throughout his campaign, the Texas senator cast himself as the only viable alternative to Trump, going toe-to-toe with the billionaire businessmen in the press throughout his campaign. He argued he was the only true conservative in the race and railed against what he called the "Washington cartel," trying to appeal to an electorate that is craving political outsiders. But he ultimately couldn't compete with Trump's appeal among white, working-class voters who were drawn to the New York billionaire's outlandish approach to politics. With the scale tipping increasingly in Trump's favor, he announced a pact in April with his other rival, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, in which the two would divide their time and resources based on states where they were each poised to do better. Days later, he prematurely named former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Fiorina as his running mate, hoping it would woo some of the female voters turned off by Trump's brash rhetoric. Trump's appeal to evangelicals, though, and his popularity with the broader Republican electorate, proved too much. Read More: Donald Trump Praises Ted Cruz, Shifts Focus to Clintons In the end, Republicans didnt much like Ted Cruz. The party establishment hated him from the start. He had nearly single-handedly destroyed their effort to govern in Congress in the age of Obama, and he insulted GOP leaders in a way that left party elders aghast. When former Speaker John Boehner called Cruz Lucifer in the flesh, what was most noteworthy wasnt the barb itself but how little protest it generated in Washington. The establishment would have preferred almost anyone else as their standard-bearer in 2016. Really: Almost anyone elseincluding, for many of them, Donald Trump, a man who these same top Republicans viewed as a usurper, a phony who talked tough and learned just enough of the conservative language to hoodwink the partys faithful in state after state. And ultimately, it was the voters who chose Trumpand rejected Cruz. The first-term Texas senator came to that realization rather suddenly on Tuesday night, after a defeat in Indiana crushed his slim chances of denying Trump the Republican nomination in Cleveland. Earlier in the day, Cruz had denounced the GOP front-runner as a pathological liar and a narcissist. But when he ended his campaign later that evening in Indiana, he never uttered Trumps name. Surrounded by his family, Cruz reminded his supporters that he had always said he would continue his campaign as long as there was a path to victory. Tonight, Im sorry to say, it appears that path has been foreclosed, he said. Together we left it all on the field in Indiana. We gave it all we got. But the voters chose another path. Recommended: The Day the Republican Party Died Far from endorsing Trump, Cruz signaled that he was about to join, in spirit if not officially, the collection of conservatives who now believe the 2016 presidential election is a lost cause, that Hillary Clinton is not only the presumptive Democratic nominee but the presumptive 45th president of the United States. Cruz modeled his speech on Ronald Reagans address, as a runner-up, to the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City. What he didnt need to say was that four years after that speech, Reagan ran again and defeated the embattled Democratic president, Jimmy Carter. Cruz, who is just 45 years old, didnt need to lay it out explicitly, but he might as well have launched his 2020 campaign right then and there in Indiana. Hear me now, he said instead, I am not suspending our fight for liberty. I am not suspending our fight to defend the Constitution. Story continues Republican voters gave Cruz a good long look in 2016. He ran as an uncompromising conservative from the outset, and it looked briefly as if he might stop the Trump train when he defeated the New York billionaire in Iowa in February. But although Cruz picked up a bucket of delegates by winning his home state of Texas, he underperformed throughout the South on Super Tuesday. Cruz was a strong debater and a better organizer, winning repeatedly in caucus states and outlasting Marco Rubio to become the final serious threat to Trump. But he was hamstrung by his awkwardness as a retail campaigner and never made a real effort to make peace with the Republican Party leaders who might have helped him unify the Never Trump movement. Recommended: Can She Become a Truly Great President? Trump regained his footing with landslide wins in New York and then throughout the Northeast. All the while, he continued browbeating Cruz and playing dirty; Trump labeled him Lyin Ted, promoted reports that Cruz had affairs on the campaign trail, threatened to go after his wife, and finally, in the closing days of the campaign, suggested that Cruzs father was involved in the JFK assassination. Cruz, in turn, became increasingly desperate. He struck a non-aggression pact with John Kasich to increase his chances in Indiana, and then, just a week before he dropped out, announced that Carly Fiorina would be his running mate if he could only knock off Trump to win the nomination. None of it worked. Rather than close the gap with Trump, Cruz fell further. A lead in Indiana polling vanished, and Cruz was on pace to lose the state by more than 15 points. Perhaps most telling, however, was how Republicans seemed to sour on Cruz over time. In Gallup polling, more than half of GOP voters had a favorable image of Cruz when the year started. By late April, just 39 percent did, and 45 percent had an unfavorable view of him. Republicans took a long look at Cruz, and the more they saw him, the less they liked him. Starting Tuesday night, hell have at least four more years to turn those hard feelings around. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz and his super PAC allies spent more than $10 per vote on advertising ahead of Indiana's primary Tuesday. And Donald Trump whose campaign spent about $1.50 per vote clobbered him anyway. In all, Cruz and two supportive super PACs the Club for Growth, an anti-tax organization that endorsed him, and Trusted Leadership PAC, a big-money vehicle designed to boost the U.S. senator from Texas spent more than $4 million on television and radio advertising in Indiana, according to data provided to the Center for Public Integrity by The Tracking Firm, a nonpartisan media tracking company headquartered in Washington, D.C. Despite the spending spree, Cruz won only about 405,000 votes, finishing in a distant second behind Trump, the front-runner who ultimately won about 590,000 votes. Trump's campaign spent about $870,000 on TV and radio advertising in Indiana, according to The Tracking Firm. These figures don't include costs associated with online ads, direct mail, field staff, salaries, events or other expenditures. During his victory speech Tuesday night, Trump praised his own campaign's thriftiness. "That's something that makes me feel really, really very good," Trump said. "There have been 60,000 negative ads [against me]," Trump continued. "The people are so smart. They don't buy it. They get it." In fact, more than 64,000 TV ads have attacked Trump in some fashion as of Monday, including about 8,000 from Democratic Party front-runner Hillary Clinton, according to a Center for Public Integrity review of data provided by Kantar Media/CMAG, a firm that monitors advertising on broadcast television and national but not local cable. After his loss to Trump in Indiana, Cruz quit of the presidential race. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who did not actively campaign in Indiana, is expected to end his campaign today as well. An anti-Trump super PAC called Our Principles PAC which did not endorse either Cruz or Kasich spent an additional $1.2 million on ads in Indiana. Story continues According to the Associated Press, Trump is now fewer than 200 delegates away from the magic number of 1,237 needed to officially clinch the GOP presidential nomination without a contested convention. This story is part of Buying of the President 2016. Tracking the candidates, political committees and nonprofits that are making this presidential election the most expensive in history. Click here to read more stories in this investigation. Don't miss another Politics investigation: Sign up for the Center for Public Integrity's Watchdog email. In Indiana's Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders scored an upset victory, defeating Clinton by about 30,000 votes, or 5 percentage points. Clinton did not spend a dime on TV or radio advertising in Indiana, while Sanders spent about $1.7 million or about $5.20 per vote. "It's been clear all along that she's the establishment candidate," Sanders campaign spokesman Michael Briggs said of Clinton. "Advertising on television is one way we have to compete with that." Briggs said that Sanders, who badly trails Clinton in the delegate race, would press on to give voters in the remaining contests "the same kind of choice that people in other states have already gotten." Additionally, Briggs stressed, we "like our chances in a lot of those states." Clinton, however, remains poised to win the Democratic nomination thanks to her nearly insurmountable delegate lead. Clinton campaign spokesman Jesse Ferguson said the campaign which, like Trump's, is fewer than 200 delegates away from officially clinching the nomination doesn't "comment on our ad strategy." Overall, more than $1 billion has been spent in the 2016 presidential race, including about $640 million by candidates who are no longer in the races and the outside groups, such as super PACs, that supported them. Roughly one-fifth of that sum was spent by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his supportive super PAC, Right to Rise USA. Many campaign reformers have decried the 2016 election as a cesspool of special interests, where wealthy people and corporate entities have played outsized roles in how campaigns are waged. Others disagree. "The mantra about money buying elections has been demonstrated to be so 100 percent false," Republican attorney Jim Bopp, one of Indiana's 57 delegates, told the Center for Public Integrity. "Money buys speech, not influence, and certainly not elections." This story was co-published with NBC News. This story is part of Buying of the President 2016. Tracking the candidates, political committees and nonprofits that are making this presidential election the most expensive in history. Click here to read more stories in this investigation. Related stories Copyright 2016 The Center for Public Integrity. This story was published by The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative news organization in Washington, D.C. Photo: REX A few months ago, the field of Republican presidential candidates seemed absurdly crowded. And while there were once many candidates vying for the GOP's primary nomination, the race has narrowed down to Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich after Ted Cruz officially suspended his campaign last night. After a string of primary losses to GOP front-runner Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign. The news came just days after Cruz announced that Carly Fiorina, another former presidential candidate, would be his vice presidential running mate. "Tonight, I'm sorry to say, it appears that path has been closed," Cruz said in Indiana, after losing the state's Republican primary to Donald Trump. "Together, we left it all on the field in Indiana. We gave it everything we had. But the voters chose another path." "We are suspending our campaign," Cruz said. "But hear me now, I am not suspending our fight for liberty." Moment of infamy: Cruz was never afraid to speak out against Donald Trump on the campaign trail. Before making his announcement, Cruz called Trump a "pathological liar" and "utterly amoral," The New York Times reports. On the Democratic side, the primary race is down to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? Amazing Women From Around The World Give You Their Best Advice How 10 Former Child Brides Are Sharing Their Stories Through The Portraits They Take Justin Trudeau's Most Memorable Moments Des Moines (United States) (AFP) - Once reviled by fellow Republicans as a "wacko bird" eager to shut down the US government, Ted Cruz believed his arch-conservatism could propel him into the White House -- but ultimately proved no match for the Donald Trump steamroller. The senator from Texas, who bowed out of the race after suffering a knock-out blow in Indiana on Tuesday, was not just battling for the Republican nomination. Cruz has fought hard to maintain a prominent place for faith in American life, and sees himself in a battle for the very soul of the country -- as he made clear in his concession speech. "Hear me now, I am not suspending our fight for liberty," he said. "I am not suspending our fight to defend the constitution, to defend the Christian values that built America." "Together we will continue as long as God grants us the strength to fight on." The 45-year-old Texan is an intellectual proponent of a grassroots conservative movement that has simmered for years under the Republican mainstream. A US Senate freshman, he has barely three years under his belt in national politics. But in the 2016 presidential race, his outsider status played well with a right-wing base furious with what he derides as the "mushy middle" GOP establishment unwilling to play hardball against US President Barack Obama. Cruz received a tremendous boost on the first day of the Republican primaries -- when he briefly surged past Trump in the opening contest in Iowa -- and spent months since then seeking to out-maneuver his many rivals. - Star power - For Democrats, Cruz is a dangerous demagogue they love to hate. But to religious conservatives, he is a patriot, a thinking man's champion of the common folk sent to Congress to disrupt the ways of the go-along-to-get-along establishment and fulfill the principles of smaller government. A master orator with a clear sense of mission, he has angered party elders for showing little deference to seniority and snatching the spotlight from more experienced political stalwarts. Story continues He insists government has wrecked the economy, infringed on religious liberty, trampled on constitutional rights, overtaxed Americans and sought to take away their guns. Critics blast him as a poster boy for Washington gridlock. In September 2013, his star power soared when he spoke for 21 hours straight to try to block a stopgap spending bill in the lead-up to a crippling government shutdown the following month, part of a doomed quest to defund Obama's crowning domestic achievement, the Affordable Care Act. He won the support of the anti-government, anti-tax Tea Party movement, but alienated many in his own party who saw Cruz's drive to shut down the government as a politically damaging act of self-aggrandizement. Cruz's apparent eagerness to gum up the works led an exasperated John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee, to deride Cruz and other Tea Party lawmakers as "wacko birds on the right." - From Harvard to the Hill - A Texas-raised, Harvard-educated lawyer with a Cuban father and an American mother, Cruz joined the legal elite when he was accepted as a clerk for US Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 1996. He was part of former president George W. Bush's legal team arguing the 2000 Florida presidential recount, later serving in Bush's Justice Department and the US Federal Trade commission. He returned to Texas and in 2003 was appointed the state's solicitor general, arguing many cases before the Supreme Court in Washington. In 2012, he ran for the Senate with support from the Tea Party, defeating the establishment Republican. Cuban-American Cruz may enjoy plenty of support in Hispanic-heavy Texas, but he staunchly opposes immigration reform, blasting Obama's efforts to shield millions from deportation as "illegal amnesty." - 'Lyin' Ted' - For millions of conservatives outside the US capital, Cruz emerged as a hero of the 2016 race. Finding himself in a crowded running lane -- with retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, ex-senator Rick Santorum and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee vying for the far-right conservative vote -- Cruz outshone them all. But Trump upended the political playbook, launching brutal personal attacks on his rivals including Cruz who he came to refer to exclusively as "Lyin' Ted." The Texan pledged not to sink "into the mud" of insults, as the tycoon hammered him over his Canadian birth, suggesting bluntly he may not be eligible for the presidency. But as all other 17 contenders dropped out except the low-polling John Kasich, the Republican contest increasingly turned to a stand-off between the pair. Weeks of tensions boiled over Tuesday after Trump made the startling allegation that Cruz's father was with John F. Kennedy's killer shortly before the US president was assassinated. Cue a blistering retort from Cruz who branded the Republican frontrunner a "pathological liar" in an attack that lasted several minutes. "Let's be clear, this is nuts," Cruz charged. "He doesn't know the difference between truth and lies," Cruz said, in a final verbal joust with Trump before he bowed out -- and cleared his path to the Republican nomination. Premier American electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors (TSLA) has released Q1 earnings after the bell Wednesday, with results largely in-line with what we've seen from the company's pre-guidance earlier. A bottom line of -$1.24 per share on sales (accounting for stock-based compensation and other BNRI) on $1.6 billion in the quarter compare with Zacks consensus expectations of -$0.78 and $1.59 billion, respectively. So the wider-than-expected loss is definitely a big miss, but Tesla is still all about forward sales. The good news for Tesla this quarter came from its various outlooks: the company bumped up its 500K units-per-year goal from as of year 2020 to 2018 now. Deliveries for the very popular Model 3 (400K+ advanced orders) stay in line for deliveries beginning late 2017, and its Gigafactory remains on target to deliver its first batteries late this year. Model S deliveries were 45 percent higher year over year, again in-line with estimates. Tesla's lowered guidance for Q1 deliveries of 14,820 (from 16K originally) nearly met the expectation but was short by 10 cars. Q2 deliveries are now expected to reach 17K instead of the earlier guidance of 19K. Much of this stems from supplier parts shortages for the Model X, which has since been resolved. Yet another reminder that Tesla is still a toddler in the auto-manufacturing game. But the Model X has grown substantially quarter over quarter, producing roughly 500 SUVs in Q4, but over 2600 in Q1. Shares are up more than 5 percent following the mildly positive earnings results. (Tesla is one of those companies where actuals can swing wildly from estimates quarter to quarter, so an in-line report can be seen as something of a victory of steadiness.) This follows a big move down in regular Wednesday trading and a woeful -12 percent over the last 5 trading days, so we see traders sopping up some of the value here. The VIX ahead of the earnings report was +/- 9.4 percent. The big stuff is still to come for this company -- Gigafactory production, Model 3 deliveries. If these bigger-scale projects manage to take hold in a meaningful way for Tesla, we may see new valuations unfold for this stock, which is currently at a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report TESLA MOTORS (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Can Texas Roadhouse Maintain Its Strong 1Q16 Performance? 1Q16 performance Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) reported its 1Q16 results on May 2, 2016. The company posted revenue of $515.6 million and adjusted EPS (earnings per share) of $0.55. Compared to 1Q16, the revenue increased by 12% and the EPS grew by 8.7%. Markets response Texas Roadhouses 1Q16 revenue was in line with analysts estimates. However, the EPS was lower than analysts estimate of $0.54. The $5.5 million settlement charges on a wage-per-hour demand with the Delaware Department of Labor had a negative impact on its 1Q16 EPS by $0.05. The adjusted EPS stands at $0.55. This was greater than analysts estimates of $0.54. So, the stock price rose on the announcement of its 1Q16 results. The company ended May 2, 2016, with its share price up by 3.3%. Texas Roadhouses share price has increased by 22.4% year-to-date. During the same period, the share price of its peers such as Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD), Brinker International (EAT), and Bloomin Brands (BLMN) returned -15%, -2.4%, and 12.3%, respectively. The Guggenheim S&P 500 Pure Growth ETFs (RPG) share price appreciated by 8.6%. RPG invests 44% of its holdings in restaurants and travel companies. Series overview In this series, well discuss the 1Q16 earnings call and notes along with Texas Roadhouses performance on key metrics during the quarter. Well also cover managements guidance and analysts estimates for the rest of 2016 and beyond. Lets start by discussing Texas Roadhouses 1Q16 revenue growth. Continue to Next Part Browse this series on Market Realist: Even with Bernie Sanders' surprise victory in Indiana's Democratic primary Tuesday night, his chances of securing the nomination are still extraordinarily low. They've been bleak for weeks, and unless Sanders starts winning nominating contests by crushing margins, they will continue to dwindle. A number of political journalists have recognized this for some time, and have taken to writing anticipatory campaign obituaries summing up his legacy. The conventional focus of these evaluations is around how much Sanders has energized the left and sparked a movement that has united young people and more left-leaning Democrats around social democratic concepts such as single-payer health care and free public higher education. The biggest questions tend to swirl around whether his insurgency will evolve into a meaningful program beyond this moment. Read more: Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders Have This One Surprising Thing in Common But Sanders' ascent and astonishingly powerful challenge to Hillary Clinton has also highlighted and in some ways deepened rifts between various factions of the left. There is nothing new about impassioned disagreement on the left, and considering that the two candidates held such sharply divergent views of the meaning of progress, substantial clashes were inevitable. Yet a significant amount of the conflict has been over issues that go beyond straightforward differences on policy visions, and also show signs of lingering, if not potentially spreading, beyond this campaign cycle. Whom do you present? The lion's share of the strife can be traced to the identity politics of the Sanders movement. From Sanders' deep struggle to garner the support of black voters, to heated disputes over whether it's fair to describe the archetypal Sanders supporter as a "bro," to allegations that Sanders used subtly gendered attacks against Clinton, the Sanders camp has been dogged by accusations of building a movement whose energy and appeal have skewed toward white men. Story continues Source: Seth Wenig/AP The bulk of those criticisms have come from Clinton supporters and what could be called identitarian progressives liberals who place concerns about oppression tied to race, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity at the center of their analysis of society's power dynamics contending that Sanders' concern with class inequality has eclipsed other key imbalances in American society. Many of those criticisms have been unfair and operated off of crude generalizations about Sanders' following rather than facts. But still, some critiques of his struggle to be inclusive have touched on something real. Sanders' self-described political revolution has not been able to captivate voters of color, and with a few exceptions, Clinton is winning among women across Democratic nominating contests. Sanders has squandered some opportunities to build a leftist coalition suited to American demographics and political culture. It wouldn't be right to characterize all of this as Sanders' failure Clinton is one of the most powerful figures in American political life, and this has been her race to lose but it's evident that he hasn't been able to break through with constituencies that would, theoretically, be naturally drawn to a movement whose central conceit is tackling persistent inequality. On some counts, Sanders has squandered crucial opportunities to build a leftist coalition suited to American demographics and political culture. Sanders' weakness with black voters is a vital lesson. Perhaps biggest thorn in Sanders' side this race has been his consistent unpopularity with black voters, and his management of the issue is key to understanding his broader shortcomings with multicultural outreach. It could be argued that a significant share of the black vote was almost unwinnable for Sanders the Clintons have a powerful relationship with the nation's black political class and black community that stretches back for decades, while Sanders has represented a small, almost uniformly white state for his entire career in national politics. But if Clinton had such a formidable advantage with black voters from the off, that's all the more reason for Sanders to have devoted extra energy to winning them over from the time he launched his campaign. Instead, he showed little interest in it. Source: Win McNamee/Getty Images The low-hanging fruit available from the very beginning of the presidential campaign cycle in 2015 was to embrace the explosively growing Black Lives Matter movement. It was a no-brainer for a politician who had engaged in civil disobedience during the civil rights movement and whose run for the White House was predicated on challenging the status quo on behalf of marginalized Americans. It also would've positioned him to strike Clinton immediately on her tough-on-crime record and troubling rhetoric referring to some black youth as "superpredators." But Sanders didn't embrace the criminal justice reform movement until he was pushed to do so. And he wasn't the first politician in the race to say "black lives matter." Clinton was. Sanders' disinterest in doing inventive or bold things to pique the interest of black voters was a consistent pattern. The public relationship he built with Atlanta rapper Killer Mike was a colorful, if slightly gimmicky way, to attempt a connection with black voters. But it stands out mainly because it served as an exception to the rule for the most part, Sanders did little more than make token efforts in the run-up to the South Carolina primary, the first Democratic nominating contest with a large share of black voters, to go above and beyond minimal obligations to forge a relationship with black voters. @KillerMike and @BernieSanders sit down for a coke at Atlanta's Busy Bee's cafepic.twitter.com/P3HtCwcTsu https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CUhu7S2UkAAS4Wu.jpg:large The issue wasn't that Sanders didn't care about black voters, but that he held the view that his aggressively progressive policies on issues like health care and education and jobs programs, which would disproportionately better the lives of black Americans, would be enough. In some ways, this seems to be a deeply honest approach to winning over voters using policy rather than symbolic gestures to appeal to specific groups. But getting elected isn't just about policy. It's also about building trust both by conveying your understanding of the unique needs of different communities and by establishing why you can credibly claim to delivering changes on their behalf. For someone like Sanders, whose political projects are premised on the idea of universalism universal health coverage, universal free education, and so on the idea of very particular conversations and relationship-building don't come naturally. But using careful language that speaks to specific grievances and interests is a crucial way to do that. Beyond black voters: Appealing to Latino voters (with whom Sanders has done much better with than black voters, even as he's lost them to Clinton in key states) and women, Sanders also relied on the idea that the promise of robust social democratic policies would alone be enough to pull people to his campaign. Again, the issue isn't indifference, but rather a reliance on the idea that what he said his programs could deliver would be inherently seductive. But it hasn't been. And if there's a lesson in all this for Sanders or any others who carry his torch, it's that targeting demographic groups with nuanced, community-specific relationship-building and messaging is important, even if your political program relies on the idea of universal rights. The United States is a multicultural democracy, and any attempt to pursue power within it, at least for those on the left, requires a serious reckoning with that reality. Among young people with whom Sanders enjoys extraordinary, almost unrivaled popularity within the Democratic electorate his appeal cuts across gender and race, and that bodes well for the future of his movement. But if someone is to take Sanders' movement further, it involves finding a way to make it more attuned to the extraordinary diversity of American life. By Kieran Guilbert DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hundreds of thousands of children in the Central African Republic are missing out on education as schools struggle to reopen due to violence, displacement and a shortage of teachers, the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) said on Wednesday. One in four primary schools in the conflict-hit country - around 500 - are not functioning and a third of school-age children are not going to school, according to UNICEF. Central African Republic has been beset by violence between mainly Muslim Seleka rebels and Christian anti-balaka militias since the rebels ousted the then president in early 2013. While many observers hope the recent election of President Faustin-Archange Touadera will help end the unrest, the security situation remains fragile, according to U.N. agencies. "Resuming schooling is a challenge when around 20 percent of the population (4.6 million) has been displaced," said UNICEF's Central African Republic representative Mohamed Malick Fall. "There are also security and access issues, the risks for children traveling to school, and a lack of civil servants and teachers, who fled," Fall told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The conflict has uprooted more than 400,000 people within the country and forced almost half a million to seek refuge in neighbouring countries such as Chad, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR). UNICEF are providing teaching materials and giving catch-up lessons to tens of thousands of uprooted children, while many of the displaced are volunteering to teach, Fall said. "They might not have the academic background or the training, but it shows great resilience from these people and communities to make sure children aren't missing out on school." Teachers are being trained to provide psychosocial support, as many children suffer from post-conflict trauma, UNICEF said. Some children were shy and refused to talk, while others were aggressive and often drew weapons, teachers told the U.N. Fall hopes that schools will continue to reopen - around 40 percent were closed at the height of the conflict due to attacks, looting and armed occupation - to help protect children from violence, recruitment into armed groups, and sexual abuse. UNICEF on Wednesday unveiled details of a fund to help get children back in class during emergencies, which aims to reach 13.6 million children within five years and 75 million by 2030.[L5N1805U4] (Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Katie Nguyen; 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) Kinshasa (AFP) - Thousands of fans paid a last tearful tribute to Congolese "rumba king" Papa Wemba at a requiem mass in Kinshasa on Wednesday where his songs were played, before he was finally laid to rest. Papa Wemba was a "worthy son of the DRC, the quality of his work has made him a citizen of the world", the president of the national episcopal conference of Congo, Bishop Nicolas Djomo, said in a homily. He was "a great artist who was able to speak to all social classes," and "a man who did not live for himself but for others and for God." He conveyed "the message of love, the message of peace and of reconciliation". Papa Wemba collapsed while performing at a festival in Ivory Coast on April 24. The flamboyant musician, who led the Kinshasa music scene for four decades, died before reaching hospital. He was 66. His body returned to his native Democratic Republic of Congo last week, and lay in state at the national parliament since Monday. "For three days, like one man, the Congolese people", Africa and the world "cried over the one they agreed to call the father of Congolese rumba," said the archbishop of Kinshasa, Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo. Six bishops, about 60 priests, family members, officials and celebrities were among about 2,000 people in the Notre Dame du Congo Cathedral for the mass in his honour. About 10,000 more crammed into the streets outside, where giant screens were erected to watch the service. Many young people were among those who sweated, many bare-chested, under Kinshasa's brutal equatorial sun to hear the service. Some had gathered since dawn on Wednesday to watch the funeral cortege arrive. Before the service, Cardinal Monsengwo, Bishop Djomo, and other clerics, bowed before the coffin and before Papa Wemba's tearful widow. In his funeral oration, the governor of Kinshasa, Andre Kimbuta, honoured the memory "of the high priest of Congolese music". Story continues The oration was interspersed with excerpts of Papa Wemba's songs, including "L'Esclave" which recounts the stories of African slaves taken to America, as many in the congregation responded with barely muffled sobs. Congo's President Joseph Kabila on Monday posthumously awarded Papa Wemba one of the country's highest honours, making him a grand officer of the Order of National Heroes Kabila-Lumumba. A father of six, Papa Wemba helped to pioneer a blend of Congolese popular music with electric rock during the 1980s, when an interest in world music stirred in Western countries. He was laid to rest later Wednesday in a cemetery on the eastern outskirts of Kinshasa -- the Necropole Entre Ciel et Terre (Graveyard Between Heaven and Earth), where the cheapest tomb costs $1,500 -- in the presence of several thousand fans. By Roberta Rampton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will meet in Ottawa for a North American leaders' Summit on June 29, the White House said on Wednesday. The "Three Amigos" summit, with two key U.S. trading partners, comes as Obama grapples with a wave of anti-free-trade sentiment that has stalled ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a sweeping 12-nation pact that includes Canada and Mexico. Obama hopes the U.S. Congress will ratify the deal before he leaves office on Jan. 20. But trade has become a lightning rod issue in the presidential election campaign to replace him. Republican Donald Trump, now his party's presumptive nominee for 2016, has attacked the TPP and describes the tripartite North American Free Trade agreement as a disaster that needs to be renegotiated or broken. In the Democratic campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders has opposed the trade deal, and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton has also expressed concerns. Canada sends 75 percent of its exports to the United States and would suffer greatly if a future president moved to clamp down on free trade. Trudeau, asked how he would deal with a President Trump, said the leaders of both countries would always agree on the need for growth and prosperity. One important way to achieve this was through trade, he added. "The level of integration between the Canadian and American economies is unlike anything else ... in the world," he told a news conference in Ottawa. The last "Three Amigos" summit was in Toluca, Mexico in 2014. Canada was supposed to host the meeting early last year but cancelled it amid tension between then Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Obama over the Keystone XL pipeline. Obama will address Canada's Parliament during the visit, the White House said. He last came to Canada for a bilateral visit in February 2009, the first foreign trip of his presidency. Ottawa's relations with Mexico are strained over Canadian rules, introduced under Harper, that impose visas for visiting Mexicans. Trudeau said he hoped to be able to announce within weeks that the requirement would be scrapped. (Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and James Dalgleish) (NEW DELHI) Police detained three men for questioning Tuesday in the rape and murder of a law student whose body was found mutilated in southern India, officials said. The case has drawn comparisons to the deadly 2012 gang rape of a woman on a New Delhi bus that sparked widespread outrage and nationwide protests demanding an end to the widespread sexual assault and abuse of women across India. The autopsy on the 30-year-old victim in Kerala state revealed she had been sexually penetrated by sharp objects before being murdered in her home on Thursday in Perumbavoor, a city on the outskirts of the major city of Kochi, according to Press Trust of India news agency, citing police sources. Home Minister Ramesh Chennitala said, however, that the full autopsy report was not yet complete, and so he was unable to confirm that a rape had happened. Police are working very hard on solving this case, Chennitala told reporters. On Tuesday, police arrested three men for questioning, but could not immediately say if they were suspected of taking part in the crime. The family is from the Dalit community, considered the lowest caste in Indias centuries-old social hierarchy. PTI reported that the victims body was discovered by her mother. The states chief minister, Oommen Chandy, has described the crime as shocking. Women outraged over the case have staged protests. Taboos against speaking about sexual assault are believed to make Indias women and children more vulnerable to sexual violence and harassment. Experts say that has started to change since the fatal gang rape of the 23-year-old woman in 2012, after which the government rushed through legislation to double prison terms for rape, and to criminalize voyeurism, stalking and the trafficking of women. But activists say more action is needed, including better educating youths and adding basic safety infrastructure such as street lights and public bathrooms. KINSHASA (Reuters) - Three Red Cross staff members have been kidnapped in eastern Congo in an attack blamed by a rights group on Rwandan rebels. The abductions were confirmed on Tuesday in a tweet from Dominik Stillhart, the Red Cross's director of operations, who added: "We're doing everything we can to bring them back home safely." The Congo-based Centre of Studies for the Promotion of Peace, Democracy and Human Rights said the three were drivers from Goma in the east of the country. Their vehicles were abandoned at the site of the kidnappings, it said. It said the culprits were believed to be members of the Rwandan rebel group, Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which consists of former soldiers and Hutu militiamen behind Rwanda's 1994 genocide. The rebel group, which has waged wars against other armed groups and the government, is thought to be at the heart of instability in the region. Members say they want to return to Rwanda but the U.N. peacekeeping mission has said the group's goal is to overthrow the Rwandan government. There have been a series of abductions targeting aid workers in the vast central African country. The United Nations said in January a spike in kidnappings and insecurity had made it difficult to provide humanitarian aid. Resource-rich eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has suffered from instability since millions were killed in regional wars in 1996 and 2003, mostly from hunger and disease, and armed groups have continued to remain in the area. (Reporting by Aaron Ross; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Alison Williams) The last time Corey Kluber and Anibal Sanchez opposed each other, the Cleveland Indians clobbered the Detroit Tigers - partially because Kluber finally solved Miguel Cabrera. The two-time AL MVP hopes to get back to his usual dominance of the league's former Cy Young Award winner Wednesday night to help the visiting Tigers finally figure out the Indians. Cleveland (11-12) rolled to its fourth straight victory over its AL Central rival with Tuesday's 7-3 win. It was the Indians' ninth win in the last 11 matchups and fourth in the past five at Progressive Field. Francisco Lindor fell a triple shy of the cycle, hitting a three-run homer and scoring three times. The shortstop also stole a hit away from Justin Upton in the second inning, making a diving stop in the hole. ''Whether you do it with the bat, the glove or your legs, that's part of the reason he has a chance to be so good because he can impact a game in so many different ways,'' manager Terry Francona said. Nick Castellanos went 2 for 4 for the Tigers, extending his hitting streak to six games and raising his AL-leading batting average to .368. While the Indians snapped a three-game skid, Detroit (14-11) saw its five-game run end. The Tigers had won six of seven since getting swept at home by the Indians April 22-24. Kluber (1-3, 4.24 ERA) earned the victory opposite Sanchez (3-2, 6.08) in Cleveland's 10-1 win in the middle game of that series, allowing one run and two hits while striking out 10 in eight innings. The right-hander is 3-6 with a 4.03 ERA in 13 starts against the Tigers, middling numbers due largely to poor ones against the heart of Detroit's order. The 2014 Cy Young winner held Cabrera, the 2012 and 2013 MVP, to two groundouts and a lineout last month, a rarity in their matchups. The slugger is batting .526 (20 for 38) with five home runs and two doubles against him. Victor Martinez has gone deep three times off Kluber, batting .321 in 28 at-bats. Story continues Kluber followed his latest outing against Detroit with another solid showing Friday, holding Philadelphia to three runs and five hits in seven innings of a 4-3, 11-inning loss. Sanchez hasn't made it through six innings yet, but he regrouped from two ugly outings in Thursday's 7-3 win over Oakland. Despite walking seven, the second-most in his career, the right-hander limited the A's to two runs and three hits while striking out nine over 5 2/3 innings. "At times he looked like the guy that struck out (17 against) Atlanta a few years ago, before I was here," manager Brad Ausmus told MLB's official website. "And at times, he had trouble with his command. But overall, he did a good job and gave us a chance to win." One of the previous rough outings for the 11-year pro came against Kluber and the Indians, who pounded him for seven runs and nine hits in 2 1/3 innings. The Indians have tagged Sanchez for 11 runs in their last two matchups, but he holds a 2.39 ERA at Progressive Field. Yan Gomes is 6 for 11 with a pair of homers against Sanchez, and Michael Brantley is 7 for 22 with a triple. Donald Trump Now that Donald Trump has effectively clinched the Republican nomination, many Democrats are exchanging high-fives. Trump's victory, they believe, will guarantee a Hillary Clinton win in November and secure the White House for the Democrats for another four years. Most of the pundits who declared Trump's candidacy dead on arrival last summer also believe this. Democrats and pundits are confident because during his scorched-earth primary campaign, Trump repeatedly said things that would make almost anyone else unelectable to national office including frequently insulting and offending vast groups of voters such as women and minorities. Their confidence is not illogical. Trump starts the general election with a 6.5-point average deficit in polls. And he is the most unpopular major-party nominee ever. But those who believe the Trump nomination assures a Clinton victory are not giving enough weight to two important facts: 1. Hillary Clinton is a weak campaigner; Trump is a strong one. At its core, campaigning is about selling a product the candidate. The reason Trump clobbered the Republican field is that he's a great salesman. Hillary Clinton is not. By her own admission, Clinton is much better at actually doing political jobs than campaigning to get them. 2. No one really knows what Trump believes or would do as president, but we do know that he'll say whatever he thinks will give him the best chance of winning. So far, Trump's pitch has been tailored to appeal to one particular voter constituency the angry, fed-up right wing. Now that Trump has won over that constituency, he'll turn his sales efforts, and image, to winning another: the center. A great salesperson figures out what customers want and then persuades them that, if they buy the product, they'll get what they want. In the Republican primary, Trump figured out what Republican voters wanted. And he persuaded enough of them that, if they chose him, they would get it. Story continues Most Democrats still think that Trump will get crushed in the general election because he actually believes what he was selling in the Republican primaries the plan to round up and deport all of the immigrants living in the US illegally, for example. Or the plan to bar Muslims from entering the US. donald trump interview It's possible that Trump does believe these things and intends to act on them as president. But to me it seems more likely that Trump was just "projecting an image," as his team reportedly suggested a couple of weeks ago to Republican leaders when speaking behind closed doors. When Business Insider executive editor Brett LoGiurato and I interviewed Trump in his office last fall, he came off as more reasonable and practical than he does in his public appearances. When we noted the absurdity of rounding up 11 million people and shipping them out of the country, for example, Trump hesitated in responding. Trump didn't actually say it, but what I expected him to say after this hesitation was this: Come on, Henry. I'm a practical guy. I know the idea of deporting 11 million people is ridiculous. But I also know that it's what Republican voters want to hear. Let me win the nomination and election, then we'll study the situation. And then I'll fix it! Just the way I fixed Wollman Rink! Now that Trump has won his first sales pitch the nomination he, like any great salesperson, will adjust his pitch to win the next one: the general election. He won't disavow any of the hateful things he said to win the Republican primary. He'll just ignore them. And instead of pitching to angry right-wing voters, he'll start pitching to the vast numbers of more centrist Americans who just aren't all that stoked about voting for Hillary Clinton. And in that sales pitch, Trump will have another advantage: He's selling something positive. Specifically, Trump is promising to "make America great again." Hillary Clinton is already responding by selling something negative: "Prevent President Trump." Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton addresses the attendees of the 61st Annual NAACP 'Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner' in Detroit, Michigan May 1, 2016. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook The "block Trump" pitch may scare some people into voting for Clinton, but it's not as compelling a pitch as "making America great again" especially when, for so many Americans, on both the right and left, America's economy is clearly not that great. So Democrats who are viewing Trump's victory as a guarantee that the White House will remain in their hands might want to rethink that. The next six months will be about selling two candidates to about 51% of the American public. Donald Trump is a great salesman. Hillary Clinton is not. SEE ALSO: We hit the road to find out why Americans are so crazy about Trump NOW WATCH: Here's the moment Wolf Blitzer had to stop Clinton and Sanders from 'screaming at each other' More From Business Insider Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said ISIS is capable of attacking the U.S. using similar strategies as the group did in attacks on Paris and Brussels within the past six months. They do have that capacity, Clapper said in an interview with CNN, the network reported Wednesday. Thats something we worry about a lot in the United States, that they could conjure up a raid like they did in Paris or Brussels. ISIS claimed responsibility for November attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead and the March attacks on the Brussels subway and airport that killed more than 30 people and injured 300. In interviews with CNN, President Barack Obama and other national security advisers said the U.S. faces less of a threat than Europe, and they emphasized efforts to prevent such attacks. Clapper said ISIS would infiltrate people or incite people who are already here in an attack on the U.S. He used Decembers San Bernardino shooting, in which two people inspired by foreign terrorist groups killed 14 people, as an example of how such an attack could occur. [CNN] MANILA (Reuters) - A tough-talking mayor running for the presidency of the Philippines has kept his double-digit lead five days before elections, despite allegations he had undeclared millions of pesos in a bank, the latest opinion poll has showed. Rodrigo Duterte was the number one choice among 33 percent of Filipinos in the Pulse Asia survey done on April 26-29, the same numbers from a similar survey among 4,000 respondents a week earlier, the poll released late on Tuesday showed. Manuel Roxas, President Benigno Aquino's hand-picked successor, moved up a spot into second place for the first time since June 2015 after rising 2 points to 22 percent support. Senator Grace Poe, the adopted daughter of movie stars, fell back to third after dropping a point to 21 percent. Vice President Jejomar Binay was in fourth place with 17 percent after losing a point, while support for Senator Miriam Santiago was unchanged at 2 percent. "The survey did not reflect significant changes," Pulse Asia president Professor Ronald Holmes said. Political analysts said Duterte had struck a chord with most Filipinos who were frustrated and disappointed with the government's inability to address mass transport and traffic problems in the capital, Manila. His strong anti-crime platform also resonated among voters across all economic classes and in all geographical regions. However, Holmes noted a dip in Duterte's support in Manila over allegations he had not declared 211 million pesos ($4.5 million) in his bank account. The allegations about the undeclared money were made last week by Senator Antonio Trillanes, a candidate for vice president. Peter Lavina, a spokesman for Duterte, said the allegations were "nothing but a publicity stunt". The poll follows a tricky week for Duterte, who has also been trying to manage the fallout from controversial remarks he made at a campaign rally about an Australian missionary murdered and raped during a 1989 prison riot. About 54 million Filipinos, including overseas workers, are eligible to vote in Monday's elections. ($1 = 46.9700 Philippine pesos) (Reporting By Manuel Mogato; Editing by Paul Tait) Geraldine Roman blows kisses to curious crowds and serenades them with a love song as she proudly campaigns to be the first transgender lawmaker in the mainly Catholic Philippines. The 49-year-old member of a powerful political family has a strong chance to win a seat in the nation's lower house in Monday's elections, in what would be a remarkable breakthrough for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Conservative church dogma is a dominant force in Philippine politics: divorce, abortion and same-sex marriage are illegal, while there are no openly gay politicians at the national level and an LGBT party has long struggled for influence. Roman has been mocked and abused on the campaign trail in recent weeks but, after living as a woman for more than two decades, she refuses to be cowed. "My life has not been a secret," Roman told AFP in a rare interview after a day of campaigning in Bataan, a rural province just north of Manila where her mother has served as congresswoman for nine years and the family holds immense political sway. "I grew up here. People know me. (Gender) only becomes an issue when you try to keep it a secret. It's nothing bad. I never hurt anyone in the process. I'm so happy so why should I be ashamed?" Roman said she grew up being teased by classmates but her late father, a powerful politician, taught her to be confident. She speaks three European languages, holds two master's degrees and worked in Spain as senior editor of the Spanish News Agency, before returning four years ago to care for her ailing father. Roman underwent sex realignment surgery, and legally changed her name and gender, in the 1990s. She has been involved in a relationship with a man for the past 18 years - Equality battle - Roman hopes winning on Monday will help in the fight for gender equality. "My loyalty is to the first district of Bataan," she said. "But that somebody of my condition is going to enter Congress for the first time is a statement that even transgender people can serve our country and should not be discriminated against." Story continues It will be a long battle. On the most basic front, a law was passed in 2001 making it impossible for transgender Filipinos to change their name and sex. In 2010, the election commission also barred the Ang Ladlad party, which represents the LGBT community, from contesting the polls, accusing it of "immorality which offends religious beliefs". The Supreme Court overturned the commission's ruling, but Ang Ladlad failed to win a seat in Congress in the past two elections. Roman belongs to current President Benigno Aquino's ruling Liberal Party. Roman said, if elected, she intended to back an anti-discrimination bill that has been languishing for 16 years that would give the LGBT community rights, such as equal treatment in the workplace, hotels and schools. She will also campaign to make changing gender legal. "I am living proof that such a law will allow transgender people to pursue happiness and become productive citizens," she said. - Family legacy - Still, the soft-spoken and refined candidate emphasised she did not want to make gender the centrepiece of her political career. Roman outlined her plans for the people of Bataan if elected as their congresswoman, including continuing the medical assistance and scholarships her family has been providing for three generations. Her socio-economic platform also includes providing modern equipment for public hospitals and expanding Bataan's road network. Roman is widely expected to win on Monday, largely on the back of her family's entrenched power in the province. She is running for Congress to continue her family's rule, because her mother has to stand down after serving the maximum of three terms. On the streets of Orani, a small city where Roman lives and she was campaigning on the weekend, farmer Bern Salenga said he would vote for her because she promises to follow her parents' tradition of helping the poor. "She is also a human being. We all have rights. It's not an issue to me that she is transgender," Salenga, 49, told AFP. - Powerful voice - The LGBT community is under no illusion that Roman's expected success next week is because of her family -- such dynasties dominate Philippine politics from the local to the national level. However Roman is also being seen as a powerful voice for a group that has long been marginalised and struggled to have its concerns addressed by national lawmakers. "Even if she's just one, she will create noise," Anastacio Marasigan, spokesperson of the Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network, told AFP. "That will help us in mainstreaming or highlighting issues often ignored, like HIV and sexual violence." Roman, a Catholic, has a simple message for critics who believe she does not belong in politics: "If Jesus Christ was alive today, he would not approve of discrimination. I firmly believe that." By Malathi Nayak NEW YORK (Reuters) - Tribune Publishing Co (TPUB.N) said on Wednesday its board unanimously rejected Gannett Co Inc's (GCI.N) unsolicited takeover offer and will proceed instead with a strategic plan to revive its print business and tap growth in digital content. Tribune shares fell by more than 4 percent after closing at $11.02 and Gannett's stock dropped about 13 percent after closing at $16.27, in after-market trading. Last month, Gannett, the owner of USA Today, made a takeover bid for Tribune at $12.25 per share in cash, in a deal worth roughly $815 million.. Tribune owns the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune newspapers, as well as metro dailies like the Orlando Sentinel. In a letter on Wednesday, Tribune told Gannett's management that its board had reviewed the bid and decided that "the price reflected in the proposal understates the company's true value and is not in the best interests of our shareholders." It does not warrant "further discussion," the company said in a statement. Tribune's rejection of Gannett's proposal, comes as the newspaper industry tackles declining circulation, high costs, shrinking advertising dollars and a broad shift towards digital content, leaving publishers rushing to consolidate or find new avenues of growth. Gannett, in response, said in a statement on Wednesday it was committed to pursuing a deal and "intends to solicit withhold votes in order to advance shareholders." In a statement on Monday, Gannett Chief Executive Robert Dickey urged Tribune shareholders to withhold their votes for board nominees during Tribune's June 2 annual meeting and send a "clear message" to Tribune's board to engage seriously. Gannett has been on a mission to buy rivals to create a more efficient company by expanding its footprint into more cities. "Gannett is best positioned to advance Tribune's publications and journalism as Gannett's strategy to grow the USA TODAY NETWORK would seamlessly extend to Tribune," Dickey said in Gannett's statement. Story continues Tribune Publishing said its board believes that its new plan, which includes driving revenue from content brands, growing the Los Angeles Times as a global brand and embracing a digital strategy will "generate shareholder value in excess of Gannett's opportunistic proposal." Gannett's claims that its offer was not taken seriously by Tribune are "misleading," Tribune Chief Executive Justin Dearborn said on an earnings call with analysts on Wednesday. Gannett said in its statement that Tribune's board continues to deny it access to due diligence that could help to improve its offer. (Reporting by Malathi Nayak; Editing by Leslie Adler and Sandra Maler) Tripoli (AFP) - Weaving between tables at a seaside restaurant in Libya's capital bearing freshly baked rosemary bread, Abdelmuttaleb Twigiri shuttles between the wood-fired oven and his customers in a blur of hospitality. It's the opening night of his brainchild Toucan, a Mediterranean "fusion" eatery that Twigiri hopes will give residents of once-bustling Tripoli a rare taste of normality amid political chaos. "If I think of a government that could provide everything I need, I'd risk waiting a very long time," the 46-year-old tells AFP. "It's only thanks to the people that life goes on." The North African nation has been mired in unrest since the 2011 NATO-backed ouster of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, with militants fighting for power and a piece of Libya's vast oil reserves. A militia alliance swept into the capital in August 2014, setting up its own parliament and forcing the internationally recognised administration to flee to the remote east. Although a new, UN-backed unity government has gradually asserted its authority in the capital, Tripoli residents have grown used to fending for themselves. It is in keeping with Tripolitans' do-it-yourself spirit that Twigiri created Toucan. "There are enough people in distress," he says. "But now we want to live." His establishment is one of several cafes and restaurants to spring up in the past three months along a 15-kilometre (nine-mile) stretch of road linking several neighbourhoods in western Tripoli. They are braving an economic crisis marked by a dramatic cut in oil revenues, spiralling living costs, late wages and a recent liquidity shortage. Entrepreneurs hope the unity government can calm some of the chaos befalling Libya, particularly security in a country that is increasingly a haven for extremists including the Islamic State group. "Once people feel safe, they invest," explains Abdelqader al-Kanuni, president of a local charitable fund. Story continues Tripoli remains dogged by sporadic violence but even a near-total breakdown of daily routine has failed to sap one passion all of its residents agree on: a love of coffee. Libyans drink the stuff "morning, noon and night," according to Mohamad Aguili, who two months ago opened his Harley Davidson Cafe on Tripoli's western fringe. - 'You need courage' - Coffee is often imported from former colonial power Italy along with clean, modern machines with which to make it. In straitened times such as these, import costs could impair Libyans' coffee intake, but Aguili says there are still cafes to suit every pocket. Nevertheless, he is fully aware of the economic and security risks involved in the business. "You need to have courage," he says in his coffee shop, which each afternoon is flanked by several chrome motorcycles that give the spot its name. "You have to throw yourself out there. Then it's make or break." In the family section of Cafe Veranda, a renowned patisserie which despite the odds has maintained its reputation after its Italian chef fled in 2011, immaculately manicured cousins Hind, Mira and Lamaan struggle to make themselves heard above the hubbub. "Pastimes are limited" in Tripoli, says Mira, a 23-year-old pharmacy student. "There are cafes, hours spent on Facebook, or both at the same time." Hind, 25, says the capital's cafes and restaurants are a good way of giving them "the feeling" of a social life. "If they are open then everything is fine. Even during bombings or economic crises, people will always drink coffee." For Twigiri, whose restaurant looks out over date palms planted to replace a wall built by Gadhafi's sons to block access to the beach, Tripoli's cafe culture is a symbol of a people unbowed by turmoil. "Tripolitans bend -- they don't break," he says. By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday urged people in the United States to take a rational and objective view of the relationship between the two countries, after Republican front-runner Donald Trump became the party's presumptive presidential nominee. Trump has proposed that tariffs on imported Chinese goods be increased to up to 45 percent and asserted that China had waged "economic war" against the United States, taking American jobs. On Sunday, he compared the U.S. trade deficit with China to rape. China is the United States' largest trading partner. Asked whether China was worried at the prospect of a Trump presidency, after his commanding win in Indiana and as top rival Ted Cruz bowed out of the race, Foreign Ministry spokesman said the election was as internal affair he could not comment on. "What needs to be pointed out is that the essence of Sino-US trade and business cooperation is mutually beneficial and win-win, and accords with the interests of both sides," Hong told a daily news briefing. "We hope people in all fields can rationally and objectively view this relationship," he added, without elaborating. Chinese officials have generally avoided criticizing Trump directly, though they have made indirect criticism of his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States and indirectly rebuffed his assertion that China is stealing U.S. jobs. However, last month Finance Minister Lou Jiwei criticized Trump, calling him "an irrational type" due to his tariffs proposal on imported Chinese goods. The United States reported a $366-billion trade deficit with China in 2015, up from $343 billion in 2014 - the largest U.S. trade imbalance with any nation. China's tightly controlled state media has largely stuck to reporting the facts about Trump, with some notable exceptions. In March, influential tabloid the Global Times accused Trump of being a racist, warning that other extremists, such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, had both been voted into power. Reacting to Trump's triumph on Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency noted he could beat likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton if he toned down his "explosive rhetoric". "Despite being a celebrity outside the United States, Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state, simply neither excites nor galvanizes her base," it said in an English-language piece. In a separate report, Xinhua said Trump "gets them wrong, from trade balance to basic economics", citing Western media and academics dismissing his criticisms of trade with China. "Trump attacks China to woo voters," it said. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Robert Birsel) Donald Trump Coming off a huge win that all but guaranteed Donald Trump the Republican Party's nomination for president, the real-estate mogul tweeted early on Wednesday in defense of one of his Democratic rivals. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders scored a surprising win in the Indiana Democratic primary on Tuesday, but he's still unlikely to beat his rival, Hillary Clinton, for the Democratic nomination. Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, still maintains a substantial lead in popular votes, pledged delegates, and superdelegates. Trump, meanwhile, beat out his rivals in the Indiana Republican primary, prompting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to drop out of the race. Ohio Gov. John Kasich remains, but he has no chance of winning the required number of delegates to secure him the nomination through state contests. That means it's almost certain that Trump will face Clinton in the general election this fall. He's now taking aim at Clinton, whom he has nicknamed "Crooked Hillary," while defending Sanders. "What a great evening we had. So interesting that Sanders beat Crooked Hillary," Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning, using his preferred moniker for Clinton. "The dysfunctional system is totally rigged against him!" He continued in a subsequent tweet: "I would rather run against Crooked Hillary Clinton than Bernie Sanders and that will happen because the books are cooked against Bernie!" Trump has ridden a wave of populist support to the Republican nomination, and Sanders has been pushing a similar message in focusing on a system that he says benefits society's billionaires at the expense of the middle class. NOW WATCH: Its eerie how this ad from 1964 perfectly captures the anxieties of defeated #NeverTrump Republicans More From Business Insider When you think of Indiana, said Brian Williams on MSNBC Tuesday night, you think of auto racing, of David Letterman and now this is one more thing theyve exported to the world: complete chaos in the Republican Party. This was one of the more vivid turns of phrase deployed on TV news as its anchors grappled with the decisive Donald Trump primary win in Indiana followed by the exit of Ted Cruz from the race. Over on Fox News, Bill OReilly, who as hell tell you, called Indiana for Trump three weeks ago, said Tuesday night that Trump is going forward toward the Presidency with this new cabal to vote for him, a cabal of independents and populists and not-necessarily-conservatives. Jake Tapper, who frequently pulls out nicely unexpected cultural references in these live-news situations, compared Trumps victory speech to the kind of chatting the comedian Mort Sahl used to do, bringing a newspaper onstage and talking about the days headlines, which was a very charitable thing to say of Trump, whose speech contained sentences such as We won with Evangelicals, there is no greater honor, were going to be saying Merry Christmas again. Related: Donald Trumps Presidential Training Ground? The WWE. The day started out just as peculiarly. As the hosts of Fox and Friends sat staring at the camera looking even more stunned than usual, Trump phoned in to bash Cruz by aligning the candidates father with, and I quote: Lee Harvey Oswald prior to [Kennedys] being you know, shot. I mean, the whole thing is ridiculous. What is this, right prior to his being shot, and nobody even brings it up? What was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting? Its horrible. Cruz, for his part, called Trump utterly amoral a serial philanderer Donald Trump alleges that my dad was involved in assassinating JFK. This is nuts. This is not a reasonable position. This is just kooky. And while Im at it, I guess I should go ahead and admit: Yes, my dad killed JFK; he is secretly Elvis, and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his backyard. Cruzs mini-meltdown probably only hastened his decision to get out before things got any crazier. And by the time Trump gave his victory speech, hed come around to congratulating Cruz for being one hell of a competitor a tough, smart guy. Soon after, Trump waved goodbye and ascended to the loftiest perch in Trump Tower, while below, TV news correspondents tried to speak to the in-studio anchors, but their words were drowned out by a cranked-up recording of the Rolling Stones Start Me Up. Mick Jagger is correct: for Trump, his partys presumptive nominee, its just starting up. Washington (AFP) - Billionaire Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to unify the fractured Republican Party following a bruising primary season, as he declared the battle for the White House starts now against likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump's path to the GOP presidential nomination is clear after his command victory in Indiana's primary Tuesday pushed remaining challengers Ted Cruz and then Ohio Governor John Kasich out of the race. Their capitulations brought the curtain down on one of the most contentious and chaotic nomination battles in generations, one in which Trump pummelled no fewer than 16 rivals into submission. "Now we'll unify the party. We're going to get people together," Trump, 69, told Fox News. "I think we'll beat Hillary Clinton." But with unfavorability ratings among the highest of any modern presidential candidate, and concern within his own party about his temperament, the real estate mogul swiftly sought to assuage concerns about how he would govern. "I know people aren't sure right now what a President Trump will be like," he told The New York Times. "But things will be fine. I'm not running for president to make things unstable for the country." - 'They loved me' - Trump also began discussing the idea of his possible running mate, telling ABC News he wanted "a person with political experience" to compliment his own business acumen. Names being tossed around included Senator Rob Portman of critical swing state Ohio, and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who as the daughter of Indian immigrants could strengthen Trump's appeal with minorities. Trump himself said he could consider Kasich, a former congressman who helped balance the federal budget, as his vice presidential pick. Kasich rarely followed rivals like Trump into the mud, aiming to stay above the fray and offer Americans optimism instead of insults and negativity. Story continues In bowing out Wednesday, he grew wistful about the thousands of Americans he met on the campaign trail. "They loved me, they encouraged me. The people of our country changed me... with stories of their lives," he said. Just as Trump seized the GOP mantle, a new CNN poll emerged that highlighted the formidable challenge facing him. It found Clinton, hoping at 68 to become America's first female commander-in-chief, leading the tycoon 54 percent to 41 percent -- her largest lead since July. The former secretary of state however suffered a shock loss in Indiana to her challenger Bernie Sanders, who has pledged to remain in the race until the end despite an extremely steep hill to climb. Clinton has amassed 2,217 delegates -- just shy of the 2,383 needed to secure the nomination, according to a CNN tally. Sanders is at 1,443. - 'Loose cannon' - With the matchup essentially set, several prominent Republicans were refusing to support Trump in November despite his status as the presumptive nominee. Those refusals highlight the continued tensions within the GOP, which has been at a loss to describe the stunning ascent of a brash billionaire who was given no chance of winning when he launched his campaign last June. "If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed... and we will deserve it," tweeted Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump rival whose campaign fizzled. Like Trump, Clinton was already pivoting to the general election. "He is a loose cannon, and loose cannons tend to misfire," she said on CNN. "He makes these grand statements and grand accusations. At some point when you're running for president you actually have to put a little meat on the bones," she said. "You've got to tell people what it is you're going to do." Trump, who has never held elective office, expressed surprise that he became a party standard-bearer before Clinton. "She can't put it away," Trump taunted. - Voters 'chose another path' - Tuesday's contest in Indiana was the final firewall thrown up by Republican heavyweights to keep the brash, name-calling Trump from locking up the nomination. But as the race was called overwhelmingly in Trump's favor, Cruz conceded to supporters in Indianapolis that he no longer had a viable way forward. "We gave it everything we've got, but the voters chose another path," Cruz said. It was a stunning denouement for the 45-year-old arch-conservative Texas senator, who had insisted he would press on to the final day of the Republican race. Having amassed 1,053 delegates, Trump was already close to reaching the magic number needed to avoid a contested party convention in July. With Cruz and Kasich out, the nomination is a foregone conclusion. "I believe Donald Trump will ultimately get chosen," Republican National Committee chief Reince Priebus said, in an extraordinary embrace of a candidate the establishment had fought tooth and nail to stop. "We need to get behind the Republican nominee." Fresh off an Indiana primary win that cemented him as the likely Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump says hes leaning toward a politician for his vice presidential running mate and will make a decision on fundraising for the general election in the next week. I have the business lets call it talents, Trump said on MSNBCs Morning Joe on Wednesday. And I think Ill probably go the political route, somebody that can help me with legislation and somebody that can help me get things passed and somebody thats been friends with the senators and the congressman and all, so we dont have to go the executive order route as much as Obama did, you know, where he cant get anything approved so he just keeps signing executive orders. The real estate mogul said it was too early to discuss specific names publicly. But Trump did say at least one military general is on his shortlist. Its something I thought of, and theres one person I think is very good, he said. Look, my strength is going to be the economy and jobs and bringing jobs back and trade deals. Were going to make great trade deals. Were going to reverse it, because right now were a laughingstock all over the world with the dumb deals we make. But I think one of my strengths is going one of my really great strengths will be the military, will be getting us out and winning and getting us out of the mess were in, in the Middle East. Trump victorious at Trump Tower in Manhattan on Wednesday. (Photo: Lucas Jackson/Reuters) Looking ahead to the cost of running a general election campaign which some estimate could be $1 billion or more Trump said he will decide fairly soon whether to accept money from super-PACs. I do love self-funding. I dont want anything for myself, but we do need money for the party, Trump said. And I will make a decision fairly soon as to that. I mean, do I want to sell a couple of buildings and self-fund? I dont know that I want to do that necessarily, but I really wont be asking for money for myself. Ill be asking money for the party. And really, its something that were going to start on right away. I got a call last night from [Republican National Committee Chairman] Reince Priebus. And its something that, now that were in this position, were going to start on right now and start focusing on. Story continues Following Ted Cruzs announcement that he was suspending his campaign, Priebus declared Trump would be the presumptive nominee and called on members of the GOP to fall in line. Its time to unite. Its time to come together, Priebus said on CNNs New Day on Wednesday. You may recall, I said wed have more clarity in our party than the Democrats do. And look where theyre at. Priebus pointed out that Hillary Clinton who lost to Bernie Sanders in Tuesdays Democratic primary in Indiana is spending money on primaries when she should be having to spend money on ground game in battleground states. Trump said the ongoing investigation into Clintons use of a private email server as secretary of state should disqualify her candidacy. Shes only being protected by the Democrats, he said. She should not be allowed to run in the election. Ted Cruz suspends his election campaign on Tuesday night in Indianapolis; a worker clears the stage. (Photo: Michael Conroy/AP) Both Trump and Priebus say they were surprised that Cruz decided to drop out of the race. I was surprised, Priebus said. And thats hard thing to do. I mean, he ran a very, very serious operation, just an incredible ground game. His delegate operation was unbelievable. I did not expect it, Trump said on NBCs Today show Wednesday. I started hearing rumors in the afternoon. But in the end, look, he was a very tough competitor. He fought very hard. And it was a tough decision for him to make, [but] I think he did the right thing for himself and for the party. But it was a little but of a surprise to me. Trump said he hasnt yet talked to the Texas senator, but that he would welcome his endorsement. It would be nice, Trump said. As for some of his other former GOP rivals, Trump isnt looking for their support. Ive been saying for a long time that theres some people that I almost dont want their endorsement, Trump said on MSNBC. I really dont, because it was too rough and they were too nasty. And I dont think its going to matter, frankly. Donald Trumps former presidential primary rivals reacted in very different ways after he cemented his status as the likely Republican presidential nominee on Tuesday night. Trump emerged as the partys probable standard bearer after a win in the Indiana primary that boosted his delegate total and led his final strong opponent, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to suspend his campaign. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who had run against Trump earlier in the year, blasted him on Twitter and predicted Trumps victory would get the party destroyed in the general election. And we will deserve it, Graham wrote. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is still running for president, issued multiple statements after Trumps win. Kasich has no chance of winning enough delegates to secure the GOP nomination on the first ballot at the partys convention. However, in one statement, his campaign said he still hopes there will be a contested convention where he could be selected by Republican delegates. Tonights results are not going to alter Gov. Kasichs campaign plans. Our strategy has been and continues to be one that involves winning the nomination at an open convention. The comments from Trump, on the verge of winning in Indiana, heighten the differences between Governor Kasich and his positive, inclusive approach and the disrespectful ramblings from Donald Trump, the statement said. Kasich also sent a pair of tweets. In one he praised Cruz, and in the other he said now more than ever the party has two paths going forward. Former neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who endorsed Trump after abandoning his own presidential bid, discussed the results in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News. Carson said Trumps win showed voters do not want a brokered convention. The people themselves have just gotten disgusted with being manipulated and controlled. And what they recognize is that, if they just listened to what the pundits were saying and what everybody else was saying, that we were going to end up with a brokered convention something that they didnt want, Carson said. So they superseded the narrative and they themselves said, Were going to take this out of the hands of the convention. And I think that was a brilliant thing. Story continues Carson also declared that the evenings results proved this is the year of the outsider. Slideshow: Indiana primaries Sanders, Trump win and Cruz drops out >>> Look whats happened when we sent insiders and they just keep doing the same thing over and over be they Republicans, be they Democrats, it doesnt matter and the people are absolutely tired of that, said Carson. But more importantly, they recognize that were on the precipice. If we go over, continuing down the same pathway, we have doomed our children and our grandchildren, and I think the people know that. Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who suspended his campaign last November, also talked about Trumps win with Hannity. Jindal referenced Republicans who have vowed not to support Trump. Jindal said refusing to back Trump would help Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. I know a lot of my friends are in the never Trump camp, and I understand that. Look, I was very critical of Donald Trump, but we need to be honest with ourselves. Today we have got two choices, it is either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, Jindal said. I think anybody that says they cannot support Donald Trump needs to understand one of the consequences is that will make it easier for Hillary Clinton to win, and I dont think that we can accept that as a country. Jindal said hes not entirely sold on Trump. However, he argued that Trump is far more likely to help conservatives achieve goals like repealing Obamacare and getting Supreme Court nominees who share their values. It would be, you know, false for me to simply sit here and say, all of a sudden, I think that overnight he has become this great conservative or that I take back everything Ive said about him, Jindal said of Trump. Im still critical of him, but I think hes better than Hillary Clinton. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who left the White House race in February, addressed Trumps win in a speech at the Reagan Ranch in California. The theme of Pauls speech was moving beyond partisan politics to unite America. In it, he argued that the GOP needs to reach out to constituencies that dont normally support it. He said Trump should take this approach. If I were to give advice to Donald Trump, he needs to go to the Urban League, he needs to go to the NAACP, he needs to speak to groups. Hes got Republican vote, he needs to go out and grab new vote, Paul said. He has excited new people, I just dont know if its new people enough in these swing states for us to win. He does have to do that and our party needs to do it, but I think the nominee becomes more the face of the party than the [Republican National Committee] chairman is. When Paul took questions from the audience after his speech, a man asked what he would say to people who are considering alternative options and potentially third parties to avoid supporting Trump. Paul said he would encourage voters to look for solutions within the Republican Party. I was always a fan of Barry Goldwater. He didnt do very well, and then Ronald Reagan sort of rose up out of those ashes. So you dont know what happens, and Im not saying that thats whats going to happen, but I am saying that the party goes on, Paul said. Were a party of ideas and principles. My decision has always been to work through the party and not outside the party. Im a Republican. Were not all the same, but Im a Republican. You know? So I dont go around advising people to choose another way. Paul also argued that Clinton, the likely Democratic frontrunner, will be easy to beat. I think the future is within the party. Well see what happens this go-around and, you know The nomination I think is now done, but well see what happens as we move forward and, you know, how the race shapes up. I mean, on the bright side, we are running against a crook, Paul said. The audience laughed and applauded Pauls remark. Were not recording this, are we? he quipped. Paul cited a book detailing allegations of corrupt business deals by Clinton and her husband, President Bill Clinton, as evidence of this. He also said Clinton did not provide adequate security in Benghazi when she was secretary of state and four people were killed in a 2012 terrorist attack on a U.S. diplomatic facility in that Libyan city. They are crooked from top to bottom, and theyre out for themselves, Paul said of the Clintons. They think theyre above the law, and they should be easy to beat. We need to talk about that. In advance of President Barack Obama's visit to Flint, Michigan, on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Gov. Rick Snyder emailed the Huffington Post this message: "We are hopeful the president will drink the water in Flint, to help reinforce Gov. Snyder's actions and the EPA's message that filtered Flint water is safe to drink." You mean the same governor whose administration told Flint residents to keep drinking local tap water for months after it was shown to contain dangerous levels of lead, now wants the president to trust him that filtered water in the city is OK to drink? Let's think about it for a minute. Source: Giphy We'll be honest, Snyder you've had better ideas. The Flint water crisis has been a problem for more than a year now. Snyder's request comes in the wake of one of the worst public health crises in recent memory. In January 2015, months after Flint started drawing its tap water from the hypercorrosive Flint River, local and state authorities admitted the water contained such high levels of lead it was unsafe for human use. Turns out the river water was eating away at the city's 100-year-old pipe system, causing lead from the pipes to be released into the water supply and funneled straight into people's homes. Here are some horrifying images residents, researchers and reporters have shared of Flint's tap water over the past year and a half: A photo posted by T-e-m-e-k-i, Bodiqua (@orangesunrise1) on Jan 15, 2016 at 8:03am PST A photo posted by ryangarza (@ryangarza) on Jan 14, 2016 at 2:36pm PST Natl. Guard assists Michigan with toxic water crisis http://cnn.it/1P1HeVo - @sganim reports on #FlintWaterCrisispic.twitter.com/4opBJZRwAU https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYonIzRWQAAH6jm.jpg:large The water's contamination was shocking news for some, but there had been reason to be cautious of the water for months: The local General Motors factory had already stopped using the water in its manufacturing because it was too corrosive. Story continues Meanwhile, Flint residents had been complaining about filthy brown stink-liquid oozing out of their taps instead of clean water for months, causing skin rashes, hair loss and possibly an outbreak of Legionnaire's disease, which has killed nine people and infected 87 in the area since early 2014, the Washington Post reported in February. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder. It took the government a really long time to admit the water was unsafe. Multiple lawsuits and congressional hearings after the fact, Flint residents still have a hard time trusting their elected representatives partly because many of them insisted the tap water was safe to use, even as studies and residents' personal experiences showed the opposite was true. Flint is no longer drawing water from the Flint River, thankfully, and filters have been installed in thousands of homes to clean the water with varying results. Meanwhile, faith in the region's leaders still hasn't been restored. When Snyder announced he would drink filtered Flint tap water for 30 days starting April 22 a show of solidarity intended to illustrate the water was now safe residents were still woefully unimpressed. "His whole family has to drink it," Elizabeth Taylor, a 73-year-old Flint resident, told the Detroit Free Press. "They have to cook with it and bathe with it. " President Obama travels to Flint Wednesday to see and hear about the water crisis up close. h/t Huffington Post Istanbul (AFP) - Turkey is ready to send ground troops into Syria if necessary, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday, after weeks of deadly rocket strikes on a Turkish region from jihadists across the border. "If it becomes necessary then we will send the ground forces," Davutoglu told Al-Jazeera television in an interview, when asked if Turkey was mulling sending troops to Syria. "We are ready to take all measures that we need, both inside Turkey and outside, to provide for our own security," he added, according to a transcript published on Al-Jazeera's Turkish website. The Turkish border region of Kilis -- which lies opposite areas controlled by Islamic State (IS) jihadists in Syria -- has been battered since January by rocket fire from the other side of the border which has claimed 20 lives. Turkey has hit back with artillery fire of its own against IS but has always stopped short of making any firm commitment to send its troops over the border. Drones from the US-led international coalition fighting IS have also taken off from Turkey's Incirlik base in the south of the country for bombing raids against IS targets. Asked if Turkey could act unilaterally against IS, Davutoglu said Turkey had a right to self-defence against IS based on UN resolutions. "But we still prefer an international consensus. As IS is an issue that concerns the whole world," he added. Turkey has in the past repeatedly said it is open to a ground operation in Syria but wanted to move in cooperation with its Western and Gulf allies. Turkey's NATO allies have sometimes lamented that Ankara could do more in the fight against IS but Turkey appears to have stepped up efforts in the last weeks after a string of attacks on its soil. In the latest violence, a car bomb Sunday blamed on an IS-affiliated militant killed at least two policemen and wounded 22 people in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, a major refugee hub near the Syrian border. ANKARA, May 4 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is to meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday, bringing forward by a day their usual weekly meeting, as tension between the two rises. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. (1500 GMT), the presidential office said on its website. Turkish shares suffered their biggest drop in more than five months on Tuesday as the tension added to emerging markets worries. A decision by Davutoglu's ruling AK Party to take away his authority to appoint provincial party officials was fuelling concern among investors. It is one of the clearest signs yet of tension between Erdogan, who wants an executive presidency in Turkey, and Davutoglu, who would be sidelined if the country's parliamentary system were to be replaced. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is to meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday, bringing forward by a day their usual weekly meeting, as tension between the two rises. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. (1500 GMT), the presidential office said on its website. Turkish shares suffered their biggest drop in more than five months on Tuesday as the tension added to emerging markets worries. A decision by Davutoglu's ruling AK Party to take away his authority to appoint provincial party officials was fuelling concern among investors. It is one of the clearest signs yet of tension between Erdogan, who wants an executive presidency in Turkey, and Davutoglu, who would be sidelined if the country's parliamentary system were to be replaced. (Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) By Ece Toksabay and Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - A bill proposed by Turkey's ruling party that would strip some parliamentarians of their immunity from prosecution is likely to create more violence and stifle democratic politics, the co-head of the pro-Kurdish opposition party said. Selahattin Demirtas, one of two leaders of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the third-largest party in parliament, also told Reuters that President Tayyip Erdogan's drive for an executive presidency was preventing the revival of a peace process between the government and Kurdish militants. A parliamentary committee this week approved a bill that strips immunity from deputies who have had legal cases opened against them, paving the way for legislation the HDP says is designed to target its members and suppress dissent. "Kicking us all out of the parliament will only invite more violence across the country," Demirtas said in an interview late on Tuesday. "There is already too much violence in the country. Blocking the parliament and ousting the HDP may get things out of hand, that's what we're concerned about." Turkish lawmakers are immune from prosecution but the authorities can file "dossiers" against them, leading to a legal process once they leave parliament. As many as 50 of the HDP's 59 sitting parliamentarians have had dossiers filed against them, some for charges related to spreading terror propaganda. Erdogan, who founded the ruling AK Party, has called for prosecution of HDP members, accusing them of being an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The HDP rejects the charge. The PKK, branded a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, wants autonomy for Turkey's 15 million Kurds. More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. 'BIGGEST OBSTACLE' Erdogan, who spearheaded a peace process between the state and the PKK that collapsed last year, has ruled out any return to negotiations and has vowed to crush the PKK. Thousands of people, including hundreds of civilians, have been killed in the renewed violence since the ceasefire ended last summer. "Erdogan is the biggest obstacle for the peace process to continue. But he will not rule this country forever. I am absolutely sure the process will be revived," Demirtas said. Under Demirtas, 43, an articulate lawyer, the HDP last year became the first Kurdish-rooted party to win enough votes to pass a 10 percent threshold required to enter parliament, helped by support from left-wing, secular Turks. Demirtas said he saw the immunity bill as an attempt by Erdogan to bolster support in parliament for the strong executive presidency he has long sought. The president currently has limited powers in Turkey's parliamentary system. "Erdogan's agenda used to be more secret. Now it's all out in the open, he's in a position to do all kinds of madness." But he said the HDP's voter base would still have options even if the Kurdish parliamentarians were ousted. "It's a perfectly legitimate and democratic right for the people to determine their own futures and form their own parliaments," he said, without elaborating. (Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by David Dolan and Gareth Jones) DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey's military returned fire into an Islamic State-controlled region of Syria after two rockets hit the Turkish border town of Kilis on Wednesday, security sources said. Nobody was wounded in the morning attack on the town as the rockets hit empty land, the sources said. Kilis, just across the border from an area of northern Syria controlled by the militants, has been regularly hit by rocket fire. (Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan; Writing by Seda Sezer; Editing by Daren Butler) By Orhan Coskun and Nick Tattersall ANKARA/ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's drive to tighten his grip on power has triggered an open rift with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, raising questions about the premier's future and troubling allies dependent on the NATO member's stability. The political uncertainty comes as Europe looks increasingly to Turkey for help in curbing a migration crisis and as Washington draws on Ankara's support in fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. At home, Turkey itself faces attacks by Kurdish militants and spillover of Syian violence. The feud encompassing issues from relations with Europe to the detention of government critics has already hit investor sentiment, with the stock market weakening further on Wednesday after booking its biggest drop in more than five months the previous day. "Erdogan may be able to continue with Davutoglu but it is clear that there is currently a fracture. If the matter is not resolved quickly, Erdogan could take the path of choosing a new leader," one source close to the presidency told Reuters. "The AKP's stability means Turkey's stability, and this problem needs to be solved urgently to avoid economic and political problems." A spokesman for Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics since the AK Party he founded was elected in 2002, declined to comment on what he said was speculation about the future leadership of the party. The relationship between the two has long been uneasy, shaped by personality as well as politics. Erdogan, a political fighter hardened by a childhood in Istanbul's rough Kasimpasa district, wants a robust presidential system as a guarantee against the fractious coalition politics that hampered Turkey in the 1990s. His opponents see a stronger presidency as a vehicle for his own ambition. Such a system would see Davutoglu, a more mild-mannered academic and former diplomat lacking Erdogan's natural appeal to crowds, sidelined. The two have governed in a strained alliance since Erdogan won the presidency in 2014 and Davutoglu replaced him as prime minister. Aides to Davutoglu have so far largely dismissed tensions, arising often from overlapping competences, as matters of style rather than substance. But in the clearest sign yet of a power struggle, authority to appoint provincial AKP officials was taken from Davutoglu this week. The move reduces Davutoglu's hold over the party grass roots and cements Erdogan's influence. In an emotional and uncharacteristically short speech to AKP deputies on Tuesday, Davutoglu said he would rather leave any position than damage the AKP. But he cast suggestions on social media that he was in a battle with Erdogan as the work of "charlatans". "The millions who put their hope in the AK Party should not worry," he said. Secularist opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet cast the speech as a signal he may resign. Pro-government columnist Abdulkadir Selvi wrote in the mainstream Hurriyet newspaper that Davutoglu had told AKP officials he was considering stepping down. Erdogan will meet Davutoglu on Wednesday evening, bringing their usual weekly talk forward by a day. Three senior AKP officials told Reuters the meeting would be crucial for the party and for Davutoglu but they did not expect a resignation. "I would not be surprised if (Erdogan) decided to go on with Davutoglu at least for a little longer and freeze the crisis. But the issue of chairmanship of the party is going to be the main topic," one official told Reuters. "FUNDAMENTAL DILEMMA" The two leaders have appeared at odds over a landmark deal with the European Union to stem the flow of illegal migrants from Turkish shores to the Greek islands, in return for which Ankara has been promised accelerated EU accession talks, visa liberalization and financial aid. "You can feel a very strong tension between Davutoglu and Erdogan. It will get worse," said a senior European politician who has worked with both men for many years. The deal has been Davutoglu's project. Erdogan, frequently critical of the EU, has at times appeared to belittle his progress, most notably efforts to win visa-free travel to Europe by June, the main prize in the eyes of many Turks. "During my time as prime minister it was announced (this) would come in October 2016," Erdogan said recently. "I don't understand why bringing it forward four months is presented as a win. I'm saddened by the presentation of small things in a bigger light." Aides to the two leaders deny they differ on Europe. But European officials, wary of Erdogan's authoritarian style, see Davutoglu as their main partner and his departure could strain relations. "Davutoglu seems to be really interested in joining the EU. He believes this is in Turkeys security interests. We dont believe Erdogan is as passionate about this," a senior EU official told Reuters. Ruptures are also evident on questions of human rights, a key area of concern for EU leaders. Erdogan has spoken in favor of the jailing, ahead of their trial, of academics and journalists on charges of supporting terrorist groups. Davutoglu is opposed to such pre-trial detention. Four Turkish academics were arrested in March, accused of spreading terrorist propaganda, after publicly reading a declaration urging an end to military operations in the largely Kurdish southeast. They have since been released pending trial. Prominent journalists have been held on similar charges, in what rights groups say is a bid to silence dissent. But such differences are symptoms of what former diplomat and political commentator Sinan Ulgen called a "fundamental dilemma" facing the two. "Erdogan's end goal is to consolidate enough popular support to switch to a presidential system. Davutoglu's end goal is to consolidate his own power and be a successful prime minister," said Ulgen, head of the EDAM think-tank in Istanbul. "The experience so far has been that when people who seemingly had weight in the AKP showed even a soft form of dissent, Erdogan was able to sideline them without significant consequences for the popularity of the party. "There is no reason to think that would be different in relation to Davutoglu." (Additional reporting by Ercan Gurses in Ankara and Asli Kandemir in Istanbul; Writing by Nick Tattersall; editing by Ralph Boulton) A TV host's quick thinking avoided an on-air disaster. Victoria Derbyshire, host of The Victoria Derbyshire Show on BBC News, was interviewing little Kai and his mom about school tests on Tuesday when the boy suddenly began to squirm. Read: Bank Robber Runs Past Live TV Report After Returning To Hold Up The Place Again "You alright, Kai?" Derbyshire asked the boy. "Whats the matter, darling? Do you need the loo?" After he told her he felt warm, she helped him to his feet and whisked him away to the restroom. "Yes, it's boiling in here. Right, let's go to the loo, come on," she told him. Read: Pregnant CNN Anchor Faints on Live TV: 'I Got a Little Hot and Passed Out for a Moment' Before she disappeared, she told her other guests: "Can you just carry on talking among yourselves?" Twitter commended Derbyshire for helping Kai. "Loved your response to the little boy feeling too warm on your show this morning. So kind to put him first!" one viewer wrote. Watch: Reporter is Almost Hit By A Car Live On TV Related Articles: By Alexandria Sage SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Two top manufacturing executives are leaving Tesla Motors IncMonique Ching/Standard-Times Ralph "Fil" Filburn, a pilot with the West Texas Weather Modification Association, fires off a glaciogenic flare from the wing of a Piper Comanche plane. Typically, during cloud seeding, two flares are fired off at the same time. Shot/Archived: 09.26.2013
SHARE Monique Ching/Standard-Times Four Piper Comanche planes are equipped with wing racks full of flares for cloud seeding operations by the West Texas Weather Modification Association. Flares are fired off into the base of a convective thunderstorm to enhance precipitation. Shot/Archived: 09.26.2014 Monique Ching/Standard-Times Pilots can control exactly which flares the fire off into a convective cloud from inside the cockpit. Typically, the West Texas Weather Modification Association will have about 44 cloud seeding days in a year. Shot/Archived: 09.26.2014 Monique Ching/Standard-Times Two pilots typically sit in the cockpit of the Lear Jet, normally accompanied by two or three other scientists in the back to monitor all the instruments attached to the plane. Shot/Archived: 09.26.2014 Monique Ching/Standard-Times A probe on the right wing of the Lear Jet measures air motion, cloud turbulence and air updrafts. The jet was equipped by scientists to study the contents and properties of clouds. Improved understanding could help weather modification operations. Shot/Archived: 09.26.2014 Project may make seeding more efficient By Monique Ching Finding out what West Texas clouds are made of and how they behave could be one of many ways to mitigate the regions water woes. Aquifer recharge is probably one of our biggest benefits, said Jonathan Jennings, project meteorologist at the West Texas Weather Modification Association at Mathis Field Airport in South San Angelo. Pilots have been seeding clouds around San Angelo and area counties since the 1970s, Jennings said, but the association is hoping to get a better understanding of what is in West Texas clouds so it can enhance seeding and other weather modification operations. The purpose of the work we do ... is we try to understand how clouds precipitate, how much rain gets to the ground, said Roelof Bruintjes, project scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Bruintjes, along with a group of scientists and pilots from Stratton Park Engineering Co. Inc. made a stop in San Angelo on Friday afternoon to conduct a trial run for research relating to the physical nature of convective clouds in West Texas. SEEDS OF RAIN Cloud seeding is a form of weather modification designed to affect the clouds ability to produce precipitation. Our main goal is rain enhancement, Jennings said, although some other areas use weather modification for hail suppression, fog dispersion or snowpack augmentation. Association pilots seed a cloud by flying one of their Piper Comanche planes near the base of a thunderstorm and releasing one of two types of flares, depending on the clouds properties. Glaciogenic flares target super-cold water and trigger the droplets to freeze, typically using silver iodide. Hygroscopic flares promote the formation of larger droplets. Clouds in West Texas tend to be inefficient, Jennings said. A lot of moisture is unable to precipitate out. In West Texas especially, a lot of the spring winds tend to pick up dust, which draws moisture from the clouds, Jennings said. We have a lot of dust in West Texas and we have a lot of dust in the springtime, he said, which is why cloud seeding season tends to run from March through October. In the associations 19 years of operation, rainfall has been increased by 15 percent across West Texas, according to analysis from Texas Tech University, Jennings said. Its unclear whether the increase is a natural phenomenon or a result of weather modification. TO UNDERSTAND A CLOUD Dust, pollen and other such aerosols including those from urban sources and oil field-related activity are some of the aspects Bruintjes and his team of scientists hope to look at. At the moment theres no research done on summer convective clouds, Bruintjes said. The last study regarding weather modification in Texas was done in the early 1990s, Bruintjes said, but technology has advanced significantly since then. Pointing out the many instruments attached to their Learjet during Fridays stop, Paul Lawson, senior scientist with Stratton Park, described the various functions from measuring small cloud droplets and humidity to taking high-resolution images of ice crystals and feeding the data into numerical models, which predict what the cloud will do. You quantify an overall picture of the cloud, Lawson said. One purpose of the study is to analyze whether weather modification activities actually are enhancing precipitation. Is it human intervention or is it nature? Bruintjes said. Or was our forecast wrong? Getting a better understanding of West Texas clouds also could help the association enhance cloud seeding operations, thereby improving precipitation for the area. We could create a flare thats specifically for West Texas, Jennings said. FINDING SEED MONEY While the science is there to begin the research, the money is not. If theres funding available, maybe we can start next year, Bruintjes said. The association is funded by area water districts, including $40,000 a year from the city of San Angelo. Were able to sustain ourselves barely, Jennings said, but my hope is to get state matching funds to propel us into the next decade. Although its not a high-profile water project, Jennings noted that the 15 percent rain enhancement could make the difference between whether an aquifer recharges or not. After visiting for a few hours, Bruintjes and his group of scientists fueled up the Learjet to do some sampling on the way out of San Angelo. We cannot make clouds, we cannot chase clouds, Bruintjes said. Nobody can. SHARE By Lauren Mcgaughy, The Dallas Morning News (TNS) AUSTIN A pro-campus carry group is considering paying students to help them file complaints against University of Texas at Austin professors who want to ban guns in their offices. "(Students for Concealed Carry) is already working on a variety of plans to document incidents of wrongful exclusion on the UT-Austin campus," the group's southwest regional director, Antonia Okafor, said in a statement Tuesday. "One of the proposals we're considering is the offering of a cash prize to the student who documents the most verifiable cases of faculty or staff prohibiting licensed concealed carry in offices." Beginning Aug. 1, licensed gun owners will be able to carry concealed handguns into most buildings at Texas' public four-year colleges and universities under the state's new campus carry law. While the law opens up broad swaths of campus previously closed to guns, it also gives each campus president the discretion to designate certain "gun-free" zones based on the school's unique security circumstances. Many campuses have proposed banning guns in dorms, gyms and laboratories, but UT-Austin is the only one that wants to allow professors to designate their private offices as "gun free." Texas A&M University President Michael K. Young originally proposed extending his staff and professors the same exemption, but then backed out after being discouraged by the college's lawyers and officials at the Office of the Attorney General. But officials at the UT flagship stood by their plans. "We believe our rules are fully compliant with state law. The campus carry working group that developed the recommendations that will become the university's policies was chaired by a highly regarded law professor and included a former chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court," UT-Austin spokesman Gary Susswein said. Susswein added: "Critics of the new policies have indicated they will challenge them in court, as is their right. We expect the judiciary to resolve any outstanding questions." Okafor's group says banning guns in offices violates another gun law passed in 2015, one that allows people to file complaints against public entities like cities, counties and universities that improperly ban concealed carry. Under this so-called "wrongful exclusion" law, people can file complaints with Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office then determines whether to impose fines of up to $10,000 a day. The penalties law has already caused massive confusion across Texas, with citizens filing complaints against everything from police stations to community centers. Officials that run state-run psychiatric hospitals, somehow not exempt from the law, are left only with the option of encouraging people to leave their guns in their cars. Paxton's office has not yet been asked to weigh in on the campus carry issue. If someone files a complaint against a UT professor, Paxton's office must investigate and determine whether or not the law has been violated, which could trigger a lawsuit or fines. History professor Joan Neuberger, who helps lead a group of roughly 1,700 professors who pledge opposing guns in classrooms, was outraged at Students For Concealed Carry's proposal to pay students who help target professors. "If people are worried about the cost of bringing loaded guns into classrooms, offices, dorms and other buildings at UT Austin and other public universities, they should vote to repeal (campus carry) and keep our universities the safest place in the state," Neuberger said. SHARE The following editorial appeared in Sunday's Chicago Tribune: News stories of recent days suggest a stabbing pain in the wallet awaiting people who buy health coverage for 2017 through "Obamacare" exchanges. Insurers in many states will seek major premium hikes. All of which contrasts with President Barack Obama's victory lap in late March, when he celebrated the sixth anniversary of his signature achievement and crowed about its rousing success. His verdict looks increasingly dubious. And looming rate increases aren't the only signs of severe stress. Each week brings new evidence that Obamacare is due for more than a checkup; it needs life-saving surgery. On April 19, UnitedHealthcare, the nation's biggest insurer, said it would stop offering coverage in many states next year because of heavy losses. The company had expanded coverage to 34 states, but now it says it can't afford to cover hundreds of thousands of people in most of those states. United isn't alone in hemorrhaging. Insurers lost at least $3 billion selling individual plans in 2014, according to researcher Brian Blase, with the Spending and Budget Initiative at the Mercatus Center of George Mason University. No wonder other insurers warn that they may follow UnitedHealthcare to the exit, unless they win major premium rate hikes for next year. How high will they go? Here's a clue: Insurers received $7 billion in a federal subsidy program in 2014. That program expires at the end of this year. ... Other options to balance premiums and medical costs: Insurers can raise deductibles, narrow their networks of hospitals and doctors, or find other ways to cut costs. As costs rise, Americans turn increasingly sour on the law. Some 54 percent now disapprove of Obamacare, up from 49 percent in July, according to a survey the Pew Research Center released last week. Obamacare is lagging on many fronts: Far fewer people have signed up for private coverage this year than the 20-plus million that the Congressional Budget Office and other experts projected when Congress passed the law in 2010. Insurers are losing money because the people buying polices are older and sicker therefore more expensive to cover than experts projected. Obamacare policies are disproportionately attracting the poor, who benefit most from federal subsidies that help pay premiums. That's good for those who get coverage, but the lack of better-off purchasers limits the premium money rolling in to pay medical expenses. Penalties are rising for going without health insurance the greater of $695 or 2.5 percent of taxable household income for 2016. But that hasn't sold many middle-income Americans that Obamacare policies with narrowing networks of doctors and hospitals are worth the increasingly steep cost. Many of those who did sign up didn't pay their premiums or were bounced out of coverage because they weren't eligible (because, for example, they were undocumented immigrants), Blase reports. In February 2015, 11.67 million people had selected a plan from Obamacare exchanges. By the end of the year, though, only 8.78 million remained. The rest never paid, stopped paying or were unable to verify their eligibility for coverage, according to his analysis. Absent an influx of young, healthier people to offset costs, insurers will have to keep raising rates, narrowing provider networks or hiking deductibles and copays. That, in turn, will chase away even more of the people insurers hope to attract. Many healthy people balk at high premiums and deductibles for coverage, especially when the rules have been lax enough to allow them to claim coverage when they get sick and to drop it when they get well. (The feds say they are trying to close that major loophole. We'll see.) Lower-cost choices are drying up. Twelve of 23 state co-ops created under Obamacare to stoke price competition have collapsed. In part, that's because Congress didn't deliver enough federal funds to keep co-ops afloat when costs overran revenue. In the heart of the 2016 campaign season, there's no impetus for the White House to reopen the law, especially since many Republicans have voted and vowed to repeal it. And come January, a president who tries to scrap the law will face sharp opposition from millions of people grateful to now have coverage. But as insurers raise rates and restrict coverage, the guarantee of access to insurance becomes an expensive, empty promise for millions. ... A new president and a new Congress can't ignore Obamacare's faltering health. Prep the OR. Ohio Gov. John Kasich was the last man standing Tuesday night after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz dropped out of the race for the Republican party's presidential nomination -- other than the front-runner who's almost certainly going to be the nominee.Mr. Cruz dropped out just after 8:30 p.m., as results showed New York billionaire Donald Trump winning the Indiana primary. He acknowledged he had "no path to victory."Mr. Kasich made no such acknowledgement."Tonight's results are not going to alter Governor Kasich's campaign plans," said chief strategist John Weaver in a memo emailed to reporters, political strategists, and contributors a couple of hours before Mr. Cruz's stunning announcement."Our strategy has been and continues to be one that involves winning the nomination at an open convention," Mr. Weaver said.Mr. Trump is less than 200 delegates away from the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination when the GOP convention begins July 18 in Cleveland, with nine states still set to vote. California alone has 172 delegates.Many political observers already thought Mr. Kasich's chances of winning a contested convention were far-fetched, even if there was an open convention."With Cruz suspending his campaign, Trump is without question the presumptive nominee of the Republican party," said Melissa Miller, political science professor at Bowling Green State University.She said Mr. Kasich already didn't have the cash to compete on the same level with Mr. Trump, and Mr. Kasich's distant third-place finish in Indiana is not likely to trigger a flood of contributions."With just a single statewide victory, it is hard to see how Kasich goes on," Ms. Miller said. Mr. Kasich won Ohio's primary March 15.She said Republican voters don't seem to care that polls consistently show he is the only candidate likely to beat Hillary Clinton in November."Republican voters seem most concerned with sending a loud anti-establishment message to GOP leaders," she said.Kyle Kondik, a former Elyria, Ohio, journalist and now with the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, said Mr. Kasich didn't help himself by refusing to help Mr. Cruz win some of the delegates in Indiana.Mr. Kasich and Mr. Cruz had agreed to leave Indiana to Mr. Cruz and Oregon and New Mexico to Mr. Kasich. The deal quickly went bust after Mr. Kasich declined to advise his voters to vote for Mr. Cruz, a statement that might have slowed the Trump train."If Kasich really wants to be the nominee, Cruz needed to win Indiana, and Kasich certainly did not do everything he could do to get his supporters in Indiana to back Cruz," Mr. Kondik said.Mark Weaver, a Columbus Republican strategist and no relation to Mr. Kasich's strategist, said the GOP contest is about over."Trump will almost certainly be the Republican nominee, but Governor Kasich is a party leader who will remain a force at the convention," Mr. Weaver said. "No strategy that Kasich or Cruz could have implemented would have overcome the fervor of a loud and angry plurality that is now fueling Donald Trump."Before Mr. Cruz dropped out, Mr. Kasich's campaign announced planned news conferences in Dulles, Va., today, and Thursday in Washington. He made a point of saying he would spend most of Wednesday in fund-raising events and would meet with his national security advisory group on Thursday.Among a list of reasons to stay in, John Weaver said Mr. Kasich "can unite the party better than anyone else. Trump's cynical sowing of division will render the GOP into angry, irrelevant status for decades."He also reiterated that polls show Mr. Kasich as the only Republican who can win in November."Both Trump and Cruz would lose to [Hillary] Clinton by considerable margins in a head-to-head race, winning just 210 and 206 Electoral College votes, respectively. By contrast, Kasich comfortably defeats Clinton, racking up 304 Electoral College votes to her 234," he wrote in a memo.Ohio Democratic Chairman David Pepper said, "It's time to come home, address Ohio's challenges with real solutions, and reimburse taxpayers for all of their dollars that have been wasted.""My only hope is that for once Kasich would make a decision that is best for the Ohio families paying his salary every day as opposed to whatever tactic is best to serve his political ambition," Mr. Pepper said. The day after the state Legislature passed its latest budget bill, the international bond-rating agency Moody's dropped Kansas' credit outlook from "stable" to "negative."Moody's cited the state's use of one-time-only money and pension underfunding -- key features of the budget bill passed early Monday -- as reasons for caution in investing in Kansas bonds."The revision of the state's outlook to negative from stable reflects the ongoing difficulties it is having restoring structural balance to its budget and getting on a path to sounder funding of its pension liabilities," said the Moody's release announcing the change."By continuing to balance its budget with unsustainable, nonrecurring resources, including pension underfunding, it is accumulating large and expensive long-term liabilities that it will be paying off for a long time," the release said.Overall, the state debt retains its Aa2 credit rating, Moody's third-highest rating and still considered to be investment grade.The state has held that position since being downgraded from the higher Aa1 rating in 2014 because of falling tax revenue, unfunded pension costs and the possibility of higher court-ordered spending on education.Bond rating agencies use positive, negative and stable to give the outlook on a rating's future potential moves.A negative rating signals to investors that the state's credit rating could again head downward, although there's no guarantee one way or the other.The budget bill the Legislature passed about 3 a.m. Monday delays $96 million in payments to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System until June 2018, freeing cash for the state to pay bills through the end of this fiscal year in June.The budget also envisions sweeping $185 million from state highway funds and leaves Gov. Sam Brownback to cut about $80 million on his own to balance the books.In its report, Moody's said factors that could lead to a rating downgrade include "continued underfunding of pension plans and growth in unfunded pension liabilities, along with failure to adopt measures to increase revenues or decrease expenditures sufficient to restore structural balance."Moody's said factors that could help remove the negative outlook include "sustained revenue growth or expenditure cuts leading to structural balance in state finances" and "demonstrated path to sounder funding of pension plans."In response to the Moody's action, Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley blamed the cost of schools and medical services for the poor and disabled."We must continue our efforts to control spending which is most affected by the growing costs of Medicaid and education funding, which together account for more than 63 percent of the state's budget," Hawley said in a statement.Hawley praised Monday's budget bill."We have made considerable progress in slowing the rate of government spending and the budget passed on Monday by the Legislature will further reduce the gap between expected expenditures and revenue as it calls for $92 million in additional spending reductions in FY 2017," she said.Rep. Gail Finney, D-Wichita, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, blamed the governor's tax policy, which zeroed out the income tax for more than 300,000 business owners and substantially reduced the state's income.Finney scoffed at the governor's office citing Medicaid and schools as the problem."I'm just surprised Obama wasn't in there this time," she said. "You'd think we would be more focused on fixing our tax situation."Finney said expanding Medicaid would actually help the situation because it would bring in federal health-care dollars. "It would definitely help our hospitals and medical clinics," she said.In addition to placing the negative outlook on the state overall, Moody's also revised its outlook from stable to negative for Kansas Department of Transportation and some Kansas Development Finance Authority bonds.-- KDOT bonds moved from Aa2 stable to Aa2 negative. Because of the practice of transferring money from highways to general expenses, "the negative outlook on the Highway Revenue Bonds ... reflects the downward pressure on the state's general credit quality," Moody's said.-- KDFA bonds that are backed by legislative approriations moved from Aa3 stable to Aa3 negative, a slightly lower grade than the overall state debt.-- KDFA IMPACT Program bonds, backed by allocation of a state wage tax, retained their current rating at A3 negative, an upper-medium grade.-- KDFA bonds for the Law Enforcement Training Center, backed with court docket fees, were unchanged at A1 stable. Los Angeles County on Tuesday approved sweeping restrictions on the use of solitary confinement for juvenile detainees, joining a larger movement against a practice that some consider cruel and unproductive.The Board of Supervisors' action bans solitary confinement at youth camps and halls except "as a temporary response to behavior that poses a serious and immediate risk of physical harm to any person."In those cases, the supervisors said, the isolation should be only for a brief "cooling off" period and should be done in consultation with a mental health professional.In recent years, 19 states and the District of Columbia have ended the solitary isolation for minors. New York City went one step further and banned solitary confinement for Rikers Island inmates up to age 21.President Obama earlier this year announced that he would ban solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons, but the move was largely symbolic. At the time just 26 people under age 18 were in federal custody.The practice has been widespread in Los Angeles County. A recent report showed that 43% of the youths at Camp Scudder in Santa Clarita had spent more than 24 hours in solitary confinement. The department did not release the reasons behind the placements.The use of solitary confinement increased between 2014 and 2015, particularly in the juvenile halls, where the number of referrals to restrictive housing units increased from 2,775 to 4,396, according to Felicia Cotton, the deputy probation chief overseeing juvenile facilities. She attributed the increase in part to the higher-risk profile of youths housed in the lockups as more low-level juvenile offenders have been diverted.According to Los Angeles County's Probation Department handbook, staff can send inmates to solitary confinement for "readjustment or administrative purposes" or to monitor them for mental health issues. The purpose, it says, is "to maintain order, safety and security."At Tuesday's board meeting, several former juvenile detainees urged the board to end the practice.Francisco Martines, 22, said he spent six weeks in solitary confinement in Central Juvenile Hall at age 17. He recalled a freezing room with dirty walls and a torn mattress. The cold air triggered an asthma attack, he said, and he had to wait hours for medical care."It was horrible, like an animal in a cage," Martines said.Alex Sanchez, a gang member turned intervention worker who heads the group Homies Unidos, had similar memories of his time in county juvenile lockups. "I remember in Camp Gonzales, I tried to break my finger ... just to get out of isolation," he said.Mental health professionals are now notified whenever a child is sent to an isolated unit, and a supervisor must check on the youth within two hours and make a decision about whether to release him or her, said Interim Probation Chief Cal Remington."We don't use it for punishment or discipline so much as sometimes you have to separate the kids," Remington said.The county's three juvenile halls and 13 camps hold about 1,200 youths.The new rules will first take effect at the Central Juvenile Hall and camps McNair and Scott this month, and are to be rolled out at the other facilities by the end of September. The current isolation units, known as "special housing units," should be converted to other uses, which could include turning them into "cooling down" areas.The written policy does not specify how long youths can be confined in those areas.Despite the caveats, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said the board is not trying to do "solitary confinement lite.... The thrust of the motion is to eliminate the practice," he said.In pushing for the shift, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl cited studies that have found solitary confinement "can cause lasting physical and psychological harm ... without any benefit to public safety."One report by the U.S. Justice Department found that juvenile offenders become anxious, paranoid and depressed even after short periods in solitary confinement.Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich ultimately voted along with the other supervisors to approve the new restrictions. But he said the probation staff needs options to deal with children whose behavior poses a safety threat."We have the obligation to maintain the safety and well-being of not just one or two but the entire camp," he said.In the past, banning juvenile solitary confinement has faced opposition by California's probation officer unions, which expressed fears about safety. But they have recently become publicly neutral.The L.A. County probation officers' union did not express public opposition to the plan, although Remington said some staff had privately voiced concerns.Earlier this year in Sacramento, Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) reintroduced a bill that would seek to greatly limit the use of solitary confinement for juveniles statewide.The bill died at the committee level last year before reaching the full Legislature. It was the fourth consecutive year that the effort failed. State lawmakers convicted since 2009 Disgraced ex-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption Tuesday by a judge who said she hoped the idea of "living out his golden years in an orange jumpsuit" would keep other politicians on the "straight and narrow.""I hope the sentence I'm going to impose on you will make the next politician hesitate just long enough before taking a bribe or a kickback, for his better angels to take over," Manhattan U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni told the ashen-faced former Albany power broker.The stiff sentence climaxed an astounding fall from the pinnacle of state government that Silver occupied for 20 years. He leaned forward frowning and did not react. But moments earlier, the 72-year-old Democrat followed his lawyers' plea for leniency with an apology."Without question, I let down my family, I let down my colleagues, I let down my constituents," he told the judge in his trademark baritone voice. "And I'm truly, truly sorry for that."Silver, who represented Manhattan's Lower East Side, was convicted in December for aiding an asbestos doctor with grants to research mesothelioma and two developers with legislation in return for their help in funneling $4 million in law firm referral fees to him, as well as for money laundering.The case -- along with the conviction of former Senate leader Dean Skelos, who is to be sentenced May 12 -- was a capstone of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's crusade against Albany corruption, and prosecutors asked for more than 14 years in prison -- the highest federal sentence ever for a New York legislator.Caproni's sentence fell short of that, but Bharara, who attended the sentencing in person, nonetheless expressed satisfaction afterward. "Today's stiff sentence is a just and fitting end to Sheldon Silver's long career of corruption," Bharara said in a tweet.Other officials concurred. "Justice was served," said Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, whose office is the subject of a separate Bharara corruption probe.Suffolk County First Deputy Police Commissioner John Barry, a lead investigator on the Silver case when he worked for Bharara, attended the sentencing. "It's tremendous," Barry said.And good-government groups, citing a new Siena poll that said 97 percent of New Yorkers want Albany to act on ethics reform, said they hoped the Silver case would trigger action. "New Yorkers are furious," said Susan Lerner, director of the watchdog group Common Cause, who attended the sentencing.In addition to the prison term, Caproni ordered Silver to pay a $1.75 million fine and forfeit $5.3 million. She ordered him to report to prison by July 1. Silver's lawyers said they planned to appeal and would try to keep him out of prison while the appeal is pending.Silver was mobbed by a scrum of reporters outside the courthouse as he emerged. "I believe in the justice system and we will pursue all available remedies," he said, before hopping into a yellow cab to escape the media.In addition to his crimes, Silver was damaged after trial when Caproni ordered the release of sensational government allegations that had not come into evidence, claiming he had extramarital affairs with a lobbyist and a woman he helped get a state job.Silver's wife, Rosa, arrived 15 minutes late to the sentencing. Afterward, she spoke to her husband, but there were no tears or public embrace. She declined to comment, but Caproni said the affairs exemplified the kind of behavior that bred cynicism about government."Did a lobbyist have preferred access because she was a better lobbyist than competitors, or was it payback for a personal relationship?" the judge said. "Did that result in a thumb on the scale for her client? Those sorts of doubts end up corroding faith in government."Earlier, Silver lawyer Joel Cohen cited Silver's good works on issues from tenant rights to the Sept. 11 and Sandy recoveries, and letters from dozens of constituents recalling kindnesses in an emotional plea for leniency sprinkled with Bible and Talmud quotes."It's very important . . . in terms of the good that people do in the course of their life that emerge and help them when they're in crunch time," Cohen said.But Caproni said it was hard for her to see Silver as an honest man led astray, citing the litany of lies he told to keep his schemes alive and his successful efforts to kill a state Moreland Commission set up to probe legislators' outside income."Those were desperate acts by a politician who was trying to ensure that corruption in Albany could continue unchecked," the judge said. "Those are not the actions of an honest man."Cohen also cited Silver's poor health -- he has prostate cancer, currently in remission -- and said he realized the scandal would be the lead of his obituary. "He won't weather this storm," Cohen said. "He is already crushed. He has been devastated."An hour later, after he had secured Silver in a yellow cab that sped away on Centre Street, Cohen was asked how his client was feeling."Probably not so good," he said. "Who would?"* Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) convicted on federal bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges. (2015)* Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) convicted on federal bribery, extortion and conspiracy charges. (2015)* Senate Deputy Majority Leader Tom Libous (R-Binghamton) convicted of lying to FBI. (2015)* Assemb. William Scarborough (D-Jamaica) convicted of wire fraud and theft. (2015)* Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) convicted of obstructing justice and making a false statement. (2015)* Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery in a plot to rig the Republican ballot in the 2013 New York City mayoral race. (2015)* Assemb. Gabriela Rosa (D-Manhattan) convicted of lying to immigration officials and entering into a sham marriage in order to gain U.S. citizenship. (2014)* Assemb. William Boyland Jr. (D-Brooklyn) convicted of bribery. (2014)* Assemb. Eric Stevenson (D-Bronx) convicted of bribery, conspiracy. (2014)* Assemb. Nelson Castro (D-Bronx) convicted of perjury. (2013)* Sen. Shirley Huntley (D-Queens) convicted of mail fraud in connection with looting a taxpayer-funded nonprofit she controlled. (2013)* Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. (D-Bronx) convicted of embezzling money from taxpayer-funded health care clinics. (2012)* Sen. Vincent Leibell (R-Patterson), convicted of tax evasion and obstruction of justice. (2010)* Former Sen. Nicholas Spano (R-Yonkers) convicted of federal income tax evasion.(2012)* State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, convicted on charges in connection with a pay-to-play scheme with the New York State pension fund. (2011)* Sen. Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) convicted of bribery. (2011)* Assemb. Chris Ortloff (R-Plattsburgh) convicted of using the Internet to entice underage girls into having sex. (2010)* Sen. Efrain Gonzalez (D-Bronx) convicted of fraud and embezzlement. (2009) Huntington-Ashland, W.Va.-Ky.-Ohio, Metro Area Picasa Job Loss Since Peak: -23,911 (-14.8 percent) -23,911 (-14.8 percent) Peak Employment: 161,788 (October 2007) Binghamton, N.Y., Metro Area Job Loss Since Peak: -13,110 (-11.1 percent) -13,110 (-11.1 percent) Peak Employment: 118,463 (December 2006) Peoria, Ill., Metro Area Job Loss Since Peak: -21,290 (-10.9 percent) -21,290 (-10.9 percent) Peak Employment: 195,618 (October 2007) Atlantic City-Hammonton, N.J., Metro Area Job Loss Since Peak: -14,210 (-10.8 percent) -14,210 (-10.8 percent) Peak Employment: 131,443 (July 2006) Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., Metro Area Job Loss Since Peak: -28,429 (-10.7 percent) -28,429 (-10.7 percent) Peak Employment: 265,140 (December 2006) Flint, Mich., Metro Area FILE - This Jan. 26, 2016 file photo shows a sign over the Flint River noting Flint, Mich., as Vehicle City. In proposing a tougher limit for lead in drinking water, Gov. Rick Snyder wants to lift Michigan from the depths of the Flint crisis to being a model for water safety that can help assess whether the current national rules governing lead are too lax. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File) Carlos Osorio/AP Job Loss Since Peak: -20,778 (-10.6 percent) -20,778 (-10.6 percent) Peak Employment: 196,357 (January 2006) Shreveport-Bossier City, La., Metro Area Picasa Job Loss Since Peak: -20,810 (-10.2 percent) -20,810 (-10.2 percent) Peak Employment: 203,246 (September 2008) Metro Area Employment Data Nearly seven years into the recovery, some regions have experienced far stronger economic growth than others.While national job totals have surpassed pre-recession levels, a select group of regional economies has a much longer way to go. These metro areas particularly stand out as most lagging behind the rest of the country in the recovery.We compiled monthly Labor Department jobs data for all metro areas where employment exceeds 100,000, comparing the most recent job estimates for March with peak levels since 2005. In the following regions, total employment remains more than 10 percent below its most recent peak. ( See data for all metro areas. In the Huntington, W.Va., metro area, job losses have yet come to a halt.A decline in local manufacturing of metals, plastics and rubber started years ago, then accelerated during the recession. While the downturn in the national economy didnt help, part of the job losses were also more productivity and technology driven, said Jennifer Shand, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Marshall University.There arent any mining operations locally. But the decline of West Virginias most well-known industry has led to ripple effects as the area serves as a rail transportation hub.A hospital is the regions largest current employer, while several colleges and universities also support a sizable number of jobs. Theres an overall broader shift of moving from manufacturing-oriented employment to more service-oriented employment, Shand said.More recently, activity is occurring in areas like advanced manufacturing, local foods and creative industries. Such efforts, Shand said, are still in their infancy, so they havent yet registered as growth industries.The Binghamton region has suffered a particularly prolonged economic decline as job losses didn't subside until last year.Much of the downsizing in New Yorks Southern Tier has occurred in manufacturing, including electronics and computer-manufacturing. Absent a more diverse set of industries, the economy has struggled to replace lost jobs. The region, which includes part of the Marcellus Shale formation, also suffered a setback last year when the state announced a ban on high-volume hydraulic fracking.On a positive note, the local economy has started to record slight, but steady, job gains since last fall. The region also received a much-need boost in December when Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced it would receive $500 million in economic development aid to fund plant expansions, tourism, job training and other efforts.Peoria serves as a classic example of a regional economy largely tied to a single major employer Caterpillar, Inc., is the areas largest employer, by far, and is the primary customer of an estimated 40 percent of local businesses.Last year, the company announced that it planned to keep its headquarters in Peoria and construct a global campus in the citys downtown after being heavily courted by other states. More recently, however, the company trimmed its workforce in a restructuring effort, partly as a result of a weakened mining sector.The regions manufacturing and business-professional services sectors typically follow the boom and bust business cycle, said Bernard Goitein, who heads the Center for Business and Economic Research at Bradley University. Two large medical centers also anchor the local economy.A slow decline in the tourism and gaming industries has taken its toll on Atlantic City. Metro area unemployment remained above 10 percent for more than six years, peaking in late 2012.The leisure and hospitality sector, which once employed 60,000 workers a decade ago, has since seen employment drop to about 35,000. The regions other largest sectors trade, transportation, utilities and government similarly have yet to show signs of growth.Atlantic City officials and state lawmakers have debated a plan in recent weeks to restructure the citys finances as it faces a massive budget deficit.Two major factors have contributed to job losses around Youngstown and Warren, Ohio.The first is the longstanding downsizing of the manufacturing sector. Auto-parts maker Delphi Automotive once employed about 10,000 workers there, but now maintains just over 1,000 employees.Lower oil prices have hurt the local economy, too, as drilling operations had been a source of job gains in recent years. Pipe manufacturing and a sizable number of other related supply chain jobs also support the industry.Guy Coviello, the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber's vice president of government affairs, said he sees shale production and additive manufacturing as two promising areas of growth over the longer term. Youngstown is home to a national accelerator for additive manufacturing and 3D printing.Like other struggling regions, Flints economic slide has persisted for years.The areas heavy job losses in auto manufacturing have been well documented, with total manufacturing employment today just over half of what it was a decade ago. Government employment has also declined, albeit at a much slower pace.Two areas recording upticks in employment over the past few years are education and health.The Shreveport-Bossier City, La., metro areas unemployment rate has hovered between 6 and 8 percent since 2008.The public sector there has been hit particularly hard, shedding approximately 7,000 jobs since 2010, according to federal data. Barksdale Air Force Base, located in Bossier Parish, employs more than 12,000 workers. On Tuesday, in the morning, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey hosted an Investiture Ceremony for residents of Queensland, recipients of Australian honours and awards announced on Australia Day 2016 and Queens Birthday 2015. Description GIS - 04 May, 2016: Regular patrols are being effected by police at bus terminals and taxi-stands and police checks are also carried out in buses particularly early in the morning, at off-peak hours during the day and late in the afternoon at specific bus stops along certain bus routes are among measures taken to address the problem of assault on taxi drivers, bus drivers and conductors. Regular patrols are being effected by police at bus terminals and taxi-stands and police checks are also carried out in buses particularly early in the morning, at off-peak hours during the day and late in the afternoon at specific bus stops along certain bus routes are among measures taken to address the problem of assault on taxi drivers, bus drivers and conductors. This reply was given by the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, yesterday in the National Assembly in relation to a question pertaining to reported cases of assault on taxi drivers, bus drivers and conductors and larceny at the expense of the latter. The Prime Minister underlined that there are 212 reported cases of assault and 64 reported cases of larceny on taxi drivers, bus drivers and conductors for the period July 2012 to 28 April 2016. Mobile patrols also escort buses along certain routes in some areas particularly at specific times underscored the Prime Minister. He added that the Special Supporting Unit is deployed during the week-end at specific locations to ensure the safety and security of bus drivers, taxi drivers and conductors as well as of their passengers. Sir Anerood Jugnauth pointed out that working sessions are held with public transport employees on a regular basis to sensitise them on necessary precautions to be taken to avoid such incidence while on duty. Description GIS - 04 May, 2016: The National Womens Council Bill, which paves the way for a more modern and appropriate legislative framework so as to further promote womens empowerment and gender equality, especially through the active participation of women in the social, economic and political fields, was passed yesterday at the sitting of the National Assembly. The Bill repeals the National Womens Council Act 1985. The National Womens Council Bill, which paves the way for a more modern and appropriate legislative framework so as to further promote womens empowerment and gender equality, especially through the active participation of women in the social, economic and political fields, was passed yesterday at the sitting of the National Assembly. The Bill repeals the National Womens Council Act 1985. In her address to the House, the Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Mrs Marie-Aurore Perraud, stated that the rationale for the repeal of the current legislation and the enactment of a more modern piece of legislation is to enable the National Womens Council to transform itself into a dynamic entity that would be in a better position to respond to the changing needs of the contemporary Mauritian women and contribute more effectively to uphold their status in a challenging world. Giving a brief history of the setting up of the National Womens Council under the National Womens Council Act 1985, Mrs Perraud recalled that the Council was to function as a structure that would mobilise women at grass root level and assist them in getting organised into Womens Associations, vehicles through which they could express their needs and concerns. The Minister deplored, however, that while womens issues have evolved rapidly in the country over the last decades, the National Womens Council has remained static and passive, with no change in its structure, membership and functions over the last 30 years. According to Mrs Perraud, the National Womens Council Bill will go a long way towards strengthening the existing measures being taken by her Ministry for the empowerment of women and the achievement of gender equality in the social, economic and political fields. She added that strategies to improve womens status, strengthen gender equality policies, eliminate gender disparities and reduce female unemployment will all contribute to improve the status of the Mauritian women economically, socially and politically. My Ministry will sustain its efforts all year round to ensure that gender equality becomes a reality for the harmonious socio-economic development of Mauritian families, affirmed Mrs Perraud. It is noted that the National Womens Council Bill also makes better provision for the functioning of the National Womens Council in order to provide a platform for women to voice their needs, concerns and aspirations. Its objectives include, among others, the improvement of the regulation of Women Associations and the management of the Regional Committees responsible for the activities of Women Associations. Under the Bill, the National Womens Council is tasked with namely, implementing Government policies relating to womens empowerment and gender equality, advising the Minister on ways of addressing factors responsible for impeding womens empowerment and gender equality, providing a network at national, regional and international levels with organisations which promote womens empowerment and gender equality, and promoting the recognition of womens rights as human rights. It is recalled that the introduction of the National Women Council Bill is in line with the objective of Government Programme 2015 2019, Achieving Meaningful Change, which called for the replacement of the National Womens Council Act of 1985 with a view to provide for a more dynamic, productive and structured council. Government Information Service, Prime Ministers Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius. Email: Website: (TNS) -- While Austins economic development policy often gets mixed reviews from folks who live here, out-of-town admirers cant gush enough about the citys economic development philosophy.Earlier this year, Amy Evans wrote a lengthy retrospective for the National Housing Institutes ShelterForce that claims Austin is in the enviable position of not believing it needs to offer companies incentives to get them to come to town.Evans piece only mentions at the end some of the local skepticism about the current policy, referencing the high-profile pullouts by DropBox and US Farathane in 2014 from the program. At the time, the companies gave their own business reasons for declining to participate in the program, but many saw their decisions as evidence that the city had regulated incentives too tightly to be of any real value.Over the weekend, American-Statesman reporters Lori Hawkins and Tim Eaton took a close look at the performance of the citys incentive agreement with technology giant Apple. Under the terms of the incentives package, which was signed in March 2012, Apple agreed to create more than 3,600 new full-time jobs in Austin in 10 years while retaining at least 3,100 existing full-time jobs year over year. In 2012, the Austin City Council approved $8.6 million in tax breaks for Apple in exchange for establishing its Americas Operations Center in Northwest Austin. Apple also is in line for between $5 million and $6 million from Travis County. It appears that Apple is well on track to meet those goals with 2,089 new jobs that have been created since 2012.The transparency required by Austin has the benefit of providing a clearer window into whether the beneficiaries of such agreements are meeting the requirements set out by the city. However, the question of whether the jobs are the kind of jobs the city needs most is still murky.Hawkins and Eaton quote Austin economist Jon Hockenyos as saying: These are the equivalent of manufacturing jobs in the old days theyre jobs that pay a solid wage. They provide solid middle-class incomes that sustain families. Theyre the kind of jobs any city wants to see being created.In a later conversation with me, Hockenyos conceded that there is no way to know for sure unless Apple reveals the educational requirements for the jobs it has added. The mix of human resources, administrative, sales, engineering and operations jobs added at the Americas Operations Center may well live up to those expectations, but there is no way to prove it for sure.The midrange jobs referenced by Hockenyos are crucial to Austins future. Manufacturing jobs didnt require a college education, he said. Instead, candidates needed high school education, maybe with some training in specific skills.Finding substitutes for those types of jobs that the business community and policymakers agree that Austin needs has been tricky. These are jobs that provide a real pathway from low-wage work to middle-class incomes and stable housing in a community that is short on both.Failure on this point means that Austin will continue its spiral into greater economic segregation. In fact, Hockenyos raised the alarm to council members in his briefing last week on the state of the Austin economy.One of the key issues for so many communities that struggle with this stubborn level of people who remain hard to employ is that there isnt much demand, there isnt much need for workers in many places, he said during the April 27 budget work session . A big part of the overall problem is not in play here. We need workers of all different kinds. The issue is capacity and access.From a policy perspective, that puts the onus on the city council and other government entities to continue to be strategic and transparent as they continue to invest in economic development.Its a message that the Department of Economic Development appears to be already attuned to. In its March 2015 report on the performance of the so-called Chapter 380 agreements, the department wrote Today, as Austin is ranked first in overall economic performance and holds an official unemployment rate of 3.8 percent, the vision for utilizing this tool is shifting to focus on creating opportunities for those hard-to-employ individuals, as well as families that are in poverty and for those looking to advance into or up from the middle-class. And, there are areas of Austin where the unemployment rate remain unacceptably high not just for adults, but also for youth.Some of that work has begun with the Fair Chance Hiring rules that were passed in late March , but there is more work to be done. Austin is fortunate at the moment to not need to incentivize jobs for the sake of jobs, so the community public and private should turn its attention to using resources to fill in the gaps to build a healthy and prosperous community for all. epitomizes hip. A neglected industrial enclave that sat mostly empty just a few years ago, Wynwood today thrums with energy. Its low-slung warehouses and onetime auto garages are filled with buzz-worthy eateries, high-end tattoo studios, vegan juice bars and edgy art spaces. At Wood Tavern, twentysomethings gather around graffiti-covered picnic tables to sip La Rubia blonde ale, brewed just a couple of blocks away at the Wynwood Brewing Company. At nearby Wynwood Kitchen and Bar, diners eat Latin-tinged cuisine under wall-sized paintings by popular street artists. A block down, the line at Panther Coffee can stretch out the door. Throughout the neighborhood, at all hours of the day, people stop to snap selfies in front of the colorful new murals that cover seemingly every inch of every building in Wynwood.Its the kind of dynamic urban scene that cities dream about. And it would never have happened, Miami planners say -- or at least not to the same degree of success -- without the citys new zoning code known as Miami 21. I cannot imagine it, says Francisco Garcia, the citys planning director, shaking his head at the thought. I just cant even imagine.Miami 21 isnt actually brand-new: Its been on the books since 2010. But it was the first true overhaul of the citys code in nearly 80 years, and it points toward major change in the way Miami will grow for generations to come. The controversial code has altered every aspect of the citys development, from the way a builder interacts with the planning department to the size of the windows of a finished storefront. And it touches every part of the city, from the shimmering urban high-rises of downtown Brickell to the single-family homes in historic, tree-lined residential neighborhoods like Little Havana and The Roads.Public zoning codes are typically filled with mind-numbingly dry details of frontages, setbacks and floor-area ratios -- and Miamis is too. But these codes ultimately determine the way a city looks and feels and functions. Theyre the 1s and 0s that build the matrix. Miami 21 may be abstruse, but its also a new vision for what the city wants to be.Miami 21 is whats known as a form-based code. Rather than prescribing development based on how a plot of land will be used -- residential, say, or mixed-use commercial -- the code defines the physical shape development should take in different parts of the city. That means buildings are considered in context with whats around them, regardless of what goes on inside. The goal is a more walkable, more human-scale form of development. When Miami adopted the code in 2010, it was the first big U.S. city to implement a form-based code citywide. Six years later, its still the only one.Most of the impact of Miami 21 isnt as tangible or as concentrated as in Wynwood. But its effects are suffused in properties throughout the city. On a recent sunny Friday, as Assistant Planning Director Luciana Gonzalez drove around town with a couple of visitors, she couldnt help interrupting herself every so often to point out the role of the new code. Thats Miami 21, she says, as she drives past a new bank branch building set close to the street, with parking hidden behind it. Thats Miami 21, she says again, pointing out a multistory self-storage facility that looks more like a sleek office tower, with inviting plate-glass windows along the sidewalk and a soon-to-open high-end rooftop restaurant that will take advantage of the views of the Miami River. A little later, Gonzalez passes an under-construction residential high-rise thats wrapped in street-level retail spaces. Thats Miami 21, too.Miamis form-based code has been lauded by the international planning community as a progressive commitment to New Urbanist ideals. But getting to this point involved years of convincing skeptical developers, architects, neighborhood organizers and political leaders that this change was the right thing for the city. And the code still has plenty of critics, including, perhaps surprisingly, Tomas Regalado, the citys current mayor. He acknowledges that Miami 21 looks good on paper, but says its proven difficult to implement on the ground. When asked whether the new code is an improvement over the way things used to be, Regalado pauses, holds up a finger and says, Maybe.all that remarkable about the Catalonia apartment building on SW 27th Ave. A bland 13-story building finished in two tones of beige, its the kind of faceless, nondescript mid-rise you drive past without giving it much thought. But one thing makes the Catalonia, which was completed in 2007, stand out. It sits smack next door to a small single-family home, a modest one-story house with a red tile roof and a patio out front. And thats made the Catalonia emblematic of the kind of unregulated growth Miami planners hope never to see again.The former zoning code was adopted in 1936, and for many decades it seemed to serve the city just fine. Higher-density buildings -- and some skyscrapers -- were concentrated downtown and along Biscayne Bay, while residential neighborhoods were left mostly untouched. But the code became increasingly complicated as a succession of city leaders tacked on modifications and revisions and exceptions. As in most U.S. cities, Miamis old code was based on separation of uses. But the number of uses eventually exceeded 360 and didnt seem to make sense: A barbershop was considered a different use than a beauty salon.Then came the 1990s population boom, and things really went haywire. Miami and surrounding Dade County grew by more than 18 percent in the 1990s, a growth trend that would continue into the 2000s and 2010s. Much of the influx was driven by immigrants from Latin America. By 2002, Miami-Dade had a higher percentage of foreign-born residents, 51.4 percent, than any other county in the country. The city went on a building binge. Height allowance was determined solely by the size of a lot, so if developers could simply cobble together enough plots of land, they could build 15- or 25- or 40-story buildings anywhere they wanted, even right next to a leafy neighborhood of small homes. High-rises sprouted like weeds overnight. One building might be 10 feet from the sidewalk, while the one next door was set back 30 feet. Blank walls stretched along sidewalks for entire blocks.It was haphazard and random growth, and it was all perfectly legal, says Ana Gelabert-Sanchez, who was the city planning director at the time. It was all done by the book, within the code at the time. But it didnt result in a city that was nice to live in.Manny Diaz was elected mayor in November 2001, and he sensed that Miamis development had gotten off track, even if he couldnt articulate it. I wasnt trained in urban planning or design, but instinctively I knew something was wrong, because I just looked around, he says. I saw pretty buildings that had no connection to the street, no connection to the buildings around them. I knew something had to be done, but I didnt know what that meant.Diaz turned to Gelabert-Sanchez and to Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the renowned Miami-based architect who, along with her husband, Andres Duany, has become an international leader in New Urbanist design. The old code, says Plater-Zyberk, was completely unpredictable. It had resulted in a totally incoherent city.Plater-Zyberk and the city planning team got to work on a code that would help guide the form of new buildings, rather than just prescribe how a specific property would be put to use. It would emphasize street-level activity and public spaces to encourage walking, and it would bring a sense of order to Miamis explosive new growth.Other cities had already implemented partial form-based codes in certain areas, such as a downtown core or a tourist district. In most places, the new code existed in parallel to a traditional use-based code. Cities would incentivize developers by, say, offering faster permitting for those choosing to abide by the form-based code, but it wasnt mandatory. The planners in Miami began drafting something similar, a code that could be used to augment planning in certain hot spots around town.Diaz had a different idea: Scrap the old code completely and start over from scratch. If a form-based code was good for certain parts of the city, he felt, then it would be good for the city as a whole. It just made sense, he says. Lets just do it all at once. I know its crazy, but lets just do it now.The plan was hit by opposition almost immediately. There was a lot of concern, reluctance -- fear, even -- at the very beginning, says Garcia, Miamis planning director, who at the time was working in the private sector, on Plater-Zyberks team.Some people in the design community were worried that everything would end up looking the same, says Gelabert-Sanchez. Or they were worried that we in the city were going to say, I dont like those windows. I dont like that arch. But we just wanted to establish principles. We dont care about the style.Over a period of six years starting in 2003, the city held 60 formal public hearings on the new code, in addition to another 500 meetings with residents and other stakeholders -- ranging from events with hundreds of attendees in large downtown convention halls to intimate sit-downs in residents living rooms. Many of the meetings were in Spanish. We knew wed have skeptics, says Diaz. So we wanted the process to be as transparent and as inclusive as possible. One thing no one can say is that this was some backroom deal between the city and developers, or land use attorneys.As the city coalesced around a plan, developers got on board. Because the new code provided much more predictability in terms of what was allowed on a given plot, the approval process need no longer involve acrimonious public hearings and contentious fights with the city over building plans. Everything would be spelled out in the code itself. And neighborhood conservationists appreciated that a new plan could better preserve the character of Miamis distinct communities.Still, there were critics. Property owners said the new code would devalue their land by limiting the amount of future development they could undertake. Builders said the code would throw all the citys existing structures into legal limbo because they wouldnt conform with the new regulations. And some of the preservationists and neighborhood groups that had initially supported the idea began to complain that the new code didnt go far enough in protecting Miami neighborhoods; they waged fights with the city to downzone residential areas even further.On Oct. 22, 2009, after an embarrassing initial rejection, Miami 21 was approved during Diazs very last meeting as mayor. The new code was law. But that didnt end the opposition. The lone city council vote against the final code had been cast by Regalado, who 12 days later was elected mayor. Many people expected he might dismantle Miami 21 as soon as he took office. Indeed, some in the community hoped he would. Today, Regalado says he never even considered doing that. But at the time, advocates were worried. Two or three [city commissioners] -- and in particular Mayor Regalado -- were set to take it apart, says one person who was tracking the issue closely.Then came the Great Recession. Ironically, it may have been the best thing that could have happened to Miami 21. Development in South Florida ground to a halt, and city leaders were overwhelmed by other concerns. Suddenly, debate over a zoning code was no longer a front-burner issue.Gonzalez in the city planning office agrees. It was good timing, actually, because then when the economy did come back, we were ready to receive the development. And ever since the beginning of 2013, its been, like, boom!to appreciate the staggering rate of change Miami has seen in the past decade. From 2000 to 2014, the citys downtown doubled in residential population, and almost half the residents who live there now are between 25 and 44 years old. In the past decade alone, the city has added 113 new high-rises. Some of that development happened prior to Miami 21, which officially became law in May 2010. But most of it has happened since.For many in the city, the jury is still out. Regalado complains that with so many details spelled out in the code itself, or hammered out between developers and city planners, less of the process is subject to public input. In the old code, every minor zoning change had to be done by public hearing, he says. Miami 21 [offers] less transparency.Garcia says thats not the case. Under the old code, he says, the public hearings were much more acrimonious than they have been under Miami 21. Now we get out there and engage with the stakeholders. By the time a public hearing does occur, he says, everything has already been worked out.Aside from dissatisfaction with the process, there are still some people who think the new code is a substantively bad deal. A few lawsuits have been filed by landowners -- including the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami, which sued the city for $89 million in 2013 -- who say the new code has devalued their property. None of the suits has gone anywhere. Others have accused the city of applying the code inconsistently, letting certain projects skirt the regulations: A proposed Walmart in Midtown became a particular lightning rod for controversy, as urban big-box stores often are. But the city says the store has been designed to comply with Miami 21; ground was broken on the project in January.For the most part, Miamians seem to be living with the new code. Architects and developers appreciate the predictability of it; city planners like the way its shaping new growth. In fact, nearly everyone seems to agree that its working extremely well downtown. But it becomes more problematic when applied to smaller neighborhoods. Miami 21 is great in the areas of town that are already designated as high-density, high-intensity development, says Ines Marrero-Priegues, a local land use attorney. The process for upzoning to add new denser projects in other parts of the city, however, is very lengthy. Its easy to get projects approved in the urban core, but it can be very onerous for people who are doing smaller projects where theres less density already.Theres one thing you wont find mentioned anywhere in the pages of Miami 21: climate change. According to some of the latest projections of sea-level rise, large parts of Miami could be underwater in as little as 85 years, which can make Miami 21s intense focus on walkability and livability seem a bit ironic. Its not quite like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but some fear it might be close. I think were behind the curve, says Regalado. Sea-level rise is something no one wants to talk about because the condos are selling very well; Latin American people are buying condos by the dozen. Its going to be painful, but we do need to create a code that takes sea-level rise into account.Regalado says he wants to add a climate change component to Miami 21 before he leaves office in November 2017. Thats something that Garcia would love to see as well. The climate change conversation, he says, has typically been dominated by architects, not planners, and has focused on making single buildings climate-resilient. What I think is being left out of the conversation, he says, is neighborhood resiliency, as opposed to building resiliency.The full impact of Miami 21 wont be felt for decades. But simply getting to this point has been a remarkable event. Those seven years we spent developing the code, Garcia says, were seven years of getting a better understanding of what the concerns of the citizens were, and engaging the citizens to wrestle with planning and zoning issues. The knowledge base improved significantly, so now we can have much more advanced, sophisticated conversations with stakeholders. The profile of planning as a whole has been elevated.Walking around Wynwood, or popping into a sidewalk coffee shop in a new skyscraper downtown, most people arent thinking about the building code. They just know that Miami is becoming a nicer place to live. But the city as a whole has indeed come to appreciate the role zoning plays in creating a better built environment. Former mayor Diaz says thats something he learned as well. You dont run for office on urban planning. You run because you say, Im going to fight poverty, or fight crime, or improve education. But I realized that planning is the most important issue. We fight crime, and it goes down, and thats good. But in a few years, it might go up again. You move the needle as best you can, but these are constantly changing issues. But a new building, he says, will impact residents for generations. When you put up a building, its there for a hundred years. (TNS) -- Paul Nielsen, director of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, told a group in Peoria last week that the Central Illinois Center of Excellence for Secure Software could be an example for the nation.Speaking before some 50 people at the Marriott Pere Marquette Hotel last week, Nielsen praised the program which seeks to train programmers to write software less vulnerable to cyberattacks.The CICESS program, now established at ICC, seeks to employ students as apprentices at local companies.CICESS founder Girish Seshagiri hopes to make the software center an employment driver for the area that would also provide opportunities for minority and women entrants in the tech field."There's nothing quite like this program at the community college level anywhere in the country," said Nielsen."Students will have to produce in order to attract more companies into the program," he said."I think this effort has a good shot," said Nielsen who heads an institute that employs 600 people."We have an annual budget of $150 million and do a lot of software work for the Department of Defense. We're also involved with systems that are designed for autonomy like self-driving cars," he said.Nielsen likened the conversion to self-driving cars to society's move to self-service elevators after relying on elevator operators for many years. Attractive targets Networking risks Constant attacks Experts in demand Little official concern (TNS) -- Michael Hamilton was the CIO for the city of Seattle when he noticed the citys security systems had snagged a booby-trapped email. The threat was contained before it became a problem, he said, but the malicious program apparently targeted power marketers, the utility employees who negotiate with wholesalers for electricity. Power marketers tend to keep their dealings fairly close to the chest, Hamilton said, so how did one of them end up in the sights of cybercriminals?Hackers in China, he said, breached Google in 2009. Google creates some of its own electricity and has its own power marketers power marketers, Hamilton said, who have connections with people at much larger utility companies.Small governments and local agencies generate troves of sensitive information in the course of doing business. But what may be more worrisome is that many towns and agencies are also connected to state networks or infrastructure systems and local governments resources to protect their networks and stored data can vary widely.Hamilton, who worked for Seattle from 2006 to 2013 and is now the CEO at the cybersecurity consulting firm Critical Informatics Inc., said the errant message Seattle flagged was likely part of an effort to wrangle a much larger prize, probably something under the umbrella of a larger utility, such as a power grid.Thats local government getting in the sights of a nation-state for the purpose of, likely, disruption, he said.Word of a major credit card data breach always sucks the air out of the room for IT types, he said, but oftentimes most victims are going to get their money back, along with free identity theft protection and credit monitoring afterward, and banks catch a lot of the attempted fraud.I get another letter from a credit card company or my toilet wont flush for three days, Hamilton said. The lowest-hanging fruit is local government.Its hard to say how plugged in and networked public systems, such as sewage or traffic lights, really are. If they are somehow networked, it was likely done in a duct-tape-and-baling-wire fashion, Hamilton said, and those kind of networks arent hard to find for someone who knows what theyre doing.In March, the Justice Department filed charges against seven Iranian hackers, including one who allegedly accessed the control software for a 102-by-22-foot dam in a New York suburb.The feds say the man who hacked into the dam systems could access information about water depth or temperature, but the actual equipment to operate the small dams gates had never been connected.Plenty of breaches arent as brazen or spooky. In late February, someone broke into and defaced the website for East County Fire & Rescue.A firefighter logged in at the station and found that searches for the site were being redirected toward pornography, according to a police report.The fire district shut down the site and called the sheriffs office. The case was suspended with no known suspects or leads.The fire district is connected to county systems that have their own protections. Its website was built separately, and mainly to share information with residents, interim chief Al Gillespie said.It was more of a pain in the neck than a real problem for our organization, he said. Its not something we used to have to worry about, but it certainly is the way of the world now, he said.Local governments are attractive targets, said Sam Kim, Clark Countys chief information officer, in part because theyre connected to state systems or other large networks.That could be a huge vulnerability. Thats why I say, regardless of how big or small you are, you need to be vigilant, he said.The State Auditors Office has been ramping up its efforts in examining information security practices in the past few years.The office tested five state agencies and said in findings shared in 2014 that officials found hundreds of security flaws.It was a very specific, focused audit, where we looked at what state agencies were doing in terms of old equipment, and their procedures and policies, said Aaron Munn, the chief information security officer for the state auditor.Moving on from state agencies, Munn said, the office has recently started working with more local governments about cybersecurity, and a few audits were ongoing.The auditors office released its report on the city of Mill Creek in Snohomish County, the first city to volunteer for a specific security audit.Kim said its hard to say how many attacks the county fields, because there are so many avenues that hackers try.Were constantly under attack, constantly being probed, he said.He couldnt say where all the attacks were coming from, either, but plenty didnt originate from the United States.Munn said attempts to crack a network can range from phishing emails to high-tech, nation-backed break-ins.Its difficult to answer that question, but every organization is susceptible, Munn said.Public agencies often lack money or resources for security, he said, and many governments looked toward their IT departments as a place to cut back during the recession.Early last year, the Municipal Research and Services Center, a nonprofit organization that provides research and data for local governments in Washington, surveyed and interviewed officials from states, cities and counties about information security. (Hamiltons consulting company, then called M.K. Hamilton & Associates, did the study.)About 80 percent of survey respondents worked for communities of fewer than 25,000 people, and 60 percent served fewer than 10,000.Many of those organizations said they had zero staff members working in IT, and more than half said they outsourced that work. Perhaps commensurate with the size of their organizations, a majority of respondents reported they had minimal or zero funding.Theres a workforce issue, as to training, Munn said. These are complex issues were dealing with that require maintenance, but theres also availability challenges.One of the biggest problems facing the public sector is the lack of security professionals, Hamilton said.Cities, counties, public utilities cannot afford these people, he said.Demand in general for cybersecurity experts is high, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of people employed as information security analysts, the bureaus title for IT professionals who specialize in cybersecurity, is expected to climb 18 percent by 2024, much faster than the average for other occupations.The median pay for cybercrime experts in the public sector was about $74,000 per year in 2014, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it was $89,000 across all industries.In a 2015 report, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers surveyed IT chiefs from 48 states, and about 92 percent of respondents said pay prevented them from attracting and keeping talent, and that was for state governments.Voters should talk to their local agencies or governments if theyre concerned about their towns information infrastructure, Kim said, but one of the best things a person can do to bolster security at the government level is to watch out for their own: Use good password practices, keep browsers and operating systems updated and use two-factor authentication systems where possible.Just like everybody else, the No. 1 vulnerability is not our systems, its people, Kim said. Its the inside job, and it could be no malevolence involved.Most people who sit down at computers connected in a roundabout way to some sensitive data somewhere are just trying to do their jobs and they arent hired to stave off computer criminals.They make mistakes: Kim said one test IT programs will do is leave nice USB thumb drives lying in the parking lot to see who takes the bait and plugs in a strange drive into a secure network.Lets face it, cybersecurity, information security is not on the foremost of anybodys mind, Kim said. They want to complete their task.A large piece of dealing with that is a matter of training to meet new threats, he said, and that ought to be for everyone in an organization.Getting buy-in from agency executives and elected officials can be another hurdle, he said.When do burglar alarms get installed? After the break-in.Public information technology workers told the Municipal Research and Services Center that they generally agreed agency heads and elected officials need additional education to understand the extent of the problems.Respondents said 75 percent of government executives had little or no interest in addressing information security risks.On a scale of 1 to 5, 75 percent of respondents gave government executives scores less than 3 for their awareness of information security threats.In the focus groups, it was widely acknowledged that the level of threat is increasing, especially to smaller organizations without the means to defend themselves, the center said.One advantage that governments and public agencies do have, Kim said, is they can work together.You probably wont see Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman working together on security, he said, since they have trade secrets to protect and an interest in looking like a more secure bet to customers.Public agencies, on the other hand, all face the same problems, work in the same space and can share resources and expertise. They dont have competition, he said.Kim said hes working on a plan to centralize information security and network services for public agencies with the county.The idea is that the countys towns and agencies could all share the same standards and systems for storing their data and operating their networks, all operating using the countys architecture.The countys always playing interference and patching up weak spots, he said. No system especially one that needs to be open and usable, like a governments can be completely secure.Most hackers tend to go for the path of least resistance, so a large part of being secure is making sure you dont look like an easy target, Kim said.We just need to not be alarmist, but make sure were all vigilant, he said. I think government in particular owes the residents of this county to assure them, Hey, were doing everything in our power to make sure things are safe and secure.? Nexeon has developed and patented a novel way of structuring silicon so that it delivers extended cycle life and significantly increases anode charge capacityalmost ten times the gravimetric capacity per gram (mAh g -1 ) compared to carbon anodes. Used in combination with a standard cathode, this can increase cell capacity by 30-40%, Nexeon says. According to a report in EETimes, UK start-up Nexeon Limited , a spin-off from Imperial College London based on work done by Professor Mino Green, Emeritus Professor at the Department of Electrical Engineering ( earlier post ), is getting ready to license its silicon anode technology for Li-ion batteries, and is in talks with battery makers. Silicon is conceptually an attractive anode material for lithium-ion batteries because of its high theoretical charge capacity (4,200 mAh g-1more than 10 times that of graphite anodes and much larger than various nitride and oxide materials) and low discharge potential. However, silicon anodes are problematic because the materials volume changes by up to 400% upon the insertion and extraction of lithium ions during charge/discharge cycles. This results in pulverization and capacity fading. Nexeon says that its patented silicon structures overcome the poor cycle life problems by mitigating the volume expansion issue. These structured silicon anode materials deliver extended cycle life without degradation of capacity. Nexeon is developing a range of materials with different morphologies and capacities. It says its first commercially available material is capable of capacities up to 1,000 mAh g-1. (As an application example, 2.6g of Nexeons first generation structured silicon can replace around 10g of graphite anode material in a commercial 2600 mAh 18650 cell.) Nexeon says it is working on a second-generation material with a different morphology optimized for higher capacities of up to 3,600 mAh -1. The graphite currently used it cells can be replaced with Nexeon materials and used in combination with conventional polymer binders and current collectors as part of the standard battery manufacturing process, the company says, offering a drop-in solution to higher capacities. The company has a fully automated and instrumented pilot plant in full operation, capable of producing more than 1 kg of material a day (enough material for approximately 500 x 18650 cells). Further proprietary equipment has been designed and is now in the final stages of being tested Resources Hydrogenious Technologies is a spin-off from the University of Erlangen- Nuremberg (Germany), which also holds a stake in the company, and the Bavarian Hydrogen Center . Instead of storing hydrogen either under high pressure of up to 700 bar or in liquid form at 253 C, Hydrogenious technology catalytically binds and releases the hydrogen molecules to liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). The proposed LOHC compounds have many physico-chemical similarities to diesel. Thus, LOHCs could make use of the existing energy infrastructure (e.g. tank ships, storage tanks or fueling stations) and enable a slow and step-wise replacement of the existing hydrocarbon fuels by alternative LOHC fuels. South Africa-based Anglo American Platinum , the worlds leading primary producer of platinum group metals (PGMs), has invested in the first close of the Series A financing round of Hydrogenious Technologies, a company developing liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) hydrogen storage technology. The round was fully funded by Anglo American. During loading and unloading, the LOHC material itself is not consumed but can be reused many times. Important selection parameters for suitable substances are storage density, physical state under ambient conditions, availability, durability and pureness. Hydrogenious Technologies already provides hydrogenation-ready high-quality LOHC materials customized for the particular application (stationary, mobile, etc.). These products include: N-Ethylcarbazole Perhydro-N-Ethylcarbazole Dibenzyltoluene Perhydro-Dibenzyltoluene Hydrogenious is developing HydroSTORE, a stationary storage system, to offer solutions to the increasing energy storage needs arising out of further expansion of renewable energy generation. The flexibility to decouple input power, output power and storage capacity would contribute to grid stabilization and grid independence. The Bavarian Hydrogen Center is hosting a demonstrator system based on the LOHC technology developed at the University of Erlangen. In this system hydrogen is generated via electrolysis by means of surplus renewable energy (for example, from a photovoltaic system) and stored chemically using LOHCs in a conventional fuel tank at ambient conditions. The hydrogen can be released and converted back into electricity in a fuel cell when required. A storage facility will be built and installed at a residential building in Erlangen during the course of this project. Besides supplying the house with electricity, the heat generated can be used to heat the house. This storage facility is currently under development and is expected to be installed mid-2014. Earlier this year, Anglo American Platinum announced its commitment of US$100 million over the next five years to support early stage technologies and innovative industrial applications that use or enable the use of platinum group metals. As part of this market development strategy, Hydrogenious will use the new funding to support further development of the HydroSTORE, taking it from prototype to fully commercial product. Hydrogenious technology may be the long awaited solution to efficient, safe and cost- effective hydrogen storage. We believe this could lead to the breakthrough of hydrogen as a mass fueling solution. Our interest in the success of platinum-based fuel cells for stationary and longer-term mobile applications could be well served through this type of hydrogen infrastructure solution. Andrew Hinkly, Anglo American Platinums Executive Head of Marketing Hydrogenious technology was developed and optimized by the founding partners, CEO Daniel Teichmann and the university professors Peter Wasserscheid, Wolfgang Arlt and Eberhard Schlucker together with their research teams at the University of ErlangenNuremberg. Hydrogenious Technologies and the LOHC concept is being illustrated in this video clip, produced for the Bavarian Founders Awards (Bayerischer Grunderpreis) (in German only). Hydrogenious was awarded the 2014 Bavarian Founders Award this May. Fundamental aspects of Hydrogenious technology have been developed at the Bavarian Hydrogen Center, a cross-institutional research platform focusing on the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy, and within the framework of the Erlangen Excellence Cluster Engineering of Advanced Materials. Hydrogenious will continue its close research co-operation with the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Anglo American Platinum Limited is a member of the Anglo American plc Group and is the worlds leading primary producer of platinum group metals. Resources The Draft Action Plan puts forward a single shared vision to improve the efficiency of Californias freight system while reducing its pollution, while continuing to bolster the competitiveness of Californias goods movement system nationally and internationally. Key components of the Action Plan include: A long-term 2050 vision and guiding principles for Californias future freight transport system. Improve freight system efficiency 25% by 2030. Deploy more than 100,000 zero-emission vehicles/equipment and maximize near-zero by 2020. Foster future economic growth within the freight and goods movement industry. Developed in response to Governor Browns Executive Order B-32-15, which calls for a single integrated action plan for California, the Draft Action Plan was drafted by the California State Transportation Agency; California Environmental Protection Agency; Natural Resources Agency; California Air Resources Board; California Department of Transportation; California Energy Commission; and Governors Office of Business and Economic Development with broad stakeholder input. The Executive Order directs the state agencies to pursue a shared vision to improve freight efficiency, transition to zero-emission technologies and increase the competitiveness of Californias freight system. Benefits include meeting the states freight infrastructure, public health, air quality and climate goals. Achieving the Draft Action Plans objectives will require strategic partnerships and well-coordinated investments in new technologies and major infrastructure upgrades. The plan provides an opportunity for leveraging new federal, State, local and private investment for these freight transport system improvements. Californias freight system is the most extensive and interconnected freight system in the United States and comprises several deep water seaports; cargo airports; border crossings; and a vast warehousing and distribution sector, all connected by a network of more than 11,000 miles of railroad track and Interstate and state highways. Each component is critical and the system depends on these interconnected facilities working in concert to move freight in and out of California to the rest of the nation and across the globe. Californias freight-dependent industries accounted for more than $740 billion in revenue and more than 5 million jobs in 2014. While freight transport in California is a major economic engine for the state, emissions from ships, harbor craft, trucks, locomotives, cargo equipment, aircraft and other freight participants account for about half of toxic diesel particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), 45% of the NO x emissions that form ozone and fine particulate matter in the atmosphere, and 6% of all greenhouse gas emissions in California. Many of these pollutants are emitted in close proximity to communities and pose health risks to nearby residents, highlighting the need for additional steps to protect public health. The draft we are releasing today represents an unprecedented collaboration among government agencies, in keeping with the importance of the freight sector to our economy and our environment. The plan commits to include all stakeholders at every step in the process, from refining goals and selecting pilot projects through implementation into the coming decade. Our challenge is to deliver both public health and economic benefits at our ports, on our highways, and in our communities throughout the state. California Air Resources Board Chair Mary D. Nichols. The Draft Action Plan builds on existing State agency strategies, including the California Freight Mobility Plan, Sustainable Freight Pathways to Zero and Near- Zero Emissions Discussion Document and the Integrated Energy Policy Report. Broad stakeholder input provided over the past several months, including 11 workshops across the state, inform this Draft Action Plan. The Draft Action Plan is available now for stakeholder and public feedback through 6 July 2016. Additionally, agency staff will present it as an informational item at public meetings of the California Freight Advisory Committee, the California Transportation Commission and California Air Resources Board in May. After consideration of comments and any new information received, the agencies involved will make changes as appropriate and provide the Action Plan to the Agency Secretaries for Transportation, Environmental Protection, and Natural Resources for consideration and submittal to the Governor. After transmittal, the State agencies will continue work with federal, State, industry, regional, local, and environmental and community-based partners to inform, refine, and prioritize the strategies and actions identified in the Action Plan. As the State agencies move forward gathering additional information and developing the actions, pilot project, and other Action Plan concepts further, the concepts may change, be adjusted, or new concepts may be added. Implementation of the concepts will also be conditional based on the successful completion of applicable public processes, necessary financing approvals, technical analysis, and economic and environmental reviews. Full economic impact analyses will be required of regulatory actions developed by the Air Resources Board before the Board considers such actions. Engineering responsibilities will be shared based on each companys respective expertise. FCA will initially design and engineer around 100 vehicles uniquely built for Googles self-driving technology. Google will integrate the suite of sensors and computers that the vehicles will rely on to navigate roads autonomously. The Google Self-Driving Car Project and FCA announced will collaborate to integrate Googles self-driving technology into all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans ( earlier post ) to expand Googles existing self-driving test program. This marks the first time that Google has worked directly with an automaker to integrate its self-driving system, including its sensors and software, into a passenger vehicle. The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans will be used later this year for Googles self-driving testing, more than doubling Googles current fleet of self-driving test vehicles. Both companies will co-locate part of their engineering teams at a facility in southeastern Michigan to accelerate the design, testing and manufacturing of the self-driving Chrysler Pacifica. FCA has a nimble and experienced engineering team and the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan is well-suited for Googles self-driving technology. The opportunity to work closely with FCA engineers will accelerate our efforts to develop a fully self-driving car that will make our roads safer and bring everyday destinations within reach for those who cannot drive. John Krafcik, CEO, Google Self-Driving Car Project Self-driving cars have the potential to prevent some of the 33,000 deaths that occur each year on US roads, 94% of which are caused by human error. This collaboration will help FCA and Google better understand what it will take to bring self-driving cars into the world. Working with Google provides an opportunity for FCA to partner with one of the worlds leading technology companies to accelerate the pace of innovation in the automotive industry. The experience both companies gain will be fundamental to delivering automotive technology solutions that ultimately have far-reaching consumer benefits. Sergio Marchionne, CEO, FCA Googles self-driving cars are currently being tested in four US cities. The self-driving Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans will be tested by Googles self-driving car team on its private test track in California prior to operating on public roads. The Google Self-Driving Car Project is working to develop fully self-driving vehicles that have the potential to make our roads safer and increase mobility for the millions of people who cannot drive. The ultimate goal is to help people get from A to B at the push of a button. In the projects seven year history, the vehicles in the test fleet have self-driven over 1.5 million miles on public roads, and theyre currently being tested in Mountain View, CA, Austin, TX, Kirkland, WA, and Phoenix, AZ. The Google Self-Driving Car Project is part of X, a moonshot factory thats part of Googles parent company Alphabet. The old hypotheses that Persian Gulf energy subsidies were sacrosanct have been overturned, according to a new issue brief from Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy. In recent years, all six Gulf monarchiesSaudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Bahrainhave begun to challenge the notion that citizens are entitled to cheap energy. They have raised prices on transportation fuel; three have increased prices on electricity and water in citizens homes; and electricity and water subsidies for businesses have been reduced in five of the six monarchies, the brief noted. Across the Gulf, Iran has taken similar steps. Energy Subsidy Reform in the Persian Gulf: The End of the Big Oil Giveaway was co-authored by Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at the Baker Institute, and Shih Yu Elsie Hung, a research associate in the institutes Center for Energy Studies. The paper presents a snapshot of the progress of subsidy reform in the Gulf, documenting policy changes in all six monarchies and briefly examining the role of energy and the state. The authors said energy subsidies have long outlived their usefulness. Energy products such as electricity and gasoline have been distributed domestically at low prices that, in some cases, have been fixed since the era of oil nationalization in the 1970s. Over time, government provision of cheap energy had the unintended consequence of encouraging high per-capita demand, the authors wrote. Policymakers hope higher energy prices can produce a number of helpful effects, the authors said. These effects include relieving pressure on government budgets at a time when oil and gas revenues are low; reducing domestic demand for oil and gas that can otherwise be exported; increasing the relative attractions of non-carbon sources of energy; and encouraging conservation and efficiency, which helps reduce carbon emissions and the energy intensity of the gross domestic product while increasing overall productivity. Despite the reform pace, the still-cautious nature of these reforms demonstrates that the monarchies remain deferential to the wishes of their citizens, who have been shielded from the brunt of the reform, the authors said. In their open-access paper, published in the ACS Journal Environmental Science & Technology, they estimate that these small fleets, which represent less than 1% of the total, may be overlooked as a significant emission source (>25% of fleet emissions). A study by researchers from the University of Denver and the University of Puget Sound indicates that high-mileage light-duty fleets contribute higher emissions and emissions share than expected based on their actual numbers in the fleet. Most emission inventory calculations use a computer model to estimate the fleets emissions. California uses the EMFAC (EMission FACtors) emissions model; the rest of the US uses the EPA MOVES (Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator) model. Both models use a combination of fleet size, fleet average emissions, vehicle speeds (EMFAC), and fleet average mileage activity to calculate a mass of emissions. Fleet size and activity are linked with vehicle age; mean emissions generally involve age, initial emission certification levels, and emission level classifications. In both models, vehicle activity levels are most often uniformly applied across all of the vehicle emission level classifications, with the underlying assumption that all vehicles, including high emitters, have the same age-adjusted travel fractions. Modern vehicle fleet emissions are dominated by a relatively small number of high emitting vehicles, resulting in a skewed emission distribution, which is best described by a gamma distribution. High emitters occur as a result of breakage, mal-maintenance (performance modifications, rechipping, and/or after-treatment removal), and at end of a vehicles useful life. For example, recent on-road emission measurements in California and other locations have shown that the 99th percentile is responsible for more than a third of the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions and more than 15% of the nitric oxide (NO) emissions on a fuel-specific basis, and these imbalances continue to grow each year. These percent contributions assume that the fuel consumption is proportional to the fleet fraction sampled. However, these percentages could increase or decrease if the vehicles represented in the 99th percentile consume significantly less or more fuel than the fleet average, potentially adding an additional compounding skewed distribution to the calculation. One segment of the on-road fleet that is believed to drive more miles and consume more fuel than the average fleet vehicle is livery (for-hire) vehicles, such as taxis and limousines. Livery fleets have changed significantly in the past decade, with many city fleets now featuring large numbers of hybrid and alternatively fueled vehicles. There has been little recent research into the emission durability of these new fleets, and in this paper, we examine some recent and historical emission data from the Seattle and Chicago area to obtain a picture of how current livery vehicle emissions compare to the rest of the fleet and examine their importance to fleet emissions. Bishop et al. In their study, Bishop et al. used data collected at three US sampling sites: (1) in Washington State on the taxi and shuttle loop at the SeattleTacoma International Airport; (2) a long-term light-duty site in California located on I-10 between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles; and (3) a long-term light-duty site in Illinois located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. The researchers used the West LA data as a baseline for comparison with the high-mileage fleet measurements. They used remote vehicle exhaust sensors to collect emissions measurements, and recorded a video image of the license plate of each vehicle. The transcribed plate was used to obtain non-personal vehicle information, including make, model year, vehicle identification number, and fuel type from the state registration records of California, Illinois, and Washington. SeaTac Toyota Prius taxis mean grams of pollutant per kilogram of fuel emissions () by model year compared to Toyota Prius model emissions measured on-road at the WLA measurement site (). Uncertainties are standard error of the means determined from the daily samples for the west LA data and by bootstrap resampling techniques for the SeaTac measurements. Credit: ACS, Bishop et al. Click to enlarge. Among their findings: Hybrid taxis (Prius) at Sea-Tac showed large increases in carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and oxide of nitrogen emissions in their fourth year when compared to similar vehicles from the general population. In Chicago, the observed, on-road taxi fleet also had significantly higher emissions and an emissions share that was more than double their fleet representation. Fleet emission inventory calculations generally rely on some type of age-weighted activity factor, usually model year, for generating the totals. High-mileage vehicles, such as taxis and limousines, are not generally considered to be numerous enough to change these weighting factors, because, for example, in King County, Washington, taxis only account for about 0.6% of the registered vehicles (2000/325000). If, however, as observed in Chicago, their emission contribution is about twice their fleet percentage and, in addition, they consume more fuel than the county average, then their emission contribution could grow to be 25% of the total. In areas where these high-mileage fleets are in higher concentrations, such as airports and downtown business centers, their emission contribution could produce much larger inventory errors if not taken into account. As tailpipe emissions continue to decrease, emission distributions will become more skewed, likely increasing the importance of higher emission high-mileage fleets and their contribution to vehicle emission inventories. Bishop et al. Resources Hydrogenious Technologies is a spin-off from the University of Erlangen- Nuremberg (Germany), which also holds a stake in the company, and the Bavarian Hydrogen Center. Instead of storing hydrogen either under high pressure of up to 700 bar or in liquid form at 253 C, Hydrogenious technology catalytically binds and releases the hydrogen molecules to liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). ( Earlier post .) One of Anglo American Platinums investments, Hydrogenious Technologies , a German hydrogen storage startup, has launched its first commercial hydrogen storage and logistics system using its innovative Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) technology. Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) are an interesting option for the storage of hydrogen. The concept of LOHC is based on the reversible hydrogenation of an unsaturated, usually aromatic, compound. This reaction forms a saturated compound, which is the hydrogen-rich form of the carrier. In a dehydrogenation reaction, the hydrogenated (i.e., hydrogen rich) form releases the hydrogen for further utilization. The hydrogen uptake in the hydrogenation reaction requires elevated pressures of about 30 to 50 bar. The dehydrogenation on the other hand can be operated at ambient pressure but necessitates high temperatures of up to 300 C. However, during storage time, ambient conditions can be applied to the carrier, without any negative influence on storage density or losses during storage time. This is one of the most important advantages compared to most other hydrogen storage technologies. Muller et al. Hydrogenation of the Hydrogenious LOHC, which occurs via the catalytic reaction at 50 bar pressure, is an exothermal process with 10kWh th /kg H 2 usable heat @ 150 C. The reactor design allows for a continuous hydrogenation process. The storage medium is dibenzyltoluenea liquid organic hydrocarbon that maintains a liquid state in a broad temperature range between -39C to 390C and ambient pressure. It is low flammability and non-explosive, even when loaded with hydrogen. There is no evaporation of stored hydrogenmulti-month storage is possible without any losses. The proposed LOHC compounds have many physico-chemical similarities to diesel. Thus, LOHCs could make use of the existing energy infrastructure (e.g. tank ships, storage tanks or fueling stations) and enable a slow and step-wise replacement of the existing hydrocarbon fuels by alternative LOHC fuels. The release of hydrogen molecules from the liquid carrier medium also occurs via catalytic reaction. This is an endothermic process with 10kWh th /kg H 2 @ ~300C. The system features various new technologies, including a Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) electrolyzer that generates hydrogen using solar power and a Hydrogenious StorageBOX that uses LOHC technology to enable storage without any losses for extended periods of time. Hydrogenious Technologies recently signed a deal with United Hydrogen Group (UHG), a hydrogen distribution company based in the United States, to supply two LOHC systems, one StorageBOX and one ReleaseBOX. The technology will increase delivery ranges and decrease the operating costs of hydrogen logistics for UHG. Further, the agreement enables Hydrogenious Technologies to enter the US market, which represents over 50% of the global hydrogen market, and will support the rollout of hydrogen refueling infrastructure for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs.) Hydrogenious Technologies recently was awarded with the prestigious German Industry Innovation Award. Hydrogenious Technologies manufacturing plant in Erlangen, Germany, was formally inaugurated at an event attended by key government and business officials in the country including Ilse Aigner (Bavarian State Minister of Economic Affairs and Media, Energy and Technology), Prof. Joachim Hornegger (President of FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg), Dr. Katharina Beumelburg (CEO Siemens Hydrogen Solutions) and Frank Sreball (CEO H2 Mobility). The investment in Hydrogenious Technologies forms part of Anglo American Platinums commitment to support early stage technologies and innovative industrial applications that use or enable the use of platinum group metals. Anglo American Platinum invested in Hydrogenious Technologies first financing round in 2014. Resources Nexeon will use the new funds to acquire IP and complementary technology; to open a development lab in Asia near its key customers; and to begin work on the design of a larger manufacturing facility. These initiatives will further support Nexeons efforts to achieve world-leading levels of battery energy density, and to satisfy the demand for superior battery performance in applications ranging from smart phones, wearables, drones and other mobile consumer devices to e-bikes and electric vehicles. Nexeon has developed and patented a novel way of structuring silicon so that it delivers extended cycle life and significantly increases anode charge capacityalmost ten times the gravimetric capacity per gram (mAh g-1) compared to carbon anodes. Used in combination with a standard cathode, this can increase cell capacity by 30-40%, Nexeon says. GREENWICH Greenwich resident Joe Kaliko has worn many hats in his life, from attorney to member of the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol. Now hes taking on a new position. The Connecticut General Assembly has confirmed Kalikos appointment by Gov. Dannel Malloy to be a member of the Connecticut Medical Examining Board. The 21-person board, which is made up of 14 medical professionals and seven laypeople, is responsible for handling complaints against physicians made to the state Department of Health. If a doctor cuts off the wrong limb then you have a malpractice case, but you also can make a complaint with the Department of Public Health, Kaliko said. The purpose of this board is to protect the public that consumes medical services in the state of Connecticut. This is very important work and you have to take this extremely seriously. The board deals with doctors accused of breaking the law, committing medical errors or violating professional ethics codes. It has the power to levy fines, suspend or revoke medical licenses, and make doctors take additional training or submit to supervision of their work. Kalikos nomination received unanimous support in the Legislature. State Rep. Fred Camillo, R-151st, a longtime friend of Kalikos and co-founder with him of The Needs Clearing House charity, called Kaliko a town and state treasure. Joe has impacted many lives in his various roles in both town and state government, Camillo said. (He) always leaves any organization or entity he is a part of a much better and stronger place than he found it. In his new role, he will again be an advocate for all of our citizens as public health affects us all. The board, which meets monthly in Hartford, relies on evidence it hears, including recommendations by Health Department investigators, when adjudicating cases. Its like being a judge, Kaliko said. You have evidence thats presented to you and you have to check peoples credibility and evaluate their claims like you would in a court. Our job is to hold a full and fair hearing but our ultimate responsibility remains to the public and to make sure bad doctors arent able to practice anymore. Kaliko has served many roles within the Malloy administration after first working as part of the governors transition team when he took office in 2011. But that work, including in areas like economic development and the state lottery, has never given Kaliko the chance he has now. This is an opportunity to serve the public directly, Kaliko said. This is work that is going to have a direct impact and its very important. Im honored to have the chance to do this. Kalikos first meeting is on May 17. More information about the board is available at http://1.usa.gov/1BprEpi. kborsuk@scni.com It used to be that small businesses were not high on the list of targets of cyber-criminals and hackers. So, it's no surprise that today, many small business owners still operate with that mindset, despite increasing evidence that the trend has changed. Related: 7 Cybersecurity Layers Every Entrepreneur Needs to Understand Due to the notable increase in cyber crime, the threat against cyber security is increasingly important. And the impact when that security is compromised is worse for small businesses, since they have less bounce-back ability after an attack. Smart small business owners, however, understand what the current security trend is. And, though small, they know that their businesses are at risk. That is why they budget for security. This way they can be protected from the numerous hackers out to drill a hole in a lot of unlucky businesses out there. As a small business owner, you should do the same. Here are six reasons why: 1. Hackers expect loopholes in small businesses. Most hackers expect small business sites to be full of loopholes and therefore easy to exploit. This is because they assume that small business owners are lazy or at least reluctant when it comes to investing in cyber security. The sad thing is that often they are right. Small businesses increasingly are targets because of their lack of risk-awareness. A study showed that small and medium-size businesses in the United States cut spending on security by 20 percent in 2014. This was reflected in a 64 percent increase in SME compromises between 2013 and 2104. The idea that your business still looks small, and cannot be targeted by cyber criminals might have been true a few years ago, but not anymore. 2. The size of the business doesnt matter to cyber criminals. My business is too small to be targeted right? Wrong! Cyber criminals are interested in data, period. So, if your business can offer the kind of quality data they need, you already have a pretty visible bulls-eye painted on your back. It is not the size of the business that matters; it is the quality of the data. If your business has lots of customer contact info, credit card data, health data or valuable intellectual property, you may need to re-evaluate your stance on cyber security. You may think you cannot afford the cost of cyber security, but you surely will struggle more, considering the negative impact of cyber crime. Related: 4 Ways Your Small Business Can Better Prevent Cyber Crime 3. In the past, you probably left some sugar lying around for the ants. You know what it is like to start and grow a new business. Usually, you sign up for many online services, cloud tools, bank accounts, emails and more. Those little crumbs can act like a sugar cluster that will lead the cyber insects right to your doorstep. Investing in security is what will protect you from this potential danger. 4. You may be opening a back door to a larger companys data. Many hackers are not interested in you for your worth or even for your data. Many times, what they're interested in is whom you do business with. If have any reasonable online contact with bigger companies that may present juicier data and prospects, you need to invest heavily in security, for that reason alone. The reason is that your non-secure systems can unlock access to a bigger companys data. And the consequences of that compromise could be huge. 5. Your Internet connection may be prone to easy compromise. Hackers can steal your data when you are not using a secure wi-fi connection. There is a certain carelessness with which small businesses treat their Internet connections, and this may become their undoing. Staff members accessing sensitive company data via a nonsecure wi-fi connection when they work remotely can also increase the risk of cyber compromise. 6. Recent statistics don't favor you in the slightest. Kataku reports that 62 percent of cyber attack victims in recent times have been small- and medium-size business enterprises. The impact of these attacks is usually so debilitating that most of these companies never recover. The United Kingdom, for instance, records about 120,000 cyber attacks a day. This shows that there is a great underestimation of the threat cyber crimes pose in todays business world. Related: Meet the Middlemen Who Connect Hackers for Hire With Corporate America Businesses cannot thrive if they are not doing some form of online business or at least have a strong online presence. This increases the number of businesses prone to attack by the fast growing number of cyber criminals. So, make sure yours is not one of them. Related: Copyright 2016 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved GREENWICH When police arrived in the neighborhood of Douglass Ewald to serve an arrest warrant on him, they came in force. Ewald, 54, of Sherwood Place, has an alleged history of making bizarre and irrational statement regarding town officials and police officers. Neighbors and other local residents had contacted authorities about what they described as harassing behavior. Besides the history of mentally unstable conduct, there have been run-ins with law enforcement in Massachusetts and Vermont, according to police records. Late last week, a family member contacted Greenwich police that Ewalds mental health had apparently taken a severe turn for the worse. According to court papers on file at the Stamford Superior Court, Ewald had spoken of obtaining a weapon and getting even with his imagined persecutors. He was described by the family member as emotionally disturbed. An arrest warrant was obtained from the court by GPD in short order after the family member called from New Jersey. The charge was second-degree breach of beach of peace, a misdemeanor. On the early afternoon of April 28, Ewald was picked up, according to the police report, and taken into custody after briefly resisting arrest. Bail was set at $25,000, and unable to post it, Ewald remains in custody. A judge ordered him to undergo a mental health assessment. According to court papers, Ewald has an extensive history of troubling incidents. On March 11, Ewald came to the office of the First Selectman Peter Tesei without an appointment and said he was being followed by the FBI. He was described as unruly and disruptive. In early March, he told a neighbor on Sherwood Place he would run over his (two) dogs if he saw them again. He had banged on the windows of the Citibank branch on Greenwich Avenue. Appearing at police headquarters on one occasion, he behaved in a loud, agitated and aggressive manner. He spoke his apartment being bugged and his food poisoned. Greenwich police found arrests in other states for violating a restraining order, stalking, intimidation of a witness and assault. Ewald once had a registration for a Beretta shotgun. A former IT professional and sales manager, Ewald has been on disability, according to court papers. His next court date is May 27. Robert.Marchant@scni.com Safe for now. Photo: David Ryder/Getty Images Supporters of Americas $15-minimum-wage experiment can breathe a little easier: The Supreme Court Monday refused to hear an appeal filed by the fast-food industry that challenged Seattles 2014 law, the countrys first to mandate a citywide living wage. Its the first time SCOTUS has weighed in on the legality of the trend, which has now spread from New York to San Francisco, and activists say its a good sign the justices dont plan to get in their way. Franchisees for big chains like McDonalds had argued the law is discriminatory because it treats them like theyre corporations instead of small-business owners that are (its true) on their own when it comes to handling economic difficulties. The way its written, Seattles law gives small-business owners until 2021 to raise wages to $15 an hour, but companies with more than 500 employees only get until 2018. The International Franchise Association had tried claiming the raise affirmatively harms hard-working franchise small business owners, but the Supreme Court didnt agree. Its refusal to entertain a challenge establishes a precedent for other cities and states as well it means their laws have to treat franchises as part of the parent company rather than as independent businesses. There are still other legal hurdles on the horizon, like a big challenge filed by restaurateurs in New York. But worker raises, meanwhile, keep on trickling out: Just last week, Cincinnatis mayor also proposed upping the citys minimum wage to $15. [Reuters] These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. For those who are eagerly waiting for the next-gen Mi Band from Xiaomi, there's some bad news: the wearable device's launch has been pushed back. This was announced by none other than the Chinese company's CEO Lei Jun on Weibo. The Mi Band 2 was set to be made official on May 10, alongside the Mi Max and MIUI 8.0. While Xiaomi might still go ahead and unveil the device as per the schedule, the release has been delayed by a month, as noted by Jun in his post. As you might already know, the device - which Xiaomi officially started teasing early last week - differs from its successors in that it comes with a display as well as a round, physical button. A leaked photo of the band surfaced online this week as well. Source On Apr. 28, President Jocelerme Privert inaugurated the five-member Independent Commission of Electoral Evaluation and Verification. Its members are: Francois Benoit , a former member of Haitis Provisional Electoral Council (2005-2006); Gedeon Jean , a former member of the Independent Electoral Evaluation Commission created on Dec. 22, 2015 under the Martelly regime; Pierre Wilfrid Sanon , designated by the Haitian Association of Construction Companies; Father Mc Donald Jean , appointed by the Anglican Church (former senator and member of the Council of the Wise in 2004); and Michel Eric Gaillard , designated by the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Haiti. The new Commission has a 30-day mandate. Its installation was boycotted by the Ambassadors of the U.S. and its allied Core Group nations. Privert had to twist the arm of his Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles to sign the decree forming the Commission and to attend the inauguration. Partisans of the Haitian Bald Headed Party (PHTK) of former President Michel Martelly have held violent demonstrations against the Verification Commission, breaking car windshields.The new Commission has a 30-day mandate. Its installation was boycotted by the Ambassadors of the U.S. and its allied Core Group nations. Privert had to twist the arm of his Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles to sign the decree forming the Commission and to attend the inauguration. Partisans of the Haitian Bald Headed Party (PHTK) of former President Michel Martelly have held violent demonstrations against the Verification Commission, breaking car windshields. The following edited excerpts from the Apr. 27 posting on the Haiti Elections Blog give the background on and lead-up to the Commissions installation. - Haiti Liberte A verification commission has been a key demand of many civil society organizations, human rights figures, and political parties, which for months have called for an investigation into electoral fraud. But the idea of verifying the vote has many powerful opponents, from former President Michel Martellys PHTK party and its allies in Parliament to the U.S. and other Core Group countries funding Haitis elections. The principal mission of a verification commission, according to the terms of reference submitted to Privert on Apr. 14, is to restore the confidence of political actors in the electoral process by establishing the credibility of the 2015 election results. To do so, the five-member commission will perform an in-depth evaluation of the vote and the prior decisions of the Electoral Litigation Bureaus (BCED and BCEN). The commission will have 30 days to complete this task, and all the major political parties and civil society groups will have the right to observe its work. Behind the scenes, the U.S. and other Core Group countries are reportedly demanding the right to veto any of the verification commissions conclusions. During Priverts absence from Haiti, foreign embassies stepped up pressure on interim Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles and parliamentarians to amend the commissions terms of reference, which give the five-person commission the final word on the fate of the elections. The Core Group wants to be able to challenge any decision by the verification panel, which could ultimately lead to the cancellation of the presidential vote or some legislative races, the Miami Herald reported. Haitis major aid donors have cut off all non-humanitarian funding to the country and have previously suggested that funding for elections might be cut as well if the verification process is not to their satisfaction. Opponents of Privert, both in Parliament and in the streets, stepped up their verbal attacks on the interim president, decrying the missed [and arbitrary] election deadline of Apr. 24 and move toward verification as violations of the Feb. 5 accord. Former President Michel Martellys PHTK party has begun aggressively mobilizing against the verification commission. PHTK spokesperson Rudy Heriveaux denounced the commission on Apr. 16 as a manipulation attempt solely aimed at eliminating Jovenel Moise from the race. On Apr. 24, 2,000 pink-clad PHTK protesters marched to the CEPs headquarters in Petionville, calling for the final round of elections to be held as quickly as possible, without any verification. Former President Martelly personally wrote to Privert on Apr. 15, expressing his shock at the countrys inability to hold elections without international interference and accusing the interim authorities of attempting to make their temporary rule permanent. Martelly accused the Privert administration of pursuing a broad, practically unlimited agenda that does not in any way correspond to its mandate. Martelly seemed particularly concerned by a number of judicial orders issued by public prosecutor Danton Leger concerning drug trafficking and corruption charges against figures close to the Tet Kale government. Martelly characterized Legers initiatives as a vindictive campaign of de-Martelly-ization aiming to humiliate him and his political allies. Intriguingly, Jude Celestins party LAPEH has also expressed growing hostility towards Privert, despite their stated support for verification. LAPEH coordinator Jean Hector Anacasis declared on Apr. 22 that he was suspicious of Priverts motives: Nothing says that Mr. Privert will hold the elections. Nothing says that his true motivation isnt a tabula rasa. Anacasis roundly criticized the political makeup of Priverts administration, and openly evoked the possibility that LAPEH supporters could soon be in the streets alongside PHTK if elections are not held soon. Rene Momplaisir, a popular organization leader who campaigned for Celestin, resigned from his post as political advisor to Privert, calling the governments motives obscure and incomprehensible. Privert and his spokespeople have shot back, placing the blame for delays on pro-Martelly parliamentarians who blocked the appointment of a Prime Minister. The accord conferred on the electoral council the responsibility to evaluate the phases already completed, Privert argued on Apr. 20. How can the credibility of the electoral process be guaranteed without this verification commission? How can the political stability of this country be guaranteed if we dont organize credible elections? Privert has also repeatedly reminded critics that only the CEP has the power to establish an electoral calendar. The move towards verification means Haitis elections will not be held according to the deadlines set out in the Feb. 5 political accord. Apr. 24 was the date when the final round of elections were supposed to be held, with the transfer of the presidential sash from Privert to an elected successor slated for May 14. Privert has announced that the CEP is expected to release the electoral calendar between May 15 and May 30, and suggested that elections may be held in late October, to sync up with the expiration of one-third of the Senate. The obvious irrelevance of the political agreements timetable and the looming end of Priverts 120-day mandate (which expires on Jun. 14) has led to calls from some sectors either for an extension of Priverts mandate or for a negotiation of a new accord. The U.S. and its allies in the international community, however, remain strongly opposed to both options. While visiting Miami on Apr. 14, Secretary of State John Kerry warned Haitis interim government that the U.S. would tolerate the postponement of elections past Apr/ 24 only for a minimal period of time. Let me be crystal clear, Kerry said in an interview. The Haitian players, the so-called leaders, need to understand theres a clear limit to the patience, the willingness of the international community to condone this process of delay. (Apparently unaware of Kerrys recent statement, a group of three U.S. senators wrote a letter on Apr. 15 urging Kerry to speak out in favor of quick elections.) This hardline stance was reiterated by U.S. Ambassador Peter Mulrean during a visit to Haitis parliament on Apr. 20, accompanied by the ambassadors of the EU, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Mulrean claimed that the Feb. 5 accord did not call for any verification, and said that the U.S. fears that this commission could be used not only for a technical verification but to pursue a political agenda. Mulrean met with Chamber of Deputies President Cholzer Chancy (a Privert opponent) and explained that the visit was motivated by a certain frustration with Haitis political situation. In a statement released on Apr. 25, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed his deep concern over the missed Apr. 24 elections date set out in the accord and called for the completion of the elections without further delay. While noting the proposed verification commission, the Secretary General emphasized the need to conclude the process with the required urgency. Popular organizations and political parties that mobilized against electoral fraud after Oct. 25 reacted with outrage to the international actors recent statements. On Apr. 20, UNNOH, MOLEGHAF, Lakou, Cercle Gramsci, and MODEP held a joint press conference to denounce the arrogant declarations of certain diplomats and other foreign actors. The popular organizations decried this foreign interference in Haitis domestic affairs as an affront to national dignity, and urged Haitians not to allow the foreign powers to impose leaders that would serve their interests while leaving the people in misery. Its the will of the people that will prevail, and not that of foreigners, said UNNOHs Josue Merilien. Presidential candidate Moise Jean Charles of Plateforme Pitit Dessalines wrote a letter to Barack Obama denouncing U.S. policy towards Haiti as based on a flawed approach. The letter stated that the crisis had been caused by the complacency or complicity of the international powers regarding Martellys corruption and his attempt to steal the elections. Jean-Charles, who finished in third place according to the current results, later said that Privert should have already kicked out the foreign ambassadors for making such declarations, according to Radio Kiskeya. Serge Jean-Louis, leader of Mouvement patriotique populaire dessalinien (MOPOD), argued that the international communitys stance raised doubts about its role in the controversial 2015 elections. One of the few voices among the international community in favor of verification is Sir Ronald Sanders. Even while expressing scepticism about scale of the fraud alleged in the Oct. 25 elections, the Antiguan diplomat has nonetheless argued that verifying the vote is absolutely necessary.. The reason for my conviction is precisely because there is a widespread and overwhelming belief in Haiti that the first-round elections were seriously flawed. Drawing on his experience leading an OAS mission to Haiti tasked with facilitating a negotiated solution to electoral crisis, Sanders explained: Among the over 50 groups with whom my team and I interfaced in Haiti in February, all except Martellys Parti Haitien Tet Kale (PHTK) party, expressed concern; some stronger than others, but none without misgivings. If Jovenel Moise and Jude Celestin ... have faith in their electability, they should have no fear of verification, Sanders observed. Sanders urged the international community to give Haitis interim authorities the time and resources it needs to conduct a credible verification. Without a verification, Sanders worried, the elections would inevitably produce a president lacking the legitimacy necessary to govern. There can be no quick fix in Haiti. Indeed, it is the urge for quick fixes in the past, and the desire to wash hands of the country, that has kept it in constant turmoil and retarded its chances for long-term political stability and economic growth, he said. Harlow is a former New Town in Essex with a population of 86,000. Located in the upper Stort Valley, it was built in the decades after the Second World War to ease overcrowding and London and provide homes for people bombed out during the Blitz. It includes Britain's first pedestrian precinct and first modern residential tower block, The Lawn. Old Harlow, the historic part of the town, was mentioned in the Domesday Book. David and Victoria Beckham's former home, Rowneybury House, nicknamed 'Beckingham Palace', is nearby. 15:16, 24 OCT 2022 Release from Town of Boone: In 2008, 73 percent of town voters approved a $25-million bond referendum for a new intake system drawing water from the South Fork New River. Since that time the Town has secured the commitment of nearly $2 million in grants and $20.4 million in low-interest loans from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pay for the project. In 2015, the Town received project approval from the State of North Carolina Department of Water Quality and from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This project will allow Boone to provide up to an additional 4 million gallons per day to its residents and water customers to meet future water needs. The project also will provide for significant upgrades and modernization of Boones Water Treatment Facility. Initially, up to one-third of the permitted amount will be withdrawn and then returned to the river after treatment at Boones advanced waste water treatment facility. Once completed, the project will provide water to the Town of Boone, Watauga County and the Town of Blowing Rock. On April 27, 2016 the Town of Boone received authorization from the USDA to proceed with the advertisement of bids for the Boone Raw Water Intake/Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Project. Requests for bids will be solicited in May and June, bid opening will be at the end of June, and an award of the winning bid(s) is expected in July by the Boone Town Council. Construction is expected to begin in the fall. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket The Longmont Times-Call and select media sat down with Michelle Wilkins after Lanes conviction in February. By Jesse Wood On Friday, a Colorado judge handed down a 100-year sentence to the woman that cut a fetus from the womb of a former Appalachian State University student last year, according to the Denver Post. Chief District Judge Maria Berkenkotter remarked on all of the things that the victim, Michelle Wilkins, who was 26 years old at the time of the attack, wont ever be able to do with her daughter, Aurora. Auroras parents will never get to scoop her off a grocery store floor during a tantrum or hang her artwork on the refrigerator, Berkenkotter said, according to the Denver Post. They wont get to watch as she decides who she is or what she wants to do with her life, Berkenkotter said. Ms. Lane, you stole that from Michelle. In February, Dynel Lane was convicted of attempted first-degree murder, two counts each of first- and second-degree assault and unlawful termination of a pregnancy. In March 2015, Lane attacked a pregnant Wilkins who was responding to a Craigslist ad to buy baby clothes at Lanes home in Longmont, Colo. Her visit turned into a horror story as Lane attacked Wilkins and cut out Wilkins unborn child, a girl who didnt survive. After attacking Wilkins, Lane told her boyfriend, David Ridley, who had already been tricked into believing that Lane was pregnant and didnt know of the attack, that she had a miscarriage, according to a police report of the incident. The couple drove to the hospital with the 7-month-old fetus, where hospital staff noticed that Lane didnt show signs of recently giving birth. She admitted to detectives that she cut Wilkins abdomen and removed the fetus. After the attack, Wilkins was able to lock herself in a room of Lanes home and call 911. She told authorities where she was and they picked her up, bringing her to the same hospital that Lane was at, the Longmont United Hospital. During the sentencing hearing, Wilkins showed a picture of Aurora swaddled in a blanket. Her dark hair was thickest around her tiny ears, the Denver Post reported. This is a picture of her, Wilkins said looking at Lane. The Post reported, Wilkins again expressed forgiveness for Lane. But she also shared her frustration in Lanes refusing to acknowledge us or apologize. You left me there to die multiple times, Wilkins said. The only tears that you cried during the trial were those of your own self-pity. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket (Reuters) Billionaire investor Steven Cohen said that too many hedge funds placing the same types of bets contributed to sharp losses for his $11 billion Point72 Asset Management earlier this year. One of my biggest worries is that there are so many players out there trying to do similar strategies, Cohen said Monday, speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles. To read this article: 'Lookin' good:' Town repays Jose's love Gary Jones with Jose Case and his new moped. PHOTO BY PAULA ROBERTS/Hendersonville Lightning. Everyone in town knows how much Jose loves them. View the Slideshow Related Stories His love is impossible to miss. People see him riding his brightly adorned moped, always smiling, always waving, a ray of sunshine on two squatty rubber tires. They see him in a cow suit, hawking chicken sandwiches; they see him dancing in a Liberty costume, pitching tax preparation; they see him promoting Firehouse subs. After Tuesday Jose, whose whole name is Jose Case, knows how much the town loves him. On Tuesday night at Black Bear Coffee Chop on Main Street, more than 50 people turned out to cheer for Jose and watch him receive a new Carolina blue moped and a new cell phone. Why? "Jose needs a new moped," commercial real estate broker Gary Jones wrote when he launched a GoFundMe campaign just four days ago. "This one is now beyond repair. Jose is an icon to Hendersonville. Always smiling and working. 'Looking good' is his favorite saying. I will donate the first $100 and hope you will help by giving any amount you can to his Go Fund Me account. He is a nice guy. I hope you can help, and next time you see Jose, stop and talk to him." Started on Friday afternoon, the campaign raised $5,520 in four days. "Jose had that old Chinese moped," Jones said. "Me and Harold Blythe worked on it there at my office. We got it running again and he drove it until a few weeks ago and it quit again. It quit running and I said go get it and bring it back down here." Jones borrowed a compression tester from his brother, detail shop owner Donnie Jones, and determined that the motor was shot. Gary told Donnie he thought he'd put an appeal on Facebook to raise money to buy Jose a new moped. "Donnie said go to GoFundMe and they can donate money," he said. "I said that's a good idea. I did it from my cellphone and before I could get back to my office it had $300 or $400; 175 or 180 people donated money. We had $5,500, so we bought a Honda and then we bought a 4-year warranty, a new helmet, a new telephone, service on the Honda for four years and gas cards. Ingles gave him a $100 gas card." Jones joked that part of his motivation was selfish "so I don't have to work on his moped." "Truthfully, he needed one," he said. "Everytime it broke down, he'd come to see me." Like a lot of Hendersonville folks, Jones said he knew of Jose before he actually got to know him. "I'd see him do the cow thing out at Chick-Fil-A and at Liberty taxes and at the Firehouse subs," he said. "A lot of people said they'd seen him and would wave at him but didn't really know him." Plenty of riders might need a new moped but they're not Jose. Jose rides the moped in the heat and the cold, in good weather and bad. A smile is his umbrella. City Councilman Steve Caraker read a proclamation making Tuesday "Jose Case Day" in Hendersonville. The people of the town applauded. Jose grinned. Cork Prison is now the focus of an investigation A young inmate desperately tried to get back into a cell block at a new 45m prison after being left locked into an exercise yard overnight. New control procedures are expected to be put in place for nightly cell block lockdowns after the incident in Cork Prison, which is now the focus of a major Irish Prison Service (IPS) investigation. The inmate, in his 20s, has since been granted temporary release. However, he is understood to have been locked into the exercise yard for more than 12 hours after the bizarre incident on March 2. The incident occurred despite the fact the high-tech prison boasts more than 300 CCTV security surveillance cameras. However, the prisoner's plight was recorded on CCTV cameras covering the exercise yard. The man became so cold that he began doing exercises, including star-jumps, and jogging in front of the security cameras in a desperate bid to attract attention to his plight. The young man also spent several hours shouting for help - but the ultra-secure nature of the new prison complex meant he was not heard. Count It is understood his predicament was only discovered the following morning when prison staff began their morning head count - and discovered there was a discrepancy involving one prisoner. Just as concerns were voiced over the inmate count, a prison officer heard the desperate shouts for help from the prisoner in the exercise yard. The young man was brought back into his cell at 7am. The IPS confirmed that a full investigation into the incident is now underway. The investigation is expected to be concluded shortly, but its findings will not be published. Under routine procedures, prison authorities will not discuss security issues or the identities of inmates. One prison source indicated that the incident is believed to have been caused by the young man returning to the prison from a district court appearance in Kerry. He was permitted access to the exercise yard by some prison staff on his return - but other staff, on nightly lock-down duties, were apparently under the impression the man was still absent from the facility. It remains unclear how his presence in the exercise yard went unnoticed as all other inmates were escorted back to their cells for their evening meal and nightly lockdown. The 45m new prison opened in January and replaced the old Cork Prison which was one of the most overcrowded within the Irish prison system. The 333m MSC Splendida, the longest ship ever to visit Dublin Port The longest ship ever to visit Dublin Port returned to the capital yesterday morning, officially marking the start of Dublin Port's 2016 cruise season. The 333m MSC Splendida is one of 113 cruise calls confirmed for Dublin Port in 2016, a record number for Dublin Port in a year that will bring more than 180,000 visitors to the capital. Currently the 11th longest cruise ship in the world, the MSC Splendida arrived in Dublin from Greenock, Scotland, carrying more than 4,600 passengers and crew on board. The vessel boasts a VIP section with 24-hour butler service and features more than a dozen bars and lounges, as well as a spa and Turkish baths, four swimming pools, squash courts and a Formula One simulator, all spread over 18 decks. After spending the day docked at Dublin Port, the ship left last night for Cork. All little Ella Doyle wants to do some day is to dance to her favourite song. If her dream comes true, the bubbly little three-year-old will be able to walk to school on her own steam - and not in a wheelchair, which is inevitable if she doesn't get surgery. For now, she must rely on a walker to get around after she was diagnosed with spastic diplegia at six months, a form of cerebral palsy that affects her mobility. Damage Fortunately, the condition didn't affect her in any other way. She will spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair unless her parents, Simon Doyle (39) and Nicola Dervan (37), can come up with 150,000 to pay for pioneering neurosurgery at the St Louis Children's Hospital in Missouri. It's hoped a specialist can reverse the damage to her nerves that causes spasticity while she is still growing. The procedure by renowned neurosurgeon Dr TS Park is known as Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), which has reversed spasticity in thousands of his young patients. The couple did in-depth research on SDR and met Irish children who also had the procedure, including a boy who had the same condition as Ella but is now playing Under-8s rugby. Since the couple from Rathfarnham, south Dublin, launched their official 'Ella's Wish to Walk' campaign a fortnight ago, they have been bowled over by the kindness of strangers. More than 8,000 to date has been raised to help make Ella's wish come true. "It's incredible. These are strangers coming up to help us," Mr Doyle said. See www.ellaswishtowalk.ie for information ABINGDON, Va. Two Abingdon Town Council members, including Mayor Ed Morgan, were unseated by two challengers in a close race Tuesday. The two top vote-getters were challengers J. Wayne Craig, who received 525 votes, or 24.42 percent, and M. Cindy Patterson, who had 507 votes, or 23.58 percent of ballots cast, according to unofficial totals Tuesday night. The candidates with the next highest vote totals were incumbents Jayne Duehring, who received 482 votes, or 22.42 percent, and Morgan, who had 428 votes, 19.91 percent. Morgan has held his seat for 16 years, six of which hes spent as mayor. I offer my best to those who have the chance to serve and I am very proud of my accomplishments [while on the council], Morgan said after election totals were in. Duehring declined comment until today, when official results are expected to be announced. She was appointed by council in October 2013 to fill the unexpired council term of Jason Berry, who resigned to take the job of Washington County administrator. Patterson also declined comment Tuesday night while Craig could not be reached. The most talked about issue in this election was the controversial rezoning approved last year by Town Council that paved the way for a development in the Exit 17 area that will include a new Food City store, more retail, hotels and restaurants. Many town residents were vocal opponents of the rezoning, which led to the formation of a citizens group called Friends of Abingdon. The group staged a number of protests against the rezoning and filed a lawsuit against the town seeking an order ruling the decision null and void. The lawsuit is still pending. Opponents of the rezoning were worried it would negatively impact the nearby Virginia Creeper Trail and a historical property known as The Meadows. Many also expressed concern that it would lead to a lot of traffic and noise. Supporters of the project, however, said the jobs and economic development are needed in the town. The two other challengers in the race were Richard L. Macbeth, who ended the night with 140 votes, and James E. Turner, who garnered 24. Nearly 20 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Tuesdays race, according to Washington County Voter Registrar Derek Lyall. Two Southwest Virginia health centers are receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Wednesday, HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced over $260 million in funding to 290 health centers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico for facility renovation, expansion, or construction. Health centers will use this funding to increase their patient capacity and to provide additional comprehensive primary and preventive health services to medically underserved populations. The Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems and St. Charles Health council will each received $1 million. Health centers are cornerstones of the communities they serve, said Secretary Burwell. Todays awards will empower health centers to build more capacity and provide needed health care to hundreds of thousands of additional individuals and their families. These awards will allow health centers to renovate or acquire new health center clinical space to help provide care to over 800,000 new patients nationwide. This investment builds on the nearly $150 million awarded to 160 health centers for construction and/or renovation in September 2015. This funding comes from the Affordable Care Acts Community Health Center (CHC) Fund, which was extended with bipartisan support in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015. Providing funding to help health centers renovate their facilities will allow them to provide care to more patients, said HRSA Acting Associate Administrator Jim Macrae. Perhaps more importantly though, health centers will now be able to provide more health services in one location, better meeting the needs of their communities. Since the beginning of 2009, health centers have added 6 million patients; they now serve nearly 23 million people each year. Today, nearly 1,400 health centers operate about 9,800 service delivery sites in every U.S. state, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the Pacific Basin. ABINGDON, Va. A Russell County man, who was prohibited from possessing firearms due to previous criminal convictions, pleaded guilty yesterday in the U.S. District Court in Abingdon to being in possession of a variety of guns, guns parts and a blasting cap. Roger Allen Combs, 50, of Cleveland, Virginia, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of an explosive device by a convicted felon, one count of possession of a firearm not registered on the National Firearms Registry and Transfer Record and one count of being a convicted felon illegally in possession of a firearm. Keeping illegal guns out of the hands of prohibited users is critical in keeping our communities safe, U.S. Attorney John P. Fishwick Jr. said. We want to continue to work with our partners in law enforcement to find these illegal guns and get them off the streets. According to evidence presented at previous hearings by Russell County Commonwealths Attorney and Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian Patton, Combs, who has several prior criminal convictions, was observed by law enforcement coming in and out of a storage unit in Russell County with a bag. Law Enforcement officers executed a traffic stop on a vehicle Combs was traveling in and found a firearm. Based on that evidence, officers obtained a search warrant for the storage unit where they found several guns, parts of guns, ammunition and a blasting cap. Change in Abingdon isnt always easy! I remember when my good friends, French Moore, Jr., a former Abingdon mayor, and David Brillhart, a planning commission member, were vilified for their efforts to create the Virginia Creeper Trail. It was said the project would devastate our peaceful community, increase traffic, destroy farms, devalue property, increase crime and burden the town with a financial and maintenance nightmare. I felt sorry them, but havent they been vindicated and history proven their vision precise? The birth of the Virginia Creeper Trail was a sentinel event! We have been presented another sentinel event in the form of a commercial development by the K-VA-T corporation at Exit 17 on Interstate 81. It is the right fit for Abingdon and enjoys broad support from the majority of citizens. Without question, many of my friends and relatives oppose this project; they are sincere in their beliefs and have the best interests of our community at heart. Their views deserve consideration, but so also do views of residents who support the project. Good solutions and sound governance are created by give, take and compromise; this is the American way. Lets address some of the issues. Located on the proposed site is a large, charming house constructed in the 1920s, otherwise known as the Meadows Mansion. It replaced an original structure destroyed by fire and was home to two governors. Some woodwork from the original house was incorporated into the present structure. Locals have speculated that graves of former slaves are located on the site. The facts are, five previous professional archeological surveys have been conducted. Within the last year, S&ME, Inc., a professional archeological firm, issued a 38-page report revealing a lack of significant archeological activity, confirming previous findings. Presently, the property has no architectural or historical protections and the fate of the house is in the hands of its owners. It would be within their legal rights to raze the structure tomorrow without permissions. The town has proposed to leave 40 acres around the mansion zoned agricultural, and will restore, maintain and preserve this beautiful edifice. Additionally, a public amphitheater will be constructed. Appropriate landscaping and site elevation changes will enhance its beauty. As a life-long resident of Abingdon, I played baseball 63 years ago on the same woefully inadequate, existing fields. A generous donation from K-VA-T has made it possible for the town to acquire land adjacent to the Creeper Trail for a sorely needed sports complex. Proximity to the trail will allow the synergistic use of both in promoting health, recreation and tourism. A retail complex will have little to no impact on the beauty or use of either facility. By careful buffering and plantings, only a sliver of the Food City roofline will be visible at any point on the trail. The Virginia Creeper Trail Club, on its website, has taken a neutral position concerning this development. Traffic in Abingdon is always a concern, especially at Exit 17. Vehicular volumes and congestion around this exit are bound to increase with or without future development. Proposed is the realignment of Green Springs Road, terminating at the traffic light intersection of Cummings and Cooke streets, thus rectifying a bottleneck. The redesign of Exit 17 has been bumped up in line from position 200 to position 9, indicating our local and state representatives are listening and anticipate more commercial development. The Commonwealth Transportation Board will vote on this project in June. K-VA-T Food City has proven to be a valued employer, neighbor and great corporate partner. With the 2012 construction of corporate headquarters on the former Johnston Memorial Hospital site, a deteriorating property was repurposed. K-VA-T has provided good-paying jobs for our community, paid taxes, sponsored a whole host of charitable, environmental and economic events. Without question, they are one of the more community conscious corporations in our area. Steve Smith, CEO of K-V-AT stated at a community forum and I quote: for every one Food City Store we open, three and one-half jobs are created locally. Numbers like this are not inconsequential in terms of employment, taxes, education and community growth. An economic engine of this type would make some of our regions less-fortunate communities envious, and loss of this project would have long term devastating implications for Abingdon. I would like you, the reader to decide for yourself. WEHC Radio, a community service of Emory & Henry College presented an in-depth and probing presentation of both sides of this issue. Dr. Teresa Keller, Chair of the Mass Communications Department conducted the interviews. The program link is: https://archive.org/details/AbingdonDevelopment. Take the time to listen and educate yourself on this important topic. I am firmly convinced that an informed and engaged electorate will make all of us better stewards of this precious little jewel we call home Abingdon. William Hatcher is a resident of Abingdon and owner-operator of Laboratory Optical Service. Halloween is coming! Here's when to trick or treat in your town What you need to know about Powerball and the $610 million jackpot CHAPEL HILL An Orange County man is being treated in a Chapel Hill hospital after he was bitten by a cobra snake. A spokesman form University of North Carolina Hospitals told local media outlets Tuesday that Ali Iyoob is in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit. Hospital spokesman Tom Hughes said Iyoob was brought to the hospital Monday night. Emergency Medical Service workers say Iyoob was bitten at his home and the snake is apparently a pet. Iyoob's Facebook profile picture shows him handling a cobra. Iyoob is a member of the Reptile Rescue of the Carolinas, WNCN reported. The county animal services agency said in a statement that it has been to Iyoob's home and the reptiles are secure and there is no danger to the public. CLAREMONT -- Its thank-you week for teachers around Catawba County, once formerly known as National Teacher Appreciation Week. Local parent teacher organizations (PTO) found a variety of ways, major and minor, to simply show their appreciation for their teachers dedication and hard work. For River Bend Middle School (RBMS), one of the school's "thank you" from the Catawba County Schools came in the form of a big Mexico Lindo Taqueria Taco Truck. The teachers, they give themselves all year long. They sacrifice and they dont get a break and they deserve it, RBMS PTO Volunteer Coordinator Melissa Leonard said. We were just talking about how being a teacher is almost an impossible job." They dont get paid near what theyre worth," she said. "To give them a break like this, it means the world to them and its just a small way we can repay them for what they do. The PTO provided the parent volunteers needed to monitor the students lunch periods so the teachers could have a duty-free meal with each other. The organization paid for the food truck so the teachers only had to pay $1 per taco. As a parent, I personally look forward to anything that I can do to take a little bit off the teachers, Leonard said. The special lunch has been a tradition at the school for three years, and its one that RBMS Principal Chip Cathey knows is a hit with his teachers. Theyve told me if I ever take away the taco truck, theyre leaving, so over the years weve done some different things, but this, no matter what we do has to remain, Principal Cathey said. The idea for the truck came from a conversation he had with the schools PTO, he added. When we were pitching the idea to the PTO, we were asking in what way they wanted to be involved during the week, and they thought the duty free lunch of some sort, she said. Mark Guess was the PTO president three years ago. He was also a state trooper and knew some good taco trucks to suggest. Its always a nice week, and its good timing, RBMS Language Arts teacher Susan Anauo said. Its an encouraging week. We appreciate it very much. The break comes just before the final weeks of school and the End of Grade Tests (EOGs). Weve about ran out of gas, and its a nice little rejuvenating step before we get into the teeth of the EOGs, Social Studies teacher Kent Blandford said. Looking at the taco truck makes me smile. Crystal Podger is the PTO secretary and the schools counselor, and she helped organize the event. As a parent of a student, she knows the impact this week has on any teacher. The teachers love the taco truck. All they have to do is pay a dollar for whatever entre they choose, and the PTO supplements the restwe provide the desserts and the drinks and take care of it all for them, Podger said. One of our parents is Kitchen Manager at Chilis (Hickory), and they donated the chips and salsa for us. She added that its just one way to show some appreciation for the long days filled with hard work the teachers put in throughout the year. I think all the citizens value what teachers do, but just as far as taking the time and stopping and appreciating it, we just dont do it enough, Principal Cathey said. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ Entertainment / Music by Staff reporter Gospel music star Charles Charamba says The Fishers of Men will release new videos before the end of the year.Charamba, in the company of his equally-celebrated wife Olivia, gave the undertaking on the sidelines of his band's performance at the Harare International Food and Music Festival (HIFM) held at Borrowdale Racecourse last weekend."This year I am not sure if we will manage to release a new album but we will release videos that we are currently working on."Fans are putting us under extreme pressure as they want more videos from us and as a result we will give them what they want," said Charamba, who also runs Borrowdale-based Pashoko Pangoma Studios.The Charambas shared the stage with fellow gospel music stars who included Sebastian Magacha and Michael Mahendere at the gospel show that took place on Saturday afternoon.Despite the low turnout, the gospel artistes gave polished acts. The Charambas performed popular hits gleaned from the albums Tinashe Akatendeka, John 3:16, Vhuserere, Exodus, Sunday Service, Verses and Chapters and Pashoko Pangoma, Amen, Daily Bread and The Gospel. The most popular songs during their performance included Ndirangarirei, Machira Chete, Rudo Rwevanhu, Rute and Moyo Wangu.The event was graced by National Arts Council of Zimbabwe director Elvas Mari who lauded musicians and organisations that participated in the inaugural HIFM.The two-day event was organised by Jacaranda Culture and Media Corporation with the aim of promoting cultural exchange through the power of food and music. In keeping with the thrust of the event, various organisations showcased Chinese and local cuisine. In a world where economic journalism is dominated by headlines a significant development was relegated to the fine print. Last week the Financial Times reported that India, in 2015, with $63 billion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) had taken the top rank in the list of countries in terms of greenfield capital investment. After trailing behind China for a long period, India had raced past its formidable rival in terms of attracting long-term global capital. In 2015, India was a the destination of choice for global investors. This is a cause celebre. Theorists may argue that this is a one-eyed wonder for they have the luxury of not having to live with the consequences. However, as an investor, I hold a different view. I see this data as a strong validation of the Indian story and a regained faith in its potential. Unlike the shouting brigade of experts, investors put their money where their mouths are. The fact that investors are feeling confident enough to put their monies in India (a 44% increase over last year and 13% over China) means that they are seeing things that our armchair experts may be missing. Read | India leads South Asia growth: World Bank I concede, investors can be wrong as they have been on India in the past. Whether the India of today is different from the one of the past will only unfold itself in the future. However, numbers do not lie. The fact that investments have increased in such a large quantum within a short time cannot be denied. So, what is changing around us that is causing a resurgence of confidence in India? First, Indias credibility and global standing in the last two years has moved up many notches and is on an upward trajectory. India is again seen as a deep and big market with nascent capabilities but great potential. It is a stable and safe place to invest with reasonable enforcement of law. In a return constrainted world, where emerging markets like India are vital, this is indeed an exception. The strong and development-oriented leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rebranded India. He is seen to work relentlessly on removing the bottlenecks that hold India back. His consistent projection of Indias strengths and potential has started to reverberate with global investors. They may not fully understand his vision yet, but they have started to increasingly trust him with their money. Those of us who know the power of momentum in investing realise that this dribble could become a deluge if Modi can keep up his passion for marketing India and delivering on his promise. Experts who had mocked his foreign trips may want to reconsider the wisdom of their approach in the light of mounting evidence that his outreach is working. Read | Indias growth fastest: Jaitley on Rajans one-eyed king remark Second, corruption in the higher echelons of the government has substantially reduced. For the first time, one gets the impression that Delhi is working for India and its people and not for crony capitalists and vested interests. This is no mean achievement for a polity beleaguered by this malaise for decades. It is clear that on governance India under Modi wants to move to the other side of the crimson line and join the small club of greatly governed nations. The visibly intense national desire combined with a vibrant democracy and a robust legal system means that sooner or later India will get there. History has shown that when these reforms reach a critical mass they generate their own life making constraining structures and systems less relevant. Efforts to move the national narrative in the direction of an efficient and honest State has made the investing community sit up and notice. With fundamental changes underway, the Indian story starts to become worthwhile for the long-term investor. Third, one can see a serious effort to invest in the capacity and capability augmentation of both India and Indians. This is a long awaited transition from an India of entitlement to an India of empowerment. Financial inclusion schemes, enhanced allocation to the agri sector, ambitious programmes like Make in India and infrastructure reforms are among the many initiatives that point towards building of both hard and soft capabilities. This makes India attractive to the investors as most of them know that sustainable returns are built on growing capacities and not on short-term arbitrages. If a billion plus Indians are empowered to be economic growth engines human prosperity is compounded multiple times. Read | Depressed global demand is Make in India spoiler Finally, the government is withdrawing from business in a systematic way, thereby creating space for business to occupy. The message from the government is that business will operate in India within well defined rules that the government will enforce. The mindset of using rules as a mechanism of harassment and rent seeking is slowly changing. That is a reassuring development for investors. As the government refocuses its priorities to social welfare and development, while allowing the private sector to be the engine of growth, a new synergistic public-private alignment is starting to emerge. This, fostered by a strong leadership, has started to work its charm on the investor community. If sustained, nurtured and allowed to manifest in day to day executive actions it could fundamentally alter the capital balance vis-a-vis China. To sustain this momentum substantial gaps still need to be addressed. Government capabilities, particularly state governments, are still quite low. Local administration continues to be, by and large, anti-business. The judicial system and timely enforcement of contracts remains a structural bottleneck. Emergence of commercial courts and simpler and fewer laws have now become a necessity. Finally, reliable infrastructure is a constraint that India will need to address if it seeks to solve its employment challenge through a quantum leap in both manufacturing and services. Long-term investors have been around long enough to know the power of fundamentals. Modis attractiveness lies in his continued commitment to alter Indias economic architecture. His dogged work to improve things inch by inch established his Gujarat credentials. The same determination and focus seems to be at work in Delhi. While theorists may debate and discuss one-eyed wonders the investor knows what to do in such a fast changing order. Indias investment story may just be starting. Shaurya Doval is director, India Foundation and managing director, Zeus Caps The views expressed are personal Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) treasurer MK Stalin was ready to lead the partys charge on Wednesday with eight rallies planned in Chennai over five hours. The DMK has allied with the Congress party for the upcoming assembly elections. Tamil Nadu will go to the polls on May 16. Stalin began his campaign at 4:00 pm in the affluent district of Mylapore, before heading to his former stronghold of Thousand Lights, from where he has successfully contested from four times. He will not be campaigning in his declared constituency, Kolathur, for the 2016 polls, as the rallies are aimed at promoting the DMK's local candidates in their respective areas. The former deputy chief minister will be in T Nagar at 5:00 pm, followed by Saidapet, Virugumbakkam, Alandur, and Velachery, before ending at Shollinganalur at 9:00 pm. Kolkata The Election Commission of India (EC) has left no stone unturned so that Asgar Ali the oldest first-time voter along with 9,775 other former enclave dwellers in Cooch Behar feels at home when he and others go to the polling stations to cast their votes for the first time on Thursday. The stage is set. Elaborate arrangements have been made for the residents of former enclaves (chitmahals). As they would be voting for the first time a lot of preparations had to be made to educate them about the elections, said a senior poll panel official in Kolkata. To introduce these voters to the Indian poll process, the EC went to great lengthspreparing their EPICs and Photo Electoral Rolls and familiarising them with replicas of Electronic Voting Machines(EVMs) and Model Polling Stations(MPS). They were trained on how to enter a polling station, how to queue up, whom to ask for help, whom to show their EPIC cards, the location of EVMs inside booths, the buttons of the EVMs and how to cast their votes among others, said the official. A mobile museum showcasing photos of booths and polling process, and replicas of EVMs, EPIC cards and Photo Electoral Rolls among others went to every settlement to educate the voters. Pamphlets were distributed and door-to-door campaigns were also conducted. A race Run for Democracy was also organized in which both voters and district officials participated to generate a sense of involvement among the voters, he added. In the last phase of polling, 25 assembly constituencies in two districts East Midnapore and Cooch Behar will be going to polls on May 5. The former enclave dwellers are settled in five constituencies of Cooch Behar. Hindustan Times had earlier reported that 1,660 enclave voters in Cooch Behar district were boycotting the polls to protest the lackadaisical attitude of the administration towards development of the area. The protesting voters are residents of Sitalkuchi assembly constituency where Hiten Barman, the former forest minister, is the ruling Trinamool Congress candidate. They form 17% of the eligible enclave voters. Elections and bloodshed have always been synonymous with polls in Bengal. For decades, toughs backed by political parties have been around in the election season, beating up people and members of rival gangs, breaking bones, cracking skulls and maiming many an innocent. But the 2016 Assembly elections have witnessed a new addition to this list, a soft target children. At least four children, all between three to nine years, have been thrashed by toughs allegedly backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress, even as the state gets ready for the sixth and the final phase of the elections on Thursday. The first incident took place in Halisahar area of North 24-Parganas. On April 24, a day before the district went to the polls, a three-and-a-half-year-old girl was beaten up by local toughs who stormed her house to prevent her parents from venturing out to cast their votes. Her parents crime: They were CPI(M) supporters. The goons targeted the child after thrashing her parents. The next incident happened at Darirchak of Haridevpur in South 24-Parganas, in the southern fringes of Kolkata. On the night of April 30, after polling was over in the district, a gang allegedly backed by the ruling party raided a house and beat up an eight-year-old girl after beating up her parents. The girl suffered head injuries. To tackle the outcry that followed, Kolkata mayor Sovan Chatterjee, a candidate from Behala (East), visited the victims residence. But the girls grandmother did not let him step inside. Condemnation came thick and fast from the opposition too. A child is the weakest point of the parents. In order to intimidate the adults, the criminals are stooping to the level of attacking children. It will continue until the administration takes stern action against the culprits, CPI(M) central committee member Shyamal Chakraborty said. On Tuesday, leader of the opposition and CPI(M) leader Suryakanta Mishra expressed his concern over the rising number of attacks on children. Nothing can be more brutal, he said when asked about the phenomenon of children being targeted in the election season. All sections of the society need to strongly protest to stop this phenomenon immediately, said Dilip Ghosh, the state BJP president. The brutality reached its nadir on April 26 in Hariharpur of North 24-Parganas, a day after the polls in the district. A nine-year-old boy was beaten up by ruling party supporters after he made a kite out of a poster of the Trinamool Congress. According to the police complaint, the child was gagged, thrashed and dumped in a bush with his limbs tied up with ropes. The boy alleged in front of TV cameras later that before beating him up, the toughs called him the son of a CPM supporter. The latest incident happened at Ramchandrapur in Bishnupur area if South 24-Parganas on May 2. A four-year-old girl was beaten up along with his grandfather at their home in broad daylight. I always condemn attacks on children but let me tell you that the incident in Bishnupur was a family feud and not related to politics at all, Sovan Chatterjee told HT. It is a dangerous trend. Out of sheer frustration, these Trinamool-backed hooligans are wreaking havoc. Until the people and all political parties unite to protest against it, it will be continue, said Rahul Sinha, BJPs national secretary. Full coverage: Bengal elections Among the various agendas of political parties this poll season, environmental issues seem right at the bottom. Or what else can explain the reluctance on their part in implementing the suggestions of two expert committees on protecting the fragile ecology of the Western Ghats. The ghats should be of prime concern as they play an important role in breaking rain clouds over the state but the fear of losing votes has ensured that the two key players Congress-led UDF and CPI (M)-backed LDF have just skimmed over the issue in their manifestoes. Implementation of the suggestions has become all the more challenging in Wayanad and Idukki districts, where churches have taken up the cudgels for the reluctant villagers. A few years back, following mounting concern that the ecology of the Western Ghats, a UNESCO heritage site, was under serious threat due to human interference, the union government had set up an expert panel under ecologist Madhav Gadgil. In 2011, the panel recommended that 63% of land be declared ecologically fragile. Following opposition, a working group was constituted under former ISRO chief Dr Kasturirangan, which made some changes in the zonal classification and reduced the fragile area to 37%. Still, villagers remained hesitant as ever fearing that they would be dislocated and their livelihood stolen. Palaniappan, a farmer, said, They have to shoot us before acquiring our habitat. Activists said parties have played a key role in stoking the fear. Parties are exploiting the sentiments of poor people rather than discussing these reports for their good, said N Badusha, environmental activist from Wayanad. We fully support conservation but it should be done with a humane touch, said chief minister Oommen Chandy, adding that the state would oppose mass-evacuation of people from fringe areas of the forest. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON COOCH BEHAR If public speeches are any indicator, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is confident her party has achieved the numbers for a second term after five rounds of this April-May assembly poll. All she needs is 148 lawmakers, the simple majority mark in the 294-member West Bengal assembly. But she is not taking the final round in East Midnapore and Cooch Behar on May 5 lightly. Going by the vote share in the 2011 assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Bengals ruling party has much to fear from the historic union of traditional rivals Congress and Left to fight a common enemy, Trinamool, this election. This means clubbing of opposition votes. In 2011, Trinamool got 39.08% votes, while Congresss 8.91% and the Lefts 41.05%; together the latter two accounted for 49.06%. In 2014, Left votes eroded but the two still managed 39.30%. In comparison, Banerjees party almost retained its share 39.02%. If the BJP loses some of its 2014 votes, a historic high of 16.8%, to the Left, Banerjee will have trouble retaining her throne. Cooch Behar has only nine assembly seats but Banerjee spent two days in the small district where improving the 2011 tally is a target of both camps. Of the 25 seats going to the polls on Thursday, Trinamool has 16 of 16 in East Midnapore and four of Cooch Behars nine. The opposition alliance hopes to bag at least 10 of these. East Midnapore poses toughest challenge for Left-Congress alliance. Contesting from Nandigram, TMCs Suvendu Adhikary is a high-profile candidate. In Cooch Behar, the contest appears evenly balanced. Going by the trend of the 2014 general election, Trinamool is comfortably ahead of the Left-Congress alliance in four seats but the rival alliance is well-placed in rest. Dinhata and Cooch Behar South seats may be too close to call. Dinhata not only has the highest number of erstwhile enclave-dwellers but also has Udayan Guha, the Forward Bloc heavyweight who switched over to Trinamool about a year ago. The fight is now between him and former comrade Akshay Thakur, the Forward Bloc candidate. In 2011, people elected Guha as a Forward Bloc candidate. He betrayed the voters and the party. He will surely be taught a lesson, Thakur said. In Cooch Behar South, Trinamool bagged 61,000 votes in 2014 while the Congress and Left together got 60,000. The BJP polled 29,000 votes. The number of votes going to BJP may seal the fate of the candidates this time around. How did cops manage to keep goons away from the booths on polling day in North Kolkata? How did the men and women in uniform measure up to the challenge of holding free and fair polls in South Kolkata? Heres how. Two days before voting in North Kolkata, Mehfuz, a known gangster from Taltolla area, received a call from the Anti-Rowdy Section (ARS) of Kolkata Police. The cops told him that he should immediately proceed on a vacation outside the city limits or else...A veteran who has managed many an election before, Mehfuz packed his bags and headed for cooler climate. His is not an isolated case. Two days before South Kolkata went to polls on April 30, Nanti, a known name in the citys underworld, was asked to leave Kolkata forthwith or risk arrest. Like his colleague from the north, he left for Digha. Many of them have chosen the police directive to pay a visit to well-known tourist deatinations like the Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha or even Darjeeling and Mandarmoni. And they have left in droves -- from Rajarhat to Behala, from Metiabruz to Burrabazar. Those who dared the police, like Sheikh Vinod, had to cool their heels in jail. Full coverage: Bengal elections Two days before polling in Kolkata, I was called to Lalbazar. There were many people like me at that meeting. A police officer told us that we had two options: one to leave the city immediately and two, spend some time in jail, a notorious criminal from Behala who did not wish to be identified told HT. I left for Digha with my wife. Only after polling was over in my area did I return to Kolkata. Many of my friends are still vacationing, he added. Yes, this plan was okayed by our seniors. We had to keep troublemakers away from the booths, said a senior ARS officer. The plan was a great hit. On April 21 and April 30, when North and South Kolkata went to polls, the hoodlums were nowhere to be seen. Voters queued to before polling booths in large numbers to cast their franchise. The sounds of bombs and bullets were absent. The plan was unofficial but effective. Who wants to be behind bars? If you dont listen to ARS officers they will make life hell for you. They will dig out old cases and slap new ones on us. So we obliged, said a tough from North Kolkata. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON As summers have started settling in, Bollywood celebrities have chosen their holiday destinations and flown out of the country. While some of them have resumed worked, some have just left the country for some leisure time with their families. Akshay Kumar and Twinkle Khanna Actor Akshay Kumar and his wife Twinkle Khanna have gone to an undisclosed location but are giving their fans a sneak peek into their holiday. Akshay posted a picture with his wife on Twitter and Instagram and captioned it :The perfect getaway from the Mumbai heat,chilling quite literally with my partner in crime #vacaymode #holidayvibes. Meanwhile Twinkle too shared a picture of their holiday home and wrote, Walk into a lovely hotel room and it contains a pile of books by your favourite author #Wodehouse #luckybookworm. The perfect getaway from the Mumbai heat, chilling quite literally with my partner in crime :) #vacaymode #holidayvibes A photo posted by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) on May 1, 2016 at 10:36pm PDT Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput Actor Shahid Kapoor has found a perfect getaway with his wife Mira Rajput . The couple, which is also expecting its first child, is spending quality time in Amalfi in Italy. Shahid even posted a video of the two enjoying a speedboat ride. Earlier, he uploaded a picture of the couple and captioned it: Drive time with Mrs Kapoor. #holidayvibes. Actor Shahid Kapoor with wife Mira Rajput. (Instagram) Sonam Kapoor Actor Sonam Kapoor was having the time of her life with her family in Austria recently. Although she is now back to work, the actor shared some interesting pictures from her vacation. One of them was of her father, actor Anil Kapoor walking through the busy streets of Salzburg. #photography #salzburg #myhero #daddy #anilskapoor #holidaymode #family, she wrote on Twitter, along with the picture Actor Sonam Kapoor uploaded a picture of her father, actor Anil Kapoor on Instagram (Instagram) Sonakshi Sinha Actor Sonakshi Sinha recently went to Sri Lanka and uploaded some enviable posts on her social media accounts. The actor seemed to have indulged in holiday mode and looked super fresh. She captioned one of her pictures as, #crazyhairdontcare #afro #SriLanka #Colombo #Sonastravels. Actor Sonakshi Sinha in Sri Lanka. (Instagram) Kareena Kapoor Khan Actors Kareena Kapoor Khan recently took some time off her busy schedule and headed out with husband Saif Ali Khan and sister Karisma Kapoor. The trio went off to Bangkok for a quick vacation. While the sisters returned to Mumbai, Saif took off to an undisclosed location for an ad shoot. . Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan vacationed in Bangkok along with husband Saif Ali Khan and sister Karisma Kapoor. (Manoj Verma/ht) Read: From Ranveer to Ranbir, Bollywood is on vacation Follow @htshowbiz for more. News / Africa by Staff reporter Chirumhanzu-Zibagwe member of the National Assembly Auxilia Mnangagwa has been appointed chairperson of the Southern Region Caucus at the ongoing 2nd Ordinary Session of the 4th Pan African Parliament (PAP).Mnangagwa takes over from Zambia's Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa as his country prepares for its own elections.The Southern African Regional Caucus comprises countries in the SADC region.Issues that have continued to dominate debate at the session include human and women rights, ratification of the revised PAP Protocol and the quest to create a self sustaining budget for the PAP.Earlier on this Wednesday morning, PAP president Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang presented his report on the state of the PAP covering the period from October 2005 to May 2016.The PAP president applauded the oneness that has seen African legislators move together."My gratitude also goes to all parliamentarians of the Pan African Parliament who through their activities at the Plenary within Permanent Committees or by representing the Pan African Parliament has enabled our assembly to rise from its ashes," said Mr Dang.The Pan African Parliament, an organ of the African Union, is still grappling with the challenge of ratifying it's revised protocol.According to President Dang's report, since its adoption by the Conference of Heads of States in June 2014, in Malabo Equatorial Guinea, the protocol has been signed, ratified and deposited by a single member state. Actor Ali Zafar has gone back to Pakistan having wrapped up yet another film in India, which was being shot in Goa. I am very excited about the film, but I cant talk much about it. In due time, the makers will make an announcement, says Zafar, who started his Bollywood career with Tere Bin Laden in 2010. Back then, he was probably the first Pakistani artist to have played a lead in a Hindi film. However, many actors from Pakistan have played meaty roles since, including actors Fawad Khan, and Imran Abbas. Ali is hopeful that more collaborations will happen between the two countries. (Sanjay Solanki) Yes, I take great privilege in the fact that back in the day when I came here to shoot Tere Bin Laden in 2008, there was no real exchange happening between Pakistan and India, there was no real concept of having a Pakistani as a lead in an Indian film. Things changed as Laden happened, and the credit goes to the producer and the director also. The film did well critically and commercially, too, he says. Since then, I have done about six film half did well, half didnt, which is not a bad score at all. Now, I am doing another film and will continue to do films. At the same time, I am doing films in Pakistan also, adds the Kill Dil actor. Read: Educating girls can make the world a better place: Ali Zafar He is hopeful that more collaborations will happen between the two countries, In future, there will be a lot of collaboration between India and Pakistan cinema, artist exchange between the two countries is bound to increase. In fact, its great to see international collaborations. Nowadays, a lot of this is happening, like Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra are doing cross-over projects. The world is becoming more compact and more global, so a lot more exchange between artists is happening. It is tremendous and fantastic, Id love to be part of that process too be it music or acting. Follow @htshowbiz for more. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Bollywood star Kangana Ranauts mother today came out in support of her actress daughter, saying the controversy surrounding her alleged relationship with actor Hrithik Roshan is nonsense. Asha Ranaut today turned up at the 63rd National Awards to cheer for her daughter, who was honoured with the best actress recognition for her dual role in Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Read: I dont find it humiliating when they call me a psychopath, says Kangana Asha said amid Kanganas personal turmoil, her rise in Bollywood is remarkable. I am proud of her and her achievements. I am very happy that she is at the peak of her career and has got till here only with her hard work. The whole controversy is nonsense. We wouldnt want to comment on it. Our lawyers will only talk about it. She is coming out stronger in these testing times, Asha said. Kangana Ranaut with her parents and younger brother. Also present at the awards were Kanganas father, sister and brother. The 29-year-old stars father Amardeep Ranaut said it was a proud moment to see his daughter receive her third National Award from President Pranab Mukherjee here. ... I am very happy. I am a proud father and it is a matter of great pride, he said. Read: Kangana Ranaut is a witch and must be burnt at the stake? The actress stood out in an off-shoulder shimmery dust blue gown. She teamed her gown with a classic bob, which is similar to the look that she will be seen sporting in her upcoming film, Rangoon. Unlike the traditional attire opted by Indian celebrities for such events, Kangana usually goes for international designers. She had opted for a dust pink gown by India-born designer Bibhu Mohapatra in the 2014 National Awards where she was honoured for her role in Queen. Her first National Award was in the best supporting actress category for Fashion. As she arrived, Kangana greeted Amitabh Bachchan, who was seated next to her and later met his family. Bachchan won the best actor honour, his fourth National Award, for his role in Piku. The ceremony was a welcome respite for the actress, who is engaged in a bitter fight with her Kites co-star Hrithik Roshan. Both the stars have slapped legal notices on each other besides engaging in a public row. Hrithik says he never had a relationship with Kangana after she referred to him as a silly ex in an interview. The actor claims that the actress was corresponding with his imposter. Kangana, however, maintains they had a relationship while accusing the actor of engaging in slut-shaming by releasing her private emails to him. The author of a best-selling book about his father and other men who raised a US flag at Iwo Jima during World War II said on Tuesday he no longer believes his father was in an iconic photograph of the event. James Bradley, who wrote the book Flags of Our Fathers, said in a telephone interview that questions raised about the photo by two amateur historians, which has prompted a Marine Corps investigation, led him to think back on comments his father made about the 1945 flag-raising. Those comments by John Bradley, who died in 1994, now lead James Bradley to believe his father participated in an earlier flag-raising, and not the one captured in the famous picture. Read: Umberto Eco, author of The Name of the Rose, dead at 84 My father raised a flag on Iwo Jima, Bradley told The Associated Press. The Marines told him way after the fact, Heres a picture of you raising the flag. He had a memory of him raising a flag, and the two events came together. AP photographer Joe Rosenthal shot the photo on Feb. 23, 1945, on Mount Suribachi, only days into a bloody battle with the Japanese that would stretch on for weeks. The picture was displayed on front pages of newspapers across the US, later was used in a war bond sale and was depicted in the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia. Since 1947, the Marines have identified the Iwo Jima flag-raisers as John Bradley, Rene Gagnon, Ira Hayes, Harlon Block, Michael Strank and Franklin Sousley. All were Marines except Bradley, who was a Navy corpsman. On Monday, the Marine Corps announced it had begun investigating whether it mistakenly identified one of the men after history buffs Eric Krelle, of Omaha, Nebraska, and Stephen Foley, of Wexford, Ireland, began raising doubts about the matter. They argued that the man believed to be Bradley actually was Sousley, and that the person for decades thought to be Sousley was Harold Henry Schultz, who previously wasnt thought to have any connection to the flag-raising. Read: Two book lovers took a mobile library across India All of those involved in the flag-raising have died, including three who were killed in later fighting at Iwo Jima. Bradley, whose book was made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood, said misidentifying the men who joined in the second flag-raising would be an easy mistake. The key is, no one was keeping track, he said. There was the fog of war, post-traumatic stress. Bradley said after reviewing his fathers statements and photographs from that day on Mount Suribachi, hes confident his father wasnt in the famous picture, but its impossible to be 100% certain. I know what these guys look like. Ive studied them for years, he said. But I could be wrong. Follow @htlifeandstyle for more. The Supreme Court on Wednesday told the tobacco industry to adhere to rules requiring stringent health warnings on cigarette packs, but ordered a state high court to hear all pleas challenging the same. The tobacco industry should not violate any rule prevailing as of today, the two-judge bench said, and added that the Karnataka high court should hear all pleas challenging the new rules. Last month, the tobacco companies, some backed by foreign Big Tobacco, shut down production in protest against requirements that 85% of a cigarette packs surface be covered in health warnings, up from 20%. The tobacco industry has taken the government to court, saying the rules are impractical and will boost smuggling of imported cigarettes. The government backs the stringent rules to cut tobacco consumption. The government has been progressively increasing taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products aimed at making this costlier and wean people away from the harmful products. A new rule, under which all tobacco manufactured products are required to carry larger pictorial health warnings covering 85% of the packaging space, kicked in from April 1. The move triggered howls of protest from the industry with tobacco companies arguing the rule will encourage illicit trade. Existing pictorial warnings at 40% of the front of the pack are adequate to warn and caution consumers, companies said. According to WHO estimates, nearly a million people die in India annually due to tobacco. The economic burden attributable every year to tobacco-related diseases is about Rs 1,04,500 crore, about 75% of Indias food subsidy budget. India is ranked 136 of 198 countries according to the international status report on Cigarette Package Health Warnings, 2014 and countries ranked after 143 do not display pictorial health warnings at all. Smoking kills more than 1 million people a year in India, according to BMJ Global Health. The World Health Organisation says tobacco-related diseases cost India $16 billion annually. MumbaI: In a retort to Vijay Mallyas interview on his willingness to settle loan dues with banks, State Bank of India chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya has said she wants to see actual cash. The willingness seems to be there, we will have to test that out. I want to see actual cash... I dont want to see ifs and buts, the SBI chief said in an interview to NDTV Profit on the sidelines of the ADB conference in Frankfurt. Last week in an interview to The Financial Times, Mallya said he made a very serious offer to banks, but it was rejected. To this, Bhattacharya said: We did not have a proper understanding of the paying capacity. Unless and until we know the assets of the person how are we to realise the paying capacity? That is what weve been asking for time and again, ultimately the highest court in the land did give it to us. SBI is the lead lender of the 17-bank consortium, which had lent `9,000 crore to Mallyas Kingfisher Airlines. Mallya has, however, called the `9,000-crore figure a creation of the media. Bhattacharya said the principal amount he owes is around `5,000 crore, but the final amount keeps changing because once you take a loan, the interest metre doesnt stop ticking. The interest gets compounded every quarter. Banks, she said, will arrive at a one-time-settlement after assessing the paying power and the value of the loan. The bank takes a call as to this is the maximum amount one can get. We also try to do what is a net present value to see whether it is a fair deal. Recent auctions of Kingfisher headquarters in Mumbai and Kingfisher brands and trademarks have failed to attract any bidders. Talks with Mallya are ongoing and banks want to settle in any which way possible. The fact of the matter is we need to settle it, we do realise that. It is part of any cycle, exceptions are not being made only for one person or for big industry or small industry it is there across the board, we do it for everybody, she said. Bhattacharya also pointed out that there is a larger impact of the Mallya case, with a material change seen in the attitude of promoters. They know, today for instance, were very serious about ensuring that money is recovered, we are serious about ensuring that if we give money, the business has to be able to sustain it. If there is a problem, they need to come to us at the first instance, instead of trying to do all sort of things with which they only dig a deeper hole. Pune-based entrepreneur Shrikant Kunden has filed a complaint with Pune Police claiming that his Digital Location System a technology that provides an unique digital identity to geographic addresses has been stolen and used by Hyderbad-based start up Zippr. Kunden has in his complaint also included Indian Angel Network (IAN) whose members invested Rs 6 crore and the former member Gagan Aggarwal, who is alleged to have passed on confidential information and trade secrets to Zippr. An IAN spokesperson and Zippr founder Aditya Vuchi have dismissed the claims as frivolous and factually incorrect and in a joint email statement said that they intend to pursue the matter seriously and take necessary legal action. Kunden told HT that his Digital Location System or DLS dates back to 2012 when it was submitted for an innovation challenge hosted by the Government of Indias Department of Science and Technology and Confederation of Indian Industry, a programme sponsored by IAN. He further said that after winning the fourth place in the competition which included a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a former member of IAN approached him for possible seed investment by the networks members. This did not fructify and the matter was dropped by both parties. Last year I came to know about Zippr and technology they are using that seemed very similar to my invention and also learnt that IAN members had invested in the company. I had sought clarification and after two extensions of 4 weeks each was told there was no infringement of any IPR (intellectual property rights), said Kunden. His main bone of contention is the timeline over which the alleged theft of his idea is supposed to have taken place. He said former IAN member Gagan Aggarwal who had first initiated the investment discussion with him had left the network in September 2013, just five months after Zippr was formed. After not receiving a satisfactory response from IAN or Zippr, Kunden registered a complaint with Pune Police under the Indian Penal Code. He said the charges are now being investigated by the police. In the joint statement IAN and Zippr said, IAN and Zippr, absolutely refute these allegations which are factually incorrect and completely baseless. Zippr has built its proprietary location encoding technology independently to solve the core address infrastructure challenges of the country. Zippr has never spoken to the company in question or its representatives and nor was aware of their work until we received a clarification request from them in June 2015. The lawyer evaluated the case and found it factually incorrect. Kunden said he had filed for patentway back in 2012 which is yet to be granted. Zipprs Vuchi said he is yet to file for patent for what he claims is his invention. Filing for patent and granting one are completely different things, he told HT. He also said that providing a digital code for an address based on latitude and longitude is a very old technology in itself. What makes Zipprs invention unique is that it provides a unique digital address for each location within the same postal address (for example a particular house in an apartment complex). Padmaja Ruparel, President of IAN said as a policy the entrepreneurs are specifically advised not to share specific details of their technology including the coding and algorithm when investment proposals are in the discussion stage. Apprehending a loss of $1 billion in three weeks if the ban on diesel cabs in Delhi-NCR continues, business process management firms will move the Supreme Court seeking relief. There will be a potential $ billion loss to the business process management (BPM) sector if the ban on diesel cabs continues for 2-3 weeks, PTI quoted Sangeeta Gupta, senior vice-president of Nasscom, as saying in New Delhi. Nasscom is the apex IT industry body. On an average 65% employees reside in Delhi and work in Gurgaon and Noida round-the-clock. The firms cannot risk the safety of the employees, specially the 38% women staffers. The court should at least exempt cabs attached to private firms at night as in the day the people can still use public transport, Gupta said. Industry representatives from over 150 firms in NCR will ask the Delhi and Haryana governments and the Supreme Court to defer the deadline for phasing out diesel cabs. They want exemption for employees picked and dropped during night shifts and permits for cabs of IT industry to avoid challans. We support the Supreme Court for taking steps to reduce pollution. But banning diesel-run cabs is unfair without strengthening public transport and providing adequate number of CNG filling stations. The ban is adversely affecting the employees, specially people working in night shifts and women, said Raman Roy, vice-chairman Nasscom and MD, Quatrro. Also read: Odd-even is not a remedy, will ramp up public transport: Kejriwal The Supreme Court on April 30 had refused to extend the deadline for converting all diesel-run cabs in Delhi-NCR to CNG. Since most of the cabs were yet to switch over to CNG, the ban has led to an acute shortage of vehicles, hitting industry that provides pick or drop facilities to its employees. To cope with the contingency, the firms are taking a number of steps including providing pick and drop facility to only women staff, guest house accommodation, travel reimbursements and even spreading mattresses on the office floor. But officials said these cannot be done permanently and the government must ensure smooth conversion of diesel-run vehicles to CNG. As an industry, we are perhaps the cleanest, least polluting and most compliant. If the appropriate infrastructure such as enough CNG stations and factory-fitted CNG vehicles are made, we can switch over quickly, said Vidya Srinivasan, senior vice-president, Genpact. The option of CNG-run shuttle buses does not guarantee a doorstep drop for employees. This is against the Shops and Establishment Act, which mandates a pick up and drop for employees working in night shift. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Delhi Police arrested three suspected operatives of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group and recovered explosives after a six-month covert operation on Wednesday, possibly thwarting a series of planned blasts in the Capital. Special commissioner of police (Special Cell) Arvind Deep told HT the three men Sajid, Sameer and Shakir Ansari were making improvised explosive devices (IED) to strike markets and crowded places in the city. The trio was arrested during late-night raids in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh after a police informer managed to infiltrate the group. Police said the alleged mastermind, Sajid, was in touch with JeM leader Tallah, who says he is the brother of the terror outfits founder, Masood Azhar. His associate Shakir a resident of Deoband in Uttar Pradesh was planning to go to Pakistan for militant training, police said. The trio also radicalised nine men, who are under the police scanner. The recovered IEDs were to be used for carrying out explosions at sensitive locations of Delhi NCR. They have disclosed several backward and forward linkages which are being worked upon, an official said. Police described the trio who were sent to 10 days police custody as self-radicalised. The arrests come four months after six suspected JeM militants entered the Pathankot air base and killed seven soldiers in a bloody gun battle. Bilateral relations between India and Pakistan plummeted after the attack as New Delhi demanded action against the the outfit. India attempted to get Azhar the alleged mastermind of the Pathankot attacks sanctioned at the United Nations last month but the move was blocked by China, triggering tensions between the two nations. Police said the group used to meet at Sajids house in northeast Delhi for at least two years and watched jihadi videos and Azhars speeches on social media. They also interacted with members of pro-jihadi pages on Facebook and got in touch with Tallah through the social media website. They later exchanged numbers and regularly used Whatsapp to communicate, police added. Police said they recovered from Sajids house an IED, a damaged IED and raw materials -- three case iron pipes, two timer clocks, 11 batteries, M-seal adhesive and black explosives. They also found a dummy IED that was used for training and demonstration purposes by the accused. But the suspected militants sister Mehsabi told HT the material in the basement was machine oil, carbon and iron bolts used in sewing machines. They were no chemicals or explosives. We always kept the basement open and even the kids used to go there. Why would we allow kids entry into the basement if we were assembling bombs here, she said. Investigators are probing if Tallahs is Azhars brother, sources said. Sources said a police informer managed to enter Sajids module and was present in all their meetings. We were monitoring them since December. We knew about their meeting at Sajids Chand bagh house. After March 2016, some of them started taking sudden and quiet journeys beyond the national capital region. There were late night meetings held and some members were spending more time at certain markets which raised suspicion, said Deep. On Monday night, Sajid burnt the palm of his left hand while preparing an IED, prompting the police to raid the premises and arrest the trio. Police arrested Sajid from Chand Bagh, Sameer Ahmad from Loni in Ghaziabad, and Shakir Ansari from UPs Deoband. One of the most notorious militant groups in the regions, the JeM carried out the 2001 Parliament attack that left eight people dead. Its leader Azhar is among Indias most wanted criminals and works as JeMs chief financer, recruiter and motivator, according to dossiers submitted by India to the UN. Twelve men, allegedly members of the terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), were detained by the Delhi Police Special Cell following raids across Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in the last few days. Three of the suspects are likely to be arrested. In what police are calling a major breakthrough, the suspects were picked up from Inderpuri, Bhajanpura and Chand Bagh in Delhi and from Deoband in Uttar Pradesh. According to sources, they were found in possession of explosives. Sources in the Delhi Police said the men were being interrogated at the Special Cell office at Lodhi Colony while raiding operations are still being conducted in western Uttar Pradesh. Two of the suspects have been identified as Mazahir and Tahir. The Delhi Police have been receiving inputs of a possible terror attack in Delhi following the Pathankot attack in January. India blames the JeM for the brazen ambush of the air force base at Pathankot that left seven security personnel dead. A Pakistan joint investigation team recently visited India to gather evidence regarding the attack. The Delhi government sacked a government schools vice-principal on Wednesday on charges of indiscipline. The action against the vice-principal of Mandawali Government School was taken following a surprise visit by the deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Sisodia said that he found three teachers, despite being absent at 8.15am, were marked present in the register. The principal of the school has also been given a show cause notice. Hav ordered termination of vice-principal of Mandawali Govt School as an indisciplinary action (sic). In a surprise visit, I found 3 teachrs were absent but were shown present in the data base at 8.15 AM. Have given show cause notice to Principal (sic), Sisodia said in a series of tweets. News / Education by Staff Reporter Pupils at Sinoia Primary School recite the national pledge at their morning assembly during the opening of school today. New Delhi Hundreds of civil defence volunteers, accompanied by Delhi traffic police personnel and Delhi government officials, gathered at Chhatrasal Stadium on Wednesday for the governments thanksgiving ceremony for the success of the odd-even restriction in the city. Volunteers, whom chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai thanked for the success of odd-even, started coming in the afternoon itself. Many made their way to the venue directly from their offices. We worked really hard for 15 days. It was very hot but I turned up for my duty every single day. It is good the government acknowledges our efforts, said Parnimder Kaur, a volunteer. Kejriwal thanked traffic police personnel and said the restriction would not have been successful without their support. Transport minister Gopal Rai said that the volunteers, officers and people of Delhi had made the scheme successful despite the heat, conspiracies and other problems. No black at venue Some volunteers, however, expressed anger as they were not allowed to enter the venue because they were wearing black clothes. Many who turned up in black clothes, even a black shirt, were not allowed to enter the stadium. Those who reached well before 6pm were given entry. Announcements were made at the gate that anyone wearing black will not be allowed at the venue. I am carrying my identity card but I was not allowed to enter. I reported on duty every single day during odd-even part 2. This is not fair, said Anju Sharma, who was wearing a black suit. According to the coordinators who were staffing the entry gates, the orders came from the Delhi Police. We have been told that people could use black clothes to wave as flags at the venue and that we shouldnt allow them in, said a volunteer who did not want to be named. Some volunteers, however, said they had been asked to wear either their uniforms or white clothes if they wanted to attend the ceremony. Many, however, were allowed to enter even if they did not abide by the guideline. A woman had thrown ink at Kejriwal at the thanksgiving ceremony held in January, after the first phase of the scheme. Security this time was tighter and only people with identity cards were allowed to enter. Sajid, the alleged kingpin of the group picked up for alleged Jaish links, learned to make bombs on YouTube, the police said. The police had picked up 12 youth, who are believed to be heavily influenced by the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, in raids at UP and Delhi. Three of them who were arrested from Delhi -- Sajid, Sameer and Shakir -- were indoctrinated by Jaish videos and wanted to fight for the terror group, the police claimed on Wednesday. Police sources said the activities of the group were being monitored for the past six months after Sajid and Shakir made a phone call to Pakistan. Sources said Sajid started with liking Facebook posts related to Jaish and posting comments on similar websites. It is not clear whether Jaish-e-Mohammad has a Facebook account or not. After allegedly following the members of communities related to terrorism and websites that have such content, Sajid got a contact number and was told to contact JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhars brother Talha. Talha could be anyone...he might be an ISI agent. Talha guided Sajid. One of Masood Azhars brothers operates by the name of Talha. The man told him to gather youths and prepare improvised explosive devices (IEDs), said an official. Sajid, who lives in northeast Delhis Bhajanpura area, also allegedly got instructions on WhatsApp. He downloaded videos related to Jaish-e-Mohammad and searched YouTube for tips to make IEDs, police sources said. Over the past few months, Sajid and Shakir mastered making explosives and prepared one complete IED, they said. Another device that police recovered was damaged. It was claimed that Sajid had burnt his hand while making it. One of our informers knew about their movements and was privy to meetings held at Sajids house. I cannot say if he or she had infiltrated Sajids group. They had not targeted any specific shopping mall or received any order to blow up a certain place but were getting violent and gearing up to use the IEDs they had prepared. They had to be arrested, said a senior officer. Sources said police have Facebook and WhatsApp chats as evidence. The explosives recovered have been sent to the CBIs forensic laboratory. They were self radicalised. They did not use sophisticated devices or code names to contact Talha.They used forwarded videos and those uploaded on YouTube to get motivated for jihad, the officer said. Sources said the other nine accused had pledged allegiance to JeM but the police do not have evidence against them. Their financial records are also being checked. Prima facie, it looks like they were collecting money and funding their own expenses but it is too early to say anything conclusive, the officer said. The promoter of the Adarsh Housing Society, the late Kanhaiyyalal Gidwani, was a party hopper, politically and literally. On many a New Year eve, I saw him going from one five-star hotel to another and probably a third. Simultaneously, he moved from one faction to another in the Congress and then from the Congress to the Shiv Sena, then back to the Congress then again to the Shiv Sena before ending his days with the Congress. When I asked him about this, he said, The Shiv Sena needs people like me. It has limited human resources. There are too many of my kind in the Congress. I am not likely to get anything from this party. He was wrong. He got much from the Congress, even if not electorally. Without the Congress, Gidwani would not have been able to fulfil his dream of a posh address in South Bombay. I recall he used to have a permanent room booked at the Ritz Hotel, where he wined and dined with the media and also used to make and break fortunes at elections to the legislative council. He once unsuccessfully got after me to persuade my aged, widowed aunt to sell him her prime flat in Churchgate because he was embarrassed having to live in his own apartment at Worli, where all former ministers and MLAs resided. He wanted proximity to the ministers bungalows opposite Mantralaya. In a few years he got it--from the Congress, and in such a cynical show of power play and greed that the Adarsh Society kept adding floors to accommodate every official who sanctioned violations of the law in return for an apartment in the building. Now with the Bombay High Court ordering the demolition of the building, in which politicians, including those of the ruling BJP, have more than one apartment, I feel sorry for the army widows in whose name the house was built. Many owners of the apartments are politicians and businessmen, but there are a few army veterans who have sunk all their savings in it and they are the ones who are most likely to suffer. There have been precedents to this. I remember the court had given orders for demolishing the top floors of the Pratibha Building, which was constructed in violation of the Floor Space Index regulations. The Campa Cola Society is facing a similar issue. The Bombay High Court has given 12 weeks for appeal against its order. But I believe the society could be turned into a transit accommodation for the army personnel or a hostel for army widows who have nowhere else to go. On the flip side, most of the apartment owners are resource-rich politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen and there could be great justice served if they are made to part with their apartments with no compensation at all - though how much that will affect their overall finances one does not know. More likely, very little. Because Gidwani, who was sent to jail for a period of time after the scam broke, succumbed to the shock early in the scandal, it is difficult to speak of his cynicism and greed that corrupted even clerks and IAS officers as well as ministers and chief ministers into violating the laws with impunity. Former chief minister Ashok Chavan, who, as revenue minister, formulated a 40-60 allocation of houses in the building between the government and the army, is the most visible victim who didnt gain anything at all--his relatives, army veterans themselves, returned the apartments soon after the scam broke. But that is only appropriate. There must be equal justice for all. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Less than ten days after it was announced, Syrias ceasefire has started coming apart. The main culprit is the Damascus regime of Bashar al-Assad, which used the cessation of fighting to renew an assault on the rebel-held city of Aleppo. The international community has responded by calling on Russia, along with Iran it is the main international supporter of the Assad government, to pressure Damascus to rein in its aerial assault on the city. There is little evidence that Russia is doing so and it is doubtful Assad would have renewed fighting without informing his ally. This should not be a surprise. Ceasefires work when the main antagonists in a conflict come to believe there is no more benefit to be extracted on the battlefield. The Assad regime does not believe that to be the case. Since Russias intervention, the battlefield momentum has swung back in Assads favour. Though Russia seems to have responded angrily when the Syrian leader spoke of reconquering his country, he continues to speak of leading whatever political dispensation arises after the war. Read | Fresh airstrikes in Aleppo as US makes desperate bid to save ceasefire He clearly hopes to recapture Aleppo, the countrys largest city, and destroy the last major centre of Syrian rebels who are not affiliated to either the Islamic State or Al Qaeda. Strategically, the fall of Aleppo would be a windfall for Assad. Western governments would no longer have a viable rebel group to support as the remaining rebel groups would be too radical. This would also force Sunni Muslim states like Turkey and Saudi Arabia to realign in favour of Jabhat al Nusra and similar jihadi rebel groups and effectively isolating the rebellion from the international community. Assad, despite the fact he is despised by the Sunni majority of his country, would thus emerge the only palatable ruler of Syria. Read | Chemical weapons watchdog warns of new threats from extremists All this indicates that the ceasefire no longer has any real basis in the power situation on the ground. The battle for Aleppo is likely to be a long, grinding struggle. Depending on whether it ends in a regime victory or another bloody draw, it could prove the basis for a more realistic peace process later. But if the recent decision by Turkish courts to release jailed Islamic State commanders is a sign, the regional Sunni nations are shoring up their jihadi allies in preparation. Syrias civil war never really had a ceasefire, just a short intermission before the next episode in its bloody tragedy has begun. Union minister of state for defence Rao Inderjit Singh on Wednesday met Union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari to discuss the removal of Kherki Daula toll plaza. Singh, who is also the member of parliament (MP) from Gurgaon, reminded Gadkari of his July 2014 promise to the people about getting the toll plaza removed . You may like to recall your visit to NH-8 (Delhi-Gurgaon-Jaipur-Expressway) with officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in July 2014 when you promised to remove the Kherki Daula toll plaza. I again request its removal at the earliest in public interest, Singh told Gadkari in a letter that he handed over to him during the meeting on Wednesday. Hindustan Times has been carrying a campaign, Taking a Toll, to generate public opinion for the removal or shifting of Kherki Daula toll plaza. Rao Inderjit Singh has repeatedly raised the issue of snarls on the expressway and the lack of road infrastructure in his constituency. He has maintained that the Kherki Daula toll plaza is a bottleneck for commuters and a major drag on the industries in Manesar and Bawal. He also expressed concern over the lack of provisions for flyovers, elevated roads and facilities for pedestrians on the Gurgaon-Jaipur expressway. He urged the minister to get the work on the under-construction flyover near IMT Manesar completed soon and the work on the proposed flyover at Manesar started at the earliest. The MP also raised the issue of regular traffic jams during peak hours on the Gurgaon-Delhi Expressway and asked Gadkari to direct the NHAI officials to find a solution. He also mentioned the dire need for underpasses at Narsinghpur, Rathiwas, Kharkara, Khijuri, Salawas and Jaisingpur Khera villages. I request that the NHAI officials be directed to execute these works at the earliest, Singh said in the letter said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In a sleek, luxurious Manhattan hotel room, Tilda Swinton stands and announces that shes bound to break something. If not you then me, she says cheerfully. That the stark interior would, in even a brief stay, be in jeopardy from Swinton shouldnt be surprising. Few confines have ever been able to hold the shape-shifting, convention-bursting actress. But to say shes a chameleon doesnt quite do justice to Swintons myriad transformations: flickers of flesh that bend with the light or mood, alternatively illuminating her and retreating behind masks. She plays people perpetually in flux. Even Tilda Swinton is illusory. Read: Now thats one helluva tan! Is that really Tilda Swinton? I simply do not buy that identity isnt fluid, she says. Im not sure that identity exists. For a long time, I noticed that the stories I was drawn to making were the stories of people who were caught in a concept of OK, thats me and they came up against a wall and had to transform. Matthew Schoenaerts, Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson and Ralph Fiennes in A Bigger Splash. In Luca Guadagninos A Bigger Splash, which opens Friday, Swinton plays Marianne Lane, a rock star on the other side of a metamorphosis being pulled back to her prior self. Shes resting her voice after surgery on her vocal chords on an idyllic getaway on the Sicilian island of Pantelleria with her brooding beau (Matthew Schoenaerts). Read: Was Tilda Swinton cast in Doctor Strange to avoid annoying China? But her jaunty, hard-living producer and former flame Harry (Ralph Fiennes) turns up, along with his newly discovered daughter (Dakota Johnson). Like a film noir villain, Harry brings with him all her rollicking past, and the foursome settle in for a tense holiday. (The film is a riff on 1969s La Piscine.) A Bigger Splash is Swintons fourth film with Guadagnino, the Italian director of I Am Love, a lush feast of a movie. Together, theyve pursued what Swinton calls sensational cinema where you can almost taste the food or feel the sun on your skin. It was Swintons idea to make Marianne (a David Bowie-Chrissie Hynde hybrid on the stage) nearly mute, speaking only occasionally in a raspy voice. Mourning the loss of her mother at the time, Swinton was attracted to the silence. It would also submerge much of the films dramatics below the surface, she reasoned. I like to be quiet and I also like listening, says Swinton. I was able to kind of download what she was up to, which is basically listening to everybody else. And thats my preferred position in general. The 55-year-old actress grants its an ironic thing to say on a day where she is, with great eloquence, discussing herself and her work. Its a career that she considers accidental and, happily, a mystery. The daughter of a highly decorated military family in Scotland, Swinton initially studied literature at Cambridge and still considers herself foremost a writer. Her induction into cinema came largely from the experimental filmmaker Derek Jarman, who died in 1994. Sally Potters Orlando, in which Swinton played the long-living poet who changes sexes in midlife, was a fittingly androgynous, gender-defying breakout. As a mother, she drew raves for The Deep End and The War Zone. An Oscar for her icy corporate lawyer in 2007s Michael Clayton followed. Its the resume of a world-class actress, and yet she doesnt identify as one. Im never really that interested in acting, to be honest with you, says Swinton. I can quite understand it must sound crazy, given that Ive been doing this for 30 years. What I need is this feeling of not knowing what Im doing. Genuinely this feeling of beginners mind, constantly. Her malleability is enabled by an open-mindedness that doesnt even accept that this is what she does. She acknowledges thinking this way may be a conceit or a lucky charm. But anyway its working, she says. Its keeping me interested. Im just sort of unfolding things. Just constantly unfolding things with no pressure, says Swinton. Im not exactly professional. In a way I have no plans. And I like that. Im a kind of wanderer. Instead, she sees her acting as a series of friendships with collaborators: the foundation stones of my house, she calls them. They include Guadagnino, Jim Jarmusch (a book-obsessed vampire in Only Lovers Left Alive), Bong Joon-Ho (a dictators ruthless spokeswoman in Snowpiercer), Wes Anderson (unrecognisable as an elderly aristocrat in The Grand Budapest Hotel). The directors, too, are collectively infatuated. Jarmusch has called her one of the most amazing creatures I have ever met. Anderson: I was immediately captivated. Guadagnino: I am home with her. For Swinton, breaking the mould of identity isnt just a way to perform, but a way of life. Life is just a series of choices, and the gamuts pretty wide, says Swinton. People can make all the choices they can see in 360 vision. Constantly these opportunities are there for us. We just have to know to take advantage of it. Thats what I feel about identity. Thats the thing that keeps me falling into the habit of performing. Frozen fans started a movement of sorts, requesting Disney to give Queen Elsa a girlfriend after it was revealed that the studio did not use any LGBT characters in their 2015 films at all. Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros. all received failing grades on GLAADs annual LGBT report card, while Lionsgate, Sony, Universal and Fox received Adequate marks, reported Ace Showbiz. Twitter users made their voices heard by using the hashtag #GiveElsaAGirlfriend. GLAAD, a media monitoring organisation founded by LGBT people, called on Disney to include gay characters in upcoming Star Wars Episode VIII. Read: Frozen 2 is on because Disney just cant let it go As sci-fi projects have the special opportunity to create unique worlds whose advanced societies can serve as a commentary on our own, the most obvious place where Disney could include LGBT characters is in the upcoming eighth Star Wars film, the report said. If a gay Disney princess will turn little girls gay how come the mermaid Disney princess didn't turn me into a mermaid? #GiveElsaAGirlfriend Twitnter is Coming (@OhNoSheTwitnt) May 2, 2016 #GiveElsaAGirlfriend because LGBT kids deserve to know that there is nothing wrong with them jeffrey marsh (@thejeffreymarsh) May 1, 2016 #GiveElsaAGirlfriend so little kids will know that girls loving girls is normal even when their parents teach them otherwise. (@feminizza) May 1, 2016 #GiveElsaAGirlfriend Because I want this: Kid: so you have two mommies? my kid: yes Kid: so like Elsa & ___ my kid: yes Kid: that's cool! chelsea (@McDebnam) May 1, 2016 #GiveElsaAGirlfriend because 1 in 5 kids are queer, but only 1 in 10 feel safe enough to come out. mia (@miaafame) May 1, 2016 Given that Frozen was one giant metaphor for the closet, to #GiveElsaAGirlfriend is just logical. More LGBT representation is a great idea. Kenneth Sergienko (@KenSergienko) May 1, 2016 Follow @htshowbiz for more Assassins Creed star Michael Fassbender is in talks to play a serial killer in the upcoming film Entering Hades. Entering Hades is based on author John Leakes true crime novel about Jack Unterweger, a celebrated Austrian journalist and best-selling author who led a double life investigating murders by day and killing by night -- amassing a body count of 11 people across several continents, reports variety.com. Alexander Dinelaris, who won a best original screenplay Oscar as one of the four screenwriters on Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), is rewriting the screenplay of the film. Read: First set images of Michael Fassbender in Assassins Creed leaked online Read: When Michael Fassbenders performance left the X-Men crew in tears A director for the film is yet to be finalised. Follow @htshowbiz for more John Boyega is going from space battles in Star Wars to earthbound struggles onstage at Londons Old Vic Theatre. The theatre says the 24-year-old actor will get his first West End starring role in Woyzeck, the story of a soldier who commits an act of brutal violence. The new version of Georg Buchners 19th-century drama is written by Jack Thorne, the playwright behind Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Read: Cursed Child wont be JK Rowlings only new Harry Potter book this year Boyega, who played Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is currently filming the eighth instalment in the sci-fi saga. The play, which opens in February 2017, was announced Wednesday as part of the Old Vics 2016-2017 season. Watch a trailer of Werner Herzogs adaptation starring Klaus Kinski The lineup also includes a production of Shakespeares King Lear starring Glenda Jackson and a 20th-anniversary revival of Yasmina Rezas global hit Art. Read: Star Wars John Boyega meets sick kids, stays in character throughout Follow @htshowbiz for more One of the two Italian marines charged with the murder of Indian fishermen in 2012, Salvatore Girone will return home in a few weeks, the Italian defence minister Roberta Pinotti said on Wednesday. Girone will come back to Italy in a few weeks, there are still bureaucratic procedures to go through, Pinotti was quoted as saying by the Italian news agency ANSA. Girone, along with another Italian marine Massimiliano Latorre on board ship Enrica Lexie, is accused by India of killing two of its fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012. He has not been able to leave India, aside from a few brief permits, since the incident. Latorre is back in Italy after suffering a stroke in 2014 while Girone is staying at the Italian embassy in New Delhi. Pinotti said a UN tribunal in The Hague allowing Girone back to Italy for the duration of arbitration was nice news but the process is long with a verdict not expected before 2018. It was nice news we were hoping for and for which we worked silently in close contact with the team of lawyers that handles the international dispute on the two marines, she said. The Hague tribunal recognised what we were asking and that is that Girone should return to Italy and live with his family. But the process will still be long, Pinotti said. Its not over. Well have to wait for the outcome of the arbitration, but Im sure well get the right result, she added. News / Local by Staff Reporter The labour court has upheld the dismissal of a veterinary extension assistant for fraud.Labour Court judge Justice Muzofa upheld the Public Service Commission decision to dismiss the officer Matsina for misappropriating government funds amounting to $54.The Worker reported the Commission through its legal advisor submitted to the Labour Court that Matsina in his official capacity received dipping fees from farmers."During the period 21 July 2010 to 19 August of the same year, he received and receipted the correct amount of fees paid by the farmers on the original copies amounting to $76. Matsina then fraudulently receipted $22 on the fast copiesthereby prejudicing the state of $54," reads the submission.Matsina disputed the accusations stating that he had not committed the carbon fraud arguing that there was no evidence to prove that he was guilty.Matsina added that the minutes produced by the hearing committee were doctored because the said hearing did not proceed beyond the introductory phase as the committee objected to him being represented by Ignatius Murambatsvina of Murambitsvina legal practitioners.The assertion by Matsina that the hearing was not held forced the court to order the Public Service Commission to bring the hearing committee to court as witnesses.Matsina further argued that if he had committed the offence why it took so long for the Commission to persecute him."I was suspended from duty on 2 June 2015, summoned to appear before a hearing committee on 15 July 2015 and dismissed from duty on 22 September 2014 four years after the alleged offence was committed. This only proves that I have no case to answer," Matsina told the court.In her judgement Muzofa said, "Three witnesses were called the chairperson, one committee member and the secretary to the disciplinary authority gave evidence.Their evidence was that Appellant appeared before them with Mr. Murambatswi n a h i s l e g a l practitioner.The legal practitioner was only precluded from answering questions relating to the Appellant's job description. They did not know the Appellant until the date of hearing," went on Muzofa in here judgement."The recording secretary indicated she minuted the proceedings, sent them to members and produce a final draft that was eventually signed. The record ofproceedings was not doctored as alleged by the Appellant. She indicted that there was no provision for the disciplinary authority"Muzofa further stated that after hearing the evidence she was convinced that the disciplinary proceedings were conducted."I have no doubt that this issue was raised as an after thought. It is my finding that disciplinary proceedings were conducted," reads part of the Muzofa judgement.In the judgement the honourable judge appeared to agree with the assertion of Matsina that there was no evidence to prove that indeed he had defrauded the Commission.However Mazofa based her verdict on the minutes of the hearing which Matsina had dismissed as doctored. In the minutes Matsina had pleaded guilty and pleaded for lenience."In my view, Appellant admitted the charges," ruled Muzofa. He explained why he committed the misconduct. This is the equivalent of a plea of guilt and that usually dispenses of the need to lead evidence to prove the charges." Senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khan, who has been engaged in a no-holds-barred war of words with Adityanath in the past, has said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator should get married to prove his masculinity and sire children. He must tie the knot as it would help him increase his generation, Khan, the Samajwadi Partys most visible Muslim face, said in reply to a question whether he would like to bury the hatchet with Adityanath on Tuesday. Khan also attacked Sakshi Maharaj when he was asked about his views on the remark of the BJP MP from Unnao that the provision of triple talaq (divorce) in the Muslim community is an injustice against women and should be banned. Its an insult to talk about a man who is accused of raping a young girl, he said during a function in the Maulana Mohammed Jauhar University. The SP leader, who is known for bitter relations with governor Ram Naik, refused to comment on the news that Naik had accused Bollywood actor Govinda of taking the help of the underworld to contest the 2004 Lok Sabha election against him. Do not call him Ram Naik, instead, address him as Ram Naikji as he is the governor of the state, Khan intervened before reporters could complete their question. Sparks flew in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday as the Opposition and treasury benches traded charges over the VVIP chopper scam with the Congress lashing out at the government over its attempt to vilify party leaders through insinuation and innuendo. Former defence minister AK Antony said the change in the choppers flying altitude and cabin height which BJP leaders cited in support of their allegations against the Congress were decided during the Atal Behari Vajpayee governments tenure in November 2003 by the prime ministers office. The ruling party hit back with defence minister Manohar Parrikar saying an invisible hand guided the action or inaction of the CBI and the enforcement directorate probing the case of alleged kickbacks in the Rs 3,727-crore deal in favour of the UK-based AgustaWestland. The country wants to know who instigated, who supported and who benefited from corruption, Parrikar said, adding that the inquiry would focus on the roles of those named in the recent judgment by an Italian court. Italian court has proof that there was malafide intent and there was corruption in matter is brought out in extensive details in judgments of a Milan court, Parrikar said. The Italian court has said there are omissions at many stages and the deal was cancelled by the government after the CAG advice, he said in the Rajya Sabha. Saying it was proved beyond doubt that there was corruption in the deal, Antony asked the government to take action against those who took money. If you have evidence, take action but dont threaten, dont blackmail. Intervening in the short-duration discussion on the issue in the Rajya Sabha, Congress president Sonia Gandhis political secretary Ahmed Patel said there was an attempt to defame his party and its leaders and vowed to quit public life and resign from the House if charges against him were proved. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi accused the government of taking recourse to insinuation and innuendo to vilify the head of a political party and attributed it to the BJPs visceral hatred. Taking on the BJP for linking some initials mentioned in a handwritten note by one of the middlemen, which was also examined by an Italian court, Singhvi cited the Hawala case to point out it had no evidentiary value. Rejecting the BJPs attempt to link initials such as CP, VP and AP to the deal, Singhvi said AP, being interpreted as Ahmed Patel, could denote several people including the Gujarat CM (Anandiben Patel). He said such attempts reflected the hypocrisy of the ruling party as leader of the House Arun Jaitley had argued in the Hawala case, in which the initials LKA had figured, that these had no value as evidence. He said the Modi government was trying to foist corruption charges against those not involved and asked whether it was not damaging the investigation and letting culprits escape by targeting political rivals. Singhvi said Antony as defence minister had cancelled the deal and ordered a CBI probe. The UPA government had paid Rs 1,586 crore but recovered Rs 2,062 cr from AgustaWestland and three helicopters worth Rs 900 crore were impounded, he said. On the other hand, the NDA government allowed AgustaWestlands parent companies, including Finmeccanica, to continue to do business, he said. Initiating the debate, BJP leader Bhupendra Yadav said the single-vendor aspect was ignored, tests were allowed to be conducted abroad and even the specifications of altitude were reduced to 4,500 feet from the earlier benchmark of 6,000 feet. Moment by moment: AgustaWestland debate in Rajya Sabha Singhvi countered that, saying it was Brajesh Mishra, principal secretary to then prime minister Vajpayee, who had taken the stance that the specification of 6,000 feet should be reduced as it was leading to a single-vendor situation. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said there was prima facie evidence to prosecute people named in the deal. Attacking Gandhi, he said those named in the middlemans note should be questioned by the CBI. The Opposition sought a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe fearing that the investigating agency could be misused for political gains. Leader of the opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad asked the government to set a three-month deadline to finish the probe, but Congress MPs staged a walkout as they failed to get any assurance from the government. Congress leader Anand Sharma accused the government of targeting his party to divert attention from its own failures. We know the agenda and are determined to fight the agenda, he said. Earlier in the day, Gandhi said the BJP was most welcome to present in Parliament what the ruling party claimed were fresh revelations on the AgustaWestland chopper deal. After a cabinet meeting later in the evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held deliberations with senior ministers, including Parrikar, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Venkaiah Naidu, to take stock of the situation. Related stories Who said what in Rajya Sabha On a day when the Rajya Sabha witnessed a debate on the AgustaWestland controversy, the Italian judge who convicted two Italian officials in the VVIP chopper scam has said he has not given a clean chit to any Indian politician in the case. Judge Marco Maria Maiga told TV channels that his judgment is not final, and it is up to the Indian government to investigate its politicians. He added the UPA government did not provide sufficient documents for the probe. News channel NDTV quoted Judge Maiga as saying, We were hoping for many more, but only three papers were sent by India. He also said middleman Guido Haschkes note referring to AP that Opposition claims referred to Ahmed Patel and other politicians seemed authentic. Judge Maiga told another news channel that based on the evidence with them, the court in its judgment has said probably former air chief marshal SP Tyagi and his family were not the only people who received the money to have AgustaWestland win the deal. The AgustaWestland issue was fiercely debated in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with members of Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress blaming each other for the multi-crore-rupee scam that resurfaced last month. AgustaWestland was alleged to have paid Rs 375 crore as bribe to secure the Rs 3,700-crore contract to supply 12 VVIP choppers to the Indian Air Force. The contract for purchase of helicopters for the use of VVIPs was signed in 2010. The previous UPA government scrapped the deal over charges of kickbacks. Here is a summary of who said what on the issue in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. CBI can question driving force - Swamy Targeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy said that the CBI can, as per the law, question the person mentioned as the driving force behind the AgustaWestland deal. Swamy alleged in the Rajya Sabha that conditions were manipulated by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to egg out the contenders other than AgustaWestland. The BJP leader also alleged that while the original proposal was to buy eight choppers, the number was later raised to 12 once AgustaWestland won the contract. Read Swamys entire statement in the Rajya Sabha here. Punish bribe takers - Antony Former defence minister A K Antony said that it was proved beyond doubt that there was corruption in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. He asked the BJP government not to threaten or blackmail but take legal action against the bribe takers. The former defence minister, however, said the issue should not be politicised. Read Antonys entire statement in the Rajya Sabha here. Sonia not indicted, merely mentioned - Singhvi Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the mention of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and others in the judgment of the Milan court did not indict them. He said that the judgement merely mentioned them as VVIPs who would use the choppers. Slamming the ruling party for its hubris and arrogance of power, Singhvi said the Congress is not going to be intimidated by such tactics. Ridiculing the BJPs attempt to link certain initials like CP, VP and AP to the deal, Singhvi cited the Hawala case in which an initial LKA had featured and the high court had said the presence of initials constituted no evidence. Read Singhvis entire statement in the Rajya Sabha here. Invisible hand guided CBI, ED - Parrikar Defence minister Manohar Parrikar said in the Rajya Sabha that India wants to know who instigated, supported and benefited from the VVIP chopper scam. He said that the Investigation so far in the case has revealed involvement of Ids Infotech as a channel for transfer of bribe money. UPA, instead of taking action against the company, wrote to external affairs Ministry, embassy & court, Parrikar alleged. Parikkar also said that an invisible hand was guiding actions or inactions by CBI & ED during the investigation. Read Parrikars entire statement in the Rajya Sabha here. Will give up public life if guilty: Patel Congress leader Ahmed Patel said in the Rajya Sabha that he would give up public life if found guilty in the scam. He said his name figured four times in the 225-page Milan court document but nowhere he was indicted. He charged the BJP of creating an atmosphere against the Congress by making allegations that the party is corrupt. Read Patels entire statement in the Rajya Sabha here. Parents of a four-day-old baby who died last week in a government-run hospital, on Monday alleged the infant died from ant bites. On Friday, the baby was put in an incubator after being found unconscious by the mother. However, the infant did not respond. Denying negligence, doctors at the Old Government Hospital said the baby died from a lung disorder and was even underweight. A hospital official said the red marks on babys chest were the result of administering a cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Relatives alleged that a saline bottle hanging on a stand had fallen on the infant, injuring him. An autopsy has been conducted and Krishna district collector A Babu said the cause of the death would be known after the report was received. An inquiry was also ordered by health minister Kamineni Srinivas, who is away in London. The sub-collector was directed to submit the report. Leaders of opposition parties, who visited the hospital to console the family, demanded action against the negligent hospital authorities. The relatives of the baby also staged a protest. Last year, a 10-day-old baby died of rat bites in the intensive care unit of a government-run hospital in Guntur. The Bharatiya Janata Partys ally Shiv Sena on Wednesday attacked the Centre on its constantly changing policies regarding the Hurriyat, saying the U-turn made by the government to allow the separatists to hold talks with Pakistan was nothing short of an incredible act. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told ANI that Kashmir is an emotional and sensitive matter, adding there are divisive forces in the state like the Hurriyat, who are trying to align the state with Pakistan or make it independent. We have always maintained that there should be no talks with such people because the Hurriyat wants Pakistan to be involved in talks regarding Kashmir. Even the BJP agreed with us, now suddenly allowing Hurriyat to talk with Pakistan is incredible. Even Congress did not do this, Raut said. Read: First draft of a new Hurriyat policy He added that if the Congress party had taken this stand then the Shiv Sena would have branded the grand old party as agents who want to sell Kashmir to Pakistan but their hands were now tied since it was the BJP. They (government) need to think really carefully when they make decisions regarding Kashmir. It will not fare well for the nation if the Centre makes a spectacle of love with those people, who have already shaken hands with Pakistan, Raut said. Senas reaction comes after the Centre gave its nod on Tuesday to the Hurriyat leaders for talks with Pakistan and its representatives, two years after imposing a policy against separatist leaders meeting officials from the neighbouring country. An editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana also compared the Narendra Modi government to a chameleon which has changed its colours. Sena, which shares an uneasy alliance with the BJP in Maharashtra, also said U-turn by the Centre on Hurriyat is like calling the Ram temple in Ayodhya as Babri mosque Hurriyat Conference is now going to discuss Kashmir with Pakistan and the Central government has given them this concession. Tomorrow, talks on Kashmir will be held with Masood Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim and (Zakiur Rahman) Lakhvi, the Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana. When colours are changed faster than a chameleon, people wonder how they (Modi government) manage this ... Had Congress made such an about turn on Hurriyat and Kashmir issues, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar would have termed them as agents of Pakistan, the editorial said. Then they (Congress) would have been told that they were selling the country and there would have been a demand that such traitors should be ousted from power. They would have stalled Parliament in the name of national security, it said. Things are becoming strange these days. They can put even a chameleon to shame by the way they are changing colours. It beats us as to how they are able to do this. Last week, minister of state for external affairs General (retd) VK Singh told Parliament in a written reply that there is no bar on so-called Kashmiri leaders meetings with representatives of any country in India since the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of the Union of India and they are Indian citizens. Singh reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led governments stand that there cant be any role for any third party in the India-Pakistan dialogue process. India has consistently maintained that there is no role for a third party in the bilateral dialogue between India and Pakistan as per the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration. Indias displeasure at Pakistans attempts to interfere in Indias internal affairs has been repeatedly conveyed to Pakistan, he added. Read: Second-in-command Sehrai likely to succeed Hurriyat chief Geelani The NDA government had in August 2014 cancelled the foreign secretary-level talks with Islamabad over Pakistans high commissioner Abdul Basits meeting with Hurriyat leaders prior to the talks. Singhs statement was welcomed by the moderate Hurriyat Conference while the hardline faction said peace will not be restored until promises made by the Centre to Kashmiri people were fulfilled. (With ANI and PTI inputs) The ambitious Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur (Mihan) project has received a major boost, with the state government approving a land-swap deal between nodal agency Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) and the Indian Air Force. As per the new understanding arrived at a cabinet meeting held in Mumbai on Tuesday, the MADC will get 278.16 hectares of land from the Air Force in exchange for around 400 hectares. Read: Mumbais international airport four times more crowded than others Despite being launched by the then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in 2002, the project touted to be one of Indias biggest in terms of investments has been stuck for nearly 15 years now. This particular matter has been pending before the defence ministry for the last six years. A meeting held in Delhi last year paved the way for the transfer of land reserved for the Air Forces Gajraj project to Mihan. The state cabinet also approved the exchange of 2.30 hectares of land between the MADC and the CRPF group centre here in Nagpur. Besides this, the state cabinet approved the handing over of 15.40 hectares of land to the aviation department for extension of the Mihan project. Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately declare drought as a national emergency in view of the rising numbers of children in rural areas affected and exploited due to drought. Stating that over 164 million children were affected by the severe drought situation, Satyarthi said the drought across 10 states has led to rampant child marriage, child labour, abduction and trafficking of children. On May 1, a 12-year-old girl named Madhu and her eight-year-old brother Ashok died of dehydration in Lingam village of Telangana. Their mother, who went to fetch some water, was later found unconscious in the forest with an empty plastic bottle, Satyarthi said addressing a conference Drought Crisis and Children in New Delhi. He narrated other such ordeals, stating that people from areas under the grip of drought in Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka are leaving their children in temples. In Latur, Maharashtra, a mother donated her daughter to a temple to become devadasi. Parents, with nothing to feed to their children are taking such steps to save their children being forced into prostitution. He said that of 336 million people (government figures) affected by the drought, 40 percent are children, that has led to 22 percent school dropouts. This is the situation by the first week of May. If we are waiting for a report after two or three months, it would be too late. This is not good for a country that aspires to become an economic power, Satyarthi said. Voicing concern that the government is not giving ample time to the issue of drought, Sathyarthi said that at least one dedicated session of parliament should be on drought. Unfortunately there is no assessment, monitoring or preemptive measures taken to focus on the situation of children in drought, he said. In a letter to the prime minister, Satyarthi has urged to route the unspent Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund worth Rs.10,000 crore for drought relief. He has also demanded to declare drought as a national emergency and to control the exploitation of children due to drought. Owing to this drought and the ongoing water crisis, children are becoming increasingly vulnerable, Satyarthi said in a letter to Modi that was released to the media here. Reports of children being forced into child labour, trafficking, child marriage and the Devadasi system are coming to light, he added. Satyarthis Bachpan Bachao Andolan put the figures of missing children in the country at 35,873, those abducted at 22,014 and those forced into child labour at 74,84,416. Very genuine demand. Water harvesting/ preservation has to be made a national mission and everybody has to be made to understand that water is the most precious and has to be preserved. Hope the prime minister listens to the Mann ki Baat of these 16.3 crore children, Satyarthi said. Goas former education minister and unattached legislator Atanasio alias Babush Monserrate has been booked for allegedly raping a minor girl from his assembly constituency, police sources said on Wednesday. Monserrate denied the accusation, claiming that the FIR, which was filed against him on Wednesday evening was a conspiracy against him. According to a complaint filed at the Panaji police station, the minor girl said Monserrate raped her on more than one occasion, after he employed her some weeks back at a lifestyle store owned by him. The complaint was filed under 376 of the Indian Penal Code today (Wednesday) and relevant sections of the Goa Childrens Act, a police official familiar with the investigation told IANS on condition of anonymity. Monserrate told IANS that the police complaint was a conspiracy against him. I had hired this girl to work in my Hallmark store because her parents came to me to look for a job. But she stole some money from the store cash counter and I had sacked her. This complaint is false. There is no question of my getting intimate with her, Monserrate said. Monserrate was elected to the St. Cruz constituency on a Congress ticket, but was sacked from the party after he started hobnobbing with the Bharatiya Janata Party. He has been booked in the past for extortion. His son Rohit, was also arrested for allegedly raping a minor German girl five years back, but was later acquitted. Hundreds of women marched under a baking April sun last week in Salepur, a town 50km from the Odisha capital, demanding immediate closure of liquor shops in the locality. The protest underscores a rising tide against alcohol in the state where the government is encouraging sales to rake in more revenue. Women are at the forefront of this spirited fight, trying to save their families from the rampant liquor scourge. Anti-alcohol campaigners say most of these protesters are wives of daily wage workers, marginal farmers and village artisans who spend a substantial amount of their income on liquor. Besides getting addicted, the mens indulgence is ruining families especially poor households. There are other reasons too for the protests. Parbati Maharana, a middle-aged Salepur housewife, was furious that the men outside liquor vends passed lewd remarks. We would not budge till the liquor shops are closed. The shops are breaking our family life, she said, marching under the banner of Gramanchal Mahila Nisha Nibarana Committee. The liquor shops should not be allowed near temples and schools. The rally forced the district administration to close five shops for a few days. The state has recorded at least half-a-dozen protests in the past month since the government announced a liberalised liquor policy, which contrasts neighbouring Bihars alcohol ban from April 1. With more than 4,200 shops, Odishas excise revenue went up from Rs 306.61 crore in 2004-05 to Rs 2,557 crore in 2015-16. It aims to mop up Rs 2,800 crore from liquor sales this fiscal. Beer has become cheaper while the licence fee to set up a brewery, distillery or micro-brewery has reduced under the policy that kicked in on April 1. Excise minister Damodar Rout says his government cant ban alcohol as its consumption is a private affair. But his logic didnt pass the test in the growing chorus against alcohol. A mob torched a shop in Koraput district in March. On April 1, women of a village in Deogarh district ransacked a shop. In coastal Kendrapada, hundreds of campaigners ransacked a country-liquor shop and set it on fire in March. Police rushed to the village but watched the crowd from a distance. They didnt want to repeat the March 2015 incident when 16 villagers, mostly women, were wounded in police firing after a mob burned down a village liquor shop in the same district. These were poor Dalit women, frustrated by their husbands and sons spending their wages on liquor. These women are suffering every day and they have realised that they cant sit silent any longer, said Pramila Swain of Odisha Mada Mukti Abhiyan, an anti-alcohol group. Excise commissioner PK Senapati says not all protests against liquor shops are related to rising alcoholism. There are vested interests that encourage women to protest against an old shop so that another shop can come up, he said. But anti-liquor activists point to other interests. Politicians know that its easier to hoodwink people if they can keep them intoxicated. But the women will fight back, said Malay Tripathy of Milita Odisha Nisha Nibaran Abhijana, an NGO. The Odisha Prohibition Act 1956 was not enforced till 1994 when former chief minister Biju Patnaik banned alcohol two years after spurious liquor killed 300 people in Cuttack. The JB Patnaik-led Congress came to power in 1995 and lifted the ban. After chief minister Naveen Patnaik took over in 2000, the state government began retailing liquor through its Odisha State Beverages Corporation. News / Local by Staff Reporter Workers at Chisumbanje ethanol plant, Green Fuel, said they were languishing in abject poverty after going for over 6 months without salaries.The workers claimed that a majority of them last received their salaries in September last year whilst some were last paid in November last year.''Workers who work in the fields were last given wages last year in September whilst some last received in November. We are concerned that the salary payments have been so erratic and inconsistent for the past years,'' said one of the workers who decided to remain anonymous.The Worker reported that they said the situation has become so dire so much that life has become difficult at work and in the compounds.The workers reported that there have been a host of cases of workers mainly women who are falling unconscious while doing work in the sugarcane fields allegedly due to hunger and fatigue.Following the incidents, the workers reported that management started to give each employee a 10 kgs of maize meal monthly which would be regarded as a part payment of their wages.'' We are now being subjected to a type of food for work employment. The bucket of the maize handout is being charged at a value of $8, 50 which would be deducted from our wages. We even still complain that the value is inflated in what we see is a ploy to further exploit us because locally we can purchase the same at $6, 00,'' said an employee who withheld her name for fear of victimisation.One of the workers reported that at a recent Council Meeting held at the plant, management could not ascertain when workers would receive salaries but assured that the company was going to source more maize for the workers.''In the meeting management could not promise anything in the near future but maintained that some maize hand outs would be made as a stop gap measure,'' he said.In an interview, the former District Ethanol Plant Implementation Committee (DEPIC) spokesperson, Claris Madhuku, castigated the company for its insincerity towards the employees and its surrounding community.''The company has been doing a disservice to the workers and the surrounding community at large. We insist and maintain that the company has the capacity to remunerate employees,'' he said.Madhuku, who is the current director of the Platform for Youth Development (PYD), a pressure group based in Chipinge, added that daily dispatches handled by some managerial employees at the company reveal that there are high profits being made by the company as their product has a ready market.''Non remuneration of the workers is only a question of priority and exploitation tendencies by the firm. The business is viable because the company enjoys monopoly of the market through mandatory blending,'' he said.He further revealed that employees working for the plant were also subjected to gross victimisation and harassment by their management alleging that their workplace was highly politicised.''Right now the company is operating without a substantive elected workers committee. The company is denying the workers to form one. Management at the plant was on record intimidating anyone who dares talking about the issue. So far i can confirm that the management has fired members of a total of three (3) workers committees at the plant,'' said Madhuku.He said there were a series of cases reported against the company at the Ministry Of Labour Offices in Chipinge.When contacted for an interview, Green Fuel Human Resource Manager, Andrew King declined to give a comment.''I am not allowed by the company policy to comment on such issues on or off record so I can't give you our position regarding those issues,'' he said.Green Fuel, a joint venture between the government's Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) and private companies, Macdom and Rating Investments owned by business tycoon identified as Billy Rautenbach, is Zimbabwe's sole ethanol producer and has a labour compliment of 4,500 employees.According to officials, the plant has the capacity to produce 120 million litres of high quality, anhydrous ethanol per annum, along with capacity to generate 18 megawatts of electricity. A young IAS officer in Chhattisgarh faced social media abuse on Wednesday after a photograph showed him standing and talking to a sick childs mother with his left foot resting on the steel rail of a hospital bed. The incident happened when Dr Jagdish Sonkar, the 2013-batch IAS officer who has a medical degree, visited a government hospital for a routine inspection and interacted with mothers of malnourished children being treated there. He is the sub-divisional magistrate of Ramanujganj in Balrampur district. Sonkar told Hindustan Times that he went to the hospital with a good intention and examined some patients as well. My action was unintentional and avoidable, he said. He showed no remorse even after social media panned him for his uncivil manners, which amounted to showing disrespect to people. For his arrogant and insolent act, livid netizens rechristened the IAS as Indias Arrogant Service. Twitter user Aniket Devdhar posted: The term public servant has lost its meaning long ago. Fellow tweeple Kanchan Gupta shared the photo and wrote: Meet Chhattisgarh IAS officer Dr Jagdish Sonkar. He has a MBBS degree. He clearly knows his place in this country. When chief minister Raman Singh came to know of the officers insulting gesture, he said he will instruct the chief secretary to teach him manners. He needs to learn. There are codes of conduct for IAS/IPS and other officers to be followed in the right earnest. There have been cases of ISIS activities in India but the country isnt facing anything alarming, since Muslims here are committed to the values of life and wont allow it to spread its tentacles in the country, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Home Minister Rajnath Singh expressed confidence that there would be no increase in the terror outfits activities in India in future. Replying to questions on the spread of ISIS activities in India and whether any Muslim organisation was involved, he said the Muslim community is well entrenched in Indian traditions and cultures. Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said there were activities in India perpetrated by ISIS but the situation is not alarming as some people are trying to project, since the Indian security and intelligence agencies are alert both at the centre and state levels. There are some cases which have been registered and number of arrests have also been made. These are all under investigation. There is nothing much to worry. Our country is able to contain the threat from ISIL, he said. Asked how many cases have been registered and arrested, Rijiju said, As of now, six cases have been registered. In these cases, many people have been arrested. Investigation is going on and it is not possible to provide all details. We cannot fix the time limit for completing these investigations. He said the situation is a dynamic one and that the government is seriously pursuing it. The National Investigative Agency (NIA), which registered these cases, is working very professionally and no innocent should be troubled. Rijiju said the NIA is working to reach those people who have committed wrong. To a question on whether any Muslim leader or organisation was involved, he said, No organisation is involved. Muslims leaders and organisations have openly opposed ISIS in this country. Congress has accused the government of cover up disillusionment with its work by trying to vilify the head of a political party on the basis of mere insinuation and innuendo in the AgustaWestland helicopter issue. Congress member Abhishek Manu Singhvi on Wednesday defended his party in the Rajya Sabha as the House took up a discussion on alleged corruption in the purchase of AgustaWestland VVIP helicopters, and responded point-by-point to allegations of wrongdoings levelled by the ruling dispensation against the previous UPA government. Earlier, BJPs Bhupendra Yadav initiated the discussion, accusing the Congress of creating conditions to favour the Italian company for the purchase and pointed fingers at the UPA government over its role in the deal to purchase 12 VVIP helicopters. Live coverage : Does Agusta report say Cong leaders have taken a bribe? asks Patel The BJP has alleged that the former UPA government allegedly eased some key clauses to benefit the UK-based AgustaWestland, with whom India had signed a Rs 3,727-crore contract for 12 AW-101 choppers in February 2010. The firm, a subsidiary of Italian defence conglomerate Finmeccanica, beat off competition from US rival Sikorsky to win the deal. Singhvi, while defending the UPA dispensation, attributed innuendos against its leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi or Ahmed Patel to the visceral hatred of the BJP. The interest appears to be to keep the pot boiling, not to reach a conclusion and keep finger pointing, he said alleging that the BJP was not interested in finding the real culprits. Slamming the ruling dispensation for its hubris and arrogance of power, Singhvi said the Congress is not going to be intimidated by such tactics. Read | Rahul Gandhi counters BJPs charges on AgustaWestland chopper deal Ridiculing the BJPs attempt to link certain initials like CP, VP and AP to the deal, Singhvi cited the Hawala case in which an initial LKA had featured and the high court had said the presence of initials constituted no evidence. Singhvi said it was hypocrisy of the ruling party in applying double standards as leader of the House Arun Jaitley had in the Hawala case argued initials have no evidentiary value. He said that AP could stand for many people including the present chief minister of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel. The Congress leader said not a single allegation that was being touted was part of the findings of the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) or Enforcement Directorate. We are relying on the interpretations and misrepresentations of an Italian court, he said adding the official translation of the judgement is still not available. Read | Most welcome, says Sonia Gandhi on BJPs big Agusta revelation He said the name of Congress president Sonia Gandhi merely figures in one letter where it is said that she would be among the VVIPs who would fly in the helicopter. He added that even Guido Haschke, one of the alleged middlemen, had also said that he does not know what the initial AP stands for. I hope we collect all APs. That illustrates the problem we face when we start using initials, Singhvi said. An Italian court of appeals in Milan brought the deal back into the spotlight early last month by reversing a lower courts verdict that there was no evidence of corruption. The court then found former Finmeccanica chairman Giuseppe Orsi and AgustaWestland ex-CEO Bruno Spagnolini guilty of corruption and sent them to prison. The CPI(M) on Wednesday attacked the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala over the brutal rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district, saying it was shameful that the administration initially tried to cover up the crime. The Left party demanded a probe into the matter by a panel headed by a high-ranking woman police official and said immediate steps should be taken to arrest the culprits. The party also said the accused should be tried by a fast-track court in line with amendments introduced in criminal laws after the Nirbhaya incident. Instead of acting firmly while dealing with such cases, it is shameful that the state police and the Congress-led UDF government initially tried to cover up this heinous crime. The Politburo demands the investigation into the brutal rape and appalling violence inflicted on the woman should be entrusted to an enquiry committee headed by a high-ranking woman police official, a CPI(M) statement said. The Left party demanded that action also be taken against those who attempted to cover up the case. A 30-year-old woman, a law college student hailing from a poor family, was raped and brutally assaulted using sharp-edged weapons before being murdered at her house at Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district on April 28. She was found dead in a pool of blood at her one room home at 8 PM the same day by her mother when she returned from work. Kerala chief minister Oommen Chandy announced on Wednesday that the state government has decided to give Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the family of the Dalit law student who was brutally raped and murdered in Perumbavoor in Ernakulam District of Kerala. Earlier, asserting that swift action would be taken against the perpetrators of the brutal rape Chandy, who met the family members of the victim on Wednesday, said his government would do the necessary towards the demands of the victims family, who have asked for a job for the victims sister. This incident is a shame to the state. Weve decided to give all assistance to family. Her Family wants to get a job for the sister of the deceased girl, will do the necessary, Chandy told ANI. Will take strong legal action against the culprits in the brutal murder. Offenders will not be spared. The guilty will be brought to justice swiftly, he added. With protest marches by students and rights activists being held across Kerala condemning the ghastly incident, Chandy on Tuesday described the crime as shocking. The two persons taken into custody were questioned by a police team headed by Ernakulam Range IG Mahipal Yadav. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Wednesday accused the Congress-led UDF government and the state police of initially trying to cover up the crime adding that an enquiry committee must be set up to probe the case. Instead of acting firmly while dealing with such cases, it is shameful that the state police and the Congress-led UDF government initially tried to cover up this heinous crime. Such behaviour on the part of the police and the administration is reprehensible and cannot be tolerated by any civilized society. It was thanks to a vigilant media and the massive public outcry that followed that forced the police to finally act, the party said in a statement. The 29-year-old woman was murdered after being brutally raped inside her home, near an isolated stretch, at Vattolippidi Canal Bund near Perumbavoor in District Ernakulam. Her body had at least 30 injuries, including on her private area. Reportedly, her small intestine had spilled out. A sketch of the suspect in the brutal rape and murder of 30-year-old-Dalit woman in Kerala was released by police on Wednesday, even as a postmortem revealed 38 big and small wounds on her body. No arrests have been made so far in connection with the murder of the woman, a law student, in her small wayside house in Perumbavoor on April 28, though three persons have been picked up for questioning. The shocking incident also had its echo in Rajya Sabha with members demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits while the state government assured stern action. Read:Kerala Dalit rape case: CPI(M) slams Cong, demands probe On the investigation side, Police released a sketch of a suspect while the post-mortem conducted at Alapuzha Medical College Hospital confirmed that she was subjected to brutal torture and rape. With the incident snowballing into an embarrassment for the state which is in the midst of campaigning for the Assembly elections on May 16, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Opposition leader V S Achutanandan visited the mother of the victim at Perumbavoor Taluk Hospital. While Chandy dismissed reports that the case had weakened following the delay in arresting the culprits, he said the government would spare no efforts in bringing the culprits to book. The government also announced a solatium of Rs 10 lakh to the family of the woman, who was found brutally murdered at her house in Perumbavoor. A government job will also be provided to the sister of the woman, an official press release said. CPI(M) veteran V S Achutanandan attacked the government and demanded that a new probe team be constituted. BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan criticised the government over the delay in the arrest of the accused. Kerala State Commission for SC/ST has taken up the matter while the state Human Rights Commission has said the crime branch should investigate the case. In the Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien described the incident as most shameful for every Keralite while the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said it had crossed all limits and was inhuman. Social Justice Minister, Thawar Chand Gehlot, said he will be visiting Perumbavoor tomorrow to meet the victims mother and younger sister and help them in getting justice. National Womens Commission member, Rekha sharma, who visited the victims mother today, said a 30-year-old woman if she is not secure in her own house, where is she secure? If the streets are not secure, even the house is not secure for girls, where will they go? she asked. The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday began what was expected to be a fiery debate on alleged graft in the purchase of AgustaWestland VVIP helicopters, with both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress in attack mode against each other. Click here to read a summary of what happened in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Here is how the debate panned out on Wednesday 7:30 pm: - Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11AM on Thursday. - Congress stages walk out from Rajya Sabha after defence minister Manohar Parrikars statement on Agusta Westland issue. 6:30pm: Manohar Parrikar ends his speech. - After present Govt took over, CBI & ED have been rigorously pursuing all aspects of the investigation. - It appears that an invincible hand was guiding actions or inactions by CBI & ED. - CBI registered an FIR in the case on March 12, 2013 based on reference made by defence ministry on February 12, 2013. But CBI didnt bother to forward a copy of the FIR to Enforcement Directorate (ED) for nine months. Strangely ED did not act on the FIR till July 2014. - UPA, instead of taking action against the company, wrote to external affairs Ministry, embassy & court - Investigation so far in the VVIP chopper case has revealed involvement of Ids Infotech as a channel for transfer of bribe money. - The benchmark cost given by contract negotiation committee (CNC) was unreasonably high and had provided no realistic basis for price negotiations - CAG report highlighted that allowed offsets were not compliant with Defence Procurement Policy (DPP). Uproar in Rajya Sabha after Parrikars statement on Agusta Westland issue. - The fact that there was corruption in the chopper deal is brought out in recent judgments of Milan court. - India wants to know who instigated, supported and benefited from the VVIP chopper scam. We cant let this pass. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar begins his speech. 6:00pm: AK Antony ends his speech. - The decision to change the height was taken by then PMO and NDA Govt (the choppers flying ceiling of 6,000 m and a cabinet height of 1.8 metre was altered allegedly to suit AgustaWestland) - We acted immediately after the first report in media on alleged scam in helicopter deal. - It is proved beyond doubt there was corruption in chopper deal, you (NDA Govt) have to act now. -Former defence minister AK Antony begins his speech. 5:55pm: Read : Will quit public life if found guilty, says Ahmed Patel - Ahmed Patel ends his speech - If you can find even an iota of truth in all the accusations being made, I will give up public life and resign. - And if anyone can prove that from this report, I will submit my resignation. - My name only comes 4 times in the entire report. Does it say anywhere in the report that the Cong leaders have taken a bribe? - CAG should not be used as a tool for political bickering. - Government should probe into the deal, I will quit politics if they get something against me. - This is not the first time I am being attacked. 5:50pm: - Congress leader Ahmed Patel begins his speech in Rajya Sabha 5:40pm: -Anand Sharma ends his speech. 5:30pm: - What has been said in the House, attributing motives, insinuations, innuendos are without any foundation, malicious and motivated. - Truth and medicine both are bitter but both are cures - one for lies, the other for disease. 5:20pm: - We know their agenda and we are determined to fight and expose that agenda. - This is a democracy. What has been referred to, must be authenticated by government, put here and scrutinised legally. - Congress will answer on every question raised by the ruling party. - Attempts are being made to mislead the people. 5:09pm: - Congress leader Anand Sharma begins his speech in Rajya Sabha. 5:05pm: - Subramanian Swamy ends his speech in Rajya Sabha - Will provide authenticated letter copy. - Bribes couldnt have been taken by 1 IAF man, ex-PM Manmohan Singh was overruled by super cabinet. 5pm: - Uproar in House as Congress questions AgustaWestLand deal documents quoted by Swamy. - Congress leader Anand Sharma says rules of discussion have been broken. He demands authenticaion of the documents. Uproar in Rajya Sabha during discussion on #AgustaWestland issue. pic.twitter.com/h4RnpHAssq ANI (@ANI_news) May 4, 2016 4:50pm: Highlights of Subramanian Swamys speech in Rajya Sabha - Air Force in Jan 2006 gave their benchmark estimate for this deal as 793 cr. This was approved by Mr Antony the then defence minister. - In Sept 2008, contract negotiations committee arbitrarily fixed Rs 4877.5 cr as the deal which was 6 times more. 4:45pm: - Ruckus in House by Congress members over Swamys speech. Venkaiah Naidu requests deputy chairman to allow Swamy to complete his speech. 4:40pm - CAG says that already present 8 helicpoters which was bought in 1988 was hardly utilised, what was need for this additional 4? - Original proposal was to buy 8 helicopters, after it became clear that Agusta was only 1 to qualify, they decided to buy 4 more. 4:25pm: - Field tests were not conducted on AW101, supposed to be used for VVIP, but on some other choppers - There was a clear effort to eliminate all other companies so that only Agusta would fit the required criteria. 4:15pm - It took a NDA government to ban AgustaWestland. - They didnt use AW101 aircraft (which was bought) for field trials but used some other helicopter, which is fraud in its itself. - That was lowered because it was found that present choice that we have made of AgustaWestland cannot fly beyond 4500 metres. - People who lowered height was not NDA. It is a lie to say that NDA government was one which changed specification of height.. 4:10pm: Subramanian Swamy begins his speech in Rajya Sabha. 3:40m: Highlights of BSP chief Mayawatis speech - Our party demands that investigation into #AgustaWestland matter should be quick and impartial. - Wouldve been better had final investigations report come and then wed debate. - There should be a Supreme Court monitored probe into AgustaWestland case. 3pm: Highlights of JDU leader Sharad Yadavs speech - No need to make false accusations. Accusations need corroboration else it simply defames people for no reason. - There are so many more important issues going on in the nation. They are the ones that should be discussed in the House. - Why are you not letting Parl function? Why is this an issue when you have all the agencies to your behest?. Also Read | In 5 points: All you need to know about AgustaWestland deal 2:44 pm - Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi leads partys Agusta defence in Rajya Sabha. Training gun on BJP, Singhvi said charges of corruption leveled against Congress are baseless as the government is trying to divert attention from getting to the root of the Agusta scam. - Reading the judgment of the Italian court, Sanghvi said We have no evidence against Sonia Gandhi. Only a mention of her in the facts, as a person who will fly in these machines. The same holds true for Manmohan Singh. We have faith in the loosely translated report of a judge of another country but dont trust our own courts. Here is an insecure ruling party trying to foist a charge of corruption on persons unconnected: AM Singhvi, Congress in RS ANI (@ANI_news) May 4, 2016 Just because you have inbuilt hatred for certain names doesnt mean they shall be put in place for initials used, said Sanghvi in Parliament. How can you have hypocrisy & double standard? we have to be more matured, he added. 2:35 PM - BJP member Bhupendra Yadav initiated the discussion, accusing the Congress of creating conditions to favour the Italian company for the purchase. - All defence procurements need to be made transparent, he said in his initial remarks of a serious debate that involves revelations of corruption in a defence purchase. Why did UPA not initiate an investigation into who all took bribes in the #AgustaWestland matter?: Bhupender Yadav, BJP in RS ANI (@ANI_news) May 4, 2016 2:30 PM - Uproar in Rajya Sabha as defence minister Manohar Parrikar started giving chronological details of AgustaWestland matter. This matter started in 2002, just wanted to inform the house the chronological order of events in the matter, without any comments: Parrikar ANI (@ANI_news) May 4, 2016 Parrikars much-awaited statement in the Rajya Sabha came in the wake of the ruling BJP mounting sharp attacks on top Congress leaders, including party president Sonia Gandhi, over the deal. Also Read | AgustaWestland deal: ED summons former IAF chief SP Tyagi on May 5 The BJP has alleged that the former UPA government allegedly eased some key clauses to benefit the UK-based AgustaWestland, with whom India had signed a Rs 3,727-crore contract for 12 AW-101 choppers in February 2010. The firm, a subsidiary of Italian defence conglomerate Finmeccanica, beat off competition from US rival Sikorsky to win the deal. Much to the delight of the central government, which was facing attacks from the Opposition on the imposition of Presidents rule in Uttarakhand as well as its Pakistan policy, an Italian court of appeals in Milan brought the deal back into the spotlight early last month by reversing a lower courts verdict that there was no evidence of corruption. The court then found former Finmeccanica chairman Giuseppe Orsi and AgustaWestland ex-CEO Bruno Spagnolini guilty of corruption, and sent them to prison. Also Read | Govt defers approval to AgustaWestland FDI in Indian joint venture While former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi and his cousins are suspected to have manipulated the system to swing the chopper deal, the names of some top Congress leaders and bureaucrats have also been linked to the alleged kickbacks. On April 27, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy mentioned Gandhis name in the Rajya Sabha while referring to allegations made by one of the middlemen. Last week, when the Congress sought to defend itself by saying that the company was banned by the erstwhile UPA government, Parrikar challenged it to produce the order blacklisting the firm. Also Read | Come out with AgustaWestland deal truth in 2 months: Congress dares govt Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said the BJPs new revelation on the VVIP chopper scam was most welcome. Read more: Walkouts, protests, barbs: What happened in RS over AgustaWestland Defence minister Manohar Parrikar will place in Parliament a detailed chronology of the controversial deal and seek to establish how the previous government allegedly eased some key clauses to benefit the UK-based AgustaWestland, with whom India signed a Rs 3,727-crore contract for 12 AW-101 choppers in February 2010. The firm is a subsidiary of Italian defence conglomerate Finmeccanica. Parrikars much-awaited statement in the Rajya Sabha will come in the wake of the BJP mounting sharp attacks on top Congress leaders, including party president Sonia Gandhi, over the deal. While former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi and his cousins are among those accused of taking bribes, the names of some top Congress leaders and bureaucrats have also been linked to the kickbacks leading to a no-holds-barred political battle. Read more: AgustaWestland: CBI to grill ex-IAF chief Tyagi for third day today Earlier in the day, Sonia called a party meeting to decide their strategy in the debate on the AgustaWestland chopper scam in the Rajya Sabha. With BJP MP Kirit Somaiya alleging that Rahuls close aide Kanishka Singh was involved in AgustaWestland and 2010 Commonwealth Games scams, the Rajya Sabha could see a heated debate. Sonia Gandhi will sit with former PM Manmohan Singh, leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, former defence minister AK Antony, partys deputy leader in the Upper House Anand Sharma and some other senior leaders to discuss the talking points and ways to counter the BJP. Read more: Chopper scam: ED begins probe as Emaar MGF denies link with middleman Congress sources said, Azad, Sharma and the partys ace legal brain, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, may participate in the debate in which defence minister Manohar Parikkar is likely to furnish fresh details of the scam to corner the Congress. The party may have to fend for itself in Rajya Sabha as Trinamool Congress, a key Opposition party, has already indicated it will train its guns on the Congress. Parties such as the AIADMK and the BJD, too, are likely to take this opportunity to hit out at the Congress. All eyes would be on the Left parties, a key force in the Upper House, if they come out in support of the Congress in a corruption case. AgustaWestland beat off competition from US rival Sikorsky to win the contract. The deal came back into the spotlight early last month, after an Italian court of appeals reversed the verdict of a lower court that corruption could not be proved. The higher court in Milan found former Finmeccanica chairman Giuseppe Orsi and AgustaWestland ex-CEO Bruno Spagnolini guilty of corruption and sent them to prison. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar is expected to tear into the Congress-led UPA regime over the VVIP chopper deal on Wednesday, seeking to further corner the main Opposition party in the kickbacks scandal. Parrikar will place in Parliament a detailed chronology of the controversial deal and seek to establish how the previous government allegedly eased some key clauses to benefit the UK-based AgustaWestland, with whom India signed a Rs 3,727-crore contract for 12 AW-101 choppers in February 2010. The firm is a subsidiary of Italian defence conglomerate Finmeccanica. AgustaWestland beat off competition from US rival Sikorsky to win the contract. The deal came back into the spotlight early last month, after an Italian court of appeals reversed the verdict of a lower court that corruption could not be proved. The higher court in Milan found former Finmeccanica chairman Giuseppe Orsi and AgustaWestland ex-CEO Bruno Spagnolini guilty of corruption and sent them to prison. Former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi and his cousins figure among those accused of taking bribes. (Photo courtesy: agustawestland.com) Parrikars much-awaited statement in the Rajya Sabha will come in the wake of the BJP mounting sharp attacks on top Congress leaders, including party president Sonia Gandhi, over the deal. While former IAF chief Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi and his cousins are among those accused of taking bribes, the names of some top Congress leaders and bureaucrats have also been linked to the kickbacks leading to a no-holds-barred political battle. On April 27, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy mentioned Sonia Gandhis name in the Rajya Sabha while referring to allegations made by one of the middlemen. Her name was later expunged. Read: Chopper scam: ED begins probe as Emaar MGF denies link with middleman Parrikar is likely to state in Parliament that while bribe givers in the case have been convicted, it is now the bribe takers who need to be identified and punished. He may also ask the Congress to explain why the firm was not blacklisted by the UPA regime despite graft charges. Last week, after the Congress claimed that the company was banned by the erstwhile UPA government, Parrikar challenged it to show the order blacklisting the firm. He is likely to claim that dealings with Finmeccanica were put on hold only on July 3, 2014, after the NDA government came to power. In its counter-offensive, the Congress is likely to question the Modi government on why it has not finished investigating the case despite being in power for two years. The government claims that the probe has been delayed because some key perpetrators are still outside the country. With Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar set to make a statement on the controversial AgustaWestland chopper deal in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Prime minister Narendra Modi has called a meeting of top cabinet ministers ahead of the crucial day in the Parliament. The meeting, which is expected to be held in Parliament, would be attended by Parrikar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu, besides others. Parrikar, who met Modi on Tuesday, is expected to address the Rajya Sabha at 2 p.m. during the short duration debate. Earlier, Parrikar had stated said his Parliament address would include how and when necessary clauses or provisions were relaxed to suit the company. Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, had on Monday accused the Centre of pursuing a politically motivated campaign to defame the grand old party through the AgustaWestland copter scam. Meanwhile, the CBI has started third day of questioning of former Air chief SP Tyagi at its headquarter at CGO complex in connection with alleged irregularities in the Rs 3600 crore VVIP chopper deal. The investigating agency had on Saturday quizzed former IAF deputy chief JS Gujral in connection with this case. Both Tyagi and Gujral were questioned at length in 2013, but the fresh round of questioning was necessitated after recent order of an Italian Court which indicated corruption in the deal. News / Local by Thobekile Zhou Bulawayo City Council has declined to offer War Veterans, War Collaborators, Ex Political Detainees and Restrictees ministry land in Pumula South to build a memorial hospital.Councillors said land for such facilities have already been availed to other groupings in Pumula South.However, the applicants are still to construct.Councillors, according to a report availed on Wednesday said the ministry could be offered land in other townships.The war veterans ministry has long indicated that it intends to build such a facility. During the debate Councillor Ephraham Ncube noted that War Veterans were recognised groups of people. Most of them were still nursing post war injuries."A special medical facility was therefore referred for them. He supported the application" Councillor Lot Siziba concurred saying that the application should be acceded to. Councillor Silas Chigora sought clarification on the piece of land being applied for. He wanted to know what the land was reserved for?"The hospital should cater for all residents and not specific individuals" said Chigora. Councillor Norman Hlabani said that the application should be supported but with conditions."The hospital should benefit all residents in Bulawayo. He enquired if the land would be leased or sold to the applicants? " reads part of the report.Councillor Rodney Jele said the committee had in the past dealt with an application of a similar nature in Ward 27."If this application was acceded to, then the ward would have 2 hospitals adjacent to each other. He also wanted to know if there was state land which Central Government could utilise in Pumula South for this purpose? Councillor Monica Lubimbi also said there were a number of activities in Ward 27 and in view of this, such facilities should be established in other wards.Councillor Silas Khumalo said that two applications for private clinics in Ward 27 had already been acceded to." Up to now no construction works had commenced. He felt that other wards should also benefit from such services. Therefore the development should go to other wards".An official with the Engineering Services said the area was a big piece of land reserved for a hospital. Although another applicant had been authorised to establish a hospital, there was adequate land for the proposed facility.Councillors then resolved "That the recommendation of the Director of Engineering Services be not adopted and instead the applicant be offered a suitable piece of land elsewhere in Bulawayo, (but not in Ward 27) for the purpose of constructing a memorial hospital as similar facilities had already been established in Pumula South". Shivakumaraiah, the suspected kingpin behind the pre-university course (PUC) chemistry question paper leak in Karnataka, has been arrested after a month-long hunt, a top police official said on Tuesday. We found him hiding in an under-construction building on Monday night and took him into custody under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crimes Prevention Act (KCOCA), state criminal investigation department (CID) Director General of Police H.C. Kishore Chandra told reporters. A special court sent Shivakumaraiah to 10-day judicial custody for further investigation, as he was found to be involved in leaking question papers of other exams held by the state secondary school board and universities in the state. Investigations revealed that the suspect was on the run for a month and fled to neighbouring states, including Tamil Nadu, after his co-accused named him during custodial interrogation following their arrest in mid-April. We are on the lookout for his son Dinesh, and relative Kiran, who were also involved in leaking the chemistry paper on March 21 and again on March 31, leading to the cancellation of the exam twice, Chandra said. The PU board held the re-scheduled exam on April 12 without a hitch across the state. Fearing imminent arrest, Shivakumaraiah sought anticipatory bail on April 7 in a court, which rejected it after the CID invoked the stringent KCOCA on April 21. Probe into Shivakumaraiahs past also revealed that cases were registered against him for his alleged role in the leak of question papers between 2008-2014 in the city and Tumakuru, about 70 km away from the city. Among the dozen suspects arrested in the paper leak scam include Oblaraju, personal assistant (PA) to state Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, Rudrappa, a PWD officer, and Manjunath, a teacher in a city private college. The paper leak for the second time also led to the suspension of 40 officials in the PU board exam division from joint director to class four employee (peon) on the same day (March 31) and transfer of board director Pallavi Akurathi, a 2009 IAS batch officer, to another state department on April 1. Former defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday said it was beyond doubt bribe was given in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal and it is the duty of the present-day government to punish those guilty. Participating in the Rajya Sabha debate on the issue of AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal payoffs, Antony also said the government should not politicise the issue or threaten and blackmail. It is true... beyond doubt there is corruption in this deal... All legal hurdles are over, you have to act now, Antony said. Now corruption has been proved, we can win the arbitration case... get thousands of crores of rupees as compensation, Antony added. Now that corruption has been proved, take action against the bribe takers... It is your duty, not my duty. Immediately blacklist them for 10 years. It is proved this company is a corrupt company, dont involve them in any Make in India projects, he said. The former defence minister, however, said the issue should not be politicised. Dont politicise the issue, you will repent... Take strongest action against whoever may have taken money. Dont try to threaten people, he said. Antony even named Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Subramanian Swamy, and after objection from treasury benches, changed it to honourable member. He said dont threaten us. If you have all evidences, take action and prosecute. Dont threaten and dont blackmail, he said. The Congress leader also gave a point by point rebuttal of charges levelled by the ruling party, and said the change in norms, including altitude the chopper could scale and height of its cabin, was decided during the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He also said that officials from the defence ministry, external affairs ministry and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) attended all hearings of the case in Italy at the time. Asked why the initial decision to buy eight choppers was increased to 12, the Congress leader said only eight choppers were meant to be for VIP use, and rest were for non-VIP use. On the blacklisting of AgustaWestland, Antony said the then solicitor general had advised that intimidatory action could have affected Indias case to get the security money back, which is why the government went slow on it, and then they were out of power. On the question why a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was not constituted, the former defence minister said: We made commitment in the house that we were ready for a JPC, but the leader of opposition at that time said no. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday he did purchase shops in a mall owned by real estate developer Emaar MGF Land Ltd in Delhi as he countered Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiyas charges against him and an aide in the controversial AgustaWestland chopper deal. Yes I did and it is on my affidavit. What is wrong in it? asked Gandhi. Somaiya alleged that Gandhi bought shops in a south Delhi mall owned by Emaar-MGF, a firm founded by relatives of his close aide Kanishka Singh in 2005. The BJP leader also accused Singh of owning shares in the real estate company that also has Guido Ralph Haschke, one of the middlemen in the AgustaWestland deal who paid bribes in exchange for the Anglo-Italian firm to be chosen as the supplier of 12 helicopters to India, as a director on its board. The deal was cancelled in 2014 by the Indian government after Italian investigations uncovered details of kickbacks. Read: Happy to be targeted, says Rahul Gandhi on AgustaWestland issue The Congress vice-president had dared the ruling BJP on Tuesday and said that he has always under attack from the ruling party. I am always being targeted, happy to be targeted, Gandhi said while reacting to the BJP members allegations. Haschke, Somaiya also alleged, was also involved in the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) scam. Emaar-MGF was involved in the CWG scam. There too, there was Guido Haschke. This cannot be a mere coincidence, Somaiya told ANI earlier. Singh rubbished Somaiyas allegations on Tuesday as malafide and baseless. Mr Somaiyas allegations about me are entirely baseless, false and with an ulterior political motive. Somaiya has been making these false allegations about me with malafide intent since February 2013, Singh said in a statement. He demanded that Somaiya should provide proof about it at the earliest which could facilitate a proper investigation and prosecution of the guilty. He also said it is up to the agencies to investigate whether officials of AgustaWestland were involved with Emaar-MGF or not. Read: No business links with Rahul Gandhis aide, clarifies Emaar MGF Congress also issued a statement in Singhs defence saying he has absolutely nothing to do with the matter. Singh wishes for parties, including AgustaWestland or Haschke or Emaar-MGF, to be punished in the harshest possible way if found guilty, Congress said in a statement. Kanishka Singh has nothing to do with (it) and has been on estranged terms with the Rajiv Gupta family (Emaar-MGF) who, though related, fell out in 2005 when Rajiv Gupta propounded a Will of Ved Prakash Gupta, which Kanishka Singh and his mother say is a case of forgery and fabrication, and the matter has been pending in court since then, it added. (With ANI and IANS inputs) Embattled liquor baron Vijay Mallya escaped the ignominy of expulsion from Parliament after Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari accepted his second resignation letter on Wednesday, which was delivered by his special messenger from London. The stage was set for the MPs expulsion as Vice-President Ansari rejected his first resignation letter on Tuesday evening, citing procedural lapses. Besides, the ethics committee of the Upper House recommended Mallyas sacking in its report earlier in the day. The 60-year-old high-profile businessman, who is said to be in Britain after he left India on March 2, rushed a messenger from London on Wednesday. Read | Here is what Mallya said in his stinging letter to RS Ethics Committee He is wanted in India for alleged money laundering and loan defaults to the tune of more than Rs 9,000 crore. The second letter was delivered to the Rajya Sabha secretary general Shamsher Sharif on Wednesday afternoon. Mallya rang up Sharif to confirm that it was his letter and requested him to accept it. Unlike the first letter, where he wrote at length about the injustice and propaganda against him, the second letter bore a single line: I hereby unconditionally resign from the membership of the Rajya Sabha with immediate effect. House deputy chairman PJ Kurien announced the news after a debate on the controversial AgustaWestland helicopter deal got over. Vijay Mallyas resignation from Rajya Sabha has been accepted by the chairman, he said. Since Mallya is no longer a member of the House, the ethics committees recommendations are not applicable any more, sources said. The panel said in its report: The committee hopes that by taking such stern action, a message would reach the general public that Parliament is committed to take such steps as are necessary against erring members to uphold the dignity and prestige of this great institution. Mallya had hit back at the panel in an earlier reply. I express my deep anguish and disappointment that my Rajya Sabha colleagues have chosen to be swayed and taken in by derogatory, and often blatantly false media frenzy and hysteria needlessly created against me, he wrote. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON With several members in Rajya Sabha demanding exemplary punishment for the culprits of rape and murder of a Dalit woman in Kerala, social justice minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said on Wednesday he will visit the village of the rape victim on Thursday. During the zero hour, CP Narayanan of CPI(M) raised the issue of the rape and murder in Ernakulam district of Kerala on April 28, terming it as a dastardly attack similar to the December 16 Delhi gang rape case. Referring to the rape incidents in Kasargod and Thiruvananthapuram, Narayanan said, It is a black mark. Police is not very active in apprehending the culprits. Deputy chairman PJ Kurien said: It is a very, very heinous crime. Most shameful for every Keralite. Several members associated themselves with the issue and demanded strict action against the culprits, with Tarun Vijay of BJP demandiing that a team should visit the state. Responding the anguish expressed by members, Gehlot told them that he would visit the state on Thursday and meet the victims family. I will go to Kerala tomorrow and meet the family of the girl. I will help them get justice, he added. Read | Kerala horror: 20-year-old nursing student gangraped in auto Vijay, who had raised the issue as soon as the House met, said it was a repetition of the Nirbhaya case and the Kerala government had completely failed to control such incidents. Gods own country should not turn into a rapist country, he added. D Raja (CPI) drew the governments attention towards the atrocities committed against Dalits across the country, adding that legislations have proved to be of no help. SC Mishra of BSP said that atrocities were happening across India. The House is concerned. Stringent action should be taken and exemplary punishment given. Do everything possible so that such incidents do not happen, Kurien said. Parliamentary affairs ministers, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said the incident of rape and murder had crossed all limits and was inhuman. Read | Kerala woman raped and killed, intestines ripped out in attack Uttarakhand high court chief justice KM Joseph, who along with justice VK Bisht quashed Presidents rule in the state, has been transferred to the Andhra Pradesh high court as chief justice. Coming at a time when an appeal against the verdict is being heard in the Supreme Court, the transfer has raised eyebrows in certain sections. Justice Joseph took over as the Uttarakhand HCs chief justice on July 31, 2014. Sources say he was likely to be elevated to the SC. Read | Consider a floor test in Uttarakhand under our watch, Supreme Court tells Centre Justice Joseph had made a mark with his observations during the hearings on the same petition that made national headlines. These include observations as there is no absolutism, the President is not king, is the governor an agent of the central government?, defection is a constitutional sin, you are hitting at the very core of democracy (to the central government), etc. After the judgment, justice Joseph had come under a scathing attack by RSS mouthpiece Panchjanya, which alleged his family was close to the Congress. The saffron newspaper had also raised questions over his judgments. During the court hearings on outgoing CM Harish Rawats petition challenging Presidents rule, justice Joseph had asked whether principles of natural justice had been used while implementing Article 356 in the state. He had rapped attorney general Mukul Rohtagi for his pleas saying the imposition of Presidents rule was justified as the state machinery had failed and there was some possibility of anarchy. The multi-crore AgustaWestland helicopter scam that will come up for discussion in Parliament on Wednesday has been the catalyst for political fireworks between the government and the opposition in the Rajya Sabha in the past week. Read more: PM Modi calls meeting of top ministers ahead of Agusta debate in RS Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) newly-nominated member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy was the first to drag Congress president Sonia Gandhis name into the controversy over the VVIP chopper scam. Though his comments were later expunged, it led to a war of words with the main Opposition party. Read more: AgustaWestlan: CBI to grill ex-IAF chief Tyagi for third day today On April 27, the Upper House had to be adjourned several times when members of Congress party rose in protest against Swamy, who had earlier taken Sonia and her son Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to court over the National Herald case, for bringing in their chiefs name. Read more: Sonia calls strategy meet ahead of AgustaWestland debate A day later, the BJP MP again stoked tempers in the House after making references to the Constitution of another country, provoking Leader of the Opposition, Ghulam Nabi Azad, to protest and point out that Swamy does not know the difference between street language and parliamentary words. Swamy also moved a breach of privilege notice in the Rajya Sabha against Azad for claiming that the UPA government had blacklisted AgustaWestland and its Italian parent Finmeccanica. The controversy over the deal resurfaced last month after the names of five Congress leaders, including party chief Sonia Gandhi, and UPA II functionaries figured in a judgement by an Italian court. AgustaWestland allegedly paid Rs 375 crore as bribe to secure a Rs 3,727-crore contract to supply 12 VVIP choppers to the Indian Air Force. The previous UPA government scrapped the deal over charges of kickbacks to Indian agents in 2014. The Trinamool Congress is also training its guns against Congress for its alleged involvement in the scam. The TMC raised the AgustaWestland issue in the Upper House on Monday and insisted on identifying who Gandhi and AP mentioned in the alleged bribery case were. TMC member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who raised the issue despite the rejection of his notice for an adjournment, was asked by chairman Hamid Ansari to withdraw from the House for the day. Even as Congress has been vehemently denying the charges and has said that the UPA had blacklisted Finmeccanica, defence minister Manohar Parrikar is expected to put on record how dealings with the company were put on hold only on July 3, 2014, after the NDA government came to power to tear into the Congress arguments. For residents of Dulami block in Ramagarh district of Jharkhand, March 31 ushered in a new dawn. At a much-touted function, local authorities declared the semi-urban block headquarters as the states first open defecation-free block a huge achievement in a state where more than 32% urban households still relieve themselves in the open. The joy and pride, however, barely lasted a month and the locals have taken to the fields again. Reason: Water shortage. Large swathes of the state are reeling under acute water scarcity with majority of the sources drying up, making it extremely difficult to arrange for even potable drinking water. Hence, the villagers who stood against open defecation a month ago are justifying the exact opposite. Block development officer Md Aslam conceded that water crisis has affected the open defecation-free status. Most of the people are still using toilets but if the crisis persists, you cannot stop them either, he said. Dulami has a total of 12,400 houses and since May 2015, 10,567 toilets have been constructed there with the help of Unicef and NGO Vikas Bharti. In no time, the sanitation campaign reached a feverish pitch, taking the shape of a movement. Locals carried out awareness drives, village committees were formed to fine offenders and young women resolved to marry only in families that had toilets at home. Sadly, all this now appears to be a memory of a distant past. We are helpless. There is no other way out for us, said a village head, Parwati Devi, who was one of the women to give the clarion call of padho vidyalay mein aur shauch karo shauchalay mein (study in school and relieve in toilets) last month. After coming out with a ranking of cleanest cities in the country early this year, the Central government now plans to rank the villages on different sanitation parameters. In partnership with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the centre will carry out a survey in June to rank the villages. The idea, sources said, is to encourage villages to improve sanitation and become open defecation-free. The survey will involve interaction with village panchayats, visiting households and taking pictures in different locations in villages. This will be done by government accreditation body Quality Council of India and along with a professional surveyor team, a drinking water and sanitation ministry official said. The parameters on which the villages will be ranked include availability and usage of toilets, no cases of open defecation and safe disposal of solid and liquid wastes. The move is in line with governments Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which aims to build as many as 12 crore toilets in the rural areas by 2019, coinciding with Mahatma Gandhis 150th birth anniversary. As against this target, the government has built close to 1.40 lakh toilets so far. According to governments latest estimates, 49.89% rural households have toilet facility. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the programme in his inaugural Independence Day address on August 15, 2014, it was formally launched on October 2 the same year. Earlier this year, the government released the ranking of cleanest cities in February. While Mysore in Karnataka, Chandigarh in Punjab and Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu topped the list, Dhanbad in Jharkhand and Asansol in West Bengal were ranked the dirtiest, among others. At a time when the state is reeling under acute water crisis, the Ajmer administration wasted more than seven lakh litres of water to construct a temporary helipad for the chief ministers convenience. The administration went ahead with the construction despite a permanent helipad located barely two-and-half kilometre from the site. Like the rest of India, Rajasthan is facing water crisis this summer. As many as 19 of the total 33 districts are drought affected. Ajmer, Banswara, Baran, Barmer, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Churu, Dungarpur, Hanumangarh, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Jhunjhunu, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali, Rajsamand, Udaipur and Pratapgarh are reeling under drought. The chief ministers visit was for a very short period Keeping in mind her convenience, we ordered the construction of a new helipad, Ajmer sub-divisional magistrate HL Meena said. The temporary helipad was less than one kilometre from the site where Raje inaugurated the first rope-way system of Rajasthan. I was ordered by the officials to water the helipad area to settle the sand at the site, said Shaitan Singh, water tanker owner. I have been watering the site for past three days. 40 tankers of 6,000 litre capacity each have been pouring water at the site. The main opposition Congress took no time to latch on to the episode to target chief minister Vasundhara Raje. It shows the insensitive attitude of the BJP leadership towards the plight of people who are facing acute water shortage in the state. At one side, the people are struggling to meet their daily water requirements, while the BJP workers are wasting lakhs of litres of water for their comforts, alleged Congress state chief Sachin Pilot. News / Local by Thobekile Zhou Five top Bulawayo City Council officials are set to travel to China for an investment promotion and twinning trip.Government, through the office of the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs, Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Eunice Sandi-Moyo invited council to be part of the delegation early this month.The Ministry of Macro Economic Planning and Investment Promotion is coordinating an Investment Promotion trip to Qingdao, China.Reads part of the invitation to council seen by Bulawayo24.com "Metropolitan Province are invited to take part in this trip to promote investment for Bulawayo."This visit in May 2016 is a culmination of the talks done earlier this year.Bulawayo City Council is therefore requested to come up with a delegation of at least 5 people which may include the His Worship the Mayor and four other technocrats that will accompany the Honourable Minister to Qingdao, China".It added " The revival of Bulawayo requires a joint effort that will guarantee the turnaround of industry in the City".Council seconded the mayor, acting Town Clerk, Mrs Sikhangele Zhou, director of Engineering Services, Engineer Simela Dube, Acting City Economic Development Officer, Brian Hlongwane and senior Public Relations Officer Nesisa Mpofu. The Supreme Court ruling in favour of Mumbais dance bars came as a relief not just to the establishments that have remained closed since 2005 but also to starry-eyed village girls in far off states. Badnapur, a nondescript village in Madhya Pradeshs Gwalior district, is what one would call a red-light area a place with a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses and Mumbai offers its girls a chance at a respectable life. Our area is known as a red light area but we know how dark it is and there is no end to darkness here, said Gudiya. And the impact Mumbai has had on Badnapur is apparent from the grand houses and SUVs that punctuate the line of thatched huts. After closure of the dance bars in Mumbai, a good number of women returned to the village with a considerable amount of money and built the houses. But to sustain, they had to do something. Hence, they were compelled to choose prostitution, she said. No wonder the SC order to open the dance bars a decade after they were banned by the Maharashtra government was welcomed with joyous dance to the latest Bollywood hits. About 25 girls have already left for Mumbai and the rest are practising, said Gudiya. A similar sense of relief prevailed in villages in Rajasthans Ajmer district. Girls here share the same story of poverty, hardship and prostitution, and the hope of a good life in Mumbai. Priti, who belongs to a denotified tribe in Badgaon, used to earn Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 a month as a dancer until she, like many others, was forced to return to her earlier life as a sex worker after the bars closed. But now, she hopes to return. The younger and prettier girls opt for Mumbai as they can earn well, Priti said, adding that those who dont leave will continue to cater to truck drivers on the Ajmer-Jaipur highway. In addition to being profitable, Mumbai also offers these women a chance to lead a life of dignity. In our community, girls are born into prostitution. Even for men its difficult to live a dignified life. People always look at us with suspicion, said a man in Badnapur. This is the last chance for us, said Gudiya. The girls now hope to earn enough to never have to go back to flesh trade, so the next generation doesnt have to face the stares and judgement of society that considers their profession immoral. [All names changed to protect identity] Fifteen-year-old Nihal Shrinivas Bitla who suffered from a rare genetic disorder progeria, succumbed to his condition at a hospital in Karimnagar in Telangana on Tuesday. Nihal was instrumental in creating awareness about the disorder in India, and was the face of the Progeria Research Foundations campaign to detect undiagnosed children living in India. HutchinsonGilford progeria syndrome, commonly known as progeria, is the condition where a child ages eight times faster than normal and hence has a much shorter life span than children their age. Such children usually die from a heart attack or stroke. Nihal and his family, who live in Bhiwandi, were in Telangana to attend a wedding. As he was severely dehydrated, the teen was admitted to a local hospital. Doctors suspect that Nihals hardened arteries, a condition common in the elderly that restricts blood flow, contributed to his sudden death. Dr Parag Tamhankar from National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, who had diagnosed Nihal when he was 10, said the boy appeared like a 60-year-old despite his age. Nihal was brought to him with complaints of stiffness of bones and wrinkles all over his face. In 2014, Nihal along with three-year-old Ishan, another child with Progeria from Satara, went to Boston, US, to undergo a clinical trial of a cancer drug meant to slow accelerated ageing. Read: Mumbais only child with progeria raises awareness, funds A campaign called #finding 60 in India is working towards finding undetected cases in India. The campaign is spearheaded by Team Nihal, under the aegis of Progeria Research Foundation that estimates at least 60 children in India suffer from progeria. So far only four, including Nihal, have been diagnosed. It was Nihals efforts that were instrumental in finding two more cases: five-year-olds Aditya from Rajasthan and Prachi from Patna. In 2009, only 56 children globally were diagnosed with progeria, according to the foundation. With their efforts, now 125 children have been found. Read: Aamir Khan meets fan with progeria, leaves him optimistic Despite his efforts to raise awareness, Nihal had to deal with stigma from the disease and stopped going to school. He liked painting and had the opportunity to personally gift one of his works to actor Aamir Khan. The Bollywood actor met Nihal after he found out the boy wanted to meet him. Dr Tamhankar had earlier said that children with progeria generally appear normal at birth. During the first year, signs and symptoms, such as slow growth and hair loss, begin to appear. There is no complete cure for this disease but with the new drug treatment, the life expectancy of these children can get extended and quality of life may improve, he told Hindustan Times. The Gautam Budh Nagar fast-track court, hearing the case of the murder of Mohammad Ikhlaq in Bisada village, on Wednesday did not disclose the forensic report on the meat recovered from Ikhlaqs fridge following objections by the public prosecutor. Fifty-five-year-old Moham-mad Ikhlaq and his son Danish were attacked by a mob at their home in Bisada village on September 28 last year over rumours that they slaughtered a cow and stored its meat for consumption. .Also read: No need for CBI probe into Dadri case, govt tells HC After 15 minutes of argument, the court deferred the matter to May 9. The public prosecutor has not registered any written objection so far. We hope that the court will give us a copy of forensic report at the next hearing, said Ram Sharan Nagar, counsel of the accused persons. Ikhlaq succumbed to injuries while Danish survived with a fractured skull, triggering a massive outrage and debate on rising intolerance in the country. Also read: Neighbours didnt help, says kin of man killed over beef rumour The attackers said they found a bowl of meat, which they claimed was beef. It was sent for forensic examination. Eighteen men from the village, including a Uttar Pradesh police homeguard, were arrested on charges of killing Ikhlaq and grievously injuring Danish. We have requested the court to provide us the forensic report of the meat, the statement of Ikhlaqs daughter Shaista and other crucial documents related to the case. The forensic report is important for us to establish the motive behind the incident, Nagar said. On April 1, the court had asked the police to submit the forensic report following the applications of counsels of the accused. A report was submitted in a sealed envelope the next day. However, the matter was deferred twice and is likely to be heard on Wednesday. A local veterinary hospital in Dadri had tested the meat in October and concluded that it was mutton. The samples were again sent to another veterinary lab for further examination. The police, however, said they have already filed a chargesheet and the forensic report is of no significance. It is a case of murder and assault and we have arrested all accused. The forensic report was submitted in a sealed envelope in the court, said Abhishek Yadav, superintendent of police (rural), Gautam Budh Nagar. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Three people were arrested on Wednesday for the alleged abduction and gangrape of a runaway girl in a Noida park, officials said. The incident, which put the spotlight back on the safety of women in the National Capital Region, came at a time when Delhi was witnessing protests over the rape-murder of a 29-year-old Dalit law student in a small town near Keralas Kochi last week. The Noida victim, believed to be a minor, told police that she had run away from her house in Shamli in Uttar Pradesh after a quarrel with parents and boarded a bus to Noida. An auto-rickshaw driver took her to his house on the pretext of giving shelter. He called two of his friends to his house. As the girl suspected something was wrong and tried to escape, the accused took her to a park in Sector 119 around 2am on Tuesday night and assaulted her. The girl approached police in the morning, and the accused were arrested. The accused -- Azad, Amir and Zahid -- all autorickshaw drivers, were arrested from their hideoutsThey were produced in the court and were sent to a 14-day judicial custody, said Kiran Sivakumar, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Gautam Budh Nagar. Police said the girl underwent medical tests in a hospital. The reports are awaited. The complainant was sent back to her home in Shamli. A team of child welfare committee will record her statement, said Anup Singh, circle officer 2, Noida. The fatal gangrape of a student in Delhi in 2012 led to nationwide protests and tougher anti-rape laws but incidents of sexual abuse have not dwindled in India, experts say. Read: Kerala horror: 20-year-old nursing student gangraped in auto The police played no role in the release of a 7-year-old girl who was kidnapped in Patiala on Wednesday morning, the HT has learnt. The girl was freed after her father paid `50 lakh to the kidnappers. Shanvi Gupta, a student of Class 2, was travelling in an auto from her home at Mishri Bazar to the school at Lower Mall Road when she was kidnapped around 7.30 am. Witnesses said they saw a Verna car intercept the auto at Bahera Road and forcibly pull out Shanvi as her schoolmates watched in horror. They said passersby raised the alarm and some of them tried to chase the car, which sped away. Back at Shanvis home, her father Amit Gupta, a leading businessman who deals with electronics and owns franchisees of prominent companies, received a call for ransom. Seven hours later, Shanvi was back home. But nobody knows how. Sources told HT that Gupta paid the ransom at a spot chosen by the kidnappers, who then released the girl at Sular village, around 10km from Patiala city. But inspector general of police (IGP) Paramraj Singh Umranangal and senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, who handed over the girl to her father, denied Gupta had paid the ransom. They insisted the kidnappers let Shanvi go due to police pressure. But the IGP and the SSP gave conflicting statements about how the girl was found, indicating they were not involved. IGP Umranangal said someone had informed the police control room about a girl weeping at Sular. SSP Chauhan said a couple had contacted the fathers girl that the kidnappers had left his daughter at a secluded placed in Sular. Sources in the police and the girls family said it was Shanvis parents who had asked the police to keep away. Also, they said the district police kept a close watch, but did not act after instructions from top police officers to ensure the girls safety was not compromised. I cant comment on anything. In the morning, our primary objective was to ensure the girls safety, which we did as per plan that we made with the family. Now, our main motive is to nab the accused, and we are on job, SSP Chauhan said. Patiala IGP PS Umranangal holding the girl after she was released, while his father (in black t-shirt) and others stand by, in Patiala on Wednesday (Bharat Bhushan/HT Photo) CITY SHOCKED, COPS CLUELESS Shanvis kidnapping was the second major crime in the city in four days. On April 30, gunmen fired at the owner of a leading jewellery shop, Om Jewellers, situated just 50 m from the Kotwali police station, wanting to loot it. But Rajesh Kumar, who despite being hit by a bullet in the stomach, fired back and killed one of the assailants, identified as a resident of Delhi. The Police have yet to solve the case. In Wednesdays incident, however, SSP Chauhan said police had got some vital leads. He said the police had traced a car which had the registration plate of a stolen motorcycle and had crossed the Samana toll barrier. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON As many as 95 of the 345 medical officers recruited recently by the Punjab health department have not joined their duty mainly because the meagre salary and the probationary status of their job at least for two years. The medical officers are being offered an initial consolidated salary of Rs 15,000 per month. Over 100 of the 404 doctors selected last year, too, didnt join the government assignment. A little over 400 MOs have been working under this year-old arrangement in line with the January 1, 2015 notification that fixes Rs 15,000 as the initial salary for the two-year probation period for MBBS doctors. In August last year, 104 of the 404 doctors didnt join the office. That batch of 300 will be completing the two-year probation in August 2017 without any raise or appraisal in-between. How can we expect the MBBS pass-outs to survive on a paltry sum of `15,000. Money is too meagre, especially considering the fact that most of these doctors are posted far away from their native places, said Dr Gagandeep Singh, president of the PCMS Association. All the 2,388 posts of MOs across the state would have been filled had all the newly recruited MOs joined their duty, Punjab director, health and family welfare, Dr HS Bali told HT, a day after the Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) association cadres held a sit-in protest seeking to do away with the probation period for all MOs. Official standing After the 104 selected MOs did not join duty last year, principal secretary, health, Vini Mahajan had written to the finance department, seeking nod to allow recruitment of MOs at full salary. The finance department, however, rejected the plea. The health department, however, could convince the government to recruit specialist doctors (MD) at full pay-scale through walk-in interviews. Appointments in hinterlands The new fleet of 270 MOs will serve in the difficult and very difficult areas. The very difficult stations categorised as D require 42 MOs. These areas mainly fall in Mansa, Muktsar, Fazilka and Ferozepur districts. Similarly, the category C (difficult) stations require 68 doctors, mainly in Bathinda, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Moga, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur districts. State short of doctors The health department also faces a challenge of filling the posts of specialist doctors with nearly 23% of them lying vacant across the state. Not a single candidate turned up at a walk-in interview for 41 posts of radiologists and 28 that of psychiatrists last month. Against the 111 posts of paediatrician and 49 that of medicine advertised by the government, only one selection was made in each category. Only seven of the total 47 posts advertised for anaesthetists could be filled up during the drive, besides six surgeons against 43 posts, seven gynaecologists against 19 posts and three orthopedics against 13 posts were selected. Probation period extended to three years The Punjab government in its cabinet meeting on Saturday last resolved to extend the probation period for all the new recruitment from two to three years. This will be applicable to those appointed to 12,747 posts of different cadres cutting across six state government departments. The new recruits will be paid initial pay drawn on the day of appointment for three years. Thereafter, they will draw full salary and allowances as admissible in the relevant service rules. Take note Total posts of medical doctors (MOs) in state: 2,388 Vacant (before last months counselling): 350 Total posts of specialists: 1,755 Vacant (before last months counselling): 345 The difference A probationer medical officers salary: Rs 1,5000 (consolidated) Regular medical officer: Rs 61,500 (approximately) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON As parents continue their agitation against private schools in the city, the district administration has set a deadline of May 10 for schools to roll back excessive fee. If they fail to do so, the administration will report them to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Last week, deputy commissioner Varun Roojam tightened the noose around private schools when he ordered that no school can now demand donation during admissions and told them to shun commercial activities on their premises with immediate effect besides adjusting the overcharged fee in next quarter. The orders, however, seem to have fallen on deaf ears. School heads and managements are being approached by parents regularly, but they are neither rolling back the extra fee nor revising their fee structure, which has forced parents to carry on with their agitation. FOLLOW ORDERS OR GET REPORTED TO CBSE: DC Speaking to Hindustan Times on Tuesday, the deputy commissioner (DC) shared the action plan to resolrents are approaching us and complaining about the schools not revising their fee policies. The deadline of May 10 has been set for the schools to resolve the matter. If they fail, they would face consequences, said Roojam. The DC stressed that the orders passed by him have to be complied with and schools do not have a choice in it. If the Schools dont abide by the orders and roll back the fee and regulate their fee structure by May 10, the matter will be taken up with the CBSE and they might be disaffiliated, he said. REGULATORY BODY WILL HELP The matter was raised in the cabinet on April 30 by local bodies minister Anil Joshi. Joshi had earlier also directed the district administration to take up the issue seriously. Joshi highlighted a number of complaints have been received from parents from across the state against exorbitant fee charged by private schools. Sources said the cabinet will discuss creation of a regulatory body in this regard in the next meeting. On this, Roojam said: It will be good if a regulatory body is formed, as then the schools will have no choice but comply with the orders. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday told Punjab Police to register cases against drug lords operating in the state and attach their properties. He gave them a one-month deadline to break the supply chain of drug smugglers and put them behind bars. Chairing a review meeting of SSPs of all districts, Sukhbir said it should be ensured that no cases are registered against innocent people and corruption is rooted out at the police station level. He said that as part of a specialised campaign against drugs, people must be made aware at villages and at ward level in urban areas, and police officers from ADGPs to SPs should hold public meetings and exhort people to cooperate in eliminating the drug menace. He asked police personnel to be diligent to put a stop to the cross-border infiltration of narcotics. Calling for spreading awareness about the helpline number 181, he said the names of those giving information about drugs should be kept secret and they be given a Rs 1-lakh cash prize. Sukhbir told SSPs to form five-member police-public cooperation committees at village and city levels to create awareness and curb activities of anti-social elements. He also set the target of covering 3,000 villages in six months. The deputy chief minister said officials stationed at one place for long should be immediately transferred and that black sheep in the police department be identified and action taken against them. He advocated the need for putting up nakas at night saying the vehicles used for surveillance at night must be equipped with the GPS facility. He emphasised on installing CCTV cameras at sensitive and vulnerable spots in cities to check crime. Read: With Nasha drive, AAP to corner SAD-BJP on drugs A routine protest against the Punjab government outside Punjab Congress Bhawan here was provocation enough for Chandigarh Police to do something unprecedented. A police party headed by Sector-11 station house officer (SHO) Narinder Patiyal and comprising around 50 personnel in riot gear entered Congress Bhawan, searched it and allegedly beat up staff and two journalists. Police in the Punjab Congress Bhawan during a lathicharge on protesters, in Sector 15, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. (Karun Sharma/HT Photo) The incident took place around 12.30 pm after the party workers led by Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Charanjit Channi and Inderjit Singh Zira, former minister and chairman of partys Kisan and Khet Mazdoor cell, had burnt an effigy of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, accusing his government of harassing farmers on payment for wheat crop. By 12.50 pm, the protesters had been dispersed by police by using water cannons and Channi and Zira were arrested, along with 66 party workers, after stopping the protest march heading towards the chief ministers residence. The complaint filed by Capt Sandeep Singh Sandhu, in-charge of Punjab Congress Bhawan, and submitted to Punjab governor, UT administration and police, says, Around 12.50 pm, SHO Patiyal entered the Congress Bhawan premises and started searching its rooms. The SHO did not say why he was conducting the search without any warrant. He behaved as if some hardened criminals were hiding on the premises. He openly abused and challenged the staff. Party office staffer Kamaldeep Saini and Sukhdev Singh, acting chairman of Indian National Trade Union Congress (Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee), were manhandled and journalists Kuldeep Singh Jaffalpur and Jai Singh Chibber of Spokesman newspaper were brutally beaten up by the SHO. Turbans of some Sikh workers were also flung. There are blood stains on the floor to attest the police action. Such high-handedness and brutal abuse of power by police is unprecedented and did not happen even during terrorism days in Punjab. The party has also submitted CCTV footage of police entering the Congress Bhawan along with the complaint. Citing the incident as an insult to a democratic institution and head office of a political party, the party has demanded that Patiyal and other policemen be booked for trespass, assault, wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation. It also demanded departmental proceedings and strict disciplinary action against him. Punjab Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Charanjit Singh Channi leading a protest against Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, whose effigy he is holding, outside the party office in Sector 15, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. (Karun Sharma/HT Photo) Channi said it is for the first time that the police had entered and searched the Congress office. They manhandled the staff and beat up journalists. Earlier, they had cane-charged and used water cannons during a peaceful protest. Many farmers were injured and taken to the Sector-16 government hospital, he claimed. Zira, in his statement, claimed that Chandigarh SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill was working at the behest of the chief minister. They did not stop us by barricading but started to cane-charge. We will meet the governor on Thursday and demand the SSPs suspension, Zira said. 68 protesters arrested Chandigarh: As many as 68 protesters were arrested who were booked under Sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC at the Sector 11 police station. The police said an injured protester was taken to Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, where he was discharged later. DSP (central) Satish Kumar said the protesters were arrested as a preventive measure as they were stopped from crossing barricades and their action forced the police to resort to using water cannon and cane-charge. He said all arrested Congress workers would be produced before the SDM. Dismissing allegations against the SHO, Kumar said he had gone inside the office to check whether there were some injured workers there. However, SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said they would look into the complaint once they received it. HTC See also I Video: Amarinder faces pro-Khalistan slogans by protesters in California Claiming that just 40% of farmers have been paid for their procured wheat, the opposition Congress on Tuesday announced to move the Punjab and Haryana high court against the losses being heaped on farmers by the Punjab government. Addressing a press conference here, Punjab Congress senior vice-president Lal Singh said farmers had incurred an additional interest burden of Rs 300 crore for delay in payment for their paddy crop last year. The payment for paddy procured in October was not made for five months. The farmer, who had taken the payment from the arhtiya (commission agent) against his crop, had to keep paying the interest to the arhtiya till the government released the money. The interest owing to the delay amounted to Rs 300 crore. This year, the farmer is facing the same problem with wheat as the Reserve Bank of India has again put objections on the cash credit limit and asked Punjab to seek permission again for release of the remaining amount. Who will make good the loss to farmer? We will make Punjab government and the Centre a party to the case along with the central and state procurement agencies, said Lal Singh, who had been minister for finance and food and civil supplies in the Capt Amarinder Singh government. He also alleged a scam in the purchase of wheat bags. During our governments tenure, the wheat bags were solely procured from the central agency, director general, supplies and disposal. But this year, the Punjab food and civil supplies department has bought the wheat bags in the open market at double the price of Rs 49 for a bag, which is available for Rs 25 in the wholesale market. There is a scam of Rs 600 crore in the purchase of these bags and we will also demand a probe into it in our petition to the high court, he added. Cong calls off May 5 dharnas The Congress has called off its dharnas in all Punjab districts against the state government on the wheat procurement crisis. The protest in Punjab had been called off as the Congress leadership is holding a protest in New Delhi against the NDA government at the Centre on May 6 and 5,000 partymen would take part in it, Lal Singh said. News / Local by Thobekile Zhou Bulawayo Mayor Martin Moyo has said a "hostile lynch mob bayed" for his blood over the Egodini Mall project and sale of commercial Ascot stands to his deputy, Gift Banda.Moyo said council gave a South African firm- Teracotta the tender because it has money. However, according to a council report seen by Bulawayo24.com that placed him in danger of the "lynch mob"."On Friday, I had the misfortune of finding myself in the midst of a hostile lynch mob baying for my blood. All that was due to misconceptions and misinformation about certain affairs of Council" said Moyo."Indulge me this time to give you the facts on some of those matters".Below is Moyo's full submission :1. Ascot Race Course. The allegation is that we sold Ascot Race Course to the Deputy Mayor.The truth is that Ascot Race Course still stands with its fencing intact.Ascot is an area bounded by Leopold Takawira and Old Gwanda Road, between George Avenue and UBH. There are other properties there, namely Holiday Inn, Ascot Shopping Centre and Ascot MEWS.It is an expansive area of over 200ha. The 3.4ha that the Deputy Mayor got is in the general area of Ascot and is not Ascot Race Course. Residential and industrial stands are applied for. They are not tendered out. Commercial stands on the other hand are tendered out.2. The Egodini Development. As was explained at that tumultuous meeting, the advert for expression of interest to develop Egodini was flighted in 2010. Three companies expressed interest to partner the City to develop Egodini. Teracotta was chosen.Why Teracotta and why a foreign company? We were looking for some one with money. Which local company can raise $60 million? We were not looking for a contractor. We were looking for an investor.It is not like we were not doing anything between 2010 and the signing of the contract in 2015.The negotiations were protracted. We wanted to secure a good deal for Council. Surely, there are no timelines when it comes to negotiations.The suggestion to reverse that investment is most dismaying. Bulawayo needs life. It's a $60 million with a potential to raise 1 000 jobs!3. Council is not the employer. Councillors do not work for Teracotta and so do not go to them looking for a job.Teracotta is the contractor and they will employ when they come. Should they want assistance from Council they will say so. Two miscreants snatched the chain of a businessmans wife at her house in Sector 9, Panchkula, on Tuesday morning, after duly knocking at the door. The miscreants had previously done a recce by knocking at the house and asking the victim Shashi Goel, 61, for an address. When they found that Shashi and her maid were the only ones at home, they knocked again and carried out the snatching. Of the three chains the victim was wearing, the miscreants clearly identifiable on CCTV as they were without helmets managed to get hold of one. One chain fell down, while another was snatched. The third chain was not touched. Before the woman could react, the youths had fled, said Sector-10 police post in-charge, ASI Brij Pal. The second time, they did not give me any chance to speak. One of them snatched a 20-gm chain. I shouted, but there was no one to catch them, said Shashi. We have registered a case under Section 379 A (snatching) of the IPC. We are investigating the case. We have got the CCTV footage where the faces of accused are visible, said acting Sector 5 SHO SI Ishwar Singh. A youth in his early 20s ended his life by hanging himself from a ceiling fan due to alleged police harassment in Jagraon on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Joga Singh, son of a slain policeman. His mother, Jasvir Kaur, said he had been booked in a false case of molestation. Later, the complainant woman filed an affidavit with the police retracting her statement, she said. In order to get a government job on compassionate grounds after the death of his father, Joga Singh required a no-objection certificate. Jagraon city police station in-charge inspector Jaswinder Singh Khaira, however, demanded Rs 1 lakh for cancelling the case and issuing the certificate, said the mother. The inspector has refuted the allegations. KIN BLOCK ROAD Demanding a case against the guilty cops, Joga Singhs family blocked a road near the bus stand for several hours on Tuesday. Superintendent of police Bahadur Singh reached the spot and pacified the protesters. SECOND CASE IN A WEEK IN DISTRICT Last week, a shopkeeper based in Ludhiana, Inderpal Ahuja, committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. His suicide note on Facebook stated that he was fed up of police atrocities. Read: Harassed by cops, Ludhiana man puts it on FB, jumps before train Read: Cops booked but kin of Ludhiana suicide victim receiving threats Investigating the suicide of local shopkeeper Inderpal Singh Ahuja (25), additional deputy commissioner of police (city-2) Sandeep Garg claims in his interim report to have found clues against the cops named in the victims last note on Facebook. The ADCP, however, has asked for more time to complete the report. The initial report suggests that victim Ahuja went to the Dugri police station here on Thursday, the day he went missing before being found dead next morning. It also suggests that the cops had made many calls to Ahuja from their personal numbers and the police station landline. Theres also record of the transaction of money from Ahujas bank account a week before his death. He had withdrawn several lakh rupees to allegedly pay the cops. ADCP Garg said the evidence was not concrete yet but Ahuja had also called these policemen thrice and visited the Dugri police station twice on Thursday. Police have also written to Facebook to seek details from Ahujas online account. The railway police had registered a case of abetment to suicide against inspector Davinder Chaudhary and two other cops Swarn Singh and Buta Singh on Sunday, three days after the death of Ahuja. Earlier, the railway police had claimed that the family was not keen to pursue the case. Alleging police harassment and threats of framing in a drug case, Singh Ahuja had ended his life by throwing himself under a train on Friday morning. Narinder Singh, his brother-in-law, said the family was not in a condition to pursue the case because of financial issues, and the governemnt should aid it. Read: Cops booked but kin of Ludhiana suicide victim receiving threats NRI drug trafficker Raja Kandolas wife, Rajwant Kaur, surrendered in the court of the district and sessions judge on Tuesday in Jalandhar in a money-laundering case. She was in hiding since a local court had denied her anticipatory bail. After the surrender, she was taken into the custody and sent to the Kapurthala jail. Kandolas son, Bally Singh, already has surrendered on March 22 and he, too, was sent to prison. Last July 21, Enforcement Directorate had had filed a charge sheet against the Kandola family in a money-laundering case related to a synthetic-drug shipment worth Rs 200-crore. Arrested on June 1, 2012, Kandola, a UK-based NRI (non-resident Indian), had escaped from police custody that September before being rearrested, later, from Delhi. He is now inside Tihar jail in New Delhi. He ran a racket of making ICE (IS-Methaam- phetamine, a crystalline party drug) from methamphetamine and ephedrine and his illegal syndicate was also getting heroin supply from Pakistan. He had drug network in Punjab, Delhi, and other big cities of the country, besides connections with drug smugglers in Canada, Australia, and the US. Senior Congress leader and Abohar MLA Sunil Jakhars private secretary Sanjeev Trikha was allegedly thrashed on Tuesday by police when he was leading a protest to get an abetment to suicide case registered in Abohar. Billa Patti, a Dalit of Natha Singh village in Abohar, had consumed poison on Monday allegedly because he was being harassed by co-villagers and died. Billas family wanted legal action against his tormentors and when police didnt pay heed to their demand, they sought help from Jakhar, who deputed Trikha to pursue the matter with the police. On Tuesday, Trikha led a group and staged a protest against the police inaction on Hanumangarh Road. The protesters raised anti-police slogans and cops assured to register an abetment to suicide case. The protesters refused to lift the blockade till they are provided a copy of the FIR and refused to receive Billas body from civil hospital, leading to confrontation. A police team led by DSP Gurbhej Singh allegedly thrashed Trikha and took him to the police station. When a number of Congressmen reached the police station and Jakhar raised the matter with the senior police officers, Trikha was set free. Fazilka SSP Narendra Bhargav said there was no deliberate delay in registration of abetment to suicide case as a probe was underway. We have registered the case and also held one person, he said. On allegations of Trikha, he said he will look into the matter. Meanwhile, those who have been booked for abetment to suicide have been identified as Roshan, Jagga, Tehal Singh, Gochi, Maani, Gulab Singh and Sunita Mahant. Punjab Congress (Kisan cell) members were lathicharged and 15 were arrested by police at Congress Bhawan, Sector 15 in Chandigarh on Wednesday. The members had organised a protest and burnt effigy of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal against non-payment to farmers for wheat procurement. One member was injured in the lathicharge and was rushed to Sector 16 hospital while 15 were arrested. The protest was led by Kisan cell chairman Inderjit Zira and Congress legislature party leader Charanjit Singh Channi at the Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh. Police said they used water canon and lathicharged the workers to disperse them. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday asked Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal why was he being selective in reaching out to the families of Punjab farmers who committed suicide. For heavens sake stop celebrating tragedies, he told the Delhi CM, referring to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announcement that it will adopt the children of the farmer who recently committed suicide in Barnala over his inability to clear debt. Read: Kejriwal to adopt kids of Barnala suicide victim: Bhagwant Mann Amarinder pointed out that there were hundreds and hundreds of farmers who had committed suicide and their families also needed relief and rehabilitation. Providing relief to the Barnala farmers family is a nice gesture, but will you also spell out what you plan to do for other families whose earning heads also committed suicide? he asked Kejriwal. The PPCC president told the AAP and its leadership that instead of resorting to theatrics and photo-ops, he (Kejriwal) should better come out with a plan for providing relief to the farmers. Agriculture is too serious and sensitive an issue for someone like you to understand, he told Delhi CM, pointing to his lack of knowledge and experience about agricultural matters, and matters of governance. Amarinder said the agrarian problems in Punjab are too serious to be solved by photo-ops and theatrics. You need a comprehensive policy and planning. We have already mooted a law to save debt-ridden farmers land or other property as a first step. Had such a law been in place, Barnala farmer would not have been forced to commit suicide, he said. From past experience, we know you are fond of selling and celebrating tragedies to get a photo-op as you did after the Pathankot airbase attack and you are doing it now, Amarinder told Kejriwal. Maintaining that coming assembly polls will be his last, Capt Amarinder said, Ive been a soldier and before I hang my boots, I will put a last-ditch effort to pull back Punjab, its youths and farmers from the throes of drug addiction, unemployment, debt and suicides. He said the decade-long Akali BJP rule had dragged down Punjab from being the No 1 state to No 19. I wish to see Punjab back to its glory, he told the Punjabi NRIs in Los Angeles. Launched on April 1, the Chandigarh Housing Boards new housing scheme in Sector 51 has failed to attract buyers due to sky-high prices of the 2BHK (bedroom, hall, kitchen) flats. So far, only 50 applications have been received for 200 flats with only 833 forms being sold. The deadline for the project has also been extended twice --from April 30, then May 7, and now May 23. Two applicants have even applied for withdrawal, making it the poorest response for its schemes. The CHBs Sector-63 housing scheme launched in 2008 had received over 22,000 applications for its 2,100 flats. Experts attribute the poor response to the high prices of the flats with each flat priced at Rs 69 lakh. The fact that the complete amount has to be paid within three months has also put-off residents, has the three-year time for possession. Residents claim flats of similar dimensions are easily available at a far lower prices in other cooperative societies of Chandigarh. Another clause, that of a five-year lock-in-period applicants cant sell flats before five years of the possession has also created doubts in the buyers minds. Even the cost of brochure has been fixed for Rs 2,000. Chief advisor of Property Consultant Association, Chandigarh, Kamaljit Singh Panchhi, said, Nobody is going to buy flats at such high rates; its going to be a flop show. Earlier, the applicants had to pay the entire amount in two years, but now they are being asked to pay it in just three months, while the possession will be given in the next three years. We appeal the CHB authorities not to act like builders. As a government body, it should provide houses at affordable rates. CHB chairman Maninder Singh said, The last date of submitting application is May 23. We still hope for a good response. Our aim is to provide housing facilities to genuine buyers, not the property dealers. Another senior CHB official added that the clause mandating payment in three months onetime payment is to reduce the workload of the CHB staff. Amardeep Singh, a resident of Sector 21, said, I paid Rs 2,000 to buy the application form, but after reading the terms and conditions, I dropped the idea. It is difficult to pay Rs 69 lakh in 90 days. THE SCHEME The scheme comprises 200 two-bed rooms four-storey (stilt +4) flats to be allotted on a selffinance basis. The allottees will be required to make 100% payment of the chargeable price within 90 days from date of issuance of an acceptance-cum-demand letter as per the terms and conditions. Initially, a customer will have to deposit a total of Rs 6.9 lakh. In addition, Rs 50,000 over and above the price of a dwelling unit will be charged at the time of the possession. The amount will be deposited in accounts of the resident welfare associations for maintenance of common areas. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON After stalling his tour to Canada, North America-based activist group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has now uploaded a video and issued statements claiming that shoes were hurled at Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh during his programme at Fresno in California. The video, which was duly circulated by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the media and its workers on WhatsApp, showed some Sikh radicals shouting slogans against Amarinder while he was leaving the venue of the programme. Though no shoe-hurling is visible in the video, SFJ legal adviser Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in a statement, claimed that Amarinders supporters attacked one Mohender Singh, a 1984 Sikh riots survivor whose father was killed by infamous Kishori, when he wanted to question Amarinder on his statement that Congress leader Jagdish Tytler had no role in killing of Sikhs in Delhi. Video: Amarinder faces pro-Khalistan slogans by protesters in California It led to a clash between organisers of the event and Sikh separatists at the conference venue. As Amarinder was about to leave the venue under tight security, Sikh separatists started raising Khalistan slogans and hurled shoes at fleeing Amarinders vehicle, Pannuns statement said. But Amarinder denied the allegations as factually incorrect and absolutely misleading rumours. Speaking to HT from Fresno, he said no one asked him any questions on Tytler or the 1984 riots during the programme. Over 1,000 people were present at the Fresno programme and it was a cordial interaction. There was no question on the 1984 riots or Tytler. These are absolute lies. Under American law, no one can enter private property uninvited. So these few separatists have been standing outside my meetings at Chicago, California, Los Angeles and Fresno holding banners and shouting slogans and nobody cares about them. But no one hurled shoes. It is clear who is spreading and gaining from this false propaganda. If they (SFJ and AAP) have the guts, they should come inside the venue and ask questions. They can stand outside and shout slogans and claim anything they want to. The AAP has mixed up with Khalistanis, Amarinder said. Terming the response of Punjabi NRIs in America as more than expected, Amarinder said every meeting was a full house. Punjabis here do not know whats going on in Punjab. I had to interact with them to give them a clear picture. The motives of those spreading such rumours are quite obvious as they were not comfortable with the overwhelming response I am getting from the community. Hence they are spreading these rumours since their purpose of disrupting the meetings got defeated, he said. A Class-4 was left with broken teeth and a bruised face on Tuesday after her teacher allegedly punished her for failing to count numbers. Jaspreet Kaur, 9, was admitted to the Bhunga primary health centre. She is a student of government elementary school, Hariana. Jaspreets mother, Gurdip Kaur, said the girl was too scared to speak after returning home with injuries on her face and limbs. She said the girls sister, who studies at the same school, told her Jaspreet was beaten up by her teacher after she could not count. The teacher had also warned her against reporting the matter to her parents, Gurdip claimed, alleging her daughters had been physically punished at the school in the past as well. District education officer (elementary) Balbir Singh visited the hospital on Tuesday evening. He said he had marked an enquiry to the block education officer and promised action against the teacher if the allegations were proved. The teacher could not be contacted for comment. News / National by Zvamaida Murwira The Speaker of the National Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda yesterday reprimanded Bikita West Member of the National Assembly Dr Munyaradzi Kereke for deviating from findings of a portfolio committee in which he was a member.Adv Mudenda said Dr Kereke was flouting parliamentary rules when he made contributions that were at variance with the Committee on Finance, Budget and Investment Promotion chaired by Mutoko South MP David Chapfika (Zanu-PF) which supported the Special Economic Zones Bill.Earlier, Chapfika had presented the committee report, where he said the Bill was a tool for promotion of both local and foreign investment in the country. When Dr Kereke took the floor, he said it was not prudent to address the economy in a piecemeal manner as the Bill sought to achieve.He said previous efforts in the form of export processing zones did not yield the expected results despite participating firms enjoying exemption in tax, duties and compliance with labour laws."The danger that I want to urge members is that policies based on piecemeal approach in addressing the economy do not make for macro-economic stability. It leads to a Dutch disease," said Dr Kereke drawing the intervention of Adv Mudenda.Dutch disease is the negative impact on an economy of anything that gives rise to a sharp inflow of foreign currency which leads to currency appreciation, making the country's other products less price competitive on the export market.Adv Mudenda said Dr Kereke should have raised those issues during deliberations of the committee so that they could be captured in the final report. Dr Kereke, however, said he failed to attend committee meetings because he was attending court sessions. "The honourable member should not contest the chair. Your absence is not an excuse," said Adv Mudenda.In his presentation, Chapfika said there was need for wide consultation before declaring an area as special economic zone. "This would be consistent with Section 13 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which calls for the involvement of the people in the formulation and implementation of development plans and programmes in their areas," said Chapfika.Making contributions, Proportionate Representative MP Ms Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (MDC) expressed reservations on a clause that the Labour Act would not apply.She said the effect of such a clause would be to create a blank cheque for employers to fire workers willy-nilly. Chegutu West MP Dexter Nduna (Zanu-PF) said the establishment of special economic zones was a panacea to de-industrialisation."Special economic zones should be accompanied by repealing of draconian and archaic laws like the Companies Act and the Mines and Minerals Act," said Nduna. Uzumba MP Simba Mudarikwa (Zanu-PF) said while the establishment of special economic zones was noble, there was need to remove several levies required when one wants to start a business.Some of them included the liquor licence fee, television licence, Environmental Management Agency levy, council levy, among others. Tamil actor Ajith Kumars next film, tentatively titled Thala 57, will begin its shoot in July, a source has said. The film will be directed by Siva, who had previously worked with the actor in Veeram and in 2015s hit film Vedalam. The makers of the film will officially sign the agreement with Ajith on Thursday. The regular shooting will kick-off from July, said a source from the films unit. This will be their third project in a row, and it will feature music composer Anirudh Ravichander for the second successive time. Read: Vedalam review | Ajith turns Phantom, vilely and violent Read: Vedalams Thala Ajith undergoes twin surgeries, doing fine Read: Actor Ajiths 56th film to be called Vedalam Sathya Jyothi Films is bankrolling this project. ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Actor Rasika Dugal, whom we last saw in films like Kshay and Qissa, is looking forward to the release of her Malayalam film, an actioner called Kammati Paadam, where she stars opposite Dulquer Salmaan. Although Ive not watched the film yet, Im still excited about it going by the experience of working on this project, said Rasika. Directed by Rajeev Ravi, the well-known cinematographer, the film is produced by Prem Menon under the banner of Global United Media. Rasika had known Rajeev from the time she had made her acting debut in Anurag Kashyaps No Smoking. Read: Qissa review | This ghost is very lonely and hes coming to get you He was my senior in FTII, and hes always been supportive of people from the institute. Post No Smoking, we reconnected when we traveled to Colombo for a film festival with our films. He asked me if Id like to work with him and I instantly agreed, she said. Read: 8 underrated but amazingly crafted films in 2015 For Rasika, it was important that her role was significant to Rajeev more than herself. Ive always wanted to work with Rajeev, so when he asked, I didnt have any second thoughts. I wasnt even sure how I was going to be portrayed alongside Dulquer, she said. Watch Qissa trailer here: However, the way things panned out surprised Rasika, in a pleasant way. I primarily relied on my instinct while working on this project. Rajeev is a very visual person, so he likes to change a lot of things on the sets. There have been instances where a three lines scene became three pages scene while filming. It was quite unnerving, but I enjoyed the process because the character stayed with me for long, she said. Read: From Qissa to Court | Indie films are out of the cans The film, which has music by K, also stars Vinay Fort, Shine Tom Chacko and Shaun Romy. It is slated to release on May 20. Talking about working with Dulquer, she said, I was initially wary, because I assumed hes a star and might come with some baggage. However, the experience of working with Dulquer turned out to be very comfortable. He really gets invested in what hes doing. Dulquer also helped her get familiarize with the Malayalam filmdom, apart from suggesting some films to watch. Although Rasika doesnt divulge much about the film or her role, she says shell be seen in the most deglamorous avatar of her career. ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Krysten Ritter, star of Netflixs hit series Jessica Jones said on Tuesday that she knew she had found her dream job even before she read for the role of the titular superhero sleuth. The 34-year-old actor has won plaudits for her performance as a private investigator with superpowers in the hard-hitting Marvel television adaptation, hotly tipped to win big at the Emmy Awards in September. This was always meant to be this dark, gritty, grounded psychological character study, she told the audience at a screening and panel discussion in Hollywood on Tuesday. Krysten Ritter in a still from Jessica Jones. (NETFLIX) So at that point Im like Where do I sign? Give it to me. And then Jeph (Loeb, executive producer) locked me in a room and took away my cell phone and I read the script and every page just got better. It was like everything Id always dreamt to do, from walking around looking cool to doing these cool action sequences to having this really vulnerable, heavy dramatic work. Read: Not just Daredevil, heres a super-list of super-amazing superhero shows Jessica Jones is the second Marvel television conversion after Daredevil, to form part of a groundbreaking deal with Netflix, which committed in 2013 to four 13-episode series culminating in a miniseries programming event. Krysten Ritter, from left, Mike Colter, Rachael Taylor and Carrie-Anne Moss attend Jessica Jones FYC Event held at Paramount Pictures Studios on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in Los Angeles. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) Ritters co-star Mike Colter, 39, who plays Jessicas love interest, is getting his own spin-off series, Luke Cage, which is due to air later this year. The two will team up with Charlie Cox, the titular character in Daredevil, and Finn Jones, who will portray Iron Fist, in ensemble show The Defenders, at a date yet to be announced. Read: Daredevil episode 1-6 review- Its even better than season 1, really Cast members Rachael Taylor, 31, and Carrie-Anne Moss, best known for her role as Trinity in The Matrix, were also at the screening, with series villain David Tennant beamed into the Paramount Pictures studio from his office in Britain via Skype. Its four in the morning here, Im wearing my pajamas, Tennant joked -- gesturing to his off-screen bottom half, when it was put to him that he inspired fear. The poster for Jessica Jones. Tennant, known worldwide as the Tenth Doctor in long-running BBC sci-fi drama Doctor Who, recalled initially seeing the part of bad guy Kilgrave in Jessica Jones as a gamble. The fabulous @debrabirnbaum is moderating the equally fabulous #JessicaJones FYC panel; David Tennant is Skyping in! pic.twitter.com/FQ6vA9LR5p Laura Prudom (@LauInLA) May 4, 2016 You just read the script and you go Well writing isnt this good normally -- these scripts are just perfection. So I just thought this is a gamble worth taking. David Tennant as Kilgrave in Jessica Jones. (NETFLIX) Netflix, faced with increasingly aggressive competitors such as Amazon and Hulu, has spent recent years prioritizing the production of original series and exclusive distribution deals. The Netflix political drama House of Cards made television history in 2013 when it became the first online-only series ever nominated for a major Emmy award. Follow @htshowbiz for more TV actor Rithvik Dhanjani recently travelled to Bangkok, Thailand, for a five-day vacation with his girlfriend, Asha Negi, and two of their friends, actors Riddhi Dogra and Surbhi Jyoti. The TV actor recently went to Bangkok with his girlfriend, Asha Negi, and two other female friends. Rithvik says he was happy being the only guy in the group. Read: Rithvik Dhanjani and Asha Negi are planning to get engaged by 2017 I didnt feel any different. Of course, I was a little more responsible than usual, as I was with three girls. But Riddhi was always there with me to take care of everything. Asha and Surbhi, on the other hand, were like kids, who were there only to enjoy themselves, he says. Read: I act even when I am hosting, says Rithvik Dhanjani Lucky are the ones who have true friends in their life:) luckyMe A photo posted by Asha Negi (@ashanegi) on Apr 30, 2016 at 12:03pm PDT #nofilter just us and SherKhan# A photo posted by Asha Negi (@ashanegi) on Apr 26, 2016 at 4:49am PDT SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Democrat Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday that his primary bid against Hillary Clinton was far from over, pointing to his victory in Indiana and strength in upcoming races as a sign of his durability in the presidential campaign. I know that the Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. Theyre wrong, Sanders said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from New Albany, Indiana. Maybe its over for the insiders and the party establishment but the voters today in Indiana had a different idea. Sanders spoke to the AP after he defeated Clinton in Indianas primary, predicting that he would achieve more victories in the weeks to come in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oregon and California. The Vermont senator acknowledged that he faced an uphill climb to the Democratic nomination but said he was in this campaign to win and we are going to fight until the last vote is cast. Sanders win in Indiana likely wont make much of a dent in Clintons lead of more than 300 pledged delegates. Clinton is still more than 90% on way to clinch the Democratic nomination when the count includes superdelegates, the elected officials and party leaders who are free to support the candidate of their choice. Sanders said in the interview that he would be the best-positioned Democrat to take on Republican Donald Trump, who is now the likely Republican nominee after Texas senator Ted Cruz dropped out of the race. There is nothing more I would like than to take on and defeat Donald Trump, someone who must never become president of this country. Sanders said he had no intention to drop out of the race and rejected the notion that his criticism of Clintons record on issues like trade, campaign finance and the Iraq war would help Trump. There is nothing that I have said about secretary Clinton that the Republicans are not more than aware of. They must have dozens and dozens of opposition researchers, Sanders said. They will go into areas that I have chosen not to go into. They will be talking about emails. They will be talking about the Clinton foundation. Sanders said he wants to debate Clinton in California later this month, noting that both campaigns had reached an agreement in principle to hold the forum in the nations largest state. China on Wednesday appeared cautious while reacting to US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trumps comment accusing the country of rape and said that trade between the worlds two biggest economies was mutually beneficial. In the run-up to Tuesdays Indiana primary, Trump had told a campaign rally, We cant continue to allow China to rape our country, and thats what were doing. Were going to turn it around, and we have the cards, dont forget it, he said. We have a lot of power with China. Read: Ahead of Indiana primary, Donald Trump says China raping US Asked about Trumps comments and whether Beijing was nervous about the prospect of him becoming US president, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters that the election was a US internal affair and that China had no comment on it. I want to point out that US-China trade relations are essentially mutually beneficial and win-win in keeping with the shared interests of both sides... We hope that everyone can view such cooperation from an objective and reasonable perspective, he added. Trump has repeatedly blasted the Asian giant for its trade policies, blaming it for weakening the US economy and taking American jobs. Although the comments have contributed to his populist appeal at home, they have raised eyebrows in China, where he is seen with a combination of bemusement and grudging respect. At his annual press conference in March, Premier Li Keqiang had said diplomatically that the US presidential campaign was full of clamour and very eye-catching. However, the Global Times newspaper, which is close to the ruling Communist party, showed no such reticence, saying that Trumps comments were abusively racist and extremist. The rise of a racist in the US political arena worries the whole world, it said. Read: Ted Cruz quits presidential race after Trump wins Indiana When the Islamic State swept into the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar in 2014, a few young Yazidi women took up arms against the militants attacking women and girls from their community. They took eight of my neighbours and I saw they were killing the children, Asema Dahir told Reuters last month at a checkpoint near a front line north of Mosul. Dressed in military fatigues, the 21-year-old is now part of an all-female unit in the Kurdish peshmerga forces, which have played an important role in pushing back Islamic State in northern Iraq. The killing and enslaving of thousands from Iraqs minority Yazidi community focused international attention on the groups violent campaign to impose its radical ideology and prompted Washington to launch an air offensive. It also prompted the formation of this unusual 30-woman unit made up of Yazidis as well as Kurds from Iraq and neighbouring Syria. For them, only one thing matters: revenge for the women raped, beaten and executed by the jihadist militants. Haseba Nauzad (right) and Yazidi female fighter Asema Dahir have lunch at a camp in Nawaran near Mosul in Iraq. (Reuters) Asema Dahir shares a light moment with her comrades in a bedroom at their campsite in Nawaran. (Reuters) Read: IS executes 250 women who refused to become sex slaves: Report Read: IS is committing genocide against Christians, Yazidis and Shias: US Dahir said she was stunned by the brutality of the militants, some of whom were neighbours and others from outside the area. They killed my uncle and took my cousins wife who had only just married eight days earlier, she said, her piercing eyes clouding over. The bride, like thousands of other Yazidi women, is still being held by the militants. During the firefights that raged across Sinjar in 2014, Dahir said she killed two Islamic State fighters before being shot in the leg. Reuters could not independently verify the fighters personal accounts. Well-worn photographs of children and families tucked into the edge of mirrors or pressed onto walls in the womens spartan barracks are reminders of what they have sacrificed to join the fight. Haseba Nauzad, the units 24-year-old commander, lost her marriage. She was living with her husband in Turkey when Islamic State swept through northern Iraq and announced its so-called caliphate over areas that included traditional Kurdish lands. I saw them raping my Kurdish sisters and I couldnt accept this injustice, Nauzad said. Her husband wanted to pay human smugglers to take them to Europe along with more than a million others fleeing conflict in the region, but she insisted on going home to fight the Islamists. I put my personal life aside, and I came to defend my Kurdish sisters and mothers and stand against this enemy, she said. She has lost contact with her husband since he arrived in Germany. Haseba Nauzad (second from right) with her comrades at the site in Nawaran in Iraq. (Reuters) The women riding a pickup truck near the frontline of their fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq. (Reuters) In a conservative society where women are often expected to stay at home, these women say gender does not keep them from entering battle. If a man can carry a weapon, a woman can do the same, said Nauzad. The men are inspired to fight harder when they see women standing in the same battlefield as them. The women in the unit are convinced Islamic State militants are scared of women fighters because they think if they are killed by a woman, they will not go to heaven, said Nauzad. This story encourages more women to join the fight. Read: Indian-origin Siddhartha Dhar now senior IS leader, says teen sex slave Ohio Governor John Kasich is expected to suspend his presidential campaign Wednesday, according to multiple US media reports, leaving Donald Trump the lone candidate in the Republican race. The race for the White House is now clear: Its Trump versus Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee who is certain to secure her partys nomination despite primary defeats. Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee Tuesday after delivering a crushing defeat to Ted Cruz, the only rival posing him a real challenge, in the Indiana primary. Cruz quit the race Tuesday, and now Kasich, who never had much of a shot at the nomination, faring way worse than many others who dropped out earlier, including Marco Rubio. With his wife Heidi by his side, Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz speaks during his election night watch party at the Crowne Plaza Downtown Union Station where he announced he was suspending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination. (AFP) Republicans started out with 17 candidates, among the strongest line-up ever fielded by the party, according to many experts, including Indian American Bobby Jindal. As Trump first shot to the top in polls and then picking off nominating contests one by one, others dropped out, including Jeb Bush, who was once considered a front-runner. The real-estate moguls gravity-defying rise continues unabated, surviving gaffes, scares and missteps that would have ended other campaigns, in regular election cycles. Read | US polls: Why Stop Trump failed to halt the Republican front-runner With the Indiana win Tuesday, Trumps tally of delegates climbed to 1,047, only 190 short now of the 1,247 required to win the ticket. Cruz was at 565 and Kasich at 153. In the Democratic race, Clinton was at 2,201, just 182 short of their threshold 2,383. And Sanders is at 1,399, with no realistic chance of overtaking the front-runner. Addressing supporters at his headquarters in Trump Tower, New York, Trump tried to sound reconciliatory and eager to unite the party behind him for the general elections, as he has said he will. The real-estate mogul called Cruz one hell of a competitor with a great future, and cited Heidi (Cruzs wife), his whole beautiful family. No Lyin Ted or other such insults. Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump speaks to supporters and the media at Trump Tower in Manhattan following his victory in the Indiana primary. (AFP) Earlier in the day Trump tried to link Cruzs father to the assassination of John F Kennedy citing a report in National Enquirer, a tabloid that has been harsh to the senator. It recently published a picture of Lee Harvey Oswald, the man who killed Kennedy, with a bunch of men, one of whom, the tabloid said, was Cruzs father, Rafael Cruz, a Cuban-American. But Trump spoke differently in the evening. He was generous in his praise of the senator, who came the closest to stopping him, waging an aggressive expensive do-or-die battle in Indiana. But Cruz failed. Tonight, Im sorry to say, it appears that path has been foreclosed, Cruz said ending his campaign said. Together we left it all on the field in Indiana. We gave it all we got. Read | Clinton team thinks US prez race is over, theyre wrong: Sanders Trump too divisive, lacks temperament to lead US: Clinton campaign Liking Donald Trump: Tycoon has a tough task wooing US Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn sparred in the House of Commons on Wednesday, reflecting the intensity that marked campaigning for Thursdays elections for the next London mayor and other local elections across Britain. Both leaders accused each other of indulging in divisive campaigning, with Labours ani-Semitism row continuing to resonate and embarrass the party. Cameron hit at Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan for sharing the stage with allegedly pro-Islamic State elements. In the backdrop of the anti-Semitism row, Cameron put Corbyn on the backfoot for calling Hamas and Hezbollah friends, and challenged him to withdraw his remarks made some time ago. Corbyn insisted there was no place for anti-Semitism in Labour. Khans likely victory in London would present a lifeline for Corbyn, who has been struggling to establish himself since his election as the Labour leader after the May 2015 general election. A win in London is seen as the partys best hope in Thursdays elections. According to Khan, Conservative rival Zac Goldsmiths campaign would deter people of Asian and Afro-Caribbean background from going into public life. Goldsmith has been criticised for racial profiling of voters in London through community-based leaflets. Besides London, elections are also due for the Scottish Parliament, Welsh, Northern Ireland and London assemblies, local council elections in England, and police and crime commissioner elections. Corbyn, who some reports claim will face a coup after the June 23 EU referendum, believes that the party will not lose any council seats on Thursday, but opinion polls suggested that Labour could lose nearly 150 seats across Britain. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON News / National by Staff Reporter Harare City council has warned residents of complete water shutdown between Friday and Monday next week.The municipality says Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant is undergoing repair of valves and pipes.The shutdown will affect all of Harare's institutions and suburbs except for a few places, which include Chitungwiza, parts of Mbare and parts of Sunningdale that use Prince Edward Water Treatment Plant.Council spokesperson Michael Chideme said residents and especially key institutions such as hospitals and schools in the city would be affected by the shutdown of the Morton Jaffray Water Treatment Plant."We urge residents of Harare especially key institutions to store water in bulk because the whole city will be affected by the shutdown."We will provide key institutions with water through water bowsers, but we urge them to store water and avoid the risk of completely running out of the precious resource." The seven-month-old Nepalese government of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli plunged into crisis on Wednesday with coalition partner Maoists seeking to form a national unity government headed by their chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda. The decision was taken by the central committee of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the second biggest party in the government headed by Olis Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist). In a statement, UCPN (M) said the move was necessary as Olis government has failed to address ongoing political problems through dialogue, as also to implement the new constitution and undertake reconstruction work in the wake of last years earthquakes. The UCPN (M) statement appealed to all parties to support the move, and said that even Nepali Congress, the biggest party in parliament and the main opposition, has agreed to a national unity government headed by Maoists. Soon after the decision, Prachanda went to Olis official residence in Baluwatar to inform him about it and asked the prime minister to support the move for his own removal. The standing committee of UCPN (M) will meet on Wednesday afternoon to take a decision on bringing a no-confidence motion against Olis government. Maoists are the third largest party in parliament after NC and CPN (UML). Reacting to UCPN (M)s move, the standing committee of CPN (UML) said Olis removal at this juncture would lead to political instability and asked the Maosist to rethink their decision. Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa, who heads Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, the third biggest in the present coalition, has also asked UCPN (M) to reconsider the move. Though there have been differences among CPN (UML), Maoists and other coalition partners in the present government over various issues, this is the first direct attempt at toppling Oli. Many coalition partners are unhappy with the prime minister for failing to address the discontent in Madhes through talks and for not speeding up earthquake-related reconstruction work. Parties from Madhes region bordering India have rejected the new statute as discriminatory towards them and even imposed a five-month-long border blockade seeking amendments. Despite international donors pledging $4.1 billion in aid, the present government has yet to start reconstruction work a year after two major earthquakes claimed nearly 9,000 lives and destroyed over 800,000 houses. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Pakistans Army chief General Raheel Sharif has suspended officials of the para-military Rangers force which is conducting a security operation in Karachi, following the death of a member of the Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement while in their custody. Aftab Ahmed, a member of the party and an aide of former Karachi mayor Dr Farooq Sattar, died within two days of being taken into custody by the Rangers force for interogation. After initially denying any wrongdoing, the head of the Rangers force said on Wednesday that Aftab Ahmad had been tortured, which lead to his death. The army chief has now ordered an inquiry into the death and has said that justice must be done. [The] COAS has directed to hold an inquiry to find out truth in the case of Aftab Ahmed, who died in Karachi yesterday, said a statement from the militarys press relations wing. He instructed to ensure that justice must be done. A high-level committee has been set up to investigate the circumstances behind Aftab Ahmeds death, the statement said. The officers allegedly involved have been suspended. The committee will be headed by a commander designate of Sindh Rangers, and will ensure that the truth about the incident is brought to light, the statement added. The MQM said Aftab Ahmed was picked up from his residence on Sunday and presented in an anti-terrorism court a day later. The MQM activist, who had been working as coordinator for Karachis former mayor since 2002. He was detained by the Rangers in a raid And shifted to a Rangers sub-jail. An anti-terrorism court allowed the Rangers to keep him in preventive custody for 90 days. At 8am on Tuesday, Aftab was brought to a local hospital and died shortly afterwards. Doctors at the Emergency Ward said the man had no blood pressure or pulse on arrival. He was declared dead at 8:20am after cardiopulmonary resuscitation failed to revive him. A father of five, Ahmed joined the MQM in 1990. The Rangers operation in Karachi, which targeted the MQM, has been questioned by human rights activists. This is not the first death in custody of the Rangers. It is believed that the paramilitary force has detained more than 1,000 MQM activists. China has arrested one of its top 10 most-wanted fraud suspects, who is accused of conspiring with others to swindle 35 million yuan ($5.4 million) in a telecom scam, state news agency Xinhua has reported. Wen Longjian, 32, is accused of defrauding a corporate accountant by impersonating the head of a company on an instant messaging app last December, Xinhua said late on Tuesday, quoting the ministry of public security. Wen evaded arrest after an earlier police operation detained 39 suspects and froze bank accounts containing more than 28 million yuan but was caught in Chinas southwestern province of Guangxi on Monday, the report quoted police as saying. Reuters was unable to reach Wen for comment and it was not immediately clear if he had legal representation. China is battling an explosion of telecoms fraud that has cost billions of dollars in losses and driven some victims to suicide, say authorities in Beijing who blame many of the scams on criminal gangs based in rival Taiwan. 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. Democrat Hillary Clintons campaign said on Tuesday that Donald Trump is too divisive and lacks temperament to be the United States president. Fundamentally, our next president will need to do two things -- keep our nation safe in a dangerous world and help working families get ahead here at home. Donald Trump is not prepared to do either, John Podesta, chairman of the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, said on Tuesday. Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he is too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world. With so much at stake, Donald Trump is simply too big of a risk, he said. Clinton has proven that she has the strength to keep us safe in an uncertain world and a lifelong record of fighting to break down the barriers -- economic and social -- that hold working families back, Podesta said. While Donald Trump seeks to bully and divide Americans, Hillary Clinton will unite us to create an economy that works for everyone, he said. The Clinton campaign sought donation from its supporters after Trump, 69, won the Indiana primary and while Trumps nearest rival, Texas senator, Ted Cruz crashed out of the race, becoming the presumptive Republican nominee. The Democratic Party launched an attack on Trump and the Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said Trump is the Republican Party. Ted Cruz may have been the least-liked politician in Washington but Trump is one of the least liked men in America and Democrats will hold him accountable for his offensive rhetoric, dangerous ideas and lack of judgement every single day between today and November 8. The decades-old Republican strategy of exploiting unfounded fear of immigrants, minorities, the poor, the LGBT community and more, all for political gain, have laid the groundwork for Donald Trump, Schultz said. He said Democrats wont hesitate to fight for American people who share our values of inclusion, hard work, dignity and opportunity for all. We will hold Republicans on the ballot at every level accountable for their standard bearer, he said. Senator Bernie Sanders, 74, of the Democratic Party who narrowly defeated Hillary in the Indiana primary, said that Trump should never become the US president. We understand that we have an uphill climb to victory but we have been fighting uphill from the first day of this campaign. We are in this campaign to win and we are going to fight until the last vote is cast. There is nothing I would like more than to take on and defeat Donald Trump, someone who must never become president of this country, Sanders told his supporters in Indianas New Albany. The United States (US) has absolutely no intention of losing focus of its important relationship with Pakistan, the Obama administration said, noting that it is Islamabads decision to take a call on its security needs. These are sovereign decisions that nations make with respect to their defence needs and its up to Pakistan to speak to how theyll fulfil their defence needs, State Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday. He was responding to questions on a Pakistani leaders statement that it would get the fighter jets from other countries such as China, if US doesnt provide them. As for the relationship, as Ive said many, many times, its an important one. Its critical, its vital particularly in that part of the world, and its a relationship we have absolutely no intention of losing focus on or diminishing in any way, Kirby said. But these are obviously sovereign decisions that Pakistan has to make, the State Department said. A day earlier, the US told Pakistan to make full payments for the F-16 fighter jets costing an estimated $700 million after Congress senators put a hold on the subsidy of $435 million promised earlier. Kirby refrained from responding to questions on remarks by a top Pakistani minister that the US aid to his country has been peanuts. I would just simply say that, again, its an important relationship. Were going to continue to support that relationship. We fully stand behind the kinds of support that we have provided Pakistan over the last many years with respect specifically to their counter-terrorism capabilities and counter-terrorism needs, and were going to continue to look for ways to improve that cooperation as best we can, Kirby said. Republican John Hammond III had made no secret of his distaste for Donald Trump and his desire to thwart his march to the partys presidential nomination, telling the Indianapolis Star newspaper in March that the mogul was unfit to lead the United States. But the Republican National Committee member, a partner at law firm Ice Miller, said no anti-Trump group ever reached out to him, nor did he see any evidence that such groups were in the state until just a few days before voting in Indianas primary election. By the time some direct mail and TV ads popped up, it was too late to make a difference, he said. There was never really any early Stop Trump effort in Indiana, he told Reuters. Trump became the Republican partys presumptive nominee on Tuesday with his resounding win in Indianas primary, which led his main rival US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas to drop out and heaped pressure on distant third-place contender John Kasich, the Ohio governor, to do the same. Read: US primaries: Ted Cruz quits presidential race after Trump wins Indiana In the process, Trump dealt a seemingly fatal blow to the high-profile effort known as Stop Trump or Never Trump launched by conservative Republicans. The movement -- led by the conservative anti-tax non-profit Club for Growth and the Our Principles PAC -- for months failed to significantly slow Trumps momentum and now appears to be on death watch, political operatives and at least three officials involved in the movement say. It emerged over the US winter as initial skepticism over Trumps chances turned to anxiety among conservatives, who view many of the Manhattan real estate moguls policy pledges as a liberal threat to their low-tax, low-spending principles. But from the start it was hobbled by poor coordination, the lack of a single, influential public leader, and the absence of an agreed-upon alternative to Trump, according to leaders in the movement as well as Republican operatives familiar with it. You have to have a plan of action to deal with him, said Republican strategist Doug Heye, a Trump opponent who has ties to people in the movement. And it appears no one really did. Read: Clinton team thinks US prez race is over, theyre wrong: Sanders Publicly, leaders in the Stop Trump movement dispute the notion that they were ineffective, saying their efforts in Wisconsin helped head off a Trump win in April. They also say the groups communicate effectively with one another and that they will continue fighting despite the Indiana results. We will continue to educate voters about Trump until he, or another candidate, wins the support of a majority of delegates to the Convention, Katie Packer, chair of the Our Principles PAC said in a statement on Tuesday. But, in private, three top officials associated with the movement conceded that Indiana was a do or die moment. A live television screen at the Trump Tower displays the news to Trump supporters and journalists that Ted Cruz is pulling out of the presidential campaign after losing Indiana. (AFP) Read: Priyanka Chopra slams Donald Trump, says banning people primitive Late start, lack of coordination The movement suffered a major setback when Republican mega donors declined to play the role of Trump Slayers. Both casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, decided not to repeat their experience in 2012, when they lavished hundreds of millions of dollars on Republican candidates only to see no returns. Deprived of such major financial backers, Club for Growth and Our Principles PAC together spent only $27 million on anti-Trump messaging, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Democratic front-runner Hillary Clintons campaign and Super PAC have spent at least $78 million so far, according to FEC reports. The groups and their associates focused their messaging over the winter and spring on television and social media ads and Twitter blasts highlighting Trumps comments about women being bimbos, dogs and fat pigs, as well as his statements supporting universal health care and higher taxes. Throughout their campaign, the two groups did not coordinate directly with one another or even converse on a regular basis, according to one Club for Growth official. It wasnt until last week that Our Principles PAC and the Stop Trump effort in California, led by political consultant Rob Stutzman, even joined forces. Officials at Club for Growth said they werent aware of that California effort. Some veteran Republican operatives said Our Principles PAC had been a waste of time and money. Theyve had no leadership. Theyve spent tens of millions of dollars by now and gotten zero message, zero movement, said one Republican familiar with the workings of the movement. The whole thing has been a disaster from the beginning. Many donors, like Trumps rival candidates, underestimated the tycoon, believing he would burn out after his early successes, Republican consultants say. Those who did come forward publicly to support the Stop Trump movement, such as Chicago Cubs owners and Our Principles PAC funders Joe and Marlene Ricketts, were swiftly treated to Trumps social media wrath. They better be careful, Trump said of the Ricketts in a Tweet in February. They have a lot to hide! Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump speaks to supporters and the media at Trump Tower in Manhattan following his victory in the Indiana primary. (AFP) Read: Donald Trump links Ted Cruzs father to JFKs assassin By March, other wealthy families who had donated to the cause were asking reporters not to identify them in stories anymore because they didnt want their spouses and children to face abuse from the Trump campaign. I dont think you can underestimate how effective Donalds bullying has been, even among wealthy donors, said one top official at Club for Growth. Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski dismissed the notion that donors had been fearful, saying the identity of campaign contributors has long been public information. (Additional reporting by Emily Flitter) Authorities in Central Texas report that they discovered an improvised explosive device (IED) beneath a bridge Tuesday evening. Following the discovery, the McLennan County Sheriff's office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives used water to breach the exterior of the container found just outside Rosebud, a town home to about 1,400 people and located roughly 40 miles southeast of Waco. Inside the IED, authorities found flammable liquid, a detonator and shotgun shells, according to Sheriff Parnell McNamara. He stated that the device was designed to blow shrapnel and would have been extremely dangerous had it gone off, which it was capable of doing had they not located and diffused it. "Someone had made this to create lots of damage and harm," McNamara said. News of sightings or explosions of IEDs are uncommon but always cause a splash within the affected community when they emerge. In March, a pipebomb exploded in an alleyway near Disneyland, shaking nearby homes and business as well as causing some damage to the immediate area. Notably, an officer revealed to media after the incident that the bomb had been nestled away in an area out of view, but it exploded with so much force that the cap left a hole in a wooden fence 40 feet away that looked like a saw had cut through it. Technicians recovered the remains of the device and took them to the lab for analysis. In a similar case, in February, authorities responded to the scene of an explosion in West Virginia after an alleged IED detonated in the vicinity. No one saw the explosive or the explosion in that case either - only the aftermath. Once again, the remains of the device were taken to a lab for analysis. Unlike the two aforementioned cases, the IED found beneath the bridge didn't go off. On the other hand, just like with the two prior incidents, authorities recovered the liquid found within the device and have taken it back to a lab for analysis in hopes of finding a source. No injuries or fatalities were reported. Police are still investigating the incident as of Wednesday morning. They have not named any suspects nor made any indication as to what a potential motive might be. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A new study from Loyola University Chicago researchers has revealed that humans were able to evolve bigger brains than other apes due to a faster metabolism. In addition, the study found that humans also have higher levels of body fat, which stores energy reserves that are, in turn, used as fuel to sustain the increased metabolic rate. When adjusted for body size, humans consume 400 more calories on a daily basis than chimpanzees and bonobos, 635 more calories than gorillas and 820 more calories than orangutans. The data confirms the team's hypothesis that the faster metabolism and higher energy budget of humans evolved in order to accommodate for the higher caloric requirement of larger brains. Furthermore, faster metabolism is also linked to increased offspring and lifespan, giving us a better understanding of the benefits of this adaptation. The team measured the total energy expenditure - which includes calories burned by metabolism at rest, as well as those burned during physical activity - in both humans and great apes over the course of seven to 10 days during the course of normal living behavior. Overall, the study examined 141 humans, 27 chimpanzees, eight bonobos, 10 gorillas and 11 orangutans. Human data stemmed from a separate study called the Modeling the Epidemiological Transition Study (METS), which included adults from the U.S., South Africa, Ghana, Seychelles and Jamaica and aimed to shed light on the relationship between physical activity and energy expenditure and weight gain in adults. The results revealed that body fat percentage was significantly higher in humans, and in addition, only humans showed a gender difference, with 22.9 percent body fat in men and 41.7 percent in women. Humans and great apes share a close evolutionary history and together make the hominoid superfamily. The findings could help scientists uncover new ways to fight obesity and metabolic diseases. "Humans exhibit an evolved predisposition to deposit fat whereas other hominoids remain relatively lean, even in captivity where activity levels are modest," the Loyola University Chicago researchers wrote. "Untangling the evolutionary pressures and physiological mechanisms shaping the diversity of metabolic strategies among living hominoids may aid efforts to promote and repair metabolic health for humans in industrialized populations and apes in captivity." The findings were published in the May 4 issue of the journal Nature. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. News / National by Stephen Jakes Zimbabwe First leader Maxwell Shumba has claimed that the Zimbabweans have ever cried and sometime asked when the President Robert Mugabe will die because they have suffered for too long.In his statement posted on Facebook, Shumba said no Zimbabwean should have ever suffered at the hands of another Zimbabwean."Robert Mugabe, Yes Robert Mugabe the nation is ever crying and sometimes asking when you will die, what a shame," Shumba said. "A revolution betrayed. Its, therefore, befitting that as Robert Mugabe winds down his time here on earth he hears the horrific stories of the atrocities he authored over and over again."Shumba said Mugabe atrocities stories were being retold.He said Zimbabweans from all walks of life are desperate."All they are asking for is a political party that will give them a new ray of hope as they reel under economic hardships, repression and violence. This is where ZimFirst is coming in with fresh ideas, solutions and untainted," Shumba said."ZimFirst is rising above conventional politics of selfishness and greed to serve the people of Zimbabwe. Besides being guided by the values of democracy, ZimFirst believes in humility which regards the well-being and happiness of others as more important than one's own."Shumba said in a country characterised by failing governance, economic standards and repression, ZimFirst is there to offer tangible solutions."We do not give excuses because we believe excuses are poor substitutes for results. At ZimFirst we also have the advantage of variety and universality of experience at our disposal. ZimFirst is here to reclaim Zimbabwe to it's former glory, to speak to the heart of the people's discontent and to rewrite the script of Zimbabwe's future," he said. News / National by Lovemore Chikova Ruling parties like Zanu-PF must maintain discipline and always be connected to the people if they want to remain in power and be relevant, a Chinese official has said. The deputy director-general for the Bureau of African Affairs International Department Central Committee Communist Party of China, Mr Wang Heming, was speaking yesterday while answering a question from The Herald during a press conference here.Describing Zanu-PF as a great party with a glorious history, Mr Wang said the CPC was able to remain in power and initiate progress for China because of discipline among its members and people-oriented programmes."Actually, I think that Zanu-PF is also a great party with a big status in Zimbabwe and has also a glorious history," he said."CPC and Zanu-PF have maintained flourishing relations with each other and we have also done a lot in terms of exchanges and sharing our experiences."Some of the important secrets or instruments for CPC to maintain itself as a ruling party of China for such a long time is that we always connect the theories and our ideology with our practices on the ground. We always keep ourselves closely connected to the people and we also consider criticism and self-criticism as important instruments of party building."Zanu-PF has of late been grappling with disciplinary issues among some of its members, which has led to the expulsion of some high-ranking individuals, including former Vice President Joice Mujuru and her putschist cabal.More disciplinary issues have continued to flood the National Disciplinary Committee since the expulsion of the Mujuru cabal last year, affecting efforts by the party to turnaround the economy.Mr Wang said the CPC was managing to effectively put its theories into practice, thereby assuring its survival and close bond with the people."Chairman Mao (Zedong) said we should consider the relations between the party and the people as relations between the fish and the water," he said."We all come from the people and we should remain and stay connected with the people. One of the principles of CPC is to serve the people and it is more than a slogan. It is what we do, that is why we can get the support of the people for such a long time."Mr Wang said the CPC also emphasised on discipline among its members, which has been the bedrock of its success and unity."Members must abide by the decisions of the Central Committee and after the final decision is made by the Central Committee the entire party members will implement it," he said."That is why we have gained efficiency in national construction and development."Mr Wang criticised the West for pouring money to opposition parties in Africa instead of directing the funds to help the people.He said Western countries were also practising double standards when speaking about democracy."Ruling parties and opposition parties must work together for the welfare of the people. As I see now, some of the opposition parties in some African countries oppose ruling parties only for the sake of opposition and this is quite energy consuming and resource consuming too and causes chaos," said Mr Wang.Mr Wang said Western countries criticised China's type of democracy when they were worse off."Let me draw your attention to America, there are only two contesting political parties in the United States the Democrats and the Republicans and they do not allow a third party to be set up and participate in the elections," he said. 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 HOLA brings together the leaders in the hotel industry to discuss important trends, to network, to identify new opportunities, and to do deals through a combination of plenary sessions, breakout panels, and interactive development workshops. Program tracks on hotel investment in Mexico, Brazil, South America, and Central America are featured. If you are serious about the hotel business in Latin America, you cant afford to miss HOLA. Who Should Attend Investors, Owners, Lenders, Developers, Hotel Chain/Management Company Executives, Investment Bankers, Vacation Ownership Executives, Financial Advisors, Real Estate & Financial Intermediaries, Builders, Consultants, Lawyers, Architects & Designers, Government Tourism Officials and Media About BHN BHN is the worldwide leader in developing and organizing conferences for the hotel and tourism investment community. With almost three decades of experience, nearly 120 events completed to-date, and over 80,000 international delegates, BHN conferences have become must attend events for industry leaders who come together to network, conduct business and to learn about the latest trends. BHN events include: the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles; the ALIS Summer Update; the Alternative Ownership Conference Asia Pacific (AOCAP) in Singapore; the Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit (CHRIS) in Miami; the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) in Hong Kong; HICAP UPDATE in Singapore; the Hotel Investment Forum India (HIFI) in Gurgaon Delhi N.C.R.; the Hotel Opportunities Latin America (HOLA) conference in Miami; and the Hotel Investment Conference Europe (Hot.E) in London. The BHN website at is the gateway for information about the conferences BHN produces, as well as a direct link to important players in the hospitality investment world. For more information please contact Bob Hayes 714-540-9300 Shaza Hotels, an independent five-star luxury hotel operator, has signed six new hotels across the Middle East that are set to open between 2016 and 2019 in addition to its existing Shaza Al Madinah in Saudi Arabia. At the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), Sheikh Salem bin Ahmed Al Ghazali, chairman of Golden Group of Companies, and Salman Al Mohannadi, chairman of Shaza Hotels also signed an agreement of management for the new 'Shaza Muscat' that will comprise 250 hotel rooms and 150 hotel apartments, as part of a mixeduse development. The hotel will be welcoming its first guests in the third quarter of 2019. Further identifying an opportunity to offer Arabian lifestyle in an upscale environment, the brand is launching Mysk by Shaza, a four-star experience with its flagship hotel opening in March 2017 in Al Mouj, Muscat. Inspired by the Arabic pronunciation of musk, Mysk carries the fragrance of Shaza into a renewed and festive worldliness. Like its parent, Mysk is born out of the Middle Eastern culture, awakening the senses with its enchanting aroma, and creating a theatrical experience that is closely tied to the rich and ever evolving Arabian culture. The years 2016 and 2017 are a key milestone in the expansion plan of Shaza Hotels and Mysk by Shaza. The third quarter of 2016 will witness the grand opening of Shaza Hotel in Makkah while negotiations are underway for new Shaza projects in Europe, which marks an important new chapter for the brand outside the Middle-East. Further to the launch of Mysk by Shaza in 2016, five hotels are to be signed in the region by the end of 2017, including two projects currently under negotiation in Saudi Arabia. Commenting on the chain's ground-breaking projects in the pipeline, Simon Coombs, CEO of Shaza Hotels, said: "2016 is definitely a landmark year for Shaza Hotels and we are excited to be unveiling our imminent projects across the Middle East. In a meaningful partnership and dialogue with our owners, we take pride in creating each Shaza Hotel to be a bespoke experience where we deliver the highest standards to our guests. I am now very excited to extend this experience to our new brand Mysk by Shaza." About Shaza Hotels Shaza Hotels is an international hotel management company comprising of two unique brands: Shaza in the luxury segment, and Mysk in the upscale segment. The brands are characterised by their dedication to offering true Arabian hospitality inspired by the traditions and culture of the Silk Route and reflected by a contemporary Middle Eastern style decor and serene ambiance that is appreciated by the most discerning travellers. Shaza is a member of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA). For more information please visit www.shazahotels.com About DISCOVERY Loyalty A memorable trip demands more than a comfortable stay. DISCOVERY, an award-winning global loyalty programme, provides 16 million members recognition and perks across over 570 hotels, resorts and palaces in 78 countries. Elite members have the opportunity to immerse themselves in local culture through Local Experiences, distinctive activities that capture an authentic taste of each destination. For more information, visit discoveryloyalty.com It looks like you've reached a page that doesnt exist (anymore). Please use the navigation or search above to find content on Hospitality Net. Go back to home In a rare and decisive action, a Central District Court Judge dismissed an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit filed by an Arizona disabled plaintiff who has recently filed a wave of over 70 ADA lawsuits against Southern California hotels. The plaintiff, who claims she is confined to a wheelchair, called an Orange County hotel to book a room. She asked the hotel representative whether the hotel pool and Jacuzzi had a pool lift or other means of access for disabled persons. The hotel employee allegedly reported that the hotel had no pool lifts. Thereafter, allegedly, plaintiffs agent, and ADA investigator, visited the hotel, verified that there were no pool lifts, and notified the plaintiff of other ADA violations. The plaintiff claimed that she regularly frequents the area where the hotel is located and plans to do so in the future. If there was a pool lift, plaintiff claims, she would stay at the hotel in the future. The plaintiff, Theresa Brooke, has filed over 70 ADA lawsuits against Southern California hotels in the past 6 weeks, every single one of which in boilerplate fashion alleges ADA violations based on inaccessible hotel pools and spas. In dismissing the lawsuit, the Judge noted that the deluge [of ADA lawsuits] is ongoing, noting plaintiff, it appears, would like to stay at every Orange County hotel that presently has an inaccessible Jacuzzi. Citing a recent opinion (Brooke v. Kalthia Group Hotels), the trial judge on his own motion dismissed the lawsuit finding that plaintiff had not stated a claim under the ADA because a plaintiff who had not visited the hotel cannot litigate a case against the hotel based solely on calling the hotel, seeing pictures and taking a call from her private investigator. Despite two decisive rulings dismissing these lawsuits, this plaintiff continues to file multiple ADA lawsuits daily. All hotel owners and operators need to know that these cases can be won without substantial cost. If you would like to discuss any of the ADA issues, please contact us: Jim Butler Chairman, Global Hospitality Group jbutler@jmbm.com (310) 201-3526 Marty Orlick Chairman, ADA Defense Team morlick@jmbm.com (415) 984-9667 This is Jim Butler, author of www.HotelLawBlog.com and hotel lawyer, signing off. Weve done more than $68 billion of hotel transactions and have developed innovative solutions to unlock value from hotels. Whos your hotel lawyer? 50 Cents decision to post a video of himself harassing an airport employee he believed was high has resulted in backlash after it was revealed that the man he targeted was 19-year-old Andrew Farrell, who suffers from social anxiety and mild autism. The video has since been deleted, but Farrells stepfather, has called for an apology, as have many fans on social media. That apology has now arrived through NY Post, with 50 apologizing for the misunderstanding as well as disclosing that he had offered a personal apology to the family. While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, I am truly sorry for offending the young man It was certainly not my intent to insult him or the disability community, which is a source of great strength in America. I have apologized personally to him and his family. While there was rumor that Farrells family may launch a lawsuit against the rapper, TMZ now reports that they are happy with a sincere apology. The family has yet to respond to 50s most recent statement. 50 Cent Lord Shariyf, a man who identifies himself as Afrika Bambaataas former bodyguard, claims that the hip hop pioneer had a sexual relationship with hundreds of underage boys. Since the 70s, its been hundreds, Shariyf said in an interview with radio host Star. I can say Ive walked in on stuff where I say, what the fuck is going on? At the end of March, Ronald Savage came forward and accused Bambaataa of sexual abusing him in the late 70s and early 80s. Three weeks later, three more men came forward with similar allegations. Shariyf, also known as Shamsideen Shariyf Ali Bey, says he was a member of the Black Spades, a Bronx gang, along with Bambaataa before joining the Zulu Nation in the mid-70s. The head of Shaka Zulu Security, he said the Bambaataa always had underage visitors in his Parkchester apartment. Theres always a boy in his house. When he leaves and gets home, theres always a boy there. Ive seen them camped, asking him for money, Shariyf said. He travels with late teens, those are the ones he takes overseas with him. When I went with him on tour in the States, Id stay in one room, and he would have boys in the room with him. He claimed that when he encouraged the Zulu Nation to turn Bambaataa in to the authorities in 2007, the organization accused of him trying to extort Bambaataa for money. Bambaataa goes around fronting, like hes this holier than thou. Hes a fucking pedophile, Shariyf said. This is a well-known fact in the Zulu Nation. Afrika Bambaataa News / National by Stephen Jakes ZIMBABWE Lawyers For Human Rights (ZLHR) has said it joins all supporters of media freedom in commemorating World Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2016 at a time when media practitioners and ordinary citizens face acute dangers including arbitrary arrest, prosecution, intimidation and being abducted and disappeared.In a statement the ZLHR said proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1993, World Press Freedom Day, which in 2016 is being commemorated under the theme; "Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms - This Is Your Right!," is an opportunity to celebrate the fundamental principles of media freedom; assess the state of press freedom; defend the media from attacks on their independence; and pay tribute to journalists who continue to bear up with the litany of obstacles they confront in the line of duty."It is pertinent to recognise that a key measure of a country's levels of freedom, democracy and just rule of law is the manner in which a government treats media practitioners and how free they are allowed to do their professional work. In addition, freedom of expression is central to an open and democratic state in which people access diverse information to help them participate and make choices about governance, social and economic issues," ZLHR said.ZLHR said it appreciates that the new Constitution broadens freedom of expression, and of the media and access to information."However, while media freedom protection has been specifically included in the Constitution, the reality on the ground is at odds with this, due to the continued insistence on registration of media houses and media practitioners and excessive restrictions on what they are able to cover," reads the statement."It is saddening to note that Zimbabwe's media freedom scorecard and the situation for journalists has worsened with the major blemish for the government being the imprisonment of Patrick Chitongo, a Chiredzi based publisher and journalist, who is wallowing prison."The ZLHR said Chitongo, who has been detained for several months now, solely for his journalistic work must be released immediately and unconditionally as his imprisonment is an inherently disproportionate restriction on the right to freedom of expression."The government's bad scores on media freedom, including constraints on the ability of journalists to do their work and the threats issued by state actors such as Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Christopher Mushohwe calls into question its professed commitment to media freedom, and freedom of expression and access to information," reads the statement."From an operating environment littered with hostile media laws to a myriad of stumbling blocks, Zimbabwe possesses a media minefield and apparently the same perpetrators show up time and again.""Zimbabwe is not a safe place for journalists, bloggers and other citizens to peacefully express themselves as can be confirmed by the pattern of intimidation, harassment, arrests, imprisonment, charges and prosecution of media practitioners and ordinary citizens which suggests that they are aimed at persecuting and silencing the government's perceived opponents and critics," ZLHR added.ZLHR said in recent months, Zimbabwean courts have also imposed gag orders on coverage of some cases, a practice which has routinely been abused to remove from public scrutiny cases where "powerful" individuals and officials have stood accused of human rights violations or where authorities intend to conceal information from members of the public."Of concern too is the authorities' crackdown on online communication and the systematic monitoring and surveillance of social media platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp, which is being used to monitor dissent as demonstrated by the arrest and prosecution of villagers recently in Mashonaland Central and Manicaland provinces on flimsy charges of criminal nuisance and insulting or undermining authority of the President. ZLHR is perturbed that citizens continue to be targeted despite the fact that the country's apex court, the Constitutional Court, has made various pronouncements in some cases before it about application of this notorious provision," reads the statement."Freedom after expression also remains elusive, with self-censorship still pervasive due to the fear of being prosecuted for expressing critical views of individuals, institutions and state policies and practices.""We have seen an appetite by Zimbabwean authorities to interfere with the operations and the practice of journalism through attempting to impose new and illegal layers of accreditation of journalists apart from the Zimbabwe Media Commission as happened in Parliament early this year, where some overzealous security agents intended to subject journalists to rigorous scrutiny including asking them to submit police clearance letters," added ZLHR.The organisation said in April, authorities directed journalists to be "cleared" by the Zimbabwe Republic Police as a condition to secure entry and cover a meeting convened by veterans of the country's liberation war."Such restrictions and controls betrays the government as being so obsessed with control and licensing. In Zimbabwe today, anyone who challenges the authorities' official narrative, criticises the government or exposes human rights violations is at risk of being tossed into police cells and being abducted and disappeared as what happened to Itai Dzamara in March 2015 while other human rights campaigners among them Paul Chizuze and Patrick Nabanyama remain unaccounted for after going missing for several years now," said ZLHR."It is high time that the government appreciates the need to respect and uphold constitutional provisions which provides the framework of protections, obligations, rights and fundamental freedoms accorded all persons in Zimbabwe. To ZLHR, these form the bedrock of democracy and act as all important bullwark against the government of the day and other state and non-state actors misusing their power against people."it further stated that in the digital age, media freedom is confronted by growing challenges of arbitrarily punishing cyber-expression and intrusions on digital privacy, even though the Constitution provides for the right to privacy under section 57."Of concern to ZLHR is the recent clampdown on freelance journalists and their news portals as the case with the Media Centre and the five journalists, who have been interrogated by police detectives over an alleged treason case," reads the statement."Snooping into citizens' privacy impact on those who express themselves online and also on those who receive information online and this curbs access to information as well as the range of information and expression on digital portals. Such interference has the effect of constraining the ability of a society to make informed choices about democracy and development.""In a year, in which we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration on an independent and pluralistic African press, ZLHR reiterates that the battle for media plurality, diversity of information, legislative reform, and accountability must therefore be a fight taken on, not only by the media itself and media rights organisations, but also by the broader civil society and the general public as a whole. A closed society where archaic views and practices continue to prevail impacts us all, and for this reason ZLHR renews and reiterates its commitment to this struggle until victory is achieved," Added the organisation. Despite all of Hollywood's stern warnings in Jaws, The Great White, Sharknado etc. we still have failed to learn our lesson; do not go into crystal blue, paradise picturesque waters. The Shallows is out August 12. Swim safe kids. This article can only be read with a Premium Account Please Log In or Subscribe to continue reading The success that BBC's Peaky Blinders has amassed has sparked the conversation of a film adaptation. Cillian Murphy's Peaky Blinders has become quite the sleeper success. With Season 3 just around the corner, series creator Stephen Knight and executive producer Caryn Mandabach spoke to Digital Spy and the prospect of a Peaky Blinders movie arose; "We did have a conversation about potentially doing a movie," Mandabach revealed, "There are many people in America that love Peaky Blinders and plenty of movie stars that want to be in the movie." The period drama stars Cillian Murphy as gangster Tommy Shelby. Set in 1920's Birmingham, the volatile Shelby heads the Peaky Blinders gang whose trademark it is to sew razor blades into the peaks of their caps and use as weapons. The show runs on BBC Two and has broke the American market thanks to its deal with network giant Netflix. It's a completely viable project that we're sure plenty of actors would jump at the opportunity to star in. Peaky Blinders has acquired a huge star following which boasts Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Ed Sheeran, Steven Spielberg, Julia Roberts and Stephen King. Also counting himself as Peaky Blinders fan was the late David Bowie. Creator Stephen Knight told Radio Times that Bowie granted the show use of his music just days before his death. Knight received a personal copy of Blackstar from Bowie before the album was released to the public. "It seems that his people were keen to establish that we could use it before he died," Knight reflected, "[Bowie] sent a photo of himself with razor blades in his cap to Cillian about a year ago. I got in touch with his people who came back straight away and said he was a big, big fan." Peaky Blinders Season 3 will have the boys back in action again on May 5 at 9pm on BBC Two. They're donating proceeds from the gig to an equality organisation Two Door Cinema Club have explained why, despite being opposed to the states transgender bathroom law, theyve announced a North Carolina club show next month. Recently the General Assembly passed a bill that, in our opinion, erodes and invalidates fundamental protections from discrimination for the LGBT community, they say. Many artists have cancelled their upcoming stops in NC as a result of the new legislation, but we wanted to make it clear that, even though well be playing in NC, we fundamentally disagree with any moves to legalise discrimination against any person. To stand up for what is right, you have to do exactly that and wed rather do that within the state of North Carolina, rather than from afar. Its our name above the door that night, its our name on the ticket and we see it as our responsibility to ensure that anyone can come and feel safe. The old dudes who made this law are alien to us as we imagine they are to our fans in North Carolina. Were talking with the folks at Cats Cradle and were going to ensure every single one of you is treated with kindness and respect regardless of your gender, creed or sexuality. Our profits from the show will go to Equality North Carolina, who work towards bettering the future for all North Carolinans. On the musical front, the Northern Irish trio are expected to announce details of their third album over the next couple of weeks. A bumper It's Too Late To Stop Now... box-set is due next month Its the motherlode for Van Morrison fans as Legacy announce the release of Its Too Late To Stop Now Volumes II, III, IV & DVD, a monumental collection of previously unreleased material from his historic 1973 tour with the 11-piece Caledonia Soul Orchestra. "I am getting more into performing," said Van Morrison said back in the day. "A lot of times in the past I've done gigs and it was rough to get through them. But now the combination seems to be right and it's been clicking a lot." Dropping on June 10, its been remixed by Guy Massey whos handled previous Beatles and Paul McCartney collections. Also coming soon is a high-resolution edition of Its Too Late To Stop Now Volume I, the celebrated live album that came out in 1974 just a few weeks before Veedon Fleece. Despite the new PR that was issued by Cannabis Science Inc (OTCMKTS:CBIS, CBIS message board) yesterday the stock of the company continued to decline and registered its fourth session in a row of losses. When the closing bell put an end to the trading day the ticker was sitting at $0.0145 for a loss of 6.45%. It seems that investors weren't that thrilled to learn that over 3000 shareholders have requested to receive a "loyalty gift" of shares from CBIS' CEO Raymond C. Dabney. The high number of requests shouldn't be that surprising - after all some investors may have spent years waiting for the dividend that had a record date of December 31, 2010, to be distributed just to learn that not only will there be no such dividend but that FINRA had also refused to approve the second dividend that was proposed by the company. Not to mention that CBIS has still not released in an official PR any information about just how many shares are going to be distributed as gifts and at what ratio. Well, that is not the only vital information that is missing - investors are also waiting for the annual report for 2015 to be submitted. In the notification of late filing CBIS stated that they couldn't to complete the report on time because of "unanticipated delays". Due to the company missing even the extended deadline its OTCMarkets profile page has been stamped with the Pink Limited Information sign. Without any way to get more up-to-date information about the financials of the company investors are left to rely on the results from the quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2015: $4791 cash $138 thousand total current assets $5.1 million total current liabilities $4150 revenue $3.9 million net loss We will leave it up to you to decide whether this balance sheet can justify the current market cap of company of over $18 million. By the end of the week CBIS are supposed to file another PR, in which the schematics for the 360,000 sq. ft. drug development complex in Nevada should be revealed. It remains to be seen if this will be enough to offset the rest of the red flags surrounding the company. To see the headquarters in Google Street View &trade, drag this yellow guy:over to the red pointer: This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Two companies with deep roots in Houston's energy economy on Tuesday laid plans for a future without each other in the uncertain world of oil field services. Halliburton and Baker Hughes have ended a costly 18-month engagement, leaving Baker Hughes to make sweeping changes and Halliburton to pay a $3.5 billion breakup fee. "Halliburton is continuing on the path they've always been on," said Bill Herbert, an analyst at an energy-focused division of investment bank Piper Jaffray. "Baker is trying to reinvent itself. And frankly, it needs to." At Halliburton, the world's second-largest oil services company behind Schlumberger, the breakup fee will take a bite out of the balance sheet, but otherwise executives said they expect to make few changes. The company's red coveralls are a staple in the oil patch, and its workers are considered the best at hydraulic fracturing, or pumping water and sand into shale to unlock oil and gas. Halliburton plans to use that business and its international reach to survive the downturn, then thrive during the recovery. Baker Hughes, however, announced major changes. The No. 3 services contractor will now seek to find the profit it couldn't get through size and scale by specializing in high-tech, high-margin businesses. CEO Martin Craighead said the company will remove its high-pressure pumping business from all but the two most profitable U.S. shale basins. Internationally, Craighead said, the company will seek to sell its equipment to local service contractors rather than maintaining its own infrastructure across the globe. He offered few specifics. "We're getting back to our core, which is innovation," he said during a call with investors on Tuesday. The future of these companies is critical to Houston, where they employ thousands of people. Around the globe, Halliburton employs more than 55,000 and Baker Hughes employs 39,000. Both companies have said they planned to cut workers if the merger failed, and would have almost certainly cut workers if the merger had gone through. The deal that Halliburton and Baker Hughes walked away from was once valued at $35 billion, but when federal regulators sued to block the union, it couldn't be closed on deadline. Halliburton has come out of the deal relatively healthy. Its largest setback is that it won't be able to narrow the gap between the size of its operations and those of industry leader Schlumberger. "If we had been successful, adding the Baker Hughes assets would have given us that scale quickly," Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar said on a Tuesday conference call. "But our strategy has not changed." Analysts expect Halliburton can pay the fee without incurring serious damage to its finances. The company reported it will still have $6.6 billion in liquidity after paying the fee. That's not to say the company hasn't suffered from cheap oil. Halliburton on Tuesday reported a loss of $2.41 billion in the first quarter, including a $2.1 billion non-cash charge primarily for asset impairments and severance costs. It also booked $378 million in charges related to its failed acquisition. Baker Hughes has struggled with low oil prices while the company's very existence sat in limbo. In the first quarter of 2016, Baker Hughes reported that its revenue fell by more than 40 percent to $2.7 billion, down from $4.6 billion in the first quarter of 2015. The company reported a loss of $981 million. About $110 million of its costs in the period were due to the pending merger. On the call with investors, Craighead said the key objective was cutting costs and securing profit margins in the short term. But the company has deep pockets and will be made even richer by the roughly $3 billion in after-tax cash it's due from Halliburton as part of the merger agreement. Baker Hughes has said it plans to use the windfall to buy back $1.5 billion in shares and retire $1 billion in debt. "Baker Hughes has cash, and they've got options," said Rob Desai, an analyst who follows the company for financial services firm Edward Jones. On Tuesday, Baker Hughes executives reiterated that they plan to eliminate $500 million in annual costs by the end of 2016 - industry code for layoffs. The company has already shrunk to about 39,000 employees from a peak of more than 62,000. Those cuts will come initially from divisions where executives had stayed cuts in anticipation of the merger. Additional cuts will come as the company pulls its fracturing crews out of all but the two most active U.S. shale plays. Executives didn't specify which plays, but analysts said they were Texas' Permian and Eagle Ford shales. Baker Hughes' retreat is a major reversal for a company that stormed into shale fracturing in 2009 with a $5.5 billion acquisition of competitor BJ Services Co. The acquisition helped Baker Hughes build one of the five largest U.S. high-pressure pumping businesses, which at the height of the boom accounted for about a third of the company's revenue, said Herbert of Piper Jaffray. But Baker Hughes never quite managed to squeeze as much profit from fracturing as its competitors, Herbert said. It struggled to build the same shipping logistics and efficient equipment that has helped Halliburton keep its fracturing costs low, he said. In the first quarter of 2016, Baker Hughes said its pressure-pumping business was losing market share and struggling to generate more cash than it cost to run. Another drastic shift is coming in Baker Hughes' international oil services business, where Craighead said the company would transform itself from trying to provide a slew of services into specializing in manufacturing some of the hardest-to-make oil equipment. Craighead said Baker Hughes could then sell its technology to local service providers. Rather than a direct competitor in many international markets, Baker Hughes plans to eventually shift toward being a "supplier to a broader set of customers," Craighead said. "That's a dramatic shift, one that you've never heard before from any of the big three service companies." Such a pivot would help Baker Hughes transition away from competing directly with Halliburton and Schlumberger, said Robin Shoemaker, who follows the company for KeyBanc Capital Markets. But it could also leave Baker Hughes working with service providers in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq, where their customers could be less reliable, he said. Local service companies "often have inconsistent performance, they have poor safety records. It's not high quality." Other analysts said they're more interested in hearing details about how Baker Hughes will square with the reality of $45 per barrel oil today than about a strategy shift tomorrow. News / National by Tendai Rupapa A Harare man assaulted his wife for accessing his mobile phone and going through his messages without his permission while he was asleep. Paul Nyambanyo (52) of Kambuzuma arrived home late and his wife, Zvichanzii Chikata, asked her husband to be intimate with her but he refused and retired to bed. This irked Chikata, who then hatched a plan to go through his mobile phone.All hell broke loose when Nyambanyo suddenly woke up and saw his wife busy on his phone. Nyambanyo appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Tendai Mahwe charged with contravening the Domestic Violence Act, "physical abuse".He pleaded guilty to the charge and was ordered to pay $50 fine or risk going to prison for 30 days. Prosecutor Ms Idah Mateke-Maromo proved that on April 25 this year at around 2am, Nyambanyo arrived home and went to their bedroom, where his wife was sleeping.Chikata then asked him to be intimate with her but Nyambanyo refused and retired to bed. This angered Chikata, prompting her to spy on him since she suspected that he was having an affair with another woman.Upon realising that her husband was now asleep, Chikata took his phone and started going through his messages. She noticed that he was having an extra-marital affair with another woman after seeing a conversation between the two.Nyambanyo suddenly woke up and saw Chikata with his phone and this did not go down well with him. He then spit on her face out of anger. Nyambanyo strangled his wife while twisting her hand at the same time in a bid to take his phone from her.He told his wife that she had no right to access his phone without his permission. After the assault, Chikata rushed to the police and made a report, leading to Nyambanyo's arrest. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Texas legislators will study the possibility of attracting cruise lines to South Texas, potentially placing ports there in competition with Galveston. State Rep. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, has been promoting the idea of using South Texas ports for leisure cruising for four or five years, he said. He will co-chair a new joint committee looking into the subject. "I think this will be a great opportunity for a big positive in the South Texas travel tourism market," Hunter said. Hunter said he thinks there's enough demand to sustain more than one major cruise destination in the state. He said a port farther south on the Gulf Coast could draw from South Texas and northern Mexico, in addition to the larger cities like San Antonio and Austin that Galveston draws from. "They're certainly accessible to the same drive-up market as we are," said Michael Mierzwa, director of the Port of Galveston. "I would contend that their air connections are not as good." Galveston has had a lot of success in attracting cruise lines, with major lines continuing to bring more ships there to meet demand. The Port of Galveston is now the nation's fourth-busiest cruise port, and it is enlarging its cruise terminal to accommodate bigger ships. Of potential competition from South Texas, Mierzwa said he was monitoring the developments. "It's certainly something to be concerned about and be aware of," he said. He added that he will gladly talk to legislators about the complexities of attracting cruise lines. Mierzwa said it took a lot of discussion with the cruise lines "to get them even interested in coming to Galveston." An industry report from last year said the cruise industry in Houston and Galveston contributed $1.3 billion in economic impact in 2014, a 5.6 percent increase from the Cruise Lines Internal Association's 2013 estimate. Galveston saw more than 834,000 cruise passengers in 2015, a 30 percent increase from the year before, the port reported. In 2015 cruise ships made 232 calls to Galveston, up from 181 the year before. Houston has found such success elusive. The Port of Houston Authority has struggled to attract ships to its $108 million cruise facility at its Bayport terminal that opened in 2009. The Port Authority commission voted in 2012 to pay Princess and Norwegian a combined $6.7 million to call on Bayport. The contracts, which also waived rent or any docking fees, were meant to kick-start sustained interest in the facility. As of November, the cruise terminal had operated at a $3.3 million loss over the preceding year, the Port Authority said. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, has frequently criticized the cruise project as a boondoggle. He repeated as much when the Port Authority announced last August that it had lost its limited cruise business. "I'm disappointed, but I'm not surprised," he said at the time. " ... No one with common sense would build cruise ship capacity where you have to go inland to pick up your passengers." Forty-eight cruises sailed from Houston last year, but Princess and Norwegian surprised the Port Authority by declining to renew contracts that ended this spring. In a statement announcing Senate appointments to the interim committee last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick cited the "economic vitality of South Texas" and said developing the cruise industry there would "add to Texas' robust tourism and thriving economy." Patrick declined through a spokesman to comment further on Wednesday. A spokesman for Whitmire said the senator would not be available. The committee's goal is to introduce legislation during next year's session, Hunter said. It could be in the form of incentives to attract companies to southern ports, but Hunter said it's too early to say what options the committee might look at. Before the Legislature's last session, Hunter said a similar committee was established but did not have enough time to take legislative action. Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, Brownsville and South Padre Island, Point Comfort and Port Lavaca are all spots the committee will consider, Hunter said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America is expanding its presence in Houston, announcing Tuesday that it has moved its corporate headquarters and 40 employees to Greenway Plaza from New York. The company, which oversees Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group's North American operations, already has 6,600 U.S. employees, including 1,200 in Texas. Local ventures include a $75 million manufacturing plant in Pearland, as well as the Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift and aircraft business in the Dallas area, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries spokesman Daniel Lochmann said. MHI announced its completed move Tuesday during a reception at Rice University that was attended by Gov. Greg Abbott. In a statement, MHI President and CEO Shunichi Miyanaga said Houston, as a hub for many of the company's customers, will be the focal point for expanding the company's North America presence. "As a city with a heavy concentration of cutting-edge industries, Houston holds great promise as a key driver of America's economic development long into the future," Miyanaga said. "This is a long-term move," added Lochmann, referring to the oil and gas downturn. "Obviously, there are ups and downs in the market, but in the long term it makes the most logical move for us to be here where all the oil and gas exists for America." MHI America began in 1979. From the local office, the company will run MHI Group chemical plants, transportation systems and other operations in 100 locations in 30 states. The federal government's top offshore drilling regulator warned oil drillers in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday not to let the current downturn in commodity prices affect their maintenance of drilling rigs and other equipment. "We all know the offshore environment carries inherent risks," said Brian Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. "We also know the current economic times have placed a lot of stress on the industry. We do not want to see incidents increase because of deferred maintenance." Salerno's comments at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston came as his agency released data showing 206 reported worker injuries across all U.S. offshore leases last year, ending a three-year spike in accidents. There were also 105 fires and three losses of well control - none of which were major, Salerno said. "Overall, we can characterize the data as trending in the right direction," he said. The safety of drilling thousands of feet below the ocean's surface has come under increased scrutiny since 2010 when the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded, spilling an estimated 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf. Last month, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement released its long-awaited response to the spill, a lengthy set of rules on everything from blowout preventers to drilling pressure. Industry officials have been critical of the rule, describing it as lacking flexibility and likely to cost companies hundreds of billions of dollars. That criticism continued Tuesday when American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard called on the winner of November's presidential election to avoid increasing regulations on a struggling domestic oil and gas industry. 'Please don't hinder' "If you can't assist, please don't hinder our industry's ability to produce, refine and store the energy our nation and the world needs," he said. "In spite of our industry's record of safe operations and leadership, we have to contend with policies that seem determined to undermine the progress our nation has made to become a global energy leader through rules and regulations that stifle domestic energy production." Last year, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement performed more than 20,000 inspections of oil and gas facilities, issuing more than 2,000 citations for non-compliance with federal rules. Fears of corrosion A growing area of concern within the agency are the metal bolts used to hold together drilling equipment under the surface of the ocean. Due to corrosion, the bolts are failing faster than anticipated. Federal officials are in discussions with the bolts' manufacturers, along with oil and gas companies in the Gulf, to try to find out why. But so far, no definitive answers have been found, said Douglas Morris, chief of offshore regulatory programs atthe Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. "We've seen a pattern for all three major equipment manufacturers," he said at a news conference. "The industry is trying to figure out a solution." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate This story profiles one of the Offshore Technology Conference's Spotlight on New Technology Award winners. When moving heavy loads from ship to an offshore installation, even small motions of a vessel can have big consequences. Barge Master, a Dutch company with 20 employees, has found a way to compensate for those movements in the heaviest of seas. Barge Master is the smallest company to win a Spotlight on New Technology award. Its BM-T40 motion-compensated crane stands on hydraulic cylinder legs that respond individually to the movement of its host vessel, allowing it to lift up to 40 tons in seas with 15- to 20-foot waves. This represents a significant breakthrough, particularly for waters like the raucous North Sea, where Barge Master does a lot of its business. "The T40 enables the ship to work more than 90 percent of the year," says Eelko May, Barge Master's technical director. "Other vessels can be limited to 50 to 60 percent. Sometimes these lifting operations are not possible at all." The T40 follows a much larger predecessor introduced in 2009, the T700, capable of loads up to 700 tons and used primarily during construction of offshore installations. Barge Master started work on the T40 in 2013 after Shell requested a smaller version for maintenance, major repairs and restarts. Traditionally, operators build a crane into each rig for the heavy lifting. With one T40 on one vessel, Barge Master can service 15 platforms, saving tens of millions of dollars in crane installation and maintenance costs. The industry is stripping down satellite platforms of all extraneous equipment and personnel, and moving all vital systems and equipment to one central platform. May says that in the future, most platforms will not have a helicopter deck and a crane. Instead, work will be done from support vessels. The T40 can be installed on any ship. The motion compensation technology, which is more robust than the original T700, uses inclinometers to measure the motion of the ship, so if the bow pitches down, the hydraulic cylinder legs of the crane extend to compensate, keeping the load steady. The inclinometer is installed in triplicate, for added redundancy. "It's very important that the system always works," May says. "You can imagine if the crane starts to move with the ship." This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Wind power is typically used to decrease reliance on fossil fuels, but a new study shows that it could help produce more oil and gas at lower costs. DNV GL, a Norwegian consulting firm, on Tuesday unveiled the results of a study of 6-megawatt floating turbines used to power water injection for offshore oil and gas wells in the North Sea. DNV, which released its finding at the Offshore Technology Conference, found that using wind power was not only environmentally sound, but also cut the cost of production by about $3 a barrel. DNV executives said at they believe the technology is transferable to the Gulf of Mexico and even to onshore Texas oil fields that have nearby wind farms. Texas leads the U.S. in oil production and wind power. DNV's presentation was among a growing number of renewable and energy efficiency projects touted at the NRG Part as way to help with oil and gas production. DNV Group President and CEO Remi Eriksen acknowledged the irony of renewable technologies helping produce more oil, but he said the focus is on creating projects that benefit both the wind and oil and gas sectors. The study was dubbed "Win Win." "For the renewable industry, you can say, 'Well, why should we power the dirty part of the industry?' " Eriksen said. "But this is really a very good test, where there is a commercial (wind) operation with no subsidies involved. It really makes economic sense." It also makes environmental sense, he said, by replacing fossil fuel-powered pumping systems and reducing the carbon footprint of producing oil and gas. "It will be a greening of oil and gas as well," Eriksen said. Statoil, the Norwegian energy company that owns and operates the floating turbines, launched the first one in 2009. Statoil said it has reduced project costs by more than 60 percent since then and plans to spend roughly $235 million to install a 30-megawatt wind farm on five floating turbine structures offshore of Peterhead, Scotland in 2017. Each floating wind turbine, with a capacity of 6 megawatts, would have an electrical micro-grid system and an autonomous pumping system to collect, treat and inject water for oil production. No more than one turbine is needed for each injection well, said Johan Sandberg, DNV segment leader for floating wind turbines. The project would cost less to set up than current well-injection systems but cost a little more to operate. Overall, it could create savings of up to 20 percent, or about $3 a barrel produced, Sandberg said. He added that Statoil could eventually bring the technology to the United States. "There's a lot of potential in the Gulf of Mexico," Sandberg said, for both wind-powered oil recovery and for traditional offshore wind farms The projects are only economical up to depths of about 3,300 feet, or 1,000 meters, because the moorings costs more in ultra-deep environments, he said, at least until the technology advances. In a prepared statement, Exxon Mobil, which helped fund the DNV study, said it is intrigued by niche opportunities for wind such as offshore oil production. Other companies touted wind technologies at OTC as well. For instance, the Netherlands-based SMB Offshore primarily provides floating production, storage and offloading vessels. But SMB this week also is showcasing its new efforts to lead offshore wind farm projects. The Kelsey-Seybold Clinic board of managers named Dr. Tony Lin its new chairman of the board, the leadership position in charge of the daily operations of the clinic. He will succeed Dr. Spencer Berthelsen, who will remain with the clinic as managing director until he retires in March 2017. Lin, an internal medicine physician specializing in hospital care, joined Kelsey-Seybold in 1993 and served as chief of internal medicine for 15 years. He was appointed the chairman designate in 2011, and over the past five years, has worked closely with Berthelsen to plan the transition. "I have no doubt that the future will see Kelsey-Seybold's continued growth and that this organization will lead innovations to improve the quality of care and manage total medical costs under Dr. Lin's leadership," Berthelsen said in a statement Wednesday announcing the move. Berthelsen had held the top position for the maximum-allowed three five-year terms. Under his leadership, in 2012, the clinic was named the first accredited accountable care organization in the U.S. by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. An accountable care organization is an emerging model of health care delivery in which organizations strive to maintain the health of their patients, rather than merely treating them once they get sick. "His big picture perspective and the way in which he conducts business, calmly and always respectfully, were key to the successes he championed for the organization," Lin said. "I plan to espouse the same values and character fostering a spirit of innovation amongst our leadership team." Lin grew up and attended public schools in Houston. He graduated from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his residency training in internal medicine in Houston hospitals. Kelsey-Seybold employs more than 430 doctors and other health care providers at 20 location in the Greater Houston area. GALVESTON The time to build an "Ike Dike" to protect the upper Texas Gulf Coast from storms like Hurricane Ike would be shortened under a bill filed by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. A study completed in March estimated that it could take as long as two decades and cost $7.9 billion to $11 billion to build a system to protect the counties of Harris, Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers, Jefferson and Orange. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Every time Tres Davis drives over the cracks in the streets of North Richmond, he remembers why he's fighting for change. There are few sidewalks or streetlights in the historically black neighborhood. Residents live in crumbling, piecemeal homes or aging trailers. The Brazos River encloses North Richmond on three sides. On the fourth side is a railroad track. When a train comes by - as one does every 18 minutes - there isn't a convenient way out of the neighborhood. Davis' campaign for an open city commissioner's seat - and to expand the local elected board and change how members are elected - illustrates a broader quest across Texas for greater minority representation in once-rural towns that are now fast-growing suburbs, where whites are now in the minority but continue their hold on political power. At 55 percent Hispanic, 25 percent white and 17 percent African-American, Richmond not only fits that mold, but serves as the seat of government in Fort Bend County, one of the fastest-growing and most-diverse counties in the United States. "The fact that Fort Bend County and Richmond in particular are diversifying so quickly demonstrates the need for racial inclusion for groups who historically haven't had as much say," said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston. Davis, who is African-American, figures his election to an open city commissioner's seat would immediately increase minority representation. He is seeking to fill the seat vacated by a white commissioner who recently died. That would give Richmond an African-American and a Hispanic on its two-member commission, along with a white mayor and city manager. Davis also is backing two propositions that aim to make the city's elected board more inclusive and responsive to the needs of low-income minority residents. Proposition 1 would increase the number of city commissioners from two to four. Proposition 2 would have city commissioners elected from single-member districts, instead of at large. Davis, an elementary school teacher in the Alvin Independent School District, has lived in Richmond for a decade, in a development about 3 miles away from North Richmond. He said he spends time in North Richmond because it reminds him of his hometown outside Austin. He also worked at an elementary school in the community for several years. When Davis moved in, he was shocked by how provincial the city's government was, despite being about 30 miles from downtown Houston. Hilmar Moore, who was mayor from 1949 until his death in 2012, kept the government small. Richmond's form of government - with a strong city manager who conducts the daily operations of the city, under the watch of its elected officials - is common. But it is likely the only city with its own charter that has just two commissioners, said Bennett Sandlin, executive director of the Texas Municipal League. Most cities of Richmond's size have four to six commissioners, Sandlin added. Voters in nearby Fulshear, which is nearing 8,000 residents, are weighing a proposed charter calling for seven city council members, five of whom would be elected by single-member districts. A citizens' committee responsible for writing Richmond's charter, which was implemented in 2013, purposely didn't increase the number of elected officials. The consensus was that the mayor and city commissioners wouldn't approve a charter if they did, said Barry Beard, a member of that committee who is now running for commissioner. Seeking representation Evalyn Moore, who succeeded her husband as mayor after his death and then was elected in 2014, said he strived to ensure minority representation in city government. But with only two commissioners, there were limited opportunities. In its history, Richmond has had only one African-American commissioner and three Hispanic commissioners. They include Jesse Torres, a sitting commissioner from North Richmond. After a recent city council meeting, Torres acknowledged that he struggles to represent the interests of North Richmond residents on the deadlocked council, given that he and the mayor don't always see eye to eye. The open seat was created by the death of Commissioner Glen Gilmore, who lived across the street from the Moores in an upscale neighborhood. As Richmond's city manager for 20 years prior to his election, Gilmore worked closely with Hilmar Moore. Trying to get either Moore or Gilmore to vote with him on issues he cared about was a challenge, Torres said. Moore and Torres were unable to agree on a replacement for Gilmore despite a city-charter requirement that they do so within 30 days of a vacancy. So voters likely will decide on Saturday. Torres faces legal troubles of his own. The former Lamar CISD trustee was indicted in March on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and other offenses arising from a corruption scandal involving the Lamar CISD. Torres' attorney has denied any wrongdoing. His term runs through 2018. Increasing the number of commissioners would provide more opportunities for people from different communities to be elected, said Rottinghaus. Single-member districts also increase minority representation. Beard said he opposes single-member districts at this time, saying they can lead to more squabbling over resources. Davis got both propositions on the ballot through petitions. Moore won't say publicly what she thinks of Davis' proposed propositions. Beard and the other commissioner candidate, Carlos Garcia, back expanding the board's size. Garcia is in favor of single-member districts. Davis, however, has gotten pushback for what some consider the haphazard way in which he's tried to change Richmond. He unsuccessfully ran for city commissioner against Torres in 2015. Too many petitions? Davis got another petition signed that had an early-voting location open during the weekend in Richmond, costing the city an estimated $800, despite a county location just a few miles away, City Manager Terri Vela said. Davis submitted four other petitions to the city to review. He didn't circulate any others for signatures, but his tactic prompted a citizen committee tasked with reviewing Richmond's charter to recommend two other propositions that are on the ballot Saturday. The measures would likely increase the number of signatures required for petitions like Davis' to get on the ballot. "It just appeared ... some individuals were trying to run the city through the petition process," said committee chair Michael Scherer. Moore insisted that the city has not ignored North Richmond. An interlocal agreement with the county is in the works to build an overpass over the railroad tracks as part of a road project that would make it easier to leave the neighborhood, said Vela, the city manager. The city spends about $250,000 of grant money every year on North Richmond's infrastructure. The city's Building and Standards Commission has been identifying dangerous homes that must be improved or removed, Vela added. Still, North Richmond residents continue to live in a neighborhood without a major grocery store and along streets where broken furniture and chipped porcelain toilets sit outside houses overrun with bougainvillea, where the sound of a train whistle signals further isolation. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A disgruntled worker shot and killed a supervisor and then committed suicide Wednesday morning at a trucking company in west Harris County. The gunfire broke out about 8:45 a.m. at Knight Transportation, 20400 Franz Road, across the street from Morton Ranch High School in the Katy area, according to the Harris County Sheriff's Office. A local worker who had been recently terminated from the Phoenix-based company drove to the business, parked in front, walked inside with a shotgun and pistol and opened fire, said Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman. A company employee who saw the gunman entering the building told investigators the shooter said, "You' all ruined my life," said Ralph Gonzales of the Harris County Sheriff's Office. It was not known if the man was speaking to anyone in particular. Hickman said a supervisor was wounded and died. The shooter then turned the gun on himself. Two other employees at the business were injured, one of them by a piece of debris during the gunfire. Details of the injuries and condition of the other injured person were not released. Officials at the company said it is suspending all work at the facility and providing counselors to employees. In a statement Knight Transportation said: "Our deepest sympathies are with the family during this difficult time." They also confirmed the gunman was a former worker, saying the shooting "was the action of a lone former employee, who also died as a result of today's events." "We appreciate the quick response of authorities and are closely monitoring the situation," the statement said. "Knight is doing everything possible to ensure the safety of all of its employees. Counselors will be on site to support our employees. We have suspended all work at our Katy facility pending completion of the investigation." The statement didn't include information about the gunman or the victim, whose names haven't been released. A deputy was hurt when he banged his knee as he went into the building. It appears only the shotgun was used in the shooting. The pistol, it appears, was not fired. The Harris County Sheriff's Office High Risk Operations Unit searched the building to make sure no other victims or shooters were inside. Hickman said no information about the gunman was available. All he knew was that the man had been terminated from the company. He did not know how long the man had worked at the firm. It was not known if the supervisor who died was the one who fired the man. Morton Ranch High, Morton Ranch Junior High and Morton Ranch Elementary schools along with Franz Elementary School were placed on lockdown after the shooting as a precaution, said officials with the Katy Independent School District. The lockdown at each campus was later lifted. Knight Transportation is one of the largest trucking companies in the country, with more than $1 billion in annual revenue and roughly 5,000 employees in 20 states. Chronicle reporters Sebastian Herrera and Dug Begley contributed to this article. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Many of us are familiar with the Texas law that requires ordinary citizens to report suspected child abuse. And we know there's a higher standard for teachers, doctors and other professionals, who must report it within 48 hours. Failure to do so is a Class A misdemeanor. One would assume that the state agency whose primary mission is to protect children would be duty-bound as well. That was a lingering question - for me and for readers - after Sunday's column describing a Child Protective Services supervisor's apparent handling of a horrific accusation. "If the child was in my office making an outcry that the 3-year-old made to us and I reported that to CPS, it would be actionable immediately," Angela Sugarek told me in our first interview. "There would be no question. But if a child in our home who is our foster child says the same things, then it's completely dismissed." Sugarek, the principal at Hogg Middle School, and her wife, HISD elementary science teacher Carol Jeffery, were fostering a 3-year-old child, with plans to adopt, when they began to suspect he had been sexually abused by a teen sibling, also in foster care, whom he was required to visit. Sugarek and Jeffery, both of Houston, say they asked CPS staff in Wharton County, which was handling the case, to investigate the teen, but their concerns were ignored. At one point, Jeffery said, a CPS supervisor told her not to report anything unless she saw abuse with her own eyes. Last month, the 3-year-old attended an adoption fair with a CPS caseworker. His 4-year-old brother and the teen sibling were there. The youngest came back acting strangely, and his foster mothers discovered an anal injury. They reported it to CPS, and the agency responded by taking both younger boys away from Sugarek and Jeffery, who had raised them for six months, and placing them in another home. The CPS supervisor has not responded to questions. Patrick Crimmins, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, said he couldn't comment on the case, citing privacy, but he said the agency is investigating the sexual assault allegation, and it's customary during such investigations to relocate children. Is reporting optional? The attorneys I spoke with Tuesday said CPS staffers are not exempt from the reporting requirement. "You can't just sit back and say, 'I don't really believe it, so I'm just going to let it go,' " said former prosecutor and current criminal defense attorney JoAnne Musick, president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association. "That's not an option, especially when you talk about sexual assault," Musick said. "The penalties for not reporting sexual assault are even greater." Interestingly, while CPS had a duty to report suspected abuse, the agency isn't required by statute to investigate an allegation of "child abuse or neglect by a person other than a person responsible for a child's care, custody, or welfare." A big brother wouldn't qualify. But, Musick and others said, the CPS supervisor and other caseworkers had a responsibility to refer it to a law enforcement agency. Failure to do so may merit a criminal investigation, but Musick and former prosecutor Shirley Cornelius said it would be highly unlikely for a district attorney to charge a CPS staffer for that or the more serious crime of child endangerment. In the end, there may be little accountability for CPS staffers who failed to act. But both attorneys suggested there was another way to blow the whistle on suspected abuse. Sugarek and Jeffery could have called the Texas Abuse/Neglect Hotline: 1-800-252-5400. It seemed strange to me that foster parents dealing with CPS would have to turn to a hotline for action. But the attorneys say they know CPS caseworkers who use the hotline when they don't believe an allegation is being handled properly by a colleague. "You kind of think, 'God, that's ridiculous. It's just one more layer of craziness at CPS.' But it's kind of good in a way," said Cornelius, a prosecutor for 27 years. She said the call documents the report, complete with a confirmation number, and triggers an investigation. Reports also can be made at www.TxAbuseHotline.org. How to make a report Another option for anyone concerned about CPS' handling of a case is to complain to the DFPS Consumer Affairs Office at 1-800-720-7777. According to family-law attorney Thuy Le, Sunday's column suggests CPS' handling of the boys' case violated No. 1 on DFPS' list of "Rights of Children and Youth in Foster Care." "I am protected from harm, treated with respect ..." it reads. The foster mothers in this case did everything they knew of to protect the children in their care, but CPS appears to have failed those kids in the most fundamental way. That failure should be a cautionary tale as federally appointed special masters and former Texas Ranger Henry "Hank" Whitman seek to overhaul the agency. Bottom line: None of us is exempt from the duty to report child abuse, least of all the agency created to protect children. News / National by Staff Reporters THERE was a mixed response on the inaugural National Pledge recital yesterday with government schools reciting it while most private schools did not embrace it. At government schools, some parents brought presents for their children as recommended by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education. In Bulawayo, pupils at government and council schools recited the pledge.At Baines Primary School less than 20 parents turned up with most saying they could not afford to buy presents. At Mckeurtan Primary School pupils by 7AM had gathered at the assembly point to recite the National Pledge, which the government says will foster national pride and patriotism.Parents who were part of the gathering cheered their children as they went through their recitals before presenting them with gifts. At Newmansford Primary in Queens Park West, pupils recited the pledge one-by-one although there were no presents from the parents.At Bulawayo Adventist High School, the pledge was not recited. Parents dropped off their children who went straight to their classrooms. In Gwanda, mostly government schools complied with the ministry's directive to recite the pledge although some parents delayed taking their children to school so that they do not participate.St Christopher Primary School, Gwanda High School, Gwanda Government School, Jahunda Primary School and Mt Cazalet Primary School are among the schools that recited the National Pledge.A parent with a child at St Christopher Primary School, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he found nothing amiss with his child reciting the pledge. "It's derived from our Constitution which is the Supreme law of the land," he said.In Gweru, there was no recital of the pledge at private schools. Private schools such as Midlands Christian College (MCC), Anderson Adventist School as well as private colleges did not recite the pledge. At the Catholic-run Regina Mundi Girls High, girls proudly recited the pledge after the national anthem as a few parents and teachers watched.In Victoria Falls, while most schools recited the national pledge, those at Mkhosana Seventh Day Adventist did not.Their counterparts at the Catholic-run St Josephine Bhakitha in the same suburb, Chamabondo, Chinotimba and Mosi-oa-Tunya High School together with private schools such as Dadani College and Lulu Educational Academy recited the pledge.In Masvingo, all government schools took heed of the government directive. Parents did not turn up at most schools but the pledge was recited at Hellen McGhie Primary School, Victoria Junior, Mucheke High, Ndarama High, Runyararo Primary, Dikwindi, Rujeko, Shakashe Primary Schools, Masvingo Secondary and Primary and Victoria High School.The pledge is contained in the new curriculum framework adopted by Cabinet on September 22 last year. Infant pupils are reciting the following pledge of allegiance: "Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag, I commit to honesty and dignity of hard work."For junior and secondary schools, the pledge says: "Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, I salute the national flag. United in our diversity by our common desire for freedom, justice and equality. Respecting the brave fathers and mothers who lost lives in the Chimurenga/ Umvukela and national liberation struggles."We are proud inheritors of the richness of our natural resources. We are proud creators and participants in our vibrant traditions and cultures. We commit to honesty and the dignity of hard work".David Hofisi of the ZLHR, on behalf of a Harare man (name withheld for professional reasons), is contesting the constitutionality of the requirement. The National Pledge, according to the father of three school-going children who is behind the challenge, is unconstitutional and against his religious beliefs.He does not want his children to recite the pledge. The man, who is a member of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFM), argued that the National Pledge is a prayer which exalts various secular phenomena including the national flag, mothers and fathers who lost their lives in the liberation struggle.This, he said, is not his understanding of prayer shared by his faith, which reserved worship to God alone. He contends that the National Pledge is offensive to his religious convictions and thus befouls various sections of the supreme law of the country. The Constitutional Court is expected to hear arguments on the matter before the end of June. Luca wanted to know if her deceased mother would grow angel wings. Mohammed, a 10-year-old Syrian boy attending a Jesuit school for refugees, wanted to know if "the world will be again as it was in the past." Prajla wanted to know if the pope, as a child, enjoyed dancing. The questions came from kids, 6 to 13 years old, from around the world. The answers came from Pope Francis, and were collected in the pontiff's first book for children, "Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Questions from Children Around the World." The book featuring 30 questions collected by Jesuits -- Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pope -- was a project of Chicago-based Loyola Press, which is a Jesuit ministry. "At first we got a lot of questions along the lines of, 'Do you like being pope? Is it fun driving the popemobile?' said Tom McGrath, the book's U.S. editor. "We wanted the letters to be unprompted as possible, but we went back and asked for more questions about God and life." More than 250 letters from 29 countries and 14 languages poured into the publisher's editorial offices. The pope responded to the selected questions, which were accompanied by photos of and drawings by the children, with recorded replies. The answers were edited for clarity in translation, but not for length. In response to Luca's question, Pope Francis told the 7-year-old Australian child that her mother would not sprout wings. "No! No! No!" he said. "She is still your mom, the person you know, but she is more radiant than ever." To Mohammed, the pope replied, "When the time comes, the world will not be as it was. It will be far better than it was in the past." And to Prajla, a 6-year-old from Albania, he said, "As a young man I liked to dance the tango. You know, dancing expresses joy and happiness...Even the great King David danced." "The pope is generous, open-hearted and warm," said Loyola Press publisher the Rev. Paul Campbell, "and that just shines through this book." The book was released in March in English and Spanish editions. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate City Council is poised Wednesday to authorize a widely criticized contract that would spend as much as $6 million to replace the fire department's supply of defibrillators, in the face of concerns that the costly devices that were not put out for competitive bidding. The agreement with Washington-based Physio-Control comes to council six months after the city issued an emergency purchase order for 300 automated external defibrillators and 100 more expensive devices known as monitor defibrillators, which can serve as temporary pacemakers and allow paramedics to monitor patients' vital signs and transmit electrocardiograms to hospitals. Physio-Control was set to stop servicing the city's supply of monitor defibrillators next year. Mayor Sylvester Turner last week criticized the procurement process but noted that the city would have to pay, since the fire department already was in possession of many of the devices. "There are rules in place to make sure this process doesn't happen again, but we already have the defibrillators," Turner said. "We owe them the money. We are going to have to pay the bill." The city did not seek competitive bids under a clause in state law exempting municipalities from doing so when the purchase "is necessary to preserve or protect the public health or safety." The ordinance set for a vote Wednesday would appropriate $4.4 million from the fire and public works departments while authorizing future spending for a maximum contract cost of $5.9 million. Councilman Steve Le questioned the price of the devices - about $2,200 apiece for the AEDs and $36,000 for each of the monitor defibrillators - while Councilman Jack Christie warned against deals that guarantee a sole maintenance provider. "It's something that you can't vote against, but just be cautious of the negotiations when you have a single provider," Christie said at council last week. The Houston Fire Department received 100 new monitor defibrillators in January but has yet to secure the 300 AEDs authorized under the contract, said David Almaguer, assistant chief of Emergency Medical Services. A cheaper option? The department currently is using more than 250 AEDs on loan at no cost from Zoll, a Massachusetts firm conducting a medical study. That study ended recently, however, prompting Zoll to offer the city two choices, Zoll CEO Jonathan Rennert said: buy the devices for roughly $400,000 or return them.That equates to about $1,600 per device, $600 less than Physio-Control's AEDs. Rennert said the city never responded to Zoll's quote. "It does strike us as highly unusual that the city is going to pay abovemarket prices for competitors' equipment without going through a formal bidding process," Rennert said. Asked why the city did not opt to purchase Zoll's AEDs, Turner spokeswoman Janice Evans said the new units come with a three-year warranty, replacement parts, annual inspection and other associated services. "Procurement of the AEDs and defibrillator devices from the same manufacturer allows for seamless communication between the devices, HFD and all local hospitals," she added in an email. Almaguer said the city intends to return Zoll's devices once it receives replacement AEDs from Physio-Control. Though Evans said the deadline to do so passed in late March, Rennert said the company was "willing to work with the city." "We understand that it's life-saving equipment," Rennert said. "Certainly we would never demand our equipment back and leave them with nothing to use." The city already was using an older model of Physio-Control's monitor defibrillators, and moving away from the brand would result in the loss of historical data and personnel retraining costs of $200,000 to $250,000, Evans said. Changes possible Physio-Control's newer machine scored higher than other devices, including Zoll's comparable model, during a nine-week field evaluation conducted by the fire department. Mairead Smith of ECRI Institute, a nonprofit medical-device research organization, said the monitor defibrillator the city is seeking to purchase from Physio-Control received three out of five stars in an ECRI evaluation five years ago and was popular among EMS users. Asked if the city changed any procurement policies as a result of the Physio-Control contract or intended to do so, Evans said the new chief procurement officer, John Gillespie, might recommend changes, but she did not give any specifics. Physio-Control did not respond to a request for comment. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Sen. Ted Cruz's sudden exit from the GOP presidential race Tuesday night in Indiana caught his supporters off guard. Many of them clearly understood that he was putting everything his campaign had left into winning the state. Earlier Tuesday, as voters were going to the polls, his campaign advertised rallies on Wednesday in Nebraska and Washington, two states with upcoming primaries where Cruz was thought to have a chance to win. RELATED: Cruz exits race after Trump's Indiana win What changed was the magnitude of Trump's victory in Indiana, a conservative Midwestern state that was supposed to be "favorable" ground for Cruz, as had been Wisconsin, Cruz's last primary victory. But the bounce from Wisconsin was short-lived, followed by resounding defeats in New York - Trump's home state - and five other northeastern states. Had he chosen to fight on, the delegate count could have given him at least reason for doing so, arguing that Trump, even with his delegate haul from Indiana, still had not clinched the 1,237-delegate majority to lock down the GOP nomination. RELATED: Ted Cruz: 'We are headed to a contested convention' There was, however, more to consider than the delegate tally. Instead of watching the polls narrow after Wisconsin, Cruz was seeing polls widen in Trump's favor across the country, particularly in California, the last and largest delegate bonanza in the GOP race, on June 7. Even at home the news was looking worse for Cruz. Among Texas Republicans, who Cruz won over by a comfortable margin on March 1, a new poll commissioned by the Texas Bipartisan Justice Committee showed Trump leading with 45 percent compared to 40 percent for Cruz. That Trump momentum would have made it increasingly hard for Cruz to enter the national convention short-handed with the hope of turning Trump delegates in his favor - the only strategy he had left since New York, when it became mathematically impossible to reach the magic number of delegates before the convention. RELATED: After N.Y. loss, Cruz officially aims at long slog to contested convention From the beginning, strategists credited Cruz with a shrewd understanding of the 2016 GOP landscape. While party heavyweights like Jeb Bush seemed to corner the insider market, Cruz understood that the party base was looking for an outsider. Cruz would occupy that outside "lane" and force a showdown with an insider establishment candidate like Bush. What he didn't see over his shoulder was Trump coming up behind him, taking over that outsider lane. Cruz tried a brief alliance of convenience, hoping Trump would fade on his own. But eventually he had to engage in the "cage match" with Trump he had hoped to avoid. He lost. RELATED: Ted Cruz: 'We lose our country' if Donald Trump is GOP nominee "Cruz knows that you've got to be able to have money and momentum," said Matt Mackowiak, an Austin-based GOP consultant. "He knew it wasn't going to happen. He knew it was going to get worse after tonight." Indiana had widely been described as a "last stand" for the Cruz campaign. A victory there only would have stopped Trump from certain domination. It would not have opened up an easy path to the nomination. Still, Cruz is likely to remain a major conservative player in the GOP, despite his unpopularity in Congress and within the party establishment. He commands an active faithful following, and he's worked intently toward his presidential ambitions for almost 30 years. He'll be back, but not as an outsider. Soon he'll turn to his 2018 Senate campaign, and then 2020 is not far off. RELATED: Cruz laid out presidential plan with striking precision at 17 Cruz kicked off the presidential election last March on a novel platform of challenging his own party's so-called establishment. It seemed like a long shot, but Cruz was ahead of his time, and he brazenly defied media expectations to become the long-standing runner-up in the GOP primary. "He was really well-positioned to be the outsider candidate this cycle, then Trump came in and screwed that up," Mackowiak said. Most experts blame his failure on a very narrow appeal to evangelical Christians and conservative stalwarts. He positioned himself on the extreme right and was detested by many of his Senate colleagues. But Cruz was a brilliant lawyer and assembled an outstanding campaign with high technology and innovative social media tactics. "That's going to be a prototype for students of campaigns to look at for a long time," said Jerry Pollinard, a veteran political scientist at the University of Texas Panamerican. RELATED: Cruz's spending tactics take modern twist The operation caught Trump off guard in Iowa, the nation's first caucus, where Cruz came in first. He'd mobilized an unprecedented grassroots effort there, with dormitories for volunteers from across the country. Observers wondered if Cruz's command of the evangelical vote could carry him through the election. But when a round of typically evangelical Deep South states voted on Super Tuesday and mostly leaned toward Trump, Cruz's grip on that electorate slipped. RELATED: Trump surprises with evangelical endorsement Though Cruz's narrow appeal may have hindered his campaign, he outlasted and outpolled the supposedly broad-based moderate candidates, Bush, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, among them. On Tuesday, Cruz fell to the same force as his rivals before him: Trump. "I think it was hard for any of the candidates to overcome the extraordinary amount of free media that Trump has gotten from the press," said Erick Erickson, a prominent conservative and a leader in the #NeverTrump effort. Cruz described himself as the one true conservative in the race. But in the end he couldn't compete with Trump's popularity with working-class whites, especially men, and his frequent outrageousness. The Houston Police Department is shuttering a highly praised investigative unit focused on nonlethal crimes in a bid to reduce response times and increase police visibility throughout the city. Critics called the closure of the Investigative First Responders Division a short-sighted move that could mean fewer solved cases of burglary, theft, assault and domestic violence and eliminate an important training ground for promising investigators. The move comes as city officials battle a $160 million budget deficit amid calls from Mayor Sylvester Turner and his transition team for more police officers on patrol, better non-emergency response times and improved clearance rates for burglary and theft. The division should be closed by July 1 "to make good on a promise to our citizens to add more officers to respond to service calls," Acting Chief Martha Montalvo said in an emailed statement. The division's 70 officers will be moved into patrol positions, along with about 100 others from administrative positions in patrol, uniform/supply and special operations. Overall, the changes will mean four more patrol officers per shift available at each of the 14 police stations across the city. "Not that these individuals haven't done a great job, it's just that I need more visibility in terms of responding to calls for services, visibility in providing services," Montalvo said this week in speaking to a neighborhood political group. "We are now transitioning." The police department has seen its staffing shrink in the past two years, from 5,400 officers and 1,300 civilian staff to the current 5,200 officers and 1,100 civilians, Montalvo said. About a third of the uniformed staff is eligible for retirement. Lower-priority crimes Created in 2009 following a two-year pilot program, the IFR Division was a hybrid patrol-investigative division, in which uniformed patrol officers continued to investigate the calls to which they initially responded. The calls were typically crimes that investigative units would have given lower priority, such as less-serious assault, theft, or domestic violence cases. The division had been part of a philosophy by the department to create a career path for investigators and fight crime more effectively with a smaller force. It was designed to free up senior investigators to tackle more complex cases. The division handled 6,562 cases in 2011, clearing 5,085 of them, or about 77 percent. Last year, the division's investigators handled 5,145 cases and cleared just over 3,000, or about 60 percent. Officials attribute the decline in the clearance rate to the unit investigators tackling more complex cases as they became more experienced, said HPD spokeswoman Jodi Silva. As a candidate for mayor, Turner pushed for the hiring of hundreds more officers. Since assuming office, he has pushed for an additional academy class, which would provide the department with an additional 100 officers. Still, critics argued that the shuffling of staff is a hollow move aimed at addressing image problems while providing little overall benefit toward fighting crime in the city. "If the mayor's priority is to increase visibility on the street, then he may accomplish that," said former Houston Police Chief Charles A. McClelland, whose tenure from 2009-2015 was marked by controversy over revelations that tens of thousands of burglaries and other crimes were not being investigated because of insufficient manpower. "But again, investigative first responders are uniformed officers driving a marked car ... and they're available to respond to the highest emergency calls." It also ignores the fact that police officers mostly respond to crimes that have already occurred, he said. "Only 5 percent are in-progress calls," he said. "In the overwhelming majority, the crime has already occurred.... Now, it does make people feel better, from a customer service standpoint." Houston Police Officers' Union President Ray Hunt has long argued the department is understaffed by as many as 1,500 officers. "We oppose any abolishment of a complete division that we believe was productive," Hunt said. "However, it's not like we're going to lose productivity It just means you're going to beef up patrol and beef down investigation of burglaries. The focus for right now for this mayor and this chief ... is getting people to the streets and getting those calls for service answered. "It may be a little longer for your case to get worked, but your initial response is going to be quicker," he said. "So it's just shifting the manpower." Widespread praise The division has drawn praise from experts, academics and law enforcement officials as an innovative approach to crime-fighting that helped build up the department's skilled investigative ranks. Former City Councilmember Ed Gonzalez, who chaired the council's Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security and was among the first sergeants to help staff the new division, said he was "saddened" by the news HPD was shutting it down. "Sometimes there are very limited openings in investigative divisions; part of it was a way to groom younger talent, provide incentives to officers to perfect their craft, get hands on cases they could work more proactively," he said. "Traditionally, what happens, if you're a patrol officer, you knock out a report and it goes to the concerned division. Many times those reports, because the division was so overwhelmed with a lot of work - this would be a way officers at the initial phase could do a little more work than they were able to do traditionally." The program helped those officers gain more experience and strengthen their resume when they applied for transfer to a higher-profile job in units such as the homicide or robbery division. Dennis Kenney, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, was the lead researcher of a 2010 study published in Police Quarterly examining the department's initial pilot program. The study found the division helped HPD improve its investigative capacity and effectiveness without negatively affecting workload among the remaining patrol staff. Officers in and out of the division felt it helped solve crimes. The division's work, however, fostered jealousy among regular patrol officers and contributed to perceptions that the unit focused more on investigations than on patrol work, some said. Kenney's study found that IFR investigators typically handled about one fewer call a day than their counterparts. Response times to emergency Priority 1 and 2 calls remained relatively unchanged at the stations where IFR investigators were posted, though response times increased for non-emergency Priority 3 and 4 calls, according to the study. "Doing away with (the IFR division) is a bad move," Kenney said this week after learning about the plans. "It's stepping back from an innovative path to a fairly standard, sort of uninspired form of policing." Rebecca Elliott contributedto this report. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate WASHINGTON - Since Donald Trump's improbable surge in the polls last summer, nothing has been able to keep the brash billionaire down. In Tuesday's Indiana primary, Ted Cruz's last-ditch push wasn't able to stop the businessman either. In a decisive and at times bizarre Midwestern showdown that Cruz had called "favorable" ground, Trump won a delegate haul that eased his path toward the Republican presidential nomination, raising questions about the future of the Texas senator's campaign. Cruz quickly answered those questions in a concession speech in Indianapolis invoking America's greatness and the need for Republican unity - though without mentioning Trump. "From the beginning, I have said that I would continue as long as there was a viable path to victory," Cruz told stunned supporters. "Tonight I'm sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed. Together, we left it all on the field in Indiana. We gave it everything we've got. But the voters chose another path. And so, with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign." Though he made no promises to back Trump, now the GOP's presumptive nominee, Cruz made clear he is not leaving the political scene. "Hear me now," Cruz said after conceding defeat. "I am not suspending our fight for liberty. I am not suspending our fight to defend the Constitution, to defend the Judeo-Christian values that built America. Our movement will continue." Trump gave a victory speech from New York, where he read from written remarks and claimed all of Indiana's 57 delegates. He vowed to "go after" likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton but also acknowledged Cruz, who outlasted all the 15 or so 17 GOP competitors besides Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who trailed in Indiana's voting but remains in the race. "I have to tell you, I've competed all my life," Trump said. "Just so you understand, Ted Cruz, I don't know if he likes me or if he doesn't like me, but he's one hell of a competitor. ... He is a tough, smart guy, and he has an amazing future." A final attack The surprising end of Cruz's campaign capped a rollicking day of political theater that hit some of the emotional lows of the entire 2016 campaign. Mid-morning, as voting progressed, Cruz had implored Indiana Republicans to rally to his side, questioning Trump's character in starkly personal terms. "We are staring at the abyss," he said. In the face of widespread speculation that Cruz might end his campaign with a loss in Indiana, his campaign gamely scheduled rallies Wednesday in Nebraska and Washington State, which hold primaries later this month. Both were expected to be competitive, though recent polls showed Trump opening a wide lead in the June 7 contest in California, the last and biggest primary state. Then came Cruz's last-gasp jeremiad, calling the likely GOP nominee a "pathological liar," a "narcissist" and a "serial philanderer." He also reminded voters of Trump's public acknowledgement of battling venereal disease in the past. Trump, in a statement, called Cruz's invective a "ridiculous outburst." In contrast to his gracious victory speech just hours later, Trump also questioned Cruz's temperament. "Ted Cruz is a desperate candidate trying to save his failing campaign," Trump said. "I have been watching Lyin' Ted become more and more unhinged as he is unable to react under the pressure and stress of losing." The Texas senator's onslaught came during a news conference after Trump, in a national television appearance in the morning, speculated about a widely ignored National Enquirer story linking Rafael Cruz, Cruz's Cuban immigrant father, to Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. "Let's be clear, this is nuts," Cruz said. "This is just kooky. And while I'm at it, I guess I should go ahead and admit, yes, my dad killed JFK, he is secretly Elvis, and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his back yard." The National Enquirer also recently published an anonymously sourced story suggesting that Cruz had affairs with five women, including at least two of his aides. Cruz has accused Trump of being behind that story, which he called "tabloid trash." Speaking to reporters at a barbecue stop in Evansville, Ind., Cruz unloaded on the former reality TV star, who has made outlandish claims and name-calling a signature feature of his campaign. In the most dramatic break yet from their past political alliance, Cruz engaged in a 10-minute soliloquy on Trump, dissecting his rival in blunt terms rarely heard in modern campaigns. "I'm going to do something I haven't done for the entire campaign," Cruz said. "I'm going to tell you what I really think of Donald Trump. This man is a pathological liar. ... The man cannot tell the truth, but he combines it with being a narcissist. A narcissist at a level I don't think this country has ever seen. Donald Trump is such a narcissist that Barack Obama looks at him and goes, 'Dude, what's your problem?' Everything in Donald's world is about Donald." 'Utterly amoral' Recalling an unflattering photo Trump tweeted of Cruz's wife Heidi before the Wisconsin primary - Cruz's last victory - Cruz also called Trump an insecure "bully." "The man is utterly amoral," said Cruz, flanked by his wife and his running mate Carly Fiorina. "Morality does not exist for him. It's why he went after Heidi directly and smeared my wife, attacked her." Getting ever more personal, Cruz recounted Trump's past boasts of his sexual exploits. "This is not a secret. He is proud of being a serial philanderer. ... He describes his battles with venereal disease as his own 'personal Vietnam.' " The extraordinary personal attack on the day of a critical primary contest reminded some analysts of the insults hurled at Trump by ex-contender Marco Rubio after the February GOP debate in Houston. Other ex-rivals, including Jeb Bush, had tried to take on Trump, but never in such strong language. But for the fading #NeverTrump movement, Cruz's broadside came too late. Still, the harsh exchange between the two top GOP rivals suggested that the bitter divisions within the Republican Party are unlikely to heal before July's national convention, when party leaders will undoubtedly call for unity against Clinton. It also called into question whether Cruz would still honor his promise to support Trump if he is the GOP nominee - something he did not address in his concession speech or in the earlier anti-Trump harangue. Though it became mathematically impossible for Cruz to reach the 1,237-delegate majority needed to lock down the GOP nomination, he could have stayed in the race and possibly led a convention-floor fight to block Trump. A contested convention in Cleveland would have involved multiple rounds of balloting, giving Cruz - or Kasich - a chance to persuade delegates to switch sides and forge a majority to stop Trump, regardless of how their states voted. Trump calls for unity Trump, with more delegates and popular votes than any other GOP contender, had called it a "rigged" strategy because it would presumably rely on party stalwarts to subvert the results of the past four months' primaries and caucuses. With Cruz out of the race, the delegate math is now academic. Needing to pick up the pieces, Trump praised Cruz's decision to end his campaign. "We must bring unity to the Republican Party," Trump said. "It's so much easier if we have it." Racial disparity and the Kentucky Derby have long gone hand-in-hand, and this year is no different. As the famed race prepares to burst out of the starting gate in its 142nd year, issues stemming from race relations gallop along with it. The races, which begin on Saturday, generally draw around 266,000 visitors every year. But nearby, playing out in courtrooms, a battle over a Confederate monument is underway. Last Friday, University of Louisville president James Ramsey and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer held a surprise press conference to announce a Confederate monument would be moved "to a more appropriate place." That place is yet to be determined. The 70-foot-tall monument, which was erected in 1895 and includes three bronze statues of Confederate soldiers, currently stands near the Speed Art Museum, FOX News reported. "We don't consider ourselves in Louisville to be part of the South," the mayor later told the Courier-Journal. Kentucky, in fact, was never part of the Confederacy. It was a slave state but never seceded from the Union during the Civil War. The announcement came about a week after University of Louisville professor of Pan-African studies Ricky Jones wrote an op-ed in the Courier-Journal, demanding the monument, which he referred to as a "towering granite and bronze eyesore glorifying the nadir of America's past," be removed. "I can't tell you how happy I am," Jones told FOX News after the surprise announcement. "I think this statue being on the campus is somewhat akin to flying the Confederate flag over the (university's) administration building." Hotbed for conflict But his excitement may have been premature. On Monday, Jefferson Circuit Judge Judith McDonald-Burkman issued a restraining order forbidding the city of Louisville from removing the statue, according to WKYT. The order was sought by Everett Corley, a Republican real estate agent running for Congress, who filed a lawsuit against Fischer over the plan to remove the Confederate statue; Corley called removing the statue akin to "book burning," WDRB reported. "This monument was not built to glorify either side of the Civil War," Corley said of the statue, which has "To Our Confederate Dead" and "A Tribute to the Rank and File of the Armies of the South" inscribed in it. "It was to soberly and solemnly remember the countless thousands of veterans killed in the slaughter of war." That same day, Mayor Fischer announced the formation of a historic preservation task force that would find new ways to honor the city's heritage. A hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday to consider Corley's motion for a full temporary injunction. The Derby, which begins three days later, comes with a long history of racial strife. In many ways, that strife is at the center of Hunter S. Thompson's famous 1970 piece of Gonzo journalism about the Derby titled "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved." The story contains all the traditional characteristics of a Thompson piece - rampant alcohol and drug use, biting commentary, larger-than-life characters - but at its center is the fear of a race riot occurring at the event and an anxious sense of the strained racial relations in America at the time. After Thompson, who wrote the piece in first-person, tells a bartender nicknamed Jimbo of his fears that both members of the Black Panthers and white supremacists will storm the Derby, Jimbo reacts: The Derby is no place for such things. From the piece: "The Kentucky Derby! No! That's almost too bad to believe! Why here? What in the name of God is happening in this country? Where can you get away from it?" "Not here," I said, picking up my bag. "Thanks for the drink and good luck." The Run for the Roses has long been a hotbed for racial conflict. Most notably, in 1967, all Derby Week events were canceled, including the annual parade, due to civil rights protests. The Ku Klux Klan announced it would attend that year's race in full garb, prepared to impose its own kind of order, according to The Awl. Reckoning with history On July 10 of last year, the Confederate battle flag was removed from South Carolina's statehouse grounds after 54 years of fluttering in the wind above Columbia. On Dec. 17, 2015, New Orleans officials voted to remove four Confederate monuments scattered around the city. Debates like these will likely continue to crop up as the South walks the tightrope of honoring its ancestors while reckoning with its Confederate history. In 1970, Thompson suggested that some aspects of the South are bound to change. Toward the end of his Derby piece, he wrote, "So the face I was trying to find in Churchill Downs that weekend was a symbol, in my own mind, of the whole doomed atavistic culture that makes the Kentucky Derby what it is." Some seem to agree with the sentiment. "The old South, and the antebellum schtick that Louisville has sometimes attached to is not constructive," co-chair of Louisville's new historic panel Keith Runyon told the Courier-Journal. "This is a dynamic monument, a 'we'll rise again' sort of thing.' And just over time some things become outdated, and I think this one is." MADISON, Wis. - An Illinois woman has died after being shot during a random drive-by shooting along a Wisconsin interstate while traveling home with her husband and children, federal officials said Tuesday. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration released a statement saying 44-year-old Tracy Czaczkowski, who was shot Sunday, had died. Her husband works for the DEA, but investigators believe the shooting was random and that the suspect had killed another person just hours earlier in suburban Milwaukee. DEA officials didn't say when Czaczkowski died. The dental hygienist had been in critical condition at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison since the shooting. "Tracy was a loving wife of 15 years, a mother of two tender age children, daughter and good friend to all," the DEA statement said. The family was returning to their home in Buffalo Grove, a Chicago suburb, after spending the weekend in the resort city of Wisconsin Dells when they passed a Chevrolet Blazer on Interstate 90/94. The Blazer's driver opened fire on their BMW sedan, hitting Czaczkowski in the neck, according to investigators. Police stopped the Blazer with a spike strip and shot the driver after he emerged with a gun. The Dane County Sheriff's Office identified the suspect Tuesday as 20-year-old Zachary T. Hays of West Allis, a Milwaukee suburb, and said two of his brothers also were in the Blazer. No charges have been filed against Hays, and he remained hospitalized at the University of Wisconsin Hospital on Tuesday. His condition hasn't been released. Investigators believe Hays killed 42-year-old Gabriel Sanchez in West Allis hours before the interstate shooting. Authorities have said responding officers found Sanchez fatally shot when responding to a report around 7 a.m. of a man forcing his way into a pair of apartments. At the time, police said Hays had also threatened members of a local church. Hays has not been formally charged in either Sanchez's or Czaczkowski's deaths. Phone calls to numbers publicly listed for Hays' family were either disconnected or rang unanswered, and it wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney. Court records show that Hays was found guilty of battery and receiving stolen property in Milwaukee in 2013. He was ordered to serve two years' probation. His defense attorney in the case, Bridget Krause, said she didn't remember details about the case. One of Hays' brothers who was in the Blazer on Sunday, 30-year-old Jeremy Hays, was being held Tuesday on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has two felonies on his record: for a burglary in 2005, and for escaping custody in 2006, both in Milwaukee. The sheriff's office said it opted not to identify the other brother who was in the Blazer because of his "cognitive disability." Sheriff's office spokeswoman Elise Schaffer said investigators are trying to get him back to his group home setting as soon as possible. WASHINGTON - James Bradley, the author of "Flags of Our Fathers," a best-selling book about the role of his father, a Navy corpsman, in the raising of the U.S. flag over Iwo Jima, said in an interview Tuesday that he no longer believed his father was shown in an iconic photograph of the moment. Bradley described his doubts about his father's role after the Marine Corps revealed last week that it had opened an inquiry into whether some of the six men long thought to be in the image had been misidentified. He said that his father, John Bradley, had participated in raising a flag on Iwo Jima on Feb. 23, 1945, but had not participated in a second flag-raising the same day, which became the famous photograph. Doubts arise His father, he said, probably thought the first flag-raising was the one that was captured in the photograph. All of the men identified in the photograph are dead. Three of the men died fighting the Japanese on Iwo Jima. John Bradley died in 1994. The photo was taken by Joe Rosenthal, an Associated Press photographer, on Feb. 23, 1945. It was splashed across the front pages of newspapers throughout the country, and was an immediate source of patriotism and controversy. President Harry S. Truman used it to sell bonds to fund the war, Rosenthal brushed back accusations that it was staged, and questions arose - and were apparently answered - about who was really in it. The photograph was also the inspiration for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, a statue in which six 32-foot-tall figures are depicted in the positions captured by Rosenthal. Bradley said he had become convinced that his father was not in the photograph after studying evidence that was published in a 2014 story in the Omaha World-Herald. He said he had waited a year to examine the evidence in the newspaper article because he was working on a new book in Vietnam, and then became ill. He did not come forward with his belief that his father was not in the photograph, he said, because there was little interest from the news media and the Marines. "It wasn't top of mind," Bradley said in a telephone interview. "It wasn't a priority. I was overseas, and this past fall, I was recovering from a disease I got in New Guinea that almost killed me. Now there's interest in this and I'm talking about it. I didn't have the energy to carry the water all by myself." On the book jacket "Flags of Our Fathers," first published in 2000, was on best-seller lists for nearly a year. It was later made into a movie directed by Clint Eastwood. "Here is the true story behind the six flag raisers and the immortal photograph that came to symbolize the power and courage of America during World War II," reads a summary on the back of a paperback edition of the book. "In 'Flags of Our Fathers,' the son of one of the flag raisers captures the glory, the heartbreak, and the legacy of the six ordinary boys who came together at a crucial moment in one of history's bloodiest battles - and lifted the heart and spirit of a nation at war." The Marine Corps acknowledged in a written statement that "a private organization" had approached it with new information about the photograph and that it was investigating the matter, but it would not comment on what that information was. Marine officials said the inquiry was being led by the corps' chief historian, and the commandant of Marines is expected to be briefed on the results of the investigation in the coming weeks. SALT LAKE CITY - Starting later this month, women in Utah seeking an abortion 20 weeks or more into a pregnancy will first have to be given anesthesia or painkillers - drugs that are intended not for them, but for the fetus. Those are the terms of a new law that has made Utah the first state in the country to require what doctors here are calling "fetal anesthesia" for the small percentage of abortions that occur at this point in a pregnancy. Lawmakers in Utah said they were acting out of concern for the fetus. But abortion rights activists and some obstetricians and maternal care doctors in Utah said the law was bafflingly vague and scientifically unsound. They said that it intruded into confidential decisions between doctors and patients, and that it could put women's health at risk by creating a broad requirement for them to take unspecified painkillers. "You're asking me to invent a procedure that doesn't have any research to back it up," said Dr. Leah Torres, an obstetrician-gynecologist. "You want me to experiment on my patients." In recent years, abortion opponents have cited concerns over fetal pain to pass state-level restrictions on abortions occurring at 20 weeks or later - or to pass laws requiring doctors to tell women that a fetus may feel pain at that stage of development. But many doctors reject those claims, saying a fetus' brain and nervous system are not developed at 20 weeks to feel pain. They cite a 2005 study that found a fetus was unlikely to feel pain until about 27 weeks. Curt Bramble, a Republican state senator in Utah, said he had sponsored the anesthesia law to extend "common decency" to a procedure he would rather outlaw altogether. "Who's making the decisions for the child?" he said. "Who's the doctor for the baby? It's not the woman's body we're talking about. It's a separate person." WASHINGTON - Secretary of State John Kerry warned Syria's government and its backers in Moscow and Tehran on Tuesday that they face an August deadline for starting a political transition to move President Bashar Assad out, or they risk the consequences of a new U.S. approach toward ending the 5-year-old civil war. But given the various unfulfilled U.S. threats throughout the Arab country's conflict - from declaring Assad's days "numbered" five years ago to promising military action if chemical weapons were used - it was unclear what effect Kerry's ultimatum might have. And it's unlikely that the Obama administration, so long opposed to an active American combat role in Syria, would significantly boost its presence beyond the 300 special forces it has authorized thus far in the heart of a U.S. presidential election season. More feasible might be U.S. allies like Saudi Arabia giving the rebels new weapons to fight Assad, such as portable surface-to-air missiles. "The target date for the transition is 1st of August," Kerry told reporters at the State Department. "So we're now coming up to May. So either something happens in these next few months, or they are asking for a very different track." The top American diplomat spoke following a meeting between the U.N. envoy for Syria and Russia's foreign minister in Moscow on Tuesday, a day after discussions with Kerry in Geneva. The goal was to restore a partial truce that has all but unraveled amid 12 straight days of bitter fighting in Aleppo, Syria's largest city. Kerry condemned a hospital attack in the city that killed at least 20 people on Tuesday and said the missile appeared to have been fired from rebel-controlled territory. He said the U.S. rejects violence against civilians, whether it's by Assad's government or Western-backed opposition groups. But Kerry saved his sharpest comments for Assad and his government's two key military, economic and diplomatic lifelines: Russia and Iran. "If Assad does not adhere to this, there will clearly be repercussions," Kerry warned. "One of them may be the total destruction of the cease-fire and then go back to war. I don't think Russia wants that. I don't think Assad is going to benefit from that. There may be even other repercussions being discussed. That is for the future." Kerry said the U.S. and Russia were working on the details of a more durable cease-fire that would include Aleppo and prevent the metropolis from falling. Despite a death toll that numbers in the hundreds of thousands, Russian planes and Iranian troops continue to fight alongside the Syrian military. Kerry also appeared to undermine his own selling of a truce by stressing that the opposition would never accommodate Assad's leadership. The current U.N.-endorsed transition plan for Syria says nothing about Assad relinquishing power or being prevented from running for an eventual re-election as president. His family has ruled Syria for four decades. News / National by Staff reporter VICE-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his counterpart Phelekezela Mphoko took turns to order the removal of various paraphernalia from a stand exhibiting national hero and late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo's history at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) last week, NewsDay has learnt.Nkomo, who led-PF Zapu during the struggle against colonialism, joined President Robert Mugabe's first post-independence government as a Cabinet minister, but was sacked before rejoining as Vice-President following the signing of a unity pact in 1987 until his death in 1999.Impeccable sources said Mphoko was the first to tour the stand last Wednesday before Mnangagwa visited the stand the following day, Thursday."He (Mphoko) arrived at the stand, looked around and found 50 copies of Nkomo's autobiography, The Story of My Life, being exhibited. Mphoko ordered his aides to remove the books, but did not tell the family why and how they would recover them," a source told NewsDay, adding 49 copies of the book were later returned on Friday.An angry Mphoko on Friday rejected the claims."Me? Are people crazy? Please do not play games with me. I don't want that," Mphoko fumed before going dead quiet on the phone.The late Father Zimbabwe's son Sibangilizwe Nkomo seemed cagey when asked about the incident."I have heard that there is an exhibition at ZITF, but I would need to check with other family members. I am not sure about that incident," he said.Contacted for comment on Monday, Nkomo's eldest daughter Thandiwe Nkomo-Ebrahim initially said she would call back, but her phone later went unanswered.Jabulani Hadebe, the chief executive officer of the Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo National Foundation, could not be reached for comment.Minister in Mphoko's office Tabetha Kanengoni-Malinga professed ignorance about the incident."Is that what happened? But I was standing right next to him (Mphoko) when he toured the stand and I did not hear him say that to anyone. I am not aware of that incident," Kanengoni-Malinga said.The head of the Central Intelligence Organisation's close security unit, Miles Ngulube, somewhat confirmed the matter before he made a U-turn saying he knew nothing about the incident."I was there at the stand wani (of course)! Who gave you my number? Just because I am the head of security, so people think I know. Talk to the guys in Bulawayo, I know nothing about what you are saying," Ngulube said.Ngulube also queried: "I left Bulawayo as soon as the President (Robert Mugabe) left on Friday, so how would I know about that?"Nkomo's book caused untold discomfort in Mugabe's government as it revealed intricate details of the Gukurahundi episode that forced him into a union with the veteran Zimbabwean leader following years of military-backed violence which caused at least 20 000 civilian deaths in the western parts of the country.Mphoko, a former Zapu commander in the early years of the liberation war, has had his credentials questioned by his former colleagues amid claims he abandoned the war at the critical stages, hiding in Mozambique and started a family while others continued fighting.Nkomo was at the time of the genocide forced to flee the country fearing for his life. Conservative figures put the death toll at the hands of the crack North Korean-trained 5th Brigade at 20 000 mostly Ndebele-speaking civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces who stood accused of harbouring alleged armed bandits linked to the then Zapu.It is understood that when Mnangagwa toured the same stand on Thursday, he reportedly also ordered one of his aides to "remove some material"."The following day, when VP Mnangagwa came to the stand, he saw a board that had pictures of the late Father Zimbabwe and we suspect he was unhappy about it because some of the pictures were about Gukurahundi. We just saw his security coming back to collect the board and never returned it," a source close to the Nkomo family said.The source also said: "But Mnangagwa, unlike Mphoko, asked one of his officials to leave his details with Nkomo family members manning the exhibition so that they would be able to collect the stuff after the event."After we engaged the head of security (Ngulube), VP Mphoko's people on Friday returned 49 books that had been confiscated, meaning only one was missing, while we did not hear anything from Mnangagwa."Mnangagwa was not available for comment yesterday, and so was Minister of State in his office Clifford Sibanda.Mugabe, who toured the stand on Friday accompanied by Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe, first viewed his portraits that covered much of the Zanu-PF space. He then proceeded to the information department, business development and liaison department, grassroots, women's league, and department of environment and tourism.On his way out, Mugabe also paid a visit to the Nkomo stand. Nkomo's portraits as well as those of his wife, Mama Mafuyana, were on show as well as a small statue of the late Vice-President. The Zanu-PF leader passed without a word.Mugabe went on to tour other stands including that of his company, Alpha and Omega Dairy, amid heightened security closing out journalists from listening to his conversation with his senior management. Presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz is biting back at Donald Trump on Tuesday after Trump hinted that Cruzs father, Rafael Cruz, could be in some way be connected to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Trump was on Fox News this morning when he referred to a "National Enquirer" story from April alleging that the elder Cruz was in league with suspected Kennedy gunman Lee Harvey Oswald. The "National Enquirer" story claimed Rafael Cruz appeared in a 1963 photo in New Orleans with Oswald and others as Oswald distributed pro-Cuba leaflets. This of course set the younger Cruz off as it should and while talking to reporters in Evansville, Ind., he tore into Trump, who is on track to win Tuesday's primary vote in that state. RELATED: Did Ted Cruz's father kill JFK? Of course not Now, lets be clear, this is nuts. This is not a reasonable position. This is just kooky, Cruz told reporters, including Politico. He wasnt done dismissing Trumps comments, according to Politico. And while Im at it, I guess I should go ahead and admit, yes, my dad killed JFK, he is secretly Elvis, and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his backyard, Cruz added. Cruz called out Trump for being dishonest. RELATED: JFK motorcade members: What happened after the assassination? Im gonna tell you what I really think of Donald Trump: This man is a pathological liar, Cruz said. He doesnt know the difference between truth and lies. BuzzFeeds Andrew Kaczynski pointed out via his Twitter account Tuesday that Cruz had said earlier this year he believes Oswald acted alone in Kennedy's assassination, which also entailed then-Governor John Connally being seriously wounded. Oswald, of course, never stood trial for killing Kennedy and wounding Connally as he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby while in Dallas police custody two days after the assassination. AUSTIN -- Muslim convicts in Texas cannot be prevented from growing beards up to four inches long or from wearing religious skullcaps in cell blocks, a federal appeals court has ruled. In a Monday ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans refused a request by state prison officials allow them to continue banning beards and kufis, knit skullcaps worn by Muslims, for convicts in Texas' 108 state prisons. The decision capped a lawsuit that began in 2009 when David Rasheed Ali, serving concurrent 20-year sentences for aggravated robbery and arson from Freestone and Limestone counties, alleged the prison rules prevented him from exercising his religious beliefs. When the suit was filed, prison policy required convicts to be clean-shaven, although those with skin conditions could grow a quarter-inch beard. Last year, Texas began allowing inmates to grow half-inch beards as part of their religious practices after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prisoners had a right to facial hair as an expression of their faiths. Texas Prison officials had opposed Ali's demand, arguing that longer beard and knit caps could make it easier for convicts to conceal contraband including weapons. Ali, 33, is a low-security trusty at the Michael Unit near Tennessee Colony in northeast Texas. Court testimony showed he currently is allowed to wear his kufi in his trusty dorm, but not in the rest of the prison. "Although we must respect a prison official's expertise" on safety matters, Justice Edward Prado wrote for the court's three-judge pane that the U.S. Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act requires policies that infringe on religious practice to be the "least restrictive" possible. Under the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's current procedures, corrections officers require convicts with longer hair to run it through with their fingers to prove it is free of contraband a policy that Prado said could apply with four-inch beards. "TDCJ could revoke an inmate's beard privilege if he abused it or refused to comply with the searches," Prado said, adding that the same confiscation policy also applies to kufis and other religious head wear. The ruling affirmed a 2014 decision by U.S. Magistrate Zack Hawthorn of Beaumont. He had ordered prison officials to allow Ali to grow a longer beard and wear a kufi inside the prison, but they had appealed the decision. Prison officials said they were reviewing the decision, and had not decided whether to appeal. The decision covers all male Muslims inside Texas prisons. In 2014, prison records showed there were 6,446. INDIANAPOLIS - Sen. Bernie Sanders remains on track to lose the Democratic nomination race, but he nonetheless managed to keep his agenda at the center of it with a victory in Indiana over front-runner Hillary Clinton. The lone state that voted Tuesday was a test of the potency of Sanders' fight as the Vermonter sought to maintain his political revolution as a force with which Clinton will need to wrestle. Because the Democrats distribute delegates proportionately according to each candidate's vote totals, the two will split Indiana's 83 pledged delegates roughly in half. That result would benefit Clinton, who is closing in on a delegate majority. Clinton's campaign clearly signaled its lack of concern about the outcome here, spending no money at all on television advertising, in contrast with the roughly $1.5 million Sanders spent. Clinton has built a lead of roughly 300 pledged delegates over Sanders. Combined with the superdelegates who have vowed to support her at the party's nominating convention in Philadelphia in July, the front-runner has already secured 90 percent of what she needs to lock up the nomination. Sanders needs overwhelming victories in the remaining primaries to overtake the former secretary of state. Those daunting odds, however, did not worry some Sanders voters as they lined up to cast ballots for him here. Harry Pai, a 50-year-old in Noblesville, a suburb northeast of Indianapolis, works as a caregiver to his elderly parents. He said he voted for Sanders even though he doesn't think the Vermont senator can win. "I need to see more progressive views from Hillary Clinton," he said. Pai said Sanders should be in no hurry to exit the Democratic primary. "He's OK to stay in the race, so long as he doesn't get too antagonistic," he said. On the north side of Indianapolis, Kathy Dickerson said she, too, was not ready to give up on Sanders. The 59-year-old waitress has a younger child suffering from a chronic and costly illness and older children hamstrung by student debt. The health care system and free public colleges Sanders envisions are a big draw for her. "Seeing a woman in office would be great," she said. "But Bernie would represent the working class better than anybody else." The exit poll showed Sanders continuing to enjoy strong support from younger voters and also revealed that in Indiana, as in other states, the overwhelming majority of Democratic voters felt the spirited primary campaign had energized their party. About half of those polled wanted a continuation of President Barack Obama's policies, while roughly a third wanted a more liberal agenda in the White House. The demographics of the Indiana electorate, which is heavily white, were particularly favorable to Sanders, who does best in states with smaller minority populations. The rules in Indiana, a state where independents can vote in Democratic primaries, also helped the insurgent candidate. Sanders also benefited from his arguments against U.S. trade agreements; the state's workforce has been hit hard by the offshoring of manufacturing jobs. Despite a string of setbacks in recent weeks, Sanders kept up the unrelenting pace here that has defined his run. He campaigned vigorously throughout the state, speaking at the kind of large rallies at college towns that initially sparked his movement and set in motion the fundraising machine that until recently had been outperforming Clinton's. He vowed to continue racking up delegates and to use them to push the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction, regardless of whether he is the nominee. "We are going to create an economy that works for all of us, not just the 1 percent," Sanders said at a campaign rally in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday night. Clinton has largely ignored Sanders in the past week while turning her attention to Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner. She was not even in Indiana on Election Day, nor was she there the day before. "I'm really focused on moving into the general election," Clinton said Tuesday on MSNBC, while campaigning in West Virginia. "I think that's where we have to be, because we're going to have a tough campaign against a candidate who will literally say or do anything. And we're going to take him on at every turn on what's really important to the people of our country." Trump spiral Regarding "Cruz's support softens among the delegates he courted" (Page A8, Tuesday) I understand the frustration of my fellow Republicans with our party, but neither do I condone nor support their choice for president, Donald Trump. One thing I am certain of is that Trump is not the answer for our party's shortcomings or for America. Quite the opposite, Trump has magnified everything that's wrong with this country that I love: intolerance, bigotry, arrogance, narcissism, etc. To support Trump would be as U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, so eloquently stated, "That's like buying a ticket on the Titanic." My heart breaks for our country and its downward spiral if Trump is elected come November. Gloria O. Garcia, Bay City Bigger problems Regarding "Patrick wants to restrict restroom access" (Page A1, April 27), if you're still wondering how Donald Trump has managed to gain so much support during the presidential race, you only needed to read about Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's latest attempt at "leadership." Among the Chronicle stories of reoccurring floods, the Zika virus, continuing loss of jobs among Houston-based energy companies, blame over high college tuition rates, etc., was this story. Yes, you read correctly: "Patrick wants to restrict bathroom access." Among all of the problems facing Texas residents, our lieutenant governor has chosen bathroom access as the most urgent issue for improving the lives of Texans. I don't know about you, but of all challenges I see for my family during the next several years, who I might see in the restroom is not one of them. Paul Dabroi, Fulshear Uber annoying Regarding "Uber puts city on notice" (Page A1, Thursday), Uber provides a wonderful service, but I don't like to see them try to boss us around. Here is my suggestion for Mayor Sylvester Turner: Refuse to meet with any Uber executives or representatives until they provide their fingerprints and go through our background check. Take charge. This is Texas. Dave Dyer, Houston Captain Ahab, in his fanatical desire to get revenge on the white whale, brought himself and his crew to destruction. President Obama's obsession with killing the merger between Pfizer and Allergan could also end badly - for our economy. The U.S. tax system is broken. We have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world and, unlike most other countries, we tax income that is earned offshore. When our companies try to compete on the global stage, they do so with a built-in tax disadvantage. It is no surprise, then, that U.S.-headquartered companies look to become headquartered in countries with more favorable corporate tax systems. If there is good news in all this, it is that House Ways and Committee Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, intends to reform our broken tax system so U.S. companies can compete on a level playing field. I applaud his efforts because until there is reform, any U.S. company seeking to compete in the global marketplace through mergers should be afraid of repercussions. The Pfizer-Allergan proposed combination was a case in point. Pfizer had made no secret of its desire to reduce its uncompetitive tax rate and announced in November that it would merge with Ireland-based Allergan in a transaction that would leave Pfizer's shareholders with 56 percent of the merged company. That number is significant because, under the laws passed by Congress, if Pfizer's shareholders ended up with at least 60 percent of the stock, there would have been significant adverse tax consequences. In an effort to inhibit companies from seeking out these 'inversions,' the Obama administration has put out three sets of guidance - in 2012, 2014 and 2015 - reinterpreting the corporate inversion laws, with the third set coming out after Pfizer and Allergan acknowledged they were in discussions. Yet, none of these past rules would have affected the Pfizer-Allergan merger. So, intent on scuttling this specific merger, congressional Democrats called for the administration to do more. The administration has responded in kind. Earlier this month, the Treasury Department put out an astonishing new set of regulations that, in applying the shareholder percentage ownership tests, simply disregards stock attributable to acquisitions made by Allergan in the prior three years, therefore making the proposed structure of the merger with Pfizer unviable. This retroactive rule is obviously intended to directly cover Allergan, which has grown through acquisitions, in particular over the last three years. When the media pressed the administration on the appropriateness of writing a punitive, retroactive tax rule targeting a specific taxpayer, the White House and the Treasury Department prevaricated. Treasury called it a "myth" that it had specifically targeted the Pfizer/Allergan merger and said that it was only aware of public information. This misleading statement failed to answer whether the Treasury Department had used public information about Allergan's prior acquisitions when crafting its new rule. To make matters worse, the administration accompanied its new inversion rule with changes that overturn decades of settled understanding on when a corporate debt instrument will be respected as such for tax purposes. We are a country founded on the rule of law. There are consequences to the administration making up new rules to punish particular taxpayers and overturning by fiat decades of precedent. The retroactive actions taken by the Obama administration have prompted commentators to rightly question whether the U.S. is becoming a less stable and predictable climate for foreign direct investment. That's a bad thing, because foreign investment is absolutely critical to economic growth and job creation in this country. Instead of pursuing punitive and retroactive executive actions such as those taken recently by Treasury, Congress needs to address the underlying cause of why companies domiciled in the U.S. are seeking out inversions in the first place - a broken U.S. tax code that puts them at an uncompetitive disadvantage. This is exactly what Houston's own Chairman Brady is trying to push Congress to do. Adopting a lower corporate tax rate and moving to a territorial tax system would provide the certainty Texas companies and companies across the country need and will incentivize them to invest in the United States, spurring economic growth and jobs. Absent such common-sense changes, the United States should expect companies to continue seeking overseas addresses, and we'll continue losing America's corporate tax base. Archer, a former U.S. representative from Texas (1971-2001), was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee from 1995 to 2001. Yogi Berra famously said, "If you reach a fork in the road, take it." The Houston Independent School District is at a very serious fork in the road in its search for a new superintendent. The path that's taken will impact the very future of Houston's 213,000 students and their teachers. Hard questions have to be asked: Does Houston pick someone who will continue with current education policies that are straight out of a handbook promoting market-driven, test-based policies, or does it go with someone who understands the needs of Houston's students and educators and wants to pursue evidence-based ideas for improving teaching and learning? Let's step back a bit. Though there are pockets of success, for the most part, Houston's public schools have been struggling mightily because superintendents for the past several years have adhered to misguided policies that have not boosted student performance and have accelerated teacher turnover. Testing has become the be-all and end-all, narrowing the curriculum. Test scores have been used to unfairly and inaccurately evaluate teachers' job performance, jeopardizing the careers of highly accomplished teachers. Instead of fixing schools with reforms that have succeeded in other urban districts, Houston has closed at least 18 neighborhood public schools. Those 18 schools were replaced partially by charter schools, leaving several neighborhoods without a local school that serves all students even though charter schools have done no better than democratically controlled public schools. These misguided decisions have left teachers frustrated and racing for the exits. Massive turnover of teachers - and even principals and administrators - is about the most consistent feature we have in Houston schools. The selection of a new superintendent provides the perfect opportunity for a midcourse correction to focus on what works. Our vision calls for giving Houston students a broad curriculum and program choices to meet their diverse needs. We have to end the test-driven education policies that have sharply narrowed the curriculum to what's on the standardized test. In this day and age, our kids need a truly well-rounded education that includes art, music, foreign languages and social studies. We should be working to improve collaboration with businesses and our community colleges to provide career and technical programs that give students an alternative pathway to high school graduation, good-paying jobs and higher education. For disadvantaged students and their families, we should be developing community schools that provide wraparound health care, social and academic services to help counter the devastating effects of poverty. Community schools have been key to turning around student performance in low-income school districts in cities across the country and should be created here in Houston. Collaboration, not conflict, makes a huge difference. A 2010 study by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research showed that the most effective schools, based on test score improvement over time and after taking into account demographic factors, had developed an unusually high degree of "relational trust" among their stakeholders. That means teachers and parents are treated as true partners with principals and other administrators, and that their voices and input are respected. The Houston Federation of Teachers held three community town hall meetings earlier this year to get a broad sense of the attributes Houstonians want in a superintendent. We heard over and over again sentiments such as: We need someone who knows the cultures within our city. We need someone who will promote community schools as opposed to closing schools. We need someone who will change the top-down culture of intimidation. And we need someone who will use resources efficiently to focus on public, not charter, schools. The superintendent search is in a very critical stage now and must proceed with the greatest of transparency and community input. To that end, we strongly urge that an advisory board be established to include representatives of the various stakeholders - parents, educators, higher education and business leaders - to interview candidates and help select the best superintendent for our schools. Listening to educators, parents and other community members and moving toward greater transparency and public accountability will ensure that our children get public schools that provide all kids with the knowledge, skills and preparation they need for college, career and life. Capo is president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. After a series of setbacks in Republican-run states, transgender rights activists won a strange electoral victory. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tried to make the Indiana primary a referendum on their movement. He pummeled Donald Trump for supporting the rights of transgender people to use their adopted gender's bathrooms. And then he lost in a landslide, and quit the presidential race. "Ted Cruz has been one of the most extreme anti-LGBT candidates in the presidential primary circus, and his anti-trans statements were rejected in a conservative state," said Jay Brown, the communications director of the LGBT rights group the Human Rights Campaign. "Donald Trump is not any hero on LGBT equality, for sure. But Cruz's attempts in the last two weeks to demonize trans people backfired." Those attempts began after Trump's victory in the New York primary, when he sat for a rollicking Today Show interview and ambled through a question about North Carolina's "bathroom bill" -- the latest backlash against city ordinances opening more services to trans people. Trump suggested that transgender people -- with Caitlyn Jenner as an example -- should feel free to use whatever restrooms they felt "appropriate." Cruz pounced, using the language and imagery that had rolled back transgender rights in his native Houston. "As the father of two young girls, I can tell you it doesn't make any sense to allow adult grown men, strangers, to be alone in a bathroom with little girls," he said at a rally in Pennsylvania. He went further in Indiana, joking that Trump would not be allowed in a woman's bathroom even if he dressed in drag -- conflating transgenderism with transvestitism. In a TV ad and mailer, he raised the specter of rapists creeping into bathrooms, insisting that they were women, then doing unspeakable things. In fact, there is no evidence of men using pro-transgender ordinances to get away with rape or molestation. And in Indiana, there was no evidence of the argument taking hold. Trump won evangelical Christians by 5 points, and 41 percent of voters, a plurality, said that Cruz had run the most unfair campaign. On the trail, while plenty of arch-conservative voters agreed with Cruz, some of the anti-Trump voters he was courting wondered why he kept talking about bathrooms. "How is that supposed to work, making sure that men who identify as women aren't in the bathroom?" asked Michelle DeFrancesco Bythrow, a 48-year-old music teacher at Notre Dame. "Are there going to be monitors outside?" DeFrancesco Bythrow ended up supporting Cruz, but she was in the minority. More voters heard Cruz sound the alarm about trans rights, and remembered the backlash to Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. It was passed in a panic about gay marriage opponents being sued for not serving same-sex weddings; it succeeded largely in causing a business backlash, spurring Gov. Mike Pence (R) and his Republicans to amend it, and Pence's poll numbers to tumble. The appearance of cruelty toward a small group of people, there and during the Indiana primary, seemed to make the difference. "Regardless of one's partisan affiliation, such a blatant attempt to incite animosity toward a particular group is sickening and shameful," said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. "This is a low point even in a campaign season that has seen more than its fair share of low points." Yet by the end of his Indiana campaign, Cruz quietly dropped the "little girls bathrooms" riff from his stump speech. It still appeared in direct mail, but it was no longer part of a closing argument to the voters crowding his events. In a Sunday interview on "Meet the Press," Cruz argued for the first time that the issue of the bathroom bill was not about transgender people, but about the hypothetical rapists. All of a sudden, and too late, Cruz's campaign had created the conditions for the biggest political victory in the short history of transgender rights. "Sen. Cruz's desperate attempt at using transgender people to scare people and drum up support clearly [wasn't] working," said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. "And Donald Trump's position that transgender people using bathrooms is a non-issue obviously isn't hurting him. Hopefully politicians will leave us out of their rhetoric unless they have something constructive to say." Whats next for Cruz? How will he position himself in the Senate for whatever he wants to do next? Will the Texas senator endorse Trump after a particularly nasty week on the trail? Lets consider, however, the bigger question that concerns the status of the modern Republican Party: To what degree will the Trump nomination tear apart the party? In past elections, GOP nominees have had to unite the party after they become the presumptive nominee, but none has had as tall of an order as Trump does the next few months. The solution to this, at least this early, seems to be that prominent Republicans simply will not acknowledge him for as long as they can. In a Tuesday night Facebook post, Gov. Greg Abbott noticeably left out Trumps name in his call for party unity. It was all about #NeverHillary, not a call to arms on behalf of the New York mogul. Congratulations to my good friend Ted Cruz on a hard fought campaign, he wrote. Conservatives must unite to support the presumptive GOP nominee and prevent the Constitution from being destroyed by Hillary. As Wednesday dawned, eager Democrats and depressed Republicans agreed that it now was Donald Trumps Republican Party, or at least until November. In that time, as the party apparatus tries to position Trump for the general election, he will be setting the agenda for Republicans everywhere. Thats why the kinds of responses to Trumps impending nomination at the Cleveland convention that were getting now from Republican officials are particularly important to watch. Its a race to see who can be more creative about it. Consider how New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who is up for re-election this November and is a major target for Democrats this cycle, answered the question. As she said from the beginning, Kelly plans to support the nominee, she said, through a spokesman. As a candidate herself, she hasnt and isnt planning to endorse anyone this cycle. News / National by Staff reporter FORMER Zanu-PF Hurungwe West MP Temba Mliswa has urged President Robert Mugabe to retire, saying he has failed to run the country and should make way for a younger and more competent leader.Mliswa, who now heads Youth Advocacy for Reform and Democracy (Yard), made the remarks in South Africa on Saturday during the local government election manifesto launch of the Julius Malema-led Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).Mliswa, who was accompanied by tertiary students and other Yard members, said he was hopeful Zimbabweans would emulate the combatant EFF and keep Zimbabwean leaders on their toes."In supporting the EFF, we are hoping to also emulate the same in Zimbabwe where young people can also force His Excellency our good President, who is now a grandfather, to retire and look after his grandson," he said while addressing the estimated 30 000 EFF supporters who packed Orlando Stadium in Soweto."We are hoping that in good time that message will get to him. We are also in support of the way the judiciary is supporting the rights of the people in this country. It's something we are also emulating as Zimbabweans."Mliswa said it was proper that young people within the Sadc region work together so that their impact would be strongly felt.In an interview with NewsDay yesterday, the Yard leader said he was happy with the recognition he was receiving in the region."The address I made at the recent EFF election manifesto launch at Orlando Stadium in Soweto was indeed a fulfilling and defining moment for both Yard and for myself and Zimbabweans at large," he said."Addressing such a huge super-charged crowd is a great feat by any standards and I am humbled by the opportunity that was presented to me. Historically, the address could be compared to the address made on our very own Independence although I believe the EFF gathering had even more in terms of numbers," Mliswa added. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. News / National by Itai Mushekwe COLOGNE- Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, visited the disputed lucrative Centenary Farm in Figtree, owned by white Zimbabwean commercial farmer, Dave Connolly, which has now been seized and officially parcelled out to, President Robert Mugabe's deputy chief secretary, Ray Ndhlukula.Ndhlukula, whose position makes him a very influential civil servant has disobeyed a court order allowing Connolly to stay on the farm, telling the farmer straight in his face, that he no right to land in Zimbabwe, because he is white. Connolly now all but faces eviction following a ruling by the High Court last month, in Ndhlukula's favour.Spotlight Zimbabwe, has been supplied with the photograph of the Queen Mother, who is captured during her visit to the farm in 1953, where she presented Connolly's father with the Best Bull Award for his magnificent pedigree Hereford bull, at the Bulawayo Agricultural Show at the time.Connolly is the only keeper of a pedigree herd of Hereford and Senepols breeds in the country, and now Ndhlukula's takeover means the beasts will have to be slaughtered.Mugabe's aide, who was recently rejected as Zimbabwe's Ambassador designate to London by Britain, to replace long-serving, Gabriel Machinga, a former Education minister, already owns two other farms in Matabeleland South, Wilfred Hope Farm in Marula, and Vlakfontein, known as Subdivision 2 of Marula Block.The Queen Mother, was born Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon in London on August 4 1900, and was the longest-lived member of the royal family in British history at the time of her death, in 2002 aged 101.The fourth daughter and ninth child of Lord and Lady Glamis, she met her future husband Prince Albert at a dance in May 1920, and they later married at Westminster Abbey in April 1923. They were blessed with two children, Elizabeth, now the Queen, and Princess Margaret.Harare High Court judge Justice Joseph Musakwa, last month made a ruling, that Connolly was in occupation of gazetted land, which was compulsorily acquired by the State in 2000."Although the applicant was granted spoliatory relief in the interim order, he is actually already in breach of section 3(1) of the Gazetted Lands (Consequential Provisions) Act which provides that no person may hold, use or occupy gazetted land without lawful authority," said Musakwa.Below an opinion article by David Connolly written on 26 February 2016, where he narrates the Centenary farm issue and farming in Zimbabwe.Liberating Zimbabweans from "mental colonisation" by ZANU PFThe most dangerous form of colonisation in my view, is the colonisation of the mind. While physical colonialism had drawbacks for people who were colonised, it is important to acknowledge that the colonists also brought many benefits. These included western medicine, formal education, infrastructure, political participation, sophisticated agricultural practices and accelerated nation building.The danger, when a former colony becomes independent, is that it can swap one form of colonisation for another. This process is often incremental and insidious, so that people realise too late they've been entrapped by those who promised to bring them freedom.While physical colonisation is transient, the new coloniser in Zimbabwe's case ZANU PF has other powerful weapons in its arsenal and these are used to colonise the minds of the people, since colonisation of the mind has more permanency.As Dr Mike Gammon, who was Chief of Veld and Pastures in Zimbabwe's Department of AgriculturalTechnical Services between 1978 and 1983 wrote in 2008, "The Zimbabwe government's campaign to obliterate commercial agriculture under the guise of agrarian reform, but in reality in the interest of retaining power through illegal and violent means, has been largely effective."A major part of this campaign has been incessant propaganda, based on distortions and lies, designed to give it respectability. Further deceptions have sought to give the impression that the pretence of agrarian reform has been successful," he noted.Those who have suffered most as a result of the farm invasions and the ongoing forced evictions from the few commercial farms still operational largely to make way for high ranking ZANU PF personnel have been the farm workers and their families.In the case of my Centenary farm in the Figtree district of Matabeleland South province, Dr Ray Ndhlukula, who is the deputy chief secretary in the office of the President and the Cabinet, told me in June 2014 that the farm had been gazetted and offered to him by the Minister of Lands and Rural Resettlement.On August 2, 2014 Dr Ndhlukula drove onto my farm and claimed that it "was now his property" and that he would be doing things "his way". He said that his workers would remove my personal belongings and household effects, load them onto his trucks and take them away.Furthermore, he warned me that there was no court order or sheriff of the court who could do anything to him as he was a very senior civil servant. In any case, he said, I had a white skin and therefore had no rights in Zimbabwe.Farm workers evictedMrs Ndhlukula went to our farm village the same day and informed my workers that they had just three days in which to vacate their houses. All of my workers and their families were duly evicted from their homes of many decades on August 6, 2014 by the Ndhlukulas' thugs.There was no court process and the police refused to stop the thugs from evicting the farm workers, even though a High Court order has been issued on June 27, 2014 to protect the workers.Despite my going to the Figtree police station and insisting that the police should adhere to the High Court order and safeguard my farm workers, the lawlessness prevailed and they refused to act. Since then neither I nor my farm workers have been able to return to Centenary farm.During early September 2014, Mrs Ndhlukula spoke in a most derogatory and degrading manner to Mr Daniel Sibanda, one of my workers, who is an expert cattle man. He was so furious that he approached me and asked if I could put him in touch with some lawyers as he wanted to take the Ndhlukulas to court.Mr Sibanda was also angry that his constitutional rights had been violated. He understood his rights and wanted to do something about them. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights concurred with Mr Sibanda and agreed to fund the case.Although Mr Sibanda has very little formal education, this is more than compensated for by his wisdom and ability to differentiate between right and wrong, despite the relentless government propaganda.Mr Sibanda is also a man who is not to be intimidated. When he was herding cows and calves on Centenary farm in 1998, for example, he was attacked by a leopard which he killed using only his axe and a club.Court caseThe court case, Daniel Sibanda vs R C Ndhlukula and Another, Case No. H.C. 1414/15, was heard in the Bulawayo High Court before the Honourable Justice J Moyo on February 16 this year.Mr Gerald Mlotshwa of Titan Law Chambers, arguing on behalf of Dr Ray Ndhlukula, stated that the real litigant was J C Conolly & Sons and not Mr Sibanda.This was despite the fact that all of the papers had been correctly filed and bound, due process had been followed, and the case was correctly set before the judge. Nowhere in the papers did it indicate that the litigant was J C Conolly & Sons.In fact, although Mr Sibanda has resided on my Centenary farm all his life, he is actually employed by Agrimobile, a sister company to J C Conolly & Sons on Centenary farm.Mr Sibanda felt degraded once again to hear in court that the Ndhlukulas were claiming he was been used as a front by J C Conolly & Sons and made it clear that he wished to claim his rights under the new Zimbabwean Constitution.The court reserved judgment on this and two additional preliminary points raised by the respondents' advocates in an effort to delay the case.How ZANU PF colonised people's mindsTo gain insight into how ZANU PF has worked relentlessly to colonise people's minds, their strategy and the implications of this, we need to revisit the latter 1990s.From 1996-1998, I was privileged to be elected as chairman of The National Association of Dairy Farmers (NADF), the dairy commodity housed within the Commercial Farmers' Union (CFU).During my tenure, government had instructed the Ministry of Agriculture to privatise the Dairy Marketing Board.This was a very stimulating time as we worked with the then Minister of Lands and Agriculture, the late Mr Kumbirai Kangai, as well as the Board at the Dairy Marketing Board, the Attorney General's office, (regarding monopolistic legislation), the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE), the farmers and various financiers.We achieved the most successful ever floatation on the ZSE, with thousands of Zimbabweans making their first investment ever on the stock market. The government, instead of having to pay subsidies to keep the Dairy Marketing Board afloat, received income through dividends and tax.In removing the monopolistic legislation, competition was introduced and we achieved a first world dairy industry.Through this exercise, thousands of Zimbabweans became empowered. Through crop and animal production, stock feed manufacturing, veterinary and food sciences, product development, sales and marketing, legal and accounting practice and dividend on investment, Zimbabweans were free to achieve their dreams.It was this empowered mindset which prevailed at a number of meetings that I attended in the Figtree area prior to the 2000 referendum on a new constitution. The standard of debate was top quality, the understanding of what was on the table inspiring.The people made it clear they did not want Robert Mugabe as a life president and secondly they did not want any land without a bankable property right. Tens of thousands of hectares of land had been bought by government during the early eighties in the Marula South district and the resettled farmers had found it impossible to farm commercially without being able to access capital.It would be interesting to know how many Zimbabwean banks have gone to the wall because of unsecured loans.The referendum on the proposed new constitutionIn the constitutional referendum of February 2000, with decolonised mindsets and believing in their dreams, Zimbabweans voted in their freest election ever.Their resounding 'no' vote infuriated President Mugabe. The people had rejected his proposed new constitution, which would have further entrenched his power and enabled the government to seize farms owned by white farmers, without compensation.The people had spoken!President Mugabe warned that what he was unable to achieve at the ballot box, he would achieve through parliament. Within days, the land invasions started, paid invaders were transported onto commercial farms in government vehicles and the mental colonisation was fast-tracked.ZJRI Silencing the farmersLater in 2000, as the mayhem continued, I was asked by the CFU to sit on an organisation that they had been partly involved in establishing. This organisation was called the "Zimbabwe Joint Resettlement Initiative" (ZJRI). Through ZJRI we were to interact with government to defuse the volatile situation on the farms and to come up with a viable land resettlement programme.The government appointed Ms Olivia Muchena, then Minister in the President's Office, and Vincent Hungwe, a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture, to sit on ZJRI.Ms Muchena informed the first meeting that no progress could be made unless the farmers agreed firstly not to take the government to court, and secondly, that we would not hang our dirty washing on the line.This meant that we could not publish what was happening on the farms, and most definitely could not inform the international community.She continued, "The government is going to institute a controlled revolution." Vincent Hungwe then informed us that government would "take every brick off every brick" and rebuild it their way.This was my first experience of "colonised minds".At a debriefing after the meeting, I informed my fellow farmers that I was not prepared to concede to such demands. On returning to Bulawayo, I was phoned by our chairman, Nick Swanepoel, and informed that they had agreed to abide by the government's demands. My response to Nick was that he would receive my resignation.The last 15 years of chaos and havoc have been well documented. Farm workers have been mentally colonised through fear, isolation and hunger. The ZANU PF strategy has included all-night pungwes (brutal "re-education" programmes), murder, disappearance, rape, job destruction, withholding of international food aid and lack of medical care.Tens of thousands, whose forefathers originated in countries like Malawi or Mozambique, have had their citizenship removed and are now referred to as "aliens".International court ruling brings hopeAlthough a significant number of dispossessed commercial farmers have spent years and millions of dollars in failed court actions in Zimbabwe due to the judiciary being heavily compromised, a recent international court ruling has brought renewed hope.Heinrich von Pezold, a German national and the main shareholder of Zimbabwe's Rift Valley Holdings, which owns Border Timbers Limited, refused to be mentally colonised and went to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) to plead his case.This month it was reported that a tribunal at the ICSID, which is part of the World Bank Group, has ordered the Zimbabwe government to restore agricultural estates seized as part of President Mugabe's "racially discriminatory" land reform programme to the von Pezold family, who are dual German and Swiss nationals, or pay US$196 million in compensation.If legal title is restored, the state will only have to pay a third of the damages US$65 million.Both sums include US$1 million in moral damages for one member of the family, whom the Zimbabwean police had failed to protect from death threats and physical violence by "settlers" on his farmLifting the yoke of mental colonisationIn an article titled: "Five key reasons why Zimbabwe's economy will be far worse in 2016", Ken Yamamoto, a respected commentator on Africa, warned that the economy "was leaking like a sieve" and described the country's leaders as being "giant pillaging marauders".As Zimbabweans struggle to survive under a failed government, they are well aware of the culpability of their avaricious leaders whose vicious infighting is intensifying the failure of their "controlled revolution".In my view, while the government might have removed "every brick from every brick" as they intended, leaving once thriving commercial farms across the country in ruins, they will not be able to rebuild the country their way.Sir Isaac Newton found that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. As Zimbabweans removed the yoke of colonisation so too will they remove the yoke of mental colonisation through which ZANU PF has subjugated them for so many traumatic and ruinous years.I am confident that the Zimbabwean constitution will determine Mr Sibanda's human rights and as a result, those of hundreds of thousands of other farm workers whose displacement and suffering in the wake of the brutal farm invasions has been catastrophic.The tide has turned. As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. se wishing to hire foreign workers from Bangladesh may have to sit through longer application processes with employment agencies suffering the fallout from recent terror arrests.On Tuesday (3 May), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MFA) announced that eight radicalised construction workers from Bangladesh had been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for planning terrorist activities back home.The ringleader of the group Rahman Mizanur established the group, called the Islamic State of Bangladesh (ISB), in March this year. He was an S-Pass holder in the construction industry. The seven others he recruited were work permit holders employed in the marine and construction sectors.Talking with several employment agents, The Straits Times found that additional details such as names of parents and location of the individuals hometown have been required in all applications since late last year.We've been asked for more information about family background, Kent Ng, owner of KF Employment Consultants told the paper.The paper also talked to the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Singapore, Mahbub Uz Zaman, who said Bangladesh will strengthen its screening processes to ensure all incoming workers are good people. To do this, Bangladeshi police have been told to conduct background checks on suspected extremists.We are fully cooperating with the security agencies here and have been providing information to the authorities, he said.This latest event follows the arrests of 27 Bangladeshi construction workers in November and December 2015 in an MFA investigation deemed Singapores largest terror crackdown in 15 years. The arrests were announced in January.A spokesperson from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) told The Straits Times that Bangladesh remains an approved source country. The Ministry assesses and approves work pass applications in consultation with relevant agencies, he added.Jacky Lee, founder of KSP Employment Agency, told the paper that workers are informed of the dos and donts before arriving in Singapore. A psychological test is also administered where applicants answer questions to flag if they easily influenced by others. Lee is still trying to refine the test, he said.Five other Bangladeshi workers have been investigated under the ISA. Although unrelated to the ISB, MFA found they possessed and/or proliferated jihadi-related materials or supported the use of armed violence in pursuit of a religious cause. All five have been deported back to Bangladesh. award-winning industry professional has spoken out about the state of HR, claiming the function is nearing the end of an era but has something far better on the horizon.I think HR is dead and hooray for that, says Laurent Sylvestre general manager of people and culture at engineering icon Beca. HR is dead for something more people-centric."Earlier this year, Sylvestre was named HR Generalist of the Year by the Human Resources Institute of New Zealand - but could the organisations name soon be obsolete?According to Auckland-based Sylvestre, the human resources function long ago known as 'personnel is in the midst of yet another major transition. This time, its to people and culture.There is a need now to connect more with human beings rather than just employees, he says. You need to connect with human beings if you want their attention and you want their time.Sylvestre says the human resources moniker is a leftover from now outdated attitudes When personnel moved into human resources it was late 80s early 90s and we were at the peak of capitalism, he says.It was all about resources and what type of resources you had so part of HR was management of those resources but very much at the core there was still compliance, administration, making sure the contract would be okay, industrial relations things like that."Now, Sylvestre says the industry is seeing a significant shift.Were moving out of that and I think that shouldnt be done by an HR professional. That should be done by the leader or the manager themselves it should be the manager that is going to do that job.Now, Sylvestre says HR professionals or rather people and culture professionals should be concerned with discretionary effort and employee satisfaction.Were not talking about a resource, he stressed. A machine is a resource; a human is not a resource. A human is a human and, as part of their life, a human being is going to work so its about asking how you make that experience enjoyable? News / National by Staff reporter The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe boss John Mangudya has blamed current cash shortages to people predominantly using USD for almost all transactions.The USD has substituted all the other currencies such as the rand, pound and the euro which were in use at the commencement of the multi-currency system in 2009.Mangudya said the switch from other currencies to the USD is due to its strength which is now considered to be a safe haven currency throughout the world.He said RBZ will this week announce policy measures to deal with the problem of cash shortages which have been experienced in some banks.Several banks have imposed a maximum withdrawal limit of $200 and $300."The market-friendly policy measures are going to focus on the sources, distribution and utilisation of foreign exchange in Zimbabwe," said Mangudya.RBZ says the strength of the USD also encourages hoarding and exportation of cash since it is a safe haven currency or asset. The leader of Alberta's Opposition has confirmed that his home is one of many that burned as a wildfire tore through the Fort McMurray area. Brian Jean, leader of the Wildrose Party and MLA for Fort McMurray-Conklin, told Global News that his nephew called with the news as he fled the area on Tuesday evening. Advertisement "I understand my own home is in flames," Jean told the network in a phone interview. Wildrose Leader Brian Jean, MLA for Fort-McMurray-Conklin, just said on Global Edmonton that he's heard his house is in flames. #ymmfire Mariam Ibrahim (@mariamdena) May 4, 2016 The politician urged residents to "please, please, please get out" of the area as the flames spread. "We cannot replace lives," Jean told News Talk 770 radio. "Now is not the time to be a hero." Brian Jean. (Photo: Jason Franson/CP) The massive wildfire which started on Sunday has forced the largest fire-related evacuation order in Alberta's history, with tens of thousands of people ordered from their homes. On Monday, Jean took to his Facebook page to thank emergency crews working to control the fire. "I offer my sincere gratitude to all the dedicated volunteers, staff, firefighters, pilots and other first responders. You are what makes Fort McMurray one of the strongest communities in Alberta," he wrote. Advertisement The politican has lived in Fort McMurray since he was four years old, after moving there from B.C. in 1967. The Huffington Post Alberta has reached out to Jean for comment. Also on HuffPost UPDATE: The rapper told Billboard in a statement Thursday that he had donated US$100,000 to Autism Speaks. The family of an autistic man say they accept 50 Cent's apology after the rapper mocked their son at work. Advertisement Andrew Farrell was working as a janitor at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport over the weekend when 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, approached him and accused him of being high, according to WLWT. "This new generation is crazy. It's crazy," Jackson said in a video he posted to Twitter. "Look at him," he said, referring to Farrell. "What kind of [expletive] do you think he took before coming to work today?" Farrell, 19, also has severe hearing loss, according to TMZ. After the rapper posted the video over the weekend, several Ohio businesses pulled his Effen Vodka from their shelves, according to WDTN. Advertisement Farrell's family was in talks about a potential lawsuit, TMZ reported, but a representative said they'd be happy if the rapper apologized which he has. While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, I am truly sorry for offending the young man, Jackson told Page Six in a statement. "It was certainly not my intent to insult him or the disability community, which is a source of great strength in America. I have apologized personally to him and his family." In a statement to WLWT, the family said they accept 50 Cent's apology, but also requested a donation be made to charity Autism Speaks. Advertisement "Though a letter of apology will not undo what 50 Cent has put our family through, we are choosing to forgive," they said. "We hope that this situation brings more awareness to what people with autism and other forms of social anxiety suffer through on a daily basis." But this isn't the first time the artist has been criticized for his comments on disabilities. In 2012, he apologized after telling a Twitter fan "yeah just saw your picture fool you look autistic," and "I don't want no special ed kids on my time line follow some body else." Also on HuffPost Kris Connor via Getty Images WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: Alex Trebek speaks during a rehearsal before a taping of Jeopardy! Power Players Week at DAR Constitution Hall on April 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images) Jeopardy host Alex Trebek has an important message to kids about stupid people. On Tuesday, the Canadian TV personality stopped by Ottawas Roberta Bondar Public School to help host a geography quiz. While there, one student asked him if he liked his job as Jeopardy host, which hes been doing for over 30 years. Advertisement I love what I do and Ill tell you why, he said. Because I get to appear on a stage everyday with really bright people. I hate spending time with stupid people, because stupid people quite often are prejudiced people. They dont know enough to make sound decisions regarding life or how to treat their fellow man. "The most important thing is you finding something youre good at and something you enjoy doing." Trebek also offered the kids solid advice about how to be happy: The most important thing is you finding something youre good at and something you enjoy doing. And if you have those two things going for you, youre going to be happy in your life. According to Ottawa Community News, the kids at the Greenboro-based school were excited to meet Trebek and participate in the geography quiz he hosted at their school. Ali Khaled, a Grade 8 participant, described the experience as unreal. Alex Trebek leads @BondarBlazers students in the final Q of our mini geo challenge: how long is Canada's coastline? pic.twitter.com/nXE2MUs6cR Canadian Geographic (@CanGeo) May 3, 2016 Advertisement Trebek is currently in Ottawa attending several events. Earlier this week, he was named the honourary president of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and on Thursday, he will be presented a Key to the City of Ottawa by Mayor Jim Watson. Introducing our special guest, Emmy-award winning host of Jeopardy & champion of geographic literacy, Alex Trebek: pic.twitter.com/74QCERucp9 Canadian Geographic (@CanGeo) May 3, 2016 The Mayor announced the news on Twitter last week with a hilarious photo: Remember to answer in the form of a question. pic.twitter.com/1v8A9J9CIp Jim Watson (@JimWatsonOttawa) April 29, 2016 The 75-year-old host will be honoured with a Key to the City of Ottawa for his philanthropy and activism, his unrelenting commitment to higher education, and his steadfast loyalty to his alma mater, the University of Ottawa. ALSO ON HUFFPOST: A stronger loonie may be good news if youre planning a vacation to Florida, but for Canadian companies doing business abroad, its pretty much the last thing they need. Despite the loonie losing more than a cent U.S. on Tuesday, it's trading at around 79 cents U.S., some 10 cents U.S. higher than its lows in January. That new-found strength poses a risk to newly won export gains, BMO chief economist Doug Porter wrote in a client note Wednesday. Advertisement The exchange rate is a massive underlying force. And the three-month surge in the Canadian dollar threatens to undermine those gains. Porter noted that with the loonie in decline, export volumes had shot up 7 per cent in a year. But that trend now appears to be fizzling. Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that exports took a steep dive in March, pushing Canada's trade deficit with the rest of the world to record high of $3.4 billion, up from $2.5 billion in February. The decline was larger than even the most pessimistic forecasts. CIBC economist Nick Exarhos noted its not just the rising loonie thats at fault -- the U.S. is buying less from the world as well. Advertisement "Canada was never going to escape unscathed from a slowdown in U.S. imports, and for March that meant a 4.8 per cent collapse in exports," he wrote. All the same, the data shows a rapid deterioration in Canada's external position since the beginning of the year, coinciding with the recent strength in the Canadian dollar, he added. The drop in exports means there isn't much momentum as we head into the quarter, and trade is not expected to contribute to economic growth, TD Bank senior economist Leslie Preston wrote. TD Bank sees Canadas economy growing in the second quarter at half the pace it grew in the first quarter of this year. But it also expects the loonie to stay below the 80-cent U.S. mark, so Canada's export sector should remain a key source of strength over the medium term. OTTAWA Chrystia Freeland was in the hot seat Tuesday, accused by the Conservatives of spending thousands of taxpayers dollars on a vanity trip to Los Angeles but the international trade minister was ready for the attacks with barbs of her own. Four Conservatives MPs stood up one by one seven questions in all to raise the spectre that Freeland had spent $20,000 to appear on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" in November. Advertisement Alberta Tory MP Blaine Calkins said he had emails obtained under the Access to Information Act that showed Freeland's staff were scrambling to put a program together and begging Los Angeles Times journalists to be interviewed. International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks in the House of Commons on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/CP) "Why does the minister continue to claim the trip was about Canadian business interests when it was actually all about her?" he asked. Advertisement Canadian officials were caught off-guard by the visit, he suggested. "L.A. Consul General [James] Villeneuve noted there seems to be a bit of confusion.' The global affairs director general of communications was also confused, saying in emails, What is she doing in L.A.? Besides the Bill Maher show?" Calkin said. "Clearly, this was a personal trip built around her TV appearance." Freeland said the Tories were once again "trying to create a story where there is none." Unlike Harper, 'we get invited': Freeland "The media appearances were part of the official visit, along with six business round tables. It is my job to promote Canada to the world," she told the House. "Let me remind [the Conservative opposition] that their own leader, the former prime minister [Stephen Harper], spent $50,000 of taxpayer money to get himself U.S. media appearances," Freeland said. "We do not need to do that. We get invited." Harper's office hired Ari Fleischer, a former spokesman for U.S. president George W. Bush, twice during the prime minister's mandate, at a cost of $24,500 a pop, to help manage U.S. media relations. Minister lists interviews Freeland said she is proud to speak to the international media. "Just yesterday, I gave an interview to Politico in Washington," she said. "As minister, I would like to list some of the other international interviews I have done. I have done an interview with MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, the LA Times, and the Financial Times," she said, while the Tories yelled out "More! More!" and egged her on. Advertisement "I have done three BBC interviews. I have spoken to EU Trade Insights. I spoke to La Libra; Deutsche Welle, the German TV; Luberg Television; Handelsblatt [a German newspaper]," she said. Conservative Blaine Calkins rises in the House of Commons Monday April 11, 2016 in Ottawa. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP) Later, under questioning by Quebec Tory MP Jacques Gourde, Freeland said the Liberal government didn't have to pay "Republican hacks" to organize media appearances. But Ontario Conservative MP Karen Vecchio didn't care about media interviews. She wanted to know how it was possible to believe Freeland was on government business when her staff was informed only two days before the trip that she would be in L.A. Advertisement "When will the minister pay back the money for this vanity trip?" she asked. Freeland ignored her and went on to list some of the business meetings she had in California. "Here are some of the people I met with," she told the House of Commons. "Jim Haney, senior VP and general manager of City National Bank, recently acquired by RBC; Greg Foster, CEO of IMAX; Creative BC, and Trade and Invest BC, who were there; John Chiang, the treasurer of the State of California; and Jeff Gorell, deputy mayor. "Other meetings I had there included a reception with the Friends of British Columbia, a meeting with Los Angeles economic leaders," she added before her mic was cut off for going too long. Prove it, veteran Tory says Saskatchewan Conservative MP Gerry Ritz said he wanted to know what important agreements Freeland had signed during her visit to California, an assertion made Monday in the House by Government Leader Dominic Leblanc. "Will she table these important agreements immediately, keeping in mind that credit card receipts and the waiver for Bill Maher do not count?" Freeland didn't mention any agreements. Instead, she accused the Tories of not liking the media. "We understand it is our job to talk to the media at home and abroad," the trade minister said. "I want to point out that I appeared in the media in California with some important Canadian partners, Senator Angus King of Maine, and the California lieutenant governor, Gavin Newsom. Advertisement "They all happened to be sitting on the same panel show, so they do not count as individuals," Ritz shot back. While the Tories pegged the cost of Freeland's trip from Manila, the Philippine capital, to Los Angeles and back to Canada at $20,000, a Liberal spokesperson told HuffPost that Freeland's trade mission to L.A. had cost approximately $14,000, including the cost of a staffer accompanying her. With a previous file ALSO ON HUFFPOST: Thursday May, 5 is Cinco De Mayo, which means tequila will be flowing and tacos will be everywhere. But while the Mexican holiday is most commonly associated with these foods, the real reason the day is celebrated is to honour the Mexican army's unexpected triumph over Napoleon III on May 5, 1862, Newsy's Jasmine Bailey explains in the video above. And since we might over do it on yummy and savoury Mexican treats tomorrow, we think this Cinderella story is worth cheering on. Advertisement Checkout the slideshow below for 50 insanely delicious recipes to help you celebrate Cinco De Mayo. From tequila infused treats to traditional tacos to salsa and guacamole galore, just try to resist these recipes. Also on HuffPost Costco has expanded a previous recall in four provinces to include more products. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Tuesday Costco is recalling Organic by Nature brand frozen Organic Butternut Squash and Organic Vegetable Medley due to a possible Listeria contamination. The products were sold in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, with best before dates from April 26, 2016 to April 26, 2018. Advertisement Costco is recalling these products over a possible Listeria contamination. In April, Costco recalled Organic by Nature frozen peas in the same provinces over Listeria concerns. Listeria symptoms can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache and neck stiffness. Advertisement Pregnant women are particularly at risk, as infection can lead to premature delivery, infection of the newborn, or even stillbirth. A B.C. tribunal is being asked to decide if a high chair is a human right. A Vancouver father has filed a complaint against the Earls restaurant chain for failing to provide proper seating for his child, calling it discrimination based on his family status. Phillip Ryan said multiple Earls locations in Vancouver could not provide a high chair for his one-year-old. He said he was told it's company policy not to have them. The first time he left the restaurant, and the second time he ate with his child on his lap, according to the complaint filed last week with the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. Advertisement Earls which is headquartered in Vancouver and has restaurants across Canada and the U.S. applied to quash the lawsuit immediately, but was denied. A Vancouver father says that it is discriminatory for restaurants not to provide high chairs. (Photo: Gettystock) Earls said it has no policy of refusing high chairs, but that some locations dont provide them. The practice isnt discriminatory because they offered Ryan a booth seat where he could hold his child in his lap, argued the company. Advertisement Ryan wants preferred or perfect accommodation, Earls said, rather than the reasonable accommodation it is obligated to provide. Just because dining is less enjoyable or more stressful without a high chair, the restaurant said, doesnt make it discriminatory. Complaints go back 10 years Ryan said putting a one-year-old in a lap, stroller, or high chair would be unsafe. Parents have been complaining about the lack of high chairs at Earls for 10 years. When CBC News first raised the issue, a spokesperson said at some locations that attract mostly business clients, theyve heard both opinions regarding high chairs. We are not trying to discriminate against you, the restaurant told CBC at the time. Rather, we are trying to maximize our sales opportunities according to the neighbourhood we serve." Also on HuffPost Canada's Best Restaurants 2016 See Gallery OTTAWA Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is calling for all the top senior public servants to be removed from their current jobs because, she says, they are tainted from the Harper years and resisting change. "It's awkward as a person in politics, you don't want to single out public servants," May said. "But it can't escape note that the deputy minister for trade negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the deputy minister at Environment Canada was Harper's lead negotiator at Copenhagen blocking climate action "The deputy ministers advising [Public Safety Minister] Ralph Goodale were okay with C-51, so was the deputy minister at the department of justice," May added. Advertisement Green Leader Elizabeth May holds up a draft agreement as she speaks about the upcoming Paris climate conference during a briefing, Thursday, November 19, 2015 in Ottawa. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP) It's not about the public service being partisan, May told reporters Wednesday during a press conference highlighting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's six months in office. "But it's clear that the top level of the public service is contaminated by their role in the last 10 years." Advertisement "In my opinion, right now, there is a level of resistance against change," May said, pointing to examples of a press release and advice from bureaucrats at the department of international trade and the Canada Revenue Agency. "There is, to put it mildly, inertia in the system." "It's clear that the top level of the public service is contaminated by their role in the last 10 years." The Green Party leader said she isn't accusing public servants of being Harper cheerleaders or secret Conservatives but rather she is suggesting there is a problem afoot because the deputy ministers still in place are at ease with the decisions they made during the last government. "I'm not accusing the civil service of wishing they had Stephen Harper back. They are non-partisan. But after 10 years, it takes a while to make the shift," she said. "It's not really possible to imagine that there is no loyalty to the action that you've personally undertaken as a senior civil servant," May added. "There is pride in accomplishments. Logically, they were doing the right thing cause their job as civil servants is to follow what they are instructed to do by the political side of government." Advertisement Watch her full press conference: Trudeau later told reporters he was saddened that May and everyone else couldn't see at what point Canada has a professional non-partisan public service. Trudeau 'proud of the public service' "Yes, during the previous government the public service had to deliver the priorities of that government but what I found during the past six months is a public service that is ready to engage on new ways of doing things, of ways that are more aligned with science and data, of concentrating on concrete results we can deliver for Canadians rather than just announcements to bolster a certain image," the prime minister said. "I'm extremely proud of the public service that we have in this country," he added before repeating again that he felt bureaucrats are actively engaged in helping his new Liberal government deliver on its promises. May said it shouldn't be Trudeau's job to remove the deputies, but it is "clearly the role of Mr. [Michael] Wernick as the head of all the public service to ensure that all deputy ministers are absolutely at ease and engaged for big change" in Canadian politics. Advertisement Wernick took over as clerk of the Privy Council in January after Trudeau removed Harper's appointee, Janice Charette. "I'm not suggesting that people be sacked, but I think it would be healthy to move people around a bit," May said. "I'm not saying they are bad people but it is inevitable, it is human nature that people are rather attached to the stuff they just did, which I would like to see reversed." ALSO ON HUFFPOST: News / National by Staff reporter VICE-President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his counterpart Phelekezela Mphoko where tangled in a power fight last week during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair in Bulawayo.The fight at Zanu PF stand was over paraphernalia of national hero and late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo's history.According to NewsDay, Mphoko was the first to tour the stand Wednesday before Mnangagwa on Thursday."He (Mphoko) arrived at the stand, looked around and found 50 copies of Nkomo's autobiography, The Story of My Life, being exhibited. Mphoko ordered his aides to remove the books, but did not tell the family why and how they would recover them,"49 copies of the book were later returned on Friday.An angry Mphoko on Friday rejected the claims."Me? Are people crazy? Please do not play games with me. I don't want that," Mphoko fumed.The late Father Zimbabwe's son Sibangilizwe Nkomo seemed cagey when asked about the incident."I have heard that there is an exhibition at ZITF, but I would need to check with other family members. I am not sure about that incident," he said.Minister in Mphoko's office Tabetha Kanengoni-Malinga professed ignorance about the incident."Is that what happened? But I was standing right next to him (Mphoko) when he toured the stand and I did not hear him say that to anyone. I am not aware of that incident," Kanengoni-Malinga said.The paper said the head of the Central Intelligence Organisation's close security unit, Miles Ngulube, somewhat confirmed the matter before he made a U-turn saying he knew nothing about the incident."I was there at the stand wani (of course)! Who gave you my number? Just because I am the head of security, so people think I know. Talk to the guys in Bulawayo, I know nothing about what you are saying," Ngulube said.Ngulube also queried: "I left Bulawayo as soon as the President (Robert Mugabe) left on Friday, so how would I know about that?"Nkomo's book caused untold discomfort in Mugabe's government as it revealed intricate details of the Gukurahundi episode that forced him into a union with the veteran Zimbabwean leader following years of military-backed violence which caused at least 20 000 civilian deaths in the western parts of the country.Mphoko, a former Zapu commander in the early years of the liberation war, has had his credentials questioned by his former colleagues amid claims he abandoned the war at the critical stages, hiding in Mozambique and started a family while others continued fighting.When Mnangagwa toured the same stand on Thursday, he reportedly also ordered one of his aides to "remove some material"."The following day, when VP Mnangagwa came to the stand, he saw a board that had pictures of the late Father Zimbabwe and we suspect he was unhappy about it because some of the pictures were about Gukurahundi. We just saw his security coming back to collect the board and never returned it," a source close to the Nkomo family said."But Mnangagwa, unlike Mphoko, asked one of his officials to leave his details with Nkomo family members manning the exhibition so that they would be able to collect the stuff after the event."After we engaged the head of security (Ngulube), VP Mphoko's people on Friday returned 49 books that had been confiscated, meaning only one was missing, while we did not hear anything from Mnangagwa." An Alberta city is under the province's largest fire evacuation order as a massive wildfire enveloped the region. Approximately 88,000 residents of Fort McMurray and area were told to leave their homes Tuesday. According to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, 80 per cent of the houses in the neighbourhood of Beacon Hill were destroyed by the powerful blaze. Advertisement Firefighters say they are preparing for a worse day Wednesday, anticipating strong winds and dry conditions to feed the already out of control 10,000-hectare-large inferno. All 105 patients were evacuated from the local Northern Lights hospital within two hours, officials said at a news conference. A fuel tanker has been sent to aid stranded motorists who stayed the night on Highway 63 without gas. The highway is the main traffic artery between Fort McMurray and Edmonton. Photos taken from locals and photographers in Fort McMurray show dark ominous clouds of ash and tall towers of billowing smoke against an orange-lit sky. Advertisement Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says nearly 1,600 structures have been destroyed by the wildfire so far. An evacuee puts gas in his car on his way out of Fort McMurray as a wildfire burns in the background on May 4, 2016. (Photo: Jason Franson /The Canadian Press via AP) A family takes refuge in the back of their boat after evacuation at a rest stop near Fort McMurray on May 4, 2016. (Photo: Jason Franson/The Canadian Press) Advertisement Evacuees from Fort McMurray wait to hear when they will be let back in, at a rest stop near the city on May 4, 2016. (Photo: Jason Franson/The Canadian Press) Wildfires burn in and around Fort McMurray on May 4, 2016. (Photo: Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP) Advertisement A helicopter battles a wildfire on May 4, 2016. (Photo: Jason Franson/The Canadian Press) Heavy smoke rises above Alberta Highway 63, near Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016. (Photo: Newzulu) This photo provided by Tyler Burgett shows flames from a wildfire along Highway 63 in Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016. (Photo: Tyler Burgett via Associated Press) Smoke fills the air as people drive on a road in Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016. (Photo: Greg Halinda/The Canadian Press) Advertisement A wall of fire rages outside of Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016 as a wildfire threatened the city. (Photo: Mary Anne Sexsmith-Segato/The Canadian Press) Students from Fort McMurray Composite High School are released early as a wildfire burns nearby in Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016. (Photo: Courtesy Kangen Lee/Handout via Reuters) Advertisement Flames rise in an industrial area south of Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016. (Photo: Courtesy CBC News/Handout via Reuters) (Photo: Courtesy Jerome Garot) A large tower of smoke billows over Fort McMurray on May 1, 2016. (Photo: jasonwoodhead23/Flickr) Smoke fills the air as a small plane flies overhead in Fort McMurray, Alberta on May 3, 2016. (Photo: Kitty Cochrane/The Canadian Press) Advertisement Here are some resources for Fort McMurray evacuees: Alberta Red Cross 1-888-350-6070 Fort McMurray evacuee help on Facebook and Twitter Let your friends and family know you're safe with Facebook Safety Check @511Alberta on Twitter for road closures and travel advisories Also on HuffPost: Satellite images have captured how unbelievably quickly a devastating wildfire spread through the northern Alberta municipality of Fort McMurray. The out-of-control wildfire grew from a barely visible blip to a devastating inferno in just four days, as shown in photos from NASAs Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Advertisement Satellite imagery of the Fort McMurray area from Sunday doesn't show any smoke, or thermal anomalies unusual pockets of heat that are displayed as red dots on top of the satellite photo. Satellite imagery of Fort McMurray on May 1, 2016. (Photo: NASA EOSDIS) The fire was first spotted on Sunday south of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, where Fort McMurray is located. NASA's images show how that picture had drastically changed by Monday. Nearly 30 thermal hotspots had popped up on the map, and a huge cloud of smoke appeared over the city. Advertisement Air-tankers and helicopters fought the fire as crews on the ground worked to contain the flames. Satellite imagery of Fort McMurray on May 2, 2016. (Photo: NASA EOSDIS) Overnight, the fire doubled in size from 1,200 hectares to over 2,600. As temperatures and winds rose, the blaze quickly spread toward the city. Within a matter of hours, the number of neighbourhoods under mandatory evacuation order grew from a handful to the entire city of 80,000 residents. By Tuesday evening, the fire had razed portions of neighbourhoods and a trailer park. The satellite images show a massive cloud of ash blanketing the entire city, with smoke reaching as far as oilsands work camps 20 kilometres to the north. Advertisement Satellite imagery of Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016. (Photo: NASA EOSDIS) As of Wednesday morning, thermal imaging showed a fire that seemed to span the length of the city. The worst of the blaze is "not over," forestry manager Bernie Schmitte said late Tuesday. Satellite imagery of Fort McMurray (left) on May 3, 2016, compared to a map of Fort McMurray (right). (Photo: NASA EOSDIS, Google Maps) The Fort McMurray fire is the biggest such evacuation in Alberta's history. With files from The Canadian Press Also on HuffPost Facebook Kayley Dixon is only 14 years old. But the teen garnered thunderous applause and a few tears following her performance of a spoken word piece on Monday. In less than three minutes, she perfectly encapsulates the small, and large, ways girls face sexual violence on a daily basis. Dixon performed her piece, called "A Touch Of Sexual Assault," during a government announcement of $6 million in public funding for 11 community groups in Nova Scotia that address sexual violence. Advertisement The Dartmouth teen started with: "From the age of 12, we were told that if boys pulled our hair or poked us with pencils, it meant that they liked us. But we didn't like it that much." "We were 13 years old when we would walk down the street and had men look from our feet to our face and we'd listen as they completely replaced our identity from human to object," Dixon continues, reading from her phone. From there, she talks about how girls are told to cover up and dress modestly so as not to distract the boys. "We want to make sure we are as covered as possible so that our identities are not replaced with walking candy." Advertisement Watch her full performance above. Dixon has struck a nerve with social media audiences and her video has been shared thousands of times. "Well said, Kayley! I am a grandmother, and nothing has changed on this theme since I was a young girl," wrote Elaine Hillman Reid on Facebook. "It's about time for girls to speak out and action to be taken to stop this treating young innocent females as objects." "Wow, what a remarkable young lady. Beautiful, intelligent, brave, and strong," commented Breagha Heather. "The words she wrote were very touching but the way she read it was what really made it powerful. Fast and slow, louder and quieter. She will do great things." This isn't the first time, Dixon has spoken out about social issues. Just last month, she gained attention for a Facebook post in which she stood up for her community of Dartmouth. Advertisement In an interview with Metro about her spoken word piece, Dixon said, "I think that a lot of people think that youth may not realize or know about sexual assault or violence, and I think that its really important for especially youth to speak out about it because we are the next generation." And with a powerful performance like this, the future is in very good hands with Dixon. ALSO ON HUFFPOST: Rochelle Squires/Facebook The minister overseeing francophone affairs in Manitoba has a challenging job ahead, especially since she doesn't speak French. Rochelle Squires, a former journalist representing Winnipeg's Riel district, told The Canadian Press that despite her lack of French fluency, the francophone community has a "strong advocate." Advertisement "I have a steep learning curve," the recently elected MLA told The Winnipeg Free Press on Tuesday. Squires' unilingualism is a concern, according to Manitoban Paul Ndambwe, who told CBC News that not being able to speak French makes a "big difference" in connecting with constituents. "I believe if you understand the French speakers, you have to speak the language," he said. "You can't represent somebody [when] you don't even know the language." This wasn't the only criticism lobbed at Progressive Conservative Premier Brian Pallister's cabinet , sworn in Tuesday. NDP MLA Andrew Swan told the Free Press there are no visible minorities or indigenous MLAs among the premier's picks. "It is not a group anyone would say is diverse, not ethnically or geographically," he said. Ministries merged The 12-member cabinet is smaller than that of former NDP premier Greg Selinger. Some ministerial titles have been discarded or combined with others. Advertisement Opposition NDP and the Liberals both said the loss of separate departments for labour, aboriginal affairs and other matters are among some worrisome changes. "Things which I believe are important to Manitobans may not be given the same priority,'' Swan said. With files from The Canadian Press Also On HuffPost: Thomas Mulcair has brought up Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's own marijuana use to criticize the government's stance on decriminalization. The NDP leader made the remarks Wednesday while discussing the Trudeau government's first six months with Parliament Hill reporters. He expressed disappointment that Liberals have ruled out decriminalizing pot before moving to legalize the drug next spring. Advertisement "Mr. Trudeau himself, while he was an MP, smoked marijuana," Mulcair said. "He talked about that. So, why is it fair for him to have nothing and for a young person who does the exact same thing to wind up with a criminal record that's going to follow them for the rest of their lives?" Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses members of caucus on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 4, 2016. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP) Mulcair said decriminalizing pot was something Trudeau "could have should have taken care of right away." Advertisement A few minutes later, Mulcair circled back to the pot issue while criticizing what he sees as the shortcomings of a federal government that he says "talks a good game," but doesn't deliver. "When you have young people still getting criminal records for possessing a very small amount of marijuana for personal use, you haven't kept your promise," he said. Mulcair highlighted much the same message in a post to Facebook and Twitter last week. Millions are being wasted convicting Cdns for possession of marijuana. We must decriminalize immediately. #cdnpolipic.twitter.com/IfxmYz2XC4 Tom Mulcair (@ThomasMulcair) April 25, 2016 NDP MP Anne Minh-Thu Quach also referenced Trudeau's past during a debate in March, saying he was "lucky he was not arrested" and has no stains on his record. Trudeau told The Huffington Post Canada in the summer of 2013 that he smoked pot at a dinner party at his house about three years earlier. The Papineau MP was elected to the House of Commons in 2008, and voted in favour of mandatory minimum sentences for pot possession in 2009. Advertisement "Why is it fair for him to have nothing and for a young person who does the exact same thing to wind up with a criminal record that's going to follow them for the rest of their lives?" He faced repeated criticism from Conservatives after he came out in favour of legalization. On the campaign trail last fall, then-Tory leader Stephen Harper even maintained that pot was "infinitely worse" than tobacco. Mulcair's NDP, meanwhile, advocated for decriminalization. When Health Minister Jane Philpott announced last month that Liberals will table legislation on the matter next year, Mulcair rose in question period to press the government to "at least promise" there will be a bill to remove criminal records for those busted with pot in the meantime. "Decriminalization, as this member proposes, actually gives a legal stream of income to criminal organizations," Trudeau said at the time. "That's not what anyone wants in this country." ALSO ON HUFFPOST: News / National by Staff reporter The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has introduced new measures to ease cash challenges and stabilising the economy.Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya told the media that new measures which include the conversion of foreign exchange receipts into rands and euros will spread the use of other currencies.He said the central bank will in the future introduce $2, $5, $10 and $20 Zimbabwe bond notes backed by a US$200 million facility.The central banks has also set daily cash withdrawal limits at US$1000 while the maximum cash to be taken outside the country has been reduced to US$5 000 from US$10 000."The measures will go a long way in increasing economic confidence within the economy," said Dr Mangudya.Banks have also been directed to reduce lending rates from 18 percent to 15 percent. Oilsands operators have had to cut production as a wildfire continues to rage in Fort McMurray but it's not having much effect on oil prices. Shell Canada shut down mining operations at its Albian Sands project and Suncor cut its output as a wildfire has forced the evacuation of the area's entire, 80,000-person population, according to Bloomberg. Advertisement It's just one more calamity that has hit the oil-producing region as prices have plummeted amid a global supply glut due to increased production around the world, and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. But the fire hasn't done much to oil prices on its own. Reuters reported Wednesday that unexpected growth in U.S. crude stocks has effectively offset any worry about the wildfire and its effect on oilsands production. Brent crude alone jumped by US$0.20, while the price of U.S. crude rose by $0.40 on Wednesday. Crude oil stocks were expected to grow by 1.7 million barrels but they actually increased by 2.8 million in the past week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Advertisement The price of oil has seen boosts from disrupted production around the world, such as in Iraq and Nigeria, and the wildfire only adds to those losses, the news agency said. Shell's Albian Sands project alone can produce as many as 255,000 barrels per day. In other words, it's totally possible that oil prices could rise further. But for now, the wildfire isn't having much effect because there's so much oil available. Oilsands giants are currently working to accommodate evacuees at their camps. Shell, for one, is working to house people at a work camp that has space for 2,000 people. It has also flown employees and their loved ones to Edmonton and Calgary from its landing strip and provided firefighters to help douse the flames. Advertisement Suncor and Syncrude are also accommodating evacuees at their own work camps, Bloomberg reported. Suncor's own plant, which is located about 25 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, is safe, but the company has cut production so that employees can find their way to safety. Also on HuffPost The days of major brands skirting around Quebec's French language laws are coming to an end. Provincial Language Minister Helene David has announced that the government is bringing in rules that would make major brands such as Best Buy and Walmart include French signage in a way they haven't had to up until now. They're meant to preserve Quebec's francophone identity, the minister said in a statement Tuesday. Advertisement "With these proposed rules, every person whether they're on a highway, a sidewalk, in an industrial area or in a parking lot will remember that they're in Quebec when they see signs in French," David said. "We are in Quebec, not Maine or Massachusetts," the minister said, according to Reuters. Until now, businesses with trademarked brand names in English such as Best Buy didn't have to use French signage due to a loophole in Bill 101, Quebec's French language law, The National Post reported. Ergo, it was fine for a Costco or a Walmart to display their signs as they would anywhere else in the world. Advertisement But that won't be possible once the new rules come into effect, as expected, later this year. French signs can be as simple as a few extra words near the main English phrase. The francophone signs would also have to be lit up at night if the English ones are. For example, the sign on the left would not be permitted under the new rules, while the sign on the right would be allowed. Business owners are expected to have to pay anywhere between $5,000 and $9,000 to make the changes, but they'll also have three years to do it, CTV News reported. There will, however, be exceptions. Any businesses with family names, such as Tim Hortons or McDonald's, will not have to change their signs. Advertisement The Quebec government will hold a consultation for 45 days ahead of implementing the changes. Also on HuffPost: A rookie Liberal MP is receiving kudos from members across the floor after he voted against shutting down debate on his own government's physician-assisted dying legislation. Manitoba MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette broke ranks with Liberals on a time allocation motion on Bill C-14 Wednesday. Time allocation allows a government to limit the length of debate on a bill so that it can move through the legislative process at a quicker pace. Advertisement Robert-Falcon Ouellette. (Photo: Facebook) The Huffington Post Canada has reached out to Oullette on his decision and will update this story if he responds. The indigenous MP has already announced that he will not vote for C-14, citing his spiritual beliefs and the ongoing suicide crisis in Attawapiskat as reasons behind that decision. Some critics deride time allocation motions as anti-democratic but the use of the tactic on the sensitive and emotionally-charged topic of physician-assisted death seemed to particularly irk Conservatives and New Democrats. Before the vote, NDP House Leader Peter Julian said it was "shameful" to call for closure on what should be a non-partisan issue after only about two-and-a-half days of debate. Tory MP Peter Kent accused Liberals of behaving "like pranksters in a model Parliament." Advertisement There will still be opportunities to discuss the legislation at later stages and in committee. Raitt says minister 'spewing lies' In a particularly heated moment, Tory MP Lisa Raitt accused Wilson-Raybould of "spewing lies" in the House by suggesting those who wanted to speak on C-14 have been given the chance. Veteran Tory Jason Kenney said the use of time allocation on the topic of "euthanasia" was unlike anything he had seen in his nearly 20 years in Parliament. While the previous Tory government used time allocation at least 100 times in the last Parliament, Kenney said MPs must have the chance to speak on "life and death issues." But in 2014, Tories used time allocation to stifle debate on prostitution legislation that came about after the top court struck down laws it said jeopardized the "safety and lives" of sex workers. I cannot recall a govt shutting down Parliamentary debate on a grave matter of moral conscience, as the Liberals are now doing on euthanasia Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 4, 2016 Advertisement 1/ I understand govts in our system must sometimes limit debate time, eg back to work legislation, or in response to opposition filibusters. Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 4, 2016 2/ But the ancient convention on matters of grave moral conscience, eg life and death issues, is to allow all MPs to speak. Until now. Jason Kenney (@jkenney) May 4, 2016 Tory MP Scott Reid took to Twitter to say he planned to vote for the legislation but has now changed his mind. I planned to vote in favour of C-14 at 2nd reading. But I'm so disgusted by the Liberals shutting down debate that tonight I'll vote No. Scott Reid (@ScottReidCPC) May 4, 2016 NDP MP Alistair MacGregor blasted the Liberals for thwarting discussion on arguably the "most important legislation before Parliament in a decade." Advertisement Shameful. On what is arguably most important legislation before Parliament in a decade, #Liberals are shutting down debate #cdnpoli#C14 Alistair MacGregor (@AMacGregor4CML) May 4, 2016 After the vote, many MPs took to Twitter to laud Ouellette, including Green Party Leader Elizabeth May who called him "one brave MP." That's one brave MP @DrRobbieO - sole Liberal to vote against closure on #C14. Shame on Liberals for anti-democratic closure.#hw#cdnpoli Elizabeth May (@ElizabethMay) May 4, 2016 Big props to @DrRobbieO, the only Liberal member standing up to his party on their shameful decision to end debate on euthanasia. #cdnpoli Garnett Genuis (@GarnettGenuis) May 4, 2016 Major respect to @DrRobbieO for voting against his party on the motion to end debate on Physician Assisted Dying. Huge respect. Michelle Rempel, MP (@MichelleRempel) May 4, 2016 Advertisement Just applauded Lib MP @DrrobbieO Robert Falcon Oullette for standing in opposition to closure of debate on C-14. Courageous. Bob Zimmer MP (@bobzimmermp) May 4, 2016 ALSO ON HUFFPOST: Activists in the U.S. and Canada have long railed against the environmental footprint left by Alberta's oilsands. None of it has stopped an increasing volume of oil from flowing south. A GIF created by cost information website HowMuch.net shows just how much America has come to depend on crude oil imports from the Great White North over the past 15 years. The map shows U.S. total crude oil imports and other products growing from 661 million total barrels in 2005 to 1.37 billion barrels in 2015. And the trend has come as the United States has depended less and less on imports from the Middle East. Advertisement The chart shows imports from Saudi Arabia falling from 561 million barrels in 2005 to 386 million barrels last year. HowMuch.net came up with its GIF to demonstrate that, though the U.S. has taken up an effort to produce its own oil through methods such as fracking, "total energy independence is still a long way off." But it also shows what an important energy partner Canada is. Imports of foreign oil started rising in the U.S. again last year, as a glut of supply drove down prices around the world, an event that has forced American producers to scale back their operations, The Wall Street Journal reports. Advertisement The glut is largely due to increased supply from players such as Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has hiked production and driven down prices in an effort to grab market share after American producers started tapping shale oil in areas such as North Dakota and Texas. Break-even prices for shale oil can range from anywhere between $30 and $60 per barrel, although some don't break even unless oil costs $100 per barrel, according to Forbes. By contrast, Saudi's break-even price is only $12 per barrel. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude stood at US$43.78 on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg. Also on HuffPost: Todd Korol via Getty Images TORONTO, ON - APRIL 6: A new Bombardier streetcar in a service bay during a tour of the new TTC Leslieville Barns in Toronto, Ontario. (Todd Korol/Toronto Star via Getty Images) Bombardier is on bit a roll these days. Large deals with Air Canada and Delta Air Lines for its marquee CSeries planes have boosted confidence in the company. Yet, despite this good news (and the CSeries top exec's statement last month that a bailout is "very clearly not required") the debate over a federal bailout for Bombardier rages on. While much of the focus is rightly on the economic merits (or more accurately, demerits) of corporate welfare, political considerations are inevitably part of the equation. And on this front, two parallel narratives -- neither of which bode well for national unity -- have emerged. Advertisement Outside of Quebec, and particularly in western Canada, there is concern that the Trudeau government will cave into demands to hand over money to a company that has perpetually struggled to survive in the marketplace without taxpayer support. If Ottawa was willing to waste billions of federal tax dollars in Ontario, surely it's only fair to waste billions in Quebec as well. This would come in an economic context that saw over a 100,000 jobs lost in Alberta in the last year (where an equivalent bailout was neither proposed nor demanded) and growing hostility towards the company in Toronto, which is seething at Bombardier's repeated failure to deliver streetcars (which, it should be noted, are made by an entirely separate division). Within Quebec, the narrative is that the Trudeau government is beholden to Bay Street in Toronto, and sees a clear double standard insofar as the federal government (under Stephen Harper) helped bail out General Motors and Chrysler in 2009. Advertisement Quebec Premier Phillippe Couillard has even noted that Ottawa "lost billions" bankrolling the auto bailout (taxpayers lost $3.7 billion to be exact). But rather than as an argument against repeating such an expensive mistake, Couillard cites it as an argument in favour: if Ottawa was willing to waste billions of federal tax dollars in Ontario, surely it's only fair to waste billions in Quebec as well. All of this leaves the Trudeau government between a rock and a hard place. They cannot please both camps. But a critical mistake would be to view this decision as a one-off rather than as setting a precedent that will impact Ottawa's ability to respond to similar demands in the future. The question the prime minister and Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains should be asking themselves is: what kind of precedent do we want to set? Bombardier will be happy for a short while, but as has been the case for the last half century, they will be back for more (and more, and more, and more). Saying yes to Bombardier would signal that it's business as usual in Ottawa: corporate welfare will continue as it always has, and businesses will know that by dispatching the right lobbyists and telegraphing the right threats ("Those are some nice high-paying jobs you've got there. It'd be a real shame if something were to happen to them!") they can extract cash from Ottawa. Bombardier will be happy for a short while, but as has been the case for the last half century, they will be back for more (and more, and more, and more). In short, by saying yes to Bombardier, they set themselves up for countless similar scenarios in the future. Advertisement Alternatively, they could just say no, and send a dramatically different signal: that this kind of fiscal and economic insanity ends here and now. True, Bombardier and the Quebec government won't be happy. But it will deprive future corporate beggars from coast-to-coast (are there ever any shortage of them?) of a precedent, much like the auto bailout that Quebec and Bombardier are now relying on as justification for their own demands. Perhaps the most understated evil of corporate welfare in Canada is its ability to exacerbate regional tensions. Governments have limited money to dispense; choices must inevitably be made about which projects in which part of the country receive what amounts and on what conditions. When this happens, discussion of whether such corporate handouts are even a good idea becomes overshadowed by questions of regional fairness. Corporate welfare teaches companies and regions that what's important is about getting your "fair cut" of "free" money. This is why Premier Couillard can openly admit the auto bailout was an expensive waste, while simultaneously arguing, with a straight face, that Bombardier deserves the same. Corporate welfare teaches companies and regions that what's important is about getting your "fair cut" of "free" money. And when your cut isn't perceived as fair, it can turn a wasteful policy into a corrosive, emotional weapon to be used by those with regional grievances. Advertisement It is already too late to prevent the Bombardier bailout question from becoming regionally divisive. But the government could at least prevent it from happening again by rejecting the company's request today. If they do, they'll be sparing themselves a dozen similar regional headaches in the future - and saving Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: BrianAJackson via Getty Images Last Will and Testament document with quill pen and handwriting Apparently Prince didn't have a will and a huge battle has broken out over his assets. Prince's family now has a court involved and it can take quite some time to settle this huge estate. Don't make the same mistake he did and make sure that you get the final word. Jurisdictions change across Canada so make sure that you get a great lawyer and don't have to stand out in the same purple rain. Advertisement It is actually more costly due to the fact that you have an administrator appointed and because there are often many more individuals who are entitled to a share of your estate. Loved ones that you might have included in your will may not receive any of your stuff. Also, those who are entitled to receive part of your estate, if you die intestate, may receive a share that is larger or smaller than you would have chosen. Make sure you have an up-to-date will in a place where your executor, spouse or kids can find it. If you die without a will you do not have a say in who your beneficiaries are or who administers your estate. Here is a checklist so that you can be ready when you meet with your lawyer and get this off your "to do" list. These are the things you'll need before you head off to a lawyer to build your will. 1. List of key documents like: Birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates Deeds and mortgages Bank account numbers (savings too) Investment portfolio account numbers (RRSP, TFSA, etc.) Insurance policy numbers Funeral plans and burial lot information (Make them if you don't have them.) 2. List of your advisers, such as banker, lawyer, accountant, financial planner and insurance agent. Include all of the numbers, company names and addresses. 3. Make sure your family and executor know where this information is located. Some of it may be needed right after your death. Don't keep it with the will or under the bed. What to Consider When Making Your Will: Who will you select as executor and, if you wish, co-executor? Consider naming an alternate executor in case the executor is not around. Make sure they will agree to be your executor. Nemeses are a bad idea. Do you want to leave anyone something special? These requests are called "bequests" and are specific items of personal property (such as a car, jewelry, china, silver, dogs playing pool pictures, etc.) or a sum of money that you wish to leave to a specific person. To whom do you wish to leave the remainder of your estate? Love monkey? Kids? Charities? Me? Is it to go to them directly or through a trust? If it is being left to children, are they to receive it immediately or at some time in the future like when they are over 18? How do you want your estate distributed? Dropped from a hot air balloon, etc. If one of your kids (god forbid) has died at the time your will takes effect, do you want his or her kids to receive the deceased child's share, or do you want it to go to your other children? Who will you name as a guardian for dependent children or disabled adult children? Make sure the guardian agrees to act! If you're in a second marriage and both of you have children from previous marriages, you may wish to consider the available options. For example, the remainder of your estate can go to: your spouse absolutely your kids absolutely your spouse for his or her use while alive, and then, after your spouse dies, to your children or your children and the children of your spouse. It is very important that you and your love monkey discuss the various scenarios and agree upon your plans. It'll make for the best of a horrible situation. Advertisement In the event that a minor (child, grandchild, great-grandchild, niece or nephew) inherits a share of your estate, who do you want to be the trustee of that minor's share? If one of your beneficiaries is dead, who do you want to receive their share? Are you going to have a Power of Attorney prepared at the same time you make your will? If so, consider the following: Who do you want to act on your behalf (this person is called your attorney)? Will the attorney's power be limited and specific or broad? Do you want the attorney to have power to act if you should become incompetent? Do you want to name somebody in your Power of Attorney to make decisions about your personal care if you become incompetent? If you include a Power of Attorney for Personal Care, will you name the same person that is handling your financial affairs? Prince passed so suddenly and is an example of what could happen if we don't make sure that we have the final word. If you have made a will over five years ago and things have changed, make sure to update it regularly. And don't keep it so safely hidden no one will ever find it! Advertisement Make sure that you have a Will. It'll make the ride to heaven in that Little Red Corvette worry free. COLE BURSTON via Getty Images TOPSHOT - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau(L) and Britain's Prince Harry(R) leave a Sledge Hockey scrimmage at Ryerson University in Toronto on May 2, 2016, to promote the 2017 Invictus Games, to be played in Toronto, Canada. / AFP / Cole Burston (Photo credit should read COLE BURSTON/AFP/Getty Images) Full disclosure: I voted for the Liberal Party of Canada in the last election. I was one of those voters who waivered between the NDP and Liberals, but became disheartened when NDP leader Tom Mulcair put an inauthentic perma smile on his bearded face and gave us a substandard platform. So I shrugged, and then decided Justin Trudeau would be a more progressive prime minister. I was never swept up in the fairy tale vibe of the campaign, but I saw how well it was run and thought maybe that organizational effort was an indicator on how he would run the government. He got off to a good start, opting for gender parity for his cabinet makeup, moving forward on the Truth and Reconciliation recommendations, reinstating the long form census and making himself accessible to the media. It was the exact antithesis to the last 10 years that featured a prime minister who rarely spoke to the media and never seemed to show much humanity at all. Advertisement Do cookie cutters in the shape of Justin Trudeau's face represent the peak of Trudeaumania? Then the showman came out. Trudeau talked about feminism. He took some selfies. He appeared on the cover of several magazines. His wife sang an awkward song off the cuff at an event meant to be about Martin Luther King. Then he and Obama made some jokes. Then he did a one-armed push up. Those are just a small sampling of his antics since taking office. And now, I think I've had just about enough. Trudeau is clearly milking his greatest strength. His likability is off the charts, but with so many important issues happening in Canada right now do we really need to constantly be reminded that our prime minister is approachable and hip? Justin, if you are reading this, I have a few questions. Advertisement This 2011 photo of Justin Trudeau in the peacock yoga pose ignited a series of memes earlier this year. How about talking directly about finalizing the arms deal to Saudi Arabia in greater detail than you talk about quantum computing? Like Stephen Lewis said, how can you approve the sale of these arms to one of the world's most misogynistic regimes and still call yourself a feminist? What are the specifics behind our relationship with Saudi Arabia that make them so vital to our interests? Instead of more sunny ways, what we really want is an explanation for some of the storm clouds in our country. Why is marijuana legalization being delayed for at least another year, and why are you still allowing young people to get criminal records in the meantime for simple possession offences? Why haven't you talked at all about Bill C-51 in great detail? What are the specific details of the Trans Pacific Partnership and when will we begin the ratification process? Advertisement How long will our mission be in Iraq, and will we eventually have boots on the ground? Will we be tallying civilian casualties? Why did you continue providing subsidies for fossil fuel companies in your first budget? And where's the $6 billion in green infrastructure spending? In this screencap from a video promoting Team Canada in the upcoming Invictus Games, Justin Trudeau literally drops a microphone while doing push-ups. Canadians have so many legitimate concerns, but you can't seem to stop smiling and offering levity instead. When you are serious, like when you answer questions in the House of Commons, something doesn't feel right. Advertisement There appears to be an obvious artificial deepening of your voice when you want to sound like a statesman. By lowering your octave you come off a not unlike a guy trying to compensate for something, and I think I know what it is. It truly feels like you think you can skate by on your charm and physical appearance. You are still campaigning, Justin. The election is over. You won. It's time to govern now. And by govern I mean follow through on your promise that you would lead a progressive, sensible government. I can't help but think you are now hedging your bets, believing your honeymoon is ongoing and that you can gain more political capital every time you crack a joke or improvise a response to a question for a gushing reporter from an America lifestyle magazine. It truly feels like you think you can skate by on your charm and physical appearance. Justin Trudeau on a mock cover of GQ's "Most Stylish Men Alive" issue, made and distributed by GQ itself. Look, I understand that there's a contingent of conservatives in Canada who always thought you were a lightweight. They said you were in over your head, that you didn't have the depth to handle the big boy job. Like many Canadians, I found their message to be cheap, and in a way that was partially why I voted for you. I didn't want their message of cynicism to prevail. Advertisement But if you keep pretending the red carpet is still being unrolled in front of you, that Canadians are still captivated by your down-to-earth persona and good-natured grin, you will eventually have the reality of facing a people who are simply exhausted from the celebrity-like package you have wrapped around yourself. Recently when you were asked during Question Period why a veteran with no legs had to constantly prove to the government he still had no legs in order to receive disability cheques, you stood up and did the best Stephen Harper impersonation I've ever seen. You didn't answer the question, you just grandstanded. That's not the change we voted for, that's the same thing we've had to put up with for a decade under your predecessor. Justin Trudeau stops to take a selfie. I'm not a pessimist, so there's a part of me that still hopes you will pull a slew of legislative accomplishments out of your bag of tricks. But this long game strategy, if that's what it is, is condescending. You told us something very specific: you said you were different and would govern differently from day one. You said your government would be the change we could believe in. Advertisement With all due respect, if that's still true, then act accordingly. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Value Village in collaboration with EFW illustrates how the average North American consumer discards 81 lbs of textile waste annually. Advertisement Back in 2014, barely a year after the collapse of the Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, H&M took to Vancouver Eco Fashion Week (EFW) to promote their "Closing the Loop" initiative. With all the praise and controversy surrounding its sustainability efforts, I asked Pierre Borjesson, H&M's senior sustainability specialist, this burning question: To effectively reduce their impact, would H&M, the second-largest fast fashion retailer, consider switching to slow fashion? After some thought, Borjesson carefully responds, "What a fashion company [like H&M] must do is to produce the things that a market is expecting from that company," he explains, emphasizing that consumers' needs must still be met, even as companies strive to be sustainable. That's because the worst-case scenario would be producing merchandise unwanted by consumers, which potentially increases textile waste. "Even if these garments are sustainably made, or not, if they are not wanted by a market, then we have utilized resources in vain," he says. Borjesson's statement seems deflecting, but it also points out an uncomfortable truth. Pressuring fashion brands is not enough. It is ultimately the consumers who will actualize fashion sustainability as they shape the demands of the industry. Given this authority, it is obvious why many eco-campaigns, such as Fashion Revolution, the True Cost documentary, and the Sweatshop series, are dedicated to informing consumers about the unethical production of garments, appealing them to become a moral compass for the industry. Advertisement Conscious consumers gather to hear the latest developments in sustainable fashion. Thankfully, there is evidence to show that these campaigns are working; interest in green economies, sustainable products and ethical commitments are undeniably growing. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are becoming a staple to brand profiles, from luxury labels like Prada and LVMH, to retailers like ASOS, Primark and M&S, with annual reports of their progress updated for public viewing. In addition, several financial firms are now making "sustainable investing" a mainstream offer, which will take into account the environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors of the investment. But, while consumer awareness for sustainability is rampant, does the talk translate into action? Have conscious consumers actually changed their buying habits to promote sustainability? Not necessarily, it seems. Market studies have shown that even conscious consumers are averse to the price premium of sustainable goods, even if sustainable branding and store-related services had a positive impact on their perceptions. Consumers would rather have sustainability as an "added value," demanding for the same (if not improved) quality with a completely ethical supply chain, at the same low price and without compromise to their needs. This unwavering price sensitivity makes the sustainable goods industry incredibly vulnerable to economic downturns, as their demand plummets dramatically. "The consumers also have to put a bit of energy to change some consumerism behaviour." "Everybody has a responsibility, whether consumer or brand. We are all in it together," says Myriam Laroche, founder of EFW, who is incessantly searching for ways to encourage sustainability among companies. "The only way we are going to have people change is if [the plan] makes sense for them. Not too much effort, and easy access. That's the role of the brands, but the consumers also have to put a bit of energy to change some consumerism behaviour." Advertisement This disconnect between awareness and action is perhaps the biggest riddle in the sustainability movement. Yet, their cohesion is the imperative results we need, because there is overwhelming consensus that our current fast fashion system can never be sustainable. Furthermore, consumer patronage and consumption of sustainable goods is essential for developing new supply chains. At this point, most innovations and plans for sustainable fashion are still experimental, requiring time and investment before determining its full potential. Exciting ideas like the closed loop system, cradle-to-cradle products, the growing second-hand market and organic textiles are being championed by smaller, fashion businesses, who have the advantage of building themselves from a sustainable origin. However, due to their small scale, they are more likely to incur a higher price premium, and are more dependent on consumer support for capital. EFW opens with newly launched technical wear brand, Ryu Apparel. On the other hand, bigger brands and corporations with more funds are faced with a risky challenge, to convert their established supply chains into a sustainable, mass production system, while maintaining their current clientele. There are incredible success stories, like Marks & Spencer's Plan A, which was not only crucial to its rebranding, but has generated lucrative savings for the retailer. However, there have also been drawbacks. For instance, H&M's Garment Collecting program has been sharply criticized as "greenwashing" for ambitiously claiming 95 per cent of garments can be re-worn or recycled, when only one per cent of collected garments can be recyclable. After only two years, Puma's closed-loop collection, InCycle, which impressively comprised of biodegradable and recyclable materials, was cancelled after just two years due to "poor demand" among retailers and customers. Similarly, the closure of Nike's eco-friendly collection, "Considered," back in 2005 raised challenges about how brands can profitably incorporate sustainability, while questioning if green-branding even has a positive reception among consumers. Advertisement At this point of the sustainability revolution, it seems that we have all the exciting plans and framework, but none of the results we desperately search for -- yet. Three years after the Rana Plaza, we're just getting started. Balmain-inspired dress made of recycled bed sheets. Designed by Evan Ducharme for EFW. While we have every right to demand transparency from businesses, it is quite naive to think that this multi-billion dollar fashion industry, built upon hard labour and toxic chains, can cure itself. How can it, when it is fuelled by our own materialism? "At the end of the day, the role of the consumer is to find their own happiness. Once you going to be genuinely happy, you wont have the need to over consume," remarks Laroche, emphasizing that over-consumption is a big problem that goes beyond the fashion industry, symptomatic of our overall unhappiness. "[We are] not being aware of who we are, not taking care of ourselves, and compensating by over-buying stuff to make us feel good." All photos are courtesy of Vancouver Eco Fashion Week (EFW) Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: News / National by Staff reporter President Robert Mugabe's former teacher Sekuru Oscar Munyoro Katsukunya has died.According to his national identification card, Sekuru Katsukunya was born on November 12, 1907 making him 108-years-old but was believed to be 120 years old basing on some of the events he recalled and colonial injustices that characterised his era.Sekuru Katsukunya taught President Mugabe and the late veteran politician, James Chikerema at Kutama Mission from 1931.Burial arrangements are yet to be announced whilst mourners are gathered at 1244 Unit A Seke in Chitungwiza. Lite Productions via Getty Images Close-up of a person's hand holding a microphone Can autism be a laughing matter? Michael McCreary thinks so. The 19-year-old from Orangeville, Ont., makes no secret of the fact that he has Asperger's Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. In fact, the up-and-coming "Aspie Comic" has launched a career on the back of his quirks, his constant need for attention and -- his words -- his inability to shut up. Advertisement Over the past few years, 20-year-old McCreary has performed his act, Does This Make My Asperger's Look Big?, countless times across the country, eliciting belly laughs and raising autism awareness along the way. It's hard to believe that as a child this articulate and jovial young man had delayed speech and was, at age five, diagnosed with autism. As a kid, McCreary often spoke in movie quotes, a speech pattern known as echolalia. By grade three he had penned a SpongeBob play and performed as The California Raisins in a school talent show. Though he was a natural performer, life wasn't always a barrel of laughs for McCreary. In elementary school, he admits that though he wasn't "bullied a lot in the traditional sense, I was more ostracized. It was a very lonely time." He struggled to fit in. Advertisement Every day when his parents would ask how his day was, McCreary would sound off. His mother introduced him to journaling so he could better express himself. "I enjoyed not just writing down my experiences, but crafting them into stories to make them more entertaining." Not only did the process of jotting down his stories prove cathartic, it helped him find the humour in everyday moments. Writing gave him a voice, when no one seemed to be listening. By happy coincidence, McCreary eventually crossed paths with David Granirer, author of The Happy Neurotic and founder of Stand Up For Mental Health, who mentored him through stand-up comedy workshops at age 13. Instead of steering clear of sensitive topics, McCreary was actually encouraged to mine his diagnosis for material the way Granirer had with his own bipolar disorder. Much like comedians who poke fun of their race, sexuality, or bodily insecurities, McCreary takes on the taboo of his neurological disorder with a lighthearted approach. He hopes that his jokes will resonate with people, helping them see the humour in their own situation. Advertisement If the world of autism is intense and often challenging, then it's also punctuated by moments of hilarity. McCreary shines a light on those moments, giving audiences permission to laugh out loud. For families affected by autism, it's a much-needed chance to let their hair down and see the funny side of their reality. For the uninitiated, humour provides the perfect segue into a conversation about ASD. Is it uncomfortable? Absolutely -- but then, the best jokes quite often are. McCreary likens his act to slipping into a cold pool. "There's that initial hesitation, the abrupt discomfort that follows then, ultimately, relief that you're finally into it." Maybe laughter truly is the best medicine, even where autism is concerned. Catch Michael McCreary performing alongside Toronto comedians Nile Seguin and Evan Carter as part of the fundraiser, LOL for Autism on June 16, 2016 at CBC's Glenn Gould Studio. For more information, visit LOLforAutism.com. Shutterstock / sakhorn The Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephane Dion, recently declared that Canada "should join this important protocol" -- the United Nations' Protocol against Torture. More than a decade after it was initially passed, Canada is still sitting on the bench and watching cases after cases of torture happening without having the courage to stand up and sign the protocol. It might sometimes be politically "easy" to denounce torture when it is practiced by other governments, especially if they don't have enough international clout, but how about the torture happening in Canada or the torture "subcontracted" by Canada to other regimes abroad? Advertisement Is Canada ready to distance itself from it, forcefully denounce it, and prosecute those who practice it? For years, Canada didn't budge and didn't sign the protocol. Today, there are signs that the government is considering to change this shameful attitude, so let's see how they can do it correctly. Four mains issues will serve for us as testers for this promising change: Solitary confinement: Year after year, we hear and read about tragic cases of Canadians or refugees dying in Canadian detention centres or prisons while they are held in solitary confinement. The UN considers solitary confinement as form of torture when the detention is more than 15 days or when the detainee is a youth or suffering from mental health issues. Despite this and despite all the reports by human rights groups, experts, commissions and ombudsmen, Canada continues using solitary confinement in federal and provincial prisons and no concrete action has been taken to ban it. Omar Khadr: The Americans arrested him in Afghanistan during the first years of their so-called "war on terror" and accused him of killing an American paramedic. Despite the fact he was only 15 years old and suffering from injuries, Canada left its own citizen laying in Guantanamo, one of the shameful prisons in the history of the humanity where solitary confinement, waterboarding, sleep deprivation, psychological torture and force feeding have been used, and still are. Moreover, Canadian officials went there and interrogated Omar Khadr with no access or presence of his lawyers. The Supreme Court of Canada stated that Omar Khadr's constitutional rights were violated. Up to today, no Canadian government admitted any wrongdoing in the abuse, torture and indefinite detention of Omar Khadr, all of them relying on the false perception that the public opinion is not sympathetic to him. This dark chapter in our history should be brought to light and Canada should do its mea culpa for participating in the torture of one of its own citizen. Advertisement Abdullah Almalki, Ahmed El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin: Three Canadian men tortured in the same Syrian dungeon. Justice Frank Iaccobucci declared in his report that they were tortured because Canada sent erroneous information about them. Canada should keep in mind that "subcontracting" torture wouldn't make us anyhow less guilty. The cases of these three men are still in the Canadian justice system. Canada is probably still paying many lawyers to fight the cases and delay accountability. It is time to apologize to the victims of torture and show that we wholeheartedly denounce torture even when it is close to our doors. Torture memos: Very quietly, Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale promised in January 2016 that he will include the "torture memos" into the upcoming national security review. In 2011, Vic Toews, the Public Safety Minister at the time, sent ministerial directives to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), giving them the authority to use and share information that was likely extracted through torture. Since, these directives are called "torture memos" among human rights groups. This act prevents Canadians who have been subjected to torture abroad to obtain compensation or any form of redress in Canadian courts. One of the most known cases and tragic one is the case of Zahra Kazemi who has died in Iranian prison and whose family tried without success to prosecute the responsible of her death from Canada. There are other cases of Canadians who suffered abuse and torture in other countries and who would never see their torturers arrested or brought to justice. The State Immunity Act is an obstacle to the pursuit of justice here and aboard. These issues and more (we shouldn't forget the Afghan detainee issue and the questions still lingering about the role of Canada in their torture) represent a litmus test that would clearly demonstrate if Canada is really committed to distance itself from torture and embrace the UN Protocol against Torture, or if this would be another empty promise that will be half fulfilled or someday forgotten. Advertisement Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Lynn Koenig via Getty Images A tired young woman studying late into the night, lying almost flat as she studies her computer, the blue moon coming through two windows behind her. Most parents are horrified by the idea of a child being sexually exploited. Ontarians are reeling from the recent news that in just the last three months, more than 2,000 unique IP addresses were identified by police for suspected activity related to child pornography, among them a Grade 3 teacher and youth scouts leaders. Even more shocking, perhaps, is the statistical fact that a single pedophile will abuse an average of 120 children, most of whom will not report it. For some of us, this may be a rude awakening to the fact that our children are vulnerable to these predators every time they log on to the Internet. Advertisement A parent's primary function is to ensure the safety and well-being of our children. Unfortunately, technology has usurped many of our parental controls. Our children must use the computer to complete their homework, we typically allow use of their personal electronic devices to distract them while we make dinner, and of course they simply can't live without keeping in touch with their friends using social media. This incessant use of technology by children has resulted in an abrupt change in the landscape of parenting. Parents are just beginning to recognize that we must protect our children as well as the avatars that represent them online. Until recently, I believed that my children would be safe if they used a computer that is in the common area of the house, or while they are in view of me while they're using their PEDs, or because there is an adult present while they (and perhaps up to 31 others) are working in a computer lab. I know now that I have been extremely naive -- the sad fact is that pedophiles and digital predators take advantage of this naivete. In light of recent developments, we must finally admit the glaring fact that today's technology is so complex that the majority of adults (myself included) simply don't understand how technology is being used to lure our children into dangerous situations. Advertisement Fortunately, a Canadian organization exists that can give us the answers we need. We can arm ourselves with knowledge that we can use to help protect our children from the dangers that exist on their "digital playground" that is the Internet. Child Pornography Hurts is a Canadian charity (CRA# 80415 1439 RR 0001) founded by Charlene Doak-Gebauer. The mission of CPH is to end child pornography and, importantly, to help victims become survivors. As the founder, chair and spokesperson of CPH, Ms. Doak-Gebauer, has dedicated herself to educating parents, caregivers, teachers and other professionals about the crimes involving child digital luring and how we, as adults, can include in our parenting skills new methods that will help us protect our children against the multitude of digital dangers. Ms. Doak-Gebauer has developed a theory called Digital Supervision, which redefines parenting methods to include digital technology. She presents this invaluable information at CHP Internet Sense for Internet Safety sessions that can be tailored to groups of adults/professionals, for families for children ages 12 to 18, and for children ages eight to 12. My children are only six and three, so I still have a firm hold on the reins when it comes to the amount of time they spend on any given device and which sites they can and cannot visit. That luxury of control will soon be gone, as they learn to read, type and become more tech savvy. Advertisement Although I use technology for work, to shop, to Pin, to connect with friends, there are other adults out there who are using it for much more sinister purposes. I am relieved to know that a resource like Child Pornography Hurts is available in Canada to help me better protect my children. Renee Frances is an English teacher, former professor of psychology, and mom of two beautiful dreamers. Her Good Night Fairy children's picture book series is written to give families real tools to help them deal with common sleep issues and has been acknowledged by the Canadian Sleep Society as "...fun and informative... making bedtime a positive and empowering experience." Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images US President Barack Obama speaks on the phone during a conference call hosted by public health groups on June 2, 2014 in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/Mandel NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images) Towards the beginning of 2013, President Obama was on a mission to ban assault rifles in the United States following a series of mass shootings. That tiring debate that followed would rage on for a number of years, as we know. The point still remained that gun violence was out of control. In the aftermath of the 2013 Texas Lone Star College shooting, I felt compelled to assist and emailed Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to the President of the United States. Advertisement I sent the email not expecting a response at all -- she was an adviser to the world's most powerful leader, after all, and the White House was scrambling to respond to the shooting. I sent it because I felt that I could add value to the conversation as a consultant, having successfully worked on and advocated for policy that reduced the rate of gun violence in Toronto in 2007 onward. To my surprise, within an hour of sending the email I received a call back from the associate director of the White House's Office of Public Engagement. I was stunned, but collected myself to answer the call. We spoke for an hour and within days I was providing policy advice to not just the president's office, but Vice President Biden's team as well. The key takeaways from my interaction with the White House can help you no matter what your career: 1. Be Persistent This seems obvious, but if it were, there'd be many more millionaires out there. No matter your goal or your target, never be afraid to continuously follow up unless you're told to stop. People, let alone the White House, are busy; for the most part people appreciate gentle reminders. You've heard the rags to riches stories of your favourite leaders, brands and celebrities who knocked on hundreds of doors until one finally opened. It's important to learn the difference however between giving up and pivoting your offering. You could be coming up short for two reasons, either you're not persistent enough or your offering/approach sucks. Either one, you can work on, just be honest and realistic with yourself or your market will. 2. Media-Jacking While I didn't realize it at the time, the key factor that allowed all the planets to align and trigger a call back from the White House was the non-stop media coverage surrounding the Lonestar College shootings. Timing is everything in your career, and it helps to be as relevant as possible to current happenings in your company, city or country. Media-jacking is the process of making your offering relatable and relevant to the biggest story of the day. Some large companies have done this quite successfully (e.g. White Castle's tweet during the Meek Mill v. Drake feud: "It's OK, @MeekMill. Maybe beef isn't your thing. #ChickenRings @Drake"). Be prepared with a strategy to quickly deploy your message when a relevant story pops up. The wittier, the better. Advertisement 3. Credibility Indicators Matter In my email to the White House, I used a specific formula that indicated trust, credibility and a track record of achievement. I identified who I was and what I did, I outlined some of the clients I've worked with, I outlined the positive outcomes as a result of my involvement and indicated what I could do to help. These are important. Personal branding is important. Even when applying for that dream job. If no one knows who you are, what you do and what you can offer, good luck getting anywhere. Familiarity is extraordinarily powerful, it gives people who don't know you, a point of reference and for us simple creatures, we need a frame of reference when dealing with someone new in order to understand them. This is why credibility indicators like well-known degrees, schools, companies, public figures, etc. are effective when trying to quickly get another party to understand who you are, what you do and who you are affiliated with. Think of what comes to mind when you hear the word "Google." Now think of what comes to mind then you hear the word "Minchr." If someone was applying to your company from either of these two companies, which one would you be able to associate familiarity the fastest with? Credibility indicators give your target a sense that you can be trusted, are roughly on the same page as they are and are not a serial killer. 4. Be Flexible When the White House called, I was already thinking about packing my bags in case they wanted me to fly down; no such luck thanks to modern advancements like email, the phone and Skype. The reason why was I was ready to put my current projects to the side was not because I was a fan-boy, but because I treated the White House as an urgent priority despite it not being planned. I quickly determined that a once in a lifetime opportunity is just that, once. Therefore when the phone rings, you need to answer, if not it could be lost forever. The key was to be flexible and responsive to the White House, understanding their timelines, the pressure of the world's media upon them and the importance of the subject matter. Advertisement My work could take a temporary back seat in pursuit of a cause that would later be more beneficial than what I was currently working on. Flexibility and the ability to move/respond quickly is why I still, to the humour of my friends and colleagues, have a Blackberry (the Priv is actually the best BlackBerry ever made-- running Android, a beast of a camera, etc., but I digress). 5. Always Have a Follow-Up Once you achieve your goal and get that lead, or funder, or whoever you're trying to attract, have a follow-up ready like a right-jab. What is your call to action? Something that once you have your target's attention you can send them to to help built that lasting relationship with you or get to know you/your business better? Something like "Hey, I'm having a seminar next week, want to join?" or "My company also offers X service as well would you be interested?" The more of a relationship you build, the less likely you are to lose that contact and down the line they may even refer people your way if they don't need what you're offering right away. For more on how to step your leadership game up visit www.mepwr.com or follow on Twitter @saeedselvam. Follow HuffPost Canada Blogs on Facebook MORE ON HUFFPOST: Tomorrow (Thursday) Londoners will go to the polls and elect the UK's capital next mayor. And earlier this week I wrote about an encouraging new report, by the think tank Institute for Public Policy and Research (IPPR). The report outlined how London could establish itself as a global green city. Ending London's Tory rule The Labour candidate Sadiq Khan will be getting my vote. And according to the latest poll, he looks set to be London's next mayor and thereby ending eight years of Tory rule. I very much hope he has read the IPPR report, and that he will take the recommendations seriously. I believe that Khan does get it, but I have yet to see him championing green policies as high up on the agenda as I believe he should. However, I'm pleased he has already taken onboard one idea outlined in the report. It is the idea of creating a London energy company to help accelerate deployment of renewables as well as controlling energy bills, which in the capital are the highest in the UK. Frankly, it is embarrassing that London is the area in the UK with the lowest installed capacity of solar energy. This has to change, and I believe Khan can drive that change as he fundamentally believes in a clean energy future and in tackling climate change. Advertisement Why is solar failing in London? But we must first look at why solar is failing in London. I believe that part of the reason for the low uptake of solar and other renewable technologies, as well as the failure to make homes more energy efficient, is the dominance of rented accommodation. Londoners living in rented accommodations should be able to demand that landlords install renewable technologies on their properties and make them more efficient. At present renters have very little say at all, not least when it comes to demanding upgrading in the property they live in., on top of that Londoners pay some of the highest energy bills in the UK. This could partly be solved by aggressively making homes more efficient, and by generating more energy on site through renewables. Khan will have a tough job on his hands as the UK government is shelving initiatives for building zero or low carbon homes as well as cutting renewables subsidy schemes. And after years of setting tougher standards for building new homes by previous Labour governments, these are being dismantled year by year by the Conservative government. However, Khan could start by following the example of the French capital, Paris, which has decided that all new buildings must have rooftop solar installed on them. If Paris can, so can London. Furthermore, tougher regulations must be imposed on landlords, who should no longer enjoy a free ride. They should be required to make their homes as efficient as technology allows, and also be required to install renewable capacity on homes where possible. Furthermore, Khan should understand the huge benefit to many Londoners from community energy schemes. And he should throw his weight behind umbrella initiatives like Repowering London. They are doing incredibly important work on building community owned renewable energy projects for Londoners who need them most. And schemes like Brixton Energy they provide valuable education on energy saving and renewable energy, and thereby provide unique opportunities for those people who have benefitted. Advertisement New housing, but not at any cost There is a great demand for new housing in London. This has been one of Khan's key focuses and so it should be, but not at any cost. First, it is important that London's greenbelt should be protected from development. Instead, we should be looking to develop brownfield sites. And we should be building upwards instead of enlarging London. By doing that you would also increase efficiency and reduce stress on the London transport network. Before you get all nervous and start thinking about a Manhattan high-rise style scenario - this is not at all what I'm suggesting. But for too long London policymakers have been reluctant to build upwards, however, this is now slowly starting to change. One example is shared ownership schemes, which are starting to grow in the capital. This should be carried out to a much larger extent. Not only would that give Londoners a higher chance for home ownership, but it would also make those homes more efficient. However, to achieve this it is important to ensure that these developments are done to the highest standard, and the latest low carbon technology is used. In his thirst for new homes, Khan must not overlook this crucial fact. A plan for pedestrianisation Last year, before the Labour mayoral candidate was decided, I joined the campaign of transport expert, Christian Wolmar. Sadly as we know, he did not get the nomination. But he did manage to focus the debate on some key sustainable transport issues. He championed ideas such as pedestrianising Oxford Street. Because of Christian Wolmar, this has gone from being a fringe idea to a mainstream issue; and all candidates from the main parties, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and the Green Party as well as Khan, support the idea. London has serious air pollution issues, and Oxford Street is the most polluted street in the city. Therefore ,the decision for this iconic street not to be pedestrianised first is a no-brainer. I really hope that Khan will stick to his promise and pedestrianise it if he, as expected, becomes mayor. But moving forward, a plan must be drawn up to take this further, and pedestrianised zones must be identified across London. Khan also said that were he to become the next mayor, he would make Wolmar his Transport Commissioner. I very much hope he will stick to his word, as it is crucial to have a person in this field who knows his craft, and who has sustainability at the heart of his agenda. Tackling London's air pollution crisis Air pollution is quickly becoming a key issue for many Londoners, and rightly so. London's air is toxic, and it is becoming a serious health issue. A few weeks ago the environmental organization, Greenpeace, became the latest group to campaign on this issue. A series of new laws must be implemented to tackle this health and environmental problem. First, as mentioned above, pedestrianisation should not stop with Oxford Street. Also, a new and effective congestion charge zone should be implemented. The current central London zone is largely ineffective. First of all the area it covers should be extended to cover Greater London, and the price payable should be based on the size of the car engine, and thus by the pollution it creates. There should be exemptions of course, in order that it does not become an anti-business agenda. And electric vehicles should continue to be exempt, and further initiatives to encourage the deployment of electric vehicles should be implemented with the aim of positioning London as a leading city for electric car usage. Advertisement London as a clean tech city Finally, London has a huge role and potential as a city of innovation, being already an international financial centre. London is currently the financial capital of the world for investment in coal, and with the bad reputation of coal worldwide, more must be done to change course. Many new clean-tech organizations have their homes in London, but more should be done to promote London as a financial centre for clean energy and clean-tech investments. The biggest UK solar firm , Solarcentury, which worked on the iconic Blackfriars Solar Bridge, is based here. You also have innovation groups like Cleanweb. They frequently meet to talk about computer models, systems and the role of software in tackling climate change through smart solutions. It is a huge asset for London to have innovators like that, and more must be done to keep them and create opportunities for them. Promoting London as a clean tech city could make the capital an attractive base for this growing sector, and it would without a doubt benefit the city visually as well. Imagine London becoming a pioneering example of tomorrow's climate resilient world, trialing the newest clean tech systems. Who wouldn't want to live in that? I sincerely believe that Sadiq Khan is the man who can take London to the next level with sustainability in mind. He should understand the huge potential London has to become a world leading city in tackling climate change, and air pollution. He could provide us with a sustainable transport system. He could make London a city leading the world in provision of sustainable homes and buildings and a city that lives within its means. And a city that invests in communities, whether they work on building renewable energy, growing food locally, or cleaning up pollution. Communities create values, and it is important that London, as a city of tomorrow, puts that at the heart of its identity, and Londoners need a mayor who can champion that ideology. She is articulate and assertive, and she can dispatch a determined opponent with a withering glance and stinging retort. She straddles a corner of European politics and commands respect from adversaries and allies alike. This isn't Nicola Sturgeon or Angela Merkel, but another strong and popular stateswoman - Arlene Foster. Advertisement The Fermanagh woman was made DUP leader in December 2015, and in January 2016 she became the First Minister of Northern Ireland (succeeding Peter Robinson and Ian Paisley). Northern Ireland is an extremely strange place; often misunderstood and misrepresented; more frequently forgotten. Politics is about ancestral passions, not policies or achievements. The mainland British don't want to know us, nor do the southern Irish. While London and Dublin cement and reinforce their entente cordiale, the disputatious Orange and Green Irish of the Black North battle on, shooting and maiming with insult and invective. Ireland's unionists pose as the most British, and republicans on the Crown's Irish soil posture as the most Irish of them all. Advertisement Me, I'm British and Irish, for as Heaney said, "two buckets are easier carried than one, I stand in-between." Not much has changed from when Terence O'Neill explained Northern Ireland politics to the House of Lords in 1982: "I have found that there is an understandable tendency for people in Britain to find it very hard to understand the situation in Northern Ireland... As some of your Lordships have tried to explain this afternoon, politics in Northern Ireland are totally different from politics here. While the election here might have been fought on who governs Britain, the election in Northern Ireland was fought on the usual basis of Protestant and Catholic." Children are still educated apart and hardwired with antipodal understandings of Anglo-Irish history. Protestant schools teach of the gallantry of Britain, Catholic schools teach its brutality. The green and orange borders aren't just physical, but mental too. Our commonality is often only a "blind astonishing remorse" for things now ended, as Philip Larkin wrote. Advertisement Parades are still a Goya nightmare, and politics is like a Hogarth cartoon. But change has happened, modest and ponderous. Change is starker outside politics. Increasingly the divide is between liberals and conservatives. The old moulds remain, but people more and more have left the quagmire state to find a new sod for life and debate. Arlene Foster is an emblem of this change in Northern Ireland; ponderous and imperceptible as it is, as blunt as she is. For a land of two orthodoxies, fixed and immutable, even modest change is revolutionary. She is a woman. She is a former UUP politician, marking her as instinctively more liberal than the traditional DUP member and representative. She is self made. A daughter of a farmer and RUC man. An everyday woman who's life has been the protestant parable of a generation who've endured the Troubles. Advertisement Parallels may be made between Arlene and contemporary female leaders such as Sturgeon and Merkel, but it is with the late Margaret Thatcher that she has most affection for, and most political resemblance to. Arlene Foster is courteous and consummately professional, but can be raucously caustic; just like Thatcher. They're both conservative and eurosceptic. Both British female leaders met with IRA ambush. Yet, while facing atrocity with defiance, pragramatism prevails for the sake of the future. Both are obstinate in their convictions, are rooted in the past but have a vision for their country beyond idealistic plans and projects. Arlene Foster told Jenny McCartney in an interview with the Sunday Times that Margaret Thatcher is a "heroine" of hers. She repeated this to David McCann of Slugger O'Toole. Advertisement But like Thatcher, Foster continues to divide as much as she inspires the people. Many nationalists will see her as a leader of a party whose founder called Catholics "vermin". Many liberals see her as firmly under the thumb of the traditional DUP wing, as much as they long for some liberal Arlene putsch. Arlene is firm like Thatcher, but under her leadership Northern Ireland is fluid. It's mixed signals in Arlene's Northern Ireland; it's about change and conservation; about the past and the future; about normal politics and tribal politics. Northern Ireland has an image problem, and Arlene has targeted this by calling for pride in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland also has a problem economy, and Arlene wants to change this under her ten-point plan. She has made a call for more and better jobs, and her electioneering is all about waving placards, just as it is in America. Advertisement Yet the DUP have asked the electorate not to judge them on their political record, but to judge them against the spectre of a Sinn Fein First Minister. And so, while the Terence O'Neill formula of Catholic-Protestant voting remains, it is no longer hegemonic. As Sam McBride wrote, the political orbit of Northern Ireland has changed radically, we could be witnessing "the final fling" of the old sort of politics. For so long Northern Ireland politics has been about republican's sense of destiny, and unionism's despondency. This too is no more. In the Irish News Newton Emerson and Fionnuala O'Connor penned two milestone articles. Unionism, so long unfashionable, has seized the momentum; it is "perked-up" beside "stale nationalism" wrote O'Connor. 'Unionism is undergoing a remarkable evolution' Emerson wrote. Advertisement Arlene Foster has inherited a party and country of deep factions, but change is in the wings. There will be no Great Leap Forward, just small plodding advances. Arlene Foster has a young family, her youngest is just nine years old. While her father was nearly killed by the IRA, it is clearly for the sake of her children and all the young people of Northern Ireland that she is working with former mortal enemies. But she must face down other unpleasant die-hards. The unionist backwoodsmen of the DUP who want the status quo. Unionists want the Union, but the Union wants catholics and liberals. Arlene Foster must surely know this, and this will be the test of her leadership; if she can help to truly break the old moulds and make Northern Ireland truly British - secular and multicultural. In October last year, Renes, 13, his three-year old sister, two brothers and parents arrived at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport seeking asylum. They were detained, put on the cold floor in a glass smoking room in the airport and were kept there for over 70 days. They could not take a shower, were not allowed to get a warm meal or even be examined by a doctor. This was a very unusual scene for Russia - a country, which is far from being the first choice for asylum seekers. Yet Gulistan Issa Shaho, Renes's mother, was among the few people who decided to take her family there, after their city in Syria was taken over by ISIS. Her sister Tama already lives in Russia and has Russian citizenship. But that did not help. Gulistan's family were refused asylum again and again, while their story was making news all over the world. Advertisement 'They were prisoners in Moscow Airport. But instead of a cell, they stayed in a glass a fish tank', - says Tama, Gulistan's sister. 'All our kids wanted was to fall asleep not fearing the bombs over their heads. They are just running away from the war. That's all'. Humiliated, Gulistan and Tama did not back down and connecting via mobile phone they started a petition on Change.org asking the Russian Federal Migration Service to grant their family temporary asylum and let them leave the airport. It took them just over six months, but last week thanks to over 160,000 people who signed their petition, they have finally won. "I still cannot believe that our dreams came true. And all this happened thanks to you!", said Gulistan in a petition update to all her signers just before she declared victory on the site. This family's fight is truly inspiring. Not only because Renes and the other kids can now start school and not fear for their life, but mainly because what Gulistan has done can potentially reshape global refugee policy. Advertisement The current refugee crisis has taught us that what we had thought was an effective policy to deal with such crises has turned out to be a massive failure in the face of millions of people exiling Syria. Physical relocation as we saw it in the last year ended up with barricades in Hungary shutting down any access to people who needed our help the most. As Alexander Betts and Paul Collier put it in their Foreign Affairs' article, some 54% of the world's refugees have lived in exile for more than 5 years, often without freedom of movement or right to work. And for them, they add, an average length of exile would be around 17 years -- all while we, "the more stable states", are trying to figure out solutions to effectively integrate them into our more peaceful societies. "As the result, their lives are put on hold", conclude the authors. This particular article then argues that economic integration of refugees to labour markets is a solution to shaping a new refugee policy. But I think there is a crucial stepping stone that is missing to solving this problem: the actual voice of refugees. Their voices can be strong enough to be part of any decision-making that directly influences their future. Gulistan and her sister have proved just that: using only their phone and the Internet they have organized themselves and mobilized tens of thousands of Russians to change their lives and set an example for others. They have made themselves heard and pushed for a solution. Advertisement Tareke Brahne did the same. He fled from Eritrea when he was 17, and now based in Italy, he launched a campaign to get EU to deploy a major search and rescue mission in the Mediterranean so that thousands of drowning refugees could get a chance at survival. Over 400,000 people signed his petition. Did it make his voice stronger? Absolutely. Or Meltem Avcil in the UK, who along with 100,000 people who have signed her petition is trying to close down the Yarl's Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire, where hundreds of refugee women are locked up indefinitely, and where she was locked up when she was just 13. Technology is already here. And the best part is that among 150 million global users on Change.org there are definitely thousands of current and former refugees who just like Gulistan, Tereke or Meltem are already using it to empower themselves and directly improve their lives. On Thursday Bristol decides who leads our city until 2020. While all of the mayoral candidates can talk endlessly about the meaning of 'leadership', our record of delivering city-wide projects should be what really matters. My time as Bristol's first independent mayor has been rooted in the belief that a city leader's primary focus should be on getting things done. Unlike in 2012, subject to ratification of our devolution deal with the treasury, the next Mayor of Bristol will have greater leverage over transport, housing and skills. After 50 years of learning, living, working and delivering projects in Bristol I decided to stand as an independent candidate, because I was frustrated with how Bristol was run. Before 2012, our city had become a byword for inaction and indecisive leadership, largely due to political to-ing and fro-ing. My ambition was simple: to deliver a vision unashamedly pro Bristol, without being deflected by party dogma or direction, a vision born out of my long standing attachment to this city. Over the last three and a half years, we've realised that vision and have real momentum towards creating a successful and more inclusive city. The first 18 months were focussed on filling the managerial vacuum into which I arrived. This involved in creating a streamlined management structure following the appointment of a rainbow cabinet of 5 representing all party groups, once the Labour party had given approval to their involvement. Advertisement The results speak for themselves: we now have more people employed than any other core city, pay higher salaries than the UK average, lead core-cities in start-ups, lead in green technology, increased the use of greener forms of transport, and more. One of the most significant results of the last couple of years, was working with the LEP and our surrounding local authorities to secure the 1bn devolution deal we so desperately needed if we are to address decades of lack of investment in transport and housing planning and infrastructure and to create the necessary skills for a high skilled economy. While this isn't a silver bullet for Bristol's problems, devolution will allow us to better tackle inequality and deprivation across Bristol enabling us to become a more socially resilient city. This opportunity should not be squandered. It needs someone with experience of handling big projects and budgets, in what is certainly not an entry-level role. During the last 50 years I have taken on many projects and roles, locally, nationally and internationally. This has been the best job yet. I won't pretend I have got everything right over the last three and a half years, but I have pushed the boat out and inevitably it results in some resistance and some pretty strong abuse! However, I hope the political stagnation we once knew is now firmly in the past. We are moving forward, and my vision for a second term will build on this success. It is a long-term vision, of a fair, environmentally healthy, and progressive city that looks fifty years ahead. As a city we must be realistic. Nationally, we still face austerity, and during the last few years our cities have seen severe cuts from Westminster. These have made life much more difficult for many here, but I have not protested idly. Instead, I've used my knowledge and experience to protect vital services,secure more funding for city-wide projects tackling core issues, and increasing social mobility. This involved tough decisions and a leader who finds solutions that benefit all, if not always appreciated by all. The mayor's role is about running Bristol, not debating national policy. Advertisement May the 4th. For many it will be remembered as the date of the Battle of Tewkesbury in the War of the Roses, the date that King Charles II ordered the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory, or for being Cesc Fabregas's birthday. But for those with a touch of the inner nerd about them - or at least access to Twitter - will know that it's really all about Star Wars Day. Advertisement Did you know that the saying actually dates back to pre-Twitter times of 1979, and that late prime minister Margaret Thatcher is to thank for the tradition? Well, she sort of is. When she was elected on May 4, 1979, a headline in the London Evening News read, "May The Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations." Now I mention it, she did have a bit of the Darth Vader about her - she was pro death penalty, happily crushed rebellions, and blew up the planet Alderaan... but at the end of the day, much like Darth, she probably wasn't all evil. However, it wasn't until a number of years later that the phrase really took off. In 2011, the Toronto Underground Cinema in Canada put together an organised celebration involving costume contests and a film festival. These days the hashtag is guaranteed to trend and businesses cash in with their special deals on Star Wars-related merchandise. It's essentially an unofficial public holiday, although I'm not sure many bosses would consider it a valid excuse to not turn up to work. It also happens to be the United Nations anti bullying day, so for more feeble nerds it really is win-win. May the 4th is all about celebrating the Star Wars franchise, but that doesn't mean you have to go splashing your cash on some lightsabre chopsticks, or a Jar Jar Binks tongue lollipop. Yep, that was actually a thing. And it was a pretty gross thing. Advertisement For some people everyday is Star Wars day, celebrating all year round in different ways (podracing, reenacting lightsabre battles, working on their uncles' moisture farms), I myself recently chose to celebrate by spending a whole portion of my adult life in a year-long mission to track down and spend time with the forgotten minor stars of the Star Wars universe. From Wrexham Comic Con to Darth Vader's shed, I left no rock unturned. Check out my YouTube channel if you'd like to know which of the bounty hunters are still skilled marksmen, or exactly how many people were inside Jabba the Hutt >https://www.youtube.com/jamiestangroom But however you choose to celebrate the day, remember that Star Wars is for life not just for May The 4th Be With You day. In fact, Disney plan to release so many Star Wars movies that you won't live to see the final one. Unless you keep popping back as a force ghost, and even then you'd have to back Walt to outlast you with his body allegedly cryogenically stored in a secret lab deep beneath the Disneyland castle. Anyway, whilst you ponder that slightly morbid thought, here's Verne Troyer (AKA Mini Me) explaining how he originally came up with the idea for BB-8, the beloved Star Wars ball droid from The Force Awakens, also featuring my Sephro BB-8 app enabled toy and my beloved late pug dog, Bertie... Advertisement HAPPY STAR WARS DAY! Local elections are curious things. In many ways, they're a national conversation about the state of the parties in the middle of a Government's time in office. But on the other hand they are hundreds of individual by-elections, each with their own issues, casts of characters and unpredictable outcomes that can be maddeningly difficult to predict. While the media's attention is on the upcoming European Referendum, the entire country goes to the polls this week to decide on local councillors, the make-up of governments in the devolved administrations, who their local mayors will be and more. Regardless of the outcome of the referendum in June, this week will be a huge challenge for both David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn and could help seal their fates as leaders. So what would a good night be for either party? Traditionally, mid-term elections see the governing party in Westminster lose council seats across the country as voters take the opportunity to protest. Cameron would normally expect to be forgiven for taking a bit of a drubbing as a result. But this time around, the polls show that Corbyn's Labour are set to lose at least 100 councillors and possibly many more across England. That would be a remarkable result, even before you factor in Labour possibly having to go into coalition in Wales and, worse, being forced into third place behind the Conservatives in Scotland. Expectations on the Prime Minister are now a lot higher than usual, and much lower for the Leader of the Opposition. Cameron will hope to repeat the success he had last May and pick up a number of wins in key council areas such as Harlow, Dudley and Southampton. In fact, Labour's poll ratings are so abysmal that, outside of London, it might be considered a failure if the Conservatives lost seats or just held steady. Advertisement Jeremy Corbyn, meanwhile, has set his own bar by vowing that Labour will not lose any councillors this May. Privately, many in the party are conceding that heavy losses are inevitable. Labour will hope to see wins in places like Bristol, where its popular mayoral candidate Marvin Rees is looking to unseat a maverick independent. Also keep an eye on Norwich, where Labour's real opposition has been the Green Party. Winning over "fellow travellers" from across the left has been a key selling point for the Corbyn wing of the party and this will be a test of how successful that strategy might be. But the real complicating factor this May is UKIP. Nigel Farage's party could make significant gains this year, potentially winning list and regional seats in the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament for the first time. UKIP's success will also be an important barometer for the other parties. Conservative losses to UKIP will worry David Cameron as he looks ahead to the referendum and considers its impact on his own authority as Leader. Further UKIP wins in Labour heartlands in the North and the Midlands will also be deeply concerning to a Labour party fearful of eroding its traditional core vote. Apart from the London mayoral election, the headline act this week, many of these local contests will be seen as staging posts on the way to the EU vote next month. But rest assured that these results will be poured over by both party leaders as well as by their opponents. Each vote cast and each seat won will be marked on the balance sheet that will decide if, or when, either Cameron or Corbyn might be asked to step aside - for the good of their party, or for the good of the country. News / National by Staff reporter The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation has paid its condolences to the Barwe family following the death of Mrs Ellen Barwe, the wife of ZBC's chief correspondent Rueben Barwe on Tuesday.Mrs Barwe succumbed to kidney failure at Avenues Clinic and will be buried on Thursday at Warren Hills cemetery.The ZBC staff led by board chairman Father Gibson Munyoro visited the Barwe residence in Belvedere to console the family.ZBC acting chief executive officer Patrick Mavhura described the death of Mrs Barwe as a big blow to the Barwe family, the ZBC and nation at large, adding that the corporation will do its best to support Rueben in this time of grief.The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Dr Christopher Mushowe consoled Rueben Barwe and urged him to derive strength from the God.Minister Mushowe who went through the same page after the death of his wife some few years ago told Rueben to remain strong.Family spokesperson Kudakwashe Mabutsu says the body of the late Mrs Barwe will lie in state at the family home in Belvedere and will be buried at Warren Hills cemetery this Thursday.Mourners are gathered at House Number 51 Lawley Avenue Belvedere Harare. This week's Scottish Parliamentary election sees more parties than ever field candidates. One new entry is the Women's Equality Party, founded just one year ago by comedienne Sandi Toksvig and Time journalist Catherine Mayer. It has since gathered over 47,000 members and has new branches across the UK. The Women's Equality Party are standing candidates in Lothian and Glasgow regional lists and the candidates, members and supporters all have a connection in common - they want to see the issues that affect them and 52% of the population tackled in parliament. Advertisement Other parties such as Scottish Labour and the SNP have put women at the forefront of their election PR, even going as far as to draft Women's Manifestos, which are in fact just edits of their party manifestos featuring and drawing attention to the policies that benefit women. None of these policies go as far or are as ambitious and action-focussed as the Women's Equality Party manifesto pledges. As we saw in the last BBC Scotland leaders debate, there was not a single mention of women, and it doesn't inspire confidence that serious gender inequality issues will be their priority in Holyrood. What our candidates want to do is be a strong, non-partisan voice for women's equality in Holyrood, to hold the parties to account over their promises and work with them to achieve real improvements for women. For too long the political agenda has primarily been set by people who don't think gender inequality matters Here four of the Lothian list candidates explain why they are standing. Kate MacDonald: My experience of Edinburgh, as a student, was marred by harassment. During my first week, a man grabbed my butt at a pedestrian crossing after I ignored several comments about my skirt. I got such a fright that I hit him with my textbook. Advertisement A recent survey at my former university found two thirds of female respondents had experienced some kind of sexual assault or harassment. This wasn't news to me, or to any of my friends; all of us had a hundred stories about being leered at, groped, intimidated or followed while out in Edinburgh - especially at night. It was horrible to realise that men believed they had unfettered access to us and our bodies whenever we stepped out the front door. And when I reflected on it, I started to get angry. Why was this not a priority, to seriously tackle this toxic culture, that we know feeds into abuse and violence against women? We live in a country where there are three reported rapes a day, and where one in five women will experience some form of sexual violence in her lifetime. I joined the Women's Equality Party because I want to challenge the cultural attitudes that allow this to be the case. I am standing as a candidate so that I can fight for more support for victims in the justice system, proper consent and relationships education for young people, and secure funding for vital frontline services for victims. Violence against women remains one of the most pervasive barriers to gender equality, and none of us are truly free until we can end it. Dr Abi Herrmann: When I was 6 I had my first swimming lesson at school. I was anxious - not about the water or about drowning - but about having to wear a swimming costume in front of the other kids. I cried in the changing room. Advertisement A few years later, the disgust of my body growing, I took a pair of kitchen scissors up to my bedroom and tried to cut off my young tadpole tummy. An action my older scientific self now sees was very unlikely work. I have since cried in many changing rooms - hating my body despite all the brilliant things it can do. I thought this experience was unique to me - that I was the only one that felt ashamed of what is under my clothes. But I think many of us feel the same. And I think the media portrayal of unrealistic body image has a massive hand in making us feel like this. I think this is wrong and we should try to fix it. Beyond body image, the media under-represents women and their achievements, values women's outfits rather than their thoughts and ideas, and online public forums such as Twitter and Reddit are too often places of dis-regulated vitriol. I am proud to be standing as a candidate for the Women's Equality Party. A party that has Equal Treatment of Women in the Media as one of its core aims. Advertisement Jen Royston: I am born and bred in Scotland although I have worked in countries including Sierra Leone, Iraq, Nigeria and Uganda and seen the destructive effect of entrenched inequalities within communities. Women are suffering from the same issues in Scotland namely, violence and lack of access to justice. There are three reported rapes per day and one in five women will suffer domestic abuse in her lifetime. I want to draw upon my experience in the field of sexual violence against women and my background as a lawyer and use my passion and skills to tackle these issues and strive for gender parity. I believe the only way to achieve this is by standing with the Women's Equality Party, who will ensure that a system of legal support for victims of gender-based violence is created by providing free legal help for victims of domestic abuse in Scotland and providing training for Scottish public service staff to recognise the warning signs of domestic abuse and other forms of violence against women. I want to ensure that women are represented, and therefore empowered, across all areas of our society - these issues can't be left to be dealt with later, they are ruining lives now and they need a strong voice in Holyrood to ensure they are at the top of the political agenda. Advertisement Lee Chalmers: I'm standing for election for The Women's Equality Party because women get paid less than men and I want to close that gap. I thought I'd made it when I got a job as a senior consultant in a firm in London. They prided themselves on being a workplace which valued women and diversity. So I was outraged when I found out that in my pay band the gap between the lowest paid man and the highest paid women was a whopping 10K a year! Anyone who wants to delude themselves that the pay gap is not real just needs to speak to me and the numerous other women who have had the nasty surprise that their employer has been paying them less to do the same job as a male direct counterpart. The recent legal cases against councils in Scotland are proof that it is happening at all levels, right under our noses. We need pay transparency now and government action on this to show that Scotland is serious about paying women the same wage for the same work. It's not just the pay gap, it's the struggle to be taken seriously. Arriving at a meeting with fellow professionals at a large corporation, a senior male employee at the firm turned to me and said "Why are you here? I know, you are the intelligent totty. When do we get to see your legs?" Three degrees, a decent job and I'm still seen primarily as titillation for men. What do you have to do to be taken seriously? I am tired of waiting for gender equality. I see how women are treated and don't want my niece and nephew to grow up in the same world. I want children to be able thrive because of who they are, not be stuck inside narrow gender stereotypes. I want equal pay for equal work. I believe that the Women's Equality Party are the only party in Scotland who can commit to keeping gender equality at the front of their minds. Voting a Women's Equality Party MSP into Holyrood this week would ensure that Scotland can make real progress towards being the most gender equal country in the world. Advertisement Connect with the candidates on Facebook or Twitter. The tragedy of Southern Health NHS Trust continues to unfold. There has been a litany of failure and obfuscation by the Trust over the past four years, including over a thousand unexpected deaths which have not been properly investigated. This Trust, which covers Hampshire, Dorset, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, provides specialist mental health and learning disability services to some of the most vulnerable people in those communities. It is one of the largest providers of these types of services in the UK. In 2013 Connor Sparrowhawk drowned in the bath in an inpatient unit run by Southern Health following an epileptic fit. The same bath where another patient had died in 2006. Angela Smith, took her own life after a number of missed opportunities by the Trust. David West died in their care. His father was ignored after he repeatedly tried to raise concerns. Connor, Angela and David, and many more, were denied the support they so desperately needed. Report after report, inquest after inquest, show systemic failures, and a marked reluctance on the part of the management to release information and take responsibility. The latest chapter in this catalogue of failure is yet another report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), published last Friday, following a short-notice focussed inspection of the Trust. It makes for shocking reading. It warns that too little has been done to improve patient safety since their last report in December. The CQC found that the Trust had not put in place the right governance arrangements to investigate incidents, including deaths. Opportunities had been missed to learn from mistakes and to reduce the chances of them happening again. Inspectors had serious concerns about the safety of patients. Despite being warned about ligature risks in inpatient mental health and learning disabilities services in January 2014, October 2014 and August 2015, the CQC found that the Trust had still failed to address these risks. Twelve patients have jumped off the roof of one of the Trust's hospitals over the past five years. This is a scandal, and it's happening on the watch of a government which has made great play of patient safety, without taking the action needed to make it a reality. Advertisement Yesterday, Labour was granted an 'urgent question' to hold ministers to account. As the Minister blustered, it was clear that not enough is being done. Jeremy Hunt did not speak, and left the Chamber before the end of the questions. I asked three specific questions of the Minister. The first was whether the Government could guarantee the safety of the 45,000 patients currently under the care of Southern Health. The Minister said that, on the advice of the CQC, he was persuaded patients are safe. I remain unconvinced, but I sincerely hope he's right. My second question was about where responsibility lies. It is clear that there have been failings across the organisation for a number of years, but ultimately the buck stops with the chief executive. The Trust has only had one chief executive during the whole period under review. It is not something I said lightly in the Chamber, but I believe her position is now untenable and she should be replaced. Third, I demanded a full public inquiry into this Trust, and the wider treatment of people with mental illness and learning disabilities within the NHS. Here, the Minister opened the door to the future possibility of an inquiry, but such equivocation will provide little comfort to the families of the victims who are rightly demanding accountability. Advertisement I have had the privilege to meet Connor Sparrowhawk's family, and they have behaved with great dignity and tenacity in pursuit of information and accountability. Yet today it was revealed that Connor's mother, Sara Ryan, has had to face abuse and vitriol in her quest for the truth. Despite this, I know the family will keep going until they are successful. But it shouldn't be left to the families and campaigners alone to fight this fight. It is beyond the pale that despite countless warnings there are still serious deficiencies at this Trust. We need those in charge to take responsibility. We need full disclosure of the facts. We need services which adequately looks after all people with complex mental health conditions and learning disabilities, and we need justice for them and their families when the system lets them down. Ministers have been sleeping on the job. We must keep up the pressure and carry on the struggle on behalf of all those failed by Southern Health, and all those currently in their care. At about 11pm last night I was running a bath expecting a relaxing half an hour before going to bed when I received a Twitter notification. Minutes before that I'd quote-tweeted a post that came through my timeline from someone I follow. I used a simple caption: "Go Girl!" The post was about a brave Swedish woman who, on her own, stood up to the fascists in Sweden. Immediately after that - and out of the blue - I received a Tweet that I was "trying to get integrity off back of strength shown by this woman". Her reasoning for saying that was that I support Zac Goldsmith. Khan's dog whistle has clearly reached her ears. A number of Khan supporters attacked me for defending Zac quoting his alleged "racism" as the reason, although she went further. Turned out that it was relevant for the debate that I was "white", apparently I am not black or Asian so don't know what racism is or isn't. Although, my dear girl, my father is actually ethnically Asian. . You might not be able to tell that by looking at my face but you can by looking at my surname, and yes, my Dad has a brown face (so, am I now allowed to have an opinion?). The reason these attacks have been happening is purely because Sadiq's dog-whistling campaign implying that Zac is anti-Muslim has truly started bringing results. And not just in the polls. Advertisement I don't agree with all of Conservative campaign tactics, and have said so on numerous occasions. Cameron overstepped the mark at PMQ and didn't even do his homework before throwing accusation which was embarrassing. Some other senior Conservative interventions were also unhelpful, and Khan shouldn't have got the stick for meeting Gani because he couldn't help it as he was his local imam (something I previously didn't know). I firmly support Zac but I was genuinely trying to be fair in my criticism. I can't blindly reject all the accusations, or blindly accept them. I don't think Zac wanted that level of attacks on Sadiq, but he was unable to stop them. With only 7% of London budget in hands of the Mayor, he would entirely depend on Government on finance. He wouldn't have wanted to fall out with the Government and the Government-supporting newspapers, like the Mail, which has added fuel to the fire by using the picture of the 7/7 bus to illustrate Zac's article last weekend. In my view, the paper has to apologise, first and foremost, to the victims of 7/7 and also to Zac for undermining his perfectly logical and polite argument and to Sadiq because for far right that sort of picture is like a red cloth to the bull. And yet nobody cared that it was the paper with the only goal to sell papers who did it, the only person who got the stick was Zac - because it was convenient to blame him. It's the election, you know! The reason why I got involved in Zac's campaign - and not the General Election or any other campaigns - is because I can vouch for the integrity of the man. I interviewed him twice, and I watched him from afar and he has always impressed me by being a lifelong environmentalist (not just during the election), by his fight to bring the recall of MPs (which Khan didn't support) and by standing up to the establishment whether it's the government or big corporations. Advertisement Politics aside, I was neutral in my personal attitude to Sadiq, until he posted that tweet that was not only below the belt but utterly, utterly divisive and aimed directly at Zac: "Hey @ZacGoldsmith", he said "There's no need to keep pointing at me & shouting 'he's a Muslim'. I put it on my own leaflets." That was a clear cut provocation. He knew Zac would not be able not to react to that. Even if Zac loses on Thursday, Khan cannot delete it from his own conscience that his words had very clear and very loud implications (a dog whistle!). It was only after that outrageous attack that Zac has unleashed his own wrath at Khan. Anyone who'd want to defend themselves would. Khan also deliberately said that Zac's campaign would turn Muslims away from politics when the questions have never ever been about Muslims, but about Sadiq and to Sadiq because of Sadiq's own dodgy acquaintances. Sadiq used his religion as a shield and a sword, urging people to vote for a "Muslim Mayor" and yet screaming "islamophobia" when he faced legitimate questions. Rightly or wrongly, any politician in the UK would have faced the same scrutiny, white or not, that's how politics works in this country. People do get attacked for their past. Sadiq himself attacked Zac for his background on numerous occasions. Zac has always supported anti-hate campaigners, like, for example, Nic Careem, and has had a very good relationship with the mosques in his constituency, and Zac's own sister is a Muslim, his nephews are Pakistani! Zac could have relied upon getting some votes there. Khan knew that Zac has been respected in Muslim communities, so Khan did everything to undermine his support there by claiming that Zac was anti-Muslim. Even "Tell Mama", an organization devoted specifically to measuring anti-Muslim attacks, had to step in to vouch for Zac. Tell Mama said: "Zac is someone who has spent many years working with faith communities and with Muslim communities. Indeed, he was instrumental in working with the Kingston mosque in tackling the far right who had targeted the mosque and his involvement brought all communities together against far right extremists targeting the local Muslim community. To suggest that Zac Goldsmith is Islamophobic is to suggest that Sadiq Khan may be susceptible to being sympathetic to people with extreme views." But Khan's message - with the help of Owen Jones & Co who just want to strengthen Corbyn with this election - has spread too far. Advertisement Books should be written about Sadiq Khan's election strategy. He's used every rule in Lynton Crosby's book, including the infamous "dead cat" trick to make us talk about race and religion because it is to his advantage instead of us discussing his fairytale policies that don't add up and diverting attention from the fact that Khan was the one who nominated Corbyn. Khan wanted us to talk about the religion and race pushing Londoners "to prove their tolerance" by voting for him, and that's why he needed to mar his opponent as much as possible. That was his bet, and his manipulative bet was correct. Everyone likes an underdog. The trouble is that at this election "the underdog" Khan has manipulated public opinion so cynically that it sickens me. I am not justifying some of the Conservative party tactics at all but he was on par with them if not more because it was so underhand and done with an innocent face. He did it to harvest Muslim votes and guilt-trip others into voting for him and make Zac untouchable for the greens as a second preference vote. The cynicism of it is mind-blowing. It was not the first time that Khan used his religion like that. Two Labour MPs back in June - long before Zac was elected as his opponent - went as far as publishing an open letter to Khan, that's how disgusted they were by his shameless exploit of 7/7. Sadiq Khan's former brother-in-law said Sadiq was "cold and calculative". Regardless of the outcome, even if Khan wins on Thursday he wouldn't win the argument. He wanted it to be about the race and religion because he saw the winning points there, that's where the swing votes would come, so he exploited it. I am afraid it will always stay with Mr Khan that he and his allies tried to ruin their political opponent by linking him to Trump and implying he is a racist when they know that he is not. Just as it will stay with Cameron and some people on the Conservative campaign, including the Mail, that, perhaps with the best intentions in mind, they seriously overstepped the mark with their attacks on Khan. Khan's dog-whistling had an effect: he got #nastyzac trending and Zac - a genuinely lovely man with all of his lovely policies that nobody seem to give a damn about - is being called a racist. Sadiq's campaign went as far as linking Zac's name to Trump, a truly racist and vile politician. Is this the sort of victory Khan wants? Wouldn't it taste sour? Does he want Zac's children now to be worried about being bullied & called racist? Should Zac's supporters stop posting their pictures campaigning for Zac and posts in his support out of fear of being abused on social media? Advertisement Most people know about the terrible declines in many of Africa's animals, particularly elephants. What many people don't realise is that Lions, arguably the most iconic of Africa's predators, are also in real trouble. Just a century ago there were perhaps as many as a million lions across Africa. But they have been in steep decline in recent decades. In my lifetime alone Africa's lions have declined from around 100,000, to as few as 20,000 today. That's a shocking decline of 80% or more in just a few short decades, and the remaining animals live in fragmented populations scattered across just 8% of their traditional range. What is just as shocking is the fact that, in spite of these massive declines, hundreds of lions are killed every year in the name of sport, by wealthy trophy hunters mainly originating from the USA and Western Europe, who pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege. Advertisement Every year, hundreds of thousands of wild animals from literally hundreds of different species, many of them threatened with extinction, are killed by trophy hunters, so they can share pictures of themselves posing over the animals they have slaughtered, or videos of their hunts, and display their kills in elaborate trophy rooms as if they are something to be proud of. Lions are particularly highly prized. The trophy hunting industry even dishes out awards to hunters who kill certain types of animals or use particular methods of killing. Safari Club International offers a 'Cats of the World Grand Slam' award for hunters who kill at least four species of wild cats, including lions. Of course, this has been going on for decades. In the past decade alone around 5,500 lion trophy items were exported to the US, and around 3,500 to EU countries. However the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe last year by Walter Palmer, a dentist from Minnesota, created outrage and brought this issue to international public attention. Proponents of trophy hunting claim that the brutal slaughter of these wild animals is sustainable, and that it benefits endangered species like lions by generating money for conservation and providing income for local people in poor countries. They claim they help by removing so-called 'problem' or 'surplus' animals, and they claim that their so-called sport is a traditional activity and that we have no right to impose our western values on African countries. Advertisement But none of this is true. Trophy hunting quotas are not scientifically determined and trophy hunting is not sustainable. Far from removing 'surplus' or 'problem' animals, trophy hunters prefer to target the biggest, fittest, most impressive animals that play an absolutely key role in their societies. Trophy hunting generates only a tiny fraction of the money that can be earned from other types of wildlife tourism, such as photographic tourism, and very little of the money that trophy hunters pay in order to make their kills ever filters down to local communities or conservation projects. The vast majority of the money generated goes into the pockets of a few wealthy individuals. The trophy hunting industry is riddled with corruption, and far from being a 'traditional activity' in Africa, trophy hunting is a relic that was exported to Africa in colonial times. And trophy hunting causes immense animal suffering, not just among the targeted animals, but also because of the disruption the killing causes to their societies and communities. In the case of lions, the cruellest, most cynical and greed-driven form of trophy hunting has emerged in South Africa in the form of so-called 'canned hunting', where lions are intensively bred for the bullet, to be released into small enclosures and shot by the paying client. Advertisement On 30th April, a number of animal protection charities organised a march for lions through London, culminating in the handing in of a letter to 10 Downing Street asking the British government to take action by banning the import of lion trophies into the UK, and supporting international measures aimed at protecting lions from hunters, wildlife traders and other threats they face. "Welcome to Jordan, you're most welcome to Jordan." So began nearly every conversation in this beautiful, complex, fabulous country. Whether we were high up a rock in the desert of Wadi Rum or high up in a temple at Petra there was a universal smile and openness to the country that took me by surprise. I probably shouldn't have been - you only need to spend ten minutes on their remarkable history to appreciate what an immense balancing act this small country pulls off. Sandwiched between Saudi Arabia, Israel, Iraq and Syria things could be so different. Instead of the history of turmoil that each of its neighbors has endured, Jordan has managed to remain peaceful, moderate and welcoming. Two thirds of the population are not native Jordanian - they have moved, migrated or sought asylum from one of the surrounding countries. Imagine that. Think of the fight we are picking in the UK over 3,000 children caught homeless in Europe right now. Jordan has not erupted, has not become extreme. It has recently shut its border with Syria but so have we, and we are quite some way removed. I learnt many things on my week trip. Many of the historical sites and stories blew me away - the huge scale of the remains at Jerash, the beauty of the red rocks in the desert, the wadi walks and most of all Petra - a place so unbelievable you cannot quite process everything you are seeing and feeling. Advertisement But, what I did not expect to learn were two big lessons for life in the UK. The first was just how much value is now put on access to the Internet all over the world. After walking for seven hours from Dana village we spent a night at the Feynan Ecolodge - run by the local Bedouin community. There's no electricity but there is wi-fi. The world seems to place a premium on technology that would have been unimaginable even a couple of years ago. It definitely made me re-energized for the @doteveryoneuk focus on bringing internet skills and services to everyone whoever and wherever they are. Secondly, as we stare down the barrel of a possible Brexit - think of Jordan. Their calm in the midst of so much chaos does us in the UK a great service. Their welcoming culture has helped one of the most toxic areas on the planet. I fervently believe that this is not the time for us to do the opposite and to become jingoistic. Our fortunes as humans have never been more linked - from climate change to technological change to war to movement of people. I hope we can be a Britain that defaults to "you're most welcome". Any chance you get, visit Jordan. Nearly 15% of their GDP is tourism and yet it's collapsed in the last few years. They need us desperately and it is extremely safe. I celebrated 12 years on from my near fatal car accident with this: Advertisement I'll never forget it. I've finally found an hour to write a blog post for you all. Apologies it's been so long. I'm currently musing as Kasia watches a movie on her Amazon Fire, while we bob along in our Pont Aven cabin (with Brittany Ferries) from Plymouth to Santander. We're heading to mainland Europe for some projects on accessibility. It appears I need to be in an ocean with no internet before having a few moments to myself - all in a good way of course. So far this year I've been to Finland, published my book 'Everything is Possible', partnered with George Baker on Accessible Travel Week and launched Accessible Traveller, spoke at the Avi Ramp conference and last week Disability Horizons rocked up to Naidex in Birmingham. It's been a real whirlwind, that's for sure. Specifically though, being asked to run a stand for Disability Horizons, give a keynote speech, and do a book signing at the large disability exhibition was a real moment of seeing how far we've come with all of the projects. But beyond this moment of appreciation, Naidex and the other projects really gave me some new insights to how disabled people are fairing in the world and inspired some ideas on improving things too. Advertisement Unbelievably in 2016 people who are born with or have acquired a disability still struggle to; access buildings, get on some modes of public transport, avoid discrimination or prejudice, gain employment, and live with full equality of opportunities. I know this because I still fight it myself. It's also sobering to hear so many others feeling worn down by this unfortunate reality. Something we at Disability Horizons, and many other disability organisations, do well is support disabled people with coping and progressing within our situation. My concern of late is that our difficulties and desires are only being preached to the converted. I fear that too often the government, big companies, the media and parts of society unaffected by disability don't understand our reality, let alone see the benefits of the solution. This being true inclusivity. In a capitalist world that is transfixed on the numbers of everything (because of financial meltdowns and debts caused elsewhere), I feel we have to fight fire with fire. So I've starting looking around and asking for data on the economic cost-benefit analysis of ignoring or marginalising disabled people. However there is no such data. If there was a way to, morally (with data protection and third party ownership), amass information on all people with long term health conditions - with their support needs, desires, and our measurable value to the world (beyond monetary value too); I believe we could start engaging and winning over those who hold the keys to our true equality. Advertisement We could politically vote for parties who represent us. We could utilise our spending power as consumers. We could educate the public in a unified way. Otherwise I fear we're going to be forced back to the disability rights of the 1990's and resort to direct action. Simply to maintain our rights to exist. Something nobody wants to have to do. These are very basic thoughts and ideas. My wish is to question our current tactics and spark debate. What are your thoughts on being disabled at the moment? Are things getting better or worse? Could the economic number crunching help improve things? Do you have any other ideas? Anyway. I'm off to rest up with a book. I'm broadcasting on Lonely Planet's Periscope channel from San Sebastian tomorrow. They've adapted lots of the city and want to proudly promote it to disabled people everywhere. Thank god for these diamonds in the rough. They give me hope, keep me positive and able to fight another day. Co Editor Disability Horizons Dear MPs, I speak on behalf of a vast proportion of the British public when I express my profound disappointment that 294 members of the party ruling our country voted against potentially saving the lives of 3,000 children on Monday. Whilst the proposal to resettle vulnerable children from Syria and the surrounding regions must not be overlooked and should, indeed, be applauded, this move must not come in lieu of rescuing unaccompanied, unprotected, unsafe children so close to our own home. Last year, over 95,000 child refugees arrived, unaccompanied, to the EU. By the end of the year, 10,000 of those children had vanished - many into the hands (or rather, beds, cells and markets) of human traffickers. During January this year alone, more than the contended number of 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees reached the EU. Political decisions must always reflect the context in which they are made; in the context of these numbers, and of our population of 64.1 million people and position as the fifth wealthiest nation globally, offering safety to 3,000 at-risk children should barely raise a question mark, let alone a heated debate, in the House of Commons. Advertisement The Immigration Minister, James Brokenhurst, argued for giving priority to children in the Middle East region because "in essence, Europe should be a safe space" for those here. And what an idyllic world we would live in if it were. But while Europe may, in many obvious ways, be safer than Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, please stop insulting everyone's intelligence - including your own - by claiming to believe that this continent houses no potential threats to a child wandering around on their own. Especially a child with no home, no recourse to state support, and little access even to humanitarian aid, as member countries implement increasingly brutal measures to impede contact between volunteers and NGOs and those in need of their help. Facilities housing unaccompanied child refugees in Lampedusa and across Greece have been declared unfit for purpose. If Europe was ever a "safe space" before, EU member states recently have done their utmost to remove all support structures and ensure that it become a deeply unsafe place for those with whom it does not see fit to share that safety. The Conservative Party has long held a reputation for being less concerned with humanitarian issues - so sterlingly embodied, incidentally, by the Home Secretary's proposition this very same week that we terminate our adherence to the ECHR - than other major parties. It thus seems to me - and to many fellow Brits - inconceivable that the fears motivating most members of your party to vote against bringing these children to the UK were ones of deep concern for any who may follow in their footsteps. Especially when all other major parties, which have historically demonstrated a much stronger tradition of caring for others - were not held back by such worries. Advertisement The 95,000 unaccompanied children who reached Europe last year did so despite the absence of "pull-factor" policies. This argument betrays your deep underestimation of the trauma of subjecting yourself and your family to that journey; the mental anguish endured to send your child alone is unimaginable. The unaccompanied child refugees in Europe are on their own for one of the following reasons: Their parents died during the journey They became separated from their parents during the journey Their parents could not afford the smugglers' fees for the whole family, and preferred to stay in a warzone and die to allow their child at least a chance of survival. I am afraid that you think rather too highly of yourself if you believe that parents are checking just what the UK government's opinion is before sending their children away from one death and quite possibly towards another. The decision to send your child across the world under these conditions is not a political one, based on thorough research and knowledge of the reception structures and processes in various European countries; it is a decision based on an everyday struggle between life and death; a decision born of the desperation of living in a warzone, under either terrorist or murderous government control. Not only does your "pull factor" theory lack credibility on these grounds, but it also stands directly at odds with the despicable EU/Turkey deal you backed mere weeks ago. The entire raison d'etre of this morally degraded and legally dubious - or dubiously legal - piece of legislation was, purportedly, to remove all incentive for people to make the journey to Europe. It was in this capacity that you offered it "this country's full support" (against the wishes of much of the country, I might add). Now, as soon as the possibility of giving shelter in the UK to a small number of lonely children has arisen, that disincentivising effect seems to have been quickly forgotten and the "pull factor" revived in full force. Advertisement Your predicted "pull factor" would only be even conceivable if selection under the Dubs Amendment appeared possible to children not yet in Europe. This in turn could only be the case given the obscenely excessive timeframe of five years over which to take in the mere 3,000 children - equalling just 600 per year, to whom you have denied safety. If the UK were to select and welcome all 3,000 children within the next few months or year - reverting to the numbers of unaccompanied child refugees granted asylum annually during the mid-2000s, even without the background of a refugee crisis - the risk of any "pull factor" effect would be mitigated. You know you've come to the right part of Britain to make a show about masculinity when you're filming in a city centre on a cold, wet Saturday night and the only other man you've seen wearing any kind of jacket is your presenter, a transvestite potter from Islington. We'd come to the north east of England - Newcastle to be precise - to shoot the first episode of our new documentary series Grayson Perry: All Man. I'm always up for filming there, as the people are a documentary-maker's dream: warm, smart, open-hearted and most crucial of all from my point of view talkative. Geordies are the Italians of Britain. But the whole tough guy thing is inescapable there too. The men just look harder - bigger muscles, more tattoos, tighter clothes (although not gay tight clothes, obviously). What are the men of the north east trying to tell us about themselves, we wondered, as we shivered in our bad-weather filming fleeces while the scantily-clad hen- and stag-party carnivalesque of Bigg Market unfolded around us? Advertisement And then there's the fact that cage-fighting, or mixed martial arts (MMA), is huge there. As the sharp end of north-eastern masculinity, that seemed to me like the place to start. Grayson was apprehensive. How would men who make a living out of battering the living daylights out of each other in a cage respond to his brand of probing and deeply personal questioning about the problems and pathos of being male? With genuine insight and unsparing honesty, is the answer. And if that surprises you, you might not be quite as free of prejudice about northern working-class life as you like to think. One man, Andy, talked about the pain of his brother's suicide, and how the ring was a place he could legitimately exorcise his demons. Another, Alex, sprawled on his hotel room bed with Grayson in the hours before a fight and, as he always does, watched a DVD of Troy, thoughtfully picking apart the different visions of manliness Homer offers us in Achilles and Hector. Colin "The Freakshow" Fletcher traced his cage-fighting persona (he dresses up for fights as a really scary, chainsaw-wielding clown) back to the trauma of being bullied as a kid. And as Grayson remembered the childhood origins of his own imperative to dress up in frilly women's clothes, they found moving common ground. What the cage-fighters of Tyne and Wear taught me is that masculinity is performance, and that these men were every bit as aware of that fact as Grayson Perry is himself. It's one of Grayson's greatest gifts as a documentary voice to ask the questions to which he's genuinely curious to know the answer. Not rocket-science you might think, but so much television interviewing is really a targeted exercise in quote-harvesting. Interviewees invariably know the difference. But you'd be shocked how few documentary-makers do. And in this instance, Grayson's empathy and the fighters' emotional openness in response produced the kind of truth you can weave a documentary out of. Advertisement Phew, obvs. We had a film. So perhaps this might be a moment to share a few personal confidences of my own. The first one is that I made up that bit earlier about choosing to shoot in the north east because of how bankably articulate Geordies are. We chose the region because it has the highest rate of male suicide in Britain. Seventy-eight percent of the people who take their own lives in the region are men. We thought they were haunting statistics. If there really is a "crisis of masculinity" about, we thought, and if we were really serious about making a series that looks honestly at being a man, we probably ought to start there. How that might connect to the spectacle of hyper-masculinity we saw on a Newcastle Saturday night - you'll have to watch the film to judge. But I couldn't be more delighted with the way it's turned out, and the experience of making it has prompted me take a long hard look at the kind of man I am myself. I've even made a resolution to try to put aside some behaviours that I've come to see are deeply unhelpful and even self-sabotaging. So when the programme airs on Thursday night at 10pm on Channel 4, I'm got to sit back and just try to be in the moment as a confidently-centered man. AND NOT LOOK AT TWITTER EVEN ONCE. Most of you might not remember, but in Snakes on a Plane, the plane actually ends up at its intended destination (admittedly with an emergency landing). We are not quite so lucky when it comes to the IRL situation of boozy Brits on a plane. In fact in the last week, let alone year, three planes to Barcelona, Alicante and Malaga were disrupted because passengers got too drunk. Snakes 1, People 0. Unsurprisingly then, according to a survey on Opodo.com, 79% of people said they would welcome measures to curb alcohol intake on flights while 11% said they would be happy with a total ban. Advertisement But banning alcohol on a flight isn't the solution because the problem is in fact much, much bigger than our inability to say no to free drinks on a plane. We Brits are known for being the drunkest ones in the room, at any table, in any country. Not only is this the general global perception of us as a nation, but we take pride in it. In fact, the more batshit your story, the more of a legend you are. Got on a train that went five hours in the wrong direction? Legend. Projectile vomited over your best friend's shoes? Legend. Did all of the above and lost your wallet, phone and clothes? Christ, you need a badge that reads LEGEND. Advertisement The problem isn't that we drink. It's that our drinking habits are utterly dysfunctional. We start developing this from a young age, when binge-drinking is considered to be the norm, especially in your uni days and most of your 20s. Most people I know in my 30s still have a very skewed idea of how much is too much. Apparently three glasses of wine is fine in one sitting. It's not. That's nearly a bottle of wine and half the recommended units for a person per week. I'm not wagging the finger but I genuinely think most of us don't know what's an acceptable level to drink. Drinking is inescapable in working life. Not only are you juggling your social (boozy) life with your mates but you're also expected to put in pub hours - unless you want your colleagues to think you are a total weirdo who sews name tags into their socks. The majority of British society celebrates drunken behaviour as cheeky antics (which perpetuates it) and we act as if someone has punched our nan in the face when they say they aren't drinking that evening. In fact when someone dies because they voluntarily did something dangerous like falling off a balcony or a building (and this happens frequently when people are drunk), it's called 'death by misadventure'. I couldn't think of a worse name to call something so serious. Advertisement There comes a point when we have to ask ourselves why on earth we keep doing this. Why being hungover is completely normal on a weekly basis when it's actually a big klaxon from your body that you drank more than your liver could or should handle. Personally, I think we'd be a lot better off if we were properly educated about drinking. Not some lecture about not drinking too much, or a nanny state decree that because a few people can't control themselves around booze on a plane, none of us can have it. Because I know that when I have been taught about drinking and the impact on my body, it has affected (over a long period) how much I drink. For instance memory loss is something we laugh about when it happens to us or a mate. In fact it happened to me a lot in my 20s and I thought it was a normal part of drinking. But I'll never forget when someone told me that memory loss caused by alcohol is actually irreparable brain damage. I can't speak for others but I like my brain. Advertisement So what would have been useful? I would much rather have had a chat about drinking in my school than being forced to attend an anti-drugs assembly with someone dressed up as a giant ecstasy pill. In fact, we could all do with this as adults. A case in point is a friend of mine who attended a drink driving course and expected to have a dry lecture about what a scumbag he was and how he should stop drinking. Instead, he said that they made you think about drinking but helping you to unpick how you developed those habits and what alcohol actually does to your body. "Why don't they tell you this stuff until it's too late?" he said. Banning people from drinking isn't the answer. They tried that on public transport and I don't know about you, but I haven't seen a reduction in drunken bozos lurching around. The next mayor of London needs to support and empower the capital's Business Improvement Districts London heads into the mayoral elections this week having reached a key landmark. We now have 50 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in the capital following the election of Euston Town last month. BIDs are important generators of local growth. Working with the business community they improve key economic clusters, ensuring that they become a better place to work, shop and visit. As Boris prepares to leave City Hall to make way for the new Mayor, it's worth considering what's next for BIDs. Advertisement As those of us who work on BID teams know, you have to make your own luck. We don't enjoy a fixed, secure position like a local authority or a Whitehall department. Every five years we create and present a vision to our local business community aimed at driving economic prosperity and regeneration. If local firms agree to it, we go ahead and deliver it. Much of our work involves building coalitions of support to secure funding and make ambitious projects a reality. While our flexibility allows us to thrive and respond to very local challenges, we can improve by learning from each other. Collaboration is crucial to our work, and one of the most important partnerships for all of London's BIDs is with the Greater London Authority. Advertisement This is our five-point plan for the next Mayor of London. #1: Give us more regeneration responsibility We have two very successful Mayoral Development Corporations (MDCs) in London that have brought vast benefits to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the Old Oak and Park Royal Area. MDCs however are dominated by the GLA and lack local leadership. We want to ensure that key development areas consider the voice of local business by allowing BIDs, LEPs and other private partnerships to lead MDC projects. #2: Support high-growth small businesses and start-ups London is a global leader of entrepreneurship yet too many of our start-ups fail to take off. We need to look at how we can better share the knowledge of what it takes to succeed with budding entrepreneurs. The next mayor needs to support and help to establish innovative projects like open and collective workspaces which help entrepreneurs learn to exchange ideas and share success. #3: Appoint a Deputy Mayor for Regeneration and Local Economic Growth We need a specialist in City Hall that can work with London's economic clusters to support regeneration and growth. Advertisement The appointee would have a steering role, making suggestions to BIDs teams based on past successes, and supporting projects by scoping-out funding opportunities. #4: Fight to protect office space in the capital Most of our business members are commercial tenants, yet recent reforms mean planning applications are not necessary on certain types of property. Landlords can now convert their premises from an office to a residential unit much more quickly. The GLA Open Workspace Group's Manifesto shares our view that this is a major threat to areas of the capital not exempt from this policy. #5: Let us deliver more BIDs haven't been able to make the most of the instincts and expertise of our business members. As BID teams we represent some of the most successful companies in the world, let alone the capital. We want to harness this thinking in the context of improving local communities. We want to work with local commerce to provide better transport, schools and other front line services. Advertisement News / National by Staff reporter Police here banned the first anti-national pledge demonstration by the Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) yesterday, saying it had not been sanctioned by authorities and therefore, illegal.Anti-riot police broke up the march by the far-left protesters in the city as they sought to demonstrate against a national pledge for children, which was introduced in schools at the start of the new term yesterday.The demo, which was supposed to begin at Egodini Bus Terminus to Mhlanhlandlela Government Complex, was stopped immediately after the protestors began the march in the morning.According to Mbonisi Gumbo, MRP spokesperson, their aim was to present the petition to the provincial office of the Primary and Secondary Education ministry demanding what they termed an end to the "violation of child-related crucial rights which entail the right to freedom of worship and basic education".Some parents and churches have protested the pledge, in which children will be made to recite every day after singing the national anthem.In the national pledge, children pledge their allegiance to God and the national flag and pay their respects to "brave fathers and mothers who lost their lives in the Chimurenga", the 70s war of independence against the minority white-led government that ushered in independence in 1980."We demand the end to the national pledge as it violates the rights of children and their parents as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, and the articles of the African Union and the United Nations of which Zimbabwe is a signatory," Gumbo said.Sylvia Utete-Masango, the permanent secretary in the Education ministry, said on Monday: "The words in the pledge talk about hard work, commitment and dignity."I don't know if there are parents who don't want honest and hard-working children." Today the International Development Committee released our report on the Crisis in Yemen, our fourth report of the Parliament. Yemen faces a massive humanitarian crisis, with over 80% of the population in need of assistance. DFID has been instrumental in supporting and facilitating the humanitarian relief effort. Although DFID has been one of the leading international forces responding to the crisis, we believe that other countries need to do more to match the efforts of the UK. It is vital that other donors, in addition to the UK, rapidly provide necessary funds to support the UN's $1.8billion 2016 Humanitarian Response Plan. This money will go a long way to helping ease some of the many pressures that this conflict has caused. As this conflict has continued, many basic services in Yemen have suffered as a result. We noted that education, healthcare, nutrition, water and sanitation have all fallen victim to the ongoing conflict. Damage of facilities, lack of staff and a lack of medicine is stretching Yemen's healthcare system to the point of collapse and DFID need to use the resources and expertise it has in strengthening healthcare systems to ensure that this doesn't happen. The same is true for nutrition, water and sanitation; DFID has been fundamental in maintaining these programmes but more needs to be done to scale up these efforts. Advertisement As ever in major conflicts, the risk to civilians and humanitarian staff is severe. It is vitally important that all sides in this conflict adhere to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to ensure that civilians and humanitarian workers are protected. We received evidence from humanitarian organisations which suggests strongly that humanitarian law has been breached. This undermines the relief effort. In light of the compelling evidence, we recommend that an independent international inquiry into alleged violations of IHL by both sides of the conflict in Yemen should be set up without delay. The evidence we have received raises questions over the Government's continued licensing of arms transfers to Saudi Arabia. Based on the strength and credibility of the evidence we have heard, we welcome the Committee on Arms Export Controls inquiry into the use of UK manufactured arms in Yemen and hope it will consider the case for suspension of arms sales to Saudi Arabia until there is evidence that there is no 'clear risk' that arms exported from the UK "might be used in the commission of a serious violation of IHL" in Yemen. The International Development Committee is encouraged by DFID's focus on the long term development of Yemen and the department's support for UN efforts to facilitate peace talks. We urge the Government to apply pressure on all parties to the conflict so we can see progress in the peace talks and particularly to ensure that the accompanying ceasefire is adhered to by all sides. The ultimate goal is a long lasting peace for Yemen and an opportunity for its people to rebuild their country. You've heard the one about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right? There are a couple of different riffs on the same joke but the punchline is always the same. Humans need Wi-Fi to survive now. It's coming up to ten years since the introduction of the first iPhone and the beginning of the smartphone revolution. Ten long years and the early promise that these devices would free us from the grey daily commute and banal office banter is finally coming true. In the US today, 30% of workers are freelance. By 2035, it's predicted their percentage of the workforce will rise to more than 50%. A new generation of workers - digital nomads - are harnessing the power of mobile and instagramming their way to a new kind of productivity; free from employers, property, belongings and stress. And in their kiteboarding wake, our collective attitudes to work and life are shifting. Advertisement Even our relationship to place is being made anew. In many ways, London today feels closer to Shanghai or San Francisco than it does to Newcastle or Birmingham. The world's mega cities increasingly share the same culture, the same company headquarters, the same infrastructure challenges and the same people. A growing legion who join the dots on the world map with their flight paths - a creative class flitting between cities and scenic retreats, their digital skills ever in demand wherever they go. Belonging everywhere and nowhere at the same time. United less by their places of origin than by their choice of operating system. Generation Rent shrugs like Atlas at the ever more remote possibility of home ownership as it drifts away on a rising tide of student debt and gentrified house prices. All the better to take advantage of the ever decreasing cost of flights. After all, why buy a car when you can Uber. Why cook when you can Just Eat. Why commit when you can Tinder. Why work when you can vlog. With every increase in internet speed and connectivity, the world gets smaller and new experiences more curatable. You can hot desk from base camp at Everest. Run a global online retail business from an Ayahuasca retreat in the rainforest. Make a living from your Instagram feed, documenting your #digitalnomad #life #livingthedream. Advertisement Early humans were nomadic. Perhaps it's our natural state and the rise of the digital nomad our millennial return. Equipped with the defining tool of our age - the smartphone - many are leaving ten thousand years of materialism behind in favour of joining a new tribe: hunter gatherers of experience not things. Pieter Levels is maker of Nomad List, a site that lets nomads find the best places to live, work and meet. "Experientialism is definitely one of the big reasons the digital nomad trend is taking off," he says. "People today want to explore the world and meet people from different cultures. Just an IKEA table and a TV isn't going to cut it any longer." So if materialism is sliding away from our sense of self and being replaced with experimentialism, could there be associated benefits for the planet? Cynics point to the carbon emissions of our increased air travel as we search for new experiences, but James Wallman, author of Stuffocation and founder of think-tank The Future is Here sees Digital Nomadism as an agent of positive change. "I'm amazed at all the fuss over air travel," says James. "Roughly 5% of carbon emissions are down to travel. That's absolutely dwarfed by the impact on our planet of global materialism. 95% of all consumer goods six months down the line become rubbish. Our materialist system is not good at producing consumer goods, it's good at producing rubbish. Any movement that takes us away from valuing material goods and instead values experiences is environmentally sound - even one based on air travel and Instagram." But what impact does the Western digital diaspora have on host nations - especially those with developing economies? Youjin Do is a film-maker making One Way Ticket, the world's first documentary about Digital Nomads. "While making the documentary, I have been thinking whether this movement is spreading wealth to developing countries or whether it's a new form of gentrification," says Youjin. Advertisement Looking at the demographics of the Digital Nomad tribe, it's clear the traffic is largely one way. "Most digital nomads are from well developed countries and have amazing visa options," notes Youjin. "A digital nomad with a European Union passport can for instance get a lot further than a Vietnamese one who faces the huge possibility of their visa application getting rejected." The smartphone may have disrupted the way many people live and work and may even be reshaping our value systems, but global inequalities remain largely in tact. The media debates whether we should call the millions fleeing war and poverty "economic migrants" or "refugees". Many carry with them the lifeline of a smartphone but no-one classes them as #digitalnomads. The hashtag is not only about how digital or how nomadic. It is also implicitly about how privileged. God's message brought to us by Jesus! Photo used by permission of KLC The late, great Gil Scott-Heron poetically pointed out that "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". It might be more accurate to say the revolution was not televised. Why the past tense? Because the revolution to end all revolutions arguably took place some 2000 years ago, when a carpenter's son fomented a spiritual revolt against materialistic limitation. A revolt that continues today! But what if the man who started the revolution never existed? That's the gauntlet thrown down by a recent article in the Daily Mail called "Jesus NEVER existed". It explains how the writer found no mention of Jesus in 126 historical texts and insisted he was a 'mythical character'. Advertisement If this position is accurate, would that mean there never was a spiritual revolution? It certainly didn't mean that to one particular Christian thinker. Mary Baker Eddy firmly believed in Jesus' virgin birth and his resurrection. She also accepted the historicity of the many Bible healings attributed to him. Nevertheless, the founder of Christian Science was unperturbed when confronted with the suggestion Jesus might never have lived. When teaching students the Christian healing she had discovered, Eddy was assailed one day by the skepticism of a Unitarian minister invited to join the class as a silent observer. As she challenged the idea of agnosticism, he could no longer keep quiet. "How do you know that there ever was such a man as Christ Jesus?" the Reverend James Henry Wiggin blurted out. Advertisement Eddy had reached her conclusions through studying the biblical record of Jesus. She not only wholeheartedly believed that record but put what she learned into practice through healing. But she wasn't asking Wiggin or anyone else to accept her conclusions based solely on faith in an historical figure. If her understanding and articulation of the healing method Jesus taught and practised was right then it was presently demonstrable by everyone, including Wiggin. On that basis, she boldly informed him that she didn't find her authority for these ideas in history, "but in revelation". "If there had never existed such a person as the Galilean Prophet, it would make no difference to me. I should still know that God's spiritual ideal is the only real man in His image and likeness," she added, pointing to a golden thread she found woven throughout the Scriptures. Her words evidently had an impact on her guest who, as she also recalled, later wrote "a kind little pamphlet" defending her teachings. (The First Church of Christ, Scientist and Miscellany, p.318) Yet it was precisely because she had seen healings which echoed those attributed to Jesus that she had such a deep conviction of the actual existence of "the Galilean Prophet" as "the great Exemplar". That is, through applying what she had learned from his example of the power of prayerfully understanding "God's spiritual ideal" as the only real identity of one and all, Eddy also saw minds and bodies being made better. Advertisement In Christian Science, this understanding of our spiritual identity, made in God's image and likeness, is understood to be the Christ. This Christ-spirit is most clearly evidenced in the remarkable spiritual practice of Jesus but it is ultimately always available to us all. Which begs the question: "Does Christ need to come again?" "Is there more than one Christ, and hath Christ a second appearing?" Eddy asked in a talk she gave at the turn of the nineteenth century. "There is but one Christ. And from everlasting to everlasting this Christ is never absent," she answered. (Message to The Mother Church Boston, Massachusetts June, 1900) Having this understanding of the ever-present Christ which Jesus demonstrated with such unique clarity and power means there's no need for the personal return of Jesus. The ever-presence of Christ only needs to be understood anew and progressively proved once again in present-day healing. And therein lies the revolution that can never be televised, for one simple reason. The consciousness of the healing Christ occurs where cameras cannot go - inside the hearts of the humble. Advertisement For that reason, too, it's a revolution that will never go away. Predrag Vuckovic via Getty Images Man snorkeling and holding crayfish in the sea. Lobsters and oysters are among Australian marine life that could begin literally dissolving as our oceans become increasingly acidic. It may sound like a piece of speculative science fiction, but ocean acidification is a well-documented phenomena and the world's experts are currently meeting in Hobart for the 4th international Oceans in a High CO2 World symposium. Advertisement Ocean acidification occurs when the world's waters absorb carbon dioxide from the air, which lowers the entire ocean's pH level. If there is enough carbon dioxide in the air, it puts all marine animals at risk that rely on a carbonate exoskeleton. Species with these exoskeletons like lobsters, crayfish, mussels and oysters will begin to dissolve and be less able to build their protective shells, creating thinner, slower growing shells that are more vulnerable to predators. What's more, the same process can dissolve entire coral reefs, and new research released this week shows increasingly acidic waters on the Great Barrier Reef are already having an effect, with coral growing 7 percent slower than at the start of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution is a pertinent comparison point because ocean acidification is caused by increased carbon dioxide in the air, which is in turn caused by the burning of fossil fuels, which ramped up around the time fuel-burning machines became common. Advertisement Today, we're pumping more carbon dioxide into the air than ever before, and CSIRO oceans and atmosphere senior research scientist Andrew Lenton said there were precise measurements going back six decades on the way oceans respond. "This is really the predictable and measurable consequence of rising carbon dioxide levels," Lenton said. "What we can see is even low emissions, that is akin to the Cop 21 emissions [targets] to the end of the century, well see an increase in ocean acidification and decrease in pH, meaning that even if were able to keep our emmissions to the level were hoping to, the changes are so large that corals, for example, will experience conditions where theyre not historically found." In other words, corals have not been shown to survive in the level of pH scientists believe our oceans are headed. "It doesnt happen in isolation, its also warming at the same time so weve got to start thinking about understanding ocean acidification, with warming and other changes to determine how it will impact the marine system into the future." Advertisement Back to lobsters and oysters. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration senior scientist Richard A Feely said the U.S. had a concerning window into a future where all the world's oceans were more acidic because of an anomalic ocean upwelling that brought carbon dioxide-rich water to the west coast of the U.S. between April and November each year. "It's a very unique situation," Feely said. "Those two combined increases in carbon dioxide causes pH drops in the order of the future that we might expect in the open oceans at the end of the century and the impact of that has been striking." Feely said it decimated the oyster industry and dissolved the shells of some snails. "Weve seen large impact on our oyster industry beginning in 2006 and 2007 to the point that the shellfish in hatcheries, the oyster larvae were dying off within two days and they had no way to recover." "What we did in that case, we taught the shellfish growers how to raise the pH inside hatcheries and allow them to grow normally. We developed an adaptation strategy that worked and the question is, can we do the same thing in the open ocean?" The strategy the farmers employed was planting kelp and seagrass that naturally lowered the pH in the surrounding water when they photosynthesize. Advertisement University of Tasmanias Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies marine biologist Catriona Hurd said planting seaweed worked on a small scale, in cold-water systems, but we needed a global response to change the entire ocean's pH levels and avoid potentially disastrous consequences. "We know the key thing that has to happen to reduce ocean acidification is we need to look for some greener forms of energy," Hurd said. "We need to keep some of that carbon in the ground and not letting it out into the atmosphere." Sher Dillen Rangr, Abigail Dillen's son, during a recent family vacation (Abigail Dillen) Being a mother makes the future present. What day is there when you don't have a glimpse of your child as a grown-up? I am not a planner when it comes to my own life. I am bad at saving money -- that is, I generally don't. But I can see the smart, funny, capable 18-year old my son Sher will be, and so, I am evolving a new skill of saving so I can pay for college fifteen years from now. Shortly after Sher was born, a friend of mine told me, "You'll never sleep the same way again." And for the last three and three-quarters years, I haven't. I wake up in the middle of the night and worry about everything -- from the milk I forgot to pick up for tomorrow morning, to where Sher will go to school a year from now, to the fundamentally altered planet that he will live on as a man, maybe as a father. I hope it's not too late to preserve a world that is hospitable enough for humanism. What will happen if the oceans take back the coasts where most people in the world live? If drought and new weather patterns kill the crops on farmlands that feed everyone? When there is not enough water? How will there be any safety, kindness, learning, justice, peace? What will become of all the animals? Advertisement When the night terrors come, I suspect most mothers will not want to dwell on climate change. But as someone who works on climate and energy issues, I can't stop myself. The only way back to sleep is with a reasoned leap of faith that we can still fend off the full disaster. The reasoned part is that it is still technically possible to cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The leap is that people across the world will wake up to the urgent threat and do what we must do without losing any more time. And that is where you come in, mothers of the world. What if I told you that we could fix the biggest climate problem going forward, that we could stop burning fossil fuels and still get around in a fully electrified world? Would you join me in demanding, as fiercely as mothers can demand, that our leaders in government, business, and media get serious about climate change? We know that wind and solar energy are here. We know that electric vehicles are here. There is no excuse for running dirty coal-fired power plants and building expensive new pipelines for oil and gas. No one should be allowed to choose Exxon and Peabody Coal over your child and mine. There are essentially three things I hear people say when they advocate for doing nothing in the face of unprecedented risks to our security. The first is that the science is uncertain and the risks are exaggerated. Maybe these people are not reading the news. The only thing wrong with the climate science is that the projections have been too conservative. The scary changes are only happening faster than anticipated. Late last month, I was doing an internet search and came across this headline from the Toronto Star, "'And then we wept': Scientists say 93 percent of the Great Barrier Reef now bleached." The poet Frank O'Hara has a line about "something horrible you hadn't expected/ which is the most horrible thing." I have always debated whether the unexpected horrible thing is truly worse than the expected one. As climate change progresses, I think the most horrible thing is the thing you were warned about but couldn't bear to expect. Advertisement The second basic argument is about money. The premise is that our prosperity depends on our ability to dig fossil fuels out of the ground. Supposedly, it will be too disruptive to make investments in new infrastructure that would move us out of the 19th century and into a new clean tech economy. But what could be more disruptive to our economy than Wall Street underwater and the greater catastrophe that entails? Given the vast majority of people who are not flourishing in our old economy, why not embrace a new one that creates new jobs and new wealth? The third is despair. It is hard to watch this crisis unfold in slow motion and not feel defeated. But now is not the moment to give up. As we are edging precariously close to bad tipping points for our natural systems, we have actually, almost amazingly, reached the good tipping points -- for renewable energy, for global collaboration, for public awareness and action by people like you and me. Last month, the world's biggest carbon polluters, the U.S., China, and India, all signed the historic Paris agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. In the U.S., we are enforcing existing law to retire coal plants and ramp up clean energy, which is emerging as the economic as well as environmental alternative to coal power and gas power too. Just ten years ago, we were still getting half of our electricity from coal. Now, its share of the power market is down to a third and still shrinking fast. We are winning victories to keep coal, oil, and gas in the ground and underwater in the Arctic, off the Atlantic coast, in coal country, and in western oil and gas fields. In just six months, with the President's landmark rejection of the Keystone pipeline and the announcement of a pause on federal leasing that would allow for new coal mining, there has been a dramatic shift away from the "all of the above" approach to national energy policy that has always privileged fossil fuels. I wonder if we may not be waking up to a new day. So with hope as well as fear on Mother's Day, I am addressing this open letter to you, my compatriots in the hard, often joyful, often anxious work of mothering. Will you join me in doing these three things? Advertisement Accept the radical truth that you and I can make a difference, and talk about climate change with everyone you know. We can't solve the problem if we ignore it. Make climate a voting issue and vote. The people we put in charge won't act fast enough if we don't give them clear direction. Make this your fight, because climate change will affect you and the people you love most. If you want to know what more you can do, reach out to an organization like mine and find out about opportunities to take action (at Earthjustice, we force climate action by taking the government and polluters to court). Marketing your startup is your first priority whenever you launch a company. You have no platform and you have no existing customers. Gaining traction is an obstacle the majority of startups fail at, and it's why 90% of startups continue to fail. The biggest reason for failure in marketing is that so many companies make major mistakes in their strategy and in how to use content marketing. This guide is going to show you some of the do's and don'ts of startup marketing. DO Increase Your Marketing Leverage To make money you have to spend money. Unfortunately, as a startup, it's easy to waste a lot of that money. When scaling up your marketing efforts, you should be looking for both ROI and an increase in revenue. Alternatively, you can consider this in the same area as marketing leverage. Advertisement You should be both innovating and gaining an ROI at the same time. This is how marketing efforts for companies constantly evolve. It's all about promoting accelerated growth. DON'T Disagree with the Customer There's a saying in startup marketing that you have to lead from behind the customer. This is no myth that has to be debunked. The customer is STILL always right. If you have a disagreement with your customer base, you are going to have to resolve that, and it always has to be resolved in the customer's favor. If you disagree with your customers, the chances are this is something that you have done wrong. DO Fail Fast Startups also fail because they remain with strategies that don't work for so long. They continue to plug away despite the fact the strategy has little chance of succeeding. Smart startups fail as much as any other, but they fail fast. What this means is that when they see a strategy that clearly isn't working they terminate it. They don't try to make it work. They move onto something else simply because the risk of wasting your marketing budget for the year on an ill-fated campaign isn't worth it. Advertisement DON'T Discount the Value of Free There's a lot of value to be gained through free marketing programs. The most powerful forms of marketing are free, including word of mouth, organic search, and guest blogging. Yet a lot of startups automatically discount them because they assume that if something is free it probably isn't going to offer them much value. But going back to the point about marketing leverage, the cheapest marketing options all offer the highest marketing leverage value. You only have to earn a small amount of money and you are already in profit. DO Seek New Revenue Streams It's much easier to earn 1% of five revenue areas than it is to dominate a single revenue area. You have to go out of your way to seek out new revenue streams. Startups should aim to diversify as soon as they can. The more people you have in your target audience the easier it is to gain traction. These revenue streams don't have to cross over into different industries. It can be as simple as offering a variation of a currently available product or service. DON'T Settle One of the things you should absolutely not do is settle for less. Go out of your way to always improve. Startups commonly mess up when they gain a tiny piece of success. They are so pleased with themselves that they lose intensity and they try to settle on the results already achieved. Advertisement Any success should be taken as a reason to accelerate the intensity in your marketing. Use the art of persuasion to convince both investors and co-founders that you have to increase your marketing resources not take the time to celebrate. DO Use Automation The use of automation is common in the world of startup marketing today. Facilitate the customer journey through using automation and you'll make things more efficient for both you and the customer. Using automation is simple because there are so many options on offer today for how to do it. DON'T Have Mixed Messages You should make sure that your marketing is sending a unified message across all platforms to avoid confusing your target audience. Companies like Amazon and Google debunk the myth that things have to be complicated by sending exactly the same message across all platforms. They never send more than one message because they want to accomplish one goal and one aim. In leadership today, excellence demands value ... and values. In recent weeks, a number of corporate leaders have expressed opposition to a new North Carolina law that removes vital protections for transgender people in the state. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote a public letter to the governor expressing opposition. PayPal cancelled a major investment. Deutsche Bank halted plans to bring 250 jobs to the state. Aren't major companies supposed to be hesitant to weigh in on controversial issues? What's going on here? Advertisement What we're seeing in North Carolina isn't an isolated incident; it reflects a convergence of value - profit, pay, prices and returns - with values - positions that reflect the public's desire for inclusive, respectful, and sustainable societies. Several reasons account for this trend, chief among them politics, demographics, and technology. First, politics. Government gridlock has fueled a thirst for new solutions. Polarization across and within parties has made it difficult for moderate voices to bridge the gap and get things done through traditional legislative action. As government flails, companies are well-positioned to fill the void. In fact, Edelman's 2016 Trust Barometer finds a 20-point gap in trust between corporations and government: 61 percent of the public trusts businesses to keep pace with societal change, while just 41 percent trust government. Moreover, 80 percent of respondents look to business to solve social and economic problems in the communities in which they operate, while only 59 percent expect government to do the same. The second factor hinges on demographics. The war among companies for top-notch talent has always been intense, but companies today must appeal to younger recruits who came of age in a networked world and see themselves as part of a global community, one in which all people deserve respect for their distinct views and ways of life. Advertisement Whereas yesterday's talent wars focused primarily on pay and perks, a recent study by Deloitte reports that six in 10 millennials cite a "sense of social purpose" as a key reason they chose their current employer. Hiring the best employees today means offering more than a great paycheck; it means providing a sense of social purpose and a motivating mission, as well. Third, technology is radically changing the climate of corporate communications, presenting both opportunity and risk for the C-suite. On one hand, the rise of social media empowers CEOs with platforms that allow them to rapidly communicate ideas, achievements, goals, and values to a global audience. This can help businesses present a compelling vision and build and reinforce brand loyalty. On the other hand, global connectivity places CEOs under a microscope that scrutinizes both business conduct and public aspects of their personal affairs. CEOs who fail to deliver on values can no longer hide behind boardroom walls; they are more accountable to the public than ever before. And when they slip, their failures can generate backlash that goes viral, rapidly shifting from a headache to a full-blown crisis that poses real risk to the bottom line. The good news is that values-driven leadership can enhance corporate value as much as it detracts, particularly when it comes to millennial consumers, who already account for 21 percent of U.S. consumption and will soon purchase more than any other demographic. Advertisement According to the Barkley advertising agency, 63 percent of millennials will likely do business with a company they find socially responsible, while a remarkable 37 percent would pay more for a product that supports a cause they believe in. Despite mounting evidence that values-based leadership can create financial value for businesses, most companies are still not built to answer society's growing demand for corporate value. Why is this? Corporate decision-making remains segregated. For most companies, business decisions and corporate social responsibility continue to run on separate tracks. Rarely does an adviser skilled at navigating the risks and opportunities of social advocacy have the ear of the C-suite. Forward-looking companies should align their corporate philanthropy efforts with their business goals - and empower the corporate philanthropy team to adopt a "war room" mentality that anticipates, identifies, and responds to key public issues like the North Carolina law. Most CEOs also remain hesitant to step into the fray for fear of compromising their privacy and alienating customers. While these fears are understandable, the "duck and cover" approach will only get harder to justify. CEOs should look to get ahead of a trend that will only accelerate in the years ahead. Advertisement That doesn't mean jumping in blind. Navigating the choppy waters of values-based leadership requires savvy and precision. Three tips can help leaders do this elegantly, in a way that limits risk and maximizes return. First, look around corners. Peer into the future. Anticipate where an issue is going, not where it is today, and shape your positions, and the actions of your business, accordingly. Second, choose carefully. You don't need to engage on every issue. Find the debates you feel strongly about, where your business has something to say and something inspiring to show. When it comes to public interventions, quality beats quantity every time. Third, be authentic. Few people become senior corporate executives. This brings grinding pressure - but also incredible opportunity to shape our common values. Hold true to your moral compass, and seize the privilege to move our society in a direction you deem just. While recent events in North Carolina bring the evolving landscape of values-based leadership into stark relief, the Tar Heel State is only the tip of the iceberg. Advertisement At a time when the public is open to and eager for businesses to solve societal problems, CEOs have a unique opportunity to leverage personal values to improve financial value. Fortunately for those in the C-suite, the same qualities that help them succeed in business - foresight, strategic discretion, and authenticity - can also help them thrive in their growing role as stewards of public affairs. "Southern trees bear a strange fruit, blood on the leaves and blood at the root..." Swaying in the wind on an October day in 1934, Claude Neal's body hung from a tree on display in front of the Jackson County courthouse. Days prior, he was taken from his jail cell in Marianna, Florida by an angry white mob. Having been accused of raping and killing a white woman, Lola Cannidy, Claude Neal was tortured and hung by his neck until he was strangled to death. People gathered to watch the lynching, in the name of "justice" for Lola. Claude Neal's tragic death, which is detailed in James McGovern's Anatomy of a Lynching, is significant to me because he was my grandfather's cousin and because I am a capital defense attorney. Because of my work, I am often confronted by the many historical connections between the death penalty and lynchings. One of the most clear and lasting legacies of the torrid, bloody lynchings that occurred throughout the South in the late 1800s and early 1900s is the fact that today, hundreds of individuals--who are disproportionately Black--face the prospect of a death sentence without a fair trial. While Black men are no longer lynched before all-white crowds gathered on the courthouse lawn, Black men are all-too-often condemned to death by all-white juries that are produced by prosecutors' deliberate exclusion of people of color, particularly Black people, from jury service. Advertisement This past Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of the United State Supreme Court's decision in Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits the intentional exclusion of prospective jurors from service on an individual case based on race. The importance of this landmark decision cannot be overstated because, as the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once commented, "Illegal and unconstitutional jury selection procedures cast doubt on the integrity of the whole judicial process. They create the appearance of bias in the decision of individual cases, and they increase the risk of actual bias as well." Peters v. Kiff, 407 U.S. 493, 502 (1972). And contemporary studies bear out the truth of Justice Marshall's analysis: compared to diverse juries, all-white juries spend less time deliberating, make more errors, rely on implicit biases and consider fewer alternative perspectives. Interestingly, studies have shown the effects of diversity were not wholly attributable to the specific performance of Black participants. In fact, the mere presence of individuals from other racial or ethnic groups improves the likelihood of a more well-rounded discussion among jurors. Despite the weighty legal and practical reasons not to have all-white juries, prosecutors throughout the country continue to pursue them. The Glenn Ford case in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, offers a powerful example of the tragic consequences of this misguided practice. Mr. Ford, a Black man, was charged with the murder of a white man in a community with a long and deep history of racial discrimination and violence. Indeed, the Confederate flag flew outside the courthouse at the time of his trial. Mr. Ford was sentenced to death by an all-white jury even though nearly 40 percent of the community was Black. Nearly 30 years after he was condemned to die, Mr. Ford was found to be innocent and exonerated. Tragically, he died of lung cancer after having only one year of freedom after his release. Considering the well-documented inadequacies of homogenous juries, there is a very real chance that Mr. Ford's fate would have been drastically different, had he been tried by a fairly selected, and appropriately diverse jury. Advertisement Unfortunately, the selection of an all-white jury in Mr. Ford's case was hardly anomalous. Thirty years after Batson, the practice is rampant. Thus, every day across this nation, Black jurors are struck from juries based solely on the color of their skin. For example, one study that examined 300 Caddo Parish trials that were conducted between 2003 and 2012 and found that the Caddo Parish District Attorney's office struck Black prospective jurors at three times the rate of non-Blacks in felony jury trials. Similarly, a Michigan State Law School study of trials for defendants on death row in North Carolina as of July 1, 2010, found that in those 173 capital cases, prosecutors excluded 52.8% of potential Black jurors, as compared to 25.7% of non-Black prospective jurors. The same study found that when the defendant was Black, prosecutors excluded more Black prospective jurors (60%), and accepted more non-Black jurors (they excluded only 23.1%). A prosecutors' training manual in Dallas, Texas, provided detailed instructions on the systematic exclusion of Blacks from jury service in criminal cases: "Do not take Jews, Negroes, Dagos, Mexicans or a member of any minority race on a jury, no matter how rich or how well educated....[T]hey will not do on juries." And, an Equal Justice Initiative report found that between 2005 and 2009, Houston County, Alabama, state prosecutors used peremptory strikes to remove 80% of potential Black jurors, resulting in half of the death penalty juries being all white and the remainder with only one Black juror. Prosecutors not only frequently exclude Black jurors, but when faced with Batson challenges, they also make up spurious reasons to cover up their unlawful discrimination. Any day now, the United States Supreme Court will rule on Foster v. Humphrey, a case of discrimination in jury selection that shows the lengths to which prosecutors will go to cover up their discrimination. During Mr. Foster's trial, Georgia prosecutors excluded all of the prospective Black jurors. When challenged, the prosecutors offered "race-neutral" reasons for the jurors' exclusions. Years later, however, it became clear that the Black jurors had been specifically targeted because of their race. Indeed, the trial prosecutors highlighted each Black prospective juror's name in green on four different copies of the jury list. Prosecutors often offer pre-textual "race-neutral" justifications for their exclusion of prospective jurors of color. Indeed, some prosecutors are explicitly taught to do so. Philadelphia prosecutors were caught training young attorneys to question potential Black jurors in such a way that they would later be able to provide race-neutral reasons for their peremptory strikes. In 1995, the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys distributed a one-page handout titled "Batson Justifications: Articulating Juror Negatives" that provided a list of ten types of "justifications" a prosecutor might offer in response to a Batson challenge, including age, attitude, body language, and juror response. Standard Poodle in car wearing sunglasses Disdain for rich people has reached an all-time high. Thanks to the Panama Papers, we know the one percent shovel their billions offshore to avoid taxes and Bernie Sanders excoriates Wall Street for its corruption on a daily basis. Since the wealth gap has become so large -- the richest 62 billionaires own as much wealth as half the world's population -- we treat the upper class like a foreign species that lives in gold-encrusted glass cases. We gawk at their six-door garages and study their behaviour with disgust. It's tempting for everyone else to feel morally superior to the oligarchs sucking us dry. But the truth is, the negative psychological traits that come with having money exist to a degree in the middle class too. Advertisement There is no doubt that being rich changes how someone acts. For example, psychologists have found the class of people who travel on private jets have less empathy than those who take the bus. Multiple studies show the wealthy are more oblivious to people's emotions, likely because money makes them self-sufficient. But having goals and ambitions can make anyone less tolerant of other humans. In their daily lives, most people who earn a steady paycheque and have busy schedules think mostly of themselves. They avoid eye contact with homeless people, curse the barista in long coffee lines and get annoyed by how much space baby carriages take up on public transit. And although they may not live in gated mansions, most middle-class people live lives segregated from their neighbours, divorced from the idea of "community." Rather than acknowledge the reality of privilege, most people create narratives to justify their accomplishments. This phenomenon is particularly acute in rich people, who studies show are most likely to believe the idea that hard work begets success. They tend to blame individuals for economic failure (whereas lower classes blame unfair circumstances) and as a result, often vote for policies that exacerbate inequality. But it's not just the wealthy who chalk up their good fortune to long hours and good genes instead of lucky circumstances. Anyone born into a life of advantages creates stories to avoid uncomfortable truths. Gentrifiers tell themselves they are making a neighbourhood "more diverse," instead of displacing low-income residents. White employers tell themselves applicants who don't look like them are less "qualified" and men's rights groups tell themselves feminists are trying to oppress dudes. Advertisement Belief in the idea that individuals earn their success leads the ultra-wealthy to be less generous. A study by social psychologist Paul Piff found that those who make $25,000 and under are 44 per cent more likely to give some of the money to a stranger than those making between $150,000 to $200,000. A recent Chronicle of Philanthropy study found that those who earn between $50,000 and $75,000 give twice as much to charity than those who make more than $200,000 per year. In addition to feeling entitled to their money, rich people often prefer to spend hard-earned cash on their lavish lifestyles. Anyone who has gone from being a student to an intern to a full-time employee knows on a smaller level what it's like for luxuries to quickly become necessities. Once you can afford to buy lunch every day you no longer want to bring tupperwares full of leftovers to the office. Once you can afford to renovate one room, suddenly you notice a need for accent walls and heated floors all over your house. The truth is the more money someone makes, the more they want to spend it on bigger TVs rather than on other people. There's no doubt that rich people tend to act more selfishly, which can lead to corruption. But you do not have to be a billionaire to exhibit Gordon Gekko-like behaviour. When we criticize the wealthy we should also recognize that the same potential for extreme selfishness exists in all of us. With Mother's Day approaching and May being Older Americans month, I started thinking about caregivers at the beginning and at the end of life, for those young and old. People most often associate caregiving with the harried young mother who has no time to shower or get dressed as she feeds, bathes and runs after little ones. However, those who care for seniors are often just as stressed, pressed for time and tied to their charges. Caring for aging loved ones was never an easy prospect. However, up until now, caregiver stress was not much of an issue. Families lived in multi-generational households and together they shared the burden of their sick and elderly. Today, families are scattered and the responsibility for care usually falls on the spouse to shoulder almost alone. But, the spouse usually has their own physical problems of decreased mobility and strength as well as pain discomfort. Paying for outside help can be quite expensive and unless proper planning took place years before, funds are often not available for full time relief. It's clear that these caregivers need help. Caregiving is exhausting business. Seniors needing care often have complex health problems warranting total care. Though it may a labor of love, there is the routine activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, grooming, dressing and feeding. Days may be centered around the need to properly nourish, ambulate and stimulate the patient. Those are all physically demanding activities that become even more so if the patient has dementia or a personality shift due to a disease such as Alzheimer's. Advertisement Caregiver burnout is all too common. There is juggling the errands such as grocery shopping, pharmacy trips and laundry - all must haves. Except, seniors needing care are not as portable as infants, making the situation more stressful and coverage even more crucial. No matter how well intentioned the caregiver, a difficult situation may spark feelings of fear, resentment and frustration and, if left to fester, can easily turn into full blown depression. Caregivers are often confined and isolated with no one on hand to ask questions to; day-to-day decision making can become burdensome. In a facility, the staff have each other. At home, there is only the caregiver and patient with short interludes of other family members, doctors and allied health professionals. Furthermore, the social support system for caregivers shrinks due to their responsibilities which in turn can contribute to a budding depression. Almost as much of a problem is the tendency of caregivers to push their own health under the rug. They are notorious for skipping their own doctor appointments and ignoring their own aches and pains hoping they just disappear. Denial might make the short term easier, but may be detrimental in the long run preventing them from seeking appropriate care and properly plan. In fact, there is a higher incidence of health issues associated with caregivers than non-caregivers probably due to a combination of stress, age and a certain degree of self-neglect. All too often, caregivers reach damaging and unhealthy levels of stress before they come to the point of reaching out for help and support. The same dangers of fatigue apply to hired home health aides as they too are vulnerable to stress and isolation. Additionally, since they are often from entirely different cultures, varying priorities and expectations on the part of the patient, their family and caregiver may cause tension. Even the most caring aide can transfer this back to the senior or even his family which is why it is important for the aide to work no more than 5 days a week on one case and for the family to have relief aides on hand. Advertisement This leads me to my next point, relief for family members. It is so important to care for the caregiver. Family and friends need to be offer practical support and watch for signs of caregiver stress. Here are some suggestions: 1.Help with meals once a week or once a month. Even frozen food can be a help in a pinch. 2.Run an errand sporadically or on a regular basis. Do the trip to the drug store or the like. 3.'Senior-sit' even one hour a week so the caregiver can get to the gym or a weekly class they enjoy. 4.If you can afford it, pay for a cleaning service once in a while to pinch hit. 5.Last, but not least, make a regular visit or just phone to show you care. By the same token, caregivers must take steps to prevent any negative effects from their truly admirable work. Caregivers must seek the help of a friend, support groups or a physician, before their struggles become severe. Here are some steps to take: 1.Keep in contact with friends, neighbors or relatives. Though they feel pressed, they need to maintain their 'social contract' with friends. Keeping active socially reduces stress and provides an outlet for the rollercoaster of emotions that come with caregiving. 2.Seek out a support group. Many of the various associations that deal with diseases endemic to the elderly have regular, often local, support group meetings, even online. Advertisement 3.Get active. Ride a bike. Go for a run. Put in an exercise video. Keep the blood circulating and the mind sharp. 4.Carve out 'alone time', even in the corner of the house, to read a book or watch a movie in peace. Some people find journaling daily thoughts and activities helps relieve stress. 5.Seek help immediately if depression is suspected. Talk therapy with a social worker or psychologist can help work through the unique challenges felt by caregivers. Remember, care must be taken to avoid what has become all too common - prescription drug abuse. 6.Keep your own nutrition up. That is the best way to maintain your health and energy level. You are a priority too! Caregiving is praiseworthy, but lonely and challenging business - not for the faint of heart. However, if you make efforts to protect yourself while reaching out for help at the appropriate times, you will emerge healthy and fulfilled. Let me know if I can help! Advertisement News / National by Staff reporter Morgan Tsvangirai's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) says it will continue boycotting all elections until sticking points have been resolved and far-reaching electoral reforms enacted.This comes as the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) is finalising preparations for the by-elections in Mazowe North, which has been vacant since the death of Edgar Chidavaenzi of Zanu-PF.The statutory instrument calling the by-election has not yet been gazetted, and the MDC has said it is boycotting that special vote as well.This comes after the party also shunned the April 23 Guruve South by-election, won by Zanu-PF candidate, Patrick Dutiro, who beat the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)'s Simbarashe Mutsvene.The Guruve South seat fell vacant after the Zanu-PF representative Criswell Mutematsaka lost the seat in terms of section 129(1)(k) of the Constitution when he was expelled from the governing party.An MDC official told the Daily News yesterday the party would continue to disengage from all polls until electoral reforms outlined in the national electoral reform agenda (Nera) document have been enacted, adding the MDC remains opposed to participation in mere rituals disguised as elections.Over 10 opposition political parties joined the MDC to craft and sign up to the Nera in the call for a truly credible election as a precondition for the return to legitimacy, which the parties agreed must become an issue of national priority.Nera prescribes that the electoral body introduce the biometric vote and also wants the next 2018 poll to be internationally run and supervised by the United Nations."The official position of the party is that we shall not participate in any elections without electoral reforms having been carried out," MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu told the Daily News yesterday."The reforms that we are demanding have been succinctly captured in the Nera document. Only the National Council of the party, being the highest decision-making body of the party in between congresses, has got the mandate and power to alter, amend and or abandon this position."Besides a biometric voter register, Nera also calls for the complete and total independence of Zec, the abandonment of the use of voter registration slips in polling, the use of postal voting strictly in accordance with the Sadc Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, dubbed the Grand Baie Protocol, and clear definition of voter education that recognises the Bill of Rights.Nera also calls for an accurate and up-to-date electronic voters' roll to be made available to all interested political players in a searchable and analysable format, and that traditional leaders should be apolitical.It also calls for the harmonisation of all laws with the new Constitution of Zimbabwe, particularly laws such as Public Order and Security Act, Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act in particular Section and 121 of this Act, and the Broadcasting Services Act, among a raft of legislation.Nera also envisages that members of the security services the real power behind President Robert Mugabe's throne should not participate in any political activities and that the Diaspora vote should be immediately adopted and implemented and that those in prisons and other places of incarceration should be allowed to vote in accordance with the ruling of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and other regional jurisprudence.Tsvangirai, 64, has led the MDC since it was formed in 1999 to challenge Mugabe the sole ruler since the country gained independence from Britain in 1980 and his Zanu-PF party.But the ex-labour union leader has failed to dislodge the 92-year-old Mugabe in three elections, although none of them was free or fair, according to the MDC and Western observers.Mugabe denies MDC allegations that his Zanu-PF has cheated the MDC of victory in four major elections since 2000.Tsvangirai was urged not to contest in the 2013 elections because many of the electoral reforms he had asked for had not been implemented, but he went on to participate and controversially lost to Mugabe.The MDC has said it will not repeat that mistake.Tsvangirai's party remains the biggest challenge to Mugabe's continued hold on power.Tsvangirai is still seen as a popular hero and a focus for the MDC's rallying cry of chinja or change.Morgan Tsvangirai and wife Elizabeth cast their vote inMt Pleasant during the 2013 presidential vote. Ask yourself: What do you consider to be a "bias incident" that you encounter in your daily life? Is it an insensitive remark about another person's culture or nationality? Is it a comment during a political conversation that could be construed as racist or sexist? Is it a viewpoint that opposes another person's religious beliefs? If you answered "yes" to any of those questions, the speech you are referencing is most likely protected by the First Amendment. Yet at too many colleges and universities, the same expression can -- and does -- subject students and faculty members to censorship and punishment. Such discourse may be unpleasant and off-putting, but campus community members should use their own voices to respond, not call for disciplinary action and the silencing of others. At the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE, the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization where I work), we have long advocated against overbroad, poorly written, and inconsistently enforced "bias incident" policies on college campuses. After all, the university setting is the quintessential marketplace of ideas, where students and professors should be free to explore and debate a wide range of viewpoints, even -- or perhaps especially -- those that they find offensive or abhorrent. Advertisement Now, of course, if your definition of a "bias incident" involves unlawful conduct such as discrimination and hostile environment harassment, that's a different story. The First Amendment certainly doesn't protect such conduct, and colleges and universities have a paramount legal and moral obligation to address this type of behavior. The problem is that very few university bias incident policies or protocols stay limited to such unlawful conduct. Instead, they ban considerable amounts of constitutionally protected expression. Consider, for example, Central Michigan University's "Bias Incident Response Team" policy, which defines bias incidents to include "expressions of hate or hostility," whether through "words, signs [or] symbols." The policy adds: Anytime anyone in the CMU community feels belittled, disrespected, threatened, or unsafe because of who they are, the entire university community is diminished. That's why it's important to report all bias incidents - even those intended as jokes. If you have observed or experienced a bias incident, it should be reported as soon as possible. That's overstating things quite a bit. "Anytime anyone in the CMU community feels belittled" or "disrespected," the incident should be reported to the authorities, even in the case of a joke? Imagine the chilling effect on campus expression when students come across this provision in CMU's policy materials. Advertisement Nor is CMU alone in promulgating such policies. Bates College in Maine defines a bias incident as "any event of intolerance or prejudice, not involving violence or other criminal conduct, intended to threaten, offend or intimidate another" (emphasis added) on the basis of listed personal characteristics such as race, religion, and gender. As if to further make clear that the policy is intended to reach protected speech that merely offends another, Bates provides such purported examples of bias incidents as "sexist jokes or cartoons," "hate speech," and "disparaging remarks on social media sites." Likewise, Williams College in Massachusetts maintains a "Bias Incident Reporting" protocol in which listed examples of bias incidents include "[t]elling jokes based on a stereotype," "[n]ame-calling," "[a]voiding or excluding others," and even "[d]isplaying a sign that is color-coded pink for girls and blue for boys." These and many other examples of poorly written bias incident policies and protocols can be found in FIRE's Spotlight Speech Codes Database. The chilling effect from these absurd policies is real; what rational student isn't likely to self-censor rather than risk disciplinary action? Moreover, FIRE has witnessed these policies enforced to silence, investigate, and punish student expression in cases at Dartmouth College, Rutgers University, Tufts University, and many other institutions. There is good news, however. Universities that wish to address unlawful conduct falling outside the protections of the First Amendment can do so by simply following the law instead of maintaining these overbroad speech codes. Narrowly written policies aimed at hostile environment harassment, true threats, disruptive behavior, and other unprotected conduct will better serve all members of the campus community. And students don't need to fear just because their institution scraps a bias incident policy. If students witness or are targeted by biased or prejudiced speech, they are perfectly capable of using their own voices to speak out against racism, sexism, and other forms of intolerance. Indeed, student activism and protests across the country over the past year have demonstrated this to be the case. Students can, and should, use their strength in numbers to expose wrongheaded viewpoints for being wrong. They can, in doing so, make clear that their campus communities are welcome places for all. Advertisement For a huge number of Americans the key emotion driving the tortured primary campaigns has, arguably, been fear. It's fear of terrorism, fear of immigrants; but above all, it's a fear -- panic for some -- of Americans whose standard of living has declined or stagnated, and who apprehend an even bleaker future for their children. But the candidates -- and most of the media -- are ignoring the real cause of that angst. We are, in fact swept up in a vast technological tsunami. It's a tsunami bearing challenges as great as anything our species has ever known. Advertisement It has already swept away millions of jobs and will wipe out tens of millions more. It will totally transform the economic landscape, and -- like climate change -- could conceivably threaten our very existence. But, if you tune in to the cacophony that currently passes for political debate in the U.S. -- and much of Europe -- you hear precious little about that massive, relentless threat. Instead, there are tirades against immigrants, against supposedly disastrous international trade deals and ruthless businessmen who close domestic factories to exploit labor in sweatshops abroad; against a political and economic system crafted to make the top .1 % even more obscenely rich. There is some truth to all these charges, but the fact is that the real culprit -- the underlying tectonic force transforming everything -- is something else: It's technology unleashed as never before. Advertisement It has been labeled the Second Machine Age, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and has long been the stuff of science fiction. But its impact is no longer a distant menace. A study by Citibank and researchers from Oxford University released last January, concluded that 47% of jobs in America are at risk of being replaced by robots and Artificial Intelligence (AI), while across the OECD an average of 57% of jobs are threatened. In China, the menace soars to 77%. That onrushing maelstrom is the product of what we could call 'a perfect technological storm.' It's been unleashed by recent astounding increases in computing power, magnified by startling advances in ability to store, retrieve, analyse and transmit data, and reinforced -- almost daily it seems -- by stunning breakthroughs in fields like AI, robotics, nanotechnology, metallurgy, microbiology, and 3D printing. There are those who step in at this point to reassure us there's no need for panic: From the first days of the industrial revolution, technological change has always been feared and fought; yet the innovations have always wound up creating far more jobs than they destroyed. Mankind has only prospered. Thus, the argument goes, though huge numbers of jobs will be eliminated by AI and robots, in the long-run many more new jobs -- entirely new professions and industries -- will be created, dispensing products and services we can't even fathom today. But the fact is that the current perfect storm of technology -- doubling the rate of progress every decade -- is unlike anything we've ever known before, and is now approaching warp speed. According to futurists like Ray Kurzweil, just in the twenty-first century alone "we will witness on the order of twenty thousand years of progress -- (when measured by today's rate of progress) -- or about one thousand times greater than what was achieved in the twentieth century." Advertisement The World Economic Forum recently released a report concluding that the rise of robots will lead to a net loss of over 5 million jobs in 15 major developed and emerging economies by 2020. THE BBC has posted an interactive site that allows you to check just how likely it is that your own job will be wiped out in the next fifteen years. Some jobs surprisingly most at risk are bank loan officers (98% likely to be eliminated), paralegals and legal aids (94%), retail sales people (92%), Taxi Drivers and chauffeurs (89%). In fact, completely driverless cars are already being tested on California highways. Also high on the list are fast-food cooks and bar tenders (77%), security guards (75%), even personal financial advisors (58%). Airline pilots and flight engineers have a 25% risk. But already, with automation, it is estimated the average pilot actually controls the plane himself for only 3 to 7 minutes per flight. Advertisement For the time being, human reporters and writers might appear to still have a future. Yet, even now it depends what kind of reporter you're talking about. Thousands of company earnings reports and detailed accounts of sporting events are already being entirely written by AI-equipped robots. There is even an automated service that daily scans and analyzes mammoth amounts of media from mainline publications to the most obscure newsletters and blogs, and then alerts investigative journalists and their editors to what may be potentially bombshell reports. Donald Trump darkly threatens a trade war with China, as payback for its rapacious trade practices and sweatshop wages. But the fact is that many manufacturing jobs supposedly lost to China were wiped out because of technological advances in the U.S. itself, and will never be regained. Ironically, it is China that has already become the largest market in the world for robots, threatening millions of its own factory workers. One stunning example is Foxconn, the Taiwanese firm that makes iPhones and has more than a million employees in China. Both they and Apple have been criticized for their low salaries and minimal working conditions. No longer. They now aim to have robots replacing 70% of their assembly-line work force within three years. Last year, their CEO boasted they already had a fully automated factory in the Chinese city of Chengdu that can run 24 hours a day with the lights off Perhaps some of those displaced workers may wind up manufacturing robots themselves: China is also determined to become the globe's major supplier of robots, Advertisement But developing new industries is not going to ward off the looming threat to human workers, neither in China nor the U.S. For example, a few months ago President Barack Obama proudly toured a sprawling new factory manufacturing lithium-ion batteries in Jacksonville, Florida. It was built with the help of a U.S. government fund designed to spur cutting-edge technologies. New York Times columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin covering the visit remarked that Obama's tour "included very little interaction with workers. "Instead, he was shown machine after machine, mostly operated by computers. At one point, he was introduced to WALL-E, a robot named after the Pixar film that takes battery components from a tray. No employees necessary. This giant mecca of innovation, a physical marvel that if built several decades ago would have easily employed a few thousand people, employs only 300. "It was a scene that underscored a challenge facing the U.S. economy and one that may be the driving factor behind greater inequality: We're not only losing jobs to overseas competition, we're losing them to technology." And, that challenge is only accelerating. As Moshe Vardi, a computer science at Rice University in Texas, puts it, "We are approaching the time when machines will be able to outperform humans at almost any task. Society needs to confront this question before it is upon us: if machines are capable of doing almost any work humans can do, what will humans do?" The point is -- that question is already upon us. But good luck if you expect to hear any serious discussion about it in the current U.S. election campaign. I mean, how can you tackle such colossal subjects when you're still battling over such mind-bending issues as whether or not to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border -- or which bathroom trans genders should be permitted to use? Post-World War America was defined by an auto and housing boom that fueled the suburbanization of America. New development and freeways were "in" and historic buildings and blighted neighborhoods were bulldozed to make way for them. Communities were "redeveloped" without community input and often left with soulless structures divorced from the community around it. In 1961, Jane Jacobs wrote The Death and Life of Great American Cities, which, as its opening sentence explains, is an "attack on current city planning and rebuilding practices." Jacobs saw cities as living organisms that required mixed use to thrive and criticized developments and freeways that isolated communities from the activity around it. She explained, Whenever and wherever societies have flourished and prospered rather than stagnated and decayed, creative and workable cities have been at the core of the phenomenon. Decaying cities, declining economies, and mounting social troubles travel together. The combination is not coincidental. She also rejected top-down planning approaches, stressing "[c]ities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody." Even though Jacobs had no training in the field (let alone a college degree), she turned urban planning upside down and led cities to embrace mixed use development such as what transformed Baltimore's Inner Harbor from urban decay to a major tourist attraction. Just as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring in 1962 raised awareness over the misuse of pesticides and sparked the beginning of the ecological movement in the U.S., Jacobs' book fueled the New Urbanism movement. Jacobs also gained attention in the 1960's when she led the successful effort to block the powerful Robert Moses' plan to build an expressway through New York's Greenwich Village - even writing a protest song with Bob Dylan for the fight. Fights like these led to a reassessment of the bulldozing policy of the "Urban Renewal" efforts of the era and passage of the National Historic Preservation Act along with increasing community involvement in redevelopment efforts. I first discovered Jane Jacobs and The Death and Life of Great American Cities in an Urban Politics class in college. Like her, I love the vitality of city life. Her work inspired me to pursue work at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and write my senior thesis comparing the application of her theories of mixed use in downtown Baltimore and Washington, D.C. I even pursued a Master's program in Urban Planning at The Johns Hopkins University. (This was during the Reagan era, however, which was a particularly dark time in the field as HUD saw its budget shrink by 80 percent. The JHU program collapsed during my first semester and I migrated to law school instead.) Advertisement Jane Jacobs moved to Toronto in 1968 in protest of the Vietnam War and to protect her two sons who were of draft age. She continued to write about cities until her death in 2006. The next year her friends organized a "living, breathing, walking, talking memorial called Jane's Walk" a festival of free urban walking tours led by locals throughout Toronto. It has spread to 6 continents, 36 countries and 189 cities. I only recently discovered that Jacobs and I also share a birthday. Today would have been Jane Jacobs' 100th birthday and her legacy is being celebrated worldwide through annual Jane's Walks this weekend; staging of The Marvelous Order the opera about Jacobs battle with Robert Moses; lectures worldwide; a Google Doodle and even a petition for a Jane Jacobs U.S. postage stamp. How would Ms. Jacobs want her centennial to be celebrated? She gave the answer years ago. If you want to understand our cities today, "You've got to get out and walk." The best example of why local prosecutors cannot be trusted to investigate police shootings of civilians is the conduct of Rensselaer District Attorney Joel Abelove, who recklessly and unlawfully has tried to prevent a fair and thorough investigation into a fatal police shooting of an unarmed civilian. Abelove last month knowingly defied the request of state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, made pursuant to Governor Andrew Cuomo's Executive Order appointing Schneiderman as special prosecutor, to refrain from investigating the case, and to turn over his files to the attorney general's investigators. Instead, Abelove rushed the case into a grand jury, apparently gave the police officer immunity, did not call two key civilian witnesses who saw the shooting and disputed the officer's account, and then got the grand jury to clear the officer. Edson Thevenin, a 37-year-old African-American, was shot to death by Sgt. Randy French in the early hours of April 17 when he was pulled over by French for allegedly driving while intoxicated. The police claim that Thevenin fled in his vehicle, was briefly chased by police cruisers, and after Thevenin's car allegedly struck French, French shot him eight times through the windshield, striking him four times in the head, and four times in his body. Thevenin was unarmed. French claims he suffered minor leg injuries in the encounter. Thevenin's wife claims a police detective told her that her husband died in a car accident Schneiderman's office immediately got involved. They went to the scene, but were rebuffed by the police. Schneiderman the next day informed District Attorney Abelove that his office was reviewing the case, directed Abelove to take no action pending Schneiderman's review, and sent him a letter requesting the files. Notwithstanding Schneiderman's explicit and repeated directives and requests, Abelove quickly empaneled a grand jury, apparently called only two police witnesses, and gave the grand jury legal instructions. The grand jury found no basis to indict the officer. Schneiderman thereafter sued Abelove in court to invalidate Abelove's defiance of the law, which according to Schneiderman, flagrantly violated the Governor's Executive Order, "flew in the face of the public concerns," effectively sneaked the case through the grand jury without notifying Schneiderman's office, and presented the case in such a partisan, police-friendly manner as to undermine the integrity of the grand jury process. Moreover, as the lawsuit suggests, Abelove was hardly a fair and impartial prosecutor sworn to serve the cause of justice. He acted in bad faith, and abused his power. Indeed, this is the first time that a local district attorney has attempted to violate the Governor's Executive Order, but it should not surprise anyone. Abelove himself in an Op Ed in the Times Union eight months ago mocked the idea of a special prosecutor, arguing that he had "grave concerns" over the Governor's order, that the order was confusing and contradictory, and that he would not succumb to a "vocal minority" and refrain from prosecuting police shootings of civilians despite the Governor's order. Several questions need to be resolved. First, did Abelove grant Sgt. French, who fatally shot Thenevin, immunity from prosecution? If he did, why? And if he did give French immunity, can that immunity be rescinded if Schneiderman decides to open his own investigation and bring formal criminal charges? Moreover, what did the two civilian witnesses see? It appears that one of the witnesses saw the entire incident and gave the police a written statement. A second witness allegedly took a cellphone video of at least part of the incident and claims that Sgt. French may have opened fire before the car struck French. Of course, if French shot and killed the motorist before he was shot, it's hardly a surprise that the car, now driven by a dead motorist, may have lurched forward. The testimony of these witnesses may determine whether French killed Thevenin without legal justification. Schneiderman's lawsuit also claims Abelove is withholding information of these witnesses from his investigators. A final question is whether Abelove should be investigated by the Third Department's disciplinary committee for his willful defiance of the law. Abelove, recently-elected, has rather quickly come under ethical scrutiny for conflicts of interest, first, in a case involving a political crony in which he should have disqualified himself, and second, in a case involving a fellow Republican politician charged with embezzlement. For sure, his present conduct in flaunting the governor's order and then secretly undermining the attorney general's investigation almost certainly involves misconduct in violation of Rule 8.4 of the rules of professional conduct, which prohibits all lawyers, including prosecutors, from "engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice." It is hard to imagine a stronger case of a prosecutor engaging in conduct that undermines the administration of justice than a prosecutor deliberately violating a lawful order of a government official. Interestingly, the distinguished Lippman Commission's recent Report on statewide attorney discipline felt it was not necessary to create a special disciplinary body to investigate misconduct by prosecutors. According to the Commission's Report, "The Commission has no reason to doubt that the grievance and disciplinary committees diligently examine claims of prosecutorial misconduct that come to their attention." Abelove's misconduct, one can be certain, has come to the attention of the Third Department's disciplinary committee. His conduct should be investigated. Hopefully, the Lippman Commission's confidence that "the disciplinary committee does its job and the system is working" is justified. Bernie Sanders defeated Hillary Clinton in Indiana on Tuesday. The Senator from Vermont cashed in on his overwhelming support from independent voters, who are allowed to participate in Indiana's open primary. Sanders has repeatedly proven that he outperforms Hillary Clinton among independent voters. Indiana was just the latest example of Sanders' crossover appeal. He also won big in New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Michigan, where independents are free to participate. By contrast, when delegate-rich New York and Pennsylvania voted last week, independents were excluded. Not surprisingly, Clinton won and extended her delegate lead. In response, Sanders criticized the closed primary system, which denies independents from having a say in which candidates the two major parties nominate. He argued: "Three million people in the state of New York who are independents have lost their right to vote in the Democratic or Republican primary... That's wrong." Sanders' path to the nomination, though narrow, is predicated on the hope that superdelegates will acknowledge his dominance among independents and switch their allegiance over to him. After all, independents can and will vote by the millions in a general election. The general election is not closed like New York's primary. Bernie Sanders is far better positioned for a general election than he was for the Democratic primary. In fact, he's far better positioned than Hillary Clinton. Advertisement Businesswoman Mother's Day can be a depressing time for wives with cheating partners. The family may come together, but celebrations can have a bittersweet flavor. It won't be like it was before infidelity reared its ugly head. You are unlikely to feel secure in the unwavering love and support of the father of your kids. If you and your husband have already split, maybe your kids will take you to a restaurant, but you might wistfully notice all the intact families around you celebrating at the other tables. For me, Mother's Day is complicated. I grew up in England, where it is part of the Christian Calendar. Often called Mothering Sunday, it is held on the fourth Sunday of Lent, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday. It usually falls in the second half of March or early April. The American holiday of Mother's Day takes place in May and has nothing to do with the church festival of Mothering Sunday that is celebrated in Europe. It arose from a campaign social activist Anna Jarvis began in 1905 to make "Mother's Day" a recognized holiday in the United States. It became part of the American calendar, but sadly, not a national holiday where everyone would get a day off to celebrate. Advertisement Since I'm a Brit living in America, I expect my kids to observe both the British and the American Mother's Days. Another British mother I know whose children went to the same high school as mine feels the same way about celebrating both days. "As a result I tend to be disappointed," she told me, "unless they also need something important at the same time, like money." Her philandering husband would rarely remember Mother's Day. He wasn't too great about birthdays or anniversaries either. Maybe he just had too many women in his life to keep track of all those dates. Not unsurprisingly, the man eventually left my friend for another woman, but that relationship didn't last very long. Sometimes, mistresses are crass enough to call the husband on Mother's Day. That happened to Juliette, another friend of mine. Her husband's cellphone rang just as the family was about to go out for dinner. Juliette could hear a female voice on the other end and knew it was his mistress. She was childless and thus clueless about Mother's Day. Instead of saying, "Can't talk now," the husband simply retired to another room to continue his conversation -- never mind how his wife felt. He was oblivious to the fact that Juliette would once again have to hide her sadness and bitterness from the kids. Of course, you don't need a husband to be cheating for him to forget Mother's Day entirely. It's an exceedingly common story that neither dad nor the kids -- whether grown or not -- remember it at all. No flowers. No box of chocolates. No dining out. Thus you can feel invisible and forgotten even if your neglectful partner is totally faithful. Perhaps that's why the marital infidelity website ashleymadison.com has claimed that the day after Mother's Day generally has a huge jump in female sign-ups. Desperate to find an antidote to endless domestic drudgery, sex-starved moms are venturing out online in droves to forage for satisfaction with someone new. Well maybe, maybe not. Can a website based on cheating be trustworthy? Are the statistics it releases truthful and reliable? Fair and balanced? Ashleymadison.com is already notorious as a result of the hacking of its website and the subsequent release in 2014 of personal data on millions of their users. Currently, Ashley Madison faces a potential class action lawsuit for grossly misrepresenting the number of genuine female members and instead tricking men to interact with fake, computer-generated profiles of female users. The aim is to entice men to buy Ashley Madison "credits" that are required to continue contact, according to the lawsuit. Amazingly, Ashley Madison's Terms and Conditions even include a clause stating, "You may be interacting with fembots and not actual human beings seeking to have affairs." If you do bother to read the small print, those guys are being totally honest about cheating people. Advertisement little girl and boy are walking on the street There's no denying that our nation faces a homelessness crisis. But media coverage about this crisis, and the policy ideas proposed to address it, often exclude a huge portion of the homeless population: women and their children. Those of us who skim the news with our morning coffee would be forgiven for not knowing the damning statistics: nearly 40 percent of our nation's homeless are families; almost 25 percent are children. Nearly all of the families for whom we provide shelter at Win, the nonprofit I lead in New York City, are led by single women. Many have fled domestic violence. Advertisement These families are the forgotten face of homelessness in America. In New York City, they are actually the majority of the homeless population. They're our neighbors, our children's classmates, our co-workers. And as citizens of the wealthiest nation on earth, we know we can do better by them -- particularly the children. The time has come to stand up for these children and their families. The time has come to demand that our society breaks the cycle of homelessness. President Obama is heeding these calls. Building on his progress in combatting veteran homelessness, his administration has proposed $11 billion in new funding over the next ten years to help homeless families. Nearly $9 billion is dedicated to housing vouchers -- funds that are dedicated exclusively to help the homeless pay their rent. If approved by Congress, this proposal will make a real difference in families' lives. But, given Congressional paralysis, that's a big 'if' -- and the most vulnerable among us will pay the price of their inaction. Funding priorities like this are the start of a meaningful policy shift to embrace the needs of homeless mothers and their children. These vouchers have been proven to be a cost-efficient method of finding permanent, stable housing for vulnerable populations. By proposing a serious plan to provide sustainable funding streams for these vouchers targeted to families, the President has demonstrated the leadership and vision that is necessary to move our national dialogue about homelessness forward. Four walls is only the beginning. Any funding commitment to housing, no matter how substantial, must be paired with other reforms that address the deeper roots of this issue. After all, more times then not, homelessness is not simply the product of a family running out of money. Advertisement In New York City, we have a model that recognizes this complexity -- and it should be deployed nationally. Local government officials in New York, working hand in hand with the nonprofit sector, recognize that factors like inadequate job training, limited access to childcare, mental illness, and domestic violence all feed the cycle of homelessness. They understand that brick and mortar housing and shelter need to be seen as the foundations of a solution -- not its sum total. Families need access to comprehensive, holistic services that target the needs of both moms and their children. We have experienced success with free, on-site parenting classes, financial literacy trainings, and health workshops in our transitional housing facilities. Job training and placement support can make a huge difference for those still looking for work, or those working -- as nearly 50 percent of Win moms do -- and not making enough to get by. Importantly, local and federal commitment to increasing the stock of affordable housing could change the tenor of this conversation. New York has made meaningful progress toward making the city more affordable for everyone, and the City's recent reforms should be considered as a national model for every city struggling to curb skyrocketing rent costs. These proposals should transcend partisan politics. By shoring up our society's safety net for the most vulnerable, and keeping families intact and secure while driving down skyrocketing costs to local governments, policies to address family homelessness should appeal to Democrats and Republicans alike. By preempting costlier interventions -- like medical and penal costs our society so often incurs when we leave homelessness unaddressed -- they should earn the support of every taxpayer. An ounce of prevention, after all, is worth a pound of cure. Advertisement As a former elected official -- I represented Manhattan's West Side in the New York City Council from 1999-2013, serving as Speaker for two terms -- I know how tricky it can be to enact real change through legislation. Two parties can agree on a concept and disagree on its implementation. But if ever there were a time to cast partisanship aside, surely this is it. Our elected officials have established models of success to build on. They have a detailed, thoughtful budget proposal from President Obama already on the negotiating table. They only lack that which should be the easiest to acquire: the will to act. There was no settlement between the EU and Greece before Greek Easter as promised. I wonder how many more times that headline will appear. The latest fight was over 3.6 billion in additional austerity measures to be undertaken by Greece, which the Greek government claims is unconstitutional. It "appears" the US is now weighing in on the Greek financial situation via the IMF. The IMF has thrown a wrench into the agreement between Greece and the EU by demanding additional austerity measures. It is no secret that the US was supportive of Syriza coming to power, but it appears that it is now weary of Greece's unwillingness to settle its debt talks. Advertisement I am sure talks will resume after Easter, but the Europeans simply do not "get it." There is simply no retribution to Greece for doing nothing. I was speaking to a lawyer friend in Athens this week and we were debating whether or not Tsipras is a fool or a genius. I think we settled on "political genius." Tsipras' actions are designed to protect the people, and when I say people, I mean pensioners and those working in the public sector. Tsipras has said those people will not have a cut in pensions, higher taxes or lose their homes. Unfortunately, that means everyone else must make larger social security payments, pay higher taxes and have any asset they own at risk from an economy that continues to spiral down. The quandary is that no one has yet been able to articulate a vision to rescue all of Greece from the crisis and until that happens, nothing is likely to change. At the risk of going from fact to opinion, Greece needs to do the following: 1.Phase out pensions for those under the age of 65 over the next five years. Anyone who is over the age of 65 will have no cut in their pensions.2.Reduce the individual and business tax rate to 20% immediately. Greece's tax structure is "leaky" at best. I would argue that Greece could end up with higher tax receipts by enforcing lowering taxes.3.It is time to go after Greeks who have parked billions in Swiss (and other tax havens) banks. 4.Sell 10 billion of NPLs each year until the NPLs represent less than 5% of total loans. Advertisement The list of other items is irrelevant. If Greece follows this plan for five years, the EU will agree to reduce Greece's sovereign debt to 1 times its GDP. The only other option is the drachma, which is far easier to implement and will let Greece pay its obligations with a currency that will be devalued, resulting in a cut to pensions and a cut in sovereign debt. The decision is in Europe's hands. I keep trying to come up with a way to explain the plight of the Greeks and make it relevant. Today, I rode in a cab that was driven by a doctor; he lost his job at a hospital in Athens. In his spare time, he gives medical aid to refugees at the Port of Piraeus. That is all you need to know about the Greeks. Life here is not what you think. As for the region, the world is mesmerized by the focus on ISIS, Syria and Iraq. There are two more intriguing specters. The first risk is the Suez Canal. Do not be surprised if the Red Sea becomes ISIS's new battle ground. The radicals control the coast of Yemen, the Sinai Peninsula is up for grabs and who knows the stability, or lack thereof, in Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia. Disrupting trade through the Suez Canal would have a detrimental effect on the European economy and would kill the hopes of turning the Port of Piraeus into a new European logistics hub. Advertisement The second risk is energy. While the US killed Russia's plans for the South Stream through the Black Sea to Europe, it only makes the energy assets in Greece and the Balkans more of a target for the Russians. The only gas pipelines that are not controlled by Putin go through Turkey into Greece and Bulgaria. Most of the gas that will flow from Iran and Azerbaijan must flow through Greece and the DESFA and TAP pipelines. No one thinks of Greece as an important player in the energy game, but they will soon understand. Where the US or the Europeans are on this issue is anyone's guess, but so far they seem to be asleep at the switch. When the westbound Expo Line train glides into Santa Monica's Downtown station on May 20, the future of Los Angeles will have arrived. For the first time since the 1950s, that world-famous coastline will be back on the Southland's slowly-growing rail transit grid. With this and more exciting additions on the way, the way the world sees Los Angeles - and the way you visit the nation's second largest city - will likely change considerably over the next decade or so. Does this all sound a little bit dramatic? Good, because it's kind of a big deal. With top destinations like a revitalized Hollywood, the newly Harry Potter-ified Universal Studios, Old Town Pasadena and an increasingly essential Downtown Los Angeles already connected to one another by train, all that was really missing was a good connection to the beach. (Because, really, what is Los Angeles, without the beach?) For years, those who weren't up for a lot of driving had to either choose to be near the ocean - typically a rather expensive proposition - or stay away entirely. It was a tough call that nobody should have to make. Happily, you'll never have to make it again. Now, for just $1.75 including transfers, you can glide over, under and alongside the traffic-choked freeways, back and forth between the big city and beaches at will, any old time you choose. Ready to go? Here's how to experience the most Los Angeles possible in a day - all by riding the rails. Advertisement #1 Start with breakfast at Grand Central Market In the dull decades when a handful of bedroom communities west of La Brea deluded themselves into thinking they had become the true center of the city, the actual downtown - where it all started for modern Los Angeles, centuries ago - was all but ignored by anyone who didn't have to work, shop or go on trial there. While even the best blocks of DTLA still bear their share of scars from years of neglect and bad planning, no place in Southern California is quite so hot right now. The historic Grand Central Market - about to enter its 100th year - is where to see the "new" downtown at its liveliest on a daily basis. From bargain-priced tacos to pricey artisanal pastrami sandwiches, the market offers a quick trip through the city's wildly diverse food scene, considered by many critics to be one of the best in the country right now. Lean on the bar at G&B and order a potent cortado (espresso with a dash of steamed milk), then join the line wrapping around Eggslut, an irreverent spot serving up gourmet breakfast sandwiches that have garnered truckloads of positive ink in the national press. For $9, they do a silky, coddled egg on top of delicate potato puree, poached in a glass jar and topped with fancy sea salt and fresh chives. They give you bread to mop it all up - it's one of the best breakfasts under $10 in town. Get there Take the Red Line to Pershing Square, exit at 4th Street #2 Go to the beach (obviously) Even after years of doing battle with the 10 Freeway, locals will admit that there's still nothing quite so exhilarating as making the transition from the grit and relative heat of inland Los Angeles to those mild ocean breezes at the beach. Except now, someone else will do the driving and there will be no parking hassles when you get there. The ride takes about 35 minutes; just steps from the last stop on the train - down a reimagined, less car-centric Colorado Avenue - you'll find yourself face to face with the Santa Monica Pier and the 20-mile beach path that's great for either hiking or biking, your choice. (You can easily pick up some wheels at the nearest Breeze Bike Share station - the program offers a pay-as-you-go option for visitors.) Get there Walk or take the Red Line one stop to 7th Street / Metro Center, transfer to the Expo Line to Downtown Santa Monica. Advertisement #3 Do lunch - and take a stroll - in the neighborhoods behind the beaches On your way to the ocean - or on the way back - make sure to explore Santa Monica's recently-opened Tongva Park, designed by the group behind New York's High Line (you'll notice similar design quirks) and the city's pedestrian-friendly downtown, full of shopping and dining options. Want to get away from the crowds? Santa Monica's village-y Main Street district is just a few minutes on foot from the train - if you make it all the way down into Venice, detour along Rose Avenue for lunch at Gjusta, a high-test bakery, deli, cafe and beyond that's easily one of the most talked-about places to eat in Los Angeles right now. For more Venice cool, keep going on Main to Abbot Kinney Boulevard - from the first left turn on down to Venice Boulevard, you'll be walking past some of LA's top shops, cafes, galleries and restaurants. Falling over from exhaustion? Grab a Lyft or Uber car back to the train station for about $6. #4 Right - time for some culture Had enough ocean air? Hop the train once more and head east to one of the best new art museums in the United States. Home to the impressive art collection of local billionaire couple Eli and Edye Broad, the 120,000 square-foot museum - called The Broad - adds yet another piece of striking modern architecture to a block that already contains Frank Gehry's Disney Hall and Arata Isozaki's Museum of Contemporary Art. One of these lifetimes, a new subway station will open directly behind The Broad - for now, exit the train at Civic Center and climb through handsome Grand Park, sloping upward from the deco masterpiece that is Los Angeles City Hall. (As seen in a million movies, naturally.) Didn't already get your feet wet at the beach? There's a giant fountain where splashing around is encouraged. Get there Expo Line train to 7th Street/Metro Center, transfer to the Red Line to Civic Center/Grand Park. #5 Stop off where modern Los Angeles began Settled by the Spanish in the 1700s, back when the Revolutionary War was raging on the other side of the continent, Los Angeles goes a lot further back than many of us remember. Just a crosswalk away from Union Station (the West Coast's busiest transit hub), you'll find some of the oldest city blocks in California. Wander through the city's longest-surviving residence, the Avila Adobe (an impressive colonial home built in 1818), hang out in the town square that feels more like Old Mexico than modern California, then drop in on evening mass (5:00 pm, Spanish only) in the old mission chapel - the current incarnation dates back to 1861. Far from being one of those open-air history museums you find scattered about the country, the district remains an essential part of life for many Angelenos. Get there Red Line to Union Station. Advertisement #6 Go for cocktails in Los Feliz Just like you're not seeing all of Los Angeles if you don't go to the beach, you're also missing out if you don't drop in on the East Side's vintage - and now, super cool - suburbs, linked together by Sunset Boulevard. The easiest way to make your appearance is to hop the Route 2 bus from Union Station that makes local stops all the way up Sunset. (Tip: If you're already riding the train, you can use the same handy TAP card to pay your fare.) This makes for an interesting ride through the commercial heart of the Echo Park, Silver Lake and Los Feliz neighborhoods - you'll pass a slew of great bars, restaurants, cafes and boutiques along the way. Would you rather stick with the train? That's fine, too - after all, one of the best bars on Sunset (and in the city) is only a short walk from the nearest Red Line station: the miniscule Tiki-Ti, a old-school dive renowned for their tropical drinks. Because why not a particularly potent Mai Tai, on your way to dinner? You're not driving, after all. Get there Route 2 Metro bus from Union Station or the Red Line to Vermont/Sunset, walk three short blocks east on Sunset. #7 Spend an evening in old Hollywood To complete your best day ever, put on a nice shirt (this is LA, don't get crazy) and go eat dinner at Musso & Frank. Southern California's food scene may be tremendous and fast-growing, but if you're new to Los Angeles and short on time, a classic like Musso's is a must. Everybody who was anybody in Old Hollywood came through these doors at some point - you could spend hours reading the history, and should, before or after - but that's not the only reason to book a table: this is still a very good restaurant. Settle into a comfortable booth and allow the gentlemanly waiters - famous for their smart red jackets - to bring over a crisp, refreshing martini while you figure out what to order, which should probably be a giant steak, some type of potatoes (there are many to choose from) and creamed spinach. Not that you asked. Get there Red Line to Hollywood & Highland, walk two blocks east on Hollywood Boulevard. How to ride the trains in Los Angeles Purchase a TAP card ($1) at any Metro rail station and top up with the necessary fares - day passes cost $7 for unlimited travel, otherwise it's $1.75 a ride including transfers. For more information, visit metro.net. For the best hotel deals available in Los Angeles right now, click here. London Underground Most of us have been taught that in order to make money and succeed we have to work hard, be serious, focused and professional. We have created work environments to reinforce these messages, where people work long days, don't move away from their desks, always trying to show how hard they are working, in order to feel valued. The average employee spends two days a week in meetings, half of which are perceived to be a waste of time. Whilst we want to be a part of a community, we do not engage with others at work in meaningful ways, we suppress our emotions and struggle to overcome stress related illnesses, whilst making sure everyone thinks 'we are fine' and coping. Any attempt at having fun, relaxing and recharging is often seen as a distraction, discouraged and frowned upon as wasting productive company time. As if all that wasn't bad enough, the majority of people have to endure long and tedious commutes in overcrowded public transport, to make sure they go in to the office, to show everyone how hard they are working, even though technology enables them to work from anywhere. One of the usual arguments against offering people greater autonomy over where and how they work is a lack of control and consequent lack of effort from employees. New evidence by the German Institute for Economic Research, suggests that what actually happens is the opposite. When employers relinquish control, people actually work more. People who enjoy autonomy on average put in an extra seven hours each week and are more committed to their employer as well as feel they are more connected to their family and community. Advertisement Changing business structures to leverage work de- localization, to generate diversified multi-centers, in which co working spaces become neighborhood services, thus reducing commute times and car usage can improve both the work life balance of millions of people but also improve local communities and the growth of local economies. Corporations are starting to embrace this by using co working spaces close to where people live to cut down commute times, access innovative talent through the co working ecosystem and also benefit from 'space-less growth' - maximizing flexibility while minimizing fixed costs. These new working models are changing the workplace from a static container of routine work into a hub for bringing colleagues together. The office has become a 'high-tech coffee shop', where networked individuals meet, share, collaborate and develop ideas, strategies and solutions. A place used more intermittently and intensively, designed with meaning, focused on values, culture, community. The office begins to look and work more like a city - drawing to itself valued urban experiences and spaces: quiet areas, individual experiences, courtyards, cafes, social destinations and serendipitous encounters. The successful characteristics of cities become part of the design language; permeability, diversity, overlapping experiences that surprise, delight and constantly change. Space no longer reflects hierarchical structures but supports dispersed networks and open source innovation. The nature of the city also changes as it becomes an extension of the office - a broad workscape in which key work functions move into parks, coffee shops and co-working spaces. Learning from successful cities, urban places that are more flexible and offer people opportunities to network, learn and create together, are also more able to adapt to short and long-term economic, social and environmental changes. These lessons can also be applied to future-proof offices. As such the workplace should increasingly be designed and managed less as a static backdrop to routine solitary work, and more as a 'flexible', 'hotel-style' facility that provides a high level of service and experience to its demanding 'guests'. Advertisement Australia Square - Sydney We now have four generations at work and they are all aligned on their expectations of: choice and flexibility, greater transparency, more teamwork and more amenities to support authentic sociability, knowledge, convenience and wellbeing. Healthy employees are significant factors to a healthy bottom line but our entire approach to workplace requires transformation. Our current wellbeing paradigm is stuck measuring the cost of various degrees of illness rather than calculating the value of higher levels of wellness and proactively enabling people to thrive. Happiness and wellbeing are good for business. Happier and healthy employees are more productive. The British Council of Offices's 2014 research 'Making the Business Case for Wellbeing', states that more than a third of participants accuse their employer of not valuing their well-being at all. The report comes up with three areas to help employers create a culture of wellbeing: care; control and collaboration: The study found that nine out of ten workers, feel their well-being diminishes if they don't have control over their day-to-day activities. In addition, they want the flexibility and control to mix collaboration with colleagues with quiet moments of concentration to help them get 'in the zone'. Nine out of ten workers claim, that working 'in the zone' helps them perform better as well as feel better. However, currently over three quarters of people feel they are hampered by a noisy open-plan environment and more than two thirds would like to see relaxation areas in their workplace to recharge. Companies can meet this need for control by offering employees flexibility and choice of how and where they work and trusting them to decide their own working patterns. However, building a collaborative environment as flexible and remote working grows means companies need to embrace connectivity to ensure that employees have the tools to work, discuss and innovate together no matter where they are. It is easy to see how real estate portfolios will increasingly become a dispersed network of workplaces; social and adaptive working environments, empowering users and teams across different work contexts and collaboration modes. Our own workplace will be a menu of co working environments that leverage our social networks and support our personal needs and aspirations day to day-- hour by hour. Real estate needs to become a service industry focused on people, rather than on assets and the design and management of buildings should be less about the 'hardware' of work - desks, partitions, technology, electricity, and so on; and much more about the 'software' of work - the cultural, social and value systems of the organisations. Advertisement News / National by Staff reporter The boycott by workers of the government-organised Workers' Day rally in Harare on Monday, at which embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa was the guest of honour, has opened the Midlands godfather to fresh attacks from his Zanu-PF enemies.Ruling party officials linked to Zanu-PF's ambitious Young Turks, the Generation 40 (G40) who are rabidly opposed to Mnangagwa succeeding President Robert Mugabe told the Daily News yesterday that the fact that even Zanu-PF supporters had shunned the May Day commemorations "confirmed that Ngwena (Mnangagwa) is unelectable, as he has no social base".At the same time, the beleaguered Midlands godfather's supporters claimed that the shunning of the event by workers was "an act of sabotage by the G40 who are hellbent on embarrassing Ngwena".The renewed onslaught on Mnangagwa, who is nicknamed "The Crocodile" on account of his alleged ruthlessness, came after the VP suffered the indignity of addressing a virtually empty Rufaro Stadium, after government ill-advisedly sought to hijack this year's May Day commemorations for its own ends."While it is a fact that the country's workforce has dwindled over the years, it is shocking that the stadium was empty even after State media worked hard to publicise the fact that the VP would be the guest speaker."Where were his supporters? Where was Mbare? I think (Mbare MP Tendai ) Savanhu would have pulled a bigger crowd than what we saw and that is why some of us are worried at the prospect of having someone like him, who clearly has no grassroots support, dreaming to be our presidential candidate for 2018."That is also the reason why some of us are opposed to the machinations of Team Lacoste (Mnangagwa faction) who do not appear to appreciate the obvious fact that no one, not even Zanu-PF members want their godfather," a Zanu-PF central committee member linked to the G40 said.However, war veterans loyal to the VP, who spoke to the Daily News yesterday accused the G40, and the "Zanu-PF commissariat in particular" of sabotaging Mnangagwa.The spokesperson of a faction of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) that is loyal to Mnangagwa, Douglas Mahiya, said given that this year's Workers' Day activities had been hosted by government, it should have been incumbent upon Zanu-PF to mobilise its supporters for Monday's event."That is the role of the party commissariat, but they slept on duty as they went AWOL (absent without official leave) instead of mobilising people to come to Rufaro."We know that they always bus people from far afield to hoodwink the president into thinking that all is well and that people are happy even when it is clear that they are not. We have said it again and again that something is terribly wrong with the Zanu-PF commissariat," Mahiya said.He also said another reason for the low turnout at Rufaro Stadium was because war veterans were "being side-lined both in the party (Zanu-PF) and in government"."We have not been given space to participate in the activities of the party. For a long time now, we have been relegated to the periphery of both Zanu-PF and the government, and that is why you see things are going awfully wrong in government as well," he said.But the G40-aligned Zanu-PF officials refuted this "with utter contempt", saying that the reality was that Mnangagwa was not only "just disliked generally, but also feared all round"."This dislike and fear began when he headed the CIO in the early 1980s, a period during which thousands of innocent civilians were killed in Matabeleland and the Midlands. This continued even in 2008 when the MDC was a major political force," one of them countered.Afghanistan-based political analyst, Maxwell Saungweme, said the boycott of Mnangagwa's event was "a manifestation of Zanu-PF's factional and succession wars that have divided the party to the point of nearly destroying it"."It is difficult to rule out sabotage of the event because there are so many people in top positions who are being propped up by patronage and not their social base."Zanu-PF is known for forcing people to attend rallies ... so if this rally had the blessing of the First Family and the party, people would have been frog-marched to the event. This is another clear manifestation of divisions within the party," he said.Recently, Mugabe's former trusted aide, Didymus Mutasa, dismissed the chances of Mnangagwa succeeding the nonagenarian, also saying he was "simply unelectable".When asked then who he thought could succeed Mugabe, Mutasa said only Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) leader, Joice Mujuru, had "the right qualities to lead Zimbabwe". GUANGZHOU, CHINA - DECEMBER 15: Buyers and sellers in The Canaan Market, Guangzhou's first market catering mostly to Africans, December 15, 2008 in Guangzhou, China. In Guangzhou, the largest city in south China, 20.000 Africans are trying to make a life for themselves as traders in wholesale markets. Here, they hope to carve out their own piece of the Chinese economical miracle. The traders buy clothes and other cheap goods to be shipped and sold back home. Approximately 80% of the Africans in Guangzhou are Nigerians, others are from e.g. Ghana, Kenya and Cameroon. (Photo by David Hogsholt/Getty Images) Being black in China is not easy, but it's not as bad as many would have you think, according to our two guests this week who are both black immigrants currently living in Beijing. Sure, people stare a lot and there are often some inappropriate questions about hair and skin color, but more often than not says Black Lives in China creator Nicole Bonnah, those awkward questions come from a good place -- curiosity. Advertisement Nicole, originally from the United Kingdom, is a Beijing-based journalist who is embarking on an ambitious documentary film project about daily life for black immigrants living across China. One of the people Nicole interviewed for the film was Tiffany Johnson, an African-American educator also based in Beijing. Tiffany, like Nicole, said China's largely homogeneous culture and inexperience in dealing with diversity does lead to some awkward encounters, but she adds that it would be incorrect to label this "racism." Compared to the United States, where race is a filter for almost everything in society, the Chinese are largely ignorant about issues of race. So when Chinese people say things that would otherwise be off-limits in Africa or the West, Tiffany and Nicole argue that because the intent isn't the same as it would be if those same words were said in New York, London or Johannesburg, the impact is also different. Nicole and Tiffany join Eric & Cobus -- in the podcast above -- to talk about what it's like to be a black in China. Earlier on WorldPost: By Laura Woods, Contributor Cinco de Mayo -- or May 5 -- is celebrated annually to honor the day in 1862 when the Mexican army defeated France at the Battle of Puebla, during the Franco-Mexican War. Contrary to popular belief, the occasion does not commemorate Mexican independence, as this occurred more than 50 years prior. You might be surprised to learn that Cinco de Mayo is actually more popular in the U.S. than in Mexico -- but it's true. Similar to St. Patrick's Day, when Americans band together to honor the Irish regardless of their own ethnicity, people can't get enough of Cinco de Mayo. If you're planning to celebrate Cinco de Mayo 2016, here are the best deals on Mexican food and drinks to help you have fun without overspending. Cinco de Mayo Margarita Deals, Taco Specials and More An estimated 87.3 million pounds of avocados are consumed per year on May 5, according to the California Avocado Commission and tequila sales at U.S. bars and restaurants more than double. This year, save money on your Cinco de Mayo drink and food purchases with these special offers. Advertisement DoorDash: Sign up for DoorDash to get $5 off your first delivery and in certain cities, you can have Taco Bell delivered to your doorstep on Cinco de Mayo and every day. Eat24: Use coupon code RELAX to get $2 off your order until Dec. 31, allowing you to get a Cinco de Mayo discount without leaving your couch. Green Burrito: Buy one Burrito El Diablo and get a second free with this printable coupon through May 31. Mad Mex: Enjoy breakfast burritos, eggchiladas and cornbread starting at 9 a.m. as part of the Mad Mex Cinco de Mayo party. All day drink specials include 22-ounce Dos Equis drafts for $5 and a $1 off all Mexican bottles and cans. Regular happy hour and late nght specials will be honored, in addition to some special games and giveaways. Advertisement Moe's: As part of its annual Cinco de Moe's event, the first 100 customers in line will receive a free t-shirt while supplies last and participating locations will offer $5 burritos. On the Border: Enjoy 14-ounce Cinco Cup House Margaritas for $4, 14-ounce Cinco Cup Dos Equis Lager, Dos Equis Amber and Corona Light Drafts for $3, a variety of Cinco Shots for $2 to $4, Dos Equis Lager, Corona and Corona Light bottles for $3 and commemorative t-shirts for $10 at participating locations. Rubio's: Get a free Taquitos Platter with any catering purchase of $125 or more. Taco Bueno: Party Tacos will be half price -- $0.59 -- all day. Taco Cabana: Enjoy happy hour on Cinco de Mayo from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., featuring $1.50 margaritas and a $3 small nacho and margarita combo. Additionally, Taco Cabana will celebrate Seis de Mayo by receiving one free breakfast taco when you dine-in during breakfast hours from May 6 to May 8. Taco Del Mar: Take part in the annual Cinco de Mayo 5 pound burrito eating challenge at participating locations. Taco Mayo: A new mystery item will be added to the menu on Cinco de Mayo 2016. Tijuana Flats: Enjoy 48 hours of Cinco de Mayo specials, including a Tijuana Burrito, chips and a drink for $5, with the option to add a draft beer for $1 on May 5 and $2 tacos on May 6. Advertisement Tumbleweed Tex Mex Grill & Margarita Bar: Start the weekend early with $0.99 domestic drafts -- premium drafts not included -- and Twisted Teas. Additionally, domestic longnecks will be $1.99. Cinco de Mayo Food Savings With Loyalty Clubs From fast food chains to sit-down restaurants, save money on your Cinco de Mayo celebration by signing up for email newsletters and loyalty clubs at your favorite Mexican restaurants. Baja Fresh: Get a free taco when you join Club Baja. Chevy's Fresh Mex: Sign up for the Compadres Club and get a free appetizer. Del Taco: Join the Raving Fan eClub and get two free grilled chicken tacos. Don Pablo's: Join the Habaneros Rewards Club to get a free dip sampler. El Torito: Register for the e-Club and get a free appetizer with the purchase of two adult entrees. Taco John's: Get a free meat and potato burrito when you sign up for email updates. Celebrating Cinco de Mayo doesn't mean you have to break the bank. Whether you're spending time at the bar on May 5, or celebrating into the weekend with friends and tacos, make sure to use these deals. The Untold Story of NASA's Commercial Partnerships In the era of constrained budgets, NASA has become the federal government's poster child for reducing costs and improving results via public-private partnerships. Photos of the International Space Station (ISS) today illustrate good government infrastructure supporting real commercial projects. A Bigelow inflatable module expands from the station's side, a NanoRacks CubeSat deployer shoots Planet Labs satellites into orbit and competing commercial spacecraft are parked side by side at station airlocks. Planet Lab Dove Satellites fall toward lower orbit after being ejected from ISS via the Nanoracks Deployer The retirement of shuttle left America without a domestic resupply or crew transport vehicle. SpaceX's Dragon and Orbital ATK's Cygnus capsules were developed using milestone-based payments under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, a competitive solution to this challenge, in place of traditional "cost-plus" contracting that studies show would have cost $billions more. These commercial spacecraft contrast with Russia's Soyuz capsule, which provides an expensive and politically challenging ride for America's astronauts. NASA is addressing this transportation problem via the Commercial Crew Program (CCP). I spoke to Phil McAlister, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at NASA about the agency's commercial path. He noted that NASA places a "high priority on consensus" and that a cautious approach is often necessary. "All those meetings and committees are good when you are using the taxpayer's money on something new" he says, but acknowledges "it takes time and costs more." Committees provide a valuable sanity check for new concepts, but they don't approve bold improvements to existing systems, reduce costs or increase performance. That mission requires the entrepreneurial skills of risk taking, agile development and the iterative testing. McAlister explains that NASA groks this, "For missions we've accomplished many times, like lifting cargo and people to Low Earth Orbit, it's very appropriate to outsource the service." This works he says, because, "The private sector has an acute awareness of cost with a laser-like focus on the bottom line." COTs was launched with SpaceX and Oklahoma firm, Rocketplane Kistler. Kistler was replaced by Orbital in 2008. In just four years SpaceX had a Dragon in orbit. Oribtal's Cygnus followed in 2103. Two new spacecraft went into service in record time and with record low government funding of just $800million. The vendors contributed the greatest percentage of the development costs. McAlister says, "For COTS and for Commercial Crew the strengths of each organization, NASA and the private firms, were complementary. We might have had different priorities but we had an alignment of goals." Advertisement Dragon (upper left), Cygnus (lower right) and Soyuz (far right) COTS also boosted America's launch services industry back into orbit, a business previously lost to foreign competitors. McAlister notes, "In 2011 there were no US launches of commercial payloads, but SpaceX has already recaptured nearly half that global market for America." The firm's busy launch manifest shows payloads from Thailand (Thaicom), Europe (Thales Alenia) and even China (AsiaSat); a positive trade contribution that supports thousands of high-paying jobs in California, Texas and Florida. SpaceX and Orbital now provide regular Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) to the ISS for a little over $100million per mission. To put that into perspective, NASA arguably spent more than $1.5 billion on each Space Shuttle flight. Shuttle taught us a lot about repeatable spaceflight operations and a commercial descendent of an alternative NASA shuttle, named Dream Chaser, is joining the CRS program. NASA's return on investment in SpaceX has paid off again with Crew Dragon, a seven passenger capsule developed as part of CCP. Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 "Starliner" are both finishing testing and America will soon have two commercial, human-rated spacecraft. Bigelow BEAM The speed of this public-private development progress can be measured against the Space Launch System with its Orion capsule, a deep-space exploration vehicle developing under the traditional, cost-plus model. Orion is anticipated to fly astronauts in 2023. It may eventually find itself competing with an evolved Dragon or some other private craft developed for deepspace. SpaceX recently announced plans to place a Dragon Capsule on Mars by 2018. NASA researchers who analyzed this concept concluded that: Advertisement SpaceX's Dragon capsule and Falcon Heavy rocket present the possibility of delivering large scientific and human precursor payloads to Mars . . . and the capsule's descent technique would lead on a path toward future human-mission landers. Suddenly, we have a competitive model for interplanetary exploration! This is a kinder, gentler Space Race lacking the Cold War's apocalyptic undercurrents and budget busting expenditures and either way, America wins. McAlister says, "We are all trying to get to Mars as a nation. A lot of the time we at NASA are going to lead, but sometimes we may 'draft' the private sector. By partnering, we will get to Mars sooner as a nation." Orion deep-space capsule under development ISS isn't the only place where NASA engages private firms. I love to visit California's High Desert, where the Armstrong / Dryden research center and the Mojave Air and Spaceport work together with commercial operators to launch suborbital experiments. Under NASA's Flight Opportunities Program firms including Masten Space Systems fly research payloads funded by NASA. The program will soon engage high-performance suborbital systems from Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. FOP promises scientists low cost and routine access to microgravity for promising research in pharmaceuticals and material sciences. By Dr. Hollie Russon-Gilman, Beeck Center Fellow. Originally appeared on Brookings "Tech Tank" in 2016. The popular narrative in this election cycle is one of popular disillusionment and cynicism with government. Yet, this national narrative overlooks the power and energy of citizens coming together in their communities to solve problems. Across the country, people are working with their neighbors to strengthen their communities, re-imagine engagement with elected officials, and leverage new technologies to improve governance. These are some of the topics I address in my recent Brookings book with Harvard's Ash Center; Democracy Reinvented: Participatory Budgeting and Civic Innovation in America. The book looks at an array of civic innovations, from the rise of open government data for community-based decision making to civic crowdfunding where people pledge small-dollar amounts to fund public works. Diverse examples include structured listening processes that empower people to set mayoral priorities and the multi-stakeholder Open Government Partnership that promotes greater government transparency and accountability. The book highlights the power of deliberate, structured participation opportunities to improve public decision making. In particular, the book examines the rise in the United States of participatory budgeting (PB), a process that empowers community residents to allocate public dollars. Beginning in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1989 after that country's long military dictatorship, the process created a mechanism for transparency, accountability, and civic participation. Unlike advisory or consultative processes, PB allows citizens to make binding decisions and work directly with public officials to craft viable budget proposals. Though the process takes on different local flavors, there are some commonalities. Community residents identify local priorities and a subset of people work with government officials to craft viable budget proposals based on community need. These proposals are then returned to community residents for a vote, and public officials then implement the winning projects. After the World Bank declared PB a best practice in democratic innovation in 1996, the process quickly spread across the globe. It is estimated that PB has now been implemented in 2,500 localities across the world. Advertisement The process only came to the United States in 2009 when Chicago Alderman Joe Moore put $1 million of his discretionary "menu money" into the process. Since then, it has grown throughout the country, with the support of The Participatory Budgeting Project and other civil society organizations such as Community Voices Heard in New York City. While working at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, I explored opportunities to support PB as part of the United States Open Government Partnership and National Action Plan with existing federal dollars. The process continues to grow, with over $50 million in public funds allocated across the country. New York City continues to serve as the largest implementation of PB in the United States. Beginning with 4 districts and $5.6 million in 2011, the process has grown to 28 districts with over $32 million being allocated by residents. For the 2016 vote the organization Democracy 2.1 worked with the New York City Council to set up a digital ballot option. "For the first time, residents of all 28 participating districts could choose to cast their PB ballot digitally," explained Lex Paulson, international counselor for Democracy 2.1, the city's digital partner for PB. "Adding a digital system behind the in-person process allowed NYC to standardize voter registration, print fewer unused ballots, and let voters vote find their 'home' ballot at any voting site across the city. When done the right way, digital tools can help make PB more accessible, more inclusive and more affordable for cities of any size." Advertisement Just in the last few weeks, a record number of 67,691 people voted in the New York PB election. The digital ballot represents an opportunity for the City of New York to innovate the application of digital tools in service delivery. It can serve as an exemplar for other cities working to modernize and foster citizen-centric government. Monarch butterflies fly at the El Rosario butterfly sanctuary on a mountain in the Mexican state of Michoacan November 27, 2013. Monarch butterflies have started arriving at a butterfly sanctuary in the central Mexican state of Michoacan - an annual spectacle that draws tourists, scientists and locals alike, but not in the arrival numbers expected. Biologist Felipe Martinez, Sub-Director of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, said the arrival has been delayed due to several cold fronts hitting Mexico and continued rain storms. In 2000, Mexico established a 56,000 hectare reserve for the butterflies in Michoacan and part of the State of Mexico, containing some 6.7 million trees. Picture taken November 27, 2013. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido (MEXICO - Tags: ENVIRONMENT ANIMALS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) MEXICO CITY -- The monarch butterfly is now facing a potentially lethal threat to its over-wintering habitat in Mexico's oyamel fir forests. As if it weren't enough for the migratory butterfly to contend with illegal logging in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, it is also facing severe depletion of the milkweed, which is indispensable for its development from egg into butterfly, caused by ever-increasing use of herbicides on genetically engineered corn and soybean crops in the American corn belt. Advertisement There was no prior consultation with affected groups, no public diffusion of information, no evaluation of the hydrologic impacts of the mine and no risk analysis. Extreme weather events, including drought and storms, and the unpredictable consequences of climate change are also taking their toll. Now, Grupo Mexico, Mexico's largest mining corporation, has been awarded a concession to reopen an old mine in Angangueo in the state of Michoacan, a town in the heart of the monarch reserve that was closed 25 years ago. The company intends to mine copper, zinc, lead, silver and gold. In April 2005, a subsidiary of Grupo Mexico filed an environmental impact assessment for the mining project with the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, also known as SEMARNAT. Michoacan's secretary for urbanism and the environment declared that mining would have no impact on the monarch migration, and a former head of the monarch reserve insisted that development is compatible with conservation, that no one can prove monarch colonies over-wintered in the area when the mining concessions were granted at the end of the 19th century. A monarch butterfly feeds on a plant at a sanctuary in Angangueo on Dec. 18, 2015. (Miguel Tovar/LatinContent/Getty Images) The EIA was grossly inadequate. There was no prior consultation with affected groups, no public diffusion of information, no evaluation of the hydrologic impacts of the mine and no risk analysis or mention of risks for the human population. The EIA was only for a specific site and not regionally, as is required by law, since the reserve is part of the Lerma and Balsas Rivers watersheds and is defined as a priority hydrologic region. In order to extract the resources, mining will extract large volumes of water from the subsoil and expel it outside the area being worked -- but there is no mention in the EIA of the substantial impacts of this process. In 2010, heavy rains lead to disastrous flooding in Angangueo, destroying houses and taking lives. The mine tailings left behind when the mine closed magnified the damage. Residues of arsenic, bromine, lead, barium, cadmium, chrome and mercury have been found in Angangueo's water, and iron levels in the soil far exceed official norms. The EIA does not evaluate potential levels of toxicity from the production of sulfuric acid. The environmental impact assessment was grossly inadequate. A toxic spill in August 2014 at a Grupo Mexico copper mine in the northwestern state of Sonora was labelled by the head of SEMARNAT as the Mexican mining sector's worst environmental disaster in recent history. Nearly 11 million gallons of copper sulfate spewed into the Bacanuchi and Sonora Rivers. Hundreds of miles of waterways and the water supply for 24,000 people were contaminated with copper, arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, chromium, iron, manganese and lead. The National Water Commission blamed negligence on the part of the company, but Grupo Mexico falsely claimed the spill was caused by unexpected heavy rains that raised the level in a holding tank at the mine. It wasn't Grupo Mexico's only disaster. In February 2006, 65 workers were killed in an explosion at Grupo Mexico's Pasta de Conchos mine in the state of Coahuila. Sixty-three bodies still remain underground, and the Mexican Attorney General's office has stated that the statute of limitations for prosecuting those responsible has expired. Pasta de Conchos was run by Industrial Minera de Mexico, the company that owns the Angangueo mine. The Sonora River near the town of Mazocahui on Aug. 24, 2014, contaminated by the spill from the Buenavista copper mine. (AP Photo/El Imparcial, Julian Ortega, File) In February, the governor of Michoacan met with Grupo Mexico representatives to discuss the benefits the mining project would generate, like creating jobs and increasing tourism. Angangueo's mayor has said that Industria Minera de Mexico is already at work in town. The reserve's management program allows for mining if all rules and regulations are complied with. However, as there is no precedent for exposing over-wintering monarch butterflies to a major mining operation, there are no studies to draw on, and so the EIA does not address the inevitable consequences to the butterflies. Water is vital for the monarch during its over-wintering in the reserve. If the mine is reopened, the impacts will become known but doubtless it will be too late for the monarchs. Last fall, frightened local residents called me to denounce widespread illegal logging that went on unchecked from April through August 2015 on Sierra Chincua, one of the two main overwintering sites. I immediately notified Dr. Lincoln Brower, the world's foremost monarch butterfly expert. Brower and other scientists have since written an important and conclusive report on illegal logging on 10 hectares of forest in the Sierra Chincua monarch butterfly over-wintering area that will be the feature article in the June 2016 issue of the journal American Entomologist. They write: With satellite imagery and drone photographs, we documented the location and extent of illegal logging during 2015 in what should have been one of the most protected areas within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico. Severe logging of 10 hectares took place from April to August. This questions the effectiveness of current strategies to protect the already precarious overwintering habitat of the monarch butterfly in eastern North America. Curiously, the logging took place in a parcel of land belonging to the state of Michoacan, the only state-owned parcel in the entire reserve, and not in any of the neighboring communally owned ejidos. On March 10 and 11, heavy rain, wind and a severe snowstorm hit the reserve, knocking down trees and tearing off roofs in neighboring towns. Officials were quick to deny any substantial harm to the monarchs. Preliminary studies by Brower and others point to a mortality rate as high as 50 percent. The investigation has been hampered by limited access to the affected areas, especially at El Rosario. Advertisement A recent photo showing illegal and/or salvage logging near El Rosario by a local resident who wishes to remain anonymous. About a week after the storm a fire was deliberately set near the El Rosario site to put pressure on the reserve's acting director to authorize so-called salvage logging, presumably to remove trees after natural disturbances. Recent photos show that salvage logging has been taking place at the El Rosario site, where an alarming quantity of wood has been removed, with all the destructive impacts this process implies. There is no reliable way of telling which trees were "salvaged" and which were cut down illegally, as all the logging appears to have been done at once, a convenient scheme for tree laundering. There has also been salvage logging on Sierra Chincua. In March, the Center for Food Safety and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, charging the agency with failing to protect monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act. A recent scientific study predicts that the migratory monarch could become extinct within the next 20 years, largely due to the herbicide-resistant, genetically engineered corn and soybeans that make up 90 percent of these crops grown in the United States. If the mine is reopened, the impacts will become known but doubtless it will be too late for the monarchs. I grew up in Contepec, Michoacan, where millions of monarchs used to arrive every winter. But they no longer do. In 1986, I asked President Miguel de la Madrid to establish the Monarch Butterfly Special Biosphere Reserve, which he did. In 2008, as Mexico's ambassador to UNESCO, I convinced the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee to declare the reserve a World Heritage site. Advertisement But now I fear that the extraordinary monarch butterfly migration may not withstand the combined onslaughts of extreme weather, milkweed-killing herbicide use, illegal logging, mining and corruption. Earlier on WorldPost: They've been here since the 1950s, these silos for wheat and corn on the harbor of Catania on the east coast of the island of Sicily at the foot of Mount Etna. Twenty-eight meters tall and facing the Ionian Sea, they are now some of the largest canvasses in Italy by a small group of international and local street artists. Interesni Kazki. Detail. (photo VladyArt) The "Art Silos" project includes works completed during an eight-month installation begun in June 2015 as part of Festival "I-ART" organized by "Emergence", thanks to Angelo Bacchelli, curated by Giuseppe Stagnitta. The artists taking part in the project were Okuda (Spain), ROSH333 (Spain), Microbo (Italy), BO130 (Italy), VladyArt (Italy), Danilo Bucchi (Italy) and the duo Interesni Kaxki (Ukraine), mostly all from the graffiti/Street Art world. A separately organized but related project on the harbor-facing row of eight silos was completed by one artist alone, the Lisbon-based Vhils. Advertisement Interesni Kazki. Detail. (photo VladyArt) The project's completion at the turn of the year culminated in one of the largest Street Art/Graffiti artists' collective shows in Italy held in the city's main public gallery Palazzo Platamone, entitled "Codici Sorgenti" (Source Code), which was curated by Stefano S. Antonelli and Francesca Mezzano from Rome's 999 Contemporary Gallery. There is talk about the possibility that this exhibition of about 60 artists work will tour throughout Europe with its message of the historic roots of modern graffiti and Street Art along with many of its most impactful practitioners pushing into the contemporary art world. Interesni Kazki. Detail. (photo VladyArt) According to Arianna Ascione in Artsblog.it, the gallery exhibition was "divided into three sections that tell the birth, interactive development and consecration of the (graffiti/street art) phenomenon" Indeed, the list contains works by 108, A One, Augustine Iacurci, Alexis Diaz, Alexone, Bo 130, Boris Tellegen (aka Delta), Brad Downey, C215, Clemens Behr, Conor Harrington, Crash, Delta 2, Dondi White, Doze Green, El Seed, Ericailcane, Eron, Escif, Evol, Faile, Feitakis, Gaia, Herbert Baglione, Horfee, Interesni Kazki, Invader, Jaz, Jeff Aerosol, Mark Jenkins, Jonone, JR, Judith Supine, Kool Poor, The Atlas, Lek & Sowat, Lucy McLauchlan, Matt Small, Maya Hayuk, Mensanger, Miss Van, Momo, Moneyless, Peeta, Rammellzee, Retna, Roa, Seth, Philippe Baudelocque, Sharp, Shepard Fairey, StenLex, Swoon, The London Police, Todd James,Toxic, and the aforementioned Vhils. Advertisement Interesni Kazki. Detail. (photo VladyArt) Ironically the genre-melting inclination of so-called "urban art" has eroded the silo mentality of many who follow these art forms as they become known, followed, collected, and exhibited; As a metaphor "Art Silos" may more accurately refer to the past and the dogmatic separation of genres such as graffiti, tattoo, illustration, ad jamming, and Street Art for example. Although not strictly what you might call public art either, the scale of "Art Silos", with its major artworks that typically may take years to be approved in large cities elsewhere, is an occurrence routinely happening in cities around the world. Vlady Art and BO130. Detail. (photo VladyArt) For us this is one more example of the "New Muralism" that is enabling Street Artists to do major works in public spaces via non-traditional routes. On par with a public art works of other committee-approved sorts, this silo project was a private/public collaboration that made selections, secured funding and permissions from the harbor authorities, city figures, politicians and the manager of the silos themselves, according to VladyArt, who along with Microbo is one of the artists and a resident of Catania. Vlady Art (photo VladyArt) He says the size of the project and the power of the imagery combined with the process of watching them go up has drawn a lot of attention to the area lately. "The people here were amazed by our speed and the large scale operation. Catania had no large murals like this... this was the very first time for Sicily. They can be seen from far away and even from taking off from and landing at the airport - or coming by cruise line on the sea. It seems that nobody really paid that much attention to this spot before, and everyone is talking about it now." BO130 and Vlady Art. Detail. (photo VladyArt) To understand why a project of this nature can happen so quickly these days, look no further than the location. As we have recounted numerous times, often these efforts are deliberately programmed to draw attention to economically challenged areas as a way of encouraging tourism and investment. Advertisement In fact VladyArt says that this historic region and city that dates back many centuries before Christ is having a very challenging time economically and socially and could use positive attention from a crowd that appreciates art. "Catania is somehow the most dynamic city of Sicily, because of its industrial and commercial features," he says. Lucamaleonte. Work in progress. (photo VladyArt) "Having said that, please be aware that the south of Italy is no way wealthy or an easy place, despite its beauty and lucky location in the sun. Almost the whole city is rough, I can name a many neighborhoods where this is the case." So it is all the more remarkable that a multi-artist iconic installation can happen here in Catania and people are exposed to a grassroots-fueled art scene that is currently galloping across the globe. Lucamaleonte. Work in progress. (photo VladyArt) "Regular people around here don't know much about the whole thing, street art and stuff," says Vlady Art. "So, quite frankly they wouldn't care much about Okuda, Vhils or Interesni. They never heard of them before and probably people will find hard to spell their names. They cannot catch the meaning or the purpose of this. They simply like what they see - they like this energy. They do get the 'message', the power of art." Danilo Bucchi (photo VladyArt) Okuda (photo VladyArt) Microbo (photo VladyArt) ROSH333 (photo VladyArt) The Silos facing the city. (photo VladyArt) Vhils on the side of the silos facing the water. (photo VladyArt) BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA<<>> Please note: All content including images and text are BrooklynStreetArt.com, unless otherwise noted. We like sharing BSA content for non-commercial purposes as long as you credit the photographer(s) and BSA, include a link to the original article URL and do not remove the photographer's name from the .jpg file. Otherwise, please refrain from re-posting. Thanks! Advertisement BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA<<>>BSA<<>> This article is also posted on Brooklyn Street Art. Read all posts by Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo on The Huffington Post HERE. See new photos and read scintillating interviews every day on BrooklynStreetArt.com Follow us on Instagram @bkstreetart See our TUMBLR page Donald Trump may actually become the next president of the United States. With Tuesday night's primary in Indiana now in the history books, Donald Trump has extended his delegate lead over his nearest rival, Ted Cruz. And just hours ago, in a relatively stunning announcement, Cruz himself has ended his campaign. It is now guaranteed that one half of the November 2016 presidential election will be Donald Trump and whomever he selects as his running mate. Trump and Ohio governor John Kasich remain the final two contenders on the Republican side -- and there is zero chance of Kasich earning the nomination as he still trails behind even Marco Rubio (scroll down on this page), despite the latter's exit from the race nearly two months ago. So a few significant questions remain, particularly on the Democratic side of things. The most obvious question is who Trump will be running against, but as Bernie Sanders has won the Democratic primary in Indiana, perhaps the more important question is what this does as far as Sanders' chances going into the final contests. Advertisement Clearly, the delegates Sanders won Tuesday are not going to cut into Hillary's lead by any appreciable amount, but there's something more important at stake: The heart and soul of the Democratic Party. A blog on The Huffington Post dated March 28 officially called on Hillary Clinton to forfeit the Democratic nomination to Bernie Sanders. At issue is the fact that the FBI may be on the verge of filing criminal charges against the Democratic front-runner over her private E-mail server and classified communications potentially stored on it. There are a couple of ways this can potentially play out. First and most obviously, criminal charges could be filed. That should be a campaign-ender right there; however, the question remains whether or not Hillary would actually overcome her stubbornness and actually drop out, or if she would remain bull-headed enough to drag the entire party and her supporters through the mud right along with her as she fights the indictment. Secondly, should the FBI not choose to indict Clinton, Trump and the Republican Party can still use the probe against her. Can a former Secretary of State who was the subject of a criminal investigation into the mishandling of top-secret material be trusted with national security? Did the Obama Administration refuse to indict her because of the fact she was President Obama's Secretary of State? The latter question in particular has the potential to add the stench of government corruption to President Obama's legacy, which could be immensely damaging over the next six months until Election Day. In the type of political climate the United States is facing -- a seemingly total rebuke of establishment politics on the Republican side and a revolt against the Clinton legacy and big money in politics on the Democratic side -- these are not the kinds of issues that any candidate wants to face going into a general election. Advertisement The Democratic Party, like it or not, is at the crossroads over where it wants the party to go in the future, as well as where it wants the nation to go. Should the party continue on its path to effectively anoint Hillary Clinton over the extremely vocal movement on the side of Bernie Sanders, they risk alienating the Sanders voting bloc for years. In particular, as Sanders can likely count on a large contingent of Independent voters, the Democratic Pary stands to lose much of that support should they anoint Clinton to the proverbial throne. Should this happen, the party will likely have a difficult time winning their support for a long time to come; after all, the message will have been that their views and opinions do not matter, as long as they get Big-Money Clinton into the White House. Anyone who has tried to interpret the parking signs in New York likely has been left wondering whether one can, in fact, ever legally park in the Big Apple. Confusing signs have led even the most law-abiding citizen to get a parking ticket after deciding he or she had parked legally. Unfortunately, the same frustration is coming to patent holders that own technology that is attractive to Chinese companies, although the stakes are much higher than a $100 ticket. Chinese antitrust regulators have embarked on an unprecedented and alarming series of investigations targeting foreign patent rights in recent years. In one, the National Development and Reform Commission ("NDRC") launched an investigation of Qualcomm after receiving complaints that Chinese companies didn't want to pay the prices the San Diego-based company charged for accessing its patented technology for cellular chipsets. In a similar case, the NDRC investigated claims that San Francisco-based Dolby Labs, which licenses audio technologies to manufacturers of consumer electronics products, was charging high prices in China. Dawn raids and onerous requests for information soon followed. These cases condemn practices that, for many companies, are considered routine protection of valuable proprietary technology. Nonetheless, China has sounded the alarm that it is willing to re-write arms' length business transactions to benefit Chinese companies. In each case, the Chinese regulators issued thinly-reasoned decisions finding violations of China's Anti-Monopoly Law, slapping the patent holder with extraordinarily high fines ($975 million in the case of Qualcomm) or procuring commitments to license patents on terms favorable to Chinese manufacturers. Advertisement In an apparent attempt to deflect criticism of these thinly-reasoned enforcement actions, Chinese antitrust regulators have proposed giving themselves more tools to regulate the patent licensing practices of foreign companies. Over the past year, the NDRC and China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce ("SAIC"), another of China's antitrust enforcement agencies, issued draft rules that they will apply to the exercise of patents and other intellectual property rights. Those guidelines are so fraught with uncertainty that they should send shivers down the spine of any company owning patented technology that looks attractive to a Chinese-based company, regardless of where the patents are issued. At best, the draft guidelines provide some smidgen of badly-needed guidance in an area of regulatory uncertainty. At worst, they lend themselves to whatever interpretation the regulators see fit in the interest of giving Chinese companies a competitive advantage. Both sets of guidelines suffer from a lack of detail. They also suffer from, ironically, meaningful guidance. The SAIC guidelines are so general as to be meaningless. They are a collection of rules and a proclamation of what may or may not be anticompetitive with little to no explanation of the principles of interpretation. Nor, as is common in similar guidelines in other jurisdictions, do the SAIC guidelines provide specific examples of their application to common situations. The lengthier NDRC guidelines, on the other hand, are a collection of numerous factors with no indication of how they are to be balanced or applied. As a result, they subject even the most routine patent licensing practices to condemnation should it benefit Chinese companies wanting access to those patents. Advertisement To pinpoint specific examples, one need look no further than a provision in the SAIC guidelines that prohibits patent holders from refusing, "without justification," to license their patents "on reasonable terms" for the purposes of excluding or restricting competition. The NDRC guidelines likewise categorize a refusal to license patents "without justifiable reasons" as potentially anticompetitive. Taken to their logical conclusion, these provisions could force patent holders to license their proprietary technology to competitors, regardless of whether a company has formally promised to do so. But this turns the entire patent system on its head. In the United States and elsewhere, patents grant the right to exclude others, for a limited period of time, from practicing the covered technology. Such limited exclusionary rights provide companies the incentive to invest in expensive research and development. As a result, and in the absence of a voluntary promise to the contrary, patent holders are free to refuse to license their invention to others. By providing no rationale or specific examples of instances in which a refusal to license would be anticompetitive, U.S. companies with patented technology desired by Chinese companies may be left being forced by foreign regulators to give away their patent rights with little to no justification. Similarly, a provision in the NDRC guidelines asserting that cross licenses are "likely to restrict or eliminate competition" is enough to make lawyers cringe. Cross licenses, in which two patent holders agree to license technology to each other, are almost always pro-competitive because they allow the parties to develop products without worrying about provoking a patent infringement lawsuit. The notion that a company would license its proprietary technology to a Chinese company, while leaving itself defenseless to a countersuit for infringing the Chinese company's patents, is divorced from reality. gift and bouquet of white tulips with a card, 'Happy Mother's Day' Now there's a click-bait headline if there's ever been one. Is there one thing we all want? A glass of wine and the TV all to ourselves? (I wouldn't say no.) A handmade card and breakfast in bed? (Bring it on.) A spa day? (Yes, please!) For me, one of the best pleasures of Mother's Day is having a true day off -- a day when I don't have to figure out where we'll all be going or what we'll all be eating. Some researchers call this type of work -- serving as "cruise director" for your family -- the third shift. It's the dinner planning, the doctor-visit scheduling, the "who is going to make it to the school meeting" work that silently keeps our families moving smoothly. Advertisement It's also primarily the domain of working mothers. Yes, working dads are increasing the number of hours devoted to hands-on parenting and household chores -- what Arlie Hochschild famously deemed the second shift but who keeps the family calendar in sync? Who's the first to see a work/family conflict coming? Who's most likely to say to their partner, "Can you take care of that?" Who makes sure that we're not only at the classroom birthday party on time, but that we have 27 cupcakes in tow? In my house, it's me. And I strongly suspect that many of the women included on our annual shout out to the world's Most Powerful Moms also have this responsibility. For even as our first shift -- career -- takes off, the planning, strategizing, remembering and thinking ahead still remain our work to do. In her excellent book, Finding Time: The Economics of Work Life Conflict, the economist Heather Boushey notes that "American businesses used to have a silent partner" in stay-at-home moms. Today, it's not too far-fetched to say that we're all working -- no business can count on the majority of its employees having full-time support at home. Indeed, when Working Mother launched in the late 1970s, 47 percent of moms with kids under 18 worked; now it's 70 percent. And yet, working moms are still doing most of the same home work as our earlier counterparts once did -- and more. As my husband will say to me, "You're always thinking." It's a compliment, and lord knows, that man does his share of housework -- if only because he does all the laundry for four people, including two kids who can't seem to wear jeans more than once a week. But for this Mother's Day, I look forward to powering down. I'll enjoy a massage (that's a hint, honey) and may even watch a romantic comedy with extremely little redeeming social value. But what I won't do is plan where to take the kids on Sunday, decide what to feed them for breakfast or ask if their homework is done. Advertisement Looking for a weekend of good ole' Country fun? Nashville is the place to go. Not into country music? Nashville is still a great time. The perfect location for a quick getaway or girls weekend, your visit to Nashville is sure to be a trip you'll never forget. Where to Eat: Nashville Street Tacos, located just off of Broadway Street, features staple Mexican meats, Nashville's famous hot chicken, pulled pork, and baja fish options, Nashville combines two delicious cuisines into one. Biscuit Love, located in Nashville's Gulch neighborhood, is famous for their Bonuts (a combination of biscuit and donut). These are absolutely delicious, everything else at Biscuit Love is just as amazing. The most delicious Cheese and Grits and their famous East Nasty sandwhich are just a few of the scrumptious items to choose from. Don't let the line at this place turn you off, there are plenty of tables inside, the line is just to order and moves quickly. Advertisement Hattie B's is THE place for hot chicken. With several locations spread out through Nashville, make sure you visit this delicious food spot. Order some chicken and a side or two, the sides are absolutely amazing (I'm recommending their Mac and Cheese, it has pimento pepper in it!) Where to Go Out: ACME Feed and Seed was my first and favorite place I visited in Nashville. This rooftop bar had panoramic views of the city, the river, and the bridge to East Nashville. With a restaurant on the first floor, sushi on the second, and a rooftop bar that is open from 10am on weekends... ACME is the go-to place for a good time. This also may be one of the few places that doesn't play country music 99% of the time! Honky Tonk Central is exactly that: a honky-tonk. This three-story bar features a different genre of music on each floor, ranging from country to rock. We visited two of the three floors and had a great time dancing and singing the night away. The 5 Spot is located in East Nashville. This bar has different theme nights each day. With live DJs and bands every night, The 5 Spot is a favorite for Nashville locals'. My friends had a blast dancing the night away at Mo-town Mondays! Advertisement Tip: People going out in Nashville do not get dressed up the way people in big cities such as New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago do. Casual is the go-to! Dress it down, not up, if you're heading out in Nashville. What to See: Honky Tonks and foodie heavens aside, Nashville is home to many cultural and historic sites. The Farmer's Market is open every day of the week, and while hours say it's open until 6pm, I recommend going before 3pm. The Farmer's Market is also home to a great food court with some of Nashville's best restaurants setting up inside. My friends and tried almost every flavor at Jeni's ice cream and did not regret it one bit. Near Vanderbilt's campus is Centennial Park. The parks trails are great for running, but the main attraction at this park is The Parthenon. A full replica of Ancient Greece's most famous strucutre, The Parthenon was built as part of Tennessee's Centennial Exposition in1897. The public is welcome to explore the inside of the Parthenon, which is home to a full-scale statue of Athena, everyday except for Mondays. A fan of New Orleans? Printer's Alley is the small scale, Nashville-version of Bourbon Street. It is home to several bars and music venues, some of which actually originated on Bourbon Street! While this may be the place to go out at night, its definitely worth a quick stroll during the day. Advertisement Where to Stay: After exploring Nashville for 24 hours, I realized Nashville has so many cool neighborhoods to stay in. Hotels in Downtown Nashville are everywhere. Everything is approximately a 10-15 minute walk away. If you are looking to rent an Airbnb, The Gulch neighborhood is absolutely the cutest area to stay in. The neighborhood houses many modern apartments, cute boutiques, great restaurants, and great music venues! News / National by Staff Reporter Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda has made stunning revelations saying he did not lead a delegation to "rescue" trafficked women in Kuwait.Last week there where widespread media reports that Mudenda was in Kuwait to rescue 32 trafficked women.During a parliamentary session on Tuesday, legislators took turns to praise Mudenda. However, he set 'the record straight'."While we appreciate your complements, let me put certain facts straight."I led the delegation on invitation by the Speaker of the National Assembly in Kuwait."It was not our mission to go and rescue those unfortunate young ladies".He went on" Secondly, the Speaker does not lead the Committee on Foreign Affairs. I was leading a delegation of Members of Parliament and I think the papers were mischievous to suggest that Hon. Paradza was the co-leader of the delegation. That was very unfortunate."When we got there, on our bilateral visit to exchange best practices with the Kuwait Parliament, it was then that we were advised by our ambassador of the desperate situation in which those 32 young ladies found themselves."Our going to Kuwait had nothing to do with rescuing those 32 unfortunate ladies. However, after being told the horrendous stories that had taken place, affecting those young ladies, the delegation then decided that we would not come back without those young ladies. We took a stand, which was accepted without question by the authorities from the Kuwait Government, led by the Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. That is the context that we must understand the situation".Mudenda said he does not "suggest that we regret having brought those children, we do not. We thought we tried our best to salvage the situation". NEW YORK, NY - MAY 3: Surrounded by his supporters and family, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the media at Trump Tower following primary election results on May 3, 2016 in New York, NY. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images) Businessman Donald Trump is the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for president, but can he unite the party? Now that Texas Senator Ted Cruz has suspended his campaign, can he endorse the man he called a "pathological liar" and "utterly amoral"? Now that Governor Kasich is suspending his campaign, will the party come together and enthusiastically support its standard-barer? In his victory speech Tuesday night, Trump had nothing but praise for the man he only hours earlier called "lying" Ted Cruz. "He is one tough competitor," Trump said. "He is a smart tough guy." But Cruz did not mention Trump's name in his concession speech. Instead, he positioned himself as the leader of the conservative movement. "I am not suspending our fight to defend the Constitution, to defend the Judea-Christian values that built America," he said. "Our efforts will continue and I give you my word that I will continue this fight with all of my strength and all of my ability." Advertisement Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus is going to have an enormous challenge bringing his party together. Right after Trump was declared the winner in Indiana Tuesday evening, Preibus tweeted, "@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton." However, the burden of uniting the GOP will fall heaviest on Trump, who told NBC's Today, "I am confident that I can unite much of it." But he added, "Honestly, there are some people I really don't want. I don't think it's necessary. People would be voting for me, they're not voting for the party." Fortunately for Trump, this is politics, so even his harshest critics within the party will unashamedly put principle aside and endorse him if they believe it helps them in some way. Who better than the author of The Art of the Deal to win people over. But Trump's no holds barred campaign has burned a lot of bridges with large segments of the general population. For instance, Trump will have to negotiate with Latinos, many of whom he has alienated with his constant attacks on Mexico. "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best," he said in his presidential campaign announcement last June. "They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people," he added. Latino groups project at least 13.1 million Hispanics will vote this election compared to about 10 million in 2008. A record 27.3 million Latinos will be eligible to vote, up from 19.5 million eight years ago. In a recent national poll of Hispanics conducted by Latino Decisions, 79% of the respondents had a very unfavorable opinion of Trump. This result is ominous because Republican Mitt Romney received only 27% of the Latino vote in his huge loss to President Barack Obama in 2012. It is hard to believe that Trump could do as well this November as Romney did four years ago. And Trump will never reach the 37% mark that President George W. Bush received in his contested victory in 2000. Advertisement Women do not like Trump. According to a Gallup poll released last month Trump had a 70% unfavorable rating with women as compared to a 23% favorable rating. Trump has made numerous comments that have outraged women. Of then opponent Carly Fiorina, Trump said, "Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that?" Trump also called for women to be punished for getting abortions in an interview with MSNBC in March, but reversed his position after the firestorm he created. Overall, Trump is going to have to deal with this problem because considerably more women vote in national elections than do men. And winning only the white male blue-collar vote is not enough to win the presidency. In his Trump tirade Tuesday, Senator Cruz pointed out that the Back to the Future character, Biff Tannen, was based on Trump, a "caricature of a braggadocios, arrogant buffoon." He concluded, "We are looking, potentially, at the Biff Tannen presidency." You can never count anyone out, least of all Donald Trump. And November is a long way off, so anything can happen. However, if the campaign is limited to debates over woman's issues, foreign policy and actual experience with Congress and the executive branch, likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton will have the advantage. With the unexpected deaths of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and Prince before 2016 is even half over, it's hard not to feel like artists whose talents, personas, and even appearances could best be described as "otherworldly" are disappearing from the world. It's as if benign aliens living among us are suddenly being called back to their home planets. Perhaps the actress who most fits this description (though I certainly hope she stays earthbound for decades to come) is Tilda Swinton, who has been challenging, mesmerizing, and enthralling audiences throughout her career with her striking looks, boundless talent, and her ability to reinvent herself for every role she plays. In light of these qualities, there's perhaps no better woman than Swinton for the lead role in A Bigger Splash, which was adapted from the 1969 French film La Piscine. Swinton plays an iconic rock star in the mold of David Bowie who has retreated to a small Italian island with her boyfriend to recover from throat surgery, only to have their peace and seclusion shattered by two unexpected guests. Watch the trailer for A Bigger Splash below. Advertisement Swinton plays Marianne Lane, a rock legend described as "the woman of the century" who has been sidelined by throat surgery that prevents her from speaking above a whisper. Her younger boyfriend, Paul (Matthias Schoenaerts), is a documentarian who is nursing Marianne back to health as she recuperates in a villa on the volcanic Italian island of Pantelleria, located between the coasts of Tunisia and Sicily. But their wordless days spent sunbathing, reading, swimming, and snuggling in comparative equality and domesticity come to a jarring end with the arrival of Harry (Ralph Fiennes), Marianne's gregarious but obnoxious former producer and lover who introduced her to Paul. Accompanying Harry is Penelope (Dakota Johnson), Harry's recently-discovered daughter from an earlier fling. With Harry's clear affection and history with Marianne -- along with his inability to shut up, filter his thoughts, or regulate his volume -- things quickly become tense with Harry imposing himself on every aspect of Marianne and Paul's once-relaxing holiday in an attempt to charm or force his way back into Marianne's life. Meanwhile, Penelope's penchant for quiet observation belies a wide troublemaking streak as she attempts to get under Paul's skin, seemingly out of sport or boredom. A Bigger Splash also features flashbacks to Marianne's full-throated rock star days as she and Harry collaborate, fall in love, and split apart, as well as Harry's fateful decision to introduce his then-friend Paul to Marianne after Harry's wild ways have ruined their relationship. The stakes eventually ratchet up, but it would spoil the film to tell you how. A Bigger Splash truly belongs to Swinton. Not since Holly Hunter in the Piano has an actress conveyed so much while saying so little. And when Marianne does decide to rasp a few words, you know it's because her feelings are so strong that she's willing to risk her voice and career to make them understood. Advertisement But it's the way Swinton's otherworldly presence meshes so perfectly with the character of Marianne that makes Swinton's performance so utterly magnetic -- and something I hope Academy Awards voters remember during Oscars season. Both Swinton and Marianne are iconoclasts in their bones (and bone structure), seemingly more than human while capable of exuding femininity, androgyny, strength, delicacy, glamor, and casualness all in the same moment. With her striking features and statuesque six-foot height, either Swinton or Marianne would stand out in a crowd even if they weren't famous. Add the fact that Swinton is considered a fashion icon in her own right and that all of Marianne's outfits in A Bigger Splash are either custom-made, ready-to-wear, or haute-couture Dior and you have women who would turn heads on the sidewalks of Manhattan or the cobblestones of an island village. Harry is a terrific foil for Marianne, and it's definitely fun to see Fiennes playing a character so unbridled, profane, and contemporary. While it's hard to know if Paul's comparative lack of charisma has more to do with Schoenaerts, the fact that Paul represents so much of what Harry isn't, or that Schoenaerts shares so much screen time with two Oscar winners, he does a good job of being quietly grumpy about Harry's presence and antics. Of the four main characters, Johnson comes across as the weakest, especially since it's still unclear to me if her talents extend much beyond being fresh-faced and willing to take her clothes off. But none of that should keep you from seeing A Bigger Splash, which is the kind of intelligent, nuanced, unpredictable drama for adults that often seems to be in short supply in movie theaters these days. And it's further proof that Swinton is one of the most impressive talents working today across all mediums, even when playing a character who could be described the same way. Last week, the New York Times ran a piece by Thomas B. Edsall called "How the other fifth lives," a clear-eyed look at the lives lived by those in the upper quintile of the country, and what happens when that upper fifth separates itself from the lower four-fifths. The education system in the US is an important area to see the impact of that one-fifth/four-fifths gap. That was on painful display at this week's Education Writers Association's National Seminar this week in Boston where sessions like "Hunger on Campus" drew attention to the dismal fact that our nation's community college students too often face hunger and homelessness: 20% are food-insecure and 39% housing-insecure. (More here.) The impact of that gap is obvious in both public and parental spending, with greater investment being made in the upper-income kids. No one disputes that well-to-do kids perform better overall in almost every academic metric - almost ensuring that they remain well-to-do later in life. Advertisement I'm often shocked by the embarrassment of riches available to students from well-off families and communities. I don't mean millionaires and billionaires; I mean my kids and, quite likely, yours. This isn't about public versus independent schools; public schools in high-resource communities are often dramatically different from those in low-resource communities. Students on the top slice of life's economic ladder - let's call it the top 20%, which NPR pegs at $111,000 - are being successfully educated. Yes, schools struggle with resources, and there's never enough time for learning, but by and large, the top 20% of children in the US will grow up to live lives at least on par with those they live now. This isn't only about Wellesley or Westchester, where $111,000 doesn't go far. For the top 20%, establishment education is working reasonably well. I'm likely talking about where you live. I'm likely talking about your kids...and mine. But that's leaving the rest of the country's students in tough shape and, as Edsall points out, that gap is growing and its impact is being felt. But, because it's not being felt by us, it rarely makes news and there's no movement to address this with the urgency it requires. Because today's tastemakers, trendsetters, and talking heads on TV all fall into that top 20%, do they know enough to care about education? Has the case been made loudly enough that we have to pay attention? Advertisement While the political analysis du jour highlights voter concern about the growing wealth gap and the rise of the billionaire class, the real culture clash in the US involves those with 6+-figure incomes and everyone else. When it comes to education, if your family earns 6-figures, your kids will end up just fine. The rest of the country (a staggering 80% of the population) has been voting "no confidence" in education for decades - but not being heard (look at the growth of charter schools for evidence). The top 20% drives the bulk of the agenda in the US - the focus, debate, buzz, media coverage, and dialogue - and has very little insight into the remaining 80%. Policy makers and lobbyists earn more than $100K. Editors make more than $100K. The media brags about its percentage of readers/viewers with college degrees (New York Times: 80%; Washington Post:72%; LA Times: 71%). 74% of Facebook users have a college degree. "Voters" make more than $100K, creating an income-related voting gap for both parties that Edsall notes. Even the people dedicated to "fixing" education - the education establishment - comfortably keep their kids in the Top 20%. Payscale pegs median Superintendent income at $113,000. Ironically, Supes in the country's biggest cities (and with the poorest populations) routinely earn more than twice that. Executives at Education companies, from textbook publishers to innovative EdTech disruptors, earn 6-figures (when I worked at those companies I often reminded people that "we aren't our customer"). Their board members eclipse $100K in income. The venture capitalists and investors fueling the education industry's growth easily bring in more than $100K. Community College Presidents, often at institutions that serve our lower earners, bring in an average salary in excess of $160,000. Even with the shameful average teacher salary of $50,000, a 2-income family breaks that 100K mark. The impact on education is this: families in the top 20% (even those of us dedicated to improving education) educate their children in a different America than everyone else. Because of their economic and electoral clout, everyone from marketers to the media keeps that 20% (our 20%) in a state of ignorant bliss regarding education, so they don't know. And you don't know. We don't know. Advertisement It doesn't directly affect our kids, so we have the luxury of the status quo. But now we must care. The families that some in the media have called the "neglected majority" - the 60% of Americans with no more than a high school education- put their children in education systems from which most of us are insulated. And that is education's greatest shortcoming - when the education system fails, it doesn't affect our families or us. When voters rebel, the political class rolls out slogan-ready programs like No Child Left Behind or Every Student Succeeds (not to mention Jeb Bush's Right to Rise), and continues to educate its children as it always has. But that failure is resulting in a population left out of a 21st century of opportunity, and thundering their anger and frustration at a political, economic, and education establishment that continues to leave them - and their children - behind. Every child has a right to a high quality and equally effective education, regardless of their family's socioeconomic status. For the sake of our country's future, let's hope the shockwaves from this political season wake up "the establishment" to the struggles of the rest of America, and starts providing an education that works well for all. Twenty years ago, designers were using high-tech materials to create neoprene rubber wet suits and bullet-resistant body armor. Now, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in its new Costume Institute exhibit "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" is filled with 170 designs not only meticulously crafted using traditional materials and techniques but also created from the latest synthetic materials and processes including 3-D printed lace strips, laser cut silicone feathers, and ultrasonic welding. The exhibit is filled with exquisite and witty designs that range from Christian Dior's elegant 1949-50 haute couture "Venus" dress with its hand-embroidered opalescent gelatin sequins to innovative British designer Hussein Chalayan's 2007 "One Hundred and Eleven" ready-to-wear "Mechanical Dress" with aluminum plaques that originally wowed runway audiences by spreading out into a rounded shape when activated by a remote control (the aluminum is ornamented with Swarovski rhinestones and the dress's title was a tribute to Swarovski's 111th anniversary). Going through the arched doorway, viewers at the Met's exhibit first encounter the show-stopping Chanel wedding ensemble with its 20-foot jewel-encrusted train. The experience is quasi-religious with the sounds of Brian Eno's soaring and sardonically-titled "Music for Airports" and the dress train's patterns projected onto the domed ceiling (complete with eye or oculus). It feels a bit like walking into a cathedral only it's a fashion cathedral for the computer age: the wedding dress designed for Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld is hand-embroidered with pearls and gemstones but also made of cream-colored scuba knit material with the satin train machine-printed with rhinestones. Advertisement "Manus x Machina" means Hand/Machine and the exhibit's curator, Alexander Bolton, is emphatic that the "x" in the title is a multiplication symbol signifying that that hand and machine are not "oppositional" but are "equal and mutual protagonists in solving design problems." Each discipline--hand-made and machine-made-- "has regularly embraced the practices of the other." Haute couture generally refers to highly-expensive fashions custom-fitted to a particular body while pret-a-porter or ready-to-wear are clothing lines with standardized sizes for wider consumption. Both are represented in the show, though the "ready-to-wear" designation is often fanciful: the "Video Dress" by Chalayan from his autumn 2007-2008 "Airborne" collection is illuminated and hand-wired with 15,600 flashing LED lights, a design probably more to admire and gaze at than dance in and Chalayan's 2011-2012 "Kaikoku" Floating Dress made of cast fiber glass covered with gold pigment is an elegant shape more sculptural than dress. The designer himself has said he'd like his designs to be both wearable and "monumental"--a feat not always easy to reconcile. Along with Chalayan, one of the stars of the exhibit producing some of the most intriguing and arresting dresses is Dutch designer Iris van Herpen who founded her own atelier in 2007. Her 2010 spring/summer Ensemble haute-couture dress has a strikingly sculptural 3-D printed bodice made of white polyamide and a ringed skirt made of machine-sewn white goat skin with hand-cut acrylic fringe-like filaments suggesting a nineteenth-century wired crinoline. Van Herpen frequently collaborates with architects, computer designers, engineers, artists, and scientists as she unites traditional craftsmanship with today's technologies. In an interview with Andrew Bolton she has said, "I work with technology but the hand and the machine are equal within my design process--they are totally integrated." She is known for her use of 3-D printing which she says she likes because it permits extraordinary detailing and she notes that the polyamide is a durable and strong material also used in automotive design. Advertisement In her interview with Bolton in the exhibit's catalog, she said she used to dance and that a good word to describe her work is "movement." Her 2013-2014 haute-couture dress is all about freedom and flight. It was created with strips of laser-cut nude silicone "feathers" and has silicone-covered gull skulls created by artist Cedric Laquize in Amsterdam. In the exhibit, van Herpen's dress is juxtaposed with Yves Saint Laurent's 1969-1970 Evening Dress created with hand-glued white, black and brown bird-of-paradise feathers and nude silk gauze. The Saint Laurent dress looks soft and calm; van Herpen's dress with its bird heads is energized and looks like it's about to lift off in the air. Many of these fashions use both hand and machine to produce highly-elaborate ensembles with multiples: Karl Lagerfeld's 2010 haut-couture ensemble features 1300 hand-pieced satin flowers and Yves Saint Laurent hand-embroidered "Sardine Dress" took 1500 hours to complete. Embroidery machines and laser cutting has made the processes more efficient, but many of the creations look labor intensive. One of the stories we hear little about in the exhibit is that of the workers who produced the lacework, pleating, embroidery--in European and American ateliers, in factories, in workshops. Were they mostly women, men? Were they highly paid for their expertise, were they underpaid, as were women workers in mid-nineteenth century France and Switzerland where hand-embroidery was often done? Who is employed in ateliers, computer design, and 3-D printing firms today? Both the curator and van Herpen have spoken about their wish to keep the technology of the fashions "invisible" rather than blatant, but we may also wonder about the invisible workers who helped create the clothes. The exhibit's subtitle is "Fashion in an Age of Technology" and in many ways the show is an exhilarating celebration of the creative uses of today's technological materials and techniques. Still, there are mixed feelings. Van Herpen in her interview with Bolton says that 3-D printing needs to become more user friendly and though Bolton himself is hopeful that 3-D printing may become available for home use---bringing its capacity for customization to a wider audience---the technology is not yet there. In his catalog interview with Chalayan, Bolton mentions that "in the history of fashion, there are many of examples of anxiety, even terror, surrounding technology, despite the fact that fashion and technology are inextricably connected." One of Chalayan's dresses from his spring/summer 2009 "Inertia" ready-to-wear collection reveals an ambivalence about technology. Neoprene has come a long way from those wet suits. The Chalayan design is made of jersey ultrasonically welded (or thermo bonded) to neoprene, and is hand-painted and airbrushed with gray, green blue, brown, black and red imagery taken from photographs of the remnants of car crashes---fenders, car handles-- found in automobile "graveyards." Says the designer, we live in a world caught up in speed and "fast-paced living," and the dresses represent the body being the "cause and effect of a crash in one moment." Advertisement When I was pregnant with my first child, Sophia, I felt invincible, like an all-powerful fertility goddess full of unfettered anticipation. I'm bipolar, so maybe I was a little manic, but it felt soooo good. Pregnant on the first try, breathing smoothly and holding steady in warrior pose in anticipation of labor. I even led a month-long student trip to Greece eight and a half months into the pregnancy, convincing my midwife I would be careful, would take it easy, and would rest at night. Instead, I trekked up mountains and across dusty goat paths, brushing my hands through wild oregano; on the beach, after snorkeling, I massaged olive oil into my stretch marks, and into the wee hours of the night, danced the kalamatiano. In one photograph, I float on my back in the blue, buoyant Aegean, my round belly rising from the water like the moon. Sophia was a dream. Can I say that labor was easy, that she slid from me as if down a water slide, and immediately nursed in soporific contentment? She slept for long, quiet stretches, which meant I did, too, and giggled, first, at the dog's long, swinging tongue brushing her cheek. She traveled in front carriers and strollers across Greece, Italy, and Mexico. If there were tantrums, I don't remember any. We called her our "trick baby": her easiness convinced us to have a second. Advertisement My pregnancy with Alexander was difficult. I was tired, full of self-loathing about my failing ambitions, and often dragged down into the mire of depression since I stopped my meds. No fallout the first time, but this time? I was convinced my depression would damage my growing son who was so intimately linked to my chemistry. Irrational, like a belief in medieval humors and black bile running through the umbilical cord into him. But not so irrational. Wasn't he suspended in a body flooded with cortisol and deficient in serotonin and dopamine? Wasn't this amniotic bath contaminating him? In a first photo: I sit in the hospital bed holding my newborn son, swaddled tight, against my chest with one arm, the other arm bare, visible. The scars that run up and down my arm are visible, evidence of what I believed deep down was my maternal unfitness. It should have been a beautiful photograph, but I couldn't look at it. Shame and despair beside beauty and hope. I had my husband delete it. I fell deeply in love with my son, Alexander. His enormous brown eyes gazed up at me in unblinking forgiveness: love, love, love you. He nursed for hours at a stretch, as if reluctant to give me up, as if expecting already I might leave him. He was not an easy baby -- rarely sleeping that first year for more than two hours; I staggered to his room and rocked him and nursed him and sang every lullaby I knew -- My Bonnie lies over the ocean, my Bonnie lies over the sea.... In those dark, sleepless hours, when I felt like a failed mother, when my bipolar disorder was wildly uncontrolled, I thought: Surely my family would be better off without me. Then I would look down at my son, who was looking up at me, and I thought: Just hold on a little longer, let him need you a little less. From my journal, four months after my son's birth: I am running, looking at the world flying past me, unable to see it, to feel how beautiful it is, and it is beautiful, it is April, austere tulips and dopey daffodils and crab apples blooming and I see them and I see through them, and all I do is occupy empty space. I am via negativa. Advertisement When he was nine months, I was admitted to the psych ward for the first time. My husband had to hold me down in bed because I threatened to run outside in front of any oncoming car. Depleted. Sleepless. Not eating. Manic. Depressed. What is called a Mixed State. I stopped nursing cold turkey. The hospital didn't get me a breast pump for two days, so milk spilled down my stomach, soaking my pajamas and the sheets. How could my son ever understand my sudden and utter absence? How would I ever make it up to him? How would he ever trust me again? For several years, that was the pattern: I was in and out of the hospital, trying to find stability, trying to find the right cocktail of medications that would allow me to slow down, trying to teach my classes, trying to make chocolate cake, trying to keep up with baths and lunches and field trips, trying to breathe and to breathe in my children. When I would come home from the hospital, Sophia and Alexander would insist on sleeping in my bed, each on one side of me, holding my hand or touching my leg for assurance that I was still there and not going anywhere, not leaving again, not trying to leave for good. They held me in place with their tiny, warm bodies with their insistent and unrelenting love: You are ours, they seemed to say, not yours, not anymore. Their relentless love is why I am still here. They needed me in their world, so I returned to stability, self-compassion, and most days, even self-love. My children and I talk about the scars on my arms, and those years of my itinerant, unstable motherhood, and their fears for me -- that the bipolar dragon might return and carry me back to its cave. But it's been years now, and I feel sound and steadfast, and truly, they don't worry that I'll be gone in the morning. Sophia is independent and bold, born of intrepid travel and buoyancy. She tells me her own fears, about boys and puberty, and about her dream to move to California and be an animator. Though he's now ten, Alexander still crawls into bed with me. A sweet intimacy which I know is likely to disappear when he hits adolescence. But for now, I swoon over his long, skinny legs that bump against mine, and his head which sometimes settles close to mine on the pillow, and his deep, untroubled breath as he slips into sleep. And I understand that my children will never need me any less, and I will always secretly need them more. ___________________ "They have the best Greek feta cheese you can get anywhere," my husband said, pointing to the Middle Eastern grocery store around the corner from our house where he and his late wife used to shop all the time. "It comes from France." Hm. Greek feta cheese from France. How enticing. "I'll check it out," I told him. Thus began, three years ago, my almost daily trips to that wonderful little corner of the world, the Middle Eastern market. From the big sheets of warm-from-the-oven flatbread stacked next to the cash-register, to the six to eight varieties of glistening olives crowded together in bins under protective glass, to the boxes of fresh produce stacked on the floor all bearing labels from small California farms, to the colorful half gallon cans of imported oils, the marmalade from England and the chocolate bars from Germany, I have always managed to find something to buy. Advertisement Shopping there reminds me of the Italian delicatessens I would go to with my mother when I was a little girl. It has the same "other-worldly" feeling to it, including the you-can't-move-freely-down-the-aisle crowdedness of it, and the friendliness of it. I revel in all the different languages spoken around me, I love all the smiles with their heavily accented "How are you today?" greetings... ... and I love the trust. "Never mind," the man behind the register told me. "You can pay for it the next time you come in." "You don't want me to sign an IOU or something?" I asked. But shrugging his shoulders in that non-verbal way that says so much, added that we all forget our credit cards from time to time. Advertisement "Not to worry. You'll pay next time. I know you." I happened to be in the market the day after the terrorist bombing in Belgium. I'd had a tugging at my heart for the people in the Middle Eastern market every time something similar had happened. This time, I stood at the counter and waited until the line was gone. I wanted to say something I had wanted to say several times before but I hadn't followed up on my impulse. "Yes, ma'am?" the man behind the cash register asked. I'd had many previous interactions with this particular person and thought of him as the manager of the store. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're Muslim, aren't you?" I asked quietly. Of course, I knew he was Muslim. There were racks of women's long black garments for sale in the store and all of the women shopping there, except me, wore head scarves. Besides, I'd had to make a mental note that they were closed on Fridays between 1:00 and 3:00 to go to mosque. I saw a flicker -- just a flicker -- of doubt come into his eye. He nodded his head solemnly. "I'm sure you know I'm not Muslim," I said. "But -- with the cloud of terrorist bombs hanging over us in the news -- I wanted to tell you that whatever I am, I am your friend." I put my hand out and took his in both of mine. "I wanted to tell you that because of what happened in Belgium. I wanted you to know that I understand what that could be like for you." He teared up and I teared up. I let go of his hand. "Thank you," he said. "No problem, I responded. "I'll be back tomorrow. I'll need more olives by then." That was it. Nothing more. Neither of us have mentioned it since but I had proclaimed myself. I had made a public statement about where I stood. With the bombings and with so many of our leaders and politicians preaching hatred, even if my voice was only between me and one other person, I had raised it. It felt good. Author Bio: Carmelene Melanie Siani Carmelene writes stories from every day life and how life itself offers lessons to help us grow, expand, and put our feet on higher ground. Advertisement According to Yale professor Richard Foster, the average company launched today can be expected to survive only 15 years, compared to over 67 years for those founded in the 1920s. The path to brand love and related customer loyalty has become rocky, and ensuring a dependable stable business today is harder than ever before. One hundred-plus years ago, companies such as Ford, Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, and CVS (along with the 14 other members of the Sustainable Brands Corporate Member network with over 100 years in operation) were launched with a clear sense of purpose based on the intent to solve a recognizable social problem. Early leaders of these companies believed that profit would come as a result of creating real value for their customers. As the 20th century unfolded, a growing middle class fueled the economic engine, success bred a hunger for more, and slowly but surely, the focus of leadership turned toward the power to generate profit rather than the power to deliver on purpose. This trend was exacerbated with the advent of Madison Avenue, as marketers learned they could influence consumers to feel insecure in their happiness and to respond by flocking to the comforts offered by a whole new array of products and solutions offering a 'sure fix for what ails you'. Advertisement While the unintended consequences of what felt for decades like the Holy Grail - an infallible engine to increase global prosperity - began to be recognized toward the end of the 20th century, the advent of the Internet has vastly accelerated our understanding of the interconnectedness of our collective actions, and we are now increasingly aware of previously unrecognized externalities being perpetrated on our planet and its inhabitants. As a result, we now find ourselves in the midst of a global self-reflection about the role of brands in the world, our relationship to them as consumers, and our expectations of them moving forward. The tide has changed, and business as usual - with its laser focus on quarterly earnings growth - is no longer sitting right with most of us. Today, we are in the midst of a substantial paradigm shift in terms of our expectations of the brands we support. And as the demand for new products, services and business models that once again deliver on both purpose and profit continues to soar, business leaders who are tapping this shift are thriving in the face of uncertainty. Building a successful, purpose-led business in today's world presents a complex set of challenges. It requires a reboot in the way we think about strategy, informed by a vastly extended field of knowledge about the social and environmental impacts of our operations. And it depends on a new set of tools and partners. Having a purpose statement alone will not drive you into the leaders circle or build the trusted and authentic brand that customers today increasingly demand; the next economy requires whole systems shifts through the collaboration of all parts of the value network. The good news is, many forward-thinking brands - both smaller, local brands and global multi-nationals - are realizing that they have far more impact on society and the environment, for good or otherwise, than they once understood. By understanding these impacts more deeply, and reconnecting their strategy and operations to an authentic purpose, they are reengaging their customers as partners to help create shared value in a changing world. Advertisement How have brands successfully responded to this changing business landscape so far, and what will it take to enable genuinely purpose-driven business leaders to consistently perform above the rest of the pack? Over the coming year, starting this June at SB'16 San Diego, business and brand leaders within the global Sustainable Brands community will be gathering on six continents to share how they are succeeding by Activating Purpose with sustainability-driven innovation that creates both positive impact and profit at scale. Our focus will be on the global truth that it is time for all businesses to once again embed a meaningful purpose beyond profit. We'll explore the systems, processes, tools and partnerships that are helping to introduce net positive results for the businesses we serve and their stakeholders. A few highlights of SB'16 San Diego will include: Vaseline, REI, JetBlue, Ben & Jerry's, Campbell Soup and others will go behind the scenes on new consumer engagement campaigns that are shaping the landscape of purpose-driven brand positioning and initiatives. Etsy, Mud Jeans, MetaWear and The Renewal Workshop will showcase innovation strategies that disrupt the whole value chain, baking in quality, uniqueness, transparency, humanity and wise use of materials from day one. LinkedIn, Nike, Timberland and Kohler will address benefits of purpose-driven employees, and how brands can close the 'purpose gap' by changing employee culture and mindsets in the order to embed sustainability priorities throughout the entire organization. Kashi, Nespresso, Ford, MillerCoors and Hershey will walk through exemplary case studies in supply chain leadership, sharing a rich variety of cutting-edge strategies for engaging and collaborating with suppliers to incentivize and help them innovate for sustainability. This Huffington Post series, brought to you by the Sustainable Brands community, will celebrate ten years of moving from making the case for purpose-driven brand leadership to uncovering the the tools, methods and models for activating purpose at scale. Join us in the coming months as we bring you stories first from SB'16 San Diego, and then from around the world as we convene leaders in Buenos Aires, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Copenhagen, Japan and beyond. We welcome your thoughts and encourage collective dialogue as together we look to a future that starts with a commitment to rethink the role of business in the next economy, and then moves to imagine the possibility and build the new disciplines to enable purpose-driven brands to take the lead in the coming decades. Advertisement Like the tobacco companies a generation ago, Johnson & Johnson and its cosmetics lobby have known about the link between its talcum powder and cancer for 40 years, distorted research about the talcum-cancer connection, and lied to the public about the dangers. The big lie was exposed on Monday when, for the second time in three months, jurors blasted Johnson & Johnson with an 8-figure verdict in a trial charging that the company knew that its talc-based Baby Powder and Show to Shower Powder causes ovarian cancer. Talc was found in the ovarian tissue after a hysterectomy of the plaintiff, Gloria Ristesund of Sioux Falls, SD, in the May 2 verdict in St. Louis. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 after using J&J's talc-based feminine hygiene products for almost 40 years, and the jury awarded her $55 million. Advertisement Another jury in the same courthouse awarded $72 million on February 22 to the family of Jacqueline Fox of Birmingham, AL, who used Johnson's baby powder for 35 years. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2013 and died last year. Photo of Jacqueline Fox from Beasley Allen. 1,200 Cancer Lawsuits As a result, J&J is facing now 1,200 lawsuits in Missouri and New Jersey, charging it with fraud, negligence, conspiracy, and failing to warn consumers about the cancer risks. Talc is a mineral mined in China that is made up magnesium and silicon. As a powder, it absorbs moisture well and helps reduce friction. The risk of ovarian cancer is one-third higher among women who regularly powdered their genitals with talc, according to a 2016 study in Epidemiology. Researchers asked 2,041 women with ovarian cancer and 2,100 similar women without ovarian cancer about their talcum powder use. Those who said they routinely applied talc to their genital area, feminine products and underwear were at 33% higher risk of ovarian cancer, according to the study. Advertisement Research author Dr. Cramer has unsuccessfully called for warning labels on talcum powder. Cramer, who heads the Obstetrics and Gynecology Epidemiology Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, first reported a link between genital talc and ovarian cancer in 1982. The Talc-Cancer Coverup One juror in the $55 million case, Jerome Kendrick, told a St. Louis newspaper that the company's internal memos "pretty much sealed my opinion." He said, "They tried to cover up and influence the boards that regulate cosmetics." He added, "They could have at least put a warning label on the box but they didn't. They did nothing." Numerous research studies have shown the connection between talcum powder and ovarian cancer: In 1971 study conducted conducted by Dr. W.J. Henderson and others in Cardiff, Wales, suggested an aassociation between talc and ovarian cancer. In 1982, the first epidemiologic study was performed on talc powder use in the female genital area. Conducted by Dr. Daniel Cramer and others, the study found a 92% increased risk in ovarian cancer with women who reported genital talc use. Since then, there have been approximately 22 additional epidemiologic studies providing data regarding the association of talc and ovarian cancer. Nearly all of these studies have reported an elevated risk for ovarian cancer associated with genital talc use in women. In 1993, the US National Toxicology Program (NTP) published a study on the toxicity of non-asbestiform talc and found clear evidence of carcinogenic activity. Talc was found to be a carcinogen, with or without the presence of asbestos-like fibers. The conspiracy to stop a warning In response to the federal NTP study, the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association formed the Talc Interested Party Task Force (TIPTF). Johnson & Johnson was a member of the trade lobby and was the primary actor and contributors of TIPTF. The stated purpose of TIPTF was to pool financial resources of these companies in an effort to collectively defend talc use and to prevent regulation of any type over this industry. Advertisement According to the womens' lawsuit, TIPTF hired scientists to perform biased research regarding the safety of talc. Members of TIPTF edited scientific reports of the scientists it hired prior the submission of these scientific reports to governmental agencies. Members of TIPTF released false information about the safety of talc to consumers, and used political and economic influence on regulatory bodies throughout the 1990s. In 2005 TIPTF agreed to edit and delete portions of scientific papers being submitted on their behalf to the NTP, and threatened to sue the NTP in an attempt to prevent talc from being classified as a carcinogen. Finally in 2006, the Canadian government under The Hazardous Products Act and associated Controlled Products Regulations classified talc as a "D2A," "very toxic," "cancer causing" substance under its Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System. Asbestos is also classified as "D2A". In the same year, Johnson & Johnson's talc supplier -- Imerys Talc -- began placing warning sheets on the talc it sold to Johnson & Johnson. These sheets not only provided the warning information from the International Association for the Research of Cancer (part of the World Health Organization) but also included warning information about the Canadian Government's "cancer causing" classification. Hannah Russell Hannah Russell is the co-founder and CEO of Layer, a curated online marketplace for preowned design and vintage furniture. Hannah has been instrumental to the growth of technology companies large and small in London, Berlin and New York. More recently, Hannah spent two years living and working in Berlin for ebook startup Blloon before returning to London to found and head up their London office. Hannah currently resides in London and she is part of the Girl in Tech mentoring programme, a scheme that brings together industry leaders, entrepreneurs and investors. Advertisement How has your life experience made you the leader you are today? I've always been very independent and was a bookworm as a child. I would literally devour books - my Dad was sent on daily expeditions to the local library to keep me happy! I was, and in many ways still am, hungry for knowledge. I would read anywhere I could including at the dinner table during family meals. Later as a young adult, I wanted to travel to see the places I'd read about and so I took myself off on my own to India at 18. It was a big move, which I don't think I realised at the time. My experiences travelling have absolutely shaped me - I think the necessity of getting yourself from A to B, of feeling like just a small person in a very big world and of the compassion you experience from the people you meet are all huge influences on me today. I've always wanted to build and nurture something myself - both my parents have built successful companies, and I guess it was always instilled in me that anything is possible. If you're told something enough as a child - you really do believe it. How has your previous employment experience aided your tenure at Layer? The majority of my experience has been working at the cross-section of what is quite a traditional industry - publishing - and the cutting-edge developments that are shaping it - namely technology, and in this specific case, ebooks. I think that this has given me quite a clear understanding of how important it is to make smart forward looking decisions - you never want to be the person holding onto the ship as it's sinking. At the same time though, I don't agree with change for change's sake - change doesn't necessarily mean progress. Advertisement Working for a number of small, growing companies has given me experience of 'all hands on deck'. You might have a job description but in reality, you just need to jump in and do whatever needs doing. At Layer we strongly subscribe to this - just make it happen! What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at Layer? It's so hard to choose! Building something that you are so proud of and which reflects exactly what you had in your mind is quite something. It's particularly rewarding when other people are so excited when they discover us! Tangibly though, selling our first piece of furniture that had been listed by an individual was brilliant. It proved what we had been saying - that the way to grow our business is to allow anyone (not just professional traders) to sell quality second hand design furniture pieces through Layer. In terms of difficulties, translating what can be a very personal, significant offline moment into the online realm has been challenging. People often associate buying secondhand furniture with where they were at the time (this cute little flea market in Provence, for example!), so we've replicated some of this charm with our stories and the content that accompanies the marketplace. You can #MeetTheTrader behind the product in our feature interviews or read about markets all over the world. We like to think that we're so much more than just a transactional eCommerce marketplace - we add in the story to the purchase and celebrate its history! What advice can you offer to women who want a career in your industry? For women looking to start an online business, there is a huge amount of support out there and my advice would be to seek it out and take it all! Advertisement Get in touch with women who have worked in similar spaces and ask them for advice. My experience has overwhelmingly been that people are exceptionally generous with their time - and some of the biggest learnings for me have come from conversations with external people. Sometimes you need a totally fresh pair of eyes to see something you are simply too close to! I feel lucky that I haven't ever experienced situations where being a woman has clearly disadvantaged me in my career. Of course, there are times when you are the only woman in the room but I do think that we're beginning to stand tall as women and we are moving in the right direction. What is the most important lesson you've learned in your career to date? I really believe that you should be willing to get your hands dirty. And by this I mean, do the work that might not be the most fun rather than passing it off to someone else. Some of my biggest 'aha moments' have come when I'm knee-deep in an Excel spreadsheet that I really didn't want to sort out. In the same way, I think getting your hands dirty means you have to have an understanding of every part of your business. If you aren't sure, ask questions. Secondly, empathy. Business is dealing with humans, not computers. Try to genuinely understand what is motivating or troubling your colleague, customer or boss rather than just railing against it. It'll make you much more likely to be able to find a solution. At Layer, we strongly believe in offering a personal and interactive service - we're an online business in a digital age but we want customers to be able to pick up the phone and speak to a human! How do you maintain a work/life balance? Not that well at the moment! We have just this year moved into office spaces, and that has actually made a huge difference. The physical separation of work from home means that I don't walk around with my laptop permanently attached to my hip when I'm at home. Advertisement Running is my saviour as well - if I can fit in a run home from the station instead of getting the bus then I know that I'll be in a better frame of mind for the rest of the evening. What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace? I've never thought that I was lacking in confidence - but I do think that as women we need to just 'leap' more. We think about things deeply in a way that perhaps men don't, and sometimes over analyzing can hold us back. Yes, make measured, smart decisions in the main - but sometimes you just have to leap with your heart and believe you can do it! How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life? It's been a huge influence for me - particularly in the last six months. I've been mentored as a part of the Girls in Tech inaugural mentoring scheme and have had the chance to meet remarkable industry leaders, entrepreneurs and investors from the likes of Google, TechStars, Spotify, Amazon etc. I really wouldn't have been able to make the decisions and have the confidence to pursue my dreams so unashamedly without these sessions. Particularly for women, I think having a mentor who has done what you're trying to achieve (or something similar) before is so reassuring. So many role models in our society are men - it's as if men were the only people alive in our histories. So we need to find our own current and relevant role models. Which other female leaders do you admire and why? If people ask me about inspiring women I've worked with, I always think of my boss at my last job in Berlin. I learnt so much from her and I hope to lead others in the same way that she did - by example and with an open mind. Advertisement What do you want Layer to accomplish in the next year? We hope to add thousands more products to our catalogue whilst maintaining our curated approach so that every piece will be quality. In particular, we're looking to attract more individual sellers who are looking for an alternative to eBay. The recent findings from National Center for Health Statistics indicating that the suicide rate in America has reached a thirty-year high have prompted a wave of alarm. What is driving this disturbing upward trend? Why are our current suicide prevention efforts failing? What is to be done? In a timely new book, Rational Suicide, Irrational Laws: Examining Current Approaches to Suicide in Policy and Law, veteran civil rights attorney Susan Stefan sheds much-needed light on our current predicament. This volume reads more like compelling investigative journalism than a legal tome. The book is brought to life through the inclusion of the perspectives of 244 suicide attempt survivors she surveyed and interviewed in the course of writing the book. (Full disclosure: I am one of the attempt survivors she interviewed.) Stefan's narrative is clearly driven by survivor insights. She is honest about her struggle to remain objective in the face of her "affection and admiration" for the people she interviewed. Frankly, I welcome this sort of "bias" in a field that, until very recently, has been far more preoccupied with studying those who died rather than listening to those who survived. Advertisement Stefan delivers a scathing indictment of the suicide prevention and care status quo, based on her in-depth study of history, case law, and the first-person narratives of providers and survivors she interviewed, "our policies and practices regarding suicide create an irrational incentive structure where people understand they have to attempt suicide to get help, help which is of questionable utility, while community-based approaches that are less expensive and work are underfunded. We have a system that doesn't work for anyone -- neither the people who are supposed to be providing help, nor the people who are supposed to be receiving it." She points out the hypocrisy in the caring rhetoric of suicide prevention versus the reality: a series of legally-sanctioned, uncaring policies and practices that may actually increase, rather than decrease, suicide risk. The book tackles head-on perhaps the most controversial issue in law and social policy regarding suicide and mental health in general: legal capacity to make decisions regarding one's own life and care. Stefan draws a conclusion from her research that may stun many: "The vast majority of people who are thinking about suicide, attempting suicide, and committing suicide are nowhere close to incompetent under our current legal standards." The problem, however, is that any expression of suicidality is all too often presumed to be a sign of incompetence. This "suicidality equals incompetence" assumption, Stefan argues, "shuts down the conversation at the very point where the conversation is most needed." It leads to coercive, knee-jerk responses that can be experienced as punitive and re-traumatizing by people in suicidal states. Advertisement Thankfully, the field is beginning to understand this. A recent essay entitled "A Handful of Doctors are Working to Revolutionize How We Think About Self-Harm" features clinicians who support Stefan's analysis. As prominent suicide prevention expert Dr. David Jobes notes in the essay: "Much of what was done in the name of clinical suicide prevention was actually coercive, shaming and controlling." Stefan also blasts the current paradigm in law and policy, which assumes that suicidal thinking and behavior is always the result of mental illness. She asks us to challenge that oft-cited statistic that "90% of suicides are caused by an underlying 'mental illness,'" noting that perhaps at most, 50% of suicidal people actually have a co-occurring mental health condition. This 90% statistic is arrived at via so-called "psychological autopsies," which are rather unscientific surveys of friends and families after a suicide loss, often conducted by a person who had no connection whatsoever to the deceased when they were alive. She notes that when we put this "suicidality equals mental illness" assumption aside in policy and practice, we have the opportunity to shift to a public health, prevention-oriented approach that would prioritize evidence-based treatments. These treatments, being provided on an outpatient basis, may carry some degree of risk but would rightly focus on suicidality, rather than on treating it solely as a symptom of "mental illness." These treatments include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention (CBT-SP), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS). Stefan notes that no study has ever found that inpatient hospitalization, the prevailing approach to suicide "care," actually reduces suicide, while there is evidence to indicate that inpatient hospitalization may increase suicidality over the long term. This is particularly true for a substantial percentage of suicidal people who are survivors of childhood and adult trauma, who may find what is on offer -- loss of liberty, one-to-one observation, and seclusion and restraint -- to be re-traumatizing and harmful. She proposes a creative solution that would involve shifting away from the paternalistic tendency towards over-hospitalization, instead using Medicare and Medicaid dollars to fund Personal Care Assistants (PCAs) to support vulnerable suicidal people in their homes. Stefan notes, "instead of pouring millions of research dollars into devising yet another set of five questions to figure out who's going to commit suicide, maybe we should divert that money to fund PCAs and crisis respite, paying for someone to provide a personal connection and help out another person who's floundering and desperate." Sounds sensible, but sadly, common sense does not often prevail in our current approaches to people in suicidal crisis. Advertisement Stefan also proposes a bold new policy and practice change that would radically change the way community-based mental health professionals respond to suicidal people: limiting their liability if one of their clients dies by suicide. This would, of course, exclude gross negligence or misconduct on the part of outpatient providers, and would also exclude inpatient settings that have an obligation to ensure the safety of those in their care. She describes many positive consequences of such a policy change: reducing perverse disincentives to treating suicidal people in the community; admitting to the reality that no one can predict who will attempt suicide with any more reliability than a coin toss; decreasing over-reliance on inpatient hospitalization and forced treatment; promoting improved provider-client communication and honesty; and supporting greater implementation of the proven community-based interventions mentioned above. An entire chapter is devoted to discussing the forms of discrimination experienced by suicidal people, in particular college and university students. At many institutions of higher learning, if a student is found to be suicidal, they may be subject to such indignities as involuntary medical leave, sometimes being summarily barred from campus. To add insult to injury, students placed on involuntary medical leave may be unable to get a tuition refund for missed classes, adding additional financial stress. As Stefan notes, "fear of liability drives many of these policies and practices." And these policies and practices can have a disastrous effect on vulnerable students, for whom the structure of campus life and the presence of friends can serve as important protective factors. Some suicidal students may be discouraged from seeking help, as these sorts of policies are well-known on campus. Stefan notes that the most important thing universities can do is to change their policies of exclusion and to listen to what students want and need. She also devotes a chapter to discussing and describing what does help suicidal people, based on the interviews she conducted with many suicide attempt survivors. These include: connections with children and grandchildren; connections with other family and friends; connection with pets; spirituality and spiritual support; and peer support, including crisis respite. Our current policies and practices, which generally remove people from their community and any existing support systems by hospitalizing them, or take their children away (in the absence of abuse or neglect), fly in the face of common sense and what people are saying actually helps them to stay alive and heal. Advertisement There is no way to do justice to all of the groundbreaking analysis and novel policy and practice solutions proposed in this book. It should be required reading for everyone in the fields of mental health and suicidology. My only critique is that because Stefan has written an academic book, the radical yet commonsense ideas proposed here will be largely out of the reach of the mainstream public. (A way to help increase access to the book is to request that your local library carry it.) One can only hope that the ideas in this book will reach policymakers, mental health professionals, employers, university administrators, and advocates who are in a position to help change our laws and practices to truly support suicidal people to find reasons to live again. ___________________ News / Regional by Thobekile Zhou Government is planning to setting up another university in Victora Falls.Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development deputy minister, Godfrey Gandawa said the university is part of plans of promoting humanities.He said the ministry was not only focusing on STEM."I can tell you that the ministry is working on building a university of fine arts in Victoria Falls" he told an audiance at ZITF last week."We have big plans for the future of our youths""We are set to build a world class institution that will improve our arts industry into a competitive sector internationally and regionally. The arts is an industry that contributes to the country's economy, hence it should be taken seriously." Russians are fond of asking two vitally important questions about life: "Who is to blame?" and "What is to be done?" Chimera of the Mysterious Russian Soul (1997). Photo Credit: Lena Hades These questions are also titles of two Russian novels written in XIX century by two Russian journalists and literary critics, Alexander Herzen and Nikolai Chernyshevsky, later (in 1902) on these questions tried to respond Vladimir Lenin, a famous Russian revolutionary, who played a leading role in the October revolution of 1917. Let's try to answer these questions. Who is to Blame? Probably, the very formulation of the question is erroneous. It means seeking and finding guilty persons. When people live in poverty, when they lack education and intelligence (at the same time I know that a lack of education says absolutely nothing about people's intelligence!), they seek someone who can lead them to a better life. As Nietzsche says, "No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse". Advertisement "No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse". Photo Credit: Lena Hades Constantly looking for a shepherd, the majority of the Russian people can't muster the confidence to stand up for themselves. Learning maybe their only way-out, but they always choose a bloody uprising. I think, the answer to the question "Who is to blame?" be the "slavish" consciousness of Russians. This consciousness is superpower consciousness in form, but slavish in content. What Is to Be Done? When Russian leaders make promises that sound convincing, Russian people follow them. Communists promised heaven on earth, they replaced religious belief with atheism and Communist ideologies. But the reality was too far from the promises -- people got political repression, slave-labour camps and mass shootings. At the same time, the Soviet propaganda told people the opposite thing for many decades persuading people to be happy by living in Soviet Russia. What is to be done? To improve the education system! Russia needs to make investments in education to increase educational level, Russia needs to update the software of the Russian soul ... Chimera of the Mysterious Russian Soul I created the oil painting Chimera of the Mysterious Russian Soul in 1997, 19 years ago. I tried to decrypt the mysterious Russian soul, its dichotomy dominates the discourse on Russian identity --the dichotomy between East and West, Europe and Asia, "Holiness and Sin". In today's Russia, the dichotomy "Holiness and Sin" is of topical interest - more than half of the Russians approve the role of the Orthodox Church in state politics. Advertisement Chimera of the Mysterious Russian Soul (detail). Photo Credit: Lena Hades Throughout history, the idea of a "Russian soul" has been incorporated into Russian philosophy and literature. So the painting depicts a "monster" of Russian Soul holding in hand some toys: an ax, a bottle of vodka, a Dostoevsky novel, a satellite ("sputnik" in Russian), an accordion ("garmoshka") and an anti-Semitic bannerette. The double-headed Chimera wearing an ushanka (a Russian fur cap with ear flaps) and a kokoshnik (a traditional Russian head-dress worn by women and girls some centuries ago) stands in snow, Chimera's feet are shod in valenki (traditional Russian winter felt boots). Chimera's Axe The Russian axe is a symbol of revolt, of "a Russian revolt, bloody and merciless" ("russkii bunt, krovavyi i besposhchadnyi" in Russian). Nowadays the intense war propaganda campaigns for capturing the hearts and the minds of the masses in the press and on TV influenced a lot Russsian views on Ukraine and other countries. Chimera of the Mysterious Russian Soul (detail). Photo Credit: Lena Hades Nietzsche called culture "only a thin apple peel over a glowing chaos". Now cultural "peel" is becoming thinner and thinner and there is a risk that the glowing chaos of war flood the whole world... Chimera's bottle of vodka As it's widely known, Russians drink a lot of vodka. Some people attribute Russians' supposed extraordinary ability to drink a lot of vodka to genetics. However, Russians themselves say that this ability is rooted in Russian traditions, they suppose drinking vodka really does warm you up. By the way, according to the World Health Organization, one-in-five men in the Russian Federation die due to alcohol-related causes. That's why the Chimera of the Mysterious Russian Soul has a red nose, an unshaven face and a bottle of vodka grasped in his hands. Also the drunken monster smokes a cigarette and holds an axe in its hands. Chimera's volume of Dostoevsky Obviously, Dostoyevsky is one of the main connoisseur on the Russian soul. According to him, "the most basic, the most rudimentary spiritual need of the Russian people is the need for suffering, ever-present and unquenchable, everywhere and in everything". Advertisement Chimera of the Mysterious Russian Soul and an old antisemitic slogan of Czarist days(detail). Photo Credit: Lena Hades Another great expert on psychology of the Russian people Nikolai Berdyaev wrote in his book "The Soul of Russia": "Great Russia has still entirely remained an isolated province within European and world life, its spiritual life has been aloof and closed. Russia still all entirely does not know the world, it distortedly perceives its image and falsely and superficially makes judgements about it. The spiritual powers of Russia have not yet become innate to the cultural life of European mankind. For Western cultural mankind, Russia all still remains completely transcendent, some sort of an alien East, which attracts by its mystery, whilst repelling by its barbarity." Chimera's bannerette with the slogan "Kill the Jews and save Russia!" This is the old antisemitic slogan of Czarist days. Do you know what a pogrom is? Pogrom is a Russian word meaning an attack, accompanied by looting and bloodshed against the Jews in Russia. The Jews of Russia were the victims of three waves of mass pogroms, they occurred from 1881 to 1884, from 1903 to 1906 and from 1917 to 1921. These pogroms took place under this slogan... Antisemitism exists both in its "traditional" form and in a latent state. The antisemitism in Russian society is now in a latent state. Roman Abramovich by Lena Hades. Photo Credit: Lena Hades But Russian ultranationalists often say that Jews are guilty of all their disasters, of their laziness and inactivity, of their alcoholism. Russian ultranationalists always look for those who are responsible for their imperfections. In 2010 Moscow's Basmanny District branch of the Investigative Committee opened a preliminary case against me, Lena Hades. The investigation was opened "on the request of a group of citizens" who submitted their complaint about me in 2007. "In July 2008, Basmanny investigators held a preliminary inquiry into the complaint and refused to open a criminal case, but in May, Moscow city investigators ordered a new preliminary examination of the complaint" - wrote The Moscow Times in June, 22, 2010. Advertisement And the newspaper continued: "Hades said ultranationalist individuals and groups filed some 300 complaints against her back in 2008 and linked the investigation to a campaign against her that was started in the blogosphere by ultranationalists hoping to use her case to push the public into rallying against Article 282 of the Criminal Code on inciting ethnic hatred, which is often used against ultranationalists. She said the campaign was started by Natalya Kholmogorova, executive director of the ultranationalist Russian Public Movement, and Anastasia Ivanova, a writer for DPNI.org, the web site of the similarly ultranationalist Movement Against Illegal Immigration. Kholmogorova confirmed by telephone Sunday that ultranationalists have "actively discussed" the idea of using Hades' art as a pretext to launch a campaign against Article 282. Ivanova said the campaign aimed to fight the "discriminative" approach when "they jail anti-Semites and ultranationalists but do not jail Russophobes." Chimera's satellite Or a"sputnik" in Russian. The Sputnik-1 was the world's first artificial satellite, it was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit on October 4, 1957. It was one of the important achievements in aerospace technology made by Soviet Russia, the project was completed by a team of Soviet rocket scientists directed by Chief rocket scientist Sergei Korolev which was often called "the father of practical astronautics." Sergei Pavlovich Korolev, who was born in 1907 and died in 1966, was Chief designer of rocket and space technology, Founder and chief of Special Design Bureau No.1, member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Twice Hero of Socialist Labor, Winner of Lenin Prize and - attention please! - he was became a victim of political repression and was exiled to Kolyma before his "brilliant scientific career". In reality all his life he worked in "stalin's sharashka" - it was an unformal name of Special Design Bureau No.1.and other secret research and development laboratories in the Soviet Gulag... Chief rocket scientist Sergei Pavlovich Korolev was a Gulag prisoner! Fans often ask me at readings which of my many books is my favorite. The answer doesn't pop up immediately, because I've published in many genres: memoir, mystery, literary novel, short story collections, psychology, biography/literary criticism, historical fiction, Jane Austen mash-up, vampire, writer's guide, and essay collections. I love them all, or I wouldn't have written them, but my 19th book (and third memoir) My Germany has a special place in my writer's heart. It's more deeply personal than my other books, and it's also the one I struggled with most. I'm the son of Holocaust survivors, and I've been writing fiction and essays about The Second Generation longer than almost any other American Jewish author. But until the early 2000s, Germany itself had always felt off-limits to me as a subject. After my mother died, I started trying to find relatives of hers via the Internet. That on-line search gradually led to a very distant cousin of hers--by marriage--in Magdeburg, the city where she had been a slave laborer in a munitions plant at the end of World War II. Advertisement Suddenly the country I had never wanted to visit called to me. I felt compelled to go. And where writers go, books usually follow. After several more visits, I knew I had to write a book. But I didn't know what form it would take. My Germany turned out to be a combination of history, family history, travelogue, mystery, and coming out story as I explore the role that Germany--real and imagined--played in my family while I was growing up and in my own life as an adult and an author. It records my trepidation going to Germany and the totally unexpected inner peace I came away with on each trip. It also tells the stories of what my parents suffered during the Holocaust, but more than that recreates their lives before war swept them up. It wasn't an easy story--or set of stories--to tell. It took me awhile to figure out the book's structure, and to let go of trying to force it into a specific mold. I finally realized that I could blend genres, and that set me free to follow the advice Sir Phillip Sydney's muse gave to him: "Look in your heart and write." I had never expected to go to Germany, to enjoy myself there, to feel safe and even comfortable, to make friends, to want to return, or to let go of the anxiety and even fear I'd had of Germany growing up. All that is part of the book and the response from fans, in Germany and the U.S., has been deeply moving. Advertisement My Germany has garnered me the most speaking gigs of any book in my career, including two tours in Germany where I spoke in over a dozen different cities, and I sometimes even read from it in German. That itself would have struck me as impossible years ago, but it's one of the many surprises I encountered in Germany. The memoir was a book I never imagined I would even want to write, yet writing it helped me let go and move on. And though it was published in 2009, I still hear from synagogues, universities and other institutions that want me to talk about the book. Authors often feel that by the time a book's actually published, it's dead to them in a way because they've moved on to writing something else. This one is still with me, though, and may always be in a way that none of my other books can. Stravinsky said there was music that he wrote and music that wrote him. I think My Germany is a combination of those two, and it did something more: it freed me, which is in a way the memoir's ultimate subject. Today's alarming fourth-year trade data on President Obama's U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) arrived just as the Obama administration has started its hard sell to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). And that is a real problem for the White House. The Korea deal served as the U.S. template for the TPP, with significant TPP text literally cut and pasted from the Korea agreement. And the Obama administration sold the Korea deal with the same "more exports, more jobs" promises now being employed to sell TPP. And since then, our trade deficit with Korea more than doubled as imports surged and exports declined. The increase in the U.S. trade deficit with Korea equates to the loss of more than 106,000 American jobs in the first four years of the Korea FTA, counting both exports and imports, according to the trade-jobs ratio that the Obama administration used to promise at least 70,000 job gains from the deal. Advertisement Today's Census Bureau trade numbers provide the grim data fueling the nationwide bipartisan trade revolt now underway as public opposition to more-of-the-same trade policies surges and presidential and congressional candidates spotlight the problems with the TPP and the failure of U.S. trade policies. And the Korea trade debacle shuts down Obama's oft-repeated mantra that TPP opponents are somehow stuck in a past fight over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Today's job-killing trade data are the result of a 2011 trade agreement pushed passionately by Obama himself, which he sold as "fixing" NAFTA. If you review the Obama administration sales pitch for the Korea pact, you will hear the same exact claims now being made for the TPP. Just to poke fun at one especially ridiculous TPP claim regarding the number of tariff lines that TPP would cut, let me note that - as the White House touted then - the Korea FTA included more than 10,000 tariff cuts on U.S. goods and 80 percent of those tariffs were eliminated on day one, and still: The U.S. goods trade deficit with Korea has increased 115 percent, or $16 billion, in the first four years of the Korea FTA (comparing the year before it took effect to the fourth year data). It is worth noting that the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in its official 2011 report projecting outcomes for the Korea pact said our bilateral trade deficit with Korea would decline. So, when the required ITC report on the TPP comes out later this month do not bet the farm on its predictions! Advertisement Since the FTA took effect, U.S. average monthly exports to Korea have fallen in 11 of the 15 U.S. sectors that export the most to Korea, relative to the year before the FTA. That is an especially grim finding, given past pacts like NAFTA led to major increases in our trade deficit because imports greatly outgrew exports, but at least exports did not shrink. Exports of machinery and computer/electronic products, collectively comprising 28.6 percent of U.S. exports to Korea, have fallen 22.6 and 6.6 percent respectively under the FTA. The 115 percent surge in the U.S.-Korea goods trade deficit in the first four years of the FTA starkly contrasts with the 5 percent decrease in the global U.S. goods trade deficit during the same period. While U.S. goods imports from the world have decreased by 6 percent, U.S. goods imports from Korea have increased by 19 percent, or $11.5 billion, during the FTA's first four years. U.S. goods exports to Korea have dropped 9 percent, or $4.4 billion, under the Korea FTA's first four years. Advertisement U.S. exports to Korea of agricultural goods have fallen 19 percent, or $1.4 billion, in the first four years of the Korea FTA despite the administration's oft-touted point that almost two-thirds of U.S. agricultural exports by value would obtain immediate duty-free entry to Korea under the pact. U.S. agricultural imports from Korea, meanwhile, have grown 34 percent, or $123 million, under the FTA. As a result, the U.S. agricultural trade balance with Korea has declined 22 percent, or $1.5 billion, since the FTA's implementation. The Obama administration promised that U.S. exports of meat would rise particularly swiftly, thanks to the deal's tariff reductions on beef, pork and poultry. However, U.S. exports to Korea in each of the three meat sectors have fallen below the long-term growth trend since the Korea FTA took effect. Compared with the exports that would have been achieved at the pre-FTA average monthly level, U.S. meat producers have lost a combined $62.5 million in poultry, pork and beef exports to Korea in the first four years of the Korea deal - a loss of more than $5 million in meat exports every month. Despite the promises made by U.S. officials that the pact would enhance cooperation between the U.S. and Korean governments to resolve food safety and animal health issues that affect trade, South Korea banned nearly all imports of American poultry at the beginning of 2015 due to several bird flu outbreaks in Minnesota and Iowa. Comparing the FTA's fourth year to the year before it went into effect, U.S. poultry producers have faced a 93 percent collapse of exports to Korea - a loss of nearly 100,000 metric tons of poultry exports to Korea. U.S. beef exports are finally nearing pre-FTA levels after declining an average of 11 percent during the first three years of the agreement. U.S. pork exports have also nearly recovered to pre-FTA levels after falling by an average of 16 percent in the first three years of the agreement. Record-breaking U.S. trade deficits with Korea have become the new normal under the FTA - in 47 of the 48 months since the Korea FTA took effect, the U.S. goods trade deficit with Korea has exceeded the average monthly trade deficit in the four years before the deal. And, it's not like Korea was in a recession or there is some other explanation. Advertisement The Korean economy has grown each year since the FTA passed, even as U.S. exports to Korea have shrunk. Korea's gross domestic product in 2015 was 11 percent higher than in the year before the FTA took effect, suggesting that U.S. exports to Korea should have expanded, with or without the FTA, as a simple product of Korea's economic growth. Instead, U.S. exports to Korea have fallen 9 percent in the first four years of the FTA. Nguyen Hong Phuc, a 63-year-old former soldier, sits on the bed with his son Nguyen Dinh Loc, 20, who is recovering from a recent tumour surgery at Friendship Village outside Hanoi April 8, 2015. Nguyen Dinh Loc has serious mental and physical problems that his family and doctors link to his father's exposure to Agent Orange. His father joined the military after the U.S. army stopped using Agent Orange in 1971, but lived in areas heavily contaminated by it, including near Danang airport, where the chemical defoliant was stored. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj At the end of May, President Obama will visit Vietnam, where he will have an opportunity to burnish his foreign policy legacy. Obama has taken some bold steps in that direction: He engineered a critical agreement with Iran to defuse its nuclear program, and he recently traveled to Cuba and began the process of normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba. But Obama needs to do more to overcome his hawkish foreign policy legacy. His administration has killed thousands of people -- many of them civilians -- with drones and manned bombers. The vacuum created by his regime change in Libya destabilized that country and led to the rise of ISIS (also known as Daesh). Advertisement With his forthcoming visit to Vietnam, Obama can fortify his legacy by meeting with victims of Agent Orange the United States sprayed on Vietnam during the war. He can then accurately assess the tragic situation the U.S. created there and take steps to remedy it. "Four decades after the U.S. left this country in a state of devastation and ruin, the Vietnamese have recovered impressively," said U.S. Army veteran Chuck Searcy, who served in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. "They have risen from poverty, rebuilt infrastructure, reformed their economy and created new opportunities for a young, educated generation." Searcy lives in Vietnam, where he is co-chair of the non-governmental organization Agent Orange Working Group and cofounder of Project RENEW in Quang Tri Province. Indeed, Vietnam is experiencing impressive successes in development. The United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) reported that Vietnam has eradicated extreme hunger and poverty; has made significant progress in achieving universal primary education; has increased girls' participation in education at primary and secondary levels; has achieved one of the highest rates of representation of women in decision-making in national parliament in the region; and has drastically reduced infant, maternal and toddler mortality. But 40 years after the end of the U.S. war in Vietnam, the Vietnamese people still suffer the effects of that war. Advertisement Approximately 5 million Vietnamese and many U.S. and allied soldiers were exposed to the toxic chemical dioxin in Agent Orange. For many of them and their progeny, the suffering continues. Agent Orange was an herbicidal chemical weapon that was sprayed over 12 percent of Vietnam by the US military from 1961 to 1971. The dioxin present in Agent Orange is one of the most toxic chemicals known to humankind. Those exposed to Agent Orange during the war frequently have children and grandchildren born with serious illnesses and disabilities. The international scientific community has identified an association between exposure to Agent Orange and some forms of cancers, reproductive abnormalities, immune and endocrine deficiencies, and nervous system damage. Second- and third-generation victims continue to be born in Vietnam, as well as to U.S. veterans and Vietnamese-Americans in this country. In 2009, I served as one of seven judges from three continents who heard two days of testimony from 27 witnesses at the International People's Tribunal of Conscience in Support of the Vietnamese Victims of Agent Orange in Paris. The witnesses included victims, their families, journalists, U.S. Vietnam War veterans and scientists. We saw firsthand horribly disfigured individuals who had been exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin during the Vietnam War. One of the witnesses was Mai Giang Vu, who came in contact with Agent Orange while serving in the South Vietnamese Army from 1968 to 1974. He carried barrels of chemicals on his back. His sons, born in 1974 and 1975, were unable to walk or function normally. Their limbs gradually "curled up" and they could only crawl. They were bedridden by age 18. One died at age 23, the other at age 25. Advertisement The U.S. government has given small amounts of money to address the human victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. Much of the money has not reached the Agent Orange victims who need it so much, and the amounts allocated cannot make much of a dent in addressing the tremendous human suffering. The United States paid to clean up one of the "hotspots" contaminated with dioxin near the Da Nang Air Base. But there are 28 hotspots in Vietnam still poisoned by dioxin. They continue to affect the people who live there and eat the crops, land animals and fish. All of these hotspots need to be remediated. In addition, Searcy points out, there are "Vietnamese families living mostly in poverty, in painfully abject circumstances, with two, three, sometimes four or five severely disabled children who now may be grown, in their 20s and 30s, who cannot take care of their own basic needs. They are a 24-hour care burden for aging parents, who need help and support to get through the day and night." Although there are a number of Friendship and Peace Villages where victims of Agent Orange are cared for, many more are needed. Time is running out for many of the second and third generation victims whose parents are passing on, leaving no one to care for them. Second and third generation children of American Vietnam veterans face the same problems as do exposed Vietnamese-Americans. Advertisement That is why Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California) introduced H.R. 2114, the Victims of Agent Orange Relief Act of 2015. The bill, which currently has 22 co-sponsors, would provide health care and social services for affected Vietnamese; medical assistance and disability benefits to affected children of U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War; and health assessment, counseling and treatment for affected Vietnamese-Americans and their offspring. It would also clean up the lands and restore ecosystems contaminated by Agent Orange/dioxin in Vietnam. The American Public Health Association recommended that the U.S. government and the involved chemical companies provide resources for services for those with disabilities in areas where dioxin victims are concentrated, and take responsibility to remediate or attempt to clean up those areas in Vietnam that still contain high levels of dioxin. Obama's visit, Searcy says, "is a crucial last opportunity for us Americans to face up to our responsibilities to deal with these remaining war legacies -- UXO [unexploded ordnance] and Agent Orange -- in a way that will allow us to bring some closure to these problems, as Americans, as decent people who finally have done the right thing." The president and the first lady, if she accompanies him, should make time during their visit to meet with young Agent Orange victims and their representative, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin. They would also do well to meet with U.S. Vietnam veterans, such as Searcy, who live in Vietnam and have dedicated their lives to helping the victims. Obama can truly heal the wounds of war and establish a firmer basis of friendship and understanding between the people of Vietnam and the people in the United States. He should seize this opportunity and meet with the victims of Agent Orange/dioxin. Advertisement MELBOURNE, Australia -- With the U.S. Republican and Democratic National Conventions a little under three months away, the spectacle of the presidential primaries gathers steam with each passing day. But while commentators are busy asking the big questions -- like whether Bernie Sanders has changed American politics forever or how Donald Trump's run has destroyed the Republican Party -- American voters have expressed doubts in a recent poll about whether the primaries are the right way to establish the quality of party nominees. Revealed in a March Pew Research Center survey was the stark finding that only 35 percent of voters felt the primaries were a good method for determining the best qualified nominee. While this figure is up five points from the 2012 survey, the Pew data shows that not since 1988 have more than 50 percent of voters felt the primaries were a good way of deciding the most qualified nominee. But the real sting in the survey's tail was the related finding that almost two-thirds, 65 percent, of surveyed voters said they have little or no confidence in the political wisdom of the American public to make the right decisions and choose the person best suited to lead their country. Advertisement So central are primaries and public opinion to presidential elections that these sentiments will likely continue to fly under the radar as the July conventions approach. That's a shame. In these numbers, voters are saying something important: the aptitude of their would-be leaders worries them, as do the electoral mechanisms currently used to decide their country's leadership. Of course, it's possible that these sentiments may be due to what's known as "voter fatigue" syndrome. Maybe because of what we've already seen this election, voters could be voicing their annoyance at yet another drawn-out primary campaign that's likely to cost billions of dollars and leave nothing but significant political rifts in both the Democratic and Republican parties, not to mention a cast of candidates many think would make for "terrible" presidents. The best political leaders and the most stable political systems aren't necessarily produced through 'one person, one vote.' But could American voters also be expressing deeper concerns over something that leaders in Singapore and China of all places have long known: the best political leaders and the most stable political systems aren't necessarily produced through "one person, one vote." Advertisement This might sound alarmingly anti-democratic. It's not. As Daniel Bell, the Beijing-based Canadian scholar, recently argued, really it's just a different way of thinking about how a political system can ensure its leaders are politically and morally deserving of the power they hold. You might call this autocracy. For Bell, the better label is meritocracy. However, if taking pointers from China sounds rather unappealing to the average American, perhaps dipping one's toe into Singapore can provide an understanding of meritocracy without having to deal with the excess baggage that comes with Communism. The Case of Singapore Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew speaks during an interview in 2009. (REUTERS/Vivek Prakash) In Singapore, it has been common practice for some time to select top political leaders based on merit, not popularity. As the country's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, once put it: "Singapore is a society based on effort and merit, not wealth or privilege depending on birth." Those who lead -- men and women who have "risen through their own merit, hard work and high performance" -- are those whom, in Lee's words, "we must expend our limited and slender resources in order that they will provide the yeast, that ferment, that catalyst in our society which alone will ensure that Singapore shall maintain ... the social organization which enables us, with almost no natural resources, to provide the second highest standard of living in Asia." Advertisement Singapore is far from perfect of course. Elections are held, but they are rarely "free." Its media is heavily censored and opposition candidates find themselves targeted by the government and police. In Singapore, it has been common practice for some time to select top political leaders based on merit, not popularity. Luckily, the country is improving its record on these fronts. But even as it does so, Singapore remains steadfast to the idea that leaders who are selected and promoted on the basis of their intellectual and emotional intelligence are better equipped to deal with the country's long-term challenges than those selected on the basis of popularity. Drawing on Confucian ideals, this model of government doesn't sacralize popular elections or public opinion over proven political leaders who stake their honor on their track record to do what's right for the people -- now and into the future. America is clearly not a political meritocracy in the way that Singapore is. It's an electoral democracy grounded in the principles of free, fair, regular, multi-party elections. A popularly elected president who's constantly accountable to the popular will is the best safeguard against political folly and instability. This is the cornerstone of American politics. Even so, America's current system of electoral democracy isn't beyond reproach. And if voters' sentiments are correct, then a dash more meritocracy may be the way to go. Advertisement The good news is that America doesn't need to become anything like a Singapore, or China for that matter, to realize what many voters imply they want -- reforms to the current process of selecting political leaders to ensure political decisions are made only by suitably qualified citizens and political office held only by meritorious candidates. U.S. Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz during a debate. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) In the first instance, this could re-open the door to debates about whether restricting presidents to only one, albeit longer, term in office might lead to better government. It's often noted that presidents who don't have to contend with re-election are typically less corrupted by playing politics and thus more willing to make the tough decisions -- even when those decisions are unpopular. Giving presidents one, longer term in office won't magically guarantee better leaders or governments. But it might diminish some of the political distractions which currently limit what first-term presidents, many of whom desire a second term in office, can achieve. A one-term six-year presidency may provide two years less in office but offer no less time for presidents to actually govern. It'd also mean holding two, not three, presidential elections every 12 years. Of course, presidents who perceive that they have nothing left to win can sometimes become unaccountable to the people. They can ignore popular sentiment and go their own way. This is one possible scenario. The other equally likely scenario is that presidents not yoked to the dictates of daily opinion polls will have greater leeway to govern and to hopefully deliver what they promised during election time. Advertisement While far from perfect, Bell argues that the China model of political meritocracy has shown us over the past several decades that leaders who don't need to constantly remain popular with voters or beholden to special interests -- particularly when doing so undermines the greater good -- may actually be better placed to make the right decisions. Remaining in touch with citizens is one thing; making decisions based on short-term, populist demands simply to remain popular is another. But even in China, citizens continue to judge their politicians based not on what they say, but by what they actually achieve. Even in China, citizens continue to judge their politicians based not on what they say, but by what they actually achieve. Another more encompassing proposal for reform not limited to presidential terms would be for America to consider adopting a modified version of what's known as the "horizontal model." Here, both democratic and meritocratic institutions coexist to keep each other in check. Sun Yat-sen, widely considered the founding father of both modern China and Taiwan, famously made the case for such a model based on a five-power constitution: legislature, executive, judiciary, control yuan and examination. No American would likely find the first three of his branches of government controversial. But what about the latter two? Sun envisioned the control yuan, or supervisory branch, as an independent government ombudsman empowered to monitor the other branches of government. According to Sun, having such an institution would improve the U.S. constitutional system where "the supervisory power rests with Congress, which has frequently made arbitrary use of it to coerce the executive branch into doing its bidding." It's been noted that something akin to the control yuan already exists in America. The Government Accountability Office operates precisely to audit and investigate the actions of Congress. Advertisement Added to this is a fifth branch known as the examination branch. To educate the at times inexperienced and underqualified political leaders that Americans like to elect into top office, Sun recommended an examination system inspired from imperial China where all officials would undergo rigorous training and testing before reaching positions of power. Sun was adamant on this point: "Whether elected or not, officials must pass those examinations before assuming office." A Chinese woman holds up a Chinese flag near a giant portrait of Sun Yat-Sen at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) The question is: can America implement such a branch of government? The short answer is no. It's not realistic to hope for reforms that would make politicians undergo training in government and pass an examination before they assume office. However, just because a formal examination branch is constitutionally unlikely does not mean that the state cannot train its citizens -- some of whom will inevitably become the future leaders of the country -- through better civic education and voter testing to ensure that when they do vote they will have the political knowledge, if not always political wisdom, to choose what's right for the country. All of a sudden Sun's radical proposal may, with a bit of tinkering, provide the tonic needed to ensure America's political system remains robust enough to handle all that the 21st century will throw its way. Advertisement Earlier on WorldPost: An Interview With Science and Non-Duality Founders Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo Non-duality is the philosophical, spiritual, and scientific understanding of non-separation and fundamental, intrinsic oneness. For thousand of years, through deep inner inquiry, philosophers and sages have came to the realization that there is only one substance and we are all, therefore, a part of it. This substance can be called Awareness, Consciousness, Spirit, Advaita, Brahman, Tao, Nirvana or even God. It is constant, ever present, unchangeable and is the essence of all existence. In the last century, Western scientists are arriving at the same conclusion: fundamentally we are individual expressions of a single entity, inextricably connected to one another like drops of water in the same ocean. In 2009, husband and wife team Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo (she's from Bulgaria, he's Italian) founded Science and Non-Duality (SAND) whose annual conference has become a meeting place for preeminent scientists, philosophers, spiritual teachers, and mystics to explore the new paradigm emerging in spirituality and grounded in cutting-edge science. There is nothing quite like SAND. Where else will you find a Buddhist monk chatting with a Jungian analyst over lunch, Deepak Chopra talking about enlightenment to a roomful of quantum physicists, or a Catholic priest in yoga pants practicing his downward dog? Heady, visionary, and unique, the SAND Conference is a must-attend for anyone interested in the evolution of spiritual awareness in the 21st century. Advertisement Recently, I spoke to the Benazzos from their home in the Bay Area, about SAND, non-duality, and why mysticism isn't a dirty word. Mark Matousek: Before we talk about SAND, I'd like to know a little about your respective paths as scientific and spiritual seekers. Maurizio Bennazzo: I was brought up Catholic, in Italy, and even attempted to become a monk for a short when I was in my early 20s. I got involved in everything I could put my hands on after that. Yoga, Buddhism, Zen, TM. Finally, I went to India looking for gurus. I don't know if you are familiar with the movie Short Cut to Nirvana... MM: I am. MB: Well, after shooting that movie I rented an Enfield motorcycle and went everywhere. I kept bumping into this book called I Am That by a guy named Nisargadatta Maharaj. When I came back in the U.S, I bought it and it absolutely blew my mind. Shortly after that, Zaya and I started making films about Nisargadatta with Stephen Wolinsky. But I was mystically oriented from a very early age. Advertisement Zaya Benazzo: For me it's the same. I'd been asking the big questions since I remember. I grew up during Communist times and so, for me, finding spiritual literature until my early twenties was very difficult. I grew up with Autobiography of a Yogi and Carlos Castaneda. These were the two spiritual paths that I could follow through the books because I was living in a cold society where they wanted no spirituality at all. It was all underground, between friends discussing and sharing precious books that we could get our hands on in Russian. Later, when Communism fell, I was able to come to the States to follow Castaneda. For ten years that was my spiritual path, Carlos Castaneda and the shamanic journey, until I found Nisargadatta and everything else fell aside. It was as if lightning struck after reading that! At that point, I also met Maurizio and we had an instantaneously deep connection. MB: On our first date, we went to India to shoot a movie on Nisargadatta. (laughs) Within three weeks we were seriously dating. We found ourselves in the middle of Mumbai shooting a movie on Nisargadatta. Barely knowing one another. If a relationship can survive that, all the rest is kid's stuff! Nisargadatta would say, "What I'm teaching is not spirituality. One day, scientists will come to understand this. This is not spiritual knowledge, this is scientific understanding." ZB: He would often send his students to study quantum physics or to get a Ph.D. in mathematics because he saw that that was their portal to grasping this knowledge. MB: Both of us were majorly intrigued by science when we were growing up. It has always been our passion, the understanding of how things work. Advertisement MM: You studied engineering, Zaya? ZB: Yes. I did my engineering degree and studied a lot of mathematics. I completely fell in love with mathematics and was using mathematics to comprehend more abstract ideas about infinity and time. I felt such a sense of awe from the understanding of mathematics. MM: How do you explain the philosophical path of non-duality to a layman? ZB: In non-duality, there is the understanding that there is only one substance, one energy, that comprises the entire universe. Everything emerges and dissolves into that one substance. Nothing has an independent reality from that substance. In the Advaita tradition, this would be called consciousness. Everything arises and subsides in consciousness. But consciousness as the term is used in the Advaita tradition is very different from our usage in the West. Western scientific tradition teaches that consciousness is generated in the brain, by the brain. There is a new paradigm emerging now (that the brain is a part of consciousness -- the ground of being -- but not its ultimate source Ed). Non-duality is about interdependence and interconnectedness. MB: Nothing is separate. The distance between you and me is not a separateness. It is filled with the same substance that comprises the known universe. Everything comes from this substance. Advaita means 'not two'. It's like fish in the water. Are they part of the water? Yes. Is the water part of the ocean? Yes. In the same way, we are all part of the ocean of consciousness, completely immersed in it, with no way to separate ourselves. We are waves that will eventually be reabsorbed in the ocean. But we're not separate. Without the ocean, the wave doesn't exist. ZB: This means that the wave does not have separate reality from the ocean. In the same way, we, as separate individuals, have no reality that is separate from consciousness. MB: Our bodies are part of a larger organism that we call life. ZB: It is fascinating that science is now giving us data to support what mystics have been saying forever. We are far from understanding everything but we are starting to have glimpses. Neuroscience today is confirming that the world is "appearing" in front of us every morning. It does not have an absolute independent reality but is a complex construct by our brain based on the limited band of our sensory perception coupled with social, cultural, and psychological biases. Mystics from all traditions have been pointing to that fact for thousand of years: this world that we perceive is an illusion (what they call maya in the East). Illusion doesn't mean it does not exist. It means it's not what it appears to be. Advertisement MM: Non-duality has always struck me as more empirical than spiritual, in fact. That's why it mirrors the scientific method. It's about experience not faith. ZB: Exactly. It's not a spiritual path with certain practices that you follow in order to achieve fixed goals. It's a deep, subtle realization that unfolds everyday in your life. You taste it everyday and it's very subtle and, yet, it transforms the way you see others and the way you do things in the world. MM: Because we are not two? My name is Mark Wayman, and for the last twelve years I have owned an Executive Recruiting firm focused on gaming and high tech. Compensation starts at $100,000, my average placement is $200,000 and last year I placed eight executives north of a million dollars. Although my articles are targeted at more senior executives, most of these points apply to all levels. Not here to judge or criticize. The only purpose is to communicate what Executive Recruiters and hiring companies look for in top executive candidates. The Economy is a Major Factor - House prices go up and down depending on the economy. They peaked in 2008, and then dropped like a rock until 2012. Salaries and hiring follow the same trend. They move up and down with the economy. When Depression 2.0 hit in 2008 I went from 120 job openings to 10 in less than 30 days. Slowly, but surely, hiring has made a comeback, but during a down economy...you can't ignore it. You Don't Live in the Same House Your Whole Life - Well, most people don't. Maybe 2% of folks live in the same house for a lifetime and the same number work in the same job for 30 years and retire. For the other 98%, they will change jobs multiple times. The company takes care of the company. You need to take care of you. Be a consulting company of one that just happens to be on someone's payroll. Advertisement You Need to Listen to Your Real Estate Agent - Your Real Estate Agent is the expert. They know the "comps" and what you can reasonable expect to get for your house. For executive candidates lucky enough to be represented by an Executive Recruiter (they have all the good jobs!), listen to the Recruiters advice. Occasionally I get candidates that want to be the smartest guy in the room. Recruiters know the economy, the hiring market and the compensation ranges. Listen to their counsel. You Have to Be Reasonable About Price - Most people are emotionally attached to their home and price it way above market value. The Real Estate agent tries to explain that pricing the house too high will result in the house going stale on the market, and no offers. This is probably the number issue with candidates -- they are unreasonable about compensation. For example, I recently received a resume of a Director making $125,000. Market rate for that job is $100,000, so they were already above market rate. The candidate wanted...wait for it...$175,000. That is never going to happen. Which results in the next issue... If the House Sits on the Market Too Long, Buyers Lose Interest - If a house does not sell the first couple of months it's listed, buyers start to wonder what's wrong. Does the roof leak? Are there cracks in the foundation? For those in transition, keep in mind that companies want to hire gainfully employed executives. The next most attractive candidate is just leaving their current employer. Once a candidate is unemployed for six months, it's a big red flag for hiring companies. Trust me on this! Mostly this situation is related to the candidate being unrealistic about compensation (see above). I know executives that NEVER found another job because they were trying to get back to their glory days. Compensation packages are not what they used to be. How Badly Do You Want to Sell It? - Of course quite a bit depends on how badly you want to sell your house. Are you in escrow on a new place and have 30 days to get your old house sold? Or are you just "testing the waters" to see how much you can get? If a candidate is gainfully employed, typically they want a better title, increased base salary and/or equity. A bigger and better OPPORTUNITY. And they have the luxury of being gainfully employed and being choosey. For the unemployed, the clock is running. I don't recommend anyone go from one bad employment situation to another, but on the other hand, you don't want to end up unemployed for two years. Advertisement Don't Negotiate Your Way Out of a Sell - If someone makes an offer for your house, it's pretty common to negotiate certain things. Who will do repairs; who handles the closing costs. When a candidate gets a job offer, I'm astounded at some of the silly things they do. After interviewing for three months, they want to fight about car allowances and who pays for dry cleaning. What? That makes you look trivial. And occasionally I have someone that agreed to $200,000 prior to interviewing, and then says, "I want $225,000." The worst part is they usually justify it with "I have a big mortgage" or "I have to put my kid through college." Let's be crystal clear: Your expenses and lifestyle have zero to do with your compensation package. And holding the hiring company hostage for more money at the eleventh hour is the worst strategy ever. Don't Overreach - Many people purchase homes they can't afford, and the first time they have a financial hiccup, they are foreclosed on or bankrupt. The grass is not always greener, and sometimes you need to be exactly where you are. I have seen great Directors flounder as VPs. Great VPs that failed as Presidents. It's sad because they were highly successful in their previous role and company, but lured by big titles and salary, they make a change...and don't make it. Not everyone can be the CEO. TORONTO: Goodyear Satire Company-- Riots broke out across Canada as citizens reacted to rumors that Senator Ted Cruz (R Texas) might return to his home country after suspending his campaign for the U.S. Republican Presidential nomination. "It was like when they broadcast 'The War of The Worlds'" explained Ernie Butler of Edmonton, "The prospect of Cruz wrapping his tentacles around the weakest among us is too much to bear," said Butler as he scampered into the darkness clutching a sleeping bag and sack of hastily-made sandwiches. Advertisement Townspeople with pitchforks stormed the former Cruz residence in Calgary, quickly setting it aflame amid fears it might be the Cruz' ultimate destination. Firefighters refused to cross the ring of children blocking their path as the home was reduced to cinders. "It was what God wanted," claimed Pastor Chad Hollingsworth as he picked through the charred pantry, sometimes pushing people out of his way. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was unexpectedly thrust into his first crisis. His hastily convened cabinet voted to build a border wall, hoping it could impede Cruz's progress, "But that will take months," said a nervous Trudeau, "and we understand Cruz and his family are already on the move. Plus, I'm not sure we can get the Americans to pay for it." "The air force has fitted tactical nukes onto our most advanced jets," said the Prime minster, "But we don't know whether the missiles can penetrate Cruz's exoskeleton, which satellite photos show is growing hour by hour." Grief counselors have been dispatched to shelters throughout Alberta province to assist children work through their nightmares."It won't be easy," said psychologist Bea Winston. "If we can save 30% of the kids without electroshock, we'll be beating the odds." Advertisement Large-scale animal cruelty, like the kind we find in puppy mills and animal fighting, is not just illegal; it's unfathomable. Because of this, it's tempting to see these crimes as rare and isolated, and disassociated from human-on-human crimes. Sadly, our work tells a different story. In the first four months of 2016 alone, the ASPCA has participated in no fewer than eight large-scale animal cruelty cases, involving more than 1,000 animals. Advertisement Each of these cases involved different situations and participants, but two things they have in common are victimized animals and dedicated action from local law enforcement. That second part - law enforcement action - is critical, and we're happy to see local agencies not only stepping up case-by-case, but forming their own concentrated animal cruelty divisions and task forces. Some model examples: New York City's NYPD Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad (ACIS) and Animal Cruelty Prosecution Units in Queens and Staten Island. The Virginia Attorney General's Animal Law Unit Advertisement What's clear is that strong animal cruelty laws and dedicated enforcement go hand in hand with the elevation of public attitudes about the seriousness of these crimes. Each inspires and activates the other, and both are necessary to effectively tackle this problem. You can help by being aware of and reporting possible signs of animal fighting and abuse in your communities, by tracking important legislation on the state and federal levels, and by refusing to purchase anything at pet stores that sell animals, which only feeds the market for puppy mill dogs. If you think loud voices and strong law enforcement can't make a significant change in society's views, consider our contemporary stances on drunk driving, domestic violence, and bullying - three offenses that transformed from passively-prosecuted crimes to movements with stronger police participation and clear-cut cultural rejection. Last month I had the privilege of answering an interview from an Iranian research agency dedicated to studying acts of terror carried out against the Iranian people. By their count 17,000 Iranians have been killed in acts of terror over the last 3 1/2 decades. Quite an astounding number, isn't it? I have no reason to believe this number is inflated or exaggerated, but, even if the real count is only a tenth of the pronounced figure of 17,000, it would still signify a horrendously systematic attack of political violence on a people that, as elections again this past weekend in Iran have displayed, possess a desire for progress, civility, toleration and modernity. Just as many of us do not embody in our personal lives, beings and souls the worst aspects of our American government, our wars overseas and our mass incarceration at home, so too are the Iranian people not representative of their government's acts of militarism and repression. I know, I know. Such a trite and cliched thing to say. But then why would so many in the US not know of the thousands killed by terrorism in Iran and why would many Americans say that those dead Iranians and their devastated families deserve it? If not for such a binary and Manichean way of looking at the world, we are good - they are bad, we could understand and communicate with one another better, and then, maybe, as a united and common people we could lead this world to prosperity and health, rather than to war, climate change and poverty. Advertisement The interview can be found here and is copied below: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Full text of Habilian's interview with Matthew Hoh, Ex-US State Department Official Sunday, 01 May 2016 09:51 Habilian ...in 2001, al-Qaeda only had about 200 members and the Islamic State did not exist. The United States validated the propaganda and the doctrine of the terrorists with our response to 9/11 and provided many thousands of young men with a rationale for leaving their homes and joining terror groups. In an exclusive interview with Habilian Association, Iranian Center for Research on Terrorism, Matthew Hoh has answered the questions about the US military interventions in the Middle East following 9/11 attacks in the name of "fighting against terrorism" and its implications for the people of the region, terrorism developments in the Middle East after 2001, America's role in the empowerment of terrorist groups in the region, US imperialism around the world, relationships between the Media and government in the US, and Machiavellian view of American leaders to terrorist groups such as MeK. What comes below is the full text of the Habilian Association's interview with him. Habilian: At the beginning of the interview, please tell us when you did join the Army? Would you speak about your motives in wearing the Army Uniform? Advertisement Hoh: I joined the United States Marine Corps in 1998 for a number of reasons. I was bored with the work I was doing (I was working for publishing company in New York City), I wanted adventure, I wanted to prove myself while serving others, I wanted to be involved in something bigger than I was, and I wanted to take part in history. In short I possessed the motives of many bored and unchallenged young men. Habilian: Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, George W. Bush delivered a speech at joint session of Congress, in which "War on Terror" was declared. In that speech, Bush raised some questions quoted from American peoples, including who attacked the US and why; and how Americans can punish them. Now, after more than 15 years of American interventions in the region that led to death of more than one million civilians, if you, as an American journalist, have an interview with Bush, what questions will you ask him about the war? Hoh: The first question I would ask President Bush is why he is not remorseful. Does his desire for a positive view of his legacy preclude his ability to empathize with the millions who have suffered because of these wars? Secondly, I would ask him why can he not be humble and admit his policies were wrong and counter-productive. I would not be asking him to say the terror of 9/11 was not horrific and I am not asking him to compare himself with Osama bin Laden or al-Qaeda, but to simply recognize that the wars he launched and the wars that are still ongoing have made the world worse and not better. Two simple truths: the number of dead in the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Libya and other places number well past one million since September 12, 2001. Millions more have been wounded and are refugees from their homes. Those who suffer the horribly debilitating psychiatric and moral effects of the wars number in the tens of millions. And none of those wars are close to ending. The second truth is that, according to the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and based upon documents found in Afghanistan in 2001 and 2002, al Qaeda only consisted of approximately two hundred members in 2001. Now the organization has thousands of members in countries across the globe. Of course the Islamic State didn't even exist in 2001 and only came into existence because of the United States' invasion of Iraq in 2003. Clearly American policy in the Middle East has failed. I would ask President Bush how he ignores such truths. To be fair, I would ask President Obama the same. Habilian: In the mentioned speech, George Bush had said that Americans are asking him what is expected of them, then listed his expectations of American people: "to live your lives, and hug your children", "to uphold the values of America", "to continue to support the victims of this tragedy with your contributions" and "continued participation and confidence in the American economy." If we go back to September 20, 2001 and you had an opportunity to speak in Congress and announce your expectations from the government, what would you said? Advertisement Hoh: I am not sure if anything anyone said would be listened to. In 2001, we did have people in the United States counseling against acting on fear and anger. In Congress, however, we had only one member, Barbara Lee, from California, who voted against giving the President unlimited authority to carry out war, an authority that President Obama still utilizes nearly 15 years later. Out of 535 members of Congress only one had the wisdom, the intelligence and the courage to say that war was not just the wrong approach to terrorism, but that it would be foolhardy and prove to be counter-productive. Americans at that time were scared and angry. Politicians were scared and angry as well, but, more so, they were eager to capitalize on the public's emotions for their own political advantage and security. So, sadly, I don't think my stating my expectations of my government to follow the dictates of morality, justice and rule of law would have been listened to. Habilian: On February 14, 2003, George W. Bush released "The United States' strategy for combating terrorism" in which the US administration's objectives in the War on Terror had been listed. The core of that strategy were weakening and isolating terror networks such as Al Qaeda. Regarding the rise of ISIS in Iraq and Syria and its violent ambitions, do you believe that the announced goals of these wars have been achieved? In your opinion, are Al Qaeda typed groups stronger or weaker now? Hoh: Terror groups are much stronger now than in 2001. The greatest recruitment for al-Qaeda and affiliated groups was not the murders of Americans in the 9/11 attacks, but the invasion of Iraq by the US in 2003, the continued occupation of Afghanistan, torture of prisoners by American guards, and the bombing of Muslim peoples throughout the world by the West. Remember, in 2001, al-Qaeda only had about 200 members and the Islamic State did not exist. The United States validated the propaganda and the doctrine of the terrorists with our response to 9/11 and provided many thousands of young men with a rationale for leaving their homes and joining terror groups. Of course, this is all a consequence of American military and diplomatic involvement in the Middle East since the end of the Second World War. As an American I have to understand that much of what we are seeing now in the Middle East is a consequence of decades of American backed coups, American backed dictatorships, American military interventions, American backed wars, unlimited American support for Israel, American arms sales and the American formation of religiously inspired cadres to fight the Soviet Union in the 1980s, one of which famously became al-Qaeda. However, I do not believe the wisest among us in the United States, of which I must admit I was not a part of in 2001, ever thought our policies would prove to be so disastrous. Habilian: Why despite the American intelligence agencies' estimation that the ISIS poses no immediate threat to the United States, Obama administration decided to send the country on a military campaign against that group, knowing that such a war may take several years? Hoh: There are a few different reasons for this. I think there are some in the US government that do believe the United States has an interest in trying to bring about stability to Iraq and Syria and that military means are the only, or the predominant, manner of doing so. I believe those assertions to be wrong, that those assumptions are not based on history or experience, but I do understand them to be sincere. Unfortunately, there are a number of other reasons why President Obama is intervening militarily in Syria and Iraq. The most important is political. President Obama, and the Democratic Party, is afraid of being viewed as weak. It is that simple. Additionally, it is nearly impossible for an American politician to say he or she is wrong or made a mistake. American politicians would rather see more American soldiers killed, more American families devastated as a result of those losses, and more innocent civilians destroyed than to admit they are wrong. Again, it is just that simple. There are those who believe that these wars in the Middle East can simply be broken down into terms of good people versus bad people and we, the US, are on the side of the good people. There are philosophical, religious, nationalist, racist, and other reasons for such beliefs, but simple binary thinking, much like the thinking that under lay the assumptions of the Cold War, is prevalent in Washington, DC and throughout America. There is a lot of money involved in Iraq. American companies have a good deal of interest in the oil fields of northern Iraq and the US government is keen to see those oil fields in Kurdish control, while projected sales of weapons to the Iraqi government range from 15-30 billion dollars over the next one or two decades. Such money has enormous influence in Washington, DC and the fear of the loss of such money would motivate an American President to act militarily. Advertisement Finally, the United States has an empire around the world that it must maintain. This is different in appearance or in kind than say the British or Roman Empires of the past, but it is nonetheless an empire. The United States has over 800 military bases around the world, has client states across the globe, many of which are the worst human rights violators in power, depends upon weapons sales as one of the leading aspects of the American export economy, and spends approximately one trillion dollars a year in total in support of this complex. Any threat or challenge to this established system must be confronted. In this established system in Washington, DC, as well as in American universities and corporations, it is seemingly impossible to understand any other option for the world; in fact this world view of the United States being "responsible" for the rest of the world is taken as a praiseworthy virtue and any deviance from this view is considered naive, ignorant or silly. Combine that with America's cultural and religious view of itself as an "exceptional nation" or as a nation with divine purposes and you can understand why America is so quick to use its military tens of thousands of miles from its borders. It is worth noting only the Western allies of the US act similarly so far from the borders; no other nation behaves this way, with the exception of the recent limited Russian involvement in Syria. Habilian: Daniel Benjamin, who served as the State Department's top counterterrorism adviser during Mr. Obama's first term, said the public discussion about the ISIS threat has been a "farce." Why the US media are advertising this story? Hoh: Terrorism scares and angers people, and fear and anger make for good audiences for the US media. The media in the US depends on ratings for advertising revenue (US media is privately funded) and so stories about terrorism get people's attention causing more people to watch, listen or read, which brings in more money for the media. There are also informal relationships between the media, the US government and politicians that lead all three to work together to support one another. The media needs the support of people in the government and politicians to get the best stories and get the best interviews, while the government and politicians need the media to present the best views of themselves and their policies. It is a mutually supportive relationship between many members of the media, the government and politicians that many in the United States see to be corrupt. That is why the American public has incredibly low opinions of the media, government and politicians in the US (recent opinion polls show that only about 10 percent of the public trusts these institutions). Advertisement Finally, there is the ongoing narrative of the United States being a morally correct and righteous nation that is on the side of "good" overseas. I believe the media feels it would cost them their audiences, and so their revenue, if they tried to explain world events, including terrorism and the wars, in a more complex yet accurate manner. I must say that there are many good media sources in the US, but they tend to be small and independent of the larger corporate media that most Americans depend upon for their news. These men and women are often unfairly characterized as un-American, ideological or overly politically partisan, yet they are often the ones with the journalistic integrity the larger corporate media lacks. Habilian: To this day MEK terrorists have been carrying out attacks inside of Iran killing political opponents, attacking civilian targets, as well as carrying out the US-Israeli program of targeting and assassinating Iranian scientists. In your opinion, how America's government came to the conclusion that MeK no longer should be in the Terrorist List? Opinion / Columnist MDC MP, Eddie Cross call on the Zanu PF government to complete the task of aligning 400 existing laws with the new 2013 constitution."The new Constitution was adopted by a massive majority of the people of Zimbabwe and signed into law in March 2013. Three years on it would be reasonable to expect that the Government of Zimbabwe would be completing the alignment of the 400 Acts of Parliament that need adjustments to bring them into line with the Constitution," wrote the MP.MP Cross please explain why MDC failed to draft the new constitution and align all the necessary existing laws with the new constitution so that by the time held the 2013 elections all these things would have been done and dusted. MDC had the majority in parliament and in cabinet during the GNU and five - FIVE - years to complete the task and yet failed.Zimbabwe is not the only nation that has needed a new constitution and other nations too have had to draft a new constitution notably SA and they have never even 1% of as many problems as we have had and they drafted their new constitution is one year!The people of Zimbabwe approved the new constitution on strength of MDC's recommendation that it would deliver all their basic freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections. It failed it very first acid test as it certainly failed to deliver free and fair elections in 2013.The truth is, even if the alignment of all 400 Acts were carried out tomorrow, the people of Zimbabwe will still be denied their freedoms and rights between the new constitution is too weak and feeble to guarantee these freedoms and rights."Zimbabwe also needs a new constitution. It must be the genuine product of a national dialogue that embodies our hopes and aspirations, unconstrained by our fears; it must be founded on a strong Bill of Rights, and elicit the best in us," wrote Mr Trevor Ncube, Executive Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings - publishers of the NewsDay, Zimbabwe Independent and the Standard - and deputy executive chair of M&G Media in South Africa.."The current document is the outcome of horse-trading between Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions. It fails to lay a strong foundation of the rule of law, strong national institutions, transparency and accountability. And, of course, the sanctity of life and respect for private property must find full expression."It is deeply upsetting that MDC leaders have now taken to how the new constitution "was adopted by a massive majority of the people of Zimbabwe" as if they had absolutely nothing to do with it; the truth is the people approved this weak and feeble constitution because MDC leaders recommended it to them. At least 80% of the electorate had not even read the new constitution and digested it when they were asked to vote in the March 2013 referendum.MDC leaders like MP Cross betrayed the people of Zimbabwe by failing to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU and then rubbed the chilli into the people's eyes by recommended a weak and feeble constitution.It is unacceptable that these MDC leaders have yet to apologize to the good people of Zimbabwe for selling-out during the GNU. But if these sell-outs think they can now shift the blame for the weak and feeble constitution to the electorate, they better think again because it will never happen!It is a historic fact that MDC wasted the nation's time and treasure, five years and nearly US$100 million respectively, writing a weak and feeble new constitution. And as if that was not bad enough, MDC leaders are now wasting the nation time fiddling with aligning existing laws to the feeble constitution when they should be using their presence in parliament to demand the implementation of the democratic reforms, they failed to implement during the GNU!What has this nation done to deserve this corrupt, incompetent and sell-out MDC opposition?People get the government they deserve and I would readily admit the nation has been naive and gullible to deserve the corrupt and murderous Zanu PF regime. What have we done to deserve this corrupt and incompetent MDC opposition? They got their thirty pieces of silver after selling-out during the GNU - the ministerial cars, generous salaries and allowances and even a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai - and yet they are still queuing for another chance to get back on the gravy train and sell-out the nation yet again!MP Cross is calling for the alignment of the 400 Acts to the new constitution. Good one Mr Cross but to what end and purpose other than raising your political profile so you can get back on the gravy train in 2018!-------------Source: zsdemocrats.blogspot.co.uk Stop me if you've heard this story before. It's familiar to many. The story features a culture that treats people like commodities, valuing them only insofar as they produce wealth. It describes a society that closes ranks against outsiders, concluding that foreign people and ideas are detrimental to established values and incompatible with true patriotism. Advertisement It tells about a system that regards punishment and incarceration as easy solutions, preferring the blunt weapons of shame and quarantine over the constructive tools of dialogue and rehabilitation. I told you it was familiar. Abuses Suffered, Abuses Exposed The particular story I have in mind, though, appears in Acts 16:16-40, a scene in which Paul and Silas, two traveling preachers, find themselves publically stigmatized by a culture that sees them as threats. When this story of antagonism and dispute reaches its end, God has delivered the victimized missionaries. Like many of the stories in the book of Acts, this one operates with a rather simplistic moral vision: its protagonists are miraculously preserved and its culprits easily defeated. We know real life is more complicated. The story, therefore, must not be about guaranteeing get-out-of-jail-free cards to everyone who is truly faithful in God's eyes. Instead it's like a parable that starkly illustrates the dynamics and abuses of power. To compare this passage to a parable doesn't mean we take it lightly. It means we pay attention to how the passage works. Not every biblical text functions in the same way. Sometimes they provide access to ancient wisdom (or foolishness). Sometimes they make bold claims about God and how to recognize God's intentions. Sometimes they hold up a mirror and show us what we look like. This story from Acts does many things, but at one level it is very much one of these mirrors, especially for those of us who live in a place that loves to remind itself that it is "the most powerful nation on earth." Advertisement What might we learn from looking in this mirror? What kind of world does it depict? Like many of us, the people of Philippi who populate the scene in Acts 16 knew what it meant to belong to an extraordinarily powerful society. Located in Macedonia, Philippi was a Roman colony, a special kind of city that served as a cultural outpost within the Roman imperial system, maintaining uniquely close political and economic ties to Rome. The small city's residents included many descendants of Roman soldiers who had fought under the command of Rome's first emperor, Augustus, several decades prior. Prime land in the colony was the reward for their loyalty. The Roman Empire provided many benefits to those who lived within its borders, whether these people were loyal residents fortunate enough to dwell in a favored colony, elites who enjoyed full citizenship, or even conquered peoples living in occupied lands. (Even the People's Front of Judea grudgingly recognized this last point.) The empire maintained its operations with ruthless efficiency, however. Rome exercised a totalizing influence over all who were within its reach, for this is what empires do in their drive to remain wealthy, powerful, and manageable. If we take Roman Philippi as a microcosm, the story in Acts 16 starkly illustrates specific things empires do: Empires promote their strength by exploiting gods and their symbols of power. Ancient audiences would have connected the "spirit of divination" in the anonymous slave girl with the god Apollo's divinatory powers. Imperial gods require disciples to guard their reputations zealously. Anyone who bests Apollo's power can expect some kind of retaliation, lest Rome look bad. Empires discard people who have no worth. When the spirit leaves the slave girl, she becomes a depleted resource to her owners. Evidently Paul also overlooks her value as a person. She quickly disappears from the scene. No one cares what she thinks or what will befall her. Advertisement Empires show great skill in the art of scapegoating. It allows them to identify enemies, turn crowds against those enemies, and finally punish them. When people include the detail "they are Jews" in their accusations against Paul and Silas (who were indeed Jews, Jews who followed Jesus), it's an instance of ethnic and religious scapegoating. By charging these foreigners with sowing anti-Roman subversions, the slave owners know they can harness the power of popular resentment. Empires torture, for they believe their own eminence and fear entitle them to cruelty. When the magistrates strip and beat Paul and Silas in public, is it an "enhanced interrogation technique" or raw torture? No matter. Who thinks of making such distinctions? No one in Philippi objects, just as no one considers how deeply the wounds will sink into the tortured prisoners, the torturers, and those who witness the dehumanizing brutality. Empires consolidate their power by confining whatever they cannot control. Paul and Silas go to prison, where they are physically restrained. Branded as dangerous to others' way of life, they disappear from public view, stored away in cells. Shackles identify Paul and Silas as deviants. Walls promise to halt their influence. Empires refuse to admit defeat. They avoid being called to account in a public way, which might imply weakness and disgrace. When an earthquake -- obviously meant to signal an act of God in this story -- overmatches the empire's efforts to isolate Paul and Silas, the magistrates dispatch their deputies, hoping the prisoners they dishonored will now quietly leave town. In the end, the story does more than show us how powerful societies -- whether ancient or modern - try to keep a grip on their dominance. While Acts 16 describes a steady stream of self-preservation that issues from the villains in Philippi, the story's main point is to celebrate a divine victory. Advertisement Power Plays The victory comes when everything gets turned upside down. As soon as the earthquake shakes open the prison, the God of Paul and Silas proves to be more powerful than any other supernatural or political force. Paul and Silas reveal that they can be just as Roman as they are Jewish. The jailer washes the wounds of those who were recently his prisoners. Walls and locks lose their ability to keep people caged. The magistrates who previously humiliated others find themselves humiliated when Paul demands a public apology from them. Even with all its violence, brute force, and chest-thumping, this story has a burlesque current running through it. It aims to delight a sympathetic audience by extoling the power of a God who cannot be overwhelmed or thwarted by an empire's attempts to clutch its prerogatives and assert its pretentions. This particular scene makes the problems and their solutions appear rather easy -- too easy. But its purpose is to reassure and embolden its readers, people who knew the realities of the Roman Empire very well, not to promise a divinely orchestrated way out of each and every hardship. The ease of the story's solution amplifies the beauty of its burlesque streak. Burlesque exposes empires' pride and abuses, even as it acknowledges that there is no effortless escape from imperialistic ways of thinking. Just like geopolitical empires, these ways of thinking and controlling never go away. Victims of empires tend to create their own when given the chance. History shows that churches imitate and partner with oppressive regimes as well as they boldly combat imperial injustices. The good news according to Acts 16 is that God's intentions cannot finally be thwarted by obstacles put in the way by individuals, governments, societies, or bald imperial pretentiousness. If those things position themselves to obstruct God's designs, God reserves the right to overturn them. Sometimes, whether through experiencing suffering, through prophetic satire, or through defiant countermeasures, God just makes a statement. Taken to an extreme, behavior like this could paint God as coercive and peevish. With regard to the scene in Acts 16, God's earth-rattling statement declares that God doesn't want certain societies to presume they know the right ways to preserve liberty and justice for themselves. After all, some cultures need a firmer kick in the pants than others to get over their arrogant presumptions and their love of power. Advertisement God's statement in Acts 16 reminds us of the one thing that our imperialistic cultures try hardest to make us forget: other realities are possible. A couple of paragraphs in this piece were adapted from my book Intrusive God, Disruptive Gospel: Encountering the Divine in the Book of Acts, published by Brazos Press. ++++++ Bible Study Questions: 1. Other than things that look like supernatural activity, what aspects of Acts 16:16-40 strike you as most extraordinary? That is, which details evoke the most shock and wonder from you, and how do those details help you understand what we can learn from this scene? 2. One of the main points of Acts 16:16-40 is that God is more powerful than even the world's strongest political and legal systems, as well as all the tools they use to assert their dominance (such as laws, prisons, shame, and corporeal punishment). Explain why you find the notion of divine power a comforting thing, or a disturbing thing. Furthermore, what kind of power is divine power, given that for Christians it connects to Jesus' experience of a humiliating death and a surprising resurrection? 3. There is in Acts 16:16-40 a strong criticism of imperial abuses, but the passage doesn't take the next step and offer a clear antidote or alternative. Can you think of specific ways in which your religious beliefs might helpfully challenge and inform the ways in which your country conducts itself -- how it protects its interests, spends its resources, and provides for its people? Advertisement For Further Reading: Like ON Scripture on Facebook Follow ON Scripture on Twitter @ONScripture Since the start of the war in Syria five years ago, just 3,600 Syrian refugees, out of the six million displaced, have been resettled in the United States. That's just 0.00075 percent. It's a startlingly inadequate response to the worst humanitarian disaster of our time. The United States has done next to nothing as the death toll mounts and desperation intensifies. And just last month, 500 more refugees drowned in the Mediterranean. American political leaders on both side of the aisle have failed. The Obama Administration has resettled just 17 percent of its modest 2016 Syrian refugee goal so far this year. Advertisement Meanwhile, some Republicans have called for pausing, slowing, or abolishing the Syrian refugee program entirely. Yet many Americans recognize that there are millions of innocent, peaceful Syrians desperately in need of help. My organization has received emails from people asking how to get involved, how to volunteer, and how to contribute to refugee resettlement. The American people can and should be able to help. Here's how: let's crowdfund the cost of resettlement for 50 Syrian families -- one family per state. We can tap into America's compassionate, philanthropic spirit, and leverage our existing technological platforms. Let's show our dithering bureaucrats and politicians that Americans don't accept sitting on the sidelines as people die. We can demonstrate to Washington that, with real money and tangible support, the American public is ready and willing to help. Advertisement Many church groups, charities, ethnic organizations, businesses, and generous individuals would love to contribute and help Syrian families regain safety and normalcy in their lives by resettling in the United States. The problem is that, under the current system, there is very little they can do. Only the government can decide to increase refugee admissions. It doesn't matter that many thousands of Americans are willing to open their homes to refugees, or that thousands of churches and charities are ready and able to raise funds for their resettlement. If crowdfunding can help college kids make short movies raising funds from friends, family, and strangers, then it can also help save the lives of Syrian families. The OECD estimates the first-year cost of resettling a refugee is about $10,000. Let's say a family includes five people. So bringing 50 Syrian families to the United States -- 250 people -- would cost about $2.5 million. Considering the fact that Americans contributed $350 billion to charitable organizations in 2014, $2.5 million is a drop in the bucket for us, but it would be priceless for those we save. Advertisement Here's how it would work. The State Department could create a fund that collects contributions. A coalition of private partners with powerful voices -- humanitarian organizations, NGOs, philanthropists, corporations, and celebrities -- would promote the project far and wide. When the $2.5 million threshold is met, 50 Syrian families already in the refugee pipeline who have already undergone rigorous security checks will start their trips to the United States. This small increase in admissions -- just 250 people -- won't overburden any state or local municipalities and the costs to the federal government would be negligible. Donations would come from all corners of the country. Millennials could chip in $10 here or $20 there. Businesses run by refugees could contribute a day's profits to the goal. Generous family foundations could give thousands. College groups could have bake sales. A few millionaire and billionaire philanthropists could cover major portions of funding. Most importantly, Syrian Americans could help contribute money to resettle their friends and family. And nearly 16,000 individuals signed a petition that calls for the U.S. to launch a private sponsorship option for refugees. Advertisement If we build it, the money will come. And with the funding comes a second chance at life for some Syrians. Devastating earthquakes, hurricanes, and other disasters worldwide usually spur a massive outpouring of support from Americans -- in the hundreds of millions! If the experiment is successful, it can be scaled up. A small-scale success can show proof of concept and demonstrate the special combination of American benevolence and technology that can save families on the run from terror. This type of pilot project would send a quantifiable signal to policymakers that the American people are serious about resettlement. It may not sway Republicans panicked about Islamic terrorism, but those serious about maintaining America's moral leadership will be hard pressed to not be moved by such an outpouring of support. The State Department recently said that "The United States joins UNHCR in calling for new ways nations, civil society, the private sector, and individuals can together address the global refugee challenge." However, the United States currently has no system in place to harness the immense capacity of its vital private sector to help alleviate the crisis. Other countries are doing better. Since last November, Canada has resettled 11,000 Syrian refugees using funds raised partially or fully from the private sector. Jim Estill, a Canadian businessman, singlehandedly helped bring 50 families to Canada. American businessmen would do the same -- if they could. Advertisement In Italy, church groups have resettled 1,000 refugees using funds from their congregations. A host of nations including Germany, Argentina, Ireland, Iceland, and Australia have jumped on the trend of private-sector refugee funding and sponsorship. Disappointingly, the United States has yet to follow suit. There are community organizations, church groups, and individuals across the country that are ready to open their hearts, homes, and wallets to Syrian refugees. Contact your representatives in Washington and let them know you want the freedom to invest in the future of more Syrian families in America. Speak to your neighbors, members in your religious congregation, and coworkers about contributing to a dynamic crowdfunding campaign to save lives of those on the run. We are living in the midst of the worst humanitarian crises since World War II. It's time for the American people to show that they are not willing to remain on the sidelines, and are ready to channel their vast philanthropic resources to helping the millions of displaced people around the globe. by Claire Tsosie Starting April 27, American Express is giving out free tickets to Beyonce's Formation tour through a joint promotion with rideshare company Uber. The chances of winning? Unclear, but maybe a little better than Powerball. American Express says it's making "hundreds" of tickets available across 20 cities, both to cardholders and non-cardholders, but it didn't say how many. The company did not respond to a request for further comment about this question. But "demand will be high and availability limited," according to a statement from American Express. No kidding. It's one of the most talked-about tours of the year, and ticket prices are as high as $1,500 for some of the best seats. Advertisement For AmEx, it's a way to promote its integration with the Uber app, which lets you redeem Membership Rewards points for Uber rides in-app at 1 cent per point. That makes it one of the best redemption options available. If you live near a concert venue and love Beyonce, this giveaway may be worth a try. Just be prepared with a backup plan, in the (very likely) event you don't win. How to enter the giveaway Here's how it works: Enter the "FORMATIONAMEX" promotional code on your Uber app by going to the sidebar and clicking "Promotions." You can do this part days in advance of the concert, if you want. On the day that Beyonce is giving a concert in your city, you and your friend/date/spouse get all dressed up for the show. Turn on your Uber app, which should now be in what Uber calls "Formation view" -- presumably, that means the app will be Beyonce-themed -- and request an Uber to the concert venue at a certain time. (Go to your city's Uber Twitter feed to find out more details.) From there, two things can happen -- one of them good. If you win, an Uber driver will arrive with two free tickets to Beyonce's concert, and you'll get a free round-trip ride to the concert. According to Uber's terms and conditions, you can only win if: Advertisement You're 18 or older. You and your guest are ready to go when you request Uber. Don't make the driver wait! The return trip has to be on an UberX, the non-fancy option, and is valid up to $50. If that all goes according to plan, you'll be able to join the rest of the Beyhive at what might be the best concert of the year. Your friend/date/spouse will think you're the coolest person alive, and your Facebook friends will be like, "Why didn't you take me to the concert?" What happens if you don't win? The second possibility -- let's call it "The Best Thing I Never Had" possibility -- is that you don't win. You won't get Formation tickets or a complimentary ride to the concert. That's kind of disappointing, especially since you're dressed for a Beyonce concert and your friend/date/spouse is staring at you. At that point, your ride to the venue will automatically be canceled, according to AmEx. But if you didn't want the evening to go to waste, you could Uber to Red Lobster instead, where you could listen to "Lemonade" on repeat and try to forget you're missing out on one of the best concerts of the year. Your choice. If you don't get the Beyonce tickets -- and you probably won't, but it's fun to dream -- it's worth keeping in mind that you can still get exclusive access to venues as an American Express cardholder. Last year, the company promoted a presale for tickets to "Hamilton," the blockbuster musical that just won a Pulitzer. Advertisement You can check out early access or preferred seating offers by logging on to your American Express account, clicking on "Benefits" and navigating to "Membership Experiences." Here's a list of Beyonce's tour stops at which you have a chance to win tickets, according to a press release from AmEx and Uber: Claire Tsosie is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: claire@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @ideclaire7. What if you had to make a decision between continuing to work as a child laborer to make ends meet for your family or planning to risk the choppy waters and dangerous journey of taking a refugee boat from Turkey to Greece? This is the dilemma of Shrivan, a 16-year-old boy who fled Aleppo, Syria three years ago to southern Turkey. Shrivan, the youngest member of his family, is a self-proclaimed computer geek. In conversations with us, he expressed great pride in being one of the best students in his class back in Syria. Advertisement "We were the best students with the highest grades," he said with tears in his eyes. "Now I cut fabric in a factory." In 2013, Shrivan and his family were forced to flee their home in the Syrian neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood. They tried to escape to his grandparents' house a few blocks away from his home for a night hoping the situation would calm down so they could return. But they were never able to. "We left only with the clothes we had on," Shrivan recalled. "We didn't even pack anything." 'We left only with the clothes we had on. We didn't even pack anything.' But then a bomb hit his grandparents' house. All of the roads were blocked and Aleppo was officially besieged. Shrivan explained that there was a sniper on a nearby rooftop, so the safest option for his family was to flee to a nearby village, al-Ra'i, close to the Syrian-Turkish borders, and as far as possible from the war. Advertisement With no hope of returning home, Shrivan's family crossed the border towards Gaziantep to find refuge. He began working the week after he arrived in Turkey, when he was just 13 years old. He still works six days a week, 12 hours a day, and still does not bring in enough money to support his mother. Shrivan has been stuck in child labor for at least three years. "I go to work everyday. I wake up in the morning and go to work," he said of his day. "I come back home in the evening. I sleep only to wake up and go to work again." A picture shows destruction in the Salaheddine district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on April 12, 2013. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) Not only has his neighborhood in Aleppo been destroyed in the war and shelled heavily, but Shrivan said he's heard his school was also hit with barrel bombs several times. Just during the last week, the Assad regime has reportedly launched more than 260 airstrikes and close to 70 bombs on Aleppo, killing hundreds of civilians -- among them at least 50 children. The indiscriminate bombing campaign continues to destroy the city's hospitals and schools, regardless of any cease-fire attempts. Recent reporting indicates that some 300,000 children remain in Aleppo and many are unable to attend school today due to the high risk of injury or death. Shrivan wants to either become a doctor so he can help end suffering or an English teacher so he can teach and travel the world. But he knows he needs to find a way to get an education in order to realize either of those dreams. His determination to continue his education made him even risk his own life by briefly going back to war-torn Aleppo to take cumulative school exams to help him pass eighth and ninth grades. Shrivan did, regardless of all the dangers of Syria's war. Advertisement Last month, Shrivan told us he had come up with a better solution: he would cross the Mediterranean Sea on an inflatable boat so he could go to school in Germany, following in the footsteps of thousands of Syrian refugees and putting his own life at risk, again. Shrivan knows that many Syrian refugees have drowned to death in those boat trips in their pursuit of refuge and safety away from the war -- no one can forget the image of Alan Kurdi, the little Syrian boy whose dead body washed up on the shores of Turkey. But he thinks it's worth the risk if it gives him an opportunity to resume his education. Shrivan wants to either become a doctor so he can help end suffering or an English teacher so he can teach and travel the world. "I am wasting my life here working," he told us. "It does not matter if I am cutting fabric in a factory for 12 hours a day, or if I am working at a radio station, this work isn't going to get me or my family anywhere. We can barely pay our rent, how will I even attend school if I have to work? I need to leave, I need to study. I heard education in Germany is good." Every child has a right to education and no child should have to risk his or her life to go to school. Six thousand dollars would cover the cost of one year of tuition in Turkey and also offset the lost income from Shrivan not working. Advertisement When the Syrian refugee crisis started, we immediately felt a responsibility to help. As Syrians who were forced to leave our country in 2005 for political reasons, we know first-hand what it means to leave everything behind, not knowing if returning will ever be possible. In 2011, we launched The Syrian-American Network for Aid and Development, an independent organization in Washington dedicated to supporting Syrian refugees, families and children, as they escape the conflict. The word SANAD ( ) comes from Arabic, meaning support. Through our work, in 2013 and 2014, we got the chance to meet Syrian refugees in Turkey and learn about their stories. This is how we first met Shrivan. His dreams and hopes are still alive and growing stronger as we kept in touch with him throughout the years. We are now raising money to send Shrivan to school this fall, without him risking his life at sea. A Syrian refugee child pauses moments after arriving at a beach on the Greek island of Kos after crossing a part of the Aegean sea from Turkey to Greece on a dinghy. (REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis) Helping Shrivan go to school is just one sub-project of a broader effort by SANAD to empower Syria's displaced families. It is part of our current project, which emerged in 2013-2014: a documentary film series called "Tomorrow's Children: Syria's Not Lost Generation." We met the innocents in their places of refuge, and listened to their voices that have been muted by the sounds of bombs and tank shelling. We wanted to learn how we could help them. Syria's children are stuck in child labor, living in the shadows; they are marginalized and unnoticed. In Turkey, we saw the need to give them a voice. Their stories must be heard, and their struggles must not be ignored. We interviewed six children, who on average work 10 hours a day, six days a week. They are friends facing the most difficult adversities together -- working to support their families and denied their right to education. Through this documentary, which we hope to release soon, our aim is to raise awareness and money to establish a school on the Syrian-Turkish border, sponsored by SANAD, where Syrian child refugees learn the universal skills of English and mathematics. We believe this will improve their living conditions, help protect them from exploitation and prepare them for a brighter future. A 2014 study from Cogent Reports concluded that over 50% of affluent investors with a balance in a former employer-sponsored retirement plan expect to roll their money into an IRA within the next 12 months. This report continues by saying that an estimated $382 billion will be rolled over in 2015. On average, households with IRA rollovers have $260,000 in financial assets and the average value of those IRAs is $87,500. An IRA (Individual Retirement Arrangement) rollover involves moving assets from one retirement account (i.e. 401(k), 403(b), Governmental 457(b), profit-sharing plan) to an IRA. When you roll over a retirement plan you do not have to pay taxes until you make distributions. Generally, IRA rollovers are performed once an individual separates from service from their current employer. Retirement is typically the trigging event for an IRA rollover. However, IRA rollovers can be performed if an individual has left their former employer and is seeking new employment. Keep in mind; there is an additional way to rollover your retirement plan assets into an IRA by way of an "in-service withdrawal". Typically, retirement plans allow for in-service withdrawals to be made after the age of 59 and before a triggering event like retirement to avoid the early withdrawal penalty of 10%. Advertisement Beginning in 2015, the IRS implemented the IRA one-rollover-per-year rule. This rule states that an individual is limited to one IRA rollover per year, regardless of the number of IRA accounts. However, this rule does not apply to the following: Trustee-to-trustee transfers between IRAs are not limited Rollovers from traditional to Roth IRAs ("conversions") are not limited An IRA is a great retirement planning vehicle where your contributions may be tax deductible and grow tax-deferred to provide you with financial security. The IRA contribution limit does not apply to rollover contributions. An individual has to have earned income to contribute to an IRA and amounts from an IRA are not taxed until distributed. You cannot make regular contributions to a traditional IRA in the year you reach 70 and older. Because when you turn 70 you are subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). In other words, you cannot defer the taxes on your IRA forever. You have a silent built-in partner within your IRA and that partner is the IRS. Therefore, you have to start taking withdrawals from your IRA, Simple IRA, Sep IRA or retirement plans when you reach the age of 70 . If you do not take your RMDs by the required deadline, the amount not withdrawn is taxed at 50%. You are free to withdraw more than the minimum required amount and the formula to calculate the RMD is confusing but it is based on the IRS life expectancy tables. Advertisement Once you roll over your retirement plan into an IRA you have more flexibility from a tax standpoint to take distributions. Withdrawals from an IRA before reaching the age of 59 are called "premature" distributions. Individuals are subject to an additional 10% early withdrawal tax (unless an exception applies) plus their personal tax rate. For example, an exception applies for distributions to cover qualified higher education expenses. Why Rollover your Retirement Assets into an IRA? The main reason investor's rollover their retirement asset into an IRA is: The fees with an IRA are generally lower than an 401k IRAs have more Investing options Fees within a 401k typically fall within 3 categories - plan administration fees, investment fees and individual service fees. Remember that all services have a fee and the more financial services provided the higher the fee. The total fee needs to be considered in making an investment decision but it should not be the driving factor. Cheaper is not necessarily better. If price was the only factor to consider, everyone would be driving a Nissan. Rolling over your retirement assets into an IRA provides more investment choices. This is extremely important because my clients are allowed to participate in tactical portfolio management. In my previous article, There is a Better Way! - Why No One Talks About the Stock Market the Right Way explains in detail the benefits of this type of investment management. With 2016 being the worst start to the stock market ever there is a solution through tactical portfolio management to protect your investment portfolio principal from life changing losses and grow it at the same time. To learn more about Blake Fambrough and his approach to Financial Planning, view his Paladin Registry research report. Article originally posted on PaladinRegistry.com. On Holocaust Remembrance Day, one writer recalls Auschwitz after watching the acclaimed movie I've been waiting to see Son of Saul for a long time now. It had a limited release in the United States, and because of this, it never came to a theatre in my little town on the prairie. So when it was released on DVD a few days ago, I had it shipped overnight to my house. When it arrived, I finally got to watch it. I've written extensively about the Holocaust and I've traveled to Germany and Poland many times to visit the sites of industrialized genocide. In fact, in order to get the history correct for my first novel, I did three separate research trips to Treblinka, Sobibor, Bezec, Majdanek, and Paszow. I spent over thirty hours in Auschwitz. Reading about these places from a safe academic distance is one thing, but to walk the soil of these camps--to stand before the gas chambers where serial mass murder was committed on a daily basis--that is an entirely different experience. It changes you on a molecular level. You're aware of the ground beneath your feet. Son of Saul has been applauded by critics everywhere and it recently won both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for "Best Foreign Language Film". Given such praise, I was keen to see how this movie stacked up against what I knew, especially now that Holocaust Remembrance Day is here. Advertisement A lifetime of research could be devoted to Auschwitz and it would still remain unknowable. One of the many reasons I appreciate Holocaust Remembrance Day is that it nudges us to remember and ask questions. Most of us know about the trains, the selection process, the changing rooms, and the gas chambers disguised as showers. Son of Saul assumes that a viewer knows such things and it works to tell the story of Auschwitz in a wholly unique way. I have never seen a visual representation of the place quite like this before. And it works extremely well. The main character is Saul Auslander and the camera is focused entirely on him throughout much of the film. We both see--and don't see--the camp through his eyes. The scenes behind him are frequently blurry and we only catch glimpses of naked bodies, trucks full of ash, and prisoners snapping to attention in front of SS guards. Conversation is heard in snatches. It's disorienting and confusing. Saul is part of the Sonderkommando. It's his job to clean out the gas chambers and haul the bodies up to the ovens. The story is simple, compelling, and straightforward. It goes like this: after the gas has been pumped out of one of the showers, he finds a teenage boy who may or may not be his son. Saul sets out to find a rabbi who will bury this child and say Kaddish over his body. Amid the overwhelming and punishing evil of Auschwitz, Saul is determined to have the mourner's prayer said over this boy's unburned body. It is a tall order for a death camp like Auschwitz. Whether the child is biologically his or not doesn't matter because it represents Saul's yearning for a religion that is under assault. He isn't just trying to save his son; he is trying to save his own faith and culture. Amid all of this, the Sonderkommando are planning to blow Crematorium IV and kill as many SS guards as they can. This rebellion really happened. You can find out more about it here. It took place on October 7, 1944, and although the men and women involved knew it would be a military failure, they nevertheless wanted to slow down the engine of annihilation. They knew they would die. But this might allow others to live. Advertisement Saul Fia, as the movie is called in Hungarian, is about many things and it is done with great subtly amid great brutality. Just over the shoulder of the main character is a world that is opaque and hard to see. Saul has trouble understanding all that swirls around him and we, as viewers, get that sense too. Auschwitz is both visible and blurry. This is precisely what I appreciate most about Son of Saul--it is a movie about narration. How do we narrate history? How do we bring the past into focus? Many of the characters risk their lives to document the crimes they're seeing at Auschwitz. One of them keeps a journal he plans to bury in the ground while another character uses a smuggled camera to take photos of burning bodies. Both of these things happened in real life. In fact, here's the photo: This picture was taken behind Crematorium V and it is one of the few pieces of visual evidence that we have of life inside Auschwitz. The photo is blurry. Out of focus. Tilted. For me, Son of Saul is much like this photograph and I think that's why the movie is so powerful. We see, but we don't see at the same time. Our imaginations have to fill in the gaps. There is one scene that takes place where all of the suitcases, clothes, enamel pots, eyeglasses, and documents were sorted by teams of women. The Nazis called this section of camp "Canada" because it represented a land of riches. We also see areas of Auschwitz that aren't generally well known--the coal rooms that powered the furnaces for instance. This movie also takes us into the gas chambers and we walk next to the rumbling ovens. Blood is on the gas chamber floor. Water and disinfectant is on the walls. Ash floats through the air. We see naked people being shot at night and burned in a gigantic roaring pit. We see all of this, but it's distorted and over the shoulder of Saul. That which seems un-film-able is on a display right in front of us. No movie can represent Auschwitz. The place is too big to be contained. I don't mean this just in the sense of "art capturing life" but I also mean it quite literally. Unless you've visited the place, it's nearly impossible to appreciate its vast size. The main camp came into existence in 1940. When that proved too small, another camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was built down the road in 1941 and it was here that the gas chambers were housed. Auschwitz III (also known as Monowitz and sometimes Buna) came into operation in 1942. Surrounding these three camps were forty sub-camps. They have forgotten names like Trzebinia, Blechhammer, and Eintrachthutte. So while we refer to Auschwitz as a singular place, it is a plurality. It is a sprawling zone of death that defies imagination. It is beyond knowing--and yet we must try. Advertisement On this Yom HaShoah, there are many ways to remember and learn about the Holocaust. I'd recommend reading the memoirs from the real life Sonderkommando. Without Filip Muller's Eyewitness Auschwitz, Shlomo Venezia's Inside the Gas Chambers, and Miklos Nyiszli's Auschwitz, it is doubtful Son of Saul would have been made at all. I'd also recommend Claude Lanzmann's nine-hour documentary, Shoah. It is a landmark of filmmaking that Roger Ebert called "one of the noblest films ever made." (On a side note, it would be wrong to compare Son of Saul with Shoah. They are two very different acts of commemoration in that one has a fictional character caught in a nonfictional place, and the other is a documentary.) Son of Saul is a visual representation that is unique, chilling, and immediate. After having spent so much time in Auschwitz doing research--and after having written a novel about the Operation Reinhard camps--I found myself watching this movie and feeling as if I saw the Holocaust in a new way. That's the job of the artist. To shed light. One thing is certain, all across the planet we are losing our eyewitness to the Holocaust. A day will come sometime in the future with a headline that reads, "Last Survivor Dies." I worry about what this will do to our understanding of history. This is why we must listen and record and revisit. On this day of remembrance, I'd recommend watching this movie--yes--of course--it's excellent--but I'd pay close attention to those parts that are blurry. Out of focus. In danger of being lost forever. Patrick Hicks is the author of ten books, including The Commandant of Lubizec: A Novel of the Holocaust and Operation Reinhard. He is the Writer-in-Residence at Augustana University and a faculty member at the MFA program at Sierra Nevada College. His website is www.patrickhicks.org Advertisement View from the veranda of the Hotel Nacional, near the sea and the Malecon. I spent ten days in Havana, Cuba, from February 9, 2016 to February 19, 2016--roughly a month before President Obama made his historic trip. It was my first trip to Cuba, and I kept a close journal of my time there. I also wrote poetry there and I will include some of it in journal entries. Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. 8:35 AM Exhausting day of tourism yesterday [Thursday, Feb. 11]--walking along the Malecon, the once extremely beautiful roadway along the sea, like the Croisette in Mediterranean towns like St. Tropez. Most of it is horribly pitted, rutted, and run down. Past the famous Riviera Hotel, put up by the famous American Jewish gangster Meyer Lansky [who also is credited with "inventing" Las Vegas]. From the outside, the Riviera looks close to abandoned, but it is still functioning; I was also told that, inside, it is a perfectly preserved piece of mid-1950s exuberantly excessive Americana. We went into a more "modern" hotel, the Hotel Melia Cohiba, a behemoth that I thought must have been built by the Soviets, but was actually built in 1994 by a Spanish corporation. It was next to the Riviera and is all tourist "business"-class, compared with the more sensational 1950s face of the Riviera. Hugh wanted to go to the famous Hotel Nacional, built in 1936, where Ernest Hemingway "hung out" on its veranda, facing the water. We found a taxi and bargained him down to an appropriate price: in front of a tourist place like the Cohiba, they start at triple the real rate and you see how far they will go down. Advertisement Inside the Hotel Nacional The Nacional was smart, intimate, with soft lighting inside its main lobby and beautifully period side bars. On the veranda, in big, comfortably-cushioned rattan easy chairs--the kind you could spend a day in--Hugh had a mojito, famous at the Nacional, and I a Bloody Mary, served by handsome (really handsome!) waiters in crisp dark blazers and bow ties. We spent about 90 minutes in relaxation. The Nacional serves huge "Cuban sandwiches," popular in New York but not in Cuba; I thought about splitting one for lunch but Hugh wanted to have a late lunch back in Havana Vieja. On the veranda, this poem seemed to write itself. Chasing the Wild Thing The rare, crazy, ephemeral, lascivious moment, when the juices run hot and the blood jets through the corpuscles, and the words of the guides and the guarded disappear because you are one with the vista, the profound contamination that you sought, the Hemingway revulsion made real: and you girded your instinct to bolt, but stayed in the vulnerable moment in the poignant afternoon or early morning, after the alcohol hit and the mystery of leisure revealed itself: this is when you have to rise, face the musica, the Revolucion, the dim-dreaded function of pure existence that cannot be put off when they shot the insurgents and the martyr's blood was soaking the grass and the sand, and Spanish was spoken in a whisper, a sigh, a reduction of all passion, and you faced it, there on a visit to a history you did not forget. It was always inside you. Punching viciously, you silly, pathetic traveler-- to come out. Feb 12, 2016 Havana, Cuba Hotel Nacional But--first we walked quickly over to the nearby monument to the Maine, the battleship whose loss started the Spanish-American War. Blindingly white, it's separated from everything by six lanes of the Malecon with traffic speeding around in two directions. With no safe underground passageway, we managed to rush over to it. A man shouted: "Loco Americanos!" Advertisement After a few minutes, a driver in a minicab, a motorcycle carrying two passengers in back, shot up. He took us to the restaurant we wanted, Dona Eutimia, by the Plaza Catedral; it had very good food for a small price with singing musicians who also double as staff for the cluster of cafes nearby. Everyone was incredibly friendly, really gracious, the way Havana almost always is. I thought about my sweet, handsome friend Ricardo Limon, from Mexico City, and his childhood memories of there: the Latin gifts for theatrics, romance, kindness, and courtesy. Suddenly all of this came to life here, eating outside, listening to live music, and the sheer beauty of this plaza, near the water, of the Old Section. Afterwards, we walked to the Hotel Raquel, a "Jewish" hotel that in the old days, as a kosher oasis, hosted generations of Jewish weddings and bar mitzvahs. It dates to the early 20th century, very Art Nouveau, with beautiful Tiffany windows and architectural details. 11:35 PM Friday, Feb. 12, 2016. I have taken enough cab rides in Havana, in rickety, ancient vehicles with no seat belts, springs, mufflers, or carburetors, to know that Havana smells of gasoline and cigars. The gasoline fumes burn my eyes and sting my nose. The author with a bust of Federico Garcia Lorca in a mansion courtyard, site of some festivities around the Havana International Book Festival. Lorca is a hero in Cuba, but his homosexuality is not openly recognized. Went to a panel discussion on sexual orientation that was part of the Feria de los Libros--the International Book Fair. It was all in Spanish, with four women speakers, but afterwards Ariel, Connor's handsome doctoral student friend, came up to me and introduced the panelists to me, and I presented them a copy of How to Survive Your Own Gay Life and of The Manly Pursuit of Desire and Love. One of them spoke English and asked me what the books were about. I gave them my "elevator speech." Impressed, they invited me to come back to Havana in May for the "Festival Against Homophobia," a government happening spearheaded by Mariela Castro, Raul's daughter. I eagerly assented, thinking May 2017--then realized they meant May 2016--impossible. Too soon after the New York Rainbow Book Fair which will exhaust me. Advertisement We had lunch at an Iranian restaurant in Vedago, a few blocks from where the panel had taken place, out on a beautiful veranda facing a park, in glorious sunlight. Good food, but Hugh had a terrible acid reflux problem and needed another round of table napkins. I asked the waitress "mas serviettas?" and was handed 2 small paper napkins. In Cuba, paper napkins are limited, and some restaurants simply give you a nicely folded paper towel at your place. Later in the evening, we took a cab back from the "casa" to the Old Town for a kick-off concert of the Festival de Musica Antigua Esteban Salas, happening concurrently with the book festival. The concert in St. Francis of Assisi Basilica, was well attended, but the audience was often restless, talking and having difficulties following the program--actually hard to do since they skipped around. Early Music in Havana is not plentiful, and much of the audience may have had little exposure to it but came to support the mostly young student players of Ars Longs, Havana's leading Early Music group that is associated with a music school. A great crescent moon floated above when we left the church. We walked through the now empty streets until we came to the Plaza Vieja, a big "campus" surrounded by galleries, with narrow side cuts for roads. We noticed a second-floor balcony bar and a "barker" for it came out and convinced us to come up: very common in Havana. The balcony was extremely modern, with low-slung, white plastic furnishings--not very comfortable, but the view was great. Next to us, by serendipity, was a very nice older English lesbian couple, Avri and Shan, and we soon became friends, in that way of travelers in a beautiful place. You meet people and an intimacy happens, almost automatically. By: Mady Dahlstrom, Content Editor for Porch.com Step into spring with these colorful and creative home decor ideas that are sure to brighten up your home! From pretty patterned pillows and printables to floral accents and vintage touches, we've rounded up a few of our favorite affordable ways to bring spring into your home. Get ready to spruce up your space and refresh your home with these 7 decorating ideas from the Blogger Community at Porch.com! 1. Put some spring into your front steps Give your front steps a mini-facelift with vibrant colors, plants, and a trendy doormat. Freshening up your front steps is the easiest way to make a spring statement for all of your neighbors to see! Advertisement Image Credit: The House Of Wood 2. Create a cheerful entryway Welcome guests into your home with a light and cheerful entry hall. Pops of color and decorative accents add texture, while framed watercolor printables are the perfect touch of spring! Image Credit: The Happy Housie 3. Design an art gallery wall It's never too late to create a gallery wall in your home! Mix and match prints, artwork, signs, and quotes for a fun collage that you can leave up all season long. Image Credit: All Things With Purpose 4. Make a small space feel big with open shelving Show off your spring dishes, glassware, or special serving pieces by giving open shelving a try. A great solution for small spaces, exposed shelves easily opens up a room. Image Credit: Restless Arrow 5. Play with patterns by adding pillows Decorative pillows are an easy and affordable way to make your home feel like spring! Blend fun patterns with bold colors for a stylish spring look. Advertisement Image Credit: House By Hoff 6. Lighten up your linens Choosing white bedding allows your bed to act as a blank canvas. Dress up your bedroom with accent colors and soft textures to play off your crisp and clean all-white centerpiece. Image Credit: Maison de Pax 7. Mix in mason jars Hang a few mason jars with fresh flowers on a wall mounted drying rack for a creative spring display! I popped into Sainsburys last night for a few post work purchases, while I was trying to negotiate the self-service checkout without kicking it out of pure frustration, I was stopped in my tracks. I heard a new-born baby cry. Strange reason to stop what I was doing you might think? Especially as this new-born baby wasn't mine. However, I began to feel a rising sense of anxiety. I immediately felt transported back to December 2013 when I was in hospital after having my son. He was only 3 days old and I was desperately trying to change his nappy and understand why he was crying, whilst hobbling around in agony, recovering from an emergency caesarean section. Advertisement I frantically called my partner; Wes, who had left the hospital a couple of hours earlier. I pleaded with him to make his way back to the hospital. I felt alone, traumatised and like the walls were closing in on me. I wasn't coping. Heck, I didn't know what to do next. This was almost 2 and a half years ago, I've experienced a breakdown in that time, endless therapy and following all of this, consider myself to be in a good place both mentally and emotionally now. Thus, I was surprised to feel like past scars were open again. I was surprised to feel strangely vulnerable at that moment in Sainsburys. I tried not to analyse my feelings too much, drawing on what I've learnt from Cognitive Behaviour Therapy sessions and bringing myself back to what I was trying to do. You know, not lose my shit with the self-service checkout. Advertisement While I was walking home from the supermarket, I found myself mentally writing this blog. I found myself wanting to articulate this experience, it felt quite profound. Over the course of the last couple of years, I've found certain smells induce a state of anxiety. It's incredible just how powerful the brain is. I've often found myself reflecting on the first year of being a mother. Wondering if I feel robbed of what is supposed to be an amazing time in my life, whereas actually it was the most horrendous at times. Perhaps I do, perhaps I do feel slightly robbed. When I look back at photos of the first year of my son's life I can't help but feel sad. I feel sad because I knew how I felt at the time, I knew what was to come and I knew the smiles I'd painted on were masking what was really going on in my head. Recent conversations with my other half have led us both to decide against having a second child for numerous reasons. Some are health (both physical and mental) whys and wherefores, others are more practical reasons. However, although I feel deep down this is the right decision for us as a family and as individuals, I do 'grieve' (for want of a better word) for the time I can never experience again. Advertisement It wasn't supposed to be like that. I wasn't supposed to have the mental health crisis team visit me 3 days before Christmas to assess my mental health and ensure I didn't need to be admitted into a Mother & Baby unit. I wasn't supposed to find motherhood and all it brings so damn difficult and overwhelming. It wasn't how I anticipated life to be once I welcomed my son into the world. Since writing about my experience with post-natal depression and anxiety in August last year, I've been contacted by many women who have told me their experiences. They've asked me for guidance and I've imparted advice on what I would do in their shoes. I've been candid and explained to them the resources that are available and the roads they should go down to ensure they receive the treatment and support they need. 8 months ago, I wrote about my desire for midwives and health visitors to discuss post-natal mental illness antenatally. I'm strongly of the opinion there needs to be more awareness highlighted at the antenatal stage to prepare women of the conditions that could arise once they have become a Mother. Mental health is AS important as physical health. Just like it's imperative for a midwife to ensure all is well with baby during appointments, it's equally crucial to ask the right questions regarding Mum's mental wellbeing. Post Natal OCD is a condition that requires more awareness. I've been a long time sufferer of OCD since I was 7 years old, however, my OCD manifested itself into a terrifying form 4 days after giving birth. Advertisement I spent hours upon hours googling my symptoms, trying to reassure myself I wasn't on the periphery of losing my mind altogether. Visiting my GP to only be told he didn't recognise my symptoms as OCD and was genuinely concerned for my welfare only compounded my anxiety all the more. Having spent a great deal of time researching Post Natal OCD and receiving intensive treatment for the condition has highlighted to me just how common an illness it can be. Thus, it needs to be emphasised to all potential mothers, especially women who have history of suffering OCD like myself. The thought of another woman perched on the edge of the bath frantic with worry that she's a danger to herself or others is all too much for me to bear. It shouldn't and doesn't need to be that way. ___________________ Opinion by Reboot Illinois' Matt Dietrich Thumbs-up to Margie's Candies, not so much for dad's website. In the department of "kids say the darnedest things," I offer this unsolicited quote from my 12-year-old son: "Dad, I looked at your website and all it does is give a big middle finger to Illinois." Oh, these kids today. Yet as happens so often when one gets a perspective from a fresh set of eyes -- even those of a 12-year-old -- this remark caused a much-needed bit of soul-searching. Obviously, you don't start an operation called Reboot Illinois with the intent of celebrating Illinois government. But neither did we start Reboot Illinois as a clearinghouse for all things negative about Illinois. While informing about areas where Illinois needs improvement -- mainly regarding state finances, jobs, schools and corruption -- is central to our mission, it's not our mission. The commentary, graphics, guest views and videos we provide are intended not just to inform, but to motivate action. At minimum, that means getting involved in the political process by registering to vote and voting. At best, it means direct involvement in effecting change by, in the most obvious example, contacting your elected officials. Advertisement We even created a tool, Sound Off, devoted to that purpose. Enter your address and Sound Off will look up your representative and senator. Choose your issue, type out your message (or use the one we've provided) and Sound Off will send it your lawmakers, the governor and the Democratic and Republican leaders in the Illinois House and Senate. The greatest impediment to citizen action is the widely held feeling that we're powerless; that it won't matter what we say or do because the people in Springfield are going to do what serves them best regardless. With the state now 10 months into an unprecedented budget deadlock, it's never been easier to feel that way. Yet neither has that feeling ever been more wrong. As state Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, explained at an April 11 forum put on by the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform and Truth in Accounting, constituent pressure on the people in Springfield is the only means of ending the impasse: Advertisement Believe it or not, your lawmakers listen to their constituents. And when they complain to their leaders that they're getting heat from back home that's putting them in hot water with voters, their leaders listen. Even as Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Michael continued their war of egos over the state budget, both listened to their members' complaints about college funding last week and allowed passage of $600 million in emergency funding. It was a stunning example of compromise. One final note: When presented with problems like Illinois' pension debt, it's easy to feel not just powerless but also that the situation is hopeless. We've done a lot to explain, for example, the causes and effects of Illinois' pension crisis. It's risen from $83 billion to $111 billion since this website launched and consumes more than 20 percent of the state budget's General Revenue Fund. We probably have not done enough to point out that there are solutions. Yes, taxpayers going forward will have to pay for years of mismanagement by the General Assembly, but there are ways this can be done without sinking state government. California a few short years ago was the worst-case-scenario example of state fiscal dysfunction. Not today. There's no reason Illinois can't follow this model. With new ownership last month and a major website overhaul in the works, this is an exciting time for Reboot Illinois. That makes it a perfect time for us to sharpen our focus on our mission. Advertisement Opinion / Columnist As the Zimbabwean government seeks to further muzzle the media, including social media, in its fruitless efforts to stifle public dissent, it never ceases to baffle me as how those in power think this will help their cause.The ZANU PF government needs to urgently wake up and realise that the people are genuinely angry at them, and the sooner they addressed the people's concerns the better, as no amount of gagging will stop them from expressing their frustrations and anger.In fact, I fear the worst, as most times, it is better to allow someone to express their anger freely, as pent-up anger sooner or later blows up into something more unenviable - usually in the form of violence.The people are genuinely angry, and they have every right to be.This issue goes beyond mere poverty, but its about economic oppression that the people of Zimbabwe have been subjected to for far too long.It is one thing to be poor, but it is a completely different thing to be economically oppressed - that is why the people are angry.Why I distinguish poverty from the situation Zimbabweans find themselves in is simple.In Zimbabwe there is no poverty as such, but economic apartheid.I clearly remember in 2007 when my family was really struggling - like most Zimbabweans - as there was no food in the shops and we had no money.Who can ever forget those years?Fortunately, it was the rainy season, so we would walk for kilometres in the nearby forest in search of mushrooms, which - praise Jehovah God - we always found.Despite the lack in our home, we were very united and joyous as a family.This was because we understood that all of us in the family were going through the same ordeal, and as such, that united us and we stood together despite all odds.That was poverty.However, imagine if I had been busy merry-making, and buying my friends food and drink, whilst my family at home had nothing to eat, drink, and wear.Would we have been so united and joyous as a family, or would there have been strife, anger, and unending fights?I would have been subjecting my family to economic oppression - and that is exactly what is happening in Zimbabwe.The people of this country are greatly suffering.If the yarn about sanctions being responsible for this suffering had been true, all of us - including those in power - would have been suffering as well.Economic sanctions are supposed to cripple an entire economy, such that there would be no money for anything and anyone, not even for those in power.We would all be suffering together.If that had been the case, then - like my family - we would have been united as a country.No one would have been angry at the government - as we would been in it together.That would have been poverty.However, the Zimbabwean story is very different.The only ones who are suffering in this country are the ordinary people, whilst those in power lavish themselves with overseas holidays and shopping, get the best medical care in upmarket overseas hospitals, and build themselves luxurious mansions - that leave Queen Elizabeth's II envious - and buy up nearly every building in some towns.When those in local authorities buy themselves cars, sleep in hotels at trade fairs, and build themselves posh houses, whilst the residents of those towns go without water, and their babies drowning in shallow wells.Yet they do this at the ordinary citizen's expense, as this is all through taxpayers' money and the plundering of the nation's resources.Robbing the already poor, in order to finance their lavish lifestyles - and leaving the poor even poorer.In fact, even if it had been true that Zimbabwe was under economic sanctions, there would not have been such suffering.Iran had endured economic sanctions for years imposed by the United Nations (UN), United States (US), European Union (EU), and other Western countries for its nuclear programme - until only a few months back when they signed the historic nuclear deal with the so-called P5+1.However, Iran remained the second largest economy in that region.What the people of Zimbabwe are being subjected to is purely economic oppression.Are the ordinary citizens of this country not justified to be angry?Are they not justified in writing the things they are expressing on social media platforms?Am I not justified in writing these articles as a result of the injustices inflicted upon the people of Zimbabwe?Who should be punished here - the people who are justifiably expressing their frustrations and anger at the oppression they are being daily subjected to, or those in power who are plundering the country's resources and taking the poor's taxpayers' money for their own gallivanting?Certainly, those in the wrong are the oppressors.If the ZANU PF government continues on this path of oppression - which I truly believe they will, as these people are beyond salvaging - then the people will only get angrier and more vocal by the day.As such, muzzling of the media will never be the answer.The ZANU PF government may choose to see no evil, and hear no evil - but they certainly say a lot of evil - however, like the ostrich that is said to bury its head in the sand in front of oncoming danger, this government is only nesting a time-bomb.Muzzling the genuine feelings of the people will sooner or later blow up in the government's face.The people's needs have to be addressed as a matter of urgency.That is the only solution.Zimbabweans are not an inherently angry and spiteful lot - far from it - but they are fed up with this economic oppression and they desperately need respite - and the sooner ZANU PF figures that out, the better.------Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist and commentator, writer, and journalist. He writes in his personal capacity, and welcomes any feedback. Please feel free to call/WhatsApp: +263782283975, or email: tendaiandtinta.mbofana@gmail.com Photos by Leslie Kirchhoff I have worked as a fashion and celebrity stylist for over a decade, which is a fancy way to say that I find clothes for people to wear. It involves so much more than that, though -- tons of traveling, attending shows and presentations for weeks on end, poring over spreadsheets, hauling enormous trunks, missing flights, losing sleep, forgetting meals, and washing other people's clothing (and sometimes underwear). Between the stories of triumph and tragedy, I shop -- and that's what most people ask me about. But the truth is, for quite a while, I hadn't perfected my own shopping habits. My closet had always contained a measured mix of designer and fast-fashion pieces; I would regularly feel guilty after my expensive designer purchases, and would compensate by purchasing high street brands to get a shopping fix without feeling the stress on my wallet at the register. I was sure this high-low strategy was the way to guarantee maximum style within a budget, but it was actually just draining my funds. This all began to change three years ago, when I was introduced to the designer of Amour Vert, Linda Balti, whose brand produces sustainable basics. Balti is a stylish French woman with an enviable je ne sais quoi, and she's been committed to shopping mindfully since starting her brand, buying only from companies with ethical practices. I was impressed by her commitment to ethical shopping -- but not so much to adopt it for my own. I loved this concept the way I love the idea of a 5 a.m. workout: I wanted to be there, I just didn't want to have to get there. Advertisement I thought that to shop ethically meant that I would have to compromise my personal style in the process. As someone who wasn't able to afford a closet full of Stella McCartney vegan separates, how could I make this work? I decided to challenge myself to shop ethically for one year. What began as a self-imposed styling test has now become a new way of life: It's been passion-igniting, and has seeped into other areas of my life. I've also saved at least a few thousand dollars, and my wardrobe has never looked better. I approached my ethical styling challenge like I would a new client. Before making any purchases, I had to assess the current state of my wardrobe. I picked through my closet, asking myself: Was I happy with my wardrobe as a whole? Was it cohesive? Did it represent my aesthetic and lifestyle? Would my clothing stand the test of time? Ruefully, I admitted the answer to many of these questions was "no." My wardrobe did not represent a chic, sophisticated stylist from New York with a strong social conscience. Instead, I saw a woman with no sense of color or her own identity who also maybe owns a time machine. With brutal honesty I divided my clothing into three categories: 1. The home-run pile: the most trusted items I've worn a ton and still love. 2. The treat yo'self pile: special-occasion pieces I'll need later on. 3. The nope pile: anything I have never worn or wish I hadn't. By examining my stuff using these categories, I could identify the styles that were the most successful for me and those that were not -- like my glittery Alexander Wang pants from four years ago that look amazing on the hanger but terrible on my butt. As well as the most popular styles, I wanted to know which pieces gave me the most value for my money. I determined the price-per-wear of each item by dividing its cost by how many times I've worn it: The more frequently something is worn, the cheaper its price-per-wear would be. Advertisement The first thing I recognized was that my most trusted pieces were overwhelmingly the simplest and highest in quality. They were well designed with exceptional fit, which meant they were worn quite often. Last summer, for example, I bought a pair of navy Celine culottes. They cost $1,200 and I felt extremely guilty when I bought them; in fact, I considered returning them several times. But, I couldn't bear to give them up. Using the price-per-wear model, I counted the 20 times that I had already worn them, giving them a price-per-wear result of $60. Not to mention the huge number of compliments I receive every time I wore them. As the weather warms, and they get added back into my rotation (though I even managed to style them for a few winter looks), this number will continue to lower. But my love for the pants only grows. Comparatively, sitting in my trash pile, waiting to be donated to charity, were five skirts and two pairs of pants (both from Zara), with a total value of $890. Most of these items were bought in either a moment of panic, when I was seeking a fashion fix, or out of boredom. Of this $890, I've worn two of the pieces once, and regretted it both times. I couldn't even put a price tag on the cheap items in my nope pile that completely changed shape after the first wash and became un-wearable. The most shocking part of this exercise was I had spent almost as much money on my collection of cheap clothing as I had on my favorites. For the price of my inexpensive fashion fixes, I could have had an entire second selection of gorgeous, high-quality pieces. What I learned was that I was so seduced by the allure of a cheap runway knock-off and so addicted to the idea that I needed a constant supply of new clothing, that I was throwing money away. While my favorites pile was smaller than I wanted my wardrobe to be, it contained many fantastic styling options. Had I always shopped slowly and mindfully, I could have doubled this selection by now and had an enviable collection of stylish designer clothing with endless outfit choices. This is not to say that the only way to shop is to buy new designer clothing -- that's far from the truth. I have a pair of vintage Yves Saint Laurent boots that I picked up for $90 and a Gap denim dress I bought on eBay for $20. Both have been worn to death season after season. In fact, I've noticed that ever since I've started buying clothes that I can wear for a majority of the year, I'm buying more things off-season and have been able to take advantage of deep designer sales. Advertisement Shopping ethically taught me that when I spent big and shopped smarter, I saved more. When I first changed my habits, I was so worried about buying anything that might be deemed unethical that I bought only vintage. But it was too dramatic a style change for me and incredibly time consuming. Reformation has proved to be the ideal segue: Its clothes are reasonably priced, cute, and easy to wear. I bought a summer dress there that I've worn a ton, and a few separates to pair with things I already owned. Summer proved to be the perfect time to cut down on pointless spending and save for the big ticket items of winter: A few well-chosen dresses in great colors and separates can carry you through most of the warm weather months. Once fall arrived, I had more confidence in my ability to select timeless pieces and took the time to find the perfect sweater (Zady), replace my Zara bottoms (Everlane), find beautiful accessories (Cuyana), and cheaply update my jeans by tailoring three pairs I already owned. I saved enough by opting out of frequent fast-fashion shopping trips over the warmer months to buy a beautiful Stella McCartney coat and sweater, which I wear as often as possible. I feel no guilt splurging on a special pair of shoes once or twice a season to keep my look fresh, especially from Edun or Maiyet. I love the selection in my closet, and have saved somewhere in the vicinity of $5,000 on clothing compared to my pre-ethical spending in the same time frame. This year, I expect the amount I spend to drop even more. Even though it was only a year and a half ago that I began to adopt a different way of approaching shopping, I also learned to take into consideration the things that I truly value and want to do well. I value beautiful clothing, looking after our environment, and investing in products from companies that are transparent about their business and production. Naturally, I pivoted to sustainable fashion. I still dress celebrities and indulge in styling beautiful editorials, but I now invest a good portion my time, money, and talents into fashion brands with moral missions that prioritize quality. It's a challenge at times to encourage others to see the sexy side of shopping sustainably, but shopping slowly and without excess is a perfect start. And this commitment to design and to caring for the environment is infectious. My post-shopping guilt is gone and, more importantly, so is my desperate need for a constant barrage of new things. I'm much more satisfied with enjoying the items I have. As a stylist, I often hear to question: "What should I buy this season?" To which my response is usually: "Whatever suited you best last season." I've watched fashion trends come and go, and the most stylish women are always above them. Investing time into finding pieces that fit well and are the most flattering pays off for years to come. Spending big on the best quality pieces that your budget will allow is even better. When you are in the habit of buying pieces that push the limit of what you are comfortable spending, you usually spend much more time deliberating over whether you truly need it. It's amazing when you take the time to assess the value of something in your life how often you'll decide you actually don't. And really, that just means more money in the bank for the item you find that you truly fall in love with. Conspicuously absent during this election cycle has been any real discussion let alone debate regarding poverty and the status of the poor in America. Instead, as usual, the poor have remained invisible. Yes, you will see the homeless person panhandling for change on a street or highway median. You may see a person begging for money outside a fine restaurant. But by and large the homeless can find themselves keeping a low profile. What has happened this year, however, is that there have been several Silicon Valley entrepreneurs that have gone out of their way to denigrate those who are less fortunate. ( See previous blog So You Want To Avoid The Pain Of The Homeless ) First, it was tech bro railing against the presence of the homeless to the Mayor of San Francisco. Now we have the latest Tech CEO who wants to keep the world safe for the one percent. A Silicon Valley tech CEO has sparked backlash for comments slamming local fruit vendors, saying he would "make their life miserable" and "destroy" their produce if they were stationed near his house - making him the latest wealthy Californian entrepreneur to publicly rail against low-income people. Mark Woodward, CEO of software company Invoca, published - and later deleted - a Facebook post saying that he would have no qualms about aggressively harassing unauthorized fruit sellers in his neighborhood if they got near his home. "I would go out there and make their life miserable. I would do whatever it took to make them leave. If that meant destroying some of their produce, or standing out there with signs to chase everyone away, Or just making them very uncomfortable, I would do that in a heartbeat." The comments were published on a public San Jose real estate page called Willow Glen Charm in response to an anonymous post complaining about fruit sellers. They mark only the latest example of a male tech CEO making aggressive, insensitive and tone-deaf remarks about people less fortunate than them. Asked for comment on Monday, Woodward declined to apologize. "There were some other incidents leading up to this that led to my emotional reaction," he said in a statement sent by a spokeswoman. "I removed the statements because I realized bringing a nuanced conversation to a social forum where it could be taken out of context was not the best way to bring resolution to a serious, multi-faceted issue." Woodward's comments come at a time when experts have increasingly raised concerns about the way tech firms have exacerbated income inequality, with low-income workers and people of color increasingly struggling to make ends meet in the northern California communities that are home to some of the wealthiest companies in the world. I'll 'make their life miserable': tech CEO bullies low-income vendors by his home The Guardian - 21 hours ago One wonders how a wealthy digital corporate CEO has the time to declare a war on poor people. One also wonders about the condition of the individual's soul whose behavior makes Ebenezer Scrooge look like the Good Witch Of The North from The Wizard Of Oz. Instead of maximizing greed and avarice, what would it be like if Google, Apple ,Oracle and others invested money and assistance in helping to reduce the numbers of homeless and to assist poor people, especially people of color in Northern California ? This humanitarian effort would be greatly welcomed and would resonate with the mission of these companies in their attempt to improve the quality of life and commerce through the use of technology. Unfortunately, the explosion of technology has produced, as a byproduct, not only a continuing digital divide between those who have access to the technology versus those who don't, but also contributes to further income inequality. There is nothing wrong with making lots of money; the challenge becomes what can you do with your resources that will improve the lives of others and of the world ? It used to be that the wolf would try to blow down the door of the home of "the three little pigs "; now it's a tech CEO who bullies and threatens to destroy a fruit stand in his neighborhood. As the saying goes "They don't make wolves like they used to. " Hopefully love and compassion can win out again over i8gnorance. May it be so. More than two centuries ago, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in The Social Contract, envisioned a society where "no citizen shall ever be wealthy enough to buy another, and none poor enough to be forced to sell himself." Embodying the 'General Will', the French philosopher argued, the modern state ought to bring about social justice by instilling the conditions for exercise of freedom --- not freedom solely in its formal-legal sense. (Quite controversially, Rousseau also argued: If necessary, the people - perhaps through a benevolent dictator -- should be "forced to be free.") Today, the Philippines broadly approximates Lockean democracy, where pluralism and property serve as the kernel of the existing order. Though an often-incomprehensible bundle of verbosity and notorious obfuscation, the Philippine constitution (1987) is one of the most democratic and liberal documents in human history. It largely reads like an updated version of American forefathers' ideals, filled with Jeffersonian as well as Madisonian principles applied to a continent of "Asian values". Before the law, all Filipinos are equal citizens with equal rights. A cursory look at the Philippine society, however, reveals a feudalistic nation, composed of an uncaring elite lording over impoverished masses of disenfranchised peasants, exploited workers, and demoralized intellectuals. It is a society, where -- in Orwellian parlance -- "all are equal" in law, but in reality, "some are more equal than others." In this sense, contemporary Philippines is more reminiscent of Tolstoy's decadent Russia towards the end of the Romanov era (1613-1917) than Rousseau's idea of a modern republic. Advertisement Yet, one can't deny the priceless significance of the Philippines' formal democratic institutions, which emerged out of a decades-long struggle against the Marcos dictatorship (1971-1986). Form, as Aristotle argued, shapes the expression of substance. In contemporary Philippines, one can still hope to enjoy inalienable rights such as freedom of expression and assembly, especially in metropolitan areas, so much so that many have come to take these basic rights for granted. Some observers, including Singapore's legendary founder Lee Kuan Yew, went so far as to derisively claim that the Philippines has "too much democracy". The Philippines' formal freedom are the product of countless sacrifices by those who endured unspeakable torture and suffering under the previous regime. And it is precisely based on these foundations that a generation of Filipino progressives are building -- brick by brick -- a genuine democracy, where conditions of freedom are secured in everyday life -- not only in the chronicles of law and ruminations of constitutionalists. Nonetheless, a growing number of Filipinos are running out of patience, fed up with decades of empty slogans and broken vows. No wonder then, a new set of 'strongman' candidates -- who promise salvation in exchange for (unbending) obedience and loyalty -- has managed to capture the popular imagination. In the coming days, the Philippines is set to elect its new leaders. As I forecasted, the race may very well end up between the "iron fist" (kamay na bakal) tandem of Rodrigo Duterte and Ferdinand "Bong Bong" Marcos Jr., on one hand, and the "straight path 2.0" (daan matuwid) tandem of Manuel "Mar" Roxas and Leni Robredo, on the other. Advertisement It will be a battle of stark contrasts, with each camp promising a new way forward before a tired, restless and broadly impoverished nation. Will the Philippines fall into a Machiavellian cyclical history as it did in the 20th century or, instead, embark on a Hegelian march towards the terminus of genuine democracy? The Final Stretch Without a doubt, the emerging zeitgeist in the Philippines is 'grievance politics': a popular yearning for change, for better or worse, expressed through what can be described as 'protest' votes. In this milieu of deep-rooted frustration, outside-the-box candidates such as Duterte and Marcos have made unexpected headway in recent months. In effect, the Philippine electorate is now split among 'strongman' demagogues, traditional populists, and heterodox reformists. In a single-round, first-past-the-post race, all you need to win is just to get more votes than the others. But the rise of 'strongman' candidates is also a function of the shortcoming of alternative candidates. Back in January, it was actually the 'populist' Vice President Jejomar Binay, the former mayor of Makati city, the Philippines' financial center, who was leading in the race. But his poor performance in presidential debates, where he struggled to defend himself against allegations of corruption, progressively relegated him to the lower rungs of the race. Throughout the past year, neophyte Senator Grace Poe, who combines both elements of 'reformism' and 'populism' in her campaign narrative, led the race. But in the past month, as she overcame a difficult constitutional hurdle over her (citizenship/residency) eligibility, she has steadily lost momentum, particularly among the upper- and middle-clases. For long, she was viewed as a 'candidate of change', a seemingly obvious alternative to the two establishment candidates, Vice President Jejomar Binay and Interior Secretary Manuel "Mar" Roxas. And unlike Duterte, she is polished, charming, and articulate. A fast-learner, she can be dubbed as a "crowdsource" president, who is willing to listen to best advisers. Advertisement But her 'cumulative' association with business oligarchs, former president Joseph Estrada, a convicted plunderer, inter alia, gradually chipped away at her aura of authenticity -- leaving Duterte as the only seeming 'authentic' choice in the race among four competitive candidates. President Benigno Aquino's anointed successor, Mar Roxas, a reformist technocrat, has for long been tagged as uncharismatic and unpopular, mainly thanks to his wobbly PR campaign throughout the past year. His biggest mistake in earlier stages of the campaign was to present himself as essentially a referendum on the status quo, which, in an era of grievance politics, is sure to backfire. During presidential debates, he sometimes appeared like a re-electionist. In recent weeks, however, Roxas, who has performed well in all presidential debates, has gathered momentum by projecting himself as an improved version of the incumbent and, more importantly, a 'steady hand' and 'sound mind' who will serve as the protector of democratic institutions against the ostensible prospect of what Filipino sociologist Randy David calls "Dutertismo". Pleading for patience, for "the best is yet to come", Roxas promised to take the Philippines, in venture capital parlance, from "short pants to long pants." The latest survey, for the very first time in months, puts Roxas ahead of Poe, though statically tied with her. He seems to have regained his lead in Visayas, a supposed bailiwick, and has steadily regained support among the upper- and middle-class, who are abandoning the Poe-Escudero camp and are mostly supportive of Duterte and Marcos, who have promised safety and effective governance. With two decades of executive and legislative experience in national office, having led various key departments (with varying degrees of competency), Roxas is a favorite among investors and economists. No less than The Economist magazine has put its weight behind him, arguing the "dull but diligent Mr Roxas would make the best next president." The Robredo Factor Aside from possessing formidable electoral machinery, which nonetheless has suffered noticeable defections in recent weeks to Poe, Roxas can also count on the support of his charismatic running-mate, Leni Robredo, who has begun to passionately campaign for her presidential partner. For decades, Robredo, a neophyte congresswoman from Bicol region, served as a public servant, helping marginalized farmers fight against abusive landowners. Largely unknown just a few months ago, she is now leading the vice-presidential race, though statistically tied with Marcos. Advertisement Living a very simple lifestyle, she is seen by may as a highly 'authentic candidate', though an anti-thesis of Duterte. For some of her supporters, it seems all she has to do to win the elections is to simply introduce herself to voters. Crucially, she has vowed to continue the legacy of her late husband, Jesse Robredo, a beloved and highly respected statesman who preceded Roxas as the interior minister. In many ways, she represents not the Aquino administration's 'straight path', which has lost its luster among most voters, but the progressive "Naga model" - an alternative to, if not antithesis of, Duterte's strongman 'Davao model' of governance - of participatory, democratic and effective leadership, which has turned Naga City and surrounding regions into one of the most desirable places in the country. Nonetheless, Duterte seems to have the upper hand in the presidential race. But his victory is far from assured. After all, Roxas seemed like a runaway winner at this stage in the race back in 2010, just to lose to then Mayor Binay in the vice-presidential race. It is also possible that Duterte's impeccable lead is more a function of campaign-period euphoria, but not necessarily translating into actual voting come Election Day. Duterte, who managed to overcome the 'rape joke' fallout unscathed, could end up losing some points due to an ongoing investigation with regards to his alleged hidden wealth - an ordeal that may chip away at his image of 'authenticity' among 'softer' supporters. Clearly though, the reformist vote is now split between two candidates, Roxas and Poe. Thus, reformist voters face hard choices: Unless they coalesce behind one of those two candidates, Duterte is expected to sweep the elections next week. And the markets and business community areextremely jittery. Third Time Lucky "Certainly all historical experience confirms the truth - that man would not have attained the possible unless time and again he had reached out for the impossible," Max Weber once argued. The senatorial race seems more encouraging for reformist candidates, including progressives. One candidate, who is doing well in the surveys, is Risa Hontiveros, who was recently the director of PhilHealth. If elected into office, she will arguably become the first openly social democratic senator in Philippine history. Advertisement In her, voters will effortlessly detect intelligence, diligence, sincerity, and charm. And she has decades of political activism, excellence in journalism, and an impeccable legislative track record (in the Philippine Congress) to back up her bid for the Senate. This is her third run, but -- similar to Pia Wurtzbach -- it seems that she is finally on the verge of a breakthrough. Recently, I asked her about her views about the ongoing elections and her vision for the country. She seemed both upbeat and perturbed, but, as always, flashed her indubitable sense of optimism and displayed her signature moral courage that has inspired millions of young voters across the country. Heydarian: What made you decide to run, for the third time, for the Philippine Senate? Is this a Pia Wurtzbach 'third-time lucky' moment? Why do you think you should be elected as a Senator, what do you bring to the table that is lacking in other candidates? Hontiveros: Pia Wurtzbach is a great example for Filipinas of grit and tenacity, indeed. I think people put too much premium on effortlessness, on instant gain, and too little stock on perseverance. Those who keep at something are often ridiculed, and women even more so. I think this mindset has to change, and Pia, I think is a important example of a woman who goes after what she wants. J.K. Rowling is another. She recently released on social media her rejection letters, and that was incredibly inspiring to read. I am running now on a platform of universal health. I have already been a health advocate in Congress, with my authorship of the Cheaper Medicines Law. And I think everyone knows my position on the reproductive health bill. I believe it is very important to have a health advocate in the senate to push health reforms forward and to make sure that health is front and center in the national agenda. Our maternal mortality rate is going up, teenage pregnancies are still high. These means we have been making bad policy decisions through the years, and the call to prioritize health is an urgent one. Advertisement Heydarian: Without a question, you are widely acknowledged as one of the most recognizable faces among "progressives". Is it a disadvantage to be branded as a progressive/leftist in the Philippines? What do you think about the role of and the place of progressives in the country, why are there so few of them in higher offices like the Senate? Hontiveros: I would like to think that there is a wider acceptance of progressive politics, and that the progressive message is beginning to resonate among the mainstream audience. I am an activist, and I trace my roots to the Left. To disagree with a certain Vice Presidentiable, ako ang aking nakaraan. I will always view the world with an activist lens. The reason why I and my party never gave up after two successive failed attempts is because we believe that if we want to create meaningful reforms, we cannot always do it from the fringes. We should aspire to occupy chambers of power, and higher offices like the Senate. And from there, we can work for and with the fringes. Why are there so few progressives in higher office? I think that answer is obvious. The senate is full of big names and political dynasties. So is the House, apart from the party-lists. Politicians in the Philippines have deep financial resources to draw from. That's something we don't have. And that is something we should constantly fight against: money politics, the politics of entitlement and impunity. It's a wall that keeps people out of governance. But I believe we can break that wall, chip by chip. We can transform governance by sheer tenacity, by dint of hard work -- by running for the Senate three times! - and then when we succeed, by pushing for the reforms that matter through more hard work. One thing that always stayed in my mind was what I heard from Randy David many years back, quoting Louis Althusser. He said that it is always important for us to establish combat positions within the state. Heydarian: In recent months, there has been a disturbing upsurge in 'autocratic nostalgia', as certain candidates, including Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, began touting their tough, disciplined "Davao model" as the way forward for the country. Do you think there is an alternative model to the woes of basic governance and democratic deficit in Philippine state institutions? Is that the "Daan Matuwid" of the incumbent? Advertisement Hontiveros: I think Daang Matuwid, with its emphasis on good governance and anti-corruption, is necessary to start with, but it is not sufficient. Inequality is still the great problem of our time, and I suspect that it is the root of the discontent that gives rise to the hunger for Duterte style politics. We need Daang Matuwid with a greater emphasis toward redistribution, social protection, and asset reform - this means agrarian reform, anti-contractualization, balanced housing, and of course, universal health. Heydarian: What is your message to the Millennial voters and the Filipino youth, many of whom seem to be very attracted to the "strongman" model forwarded by the likes of Mayor Duterte and Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr? How do you think should they vote, what standards should they employ and characteristics in candidates should they look at? Are you worried by the seeming upsurge in autocratic nostalgia in the country? Hontiveros: I am worried that the strongman message resonates with the youth, and I am worried that it is our collective failing as the generation that came before them. I am a mother of four inquisitive and opinionated millennials and so I do my best to talk to them about important questions of the day and make sure they think critically. It is gratifying to see young people have opinions and voices on how government should be run, and can only hope that building on this, they vote for candidates who deepen our democratic processes, and who will create spaces and windows for them to further engage government. With every passing day it seems the norm is to hear a local or national story about the death of a black man, young or old in America. Whether it be by the hands of the community or the hands of the police the numbers are growing at an alarming rate. Currently the leading cause of death for African-American men and boys, age 10-24, is homicide. More than 1,000 people have been shot in Chicago -- my hometown -- this year, and the majority of victims are African-American. I sometimes find myself discouraged that the investment in black men and boys was pointless. Over the last three years however, I have experienced a paradigm shift in my thinking. It was in the late winter of 2014 in New Orleans that I got a glimpse into what the future holds. This glimpse wasn't one of destruction, grieving parents on TV or hateful jargon from empowered trolls hiding behind a keyboard. The glimpse was one of hope, direction and most important, action. This action came in the form of a small group of mayors and city leaders willing to believe when others jumped ship. Advertisement This group of leaders from around the country came together for the first ever Cities United convening. Heading into this first convening, I was skeptical. In my mind I was walking into another room of suit and ties who talk a good game but don't do tangible work to improve the lives of black men in America. To my surprise Cities United turned out to be the opposite. The convening heads put together what many others have left out, proclaiming a much-needed call to action. They also brought together people who are about making real change, whether it was millennial leaders from the ground in Philadelphia to mayors and city officials creating policy and safe havens from the board room. Now with nearly 80 mayors on board who understand the value of the lives of black men and boys, Cities United plans to make a giant stamp on the city of Birmingham, AL, May 3-5, 2016, at their third convening. Not only are they addressing urgent issues that our cities face, they are also diving into the spaces that many dare not go, the root cause. Cities United is taking a hands-on approach to figure out where violence in these communities stems from and ways to correct them that are unconventional in the age and times we live in. This is done by creating safe and healthy environments and through healing the open wounds that broken communities and broken people have experienced for entirely too long. Advertisement Now a national movement, Cities United is equipping cities with crucial tools and resources to build on and accelerate efforts to reduce violence and improve outcomes. They are proving that bringing mayors and city leaders together with youth, philanthropist and community leaders to put shared ideas and solutions into action is creating winning combination. The relationships that have been built from Cities United have broken intergenerational issues amongst leaders. This is an all hands on deck movement and we are the change that we have been waiting to see. Cities United gives the opportunity for anyone to invest their time, talent or treasure in order to create a better life for black men and boys. So take the steps to get off the sidelines and put your gifts to use. It won't be easy. Working to impact the lives of black men and boys can be draining and difficult. As a mentor to youth in Chicago, I know this firsthand. Being around this national group of critical thinkers and doers has helped me stay focused and bring fresh ideas to my mentoring groups. Through the help of Cities United, I have been able to help my young men better themselves by equipping them mentally, emotionally and physically with a positive alternative to some of the negative lifestyles they have learned since childhood. I have seen a great change in some of my most challenging youth and I'm confident that this change can expand to include the lives of many more. At a point where many have decided to throw in the towel, Cities United has stepped in and now you can, too. For the mayors who have already joined Cities United, I encourage you to add youth to your team and provide them with a platform to bring about real change in their communities. Our young men can't afford to wait. Last weekend I had the opportunity to see the one-man autobiographical play, Fighting Shadows, written by Richard Cabral with Robert Egan, which tells the trajectory of one man's struggle with social disorganization, and navigates through the redemptive process of the power of love and the arts. Performed hauntingly and epically by Emmy-nominated actor, Richard Cabral, known for his roles in ABC's American Crime, End of Watch, A Better Life, and other crime dramas, his deliverance echoes struggle and survival. It comes from the gut and oozes suppressed pain. Only through the catharsis of performance can Cabral exhaust complex issues such as his father's abandonment, drug use, gang life, recidivism, prison politics, death, and others. It is a harsh reality of growing up in dire conditions, in an era that spawned the crack epidemic, the warehousing of people of color, the CRASH units in law enforcement, the advanced militarization of the police force, draconian state and local legislature, the 92 Riots, the proliferation of gangs and vandalism, and it is through this era that Cabral comes-of-age. The set design is a backdrop of a graffiti-filled wall. Gang nicknames plague the entire facade, chain-link fences reflect the oppressive social conditions, while cultural murals attempt to give pride and dignity. Painted by celebrated artist, Fabian Debora, who went through his own form of social disorganization on the streets of Los Angeles, the iconography places you in a complex built environment. The musical arrangement done by Rocio Libertad Mendoza & Jesus Martinez, ranges from Juan Gabriel to Johnny Cash, and it too reflects the complexity of navigating the ethnic American neighborhood via second and third generation cultural acclimation, which often results in social disorganization. At the start, Cabral performs his grandfather's immigration to Los Angeles as a result of despair, poverty, and unemployment. After his father leaves him at the age of two, he is thrust into an arduous world where his only mentorship is in the simplistic, unconditional love of a grandmother, who speaks in proverbs and offers unwavering advice. But as she leaves, Cabral enters an inferno on the streets without a Virgil to guide him, and searches for role-models in the wrong places. The call of the street is fierce and soon he advances into a perpetual world of gangs, drugs, violence, and jail. Advertisement Cabral goes deep into the belly of the whale and experiences more social disorganization that involves abandoning his own child, prison, recidivism, attempted murder charges, and seeing friends get shot and murdered right before his very eyes. But solace soon comes from an unlikely place - the special/solitary housing unit (SHU) in state prison where he can decompress and take a step back from authoritarian prison politics and apartheid living. The SHU is an unlikely place since it is often associated with cruel and unusual punishment, but as Cabral maintains in the play, it is the place where he learns to fight the shadows, for the first time. It is the push he needs to attempt metamorphosis and upon release reaches out to his five-year old son. It is the first step at reconciliation. Another step is taken when a woman in his life offers simple friendship, and the ultimate reconciliation process occurs in prison when he befriends an enemy from an opposite gang. It is at that moment where hatred, blame, and victimization cease to exist. Cabral takes charge of his life, an architect of his own destiny, and upon release starts a family, reconnects with his son and mother, finds employment, and finds new mentorship. A priest tells him, "Don't let people judge you by the first chapter, go out and write the next one. Don't let them write it for you." From then on, Cabral transforms from two-striker, low-level thug, to Emmy-nominated actor and playwright. His second chapter is just beginning. The last words in the play reflect the latter. He says that Shakespeare cannot tell his story about doing heroine or methamphetamine, nor can Tennessee Williams capture what it was like to have your cousin die in your arms for representing your street gang organization. Outsiders cannot write our story, we must write our own narratives. This is commonplace in literature, cinema, and non-fiction. We get interviewed by outsiders who want to tell our stories. They are fascinated by our experience and reality and want to champion our cause. Despite their intention, it is another form of "othering." They want to capture our essence by combining it with their safe interpretation, but it is not our nuance, metaphor, or allegory that is being used - it is theirs. People who grew up in Los Angeles during the 80s and 90s, who were involved in gangs and graffiti, or were directly informed by them and who survived the age of coldness, lived the most turbulent decades of Los Angeles' history. The death rate skyrocketed and the warehousing of people proliferated beyond normalcy. Entire groups of people were annihilated. The era was the true spirit of Lost L.A. Richard Cabral and Fighting Shadows are the complete reflection of dark progressivism; to come from a somber place and transform into something sublime and colorful. It is the most relatable piece of drama I have ever experienced and sobbed throughout. It is an epic hero's journey and a true redemptive American story of hope and possibility. When you open up to the world and expose your truth and vulnerability, it becomes your strength, and the world opens up to you. Advertisement Don't miss out on this extraordinary and authentic drama which runs one last time on May 8th in Skid Row, Downtown Los Angeles at Inner City Arts 720 Kohler St, Los Angeles, CA 90021 For more info go to: http://www.fightingshadows.com @richardcabralofficial Fire burns part of an estimated 105 tonnes of ivory and a tonne of rhino horn confiscated from smugglers and poachers at the Nairobi National Park near Nairobi, Kenya, April 30, 2016. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Last weekend, the Kenyan government set fire to more than 100 tons of ivory and rhinoceros horn -- a stockpile seven times larger than any destroyed globally thus far. The event dramatically underscored the existential threat wildlife trafficking presents to many of our most treasured species. Over a recent three-year period, approximately one fifth of the entire African elephant population -- 100,000 elephants -- were killed for their ivory. That equates to one elephant killed every 15 minutes. Rhinoceros populations in South Africa are also being killed at a rate of more than three a day. Since 2008, one-fifth of the remaining African rhinoceroses -- nearly 6,000 -- have been poached. The United States -- as one of the largest consumer market in the world--drives demand for products around the globe, and represents a significant market for illegal wildlife products -- jewelry, clothing, medicine, carvings, souvenirs and food. This demand supports a trade that threatens to decimate wildlife populations around the world, from iconic species to little-known animals that are critical to ecosystems and livelihoods. Advertisement Wildlife trafficking is also a threat to security globally. The illegal trade in wildlife products is a highly lucrative form of transnational organized crime, with annual revenues in the billions of dollars per year. This illegal trade has devastating impacts: it threatens national and international security, undermines the rule of law, fuels corruption, hinders economic development (particularly at the level of local communities) pushes species to the brink of extinction, and contributes to the spread of disease. There's no doubt that wildlife trafficking is a global problem, with implications that extend far beyond the populations of animals killed for their hair, hides, teeth, and horns. If we're going to be successful in stemming this epidemic, the United States must play a leading role in eliminating our own demand for illegal products. We need nothing less than a consumer revolution so the U.S. can stop demand for these products in its tracks. By ending the market for goods made of elephant ivory, rhino horn, and other trafficked rare animals, we can ensure that our children and grandchildren can see these iconic species thrive in their natural habitats. This means getting all Americans -- from businesses, to policymakers, to consumers -- to dig in and take a stand. That's why the U.S. government is enlisting forward-thinking companies to step up and help find solutions to end the purchase and sale of illegal wildlife products. Advertisement To start, President Obama established a task force to develop and implement a National Strategy for Combatting Wildlife Trafficking that seeks to reduce the supply, interrupt the transport, and eliminate the demand for illegal products. Federal agencies, including the Interior Department, have partnered with African and Asian nations to help reduce demand and band together in this fight. Tiffany & Co. was an early partner for the administration in this effort. We have long recognized the trafficking problem and eliminated ivory products from our caselines years ago. This was both the right thing to do and good for our bottom line. That's why last year we joined the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance -- a unique coalition led by former Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes that brings together leading companies and non-profit organizations to work alongside the government to end wildlife trafficking in the United States. Tiffany & Co. has also set an example for the rest of the jewelry industry, leading other major U.S. companies -- including Signet, Ben Bridge, Richline, and Rio Grande -- to join the Alliance. So have representatives from the travel and tourism, technology, and fashion sectors, like Carnival Corporation, Google, Etsy, Ebay, and Ralph Lauren. Each company has pledged to remove trafficked products from their supply chain, promote best practices within their sector, and empower their consumers to do their part to end wildlife trafficking for good. But that's not enough. The problem is too large for one company, one government or one country to take on alone. We encourage more U.S. and international corporations to follow these examples and show leadership in raising awareness and reducing demand for illegal wildlife products. Responsibly sourcing products and educating the public are important steps that businesses can take to gain an edge while reducing demand for wildlife products. Consumers who understand the impact of their purchases on threatened and endangered wildlife are far more likely to change their behavior and influence others. Advertisement FORT WAYNE, IN - MAY 02: Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) speaks at a campaign event on the campus of Indiana University - Purdue University Fort Wayne May 2, 2016 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Voters in Indiana go to the polls tomorrow for the state's primary. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) Here are five immediate repercussions to Ted Cruz dropping out of the Republican primary: 1. News coverage for the Democratic primary, and thus Bernie Sanders, will increase exponentially -- immediately. Without Trump in the field, all of the focus on future election nights -- nine states and several territories over the next 45 days -- will be on Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Advertisement 2. Sanders will pick up a huge number of what would otherwise be Trump votes in states where voters are still able to register for upcoming Democratic primaries, or are able to cross over and vote in the Democratic primary due to being a registered independent. Sanders' vote share in nearly every upcoming primary and caucus just increased, though we don't know by how much. In some instances, it could be a substantial bump, given that there's no strategic reason to cast a vote for Donald Trump anymore -- now that the Republican National Committee has officially declared him the presumptive nominee and a John Kasich dropout is likely imminent. 3. Clinton will have to start spending a great deal of money to fight a two-front war against Donald Trump, who'll begin his ultra-negative primary campaign against Clinton immediately, and Bernie Sanders, who will avoid attacking Clinton directly but has nevertheless vowed to take the Democratic primary to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. This is the worst imaginable scenario for Clinton, as her negatives have always gone up when she's in the midst of a campaign -- and now she's in the middle of two at once. With Clinton's attention divided, her ability to respond to any Bernie Sanders surge in upcoming states will be limited. Advertisement 4. Sanders now has a greatly increased chance of winning all of the remaining Democratic primaries and caucuses. Sanders was already looking strong in Oregon, West Virginia, Montana, South Dakota, Kentucky, North Dakota, and California, but given that he's within single digits in New Jersey (where Trump is very popular) and performed incredibly well with nonwhite voters in Indiana (meaning New Mexico could be in play), it's not unthinkable that Hillary Clinton could lose all of the remaining primaries and caucuses and therefore as many as thirteen or fourteen contests in a row to finish the Democratic primary season. This would send Clinton to Philly a deeply wounded front-runner, even if she maintains a strong (but much diminished) delegate lead over Sanders. So there's a chance that Clinton will go to Philly with a delegate lead but also having lost 22 or 23 of the final 30 contests in the Democratic primary. If that happens, it's tough to say how super-delegates will view a Clinton candidacy, especially now that the latest national polling (Rasmussen) already has her down by two points to Trump. 5. The Democrats will have a contested convention, and the Republicans won't. Few saw this coming, but assuming Bernie Sanders maintains his pledge to contest the Democratic convention unless Clinton can get 2,383 pledged delegates by June 14th -- which she can't, barring a miracle -- only one of the two major parties will go to their convention divided, and with (not for nothing) the sort of logistical hurdles that come with that. For instance, when does Clinton roll out a Vice Presidential candidate? Before a convention she knows will be contested? At a time when a few super-delegates might abandon her? Advertisement The larger question: do some quantity of super-delegates switch to Sanders if the possibilities explored in items #1 through #4 above -- particularly with respect to the upcoming primaries and caucuses -- come to pass? All we know for sure is that Ted Cruz dropping out of the Republican race has changed the Democratic race almost as profoundly as the Republican one. This piece was inspired by Ezinne Ukoha, whose story, "If I Were a Racist Bastard, Trump Would Be My Obama," published on Medium. com, is absolutely terrifying in its laser sharp assessment of the emotional temperature of our country. When I think of the possibility of Donald Trump becoming our next president, I want to cry with fear, sorrow and rage. I sobbed with joy when Obama was elected. It was the first time in so long that I was proud of our country and its choices. Advertisement Obama has accomplished an enormous amount in eight short years, especially considering the cluster-fuck he inherited from the most embarrassing excuse for an American president that I have witnessed in my lifetime. What seemed like a slim thread of hope with Obama's nomination turned into the greatest promise our country ever encountered and the idea that this erudite, brilliant, elegant, forward thinking man could be our first black president intoxicated me. When Obama was elected, I was thrilled that American children of color could finally latch onto something tangible when their parents told them, "You can do anything you set your mind to. You can be President!" The thing I've noticed about a lot of white people is that we want everyone to be equal and we want diversity -- just not so much diversity that we are in the minority. Advertisement I think it is natural to cling to the familiar. After a lifetime of being the racial majority, it feels strange for me to be the only white person in a crowded room. I am fortunate to have the awareness that this is what it is like for people of color all the time. Growing up without positive societal mirroring is an insidious form of oppression. Perhaps what separates me from many other white folks who take that unfamiliar, uncomfortable feeling and turn it into bitterness and hate is this: 1) I was raised in Los Angeles, a multi-cultural city where diversity was not strange or foreign 2) I was brought up to embrace racial diversity and equality for everyone 3) Though I look like a WASP, I am a second-generation Jewish Hungarian. My great-grandparents, many aunts, uncles and cousins were exterminated in the Holocaust. My mom remembers the day the letter from the Red Cross arrived to inform my grandma of the deaths of her parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. Understandably, my grandma took to her bed for several days. I can't imagine that she was ever the same. The pall that the holocaust cast did not end there. I felt the dark shadow of it over my mom and my family throughout my childhood. Advertisement There is now an area of study about the effects on the descendants of Holocaust victims and it proves there is a profound impact. Can the effects of slavery and genocide on blacks in America have any less impact? I sincerely doubt it. I mentioned I look like a WASP, because that has given anti-semites a sense of permission to make disgusting comments in my presence, thinking since I wasn't Jewish I wouldn't care, though I would even if I weren't Jewish. The feeling of humiliation when I hear these remarks is so visceral, I cannot explain where it comes from. As a child, my shame was so deep I remained silent. As an adult, I must speak up to save and restore my dignity and integrity. The fact that Trump out of hand dismisses entire ethnicities and religions and says he wants to keep them out of America because they are a threat, feels dangerously familiar to me. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive because I never got to meet the half of my family that was exterminated because they were considered a threat to Europe at the time. Advertisement I'm writing to bring attention and sound a serious warning about what are, in my opinion, deceptions taking place around the movie RiseUp, which has been enrolling many trusted leaders and has begun a major fundraising campaign at Generosity. I strongly urge you to educate yourself and others and consider boycotting this movie due to the participation of Marc Gafni, who appears to be using credible authors, speakers, musicians, and business leaders to establish a socially-acceptable front. Advertisement Gafni has been the subject of more than 35 recent articles in the press that describe a very troubling history, some of which are included below. In January, more than 100 of the most respected rabbis and cultural leaders in the Jewish world came together in a Change.org petition to give a very strong warning of the danger Gafni poses. They said, "Marc Gafni has left a trail of pain, suffering, and trauma amongst the people and congregations who were unfortunate to have trusted him." As further support to their statement, more than 3400 other signatories from all periods of Gafni's life signed as well, many with extensive comments. I strongly recommend reading the petition, as well as 75 of the comments on the petition that share many terrible first-hand accounts. It's also valuable to watch the video testimony of Gafni's third wife, and Rabbi Ingber. These accounts state that, in the Jewish world, Gafni went through many congregations and changed his name several times, trailed by allegations of sexual abuse, plagiarism, lying, financial misdoings and more. Advertisement In more recent circles, the allegations of misdoings have continued, leading many to break with him completely (Terry Patten's article is a great example). In January, I joined with 33 other respected authors and leaders including Deepak Chopra, Jean Houston, Andrew Harvey, John Robbins, and Joan Borysenko to publicly pledge not to have anything to do with Gafni or promote anything he is a part of, based on our direct or indirect knowledge of the harm he has caused others. It's important for speakers in the movie or those promoting it to know that, perhaps unbeknownst to them, by participating in this film they may be directly giving more power, influence, and money to this man and his close collaborators. In my opinion, it is deceptive that Gafni's presence has been removed from the movie's fundraising sites, even though it has been co-envisioned, written, and co-produced by Gafni, according to his own website at the Center for Integral Wisdom (see screenshot here if removed at the original link, where you'll need to scroll way down). The text reads: Rise Up Movie from the Success 3.0 Summit With Michael Bernard Beckwith, Marc Gafni, Barbara Marx Hubbard and special Guests John Mackey, Tony Robbins, and Hillary Swank, and interviews with speakers and guests of the summit. Directed by Michael-Shaun Conaway, co-envisioned and written by Marc Gafni, co-produced by Kate Maloney, Alex Melnyk and Marc Gafni Advertisement It appears that the RiseUp production team is now minimizing or hiding Gafni's role during the fundraising and enrollment process for leaders. However, RiseUp has long been listed as a project of Gafni's Center for Integral Wisdom, of which he is clearly the primary founder and leader (see New York Times article). They also announced via email on April 6, 2016 that Success 3.0, the in-person Summit in which Gafni played the leading speaking role, was rebranding into RiseUp. Plus, there is an upcoming event announced on the Center's website in which Gafni's bio includes the following line: "Marc is also the initiating visionary and co-director of the Success 3.0 Summit and RiseUP." In addition, there are Facebook pictures posted on March 15, 2015, by Gafni's close ally and Board member Chahat Corten (original post, reprinted here) that discuss filming the movie and that show Gafni clearly in a director's role as well as being filmed himself. There is also an old trailer of RiseUp in which Gafni is featured (see minute 1:34) and a place where he mentions his work on the movie in a voice recording leaked to the Forward (see minute 7:50 here). In addition to the publicly available facts, there was also a leak of information from the most recent Center for Integral Wisdom Board meeting. I was informed through an ally that they explicitly discussed that the strategy for the movie and Summit would be for Gafni to call the shots from behind the scenes, then appear as a "surprise guest" at the Summit that will follow the movie (if not be in the movie himself). Advertisement One noteworthy piece was called "In Recorded Conversation, Gafni Considers Strategy Against His Critics" and consisted of an accidental leak of a recording to the Forward in which Gafni, his lawyer, and his PR person discussed which news organization to sue to send a warning to others. I have personally spoken at length with 9 victims from Gafni's past and I'm aware of more than a dozen others by name, most of whom are scared to share publicly, some because of threats. Hearing their reports of trauma has been truly awful to witness. These survivors have told me that Gafni is masterful at deceptive seduction and then exerting varying degrees of mental control over people, which includes getting people to lie for him. One survivor quoted him as saying, "I don't bring anyone into my system that I can't control." These survivors report that when he first meets someone he can be quite charming, intelligent, and winning but soon finds a weak spot or a blind spot with which he can manipulate them over time. This behavior is typical of sociopaths, a diagnosis that has been commonly applied to him. In addition to the above, there are other things I believe are deceptions as well. Arianna Huffington was initially used as one of the top headliners in the movie and for their February 2017 Summit, which was initially advertised on the fundraising page (since taken down). It turns out Arianna had not given authorization to use her name and "had no idea that they were using her name as a participant for their February 2017 Summit" according to her press team. Her office issued the following statement to Mark Oppenheimer, the author of the New York Times and Tablet articles, who tweeted it out: "Arianna does not...have an affiliation w/ Marc Gafni or with this movie. She was not aware that her name was being used to help raise money for this." Advertisement RiseUp subsequently removed Arianna from the campaign but RiseUp had nonetheless already raised over $250K while using her name without her knowledge or consent. Arianna is still listed in the online Forbes profile on the film, so she was clearly being used as a major headliner. Additionally, the movie is raising money as a non-profit "cause" on Generosity, a site created by Indiegogo specifically for humanitarian projects and thus one in which the usual Indiegogo fees are waived. There has been, to date, nothing on the fundraising page about what organization is the actual recipient of the funds. The lack of disclosure around what is clearly an engine for generating a lot of money with little discernible philanthropic purpose is troubling to me. When fundraising began, it was interesting to note their $250K "goal" was reached on the first day with fewer than 100 contributors. In fact, the very first contributor was for $100K (anonymous), the third was from Alex Morton for $30K (since marked private), and the fifth was for $75K (from anonymous). Based on the number of people getting different prize levels, it appears that the second, fourth, and sixth contributions (all marked private), likely included at least one contribution above $50K and another above $20K. In other words, it appears to me that approximately $275K came on the first day from five individual contributors, in all likelihood from the first six contributions based on the number of other private contributions. That was, in my view, intended to give the illusion of a big "success" in online fundraising by having their major funders put in $275K right away and artificially reach their initial $250K "goal" even though there were under 100 contributors overall. The people whose good names and reputations are being used as the public face of the RiseUp movie need to know the above. Advertisement In my opinion, RiseUp does not warrant your support on any level and will be damaging to be involved with in any way, giving Marc Gafni a major financial and promotional platform for his next moves. I strongly encourage you to boycott this film and to do what you can to educate your friends and allies as well. California's textbooks are once again an ideological battleground. Ground zero is the State Board of Education in Sacramento, where the nation's leading conservative Hindu groups are hell-bent on rewriting history. This embittered alliance, led by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF), and including the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF), Uberoi Foundation (UF) and Dharma Civilization Foundation (DCF), are conspiring to weave ideological agendas into the state's history and social science frameworks. Multiple rationales are offered for these changes, but the most prominent is the deceptively heartrending HAF argument that no less than the "low-self-esteem and bullying of Hindu children" is at stake when caste and patriarchy in Hinduism is taught. At a quick glance, these appeals might seem compelling. But the answer to racism in schools is not to further discriminate by erasing history. Hindu revisionism ill-prepares all California children and is an insult to democracy. For as Kashmiri scholar Huma Dar writes; "history is not meant to soothe feelings, it is written so we might learn from its mistakes and very crucially: mistakes that are yet to be appropriately addressed." This is where the South Asian Histories for All Coalition has entered the fray. We are an interfaith, multi-racial, inter-caste coalition of organizations and individuals from all over California. We formed in response to the HAF Alliance's attempt to erase the facts about the injustices of caste and religious intolerance over the South Asian region's long history from the educational frameworks being taught to students across the state. We also came together to support the California Board of Education public review process of its curriculum frameworks. Many of us were involved in the 2006 battle for these textbooks when HAF and its allies first attempted to change California's textbooks, and we bring that experience into this last stretch of the battle now. Advertisement Historically, the HAF alliance has attempted to appear to be an organization that is committed to pluralism, and one that is liberal on the issue of caste. However, a close reading of HAF's advocacy reports reflects a shocking level of bigotry for South Asian religious and cultural communities, especially Dalits, Adivasis, Bahujans and their religious autonomy. In a 2006 report, HAF went as far as calling Dalit representatives of the textbook campaign "Christian Missionaries" representing themselves as Dalits. This characterization is, of course, wrong and outright offensive. Dalits do not ever have to justify their religious affiliations and HAF cannot legitimately call itself a tolerant organization if it brands Christian members of our community who are advocating for fair representation in California textbooks as "missionaries." And even if any Dalit person is a Christian that should neither be a slur, nor an indication that he or she can no longer speak as a Dalit. HAF's derogatory line of thought continues in its report Hinduism: Not Cast in Caste. Here, it once again reduces decades of Dalit advocacy at the UN to the work of "Christian Missionaries." The remainder of the report is meant less to be an indictment on the caste system and more an apology of Hinduism's involvement in it. While no serious Dalit rights or anti-caste group ever cites this report, it is used by the HAF to gain entry into interfaith and progressive spaces. I have seen how HAF and its collaborators' philosophy has been reflected in its members' behavior. They have openly heckled California Board of Education representatives, Dalits, and other religious and marginalized communities who testified during the March meetings. Their demeanor was so bad that one of the writers of the History Social Science framework commented, "the behavior from some members of the public could legitimately be classified as disrespectful and even cruel." Advertisement As a Dalit American, I am outraged at HAF and its alliance's attempt to co-opt the language of bullying to put forward a sanitized Hindu origin story for the entire subcontinent. In fact many of the edits HAF and its collaborators are suggesting are outright unjust. They have proposed eliminating the mention of Caste, Untouchability, Dalits, and Patriarchy from the frameworks. The erasure of these words erase the assertions of our communities and are not at all emblematic of an organization who would fight for civil rights. Teaching untouchability by only using the words "Untouchable" or "Harijan" without any mention of the term we have chosen as a community - Dalit -erases centuries of assertion, and continues a language of bigotry when referring to our communities. This is no different from asking to teach the history of genocide in the Americas and using "Indian" instead of Indigenous, or the history of slavery using the N-word. What further muddies HAF's arguments is that they will use any tactic to achieve their goal, including the testimonies of their children. HAF's Executive Director, Suhag Shukla, in her recent piece: "30 Years Later, Cultural Stereotypes in CA Textbooks Still Hurt," attempts to portray its constituency as a mild-mannered Hindu minority sharing her hurt as a child who had to "bear the confusion and humiliation caused by a portrayal of Hinduism and India that was so stereotyped and essentialized, that it bore no relation to my lived experience." She suggests that rewriting California textbooks to depict Hindus and Indians in a different light will help to prevent this stereotyping. The stereotyping of any group of people is wrong, but rewriting history and censoring it selectively cannot be the way to get rid of stereotypes, as it negates the collective experiences of non-hindu religious and cultural communities throughout South Asian history. There is little doubt that it can be difficult to be a young person of color in the US. I also went to school in the California school system and, I too was bullied by both American students and young Hindu Americans who would not acknowledge their caste privilige. However, it was because of teachers throughout my education that taught the realities of the caste system, that I had the first validation, outside of my family experience, of my Dalit identity. These teachers confirmed my family's experience that caste apartheid, in fact exists and continues today. To be validated was extremely meaningful, especially given the vicious denial of the Hindu-American community about caste's existence and the violence it perpetuates against Dalits, Adivasis and Bahujans. In fact, it is Suhag Shukla's caste privilege that allows her to experience her Indian identity as caste-less, not because caste has been eradicated - a reality California textbooks must address. Advertisement Having the struggle of Dalit peoples acknowledged was a reminder for me that students deserve access to a complex history, to learn compassion, resilience, and empathy. This worldview shapes their decisions and how they interact with others when they leave the classroom. And, as our world shrinks due to technology and innovation it is essential that young people are given the most balanced, truthful account of our history. All communities have unsavory facts. But it is a disservice to children to sanitize history for the sake of feelings. By erasing caste and patriarchy and its severity we also erase the story of Dalits, Bahujans, and Adivasis peoples, as well as the women's movement in India. It is bigoted for the HAF alliance to refuse to acknowledge leaders from our groups who are representing our issues authentically, especially after decades of us having to hold our truth in the face of violence in India and here. It is also a vicious PR tactic to simply portray the opposition to their edits as "activist scholars" as it is again an intentional casteist erasure of the Dalit scholars, educators, and community members who are here in the State Board process to tell our truth. Now, more than ever it is important to call out the appropriation tactics of conservative Hindus groups on progressive social movements. While conservative Hindu children might complain about low self-esteem because of the teaching of caste, Dalit Bahujan families are being murdered, raped, and discriminated against in the face of caste apartheid and religious intolerance in South Asia. For this violence to end we must end the culture of impunity that would silence history instead of unleashing it. Opinion / Columnist It is a fascinating paradox to say that ZANU PF has abandoned workers. In fact the ruling party has improved the working conditions of workers and their professional qualifications as compared to the colonial era. Recently the government has introduced safety nets for low-income group as they are going to get cheap loans, mortgages and the National Health Insurance Scheme has been put on the cards.The opposition political parties are wrong to believe that Zimbabwe's economic woes, past and current should be solely laid at the door of one man and his party. That is President Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF. In fact we should shoulder the blame on the opposition especially the MDC-T. It was the MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai who had the audacity to call for and invite sanctions. Shame for him as sanctions hurt everyone.The government has in the last 16 years battled the scourge brought about by the cruel, deleterious and illegal economic sanctions. These sanctions which had affected everyone had been called for by Tsvangirai and little did he know that they would also affect him. The man is a clear and present threat to Zimbabwe's national and political security.Tsvangirai is simply unfit to rule let alone to govern a country with such a deep and complex history as Zimbabwe. Casting himself as the reluctant hero shows the true reflection of himself as indecisive and inarticulate. His references to himself as being imbued with leadership qualities are laughable and misplaced in a serious autography. It would be valid to say that workers' problems had been called for by Tsvangirai and his Western handlers.It would be wrong and misplaced to say that ZANU PF has failed the workers, as one might also ask what Morgan Tsvangirai and his colleagues contributed during the inclusive government to the plight of the worker. In fact these opposition members were busy looting resources under the banner of the inclusive government. Most of the MDC-T Members of Parliament and councilors were implicated in shoddy deals.During the inclusive government era, when Morgan Tsvangirai was the Prime Minister he told one of the civil servants representatives who had engaged him over a salary increment that he was not Government and told them that they were expecting too much and getting that increment was day dreaming. This shows that Tsvangirai is a buffoon of dubious revolutionary credentials.On the contrary, the ZANU PF government was and still it is promoting to improve the conditions of living of all the workers. The government has always been alive to the need to address labour law gap as evidenced by the several amendments to the law since independence. We should also remember that the government is a signatory to the International Labour Organisation. Therefore to say that ZANU PF has failed the workers is the misinterpretation of reality.The government has promised to pay all civil servants their bonuses and some have already been paid, and others will be paid when their turns come. It is mischievous for the opposition members to say that instead of having a pool of workers we are now having a nation of vendors and destitutes. I am truly passionate about raising the profile of the careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with schoolgirls. It has been my privilege to organize the "Girls in STEM" events in the UK since 2015. I truly believe STEM careers offer a broad range of opportunities for girls who are interested in problem-solving, innovation and cutting-edge technology. For me, a STEM career in the consulting arena has provided me many exciting opportunities, including hands-on experience working directly with technology, solving complex problems and putting my skills to work to benefit the long-term interest of clients for my employer, Accenture, a global professional services company. I also get to partner with and learn from diverse teams of people. One of the most important lessons in my career has been: "Don't give up. You can do anything you want to, and don't let anything stop you." Swimming (the English Channel!) to help others I always find time for my other passion of open water swimming. Further, I've been able to combine this passion with my interest in making a difference to a charitable cause I believe in. Since 2010, I've raised nearly 50,000 pounds for charities in the United Kingdom. I was motivated to raise money after a relative passed away who had dementia. In 2012, I decided to swim the English Channel to raise money for Alzheimer's research in the United Kingdom. For the next nine months, I swam every day and ate as much as I possibly could. I completed my channel swim in 12 hours and 14 minutes. While it's sometimes a challenge to balance my professional workload with outside passions, I've always felt that if it's important to you, you just need to make the time for it and be creative in making it happen. While my career and personal life path to date have been very fulfilling, I can't wait for the next wave of challenges ahead. Images Courtesy of Shutterstock It's been almost a year since we experienced a blue moon, when Earthlings are treated to two full moons in one month, and the astronomical rarity reappear in the night sky this month. The second full moon comes on Saturday, May 21. Although NASA has reminded us these moons aren't exactly blue in hue, we've rounded up a list of the destinations around the world that are known for their stunning shades from cerulean to indigo. Iceland's Blue Lagoon Kim Kardashian made a splash when she visited Iceland's geothermal spa in April, but the Blue Lagoon has been Iceland's top tourist attraction for years. The milky teal waters are rich in sulfur and silica, which exfoliate the skin and help people with skin diseases such as psoriasis. Temperatures in some corners of the lagoon reach 104 degrees, and it is open all year despite freezing conditions above the water. The spa has been developed to include restaurants, a rooftop lookout with steam rooms, a spa with floating mattresses, a bar and piping-hot waterfalls. Istanbul's Blue Mosque The Sultan Ahmet Mosque, nicknamed for the thousands of blue Iznik tiles adorning its interior, was built during the rule of Ahmed I, early in the 17th century. While a popular landmark for Istanbul's visitors, it is still an active place of worship and is closed during the five daily prayers. To get the best views, approach from the west side toward the Hippodrome, also the only entrance for non-Muslims. Advertisement Chefchaouen, Morocco (The Blue City) Founded as a fortress in 1471 to fight off Portuguese invaders, the Moroccan town is built into a steep hillside overlooking the ocean. Jewish refugees who settled there when fleeing the Spanish Inquisition are said to have painted the buildings blue to mirror the sky and remind them of God's presence on earth. Today a blue rinse still covers the city's homes, temples, public squares and even trash cans. Malta's Azure Window The breathtaking backdrop for Daenerys and Drogo's wedding in Game of Thrones, the Azure Window is a natural limestone arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, near the tourist village of Dwejra. A hot spot with scuba divers, the dazzling blue waters are home to exotic marine life, such as octopi, fireworms and sea horses. The conditions are suitable for swimming and boating, but cliff diving from the 328-foot summit, which has become popular recently, is illegal. Great Blue Hole, Belize Off Belize's coast in the center of Lighthouse Reef is an underwater sinkhole, believed to be the largest of its kind. Almost perfectly circular, nearly 1,000 feet across and over 400 feet deep, the Great Blue Hole was formed as a limestone cave during the last ice age, approximately 12,000 years ago, before collapsing in on itself. Jacques Cousteau is responsible for the site's worldwide fame after declaring it one of the top 10 diving destinations in the world when he visited in 1971. Surrounded by turquoise waters of the reef, the midnight blue sphere is visible from space. Australia's Blue Mountains National Park Imagine: You're having lunch and a contractor knocks on your door. He has extra driveway sealant left over from a job around the corner and offers it to you at a discount. Your driveway could use a refresh, so you agree. He "seals" your driveway, and then one rainfall later, it washes away. Clearly, that wasn't leftover sealant, and you just spent hundreds of dollars on what was essentially watered-down black paint. Unfortunately, it's not unusual for homeowners from Boca Raton, FL to Seattle, WA to find themselves in a similar predicament. Because of the nature of home repair work, horror stories are more commonplace than you might think: If you're often running off word-of-mouth recommendations, there's no paper trail, and it's frequently one person's word against another's. But there are steps you can take to avoid entering a work agreement with shady repairmen and contractors. "There is a difference between a scammer and substandard work," explains Katherine Hutt, a spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau (BBB). "Scammers will take off with your money without ever completing the job, while substandard work is just that: substandard." Advertisement To avoid encountering either, heed these words of advice to avoid contractor fraud and being a home repair scam victim. Rule 1: Always have a contract Sure, maybe you're an honest, legitimate, my-word-is-my-bond type of person. But let's face it: there are plenty of people out there who aren't. That's all the more reason a written contract is recommended -- preferably not written on a napkin or scrap piece of paper -- regardless of how many friends, family members, or co-workers swear by a contractor's work. "Verbal agreements do not supersede a written contract," explains Hutt. "Make sure it's in writing." No contract? You risk an experience like Vicki Glembock's. The Westmont, NJ, homeowner skipped the contract and hired a neighborhood handyman to shave off the bottom of a cabinet to make room for a larger fridge. "He came, took the cabinets down, and left with them to do the work in his shop," Glembock explains. "A month went by. I called him, and he said he needed to take another measurement, came back, and then left. Again, nothing for a month. Finally, I called again, and within a day or two, I came home one day to find the cabinet sitting on our front porch. He had cut off the bottom in such a way that we couldn't attach doors. So he just left it there. No note. No mea culpa. Nothing. I ended up fixing them myself and buying new doors." Rule 2: Research your contractor Afton Campbell, a Charlotte, NC-based mom of three, thought she had done her homework. "I interviewed six other contractors, and each one seemed a little 'shady,'" she says. "I reached out to the real estate agent that lives in our neighborhood, and his marketing director, for a recommendation. They both said 'Mr. L' had done some jobs for other people they knew and they were happy with his work. He seemed very knowledgeable and trustworthy. He also had the best plan of action for repairing our shower, and his price was very reasonable. He asked for half of the money upfront and the rest when the job was complete. Everything seemed legit." Until it wasn't. Fast-forward several months: The homeowner's "simple" shower tile repair had been completely botched. Campbell was shocked: "He didn't even cut the tiles with a wet saw!" Advertisement Beyond asking for recommendations from friends and neighbors, always dig a bit deeper when it comes to finding a reputable repairman. "Check BBB.org to see what others have experienced with the company," advises Hutt. "We have 5.3 million business reviews, and over 1 million are in the home space. You can see if they have a BBB rating, if they're an accredited BBB business, what licensing is required for that particular profession, and see if there are any customer reviews about the company." Rule 3: Get at least three in-home estimates If a contractor doesn't want to see a potential project in person before giving you an estimate, that should be a red flag. "It's almost impossible to do something over the phone," says Hutt. "If a company isn't willing to come out to give an in-home estimate, you probably want to keep looking." On that same note, "don't automatically go with the lowest estimate. Closely compare that you're getting the best deal." Oftentimes the highest quote doesn't necessarily ensure the best work, and the lowest estimate isn't necessarily the best deal. For Dani in Richmond, VA (who asked that her last name not be used in this story), getting three in-person estimates wasn't an option for her family's beach home on North Carolina's Outer Banks. "We got a call from our rental agency saying that our house had mold and that the renters were going to have to be moved out," she says. "So my husband drove down, and because his background is in hazardous materials, he decided to check it out himself. Turns out, there was no mold anywhere. The repairman's response was, 'Oh geez, where did all the mold go?' after my husband showed him there wasn't any in the attic. Turns out, he wasn't planning on the homeowner showing up and calling his bluff." Luckily, Dani and her family avoided what could have been an unnecessary $20,000 repair -- but it did cost them an unexpected trip to their beach house. Rule 4: Don't pay in full upfront "No reputable contractor or repairman will ask you to pay everything in full before the job even starts," explains Hutt. "Think of it in thirds: Pay one-third upfront, one-third when the job is substantially complete, and the last one-third when it's done." Luckily, Afton Campbell had paid her contractor only a fraction of the total cost of the bathroom renovation, saving her family money in the long run. "He's still giving me a hard time and making excuses as to why he can't refund us our money," she says. And, Hutt warns, getting a refund could be a problem if there were subcontractors involved. "Make sure all of the subcontractors have been paid," Hutt advises. "If the contractor doesn't pay them, they can come after the homeowner for the unpaid wages." To help prevent this from happening to you, before work begins, ask the general contractor to list every subcontractor, how much they'll be paid, when they're estimated to be paid, and, finally, for proof that they've been paid. Rule 5: Use resources like the Better Business Bureau These organizations exist for a reason. Besides supporting businesses that are in good standing and providing great services to their customers and community, the BBB also keeps track of businesses that don't do those things. "Even if you can't find a business in our directory, you can contact us and request that we open a review," says Hutt. But the BBB is just one way to ensure you're making a good choice when hiring a general contractor. You can also use websites like Angie's List to help vet your choices, ask for references (and call them!), call the general contractor's insurance companies to verify that coverage is current, and ask to visit a current job site to see a contractor's work up close. What's your home repair horror story? Share your tips and experiences in the comments! Also on HuffPost: I don't know how many times I've seen or heard black people, who claim to be pro-black, try to distance themselves from other groups of black people. Don't get me wrong, I used to think I was a little Michael Evans (from Good Times for the youngins, or those who don't have access to TV One) in high school and my freshman year in college. I thought I really loved my blackness and my people. But I see now that I was wrong. I used to try so hard to distance myself from "those black girls." You know the ones I'm talking about. The ones who are loud and ratchet and love to fight. The ones who "dress ghetto" and "talk ghetto" and "act ghetto." I used to think I supported black men, yet here I was looking down on "those black guys". You know the ones. The ones who wear chains and sag their pants and use too much slang. I understand now that that was just internalized anti-blackness. It was me subconsciously trying to be accepted by the white man. Advertisement I understand how it can be deceiving. We as black people are taught from such a young age that we must be "respectable." Whether consciously or subconsciously, we pick up on things--little clues and hints--that tell us "if you want to be treated fairly, you're going to have to assimilate into mainstream white culture." It becomes easy to see other black people in music videos with gold grills and shining rims and think "this is why white people don't respect us." On many occasions, I've heard black people say that in response to something another black person said, wore, or did. "This is why white people don't respect us." Let's think about that for a minute. First, it assumes the highest honor, the greatest achievement, the crown jewel of life is the white man's respect. Of course everyone wants to be respected, but if, as a black person, you are ready and willing to degrade and distance yourself from other black people in the hopes of being looked upon favorably by white society, then there is an issue. The second problem with this is: you're believing the myth that black people can't exist as individuals. Why is it that when a white man shoots up a school, it's an isolated incident; but when a black man shoots someone, it's "black people are thugs." Everything a black person does reflects back on their community, but it shouldn't be that way. White people are seen and treated as individuals all acting of their own accord, but black people are seen and treated as one unit--the actions of one black person representing those of all black people. This only serves to further oppress us. We are a community--but one that is made up of multifaceted individuals. Lastly, this mentality encourages the idea that the level of respect we receive is based on the actions of others in our community. I've seen black people post things like "I wish black lives mattered to black people," which is basically saying "since some black people kill each other, none of your lives matter." What kind of messed up logic is that? All races kill people of their own race, yet "black on black crime" is the only thing that's talked about. What is "white on white" crime called? Oh, it's just called "crime"? Oh, okay. Also, I have never heard anyone say "why should we respect white people if they don't respect each other?" or "why should white lives matter if white people shoot each other?" Think about the ways in which this narrative of "black on black crime" and respectability politics have been used to turn us against each other. I've learned to love and accept my blackness, as well as everyone else's in the black community. I would consider myself very pro-black. This doesn't mean that I have to agree with the words or actions of every black person. I can still call out Raven Symone and Stacey Dash for their mess, but this doesn't mean that I am leaving them out of the black movement. I will still fight for the equitable treatment of black people, and "black people" includes these women. Because while I don't agree with them, and they don't represent my ideology, we are still in this together. You don't get to pick and choose who you fight for within the black community. It shouldn't matter if it's a black woman walking into Walmart with her rollers in her hair and her head scarf still on, or if it's a black woman walking into her corporate office wearing a pantsuit--they are both black women (and they could be the same person for all you know). We are all different individuals, but we all face the same struggle of being black in America. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter if one black man is wearing a suit and tie and the other is wearing a tank top and Jordans; they could both still be denied by the same employer, or shot by the same cop. In the words of Deray Mckesson: "let's get free." All of us, together. I guess it is predictable that a geriatrician should have a heightened curiosity about time. I have spent my entire professional career ministering to old folks. Such devotion inevitably heightens an awareness of the role that time plays in the affairs of mankind. My scientific curiosity has generated papers such as "The Physics of Frailty" and "Aging as Entropy". They have caste me in the company of physicists which is a strange fraternity for a physician. Most MDs are uncomfortable in their midst, but I have concluded that for a deep comprehension of health, particularly aging, Medicine should get cozier with physics, particularly the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which is Greek to most MDs. My travels have taken me to Austin, Texas where I communed with one of my science heroes, Ilya Prigogine. He won the 1977 Nobel Prize for his work on the Second Law. He coined the phrase " dissipative structure" to describe life. His book "Order out of Chaos" was one of my most brilliant "Eurekas!" Advertisement When we met I had the opportunity to tell him about my musings about aging, and he immediately revealed his struggles to understand time. Ever since Einstein introduced relativity our deep understanding of time has trembled. Newtonian physics required huge amendment. Time was not absolute but relative. Prigogine died from kidney failure before any closure. But even Einstein had problems with time because he failed to grasp its directionality, "the arrow of time" must be reckoned with. For most of the physical world reversibility of the descriptive equations is the rule. But not with biology, LIFE, where irreversibility rules. Reincarnation awaits any experimental validation. In my effort to generate a workable inclusion of time within the rubric of human health. I have proposed the metrics of health span, health space, and health pace. Health span is 100 years, health space displays a 70 % redundancy of function, health pace is a gentle % per year decrement, secondary to an assortment of entropic processes such as free radical damage. Such metrics therefore provide a conceptual mathematization of health. In Science measurability ranks high. Someone cleverly observed that time is the universal solvent into which all things dissolve. Just how true such an axiom is I will have the chance to explore next week in Boston where the National Science Foundation is bringing together a small group of like-interested folk for a workshop on "Aging and Failure in Biological, Physical, and Engineered Systems." I will report back on the solvencies of any new conclusions. As we age another truism emerges "Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer to the end it gets, the faster it goes". Advertisement Hindustan Times via Getty Images MUMBAI, INDIA - AUGUST 27: (FILE PHOTO) Indrani Mukherjea, founder of 9X Media with her husband former Star India CEO Peter Mukherjea at the launch of 9X channel at Colonial Hall on November 13, 2007 in Mumbai, India. So far, the Mumbai Police have arrested three people in connection with the Sheena Bora murder case of April 24, 2012. They are Sheena's mother Indrani Mukherjea, Indrani's former husband Sanjeev Khanna from Kolkata whom she married in 1993, and her driver Shyam Rai from Mumbai, with the possibility of more arrests not ruled out in the next few days. (Photo by Prodip Guha/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) Even as Indrani Mukerjea continues to battle allegations of murdering daughter Sheena Bora, Indrani's husband Peter reportedly sent her a loving message on her birthday in January earlier this year, comparing themselves to 'Romeo and Juliet'. "God is great and will see an end to this, and like Romeo & Juliet we will hopefully see each other soon in court or at home one day," he wrote to her, reported The Times of India. "I hope it reaches you and gives you a moment of joy in all the sadness that everyone is going through but most of all you and me in the process." Advertisement Peter Mukerjea, accused in Sheena Bora case, was produced at Esplanade court on 30 November, 2015 in Mumbai. Peter, who is also a suspect in the murder, is in jail and his second bail plea hearing is currently underway. According to the report, Peter sent the handwritten, one-page letter to Indrani on 3 January at the Byculla Ladies Prison, addressing her as "Mumu, my dearest". Advertisement He called the murder allegations a "nightmare", and said in his letter that he hoped Indrani would be able to "prove her innocence" soon. He called her birthday a special day for both of them, mourning the fact that they couldn't spend it together like they always have, since the two first met. He signed off his letter with a hug and a kiss. Of course, Peter wrote the letter before the two began fighting over the sale of their Worli house, which they co-own. Peter has denied any involvement in the case, and his family has even suggested that Peter had discovered soon after the case broke out that Indrani had been cheating on him. Indrani, however, has reportedly told CBI that Peter is innocent, and Peter, in turn, has previously declared that he loved Indrani, and did not doubt her. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - MAY 3: A View of Parliament Building during the Parliament Session on May 3, 2016 in New Delhi, India. With the BJP mounting an offensive against Congress vice-president on the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper bribery case, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he is happy to be targeted. (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) The AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam rocked the parliament session with allegations between the ruling NDA and the Congress leading to the adjournment of the session and the Congress party members storming out of the House after demanding a supreme court-monitored probe into the VVIP chopper deal. Former defence minister and Congress leader AK Antony on Wednesday said in Rajya Sabha that its proved beyond doubt there was corruption in the chopper deal and he asked the government to act now. If you have all evidence, take action but dont threaten us, dont blackmail us, Antony said in Rajya Sabha. Advertisement Alleging that an invisible hand was behind what he alluded to as an influenced probe, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said, It appears an invisible hand was guiding the action or inaction of CBI and ED. The inquiry will focus on roles of those named in the judgement of Italian court. In response to Antonys remarks Parrikar said the trials were not conducted on chopper bought by India but another one as it was still at development stage. BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy took the fight directly into the Congress' camp, saying that those named in a note written by one of the alleged middleman should be questioned by the CBI and if necessary it should be done in custody. Citing Italian court's documents, he alleged that a bribe of 30 million euros was paid, out of which 6 million euros went to IAF personnel, 8.4 million euros to bureaucrats and Rs 125 crore to 'AP'. Swamy's speech was repeatedly disrupted by the Congress members, who created ruckus with its leaders insisting on authentication of whatever he was reading from. He replied that he was reading from the same note that Singhvi read from. Advertisement He said if he were to authenticate, then Singhvi also should do so as there cannot be separate rules for different people. In the midst of exchanges, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said both will have to authenticate. Singhvi then authenticated his documents. Refuting the Congress allegation, Swamy, who was nominated as Rajya Sabha member only last week, said the NDA government had in 2003 only wanted the IAF to see if a single vendor situation can be avoided and that the views of the SPG should be taken. "It is a lie to say that NDA had lowered the flying height from 6,000 feet to 4,500 feet," he said, citing a 2013 Parliament reply of then Defence Minister A K Antony in which he said that in 2004 the IAF had said 6,000 feet was an "inescapable necessity". He said the tender issued in 2006 had incorporated the changes. Under attack for his name being dragged in the AgustaWestland controversy, Congress leader Ahmed Patel today pressed for a thorough probe into the deal, declaring that he will quit Rajya Sabha as well as public life if any allegation against him is proved. Advertisement (With PTI inputs) Contact HuffPost India Also See On HuffPost: Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - DECEMBER 11: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy during the winter session of Parliament, on December 11, 2015 in New Delhi, India. National Herald case against Sonia, Rahul Gandhi has given fresh ammunition to Congress to disrupt proceedings, delaying the GST and reforms agenda of the NDA. After a third consecutive day of disruptions in the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit back, saying the Congress was not only stalling the progress of the GST bill but also affecting the common man. (Photo by Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) KOCHI/KOZHIKODE -- The Congress-led UDF and its chief minister Oommen Chandy is engaged in a scorching battle with the CPM-led Left Democratic Front, to stay in power in Kerala. The emergence of the BJP as a major spoiler has not only ripped open the electoral contest but also poses the danger of disrupting traditional electoral alliances of the three major religious communities as well as the majority Nair and Ezhava communities. Here are five major issues that confronts the Congress in the buildup to the 16 May polls in Kerala. 1. Which way will the Nair vote go? Traditionally, the Nairs have voted for the Congress in Kerala. One reason is that their arch rival Ezhava castes have been the backbone of the CPM so as well be with Congress. But now a section of Nairs will wonder why they should vote for the Congress if they now have the option of strengthening the BJP and thus be part of the larger Hindu revival. During 2014, for instance, in Trivandrum, a Nair stronghold, more than a lakh of them shifted votes from Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor to BJP's O Rajagopalan, who is again contesting from a Trivandrum suburb of Nemom. BJP supporters believe he will be the first (even if the only one) party MLA in Kerala. Advertisement 2. Anti-incumbency and Marxist might Kerala has never voted a party back to power showing the state has an impatient electorate quick on the draw. Congress leaders feel that development projects of the UDF government will help it come back: "Never in five years has the state seen so much of development," party MP Shashi Tharoor told supporters and college students in a meeting in an air-conditioned hall in Thrissur, in central Kerala on 3 May. "Actual development also means changing the lives of the people," he said. Marxists leaders however say that the UDF is steeped in corruption and Chandy was responsible for driving Infosys out of their planned expansion plan in Trivandrum. Congress poster in Alwaye that reads: 'One more time for UDF sarkar'. 3. BJP as the big spoiler Since the mostly secular Kerala electorate is divided between the Left and Congress, the BJP could not carve out a political space so far. But this time they are pulling out all stops with all cabinet ministers touring Kerala this fortnight and Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting thrice. Congress candidate from Trissur Padmaja Venugopal told this reporter that BJP's divisive campaign will have no impact in Kerala and the battle is between the Left and the Congress. Since the margins are narrow in 90 per cent seats, if the BJP pulls in 3,000 to 5,000 votes in all seats after the high-adrenalin campaign, it will make the difference between Congress and LDF. BJP thus is a classic spoiler this time. BJP is in alliance with the Ezhava party Bharat Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS) and is fighting all 140 seats. Advertisement 4. Where are the new votes for Congress going to come from? The Congress formed a government in Kerala with just a two seat majority. This time it needs more seats but where will those seats come from? Only way this will happen is if Ezhavas ditch the CPM in some seats and vote for the BJP-BDJS, thus enabling Congress to pull through in these seats. "The LDF and the UDF are getting panicky for the first time in Kerala's electoral history," Tushar Vallopally, leader of BDJS said. There is an element of panic because both major fronts cannot figure out which way the two major Hindu castes will vote. Neither Left or Congress wants the BJP to gain an entry into the assembly. So votes will shift to the stronger anti-BJP candidate in many seats. In this scenario even Muslims might shift vote to the CPM to snuff out RSS ambitions in Malabar region. Also the CPM cadre are capable of taking on the RSS in the street as well. These are all major factors. 5. Will the development plank work? There is general consensus that the Chandy government has done good work, the major Adani port coming up in the southern tip of the state being the major showpiece. But development has never been an issue in a remittance-economy and tourism-driven state like Kerala. There is no big talk of highways bridges and factories in Kerala, though the Congress is trying to bring the Adani port and Kochi Metro as a big electoral issue. Also See On HuffPost: ASSOCIATED PRESS A Delhi police security barricade is placed outside a temple as Hindu devotees queue up to offer prayers on the occasion of Mahashivratri festival, in New Delhi, India, Monday, March 7, 2016. Security in the capital was beefed up with more police and paramilitary troops assigned to shopping malls, railway stations and other crowded places after officials said they received intelligence reports that around 10 suspected militants from Pakistan have entered the Indian state of Gujarat which borders Pakistan. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) NEW DELHI -- Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday lauded the Delhi Police for detaining 12 members allegedly belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit. The alleged JeM men were detained by the Delhi Police Special Cell following raids across Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in the last few days, sources said. Advertisement "The action of Delhi Police is laudable. The intelligence inputs at the local level get shared with the multi agencies centres. Moreover, we remain more alert for Delhi since it is the capital of the nation and the Delhi Police has done a good job keeping that in mind," Rijiju told mediapersons outside the Parliament. Police takes action on basis of intel input. Delhi Police has done good work: Kiren Rijiju, MoS Home on 12 suspected JeM terrorists detained ANI (@ANI_news) May 4, 2016 When asked about the details provided by the intelligence agencies, Rijiju said: "The intelligence inputs can't be shared, otherwise it would create an atmosphere of fear across the nation which doesn't send good message to the people." Earlier, around 12 alleged JeM terrorists were detained in raids conducted by the Special Cell outside Delhi and South-West Delhi following intelligence inputs on a possible terror plot. Advertisement Sources said the police have seized explosives, bomb making materials and improvised explosive devices from the spot. Contact HuffPost India Also On HuffPost: Wikipedia Commons NEW DELHI -- Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court K.M. Joseph, who presided over a bench which quashed the imposition of President's Rule in the state by the Modi government, has been transferred to the Andhra Pradesh High Court. ANI reported this development on Wednesday. Joseph, 57, took charge of the Uttarakhand High Court in 2014. He is a graduate of Government Law College in Ernakulam, Kerala. Advertisement In March, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre described the Congress Party government in Uttarakhand as "unconstitutional and immoral", and imposed President's Rule in the state. The crisis in Uttarakhand was triggered on March 18, when nine Congress Party leaders rebelled against Chief Minister Harish Rawat, and joined 27 lawmakers from the BJP in seeking dismissal of his government. The Centre imposed President's Rule on March 27, just a day before a floor test was scheduled for Rawat to prove whether his government had a majority. While the BJP and rebel leaders accused Rawat of horse-trading over lawmakers, the Congress Party called the imposition of President's Rule as the "murder of democracy," and an attempt by its political rival to establish a Congress-mukt Bharat. Then, the Congress Party moved the Uttarakhand High Court. While quashing President's Rule in the state, Joseph said that the Centre should be impartial, and admonished the Modi government for acting like a "private party." Advertisement We are pained that the Central government can behave like this. How can you think of playing with the Court?," he said in April. The Hindustan Times reported that Panchjanya, mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, attacked Joseph over his judgment, and alleged that his family was close to the Congress Party. The Supreme Court has stayed the decision of the Uttarakhand High Court to revoke President's Rule in Uttarakhand. The next hearing on Centre's plea against the High Court's order is scheduled for May 6. Advertisement Contact HuffPost India Also on HuffPost India: Opinion / Columnist Johannesburg - Thousands of people are trafficked across continents every year by people smugglers and organised crime syndicates.Human trafficking has become a billion dollar industry and governments are struggling to contain the thriving trade.In some cases,powerful and influential people are involved in the crime.Trafficking in humans is a serious crimes and a violation of human rights.Almost every country is affected by human trafficking directly or indirectly.South Africa is one of the countries that has seen an increase in human trafficking by gangs and people smugglers some of them working with local gangs.The country,according to a United Nations report of 2005, is both a transit and direct destination for victims of trafficking. South Africa's lack of official data base on human trafficking has hampered the fight to stop the trade.That has also presented a problem for the police.Like international poachers,human traffickers are always a step ahead of law enforcement agencies.They are well connected and have a good network of informants in their target countries.This is according to a former Zimbabwen police detective who was once deployed at Beitbridge town,bordering Zimbabwe and South Africa.Beitbridge is also the busiest border post in Southern,Eastern and Central Africa.In an interviewrecently,the former detective who preferred to be identified as Andrew said he was part of a task force to combat human trafficking in Southern Africa.He said human trafficking has become a big problem in three countries in the region-Mozambique,Malawi and Zimbabwe.He said the main destination for most of those trafficked in those three countries was South Africa.The former detective gave as an example,Zimbabwean human smugglers known as Omalayitsha who have become notorious in the trade.Omalayitsha are blamed for trafficking thousands of Zimbabweans and other African immigrants into South Africa every month.It's not easy to get accurate figures of those that have become victims of trafficking because it is a closed and secretive industry.The majority of those brought into South Africa, according to the former detective were willing participants.But some,especially women and young girls are abducted by gangs for commercial sex exploitation in South Africa.South African girls too,are said to be trafficked for commercial sex and domestic servitude,according to a report by Wikipedia.As a signatory to the protocol to prevent and suppress the trade in human trafficking the South African government is required to address the trade as a serious crime.In 2003 president Jacob Zuma signed the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill into law but that has not stopped thousands of foreigners from being trafficked into the country from different continents.One man who was a victim of trafficking by Zimbabwean people smugglers told me that some of the human traffickers worked closely with some farmers in Limpopo province who paid them for delivering free labour in the form of Mozambicans and Zimbabweans."I know for a fact that some foreigners who are trafficked by the gangs are sold to corrupt farmers in Limpopo.They work for nothing because when its time for them to get paid, the farmers report them to police as illegal immigrants and get them deported back to their countries,"said the Zimbabwean who now works in Johannesburg.Once the trafficked boys are deported back to their countries,the smugglers supply the farmers with new free labour.The people making money in this evil trade are the human smugglers.The South African Police Service(SAPS) has a human trafficking desk located within its organised crime unit known as the Hawks.But there have been no known cases of human traffickers having been arrested and prosecuted."Some police chiefs in Southern Africa are not happy with their counterparts in South Africa who are not doing enough to combat the operations of the human traffickers,"said the former Zimbabwean detective.Anti-human trafficking campaigners are not happy too with the way the government has handled cases of people smuggled into South Africa especially women and girls. One anti-human trafficking campaigner in Johannesburg warned women to be careful when they see tempting advertisements on the internet offering them jobs in Europe,Australia and China.She said a lot of South African women have found themselves working as sex slaves in Asia after being flown to those countries by gangs who pay for their travel expenses and organise passports for those without documents.With domestic servitude cases, the person is forced to wake up early, keep a house clean, cook and look after children without payment. Sometimes their masters don't give them food and sleep on the floor.The gangs can place an advert in local papers or internet looking for beautiful young women to work as waiters in Chinese restaurants.Many respond because they are desperate.They are then taken to a house where all the arrangements are made for them to be flown outside the country to begin their new life as commercial sex workers-not waiters as promised by the gangs.They will be working in brothels not in restaurants.Thats how ruthless the gangs are when it comes to their trade.The United Nations says it hopes to raise awareness among policy makers and law enforcement agencies.In 2007,according to the UN, 127 countries were involved in trafficking,98 were used as transit and 137 as destinations.There is also an increasing number of men being trafficked on the false pretences of offering them jobs in other countries.Trafficked women are often turned into sex slaves and work for the crime bosses in big cities.Cape Town was once mentioned as one of the cities that has become a big problem in trafficked women and children.Children are among those targetted by people smugglers and organised crime syndicates.The trafficking of children forced the Department of Home Affairs to tighten visa requirements for foreigners bringing children into the country.The tough regulations also apply to South Africans wishing to take their children outside the country.The government had refused to accept unabridged birth certificates for locals travelling with children to other countries.Foreigners coming into South Africa needed fathers to give permission to their wives to take the children across the border.That permission was required in writing with the long birth certificates attached.Statistics are hard to get but the LexisNexis Human Trafficking Awareness Index released in Johannesburg in 2013 painted a grim picture of the evils of human trafficking.The database showed that 540 people - 67 of them children - were potentially trafficked into and within South Africa in 2011, 96 for sexual exploitation, 271 for forced labour, 90 for organ trafficking, four for forced marriages (ukuthwala) and two as drug mules. Opinion / Columnist Diplomat William M. Bellamy, you are a shameful westerner that does not subscribe to the fundamental democratic values held by your nation state, the US, which claims to be the custody of the most advanced democracy in the world.The wonder is Bellamy; you need to be reminded that you are not capable of recognising the democratic processes that were at play in Zimbabwe in 2002. In that year some presidential polls were held in which all interested candidates participated under free and fair conditions.Conducting polls for purposes of choosing national leaders is the most indispensible component of democracy. But Bellamy why do you see a missed opportunity in formal processes which are poised to ensure the continuity of a sovereign state? You advocate for use of military power to dislodge democratically elected leaders.South Africa found no logical sense in cooperating with the west in exerting unnecessary pressure on it to host a base to attach a legitimate government that was operational in Zimbabwe. This is a sharp contrast to US aggressive foreign policy whereby they attach and crush innocent governments all in the disguised agenda of promoting democracy, while they will be pursuing the values of their selfish international agenda of exploiting all nation states and amassing wealth.The US government is infamous for destroying foreign governments for no apparent reason. For instance, they in recent years they instituted the murder of the Libyan President Colonel Muarmmar Gaddaffi, and the coerced strangulation of Saddam Hussein of Iraq over trumped charges of possessing weapons of mass destruction which their inspectors failed to prove and/or discover.US is unpopular for causing perilous and devastating foreign wars in the middle east, and proxy wars in Africa through funding rebel groups to cause civil wars which displace numerous populations from their homes. Africa is torn apart owing to US actions as they assume the undeclared role of international police and the big brother mentality.Bellamy, the US can be a better state if they keep hands-off Zimbabwe's affairs as we are an independent state which is capable of taking care of its domestic issues. We can only invite foreigners when we find it necessary to do so.I want to ask Bellamy if democracy also entails a deliberate disregard of the peoples' will? Or it is a blatant antithesis of this virtue that you are trying to cultivate? Probably you need more tuition on the elementary tenets of democracy in the modern world. It is imperative that you honour humanity by paying tribute to their choices.I want to imagine how much terror your government could have caused on lives of Zimbabweans as habitual a merciless global aggressor had South African President, Thabo Mbeki, bought your idea of ravaging innocent nations. There could have been blood spillage which is reminiscent of what we have gone through in recent decades when we were engaged in a war of liberation struggle. We cannot allow that to happen to us anymore, so just keep hands-off our internal affairs! Headlines from the front lines Sign up to join the fight for all animals with email updates and text alertsyou can be first to take action on the issues that matter most. Access exclusive content and media materials in our press room. DA plans new diversion program for first-time felony drug possession Change in law that allows Community Correction officers to oversee cases of those placed on diversion makes program possible. SAN FRANCISCOA lot of people understand that using a companys trademark to identify the company you are criticizing or critiquing is not a trademark violation. After all, how are you supposed to tell people you think XYZ Airline sucks without mentioning the name of the airline? Certainly, a lawyer should understand this issue and properly advise his client before bringing a trademark claim to try to silence a critic. Therefore, it was no surprise when a Texas district court dismissed a case in which AIDS denialist Clark Baker and his organization, the Office of Military and Scientific Justice (OMSJ), sued Jeffrey DeShong for using the companys trademark on a website criticizing Baker and his organization. Although the lawyer should have known this was a frivolous claim, the judge was reluctant to go one step further and order an award of attorneys fees against Baker and OMSJ. Today,in Baker v. Deshong (Case No. 14-11157, Doc. No. 005134894385th Cir. May 3, 2016) the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the district court got it wrong. Under 15 U.S.C. 1117(a) of the Lanham Act, a court should award attorneys fees to the prevailing party in an exceptional case. The issue on appeal, involved how to determine if a case is exceptional. Specifically, the Court of Appeal held that the district court applied the wrong standard when it required DeShong to show clear and convincing evidence that Baker brought the case bad faith. Instead, the court should have followed guidance from the Supreme Court in Octane Fitness, LLC v. Icon Health and Fitness, Inc., 134 S. Ct. 1749 (2014). Although the Octane Fitness opinion dealt with attorney fees in patent cases, the Fifth Circuit held that the same principles apply in a trademark case. Under the new standard, an exceptional case is one where (1) in considering both governing law and the facts of the case, the case stands out from others with respect to the substantive strength of a partys litigating position; or (2) the unsuccessful party has litigated the case in an unreasonable manner. The Third and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeal had already adopted this standard. The Fifth Circuit remanded the case to the district court directing it to apply the less burdensome standard. This ruling will likely have a significant impact on speech. First, lawyers will be much more reluctant to bring a bogus trademark claim, just because they dont like what a critic has to say. They will have to decide if they can prove an alternative claim, such as defamation. However, those claims are not often any more attractive to potential plaintiffs since the First Amendment and state anti-SLAPP laws offer significant protections to individuals who engage in public criticism. Nonetheless, arrogant plaintiffs will continue to bring bogus trademark claims. Therefore, the second effect the case will have may be more important. With a more lenient standard for awarding attorney fees, defendants who have been unfairly sued will have an easier time in locating counsel willing to defend them on a pro bono basis, knowing that they have a good chance of obtaining an award for the fees the lawyer would normally charge. This is a good day for free speech in a circuit where such decisions dont come often. In speaking with AVN, Sperlein added, "We're not likely to collect a fee here, since it was a pro bono case. But it's particularly rewarding to have had the opportunity to protect free speech since the speaker was criticizing someone who's an HIV denialist, who's engaged in promoting really dangerous ideas that really called out for other people to speak out about. It was particularly rewarding for me as an attorney to protect Jeffrey DeShong's right to criticize this guy's remarks." D. Gill Sperlein is a San Francisco-based First Amendment attorney who is also of counsel to the Randazza Legal Group in Las Vegas. He and Paul Levy of Public Citizen represented Jeffery DeShong. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Connected Music Startup ROLI Raises $27M Round Led by Foundry London based music tech startup ROLI has raised $27 million. The company creates and sells net connected musical instruments and related tech including the well received Seaboard RISE keyboard. Boulder, Colorado based venture firm Foundry Group led a $27 million Series B round in music tech startup ROLI, its first investment outside the US. London-based BGF Ventures also joined the round alongside all the investors who participated in ROLIs $12.8m Series A: Balderton Capital, FirstMark Capital, Index Ventures, Horizons Ventures, and Universal Music Group. "Weve had the opportunity to partner with companies at the forefront of Connected Health, Connected Play, and other areas where the intersection of physical and digital technologies is transforming the way we live," said Ryan McIntyre, partner at Foundry Group. "The Seaboard is a truly expressive new instrument, and we believe this is just the first step in a breakthrough roadmap for Connected Music. ROLI has opened offices in New York and Los Angeles since its acquisition of Blend, the cloud-based music-sharing platform, in October 2015. While ROLI continues to grow in the US and Europe, it is also expanding internationally. Seaboards are now available in approximately 200 retail outlets in 15 countries. Seaboards purchased on ROLIs online Store ship globally. Share on: Brazilian internet freedom activists are nervous. On Wednesday, a committee in the lower house of Congress, the Camera dos Deputados, will vote on seven proposals ostensibly created to combat cybercrime. Critics argue the combined effect will be to substantially restrict open internet in the country by peeling back the right to anonymity, and providing law enforcement with draconian powers to censor online discourse and examine citizens personal data without judicial oversight. The bills are ripped straight from what has become a standard international playbook: Propose legislation to combat cybercrime; invoke child pornography, hackers, organized crime, and even terrorism; then slip in measures that also make it easier to identify critical voices online (often without judicial oversight) and either mute them or throw them in jail for defamation direct threats to free speech. Pakistan, Nigeria, Mexico, Kuwait, Kenya, the Philippines, Peru, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have all seen similar proposals recently. Some were met with strong resistance and got shelved, some are still pending, and others made it into law. Cybercrime is one of the recurring excuses for creating overbroad legislation which place controls on internet activity, Katitza Rodriguez, international rights director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote in an email to The Intercept. In Brazil, the proposals are the result of the nine-month-long Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on Cybercrimes, referred to as the CPICiber, created in July 2015 by House President Eduardo Cunha at the request of a congressman from President Dilma Rousseffs ruling Workers Party (PT). The first draft of the report, released on March 30, provoked a massively negative response from civil society groups. The Brazilian press has not dedicated much coverage to this story reporters have their hands full with the monthslong political crisis currently enveloping the nation but the Folha de Sao Paulo, a major national newspaper, published an editorial on Saturday arguing that the proposals use the pretext of increasing security online to increase the power to censor the web and diminish users privacy. According to Folha, the provisions attack the pillars of the Marco Civil da Internet, a statute enacted in 2014 which put Brazil at the vanguard of the issue of internet rights. The paper concluded that this is the type of control used by countries such as China and Iran. One particularly controversial proposal would have required social networks to remove content deemed offensive to the honor of politicians within 48 hours of receiving official notification. After public outcry, that section was removed from the second version of the report, but other proposals remain that would force companies to take down prohibited user-generated content, including those deemed to be crimes against honor and other injuries, without a unique judicial order. The CPICiber report contains seven proposed bills (with 20 specific suggestions in all). Among its provisions, it would also: Allow for internet services (such as WhatsApp or Facebook) to be unilaterally blocked by a judicial order, a violation of net neutrality. (This actually happened in December of last year, when a judge shut down nationwide access to WhatsApp to pressure its parent company, Facebook, to cooperate in a criminal investigation.) Require service providers to grant law enforcement access, without a judicial order, to IP addresses, a devices unique online fingerprint that can be used to help identify and geolocate a user and reveal certain browsing history. Divert 10 percent of public funds originally designated to improve desperately underfunded and overpriced national telecom services and infrastructure to law enforcement agencies. Expand the scope and penalties for laws involving hacking and unauthorized access to data, including the criminalization of improper access that risks misuse or disclosure, whether or not such misuse actually occurred or involved criminal intent. Gustavo Gus, co-founder of CryptoRave, a crowdfunded hacker conference in Sao Paulo, has followed the CPICiber hearings closely. The police, judiciary, and the Brazilian authorities have not been happy with Silicon Valleys responses to the Snowden revelations, he wrote in an email. Since the Cybercrime CPI was announced, there has been a lot of pressure from these sectors to increase data retention and expand authorities for mass surveillance, he wrote. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images Civil society groups have been suggesting changes since the first draft of the report was issued. Now, the third draft is due to be unveiled and go to a committee vote on Wednesday. If approved, it will then go to a full vote in the lower house of Congress and, if it passes, to the Senate. Were trying to create a dialogue for the final version of the report and we have to try to work together and make it better, Joana Varon, director of Coding Rights, a group that promotes human rights in the digital arena, told The Intercept, but a lot of times our proposal is: Please abandon this idea. In a statement emailed to The Intercept, the committees chair, Dep. Mariana Carvalho, wrote: I consider the criticisms against the work of the CPI to be hasty and unfair. The text is still under construction, having received profound contributions from scholars, providers and organizations representing diverse technology sectors, including the American Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Information Technology Industry Council as well as the Latin American Internet Association. [] The initiatives in the CPI report are geared mainly towards affording greater agility, efficacy and security in the combat of crimes practiced in the virtual world. That is to say, the measures do not affect peoples navigation of pages of interest nor does it impede the use of applications of their choice, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram [and] Snapchat. Forty-eight civil society groups and academic centers such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Article 19, Access Now, Intervozes, and Institute for Technology and Society of Rio de Janeiro have joined Coding Rights to combat the proposed legislation. In a letter to the members of the CPICiber, Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, said he was saddened by the package, adding, allowing law enforcement to identify people associated with IP addresses without a warrant would threaten privacy online creating a chilling effect for freedom of speech, and with knock on effects for business and democracy. Dep. Daniel Coelho, a member of the CPICiber, has sharply refuted such arguments. In a tweet, Coelho responded to an article from a leading think tank titled, Politicians want to censor the internet in Brazil with the excuse of fighting cyber crime, saying, what a ridiculous lie this article is. None of this exists. For Varon and many of her colleagues, the CPICiber proposals are especially difficult to accept after having spent years working with government officials to patch together the Marco Civil da Internet, an innovative piece of legislation that Varon calls the Magna Carta of the internet. It provides a clear regulatory framework and lays out a broad series of digital rights for all Brazilians, including the right to affordable broadband access and the right to free speech. It was produced through an open and inclusive dialogue. The package was widely heralded by internet freedom advocates around the world, despite some serious reservations about such things as including mandatory retention of user logs by service providers. Since then, elements of Brazils political class have been trying to chip away at some of the newly established rights. The CPICiber report is the fruit of a strong conservative wave that has taken over our Camera dos Deputados, says Varon. And when this wave hits the internet, it results in censorship and surveillance. This is a backslide. In the last year, a controversial antiterrorism law was passed into law by a president who was once herself imprisoned for being a terrorist during the military regime, and a bill debated late last year that would grant sweeping domestic digital espionage powers is waiting to be dusted off the shelf. EFFs Katitza Rodrigues warns: Once one bad bill is adopted in one country, they can spread further into other countries, a domino effect. Match this to the frustration of governments around the world with their inability to control encrypted communication services, and you create an environment where every country feels entitled to block not just websites, but entire services. Varon is worried, too. If the cybersecurity debate is led by a conservative vision, she says, then we end up criminalizing everything, saying that were all terrorists, taking common practices and criminalizing them because we dont understand how the internet works. Its problematic. Source: https://theintercept.com/2016/04/26/brazilian-cybercrime-bills-threaten-open-internet-for-200-million-people/ Information technology ministers of the G7 countries, during a meeting in Japan on Saturday, agreed to tackle the digital divide by bringing internet access to more people, and pushing for policies free of political censorship. The plan set out by the ministers of the G7 countries - Japan, the US, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy - and European Union officials is to enable 1.5 billion more people to have internet access by 2020, EFE news reported. It is believed that around 4 billion people, representing 60 percent of the world's population, still lack internet access. "We believe that global digital connectivity should in particular contribute to improving the quality of life for all people everywhere, to generating economic growth," they said. Meanwhile, in a message to countries such as China and Russia where governments censor web content, the ministers called for a free flow of information. "We continue to support ICT policies that preserve the global nature of the internet, promote the flow of information across borders and allow internet users to access online information, knowledge and services of their choice," a joint statment issued after the meeting said. The group also called for the active participation of governments, the private sector, civil society, the tech community and international organisations in matters concerning internet governance. The meet emphasised the need to strengthen international and public-private cooperation to bolster cyber security and combat cyber terrorism. Japan, which has the current rotating presidency of the G7, also proposed the development of a barometer to assess cyber risks. The information and communication technology meeting of the G7 is the first to be held in 21 years, and its conclusions will be taken up in the upcoming G7 leaders' meet on May 26 and 27 in Japan. The participating ministers, of the world's seven most industrialised countries, also pledged to follow up on the agreements at a meeting in Italy next year. Source: http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/g7-ministers-to-push-for-internet-freedom-reduce-digital-divide-116043000252_1.html By Sept. 30 of this year, the Obama administration plans to transition its stewardship over core internet functions to the international community. The transition plan presented to the U.S. Department of Commerce was finalized by the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which sets broad policy for the internet's naming system, and coordinates many of its most essential functions. The Department of Commerce has said that it expects to finish its review of the plan by mid-June, giving Congress plenty of time to review it before the September deadline. The plan raises troubling questions that must be answered before it is approved by the U.S. government. At stake are the stability and freedom of the internet, which serves as a personal and commercial lifeline not only to Americans, but also to a majority of people across the globe. That the internet today is decentralized, open and free of government interference is thanks to the American government's adoption, during the Clinton years, of a multi-stakeholder model of governance. Since early days, it was agreed that the overseers of the internet would be private and governmental groups working together under ICANN's umbrella. At a recent ICANN meeting in Marrakesh, Morocco, however, China, Russia and their allies threatened the careful structure that has worked so well until now by suggesting a competing model of internet governance in which governments themselves would have ultimate control over the internet. The Marrakesh proposals include first a requirement that ICANN obey any advice offered, after a unanimous vote, by its Government Advisory Committee (GAC). Established in 1999 at the time of ICANN's first public meetings, the GAC with its 162 members and 35 observers consisting primarily of national governments is not officially a decision-making body. But as its official description explains, it "provides advice on issues of public policy, especially where there may be interaction between ICANN's activities or policies and national laws or international agreements." Wisely, the ICANN community rejected a proposal that would have required only a majority vote of the GAC for its "advice" to be binding. That would have eliminated the U.S. veto, which is vital to prevent governments from subverting ICANN. The second proposal concerns the proposed stewardship of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (or "IANA function"), which manages the allocation of numerical IP addresses. As I saw firsthand when I was chairman and CEO of Network Solutions, Inc., which in the late 1990s was administering both the IANA function and the allocation of domain names, he who controls all IP addresses controls the internet. The administrator of the IANA function manages the internet's "root zone" files and the numerical IP addresses, naming protocols and domain names (such as thehill.com) that computers and other devices use to find each other on the internet. The proposed stewardship of IANA leaves unclear who will play the limited but crucial role currently performed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Department of Commerce; namely, of making sure that any changes to the root-zone domain name file executed by the IANA administrator are in accordance with ICANN policy. The globally decentralized nature of the internet requires a globally authoritative root-zone file for domain names, without which computers would not be able to "find" each other on the net. Administering updates to that file is the "IANA naming function." That function must be kept strictly technical, managed by engineers without a political agenda. The IANA administrator, contracted by ICANN, should not be expected to decide policy questions, such as whether ".sucks" is a legitimate domain name. Neither should the ICANN community, which sets policy, be given the power to enforce it, as currently proposed. Enforcement should be done by a nonpolitical separate body perhaps by an independent auditor. The vision of a free and open internet is increasingly at risk because repressive governments have turned back the tide of internet freedom, and are learning to use both the internet itself, and the global institutions that govern the internet, to strengthen their authoritarian control. According to Freedom House, repressive regimes like Russia and China "have devised subtle and not-so-subtle ways to filter, monitor, and otherwise obstruct or manipulate the openness of the internet." In its 2015 survey, 40 of 65 countries imprisoned people for sharing information on politics, religion or society through digital networks, and even more governments have forced private parties to restrict or remove that sort of content. Moving forward, ultimate control of the IANA function must never pass to an international organization controlled by governments, whether the United Nations, the International Telecommunications Union, or ICANN recast with governments in control. Congress must ensure that the U.S. remains in a position to protect the stability and freedom of the internet. That means making sure that any institution taking over the stewardship of the internet's core functions should be structured to keep the internet decentralized, open and free. Source: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/technology/277806-this-summer-congress-must-make-sure-the-internet-stays-free Always invest for the long term, as Warren Buffet simply says. That is what Epic Brokers, a San Francisco-based national insurance brokerage, did when they invested in the employer services platform for their employees and clients.We sat down and looked at what investments do we need to make as a firm to make sure that we continue to provide the needed resources in a very changing and complex environment for our clients, said Derek Thomas, chief strategy officer at Epic.Thomas, along with Dana Liedel, managing principal in the employer benefits department, analyzed the evolution of the employee benefits space, focusing on transitioning their brokerage from a traditional model, to a consulting/brokerage model. Interested in moving producers and account managers up market towards larger opportunities and with more success among mid-to-large clients, led to the concept of an employer services platform that was designed and created to establish expertise and specialty focus.If we could develop that expertise, then we can provide real-time information from a platform to our account managers and producers to keep them current on all of the major changes and really move us forward in our ability to communicate our capabilities and our messaging to our clients, said Thomas.Beginning in 2014, after Epic partnered with The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager, Epic hit the ground running on creating the employer services platform (ESP). When we pushed this, one of the things we did was we went out and asked our producers what do you need, setting the strategy aside. We went door-to-door, to every single office and did surveys and asked them what they needed to be successful in a post-ACA [affordable care act] environment - that was the key question, said Chris Duncan, chief growth officer.So when Epic rolled out the ESP program, they challenged their producers and account managers to use and leverage the platform to be successful in the marketplace, especially following the implementation of ACA, which created a more complex insurance world. This was a required investment that we made to be able to be competitive in the marketplace and create a better future for our employees, all at the same time, said Duncan.ESP specifically addresses both current and future requirements in the healthcare and employee benefits marketplace. The platform serves as a resource center for Epics employees on behalf of their clients, which can be used to help clients manage both their short-term cost control challenges, as well as the longer-term issues of health program management, compliance, employee engagement, accountability, health and well-being.It is pretty powerful when you walk in and say what you said you needed, we got for you. This is how it is going to work and we are re-investing in your future. That is very powerful and motivating, and culturally very consistent with what it means to be inside of Epic, said Duncan. Insurance software firm Vertafore is to be acquired by two private equity firms. Funds affiliated with Bain Capital Private Equity and Vista Equity Partners will jointly buy the firm from TPG Capital for an undisclosed sum. The sale is expected to complete in the third quarter.Vertafore has a long history with the insurance industry, having entered the space 45 years ago and now boasting 500,000 insurance professionals using its services.The deal comes just a month after Vertafore expanded its reach and capabilities by acquiring Keal Technology in Canada, and less than a year after the purchase of QQSolutions in Florida, both providers of cloud software to independent insurance agencies.Following a spending spree of $18 billion in 2015, Japanese insurers are set to keep buying US assets in 2016 according to industry experts. Law firm Mayer Brown says that with Japans insurance industry facing lower domestic returns, with an aging population, devalued currency and lower rates; the countrys insurance firms are seeking overseas opportunities.Bloomberg reports that Japanese insurers will spark activity in an otherwise flat insurance M&A market in the US this year. The report also notes that they are willing to pay premium prices for well-run high-quality firms.Hong Kong has recently launched its new Insurance Authority and is searching worldwide for the right person to head it, plus hundreds of staff. Its chairman Moses Cheng Mo-chi told the South China Post that not being able to speak Chinese is not a barrier for the right candidates.We want to have the best talent with knowledge of the insurance industry and regulations. We are not looking for only local Chinese but overseas talent as well, since Hong Kong is an international financial center. The chief executive is not required to know Chinese, he said.The Insurance Authority is expected to take over from Hong Kongs Office of Commissioner of Insurance by the end of 2016. BATTLE CREEK, Mich.First of all, yes, there is such a place, and it even has a school or twothe one at issue here is Harper Creek Middle Schoolthough we'd hate to think that a venerable institution like Kellogg's had anything to do with the Froot Loop-y idea of firing a teacher just because she said the word "vagina" in class. The victim is one Allison Wint, who was a substitute art teacher at the school, and her topic of the day was the paintings of famed American artist Georgia O'Keeffe. For those not familiar with the artist's work, a Google Image search of "Georgia O'Keeffe" will bring up a number of the artist's paintings, parts of which clearly are meant to represent the human vaginaso it's hardly surprising that during the lesson, Wint asked her class, "Imagine walking into a gallery when [O'Keeffe] was first showing her pieces, and thinking, 'Am I actually seeing vaginas here, am I a pervert? I'm either a pervert or this woman was a pervert.'" Leaving aside the question of whether painting, however stylistically, one of the most important parts of human anatomy can actually be considered "perverse," somehow, Wint's words got quoted to to the school's principal, Kim Thayer, who told Wint, who admits to having used the word "maybe ten times" in the course of the lecture, before classes began the next day that she had violated school policy. See, at Harper Creek, teachers have to get official permission before talking to kidseven the eighth-graders that Wint taughtabout what is loosely termed "reproductive health." What that means in practice, according to a story on Jezebel.com, is that teachers can't use the words "breast," "ovary," "egg," "infant," "birth," "sex," "penis" or "sperm" in front of the kidsor, apparently, "vagina"unless they get prior permission from a superior. "I did not know about this policy," Wint told WWMT-3 News. "They were entirely within their right to remove me; however, I was not aware of this policy beforehand. If I had known about this policy, I would have never done it without approval." "I was really invested in those kids," she added. "And I miss them a lot." Actually, this wasn't Wint's first brush with the administration. Sometime earlier, she'd hung a student-made sign behind her desk which read, "Marriage Is About Love, Not Gender." That didn't sit too well with the Powers That Be either, who ordered her to remove it. But the truth is, Michigan has been pretty wacky about the word "vagina" for quite a while. Back in 2012, conservatives in Michigan's House of Representatives floated HB 5711, which would have regulated women's clinics that performed abortions so strictly that, according to Rep. Lisa Brown, many would have been forced to close. Brown argued against the measure, with Allison Yarrow of The Daily Beast noting that Brown had stated on the House floor that "as a Jewish woman, she chooses to keep kosher in her home, and that she also abided by the Jewish tenet dating back to the biblical era that 'abortions performed in order to preserve the life of the mother are not only permissible, but mandatory.'" Shortly after her remarks, Brown was banned from the House floor. "It was inappropriate in the way it ['vagina'] was used during a floor speech and thats his decision to make, House Speaker Jase Bolger's spokesman Ari Adler said of the speaker's crackdown. "We have passionate debates on the House floor. The only way to continue doing so is to maintain civility." So ... using the word "vagina" in public is uncivil? Good to know! (Brown's fellow Rep. Barb Byrum was also banned from speaking that day, supposedly for speaking out of turn. Byrum had wanted to argue that as long as the House was considering restrictions on abortion, maybe they should apply similar restrictions regarding who would be allowed to get a vasectomy.) ** In other vagina news, anyone remember Megumi Igarashi, the Japanese artist who made a 3D print of her own vagina, shared that print with several other artists, and then enlarged the image to create a vagina-shaped kayak? She was arrested twice in 2014, once for the sharing and again for the kayak, with indictments for "distributing 'obscene' data" having been handed down in December of 2014. That case has dragged on for 17 months, though apparently a trial was commenced sometime last December, and 3Ders.org, a website devoted to 3D printing, reports that a decision is expected to be announced on May 9. Prosecutors are asking the judge to levy a fine of 800,000 (about $6,600). In the meantime, Igarashi has created several more vagina-inspired art pieces, even taking part in an exhibition in Hong Long with 11 other artists. "I recently met with Ai WeiWei," Igarashi said, referring to the renowned and controversial Chinese artist. "Hes also trying to show with his art what authorities are trying to hide. He told me that my vagina was now my passport." Use it in good health! UPDATE: Igarashi was found guilty of obscenity and fined 400,000 (US$3,690.73). According to The Guardian (UK), "The judge, Mihoko Tanabe, said that the data, though 'flat and inorganic,' realistically portrayed the shape of a vagina and could 'sexually arouse viewers.' Pictured: Selections from three paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe. Advocates Continue to Push on Williamstown Preschool Program WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. Four members of the Williamstown School Committee on Thursday again explained their reasons for supporting a fiscal 2017 budget that includes a reduction to the school's popular preschool program. At a special meeting originally rescheduled from April 13, the committee members explained why they did not oppose the school administration's decision to eliminate the full-day option for Side-By-Side. Superintendent Douglas Dias, acting in consultation with the district's director of pupil personnel services, decided this year that the special education population Side-By-Side was designed to serve can have its needs met in two half-day sessions. Traditionally, the program has offered half-day and full-day classes for both the special needs population and the non-special needs population both "sides" referred to in the program's name. Since Dias announced that decision in February, the program's teachers, parents, parents of former Side-By-Side students and other community members have alternately lobbied and demanded that the full-day option be restored. At the latest in a series of contentious meetings on Thursday, Dias said he erred by casting the Side-By-Side reduction as being driven by fiscal concerns. In fact, for him, it is more a matter of evaluating the program's place in the district's educational program. "My biggest regret was, early on, I did present it as a budgetary matter," Dias said. " It really wasn't a budgetary matter. It came to my attention in October or November when I was looking at the budget. But as I delved more deeply and identified the needs of the kids, I realized it was not a budgetary matter. "My first concern has always been for the students in this building. And I know this change is drastic, but that's part of my job. Part of my job is to shine light into corners that sometimes we don't want to look at and to make recommendations to you and make decisions that are not popular. I didn't get into this career to be popular. I got into this job to help our kids get the best education possible, and they will." One by one, the School Committee members explained that they believed Dias was acting in the school's best interest and trusted his assessment that the half-day programming will meet the needs of children. "To me, that's largely where the discussion ends," Chairman Dan Caplinger said in a meeting telecast on the town's community access television station, WilliNet. "In my role as a School Committee member, there are two things I have direct control over: hiring a superintendent to administer the district and overseeing the budget to fund the superintendent's programs. That's my justification for having supported the budget as presented." Committee member Catherine Keating said she likes the idea of a full-day preschool program, but she did not like the ideas floated by Side-By-Side's proponents for using the preschool program to generate revenue. "I don't think tuitioning in more children or even raising tuition to make the program a revenue source for the school is the answer or even very appropriate," Keating said. "I think that would undermine what the program is actually about in terms of having classroom diversity and being a program that is congruent with the philosophy of a public school. "I think to lower tuition and make the program more affordable to everyone living in this town actually makes more sense. Doing so would increase the cost of the program." She also said that she does not believe the administration would cut a program if it believed the cut would negatively impact education as some in the community have alleged. "We are two points away from being named a Level 1 School District," Keating said. " I don't think the administration of this school would do anything to undermine all this work. If changing the structure of Side-By-Side would have a detrimental effect on the long term achievement of children with special needs, that would completely undermine much of the other work being done at this school." Committee member Joseph Johnson agreed. "Clearly, Side-by-Side, when Dr. Dias decided to do what he did, is a big skunk to poke," Johnson said. "This affects a lot of people. To my mind, that is all the more reason to believe Dr. Dias has the best of intentions. He wouldn't do this lightly. "I don't think the School Committee should hold up the budget based on one item in it. I do think the School Committee hires and fires the superintendent. I think the superintendent, any superintendent, has the right to move resources around in the school in the way feels best affects all students." Committee member John Skavlem said he abhors change but applauds those who have the courage to make change when they see a need to do so. "As with any program, Side-By-Side should be evaluated every year," Skavlem said. "And our new superintendent and his administration are doing what perhaps was lacking in the past. "This year with the benefit of fresh thinking and new eyes on it, we have the opportunity to consider the best way to allocate our resources." Committee member Richard Reynolds did not attend Thursday's meeting. It is unlikely any of those arguments swayed the nine residents who spoke in favor of restoring the full-day preschool in a 20-minute public comment period at the beginning of Thursday's meeting. In fact, after the committee members discussed the issue, members of the public asked for an opportunity to make a rebuttal. Caplinger declined to give them that chance, telling the group that their comments were heard and taken into consideration but the public comment part of the meeting was over. During the public comment, the committee heard from veteran preschool teacher Fern Murtagh, who told the panel that two half-day sessions cannot take the place of a full-day preschool experience for children who need it. "When I think about the prospect of the full-day Side-By-Side being eliminated, I don't think of the program," Murtagh said. "I see the faces of individual children with [individual education programs] who are in my class and the faces of their parents who sat with me at team meetings not even a year ago, where we decided a cohesive full-day program was what their child needed. "You are making a decision that will change the future of children I teach every day." Three of the nine residents who spoke during the public comment period are running in a five-person race along with the incumbent Caplinger for two seats on the School Committee. Joseph Bergeron, Liam Brody and Maura McCarthy Lawson each used the two minutes allotted them to argue for restoration of the program. Another resident made a thinly veiled threat that the Side By Side issue could be used to defeat the school budget at the May 17 annual town meeting. "I hope the administration and the School Committee will shed some light on this [decision] today," David Irwin said. However, many in the community disagree with the administration and the School Committee. If that's the case, that's fine. We can move on and discuss this at the town meeting." Town meeting will be asked to approve an omnibus budget, basically saying yea or nay to the bottom line figure. Town meeting will not have the option of reopening the budget and directing the district how to spend its money. After Caplinger denied the request for a second public comment period, the majority of the audience left the school library. One could be overheard by the committee to say the decision not to continue the discussion "speaks more volumes than I can," which drew an angry retort from Skavlem. "I'd like to make a point that most of the audience just left, and, clearly, the rest of the school's business is not of their interest," he said. "And I find that very shameful. That's indicative to me. That's shameful." In other business, the School Committee decided to form a finance subcommittee, following the model at Mount Greylock, where the subcommittee meets regularly with the superintendent and business manager to review the budget in more detail and reports out to the full committee at its monthly meetings. Caplinger said he had received a letter from the chairman of the town's Finance Committee encouraging some sort of advisory body for the School Committee. But Caplinger noted that the committee had discussed the formation of a subcommittee long before his appearance before the Finance Committee last month. Although the School Committee's subcommittee could have the option of asking outside experts to participate in its meetings, the committee and the superintendent agreed it was best to limit subcommittee membership to members of the School Committee itself. "One of the advantages of having it be a committee of elected officials is we're aware of the legalities, and familiar with the confidentiality requirements and have been trained to deal with them," Caplinger said. The committee decided not to fill the two subcommittee spots but rather wait until after the May 10 town election and the committee's subsequent reorganization meeting. The committee did decide to add Williamstown Elementary's name to the list of districts signing resolutions calling for maintenance of the current charter school cap and implementation of the recommendations of the Foundation Budget Review Commission. Dias explained to the School Committee his plans for two community forums this spring to look at long-range planning for the school. Caplinger told his colleagues that he, his counterparts at Lanesborough Elementary School and Mount Greylock and Dias met with the School Committee chairs in New Ashford, Hancock and Richmond for a preliminary discussion as the Shaker Mountain Union No. 70 looks at the possibility of a shared services agreement for administration. And the panel discussed the procedure for its upcoming evaluation of Dias and the possibility of a Tri-District School Committee daylong work session sometime this summer. Dias said he hoped that in addition to talking about issues that affect the Williamstown and Lanesborough elementary schools and Mount Greylock, the daylong meeting would be a chance to receive training for all three committees from a consultant with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. Letter: Answers Needed on North Adams Health Department Backlog To the Editor: The recent revelation that the City of North Adams has fallen behind in its responsibility to provide its citizens of the most basic legally required Health Inspections demands a community announcement as compelling as Mayor Alcombright announcing his recision of the Winter Parking Ban sent to all citizens. While this important and fundamental position has been neglected in our city it is an Indictment on the administration of Mayor Alcombright. As the chief executive officer of the city of North Adams it is the duty and responsibility to know and understand the day-to-day operations of our city. What is more troubling is the response of our mayor. Mayor Alcombright, in his quotes, attempted to place the blame on those that are under his employ. How does the mayor of the city of North Adams place the health of its citizenry at the mercy of a part-time employee's snowbird migration? This revelation should not come as shock, if you follow the tone of the CEO. Recently a property overlooking City Hall was condemned and forced the displacement of some eight families. There is a document trail that will point to a failure of the administration and its policy of defunding important and revenue-producing positions. This coming from a city that has attempted to present its self as a destination. This response is another example of our current mayor not addressing the small things that affect our today and our city's tomorrow. Having not read the most current City Report, I would question the revenue of the departments that are tasked with enforcing the codes and ordinances of the city of North Adams. Does the Department of Wire and Alarm produce revenue to support the addition of an additional employee or will the addition cost the taxpayers? What department will produce the revenue to pay for the new position to oversee city-owned property, the same position that the taxpayer has been funding to date. How does one create a budgeted position mid-stream? Chris Tremblay North Adams, Mass. North Adams Seeking Public Input on Cultural District Application NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The city of North Adams and Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, part of Massachusetts College Liberal Arts, will be hosting two public meetings regarding the application to designate the North Adams downtown area as a Cultural District. This designation is awarded through the Massachusetts Cultural Council's Cultural District Initiative. The meetings will take place at on Tuesday, May 10, at 11 a.m. and Thursday, May 12, at 6 p.m. Both meetings will be open to the public and held at Gallery 51 on Main Street. The purpose is to have an open discussion with the community about the ins and outs of the application process as well as the impact this designation will have on the city. A cultural district, as defined by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, is a compact, walkable area of a community with a concentration of cultural facilities, activities, and assets. The Cultural District Initiative grew out of an economic stimulus bill passed by the state Legislature in 2010. It is designed to help communities attract artists and cultural enterprises, encourage business and job growth, expand tourism, preserve and reuse historic buildings, enhance property values, and foster local cultural development. Creating a cultural district in North Adams provides the city with a tool for cultural organizations and local businesses to market and identify the city downtown as a unique and attractive destination for locals, businesses and visitors. This cultural designation is considered important continue the city's trajectory of becoming an up-and-coming space for artists from all around the world and attract activity and investment from the surrounding area that will help strengthen its local economy. Page Content Consuls General and Honorary Consuls from 22 countries joined Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, President of the ICAO Council (7th from the left), at the Organizations Montreal Headquarters today. The President and a number of ICAOs senior officials outlined the UN agencys mission, role and current strategies for combatting climate change, while promoting the links between sustainable international socio-economic development and civil aviation connectivity. MONTREAL, 3 May 2016 Montreal-based Consuls General and Honorary Consuls representing 22 countries conducted an official visit to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) today. The visit comes as ICAO prepares for its 39th Session of the Assembly, when the UN agencys 191 Member States will be invited to agree on strategies to address key issues such as climate change, the agencys budget, and the composition of the ICAO Council. They were addressed by President of the ICAO Council, Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, who set forth civil aviations key challenges and the Organizations initiatives to address them. The global aviation network is projected to double in flight and passenger volumes by 2030, at which time we expect to operate 60 million flights and carry over 6 billion passengers annually. This means we must ensure sufficient infrastructure and skilled personnel to manage and process this growing traffic safely, securely and efficiently, Dr. Aliu said. The anticipated growth means that aviation will contribute even more to the global economy, but it must do so with due regard for emissions reduction and climate change mitigation. Important steps to control and limit aviation emissions are therefore on the agenda for our Assembly. The President highlighted that ICAOs Global Plans for Safety and Air Navigation and the Organizations Next Generation of Aviation Professionals programme, are helping to address aviations infrastructure and human resources challenges, while its environmental protection actions are seeking to cap carbon emissions from international civil aviation at 2020 levels. While aviation is already making important progress on carbon emissions through technology, better procedures, and capacity-building in States, the post COP/21 world is focussing on the market-based measure for aviation that we will propose at our 39th Assembly this September, Dr. Aliu said. In so doing, aviation would become the first major industry to make this type of commitment. The address was also an opportunity for ICAO to highlight its contributions to the development of Montreal as an aviation hub, and to express its gratitude to Canada as the agencys host country. ICAO greatly values its position in Montreal, Dr. Aliu said. We are very proud that our presence here since 1945 has helped to attract other aviation organizations from around the world, establishing this city as the World Capital of Civil Aviation. And we very much appreciate the generosity and assistance of the Government of Canada, which has facilitated our work tremendously. 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 CHATSWORTH, Calif.Porn Pros has signed up-and-comer Rebel Lynn to perform an unspecified number of anal and boy/girl scenes for the studio's network of 24 websites. "We at Porn Pros are thrilled to announce Rebel Lynn as our contract star," studio rep Robert Membrila said. "Rebel embodies everything we have been looking for to represent our company: beauty, brains, poise and a true love and passion for her craft. We expect big things from this impressive young ladywe haven't had a contract star in many years, but Rebel Lynn is the perfect fit, and our fans adore her. We scooped her up and signed her for our next set of anal scenes, along with a few other very sexy boy/girl scenes." Commented Rebel, "It's exciting for me to be representing Porn Pros, and being its contract star is an absolute honor. We are a perfect match, and we will do some amazing things together. In the short time I've been in the adult industry, it's been my goal to work hard and stand out in a crowd of some amazing women. This validates my efforts, and I plan on continuing to make every single moment an opportunity for me to shine." For more, visit pornpros.com, and follow the studio on Twitter @pornpros. Follow Rebel Lynn on Twitter @TheRebelLynn and on Instagram at @the_rebel_lynn. BURBANK, Calif.Adult content producer Brazzers has a plan to prove its devotion to diversity. Tomorrow, in celebration of Cinco de Mayo, Brazzers.com will be offering free premium Spanish porn to anyone curious about expanding their horizons and learning another language. Brazzers is also issuing a challenge to all fans to caption their favorite quote learned after watching a Spanish-language scene. To enter, anyone interested can go to BrazzersEnEspanol.com and watch as much porn as they fancy. Fans can then participate via Twitter by sending their captioned memes, gifs, pics and quotes to @Brazzers. By the end of the day Brazzers will be selecting several winners for some free merchandise, autographs from fan-favorite Brazzers porn stars, and Munkey Barz leather love handles. Product Director Mario Nardstein said the promotion is a key celebration that allows Brazzers to familiarize fans with the Spanish languageeven if it starts with learning how to say whoa, youre hot." Cinco de Mayo is a time to celebrate can-do Spanish spirit, though more traditionally, it is celebrated in commemoration of the Battle of Puebla in 1862 when Mexican troops held their homeland successfully and defeated French imperialists despite being outnumbered two to one. We wanted to translate this can-do spirit into an effort to motivate others to learn another language by mixing it with something theyll be likely to pay attention to: sex. Some great starter scenes recommended by Brazzers include Indiscrecion, with inked favorite Christy Mack and her accomplice Madison Ivy; Persuadiendo a Lela, starring Kim Kardashian doppelganger Lela Star; Mis Dos Esposas, a threesome with Peta Jensen and Kendra Lust that will help viewers learn the meaning of fuego; Rompe la Red ... De Veras esta Vez, featuring Nikki Benz in a "Kim Kardashian breaks the internet" parody; Erase una vez en Argentina, starring notorious porn star goddess Esperanza Gomez; and Guerra Mundial XXX Tercera Parte, part three of a XXX parody of The Walking Dead featuring Peta Jensen. The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers. To unlock this article: Governor Brown Issues Proclamation Declaring Small Business Month Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued a proclamation declaring May 2016 as Small Business Month in the State of California. This week, the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) is hosting a Small Business Summit to provide information on the resources and programs available to business owners across the state. PROCLAMATION California is home to the most innovative and competitive firms in the world, placing us consistently among the top ten economies. The vast majority of these businesses employ 500 or fewer workers. Small businesses embody the entrepreneurial spirit that has driven the economy of our Golden State. Over half of our private-sector workforce is employed by small business. This month, we reaffirm our commitment to helping Californias small businesses thrive and prosper. The Governors Office of Business and Economic Development, along with key agencies of state government, work to facilitate economic growth through collaboration with small businesses. Supporting small-scale private-sector job creators is among our most promising strategies to enhance Californias human capital, expand job opportunities and increase our competitive advantage in the global marketplace. NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim May 2016, as Small Business Month. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 29th day of April 2016. ___________________________________ EDMUND G. BROWN JR. Governor of California ATTEST: __________________________________ ALEX PADILLA Secretary of State Murder in the Slabs El Centro, California - On Friday, at approximately 2000 hours, the Imperial County Sheriffs Dispatch Center received a 911 call in reference a disturbance and shots being fired in the area known as the Slabs, east of the Township of Niland, California. The caller reported a disturbance between a male and a female along with gunfire. The caller and several other witnesses approached the couple in attempt to diffuse the situation. The concerned witnesses reported they were fired upon several times by the male involved in the disturbance. The male subject was then observed fleeing the scene in a vehicle. The body of a deceased female was found at the scene by the witnesses. The female appeared to have died of gunshot related injuries. Deputies located the fleeing suspect's vehicle in the vicinity and stopped it. The driver of the vehicle was identified as 40 year old, Clayton Vincent Jones. Jones was placed under arrest and booked into the Imperial County Jail. Charges were filed on Jones for First Degree Murder, two counts of attempted murder, and being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Bail is set at $1 million. FTC Alleges Companies Deceived Consumers With Fake Subscription Notices for Newspapers Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission has charged the operators of dozens of companies with deceiving consumers by using fake newspaper subscription notices. The FTC seeks to stop the operation and obtain money for return to consumers. According to the FTCs complaint, through a complicated web of companies, the defendants send consumers Notice of Renewal/New Order mailers for subscriptions to newspapers such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Seattle Times and The Denver Post, and for magazines. The notices claim that consumers subscriptions will automatically renew if they pay, and that the price one of the lowest available rates is authorized by the publisher. In fact, the FTC alleges the defendants do not have publishers authorization and charge up to 40 percent more than the newspapers typically charge. Only in fine print on the back of the fake notices do the defendants state that they do not necessarily have a direct relationship with the publishers or publications and that disclosure refers only to magazine subscriptions, according to the complaint. Many consumers have complained about the fake notices, paying an inflated price, delays in receiving publications they ordered, or receiving the wrong publications. In some instances, consumers have paid twice for the same subscription. Consumers who learned the defendants did not represent their regular newspaper and tried to cancel payment or obtain refunds have found it hard to reach customer service. Those who have reached the defendants often received no refund or only a partial refund, or they succeeded only after complaining to the Better Business Bureau or to state or federal law enforcement agencies. More than 375 newspapers have told the defendants to stop, and many have placed alerts on their websites and/or in their publications to warn consumers. The complaint alleges that to circumvent law enforcement actions and publishers letters telling them to cease and desist, the defendants have created shell corporations to process and submit orders paying the publishers normal subscription rate and pocketed the additional amount the defendants received from consumers. The individual defendants are Linda Babb; Shannon Bacon, also known as (a/k/a) Shannon Balero and Shannon Gordon (Bacon); Jeffrey Hoyal; Lori Hoyal; Colleen Kaylor; Laura Lovrien, a/k/a Laura Babb (Lovrien); Noel Parducci, a/k/a Noel Littlefield (Parducci); Lydia Pugsley, a/k/a Lydia Babb (Pugsley); Dennis Simpson; and William Strickler. The corporate defendants are listed in the complaint. The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 3-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Medford Division. Applications Being Accepted for Annual U.S. Youth Observer at the United Nations General Assembly Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of State and the United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) are pleased to announce the start of the application phase for the U.S. Youth Observer to the United Nations General Assembly. Americans between the ages of 18-25 are invited to apply for this unique opportunity to attend events during UN General Assembly week in New York City (September), witness other UN events over the next year, and interact with UNA-USA chapters across the country. The deadline for applying is May 30, 2016. For more information on the application process, and to learn more about last years Youth Observer, please visit www.unausa.org/usyouth. NSC Spokesperson Ned Price on World Press Freedom Day Washington, DC - On World Press Freedom Day, we thank the journalists around the world without whom democracy could not flourish and whose courageous work helps hold authorities to account. These are the men and women who work to ensure that debate on public issues can be, in the words of Justice William Brennan, "uninhibited, robust, and wide open." Through such debate we make the choices that shape our lives and the world around us. While it is in the nature of responsible journalism to confront the powerful, the corrupt, and the brutal, too many journalists risk their liberty and even their lives in doing so. From China to Iran to Venezuela, brave men and women languish in prison for no greater crime than seeking to inform their fellow citizens. The United States calls for the release of those who have been imprisoned for exercising the freedom of expression that is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, even as we encourage governments to foster societies in which journalists can work freely and without fear. And we pay special tribute to the reporters, including our fellow Americans, who have given their lives or their freedom to tell the stories of those who live under the shadow of war. For those who remain in captivity, such as American journalist Austin Tice, we pledge that we will not relent in our efforts to secure their release. On World Press Freedom Day, and every day, these women and men deserve our thanks for their risks and sacrifices, and for bringing us nearer to the more peaceful, accountable, innovative and successful societies to which we aspire. Assistant Secretary Biswal Travel to Dhaka Washington, DC - Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Desai Biswal will travel to Dhaka, Bangladesh this week. While in Dhaka, the Assistant Secretary will meet with government officials to discuss the broader bilateral relationship and issues of shared concern regarding security. She will also meet with the embassy community, and hold discussions with local human rights and civil society organizations. Notice Asking Women Advocates Not to 'Arrange' Hair in Open Court in Pune Sparks Outrage ST. PETERSBERG, Fla.For the first time, Fetish Con will host an awards show, and nominees for the inaugural event were announced on a newly revamped website. To view the complete list of nominees, visit FetishCon.com. Its truly exciting to see our Inaugural Fetish Con Awards so well received by industry members and fans alike, said event proper Genesis Lynn. We received over 16,000 pre-nominations, and congratulate all of the nominees selected from that pool. We look forward to announcing the winners on August 14! The 2016 Fetish Con Awards will be hosted by hosted by Anastasia Pierce and Jewell Marceau and are set for Aug. 14 in St Petersburg, Fla. The event will highlight and honor those who have been integral to the overall growth of the fetish and alternative industries. Kicking off with its Kinky [RED] Carpet at 8 p.m. EST, and the Fetish Con Awards starting at 10:30 p.m. EST, the evening will end with the Annual Sunday Night Fetish Ball & Bash until the early morning hours. The red carpet and awards show will also be broadcast live at FetishCon.com. Voting is open to the public, to vote for one nominee per category. All votes are limited to submission per person. Voters do not have to vote in every category, but must submit their entries at the end of the form for the votes to be counted; any votes submitted via a computer-generated bot program will be considered invalid and void. To vote, visit Fetishcon.com/nominations by 11:59 p.m. EST on June 4. Held at the Hilton St Petersburg Bayfront Hotel, located at 333 First St South, St Petersburg, FL 33701, and sponsored by Clips4Sale, the largest networking event for the fetish industry and community on the East Coast celebrates its 16th annual fetish industry and community trade show Aug. 11-14. To register for All Access Passes, visit FetishConShoppingCart.com. All Fetish Con events are restricted to those 18 years of age and over. Fetish Con is also still accepting registration for corporate sponsors and tiered sponsors, and vendors and exhibitors. With classes, the Twisted Dungeon, which offers private play space, live fetish shows, after-hour parties and the famous Pervy Pool Party that never stops, Fetish Con has grown to an internationally recognized and hugely anticipated event within the fetish industry and community. The event moved to Florida from New York in 2004 and brings in thousands of fetish performers, production companies, and kinksters together for a four-day weekend. With a long history, Fetish Con brought in more than 7,500 attendees last year, with more than 200 models and 60 vendors on hand to meet with fans and consumers. Pre-registration is still open to purchase the exclusive All Access Passes, only available before the show; to purchase, visit FetishConShoppingCart.com. Additional information on parties, classes and events will be made available as the trade show draws near. To keep up-to-date with Fetish Con news, visit FetishCon.com, or follow the trade show on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Nearing 70, Steven Spielberg is in one of those periodic moments in his career when he is moving into over-drive. His new feature, an adaptation of Roald Dahl's The BFG, is about to premiere at the Cannes festival, only a few months after the release of his Cold War thriller Bridge Of Spies. Spielberg also has several other new films lined up to shoot, back-to-back. One is sci-fi drama Ready Player One. Then, there is the Tony Kushner-scripted The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara about a Jewish boy forcibly converted to Catholicism in 19th Century Italy and in which his new favourite Mark Rylance is expected to play the Pope. Meanwhile, Spielberg is also hatching the next Indiana Jones film with Harrison Ford back in the saddle. It is heartening to see that Spielberg is still so obviously at the heart of Hollywood. After all, from D.W. Griffith to Billy Wilder, film history is littered with examples of great directors at the end of their careers who are marginalised and forgotten. There is also a tendency among the filmmakers themselves to change as they grow older - to make more introspective and autumnal films. Spielbergs boyish zest is still clearly undiminished. No-one will dispute Spielbergs status as one of the absolutely towering figures in cinema. Nonetheless, attitudes toward him among critics are still sometimes grudging and perplexed. He is such a protean figure that they cant get hold of what he is really about. They distrust his populism and the way he compartmentalises projects.Theyre still suspicious that he was able to shoot Schindlers List by day while he was editing Jurassic Park at night. They dont understand how he could be making The Adventures Of Tintin one moment and Lincoln the next. They are perplexed that someone of his genius can be involved (as a producer) in work as mind-numbing as Michael Bays dreadful Transformers movies. Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, 2011 (Paramount Pictures) I would love it if studios stopped boasting about how much money their movies made. It would be so wonderful if it didnt become the Olympics every Monday of every holiday weekend, Spielberg lamented in an interview he gave to the LA Times in the late 1990s, seemingly oblivious to the fact that, as the editor of Jaws, he helped usher in the era of the summer blockbuster. Spielbergs biographer Joseph McBride staunchly defends the directors habit of interspersing the heavy dramas, especially the historical films, with the lighter fantasy films. The director, he suggests, is the ultimate multi-tasker. If he has only one film to work on, he grows bored and frustrated. He is at his creative best when he has several things going on. It helps that he has always been able to win the trust of his collaborators simply because he is such a proficient filmmaker. The dogged old technicians who worked with him on Duel (1971) when he was in his early 20s were initially suspicious of this wunderkind in their midst but they very quickly realised he knew exactly what he was doing. Filmmaking, McBride tells me, was Spielbergs way of keeping himself out of trouble as a wimpy kid at school. One boy picked on him but he neutralised the bully (and gained a subtle form of revenge) by casting him as a Nazi in a home movie. Films to watch in 2016 Show all 30 1 /30 Films to watch in 2016 Films to watch in 2016 Hail, Caesar - 5 February The Coen brothers' latest film might be their most ambitious yet. Telling the story of a Hollywood fixer struggling to keep A-listers in line, it has a movie within a movie, an amazing cast, and, judging by the first trailer, some luxurious visuals Films to watch in 2016 Deadpool - 12 February Comic book superhero movies have been getting slowly more self-referential and self-parodic lately, and Deadpool looks to be taking itself even less seriously than Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man. It looks as though fans will finally be getting the comic book-faithful, foul-mouthed version of the character they wanted, but it remains to be seen whether Deadpool will actually be funny, or just descend into toilet humour Films to watch in 2016 Zoolander No. 2 - 12 February Zoolander's return was derailed somewhat by backlash over a trans/gender fluid character played by Benedict Cumberbatch. The long-awaited sequel will no doubt do well at the box office, but I'm not sure if the fashion industry is as fertile for satire now as it was in 2001, and the trailer relies too heavily on honouring old gags rather than creating new ones Films to watch in 2016 Knight of Cups - 4 March A new film from Terrence Malick should have been a huge cause for celebration, but Knight of Cups has been swimming in post-Cannes purgatory for months now. In March it will finally get a theatrical release. Starring Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman, it sees a man return home from New York and get sucked into the hollow hedonism of LA, fighting to extricate himself from it Films to watch in 2016 Whiskey Tango Foxtrot - 4 March Based on journalist Kim Barkers 2011 memoir The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan, this dark comedy sees Tina Fey play a foreign correspondent reporting in the Middle East during Operation Enduring Freedom, where she develops a weird relationship with a fellow journalist played by Martin Freeman Films to watch in 2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - 18 March The wind seems to have gone out of the sails of the Man of Steel series in spite of the addition of a new Batman, and there's a more palpable anticipation for Suicide Squad (which arrives later in the year) Films to watch in 2016 Everybody Wants Some - 15 April Coming off the back of multi-Oscar winner Boyhood, this Richard Linklater film looks a lot like Dazed and Confused if it was set in the 80s, albeit pitched more towards comedy Films to watch in 2016 The Jungle Book - 15 April Disney is trampling on its own hallowed ground with this live action remake. Elf and Iron Man director Jon Favreau is a fairly safe pair of hands though, and Idris Elba, Ben Kingsley, Scarlett Johansson, Lupita Nyong'o, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo Esposito and Bill Murray are all on board Films to watch in 2016 Money Monster - 13 May 'Financial TV personality Lee Gates, who offers up stock advice on his hit show "Money Monster," is held hostage by a viewer, Kyle Budwell, who lost all of his money following a bad tip from Lee during his show' Films to watch in 2016 Snowden - 13 May Platoon director Oliver Stone takes on a very important and timely story. But can he make it entertaining the way The Big Short did with the financial crisis? Films to watch in 2016 X-Men Apocalypse - 27 May 2016 will see a ninth X-Men film. Ninth. Every cast member you would expect will be back to collect their paychecks, which might require a crane Films to watch in 2016 Finding Dory - 17 June The Finding Nemo sequel will focus on Ellen DeGeneres' forgetful blue tang fish. It's expected to have an anti-SeaWorld message, which should make it strike a chord with parents as well as children Films to watch in 2016 Independence Day: Resurgence - 24 June Will Smith isn't in it. Moving on Films to watch in 2016 The BFG - 1 July There's still a lot of love for Roald Dahl's stories, and this one is being adapted by none other than Steven Spielberg. There hasn't been a huge amount of buzz around it but it's early days, and Mark Rylance is an interesting casting for the titular Big Friendly Giant Films to watch in 2016 La La Land - 15 July There's a lot of expectation on director Damien Chazelle's shoulders following the success of Whiplash, one of the smallest films ever to have been nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. La La Land will certainly be different, a musical comedy-drama about a young pianist and an actor played by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone respectively Films to watch in 2016 Ghostbusters - 15 July This is something of a question mark. On one hand, it's landed a cast of incredibly funny actresses, but on the other, another reboot? Really? There's also thought to be a very meta all-male version in the works from the creators of Jump Street, set in the same universe as Men In Black no less Films to watch in 2016 Star Trek Beyond - 22 July If you thought Abrams' Star Trek films were bad, feast your eyes on the trailer for the next one from the director of the Fast & Furious franchise. Expect major face-palming from Trekkies in July. Hopefully the new TV show will offer something a bit less action-orientated and a bit more cerebral Films to watch in 2016 Untitled fifth Bourne film - 29 July The Bourne series completely went off the boil with Jeremy Renner as its lead, but now both Matt Damon and original director Paul Greengrass are back to steady the ship. This might well be Jason Bourne's last outing, so I hope they send him off in style Films to watch in 2016 Suicide Squad - 5 August Harley Quinn was one of the most popular Halloween costumes this year, despite the holiday falling months before the release of the film she's in. That says a lot about the hype over this comic book adaptation, which revels in the villains rather than the heroes for once and sees Jared Leto step into Heath Ledger's size 58 boots as the new Joker Films to watch in 2016 Sully - 9 September Friendly-looking dad named Chesley Sullenberger who saves a plane load of people? Tom Hanks is your guy. Clint Eastwood will direct this biopic, about an airline captain who was hailed as a national hero in the US after successfully executing an emergency water landing on the Hudson River off Manhattan Films to watch in 2016 Bridget Joness Baby - 16 September It's 2015 and Bridget is now pouring her soul into an iPad rather than a diary. This sequel might perfectly skewer the frustration of growing up in an increasingly youth-orientated world, or it might just serve to tarnish the originals like with Sex and the City 2 Films to watch in 2016 The Magnificent Seven - 23 September I'm not convinced there's the demand for Westerns that Hollywood seems to think there is. We'll find out in September with Antoine Fuqua's remake of 1960's The Magnificent Seven. Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke are among the gang Films to watch in 2016 Masterminds - 30 September Based on the 1997 Loomis Fargo Robbery in North Carolina, this comedy comes from the man behind Napoleon Dynamite. Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis form a strong cast, but there are no trailers to go on yet Films to watch in 2016 The Girl on the Train - 7 October That book everyone was reading on the commute inevitably makes it cinemas in October, with Emily Blunt playing Rachel Watson, an alcoholic whose husband left her for his mistress, and who witnesses a murder and starts to realize that she may have been involved in the crime Films to watch in 2016 Doctor Strange - 4 November Doctor Strange might not have been the most obvious character to take to the big screen, but by this point Marvel could make $1billion at the box office from a comic an exec once scrawled on a piece of toilet paper Films to watch in 2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them - 18 November J.K. Rowling makes her screenwriting debut adapting her own book here, with a film that takes place in the Harry Potter universe but is well removed from Hogwarts Films to watch in 2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - 16 December Disney is releasing a Star Wars movie every year between now and 2020. This first standalone 'anthology' film centres on a Death Star heist, but may prove to just be filler while Star Wars 8 is in production Films to watch in 2016 Passengers - 21 December 'A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in one of its sleep chambers. As a result, a single passenger is awakened 60 years early. Faced with the prospect of growing old and dying alone, he eventually decides to wake up a second passenger' Films to watch in 2016 Jumanji - 25 December Is nothing sacred? Everyone is so pissed about this remake of the Robin Williams cult hit that it will be a miracle if it escapes a critical drubbing Films to watch in 2016 Silence - sometime in 2016 Martin Scorsese's next film doesn't have a mafioso or corrupt banker in sight. Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield star, playing two Jesuit Portuguese Catholic priests who face violent persecution when they travel to Japan to seek out their mentor and spread the teachings of Christianity Another side of Spielberg which os often overlooked because he is such a virtuoso technician is his skill with actors. Whether Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln or the teenage Christian Bale in Empire Of The Sun, his films are full of incredibly complex and sensitive performances. Spielberg clearly likes to be popular. He also retains a child-like awe about the magic of cinema. That may sound trite but is one of his most distinguishing factors - he comes at movies from the perspective of the fan. He is willing to take creative risks - to tackle projects like Schindlers List or Munich that arent likely to be big crowd pleasers - but he always continues to make the popcorn movies too. In his work, Spielberg also continues to analyse US society and the American dream. He may once have had an apartment in the Trump Tower but his politics are a long way removed from those of The Donald". There is a strain of idealism in his work - a Frank Capra-like belief in decency and fair play. (Tom Hanks lawyer, standing up for the rights of the Soviet agent in Bridge Of Spies is the kind of American everyman that James Stewart would have played in an earlier era.) At the same time, he has touched on the darkness and paranoia in post 9/11 America in films like Minority Report and War Of The Worlds while also looking at the plight of the refugee in The Terminal. Tom Hanks as lawyer James Donovan in Steven Spielbergs Bridge of Spies (AP) Whats most startling about Spielberg is his relentless energy; he turns 70 at the end of the year, yet still seems like a filmmaker in the middle of his career. One prediction can safely be made - the older he grows, the more his reputation will rise. The BFG premieres at the Cannes Festival, 11-22 May. BFI Southbanks Spielberg season runs in June and July Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The world is obsessed with who will step into Daniel Craig's shoes and take over the iconic role of 007, with the majority feverishly honing in on Tom Hiddleston; thanks to his suave, roguish performance as Jonathan Pine in the BBC's The Night Manager. Surely, he's top of the running; except there's one little problem here: Tom Hiddleston himself doesn't even think there is a running. Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, the actor acknowledged; "It is a national obsession to talk about who should be the next James Bond. Everyone has an opinion about it basically. My belief is that Daniel Craig will do many, many more. As far as I'm concerned, he is James Bond." Though he meekly added, "But I should just take the compliment and smile and shrug." It's clear Hiddleston is merely keen for Jonathan Pine to be defined as his own entity, instead of being wrapped up in the idea it's merely a Bond audition broadcast on national television. "I actually think that there's a lot that divides them," Hiddleston says. "Bond is a trained killer with a 00 licence to kill, and Pine is at the beginning of his relationship with the Secret Service. I think in Daniel Craig's incarnation, Bond has become much darker, more haunted by his responsibilities in a way. I think Pine has always had that." Indeed, the entire intensity of the speculation is a little odd, considering Daniel Craig's yet to officially announce his departure from the role. Sure, thematically Spectre seemed to end with Craig's 007 taking leave of the service to live in peace and quiet. Sure, Craig has previously expressed the notion that he'd "rather slash his wrists" than revisit the role; but nothing's officially been announced, with his rep insisting the actor has not quit the franchise. So, really, Tom Hiddleston's guess is as good as ours. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Belgian AC/DC fans are so against Axl Rose stepping in for frontman Brian Johnson at the bands upcoming gig that 7,000 ticket holders have requested refunds. The rock group are set to play the Festivalpark in Werchter on 16 May but after Johnson was forced to pull out of the tour with deteriorating hearing, many music lovers have lost the desire to go. Belgian newspaper De Standaard printed the following statement issued by concert promoter Live Nation: About 7,000 tickets were refunded. The released tickets were first offered to those on the waiting list. The remaining 6,000 are now on sale. Fans have been offered similar refunds for the 12 other dates on the tour, which kicks off in Lisbon, Portugal on 7 May and runs until 12 June. Concert-goers have until 5pm on Friday 6 May to request their money back. Reaction to Johnsons replacement has been widely negative, with AC/DC biographer Jesse Fink criticising the band for being all about the money now. Johnson issued an emotional statement at the time of his withdrawal, calling it the darkest day of his professional life. I am personally crushed by this development more than anyone could ever imagine, he said. The emotional experience I feel now is worse than anything I have ever in my life felt before. Fans became concerned when Johnsons bandmates then wished him luck in his future ventures in their own statement, forcing the groups lead vocalist since 1980 to clarify that he is not retiring. My doctors have told me that I can continue to record in studios and I intend to do that, Johnson said. For the moment, my entire focus is to continue medical treatment to improve my hearing. I am hoping that in time my hearing will improve and allow me to return to live concert performances. While the outcome is uncertain, my attitude is optimistic. Rose will head out on his Guns N Roses summer stadium tour following the run of dates with AC/DC. Johnson has not spoken to the press about his replacement but his close comedian friend Jim Breuer recently hinted that he feels kicked to the kerb by the band. Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Drake - Views - Island - 2/5 Download this: Still Here; Hotline Bling Drakes latest offering isnt improved by being heard straight after Anohnis: rarely has one man moaned quite so much about so little. Over 80 interminable minutes, the Canadian rapper appears to find no satisfaction in anything at all: in the opener Keep The Family Close, he blubs about someone who chose a side that wasnt mine, the first of an endless litany of autotuned complaints regarding his tiny world of rivals and girlfriends, the latter wooed and warned within virtually the same breath. Its not completely without merit - some of the backing tracks have a mesmerisingly entropic grip, as well they might, with 14 writer/producers involved in a single track - but the overall effect is utterly wearying, and unpersuasive: after all, only fools waste pity on the wealthy. Kacy & Clayton - Strange Country - 4/5 Download this: Strange Country; If You Ask How Im Keeping; Brunswick Stew; Dyin Bed Maker Kacy Anderson and her second cousin Clayton Linthicum irresistibly recall the work of Gillian Welch & David Rawlings on this second album, though the Canadian duos distinctive appreciation of traditional folk themes and modes owes just as much to British precursors, Linthicums guitar work on the title-track boasting the ebullient spring of Jansch and Renbourn, while the tone of fragility tempered with experience aligns Andersons vocal with the likes of Sandy Denny and Anne Briggs. Save for three traditional songs, Strange Country comprises brilliantly-wrought original material haunted by themes of uncertainty, lassitude, jealousy and spite, perhaps most strikingly realised in Brunswick Stew, where a pulsing drum lends fatalist momentum to a tragic tale of a pregnant daughters shame. Thomas Cohen - Bloom Forever - Stolen - 3/5 Download this: Honeymoon; Bloom Forever; Country Home As Thomas Cohens first album since the death of his wife Peaches Geldof, its inevitable that Bloom Forever should be tinged with tragedy. Any potential sensationalism, however, is dispelled by his decision to present the songs chronologically - so we get the languid Honeymoon first, followed by the birth of a son in Bloom Forever, before he returns to their Country Home to find her body, disarmingly wondering why werent her eyes covered and closed?. From there, the process of recovery shifts through numbness, melancholy and tentative hope in an admirably straightforward, touching manner that suggests Cohens previous tenure in edgy art-rockers S.C.U.M. was another world entirely. As does his musical mode on Bloom Forever, wielding watery vibrato guitars and lilting piano in an appealingly relaxed, retro style that recalls latterday Laurel Canyon laureate Jonathan Wilson. John Mayalls Bluesbreakers - Live In 1967:Volume Two - Forty Below - 4/5 Download this: Tears In My Eyes; So Many Roads; Greeny; Sweet Little Angel Recorded covertly in glorious mono by a fan at London clubs such as Klooks Kleek, this vividly atmospheric lo-fi album captures at its best the short-lived version of John Mayalls Bluesbreakers that featured Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood, on the cusp of their formation of Fleetwood Mac. Green is clearly the ascendant star here: oozing emotion, his intro to Tears In My Eyes displays the touch and sensitivity that set him apart from the journeymen speed-merchants of 60s Brit-blues. The tracks are roughly split between Mayalls organ and bluesharp showcases, band rave-ups like Please Dont Tell, and Green showcases like his signature boogie instrumental Greeny: for many punters, this was the first time they were exposed to the blues, and they couldnt have been in better hands. Kel Assouf - Tikounen - Igloo - 4/5 Download this: Assoufenam; Europa; Ahile Lamma; Tikounen Its hardly surprising that, as a combo congregated in Brussels around Saharan musician Anana Harouna, Kel Assouf should have reached a deeper compromise with Western music than most Tuareg desert-blues outfits. But the results confirm the efficacy of musical crossover: the heavy, stoner-rock groove and stinging guitar of Europa, about Harounas decade of exile from his homeland, embodies that exile in European modes; while the undulating, spiky polyrhythms of Assoufenam sounds like some Beefheartian oddity from Trout Mask Replica, bulging with disciplined joy. Elsewhere, the familiar desert-blues elements - chants, handclaps, keening, and waspish electric guitars - are applied to themes from love and homesickness to camel-racing and identity, in sometimes striking lines: Give my regards to the revolution/Tell her that she flirts with anarchy. Allan MacDonald & Neil Johnstone - The Bruce 700 - Birnam - 4/5 Download this: An Ceapadh Eucorach; The Uprising; Bruces March; Lament; Saorsa Commissioned to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, The Bruce 700 is another crossover work, in this case blending standard orchestration with pibroch, the classical form of bagpipe music. Its both artful - The Uprising punningly follows rising pipe scales - and packed with emotion throughout. The opening Overture is moving in itself, but when An Ceapadh Eucorach sweeps in, the effect of the massed pipes is quite overwhelming, picking you up by the ears and not letting you down till the closing Saorsa, where the massed choirs of Lewis add depth and power to the finale, joining strings, pipes, harp, saxophones, whistles and a huge batterie of percussion to build a Wall of Sound beyond Spector and Hadrian alike. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?. Hands up how many readers knew that what Juliet is actually asking in the famous balcony scene is not the whereabouts of her lover, but why he belongs to the house of Montague 'wherefore' meaning 'why'. Why are you Romeo and not somebody else? My hand can now reach to the ceiling thanks not to some scholarly BBC4 documentary on the Bard's use of Elizabethan language, but because I've been informed so by a knockabout new Ben Elton-scripted BBC2 comedy in the Blackadder mould. Upstart Crow stars former Peep Show star and ubiquitous panel-show contestant David Mitchell as William Shakespeare, attended at home in Stratford-upon-Avon by a Baldrick-like servant called Bottom (played by Rob Rouse), wife Anne Hathaway (Liza Tarbuck), daughter Susannah (Raised by Wolves' Helen Monks) and his parents (Harry Enfield and Paula Wilcox). But it's Mitchell who drives Elton's comedy, capturing the same asperity that Rowan Atkinson brought to the character of Edmund Blackadder. Or as BBC comedy commissioner Shane Allen puts it: He does a Ben Elton rant better than Ben Elton... his quiet fury is extraordinary. Mitchell's waspish, not-suffering-fools-gladly intelligence is on display when answering a question about whether or not the BBC is right to be making such a fuss about Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of his death his reply worth quoting in full. We do anniversaries as a species, says Mitchell, just warming up. You could say let's celebrate things every 81 years, but we've gone with 100... it's base ten system and it's too late to go back on it. If we accept that premise, which I admit is random, then I think when that significant number has come round for the fourth time since the death of the greatest artist who has ever lived than that's one of the times that you do that.. Take that! But it is amazing, he continues in a calmer vein. Shakespeare is arguably globally the most significant creative figure and he's a random bloke from the Midlands. That's something for this country to mark and the BBC is a key broadcaster in this country so, of course, the BBC should do a big thing about it and it would be terrible if it didn't. David Mitchell with the cast of Ben Elton's laugh-out-loud Upstart Crow (BBC) The opening episode of Upstart Crow manages an informed but gag-rich pastiche of Romeo and Juliet, as well as referencing Shakespeare's sonnets and making jokes about the way female parts are played by men and boys (lady acting is illegal, as Mitchell's affronted Bard puts it), while making topical quips about the poor state of public transport and aristocrats rodgering dead animals - a risque joke they decided to keep after the studio audience gave it a massive laugh (a substitute line was apparently received in silence). If the news story [about David Cameron and 'Piggate'] hadn't broken that line would still have worked, says Mitchell. But there was the added pleasure of the prime minister violating meat. An allegation Cameron has of course denied. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up The series was filmed at London's South Bank studios, just along the river, Mitchell notes, from the original Globe theatre. It's lovely to get to play scripts that are written for an audience to laugh at. Because it's something that happens less and less in television now because things get filmed single-camera and they're more realistic. We felt with Shakespeare as obviously a very theatrical figure, the more theatrical studio-sitcom form was justified and that allows a script written with gags that land. And that's a huge pleasure to play because you say the joke, people laugh, and it feels in your brain like you made it up yourself. And the guffaws come thick and fast as do obvious comparisons to Blackadder. We often thought when we were making it, says executive producer Gareth Edwards, that this was happening in the same world as Blackadder but several years later just down the road. It's coming from a similar parallel universe. It was a bugger to learn, says Mitchell of Elton's cod Shakespearean language. It's a bit harder, obviously, than things where you're just expressing things naturalistically. But at the same time it was great writing so I wanted to get it right. William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Show all 10 1 /10 William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire William Shakespeare's 400th anniversary stamps Royal Mail/PA Wire In some ways Mitchell's Shakespeare is a long way from Mark Corrigan in the the ultra-naturalistic Peep Show, which came to an end last December after 12 years. In other ways especially in the acerbic asides there's no distance at all. The 41-year-old actor, who is married to Victoria Coren-Mitchell of the brainy TV quiz Only Connect (the couple have a one-year-old daughter, Barbara) is re-joining his erstwhile Peep Show co-star Robert Webb later this spring to film a pilot for Channel 4 called Back. Scripted by The Thick of It and Veep's Simon Blackwell, Back sees Mitchell playing the son of a recently deceased B&B owner, who on inheriting the establishment discovers a cuckoo in the nest in the form of Webb's character. In the meantime, if Upstart Crow is a success and on the evidence of the first two episodes there seems to be no reason why it shouldn't be then the furiously hard-working Ben Elton will no doubt pound out further series. What's brilliant about the way Ben has constructed this scripts is that they completely, to my mind, obey all the rules of sitcom, says Mitchell. He could add that they also deal with such British sitcom staples as class, with the striving central character, eager to restore the family name after the bankruptcy and social disgrace of his father, John Shakespeare, a former mayor of Stratford. In his own way, in other words, the Bard of Avon was as much a social climber as Hyacinth Bucket. One of the things that makes Shakespeare appropriate to this sitcom treatment is that he was an aspirant figure, says Mitchell. He was middle-class, he wanted to better himself, he had commercial as well as artistic aspirations. Something that Ben told is that he bought a coat of arms for his father, which is incredibly sort of nouv' [nouveau riche]... like getting a personalised number-plate. Upstart Crow begins on BBC2 on Monday 9 May at 10pm LOS ANGELESJohnny and Kissa Sins are headed to Mexico and theyre not going alone: theyre bringing along Morgan Lee and Veronica Rodriguez. This is all part of the Sins Life focus on shooting reality porn content and the foursome will spend nearly two weeks in Americas southern neighbor. For obvious reasons their exact location is being kept secret from anyone beyond the performers and crew. This is one of the most exciting projects I have ever worked on, Kissa said. I have had a great time putting this together and we havent even left the U.S. yet. I know Johnny, Morgan and Veronica are also eager to get started. Were going to have a blast! I cant wait to share it with everyone. Fans eager for new Johnny and Kissa action will be able to find the trailer for a new scene on several sites in the coming days. The scene features the couple with Karmen Karma. Its a hardcore deep throat insane scene featuring Karmen Karma, myself and Johnny and directed by Chris Streams, Kissa explained. The camera doesnt stop once. The moment Chris finished shooting he says, 'There goes a nomination!' The scene is killer. Sites which would like to feature the trailer should email [email protected]. Fans may wish to check out the new Sins merchandise site at ShopSinsLife.com, and follow Kissa and Johnny on Twitter and the pair on Instagram. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Peaky Blinders series three will reach Netflix just three weeks after premiering on BBC Two. Steven Knights period drama, about a 1920s Birmingham gang who sew razor blades into the peaks of their flatcaps, will be available to stream on the US service from 31 May with a UK release date yet to be confirmed. Deadline reports that from that day, US fans will be able to watch all six of the new episodes at once, which could potentially put UK fans at risk of spoilers for the final two. Peaky Blinders stars Cillian Murphy in the lead as mob boss Tommy Shelby, with Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson and Sophie Rundle also in key roles. Tom Hardy returns as Camden Town gang leader Alfie Solomons, while Paddy Considine joins the cast as Tommys ominous new nemesis, Father Hughes. Series three opens on Tommys wedding day as he marries a mystery bride (will it be Grace, May or another woman altogether?). Soon the Peaky Blinders become caught up in an international arms deal with global impact, leaving Tommy caught between business and family. Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Show all 30 1 /30 Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Cillian Murphy as Peaky Blinders mob boss Tommy Shelby BBC Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Peaky Blinders is acclaimed for its stunning cinematography Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Annabelle Wallis as Tommy's new wife Grace Shelby Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Helen McCrory as the fearsome yet complicated Aunt Polly Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures The Peaky Blinders, always meaning business Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Tommy Shelby dances with his new wife Grace in the series three premiere Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby and his young son Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Cillian Murphy looking dapper as Tommy Shelby at his wedding to Grace Burgess Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Tommy's bride was finally revealed in episode one of series three Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Helen McCrory returns as Aunt Polly Gray Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Alexander Siddig plays Polly's potential new suitor Ruben Oliver Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Oh to own one of these beautiful 1920s cars Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Harry Kirton as Finn Shelby Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby meeting Gaite Jansen as Duchess Tatania Petrovna Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Tommy Shelby has moved into the higher echelons of society but the corruption continues Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Harry Kirton as Finn Shelby Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Gaite Jansen as Duchess Tatania Petrovna Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby with Cillian Murphy as his younger mob boss brother Tommy Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Paul Anderson and Cillian Murphy as Arthur and Tommy Shelby Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Tommy struggles to keep Arthur under control in the first episode of Peaky Blinders series three Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Ian Peck as Curley and Ned Dennehy as Charlie Strong Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Benjamin Zephaniah as Jeremiah Jesus and Jordan Bolger as Isiah Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby at Tommy's wedding Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Helen McCrory battles with self-loathing as Polly Gray Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Richard Brake as intimidating new character Anton Kaledin Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Alexander Siddig as the charming Ruben Oliver Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Tommy Shelby orders the Peaky Blinders to behave themselves on his wedding day Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Tommy Shelby's mind is elsewhere at his wedding breakfast Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Jordan Bolger as Isiah at Tommy's wedding Peaky Blinders series 3 in pictures Sophie Rundle as the strong-willed Ada Shelby The first two series of Peaky Blinders are already on Netflix for anyone yet to catch up before jumping on the bandwagon. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A 10-year-old hacker has been awarded thousands of dollars for breaking into Instagram a service hes too young even to sue. The Finnish security expert found a trick that would allow anyone to delete comments that had been left by users. The boy named as Jani in local reports that did not reveal his second name said that the hack allowed anyones comments to be deleted, even Justin Bieber. The hack wins the young expert $10,000 as part of Facebooks bug bounty programme. That hands out prizes to people who find flaws in the companys security so that they can be found and fixed. Jani is now the youngest ever person to win one of the prizes that Facebook gives out for hacking its products. He beats the 13-year-old who previously broke into a Facebook product. Facebook privacy settings you should know about Show all 6 1 /6 Facebook privacy settings you should know about Facebook privacy settings you should know about Change who sees your posts. Anything you post on Facebook - from a status update to a photo - can be given its own privacy setting. 'Public' means that the information can be found via Google, or you can create custom groups of friends (http://ind.pn/1bVJJ2H) to share info with. Remember: whatever setting you last choose will become default until you change it again. Facebook privacy settings you should know about Check what your friends are sharing about you. Sometimes it's not you, but your friends that give information away. Follow this link to see the information that your friends might be sharing with third party apps - http://ind.pn/1bVVar6. Click the 'edit' option to the right of 'Apps other use' and un-tick every category of info you don't want to share. There's also an option above labelled 'Apps you use' that lets you select which apps can use your Facebook data elsewhere on the web. Don't trust them? Click the little cross on the right. Facebook privacy settings you should know about Hide old posts. If you're keen to make your Facebook past more private, limiting who can see your old posts should be your first step. Follow this link - http://ind.pn/1bVK7hv - and click 'Limit The Audience for Old Posts on Your Timeline'. You can make all of these old photos and stats updates vieweable to the public, friends only, or just yourself. From this page you can also change who can send you messages and friend requests. Facebook privacy settings you should know about Create friend lists. Since September 2011 Facebook has let you create different 'lists' of friends in order to let you separate what your close buddies and your work colleagues see. Facebook can give you a head start by suggesting lists based on who you went to school with and where people live - and you can even choose to browse a News Feed populated only by a certain list. Follow the link below for a full guide: http://ind.pn/1bVPu0d Facebook privacy settings you should know about Limit adverts. Pages you like will sometimes be used by Facebook to endorse a product to your friends. If you don't wnat these to show up head to this page - http://ind.pn/1j6Mc2b - select "Pair my social actions with adverts for no one" and click Save Changes. Facebook privacy settings you should know about Check your profile. If you're still worried about which of your photos or posts are visible to people you can check what the public (or any specific individual) sees when they click on your profile. View your profile by clicking on your namem then click the cog in the bottom right hand corner of your cover photo, then select 'View as...' That means that he is the only person who has ever been given the award who is technically too young to use the service. Like Facebook, Instagrams terms ban anyone who is under-13 from being on it. Instagram debunked Jani and his brother are experienced at finding security problems in various piece of tech, their father told Finnish news site Iltalehti. But Janis Instagram hack is the pairs biggest yet, he said. Last year, Facebooks bug bounty programme saw it hand out $936,000 to 210 different researchers. Hackers are given more money for problems that are deemed high impact, of which there was 102 last year. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A block on WhatsApp in Brazil has been lifted but Mark Zuckerberg has urged citizens to ensure it doesnt happen again. WhatsApp was taken offline for 72 hours after a dispute between officials and the company about reading peoples messages. It was the second time that the app had been made unavailable, and followed the arrest of Facebooks senior executive in the region over a similar argument about user data. The Facebook CEO demanded his companys service never get blocked again and urged Brazilians to take to the streets and ask for new legislation to stop further blocks. Mr Zuckerberg wrote a Facebook post urging people to gather at the Brazilian congress and ask for legislation that would keep WhatsApp and similar services from being banned again. "You and your friends can help make sure this never happens again, and I hope you get involved," Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook, in English. He also posted a link to a petition, calling efforts to block communication "very scary in a democracy." The suspension highlighted growing international tensions between technology companies' privacy concerns and national authorities' efforts to use social media to gain information on possible criminal activities. The same judge in Sergipe ordered the imprisonment of a Brazil-based Facebook executive in March in a dispute over demands to access the company's encrypted messaging service as part of a drug trafficking investigation. California-based WhatsApp had said in a statement on Monday that it was "disappointed" at the judge's decision to suspend its services. It said it had done the utmost to cooperate with Brazilian tribunals, but it did not possess the information the court was requesting. Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty Matt Steinfeld, a Facebook spokesman, said WhatsApp executives were meeting this week with law enforcement and judicial officials in Brazil to improve communication and clarify that the company cannot see users' encrypted messages and does not store them after transmission. It was the second time in five months that WhatsApp in Brazil has been suspended. A Sao Paulo state judge ordered it shut down for 48 hours on Dec. 15, after Facebook failed to comply with an order. Another court lifted that suspension shortly afterward. Monday's suspension angered many in Brazil, where the service is used by individuals, companies and federal and local governments to send messages and share pictures and videos. Cost-conscious Brazilians are avid users of free messaging apps, and WhatsApp is by far the most popular - installed on more than 90 percent of Android devices. As some Brazilians sought an alternative messaging system, rival Telegram said on Monday that it suffered technical problems under the weight of demand. It said it received more than a million new user requests. WhatsApp encryption in 60 seconds Letacia Mendes, a 20-year-old shop assistant in Rio de Janeiro, said she was frustrated by the suspension because it could force people to use pay services. "It's really bad," she told Reuters. "It's just a way of getting more money out of us, when we already have to pay for so many things." The suspension came as a congressional commission on cyber crime in Brazil debated changes to the 2014 legislation governing the use of the Internet. Lower house deputy Esperidiao Amin, the rapporteur of the commission, said his proposed reform would help avoid shutdowns of this kind by allowing the blocking of specific individuals or IP addresses suspected of illicit activity, rather than the access of all users. "It's less dramatic than withdrawing the service from the whole of the Brazilian population," he said. Additional reporting by Reuters Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A Swiss school has announced plans to reward its non-smoking staff members with an extra weeks holiday for setting a good example to students. Staff at the Schillingsrain Schulheim institute near Basel, Switzerland, will receive five more days of annual leave than their smoker colleagues should the initiative go ahead. In a proposal submitted to school management, one head of department made the suggestion for the role model bonus, emphasising that setting a positive example to students was crucial in order to encourage them to stay healthy and take an interest in health education. The boarding school, which hosts children and teenagers with learning disabilities, says it places a strong emphasis on healthy and sustainable lifestyle and hopes the initiative will encourage smokers to quit. An employee at the school confirmed that the extra holiday was in the process of being discussed by management, but had not yet been implemented. According to figures published by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), smoking breaks in the workplace cost the UK 6.5bn every year. Recommended Read more Mencap worker keeps job after controversial photo Amanda Sandford, a spokesperson for ASH, said the Swiss concept was a good incentive for staff to quit smoking. The school will benefit too from smoking staff members taking less time off sick, she added, since smokers are statistically much more likely to fall ill from coughs and colds as well as more serious conditions. It is thought to be unlikely the incentive will be replicated in the UK however, since the majority of schools already had a smoke-free culture in place. Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Being friends does more for long-term survival of a couple than anything else. That is the finding of US psychologists, who say a close friendship is linked with both a sexually and emotionally satisfying relationship. Laura VanderDrift, assistant professor of psychology and one of the authors, said finding a partner who was "first and foremost a friend" was a good predictor of the long-term success of a relationship. "We found that valuing the friendship component of one's romantic relationship is important," she told The Independent. "It leads to better relationship outcomes over time, including a more satisfying relationship, a better friendship with one's partner, and even greater sexual satisfaction." The study, carried out at Purdue University in Indiana and published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, was the first to link friendship to sexual outcomes to this extent. It surveyed 184 people who had been in relationships for 16 months or more and asked them what they valued most about their relationship. Among the options in the paper, which was called "On the benefits of valuing being friends for nonmarital romantic partners", were companionship, friendship, sharing new experiences together and sex. Those couples who said friendship and companionship were the most important factors had the highest satisfaction rates for the sexual side of their relationship. Dr VanderDrift said that couples trying to improve their relationship could solve several problems at once simply by focussing on being friends. She advised having more shared interests and "friendship-type experiences". "For people seeking help for their relationships, this could mean that focusing on the friendship shared in the relationship would benefit other areas of the relationship," she said. "For seeking a relationship, this suggests that finding a partner who is first and foremost a friend could confer myriad benefits." Looking for a relationship? Meet singles with Independent dating Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Lifestyle Edit email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} French learner drivers were confronted with a tough new theory and highway code test this week and failed en masse. Only one in six candidates passed the new test on its first couple of days of operation. Seven out of ten candidates, on average, passed a previous, much simpler examination in which the same questions appeared each time. As part of a drive to reduce road deaths in France, on the rise again after falling for 13 years in a row, the government devised a much tougher theory test with 1,000 possible questions. The subjects were widened to include how to drive more economically, first aid and how to spot vulnerable road users. As before, 35 out of 40 questions had to be answered correctly before French learner drivers could take their driving test proper. Although candidates merely had to choose one right answer out of two, the new test has proved a disaster. Only 16.7 per cent of candidates passed in the first two days after the new tests started on Monday. In some French departments, only 1 person passed. In some towns, no one passed. Obviously, we will have to rethink the questions, Frances road safety tsar or interminsterial delegate for road safety Emmanuel Barbe told Europe 1 radio. To reduce my petrol consumption, do I take my foot off the accelerator? A. yes. B. noA question from the new French theory test
He insisted, however, that the results were not as bad as they seemed. The great majority of candidates narrowly failed to reach the pass target of 35 out of 40 questions, he said. The problem was partly caused by the failure of the government to issue new guidance and software in time to driving schools. Many candidates were poorly prepared, Mr Barbe said. He expected this to change rapidly especially since under the new rules candidates have to pay 30 to take their first theory test. Previously, they had only paid for a resit. Questions in the new theory test include the following. To reduce my petrol consumption, do I take my foot off the accelerator? A. yes. B. no. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} When the going gets rough, the 1 per cent start selling. Thats the finding of a new paper that says people with the highest income bailed from stocks disproportionately on the worst days of the financial crisis. The share of selling by the biggest earners rose sharply in days following spikes in volatility, according to data on millions of sales reported to the government in 2008 and 2009. Mapping selling patterns in periods of tumult is of interest to researchers trying to get at the psychological underpinnings of events such as the financial crisis, when more than $10 trillion was erased from US share values. Their main conclusion, that different people react with varying urgency to signs of trouble, could help identify behavioral biases that feed market meltdowns. Very, very high income people are disproportionately likely to sell a bunch of stock during a financial crisis, said Daniel Reck, a doctoral candidate in the economics department at the University of Michigan and one of the papers authors, said by phone. Its difficult to say exactly how much high-income people are responsible relative to everyone else, but theyre certainly contributing more to volatility. One explanation for the divergence is that rich people have more at stake per person and are more sensitive to shocks, though its only speculation, Reck said. Another is they believe theyre better market timers. A third possibility is that investors who earn less are reluctant to sell at a loss, a cognitive tendency known as the disposition effect. (Bloomberg (Bloomberg) For the study, researchers from Ohio State University and the University of Michigan examined about 273 million Internal Revenue Service 1099-B forms that record sales in stocks and mutual funds, comparing them with levels of gross income and plotting them against fluctuation in the CBOE Volatility Index. To control for the fact that rich people own more stock, the study focused on changes in the typical selling levels among income groups versus the years before the collapse of Lehman Brothers. We find that, starting in September 2008, the share of sales volume attributed to the top 0.1 per cent of income recipients and other top income groups rises sharply until the beginning of 2009, and in 2008 and 2009 the sales of these groups are relatively more associated with stock market tumult as measured by the VIX, they wrote. Specifically, according to the paper, a roughly 10 per cent increase in volatility correlated with a 3.3 per cent increase in sales volume for the top 0.1 per cent of earners, relative to less-affluent investors. When the VIX went up 25 per cent, proportionate selling by the ultra-rich rose almost 8 per cent. Using average selling levels by the various wealth classes, the authors estimated that the effect might have accounted for roughly $142 million of excess selling by the 0.1 per cent group on the day of Lehmans collapse alone, and $1.7 billion in the 10 days after what was then historys biggest bankruptcy filing. Other investor demographics, from gender to marital status to place of residence, showed no signs of being related to the volatility sensitivity of stock sales, the study showed. The stock market meltdown provided a special opportunity for the studys authors to explore which cross section of investors contributing most to selling pressure. The paper joins an expanding pool of research assessing the effect of wealth on investment decisions, and how different groups judge risk. The older view of the stock market is that prices move in response to news that arrives its not usually thought of as a large collection of individuals trading on slightly different information and having different reactions to new events, Reck said. Documenting this kind of heterogeneity will allow us to paint a fuller picture of how stock markets actually work. The paper, titled Who Sold During the Crash of 2008-9? Evidence from Tax-Return Data on Daily Sales of Stock, was co-authored by Reck, his fellow doctoral candidate Bryan Stuart, Michigan economics professors Stefan Nagel and Joel Slemrod, Ohio State accounting professor Jeffrey Hoopes and IRS research analyst Patrick Langtieg. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. While the IRS data provided new means for assessing who unloaded equities during the crisis, it doesnt give a complete picture, the authors note. Absent from the numbers are share purchases, which would provide net selling data. Its also possible that people increase levels of selling from non-taxable retirement accounts during crises. So were people who sold during the 2008 rout guilty of a behavioral bias involving market timing or just good traders? Both could be true. Someone selling early in the plunge avoided at least part of the biggest equity wipeout since 1937, which saw the S&P 500 plummet 57 per cent. At the same time, holding stocks since the 2007 peak hasnt been a money-losing proposition. The S&P 500 has posted annualized return of almost 6 percent since the high point in October 2007. At this point its too early to tell whether market timing has been successful, Reck said. We have the data we know what they sold and we can tie it to historical stock prices. But right now, were not conclusive one way or the other. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Why are we asking this now? Campaigners have said that the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is in jeopardy after 248 pages of the document were leaked. Greenpeace Netherlands, the charity behind the leak, says these documents make up two-thirds of the latest negotiating text, offering a glimpse at the contents of the deal that was previously kept behind closed doors. John Hilary, the executive director of War on Want, told The Independent that now the leaked texts are available, those behind the negotiations have no where left to hide. The gloves are off, and they know they are in for a proper fight," he said. Is it true the leak could spell the end for TTIP? Not if the European Commission is anything to go by. Cecilia Malmstrom, EU trade commissioner, said the headlines in response to the Greenpeace leak amount to a "storm in a teacup". "In the past year, the European Commission has opened up the negotiations to make our positions on all matters in the negotiations public. After each negotiating round, we publish round reports as well as our position papers and textual proposals. So the positions of the EU are well-known and nothing new," Malmstrom said. The European Commission has strived to make the TTIP negotiating process more transparent by publishing fact sheets for the many chapters of the deal. What's causing the problem? Reported have suggested that the leaked documents show the US and the EU have "irreconcilable" differences over issues including the animal testing of cosmetics, drug safety testing and the environment. The European Commission said the "consolidated texts" that have been leaked do not show outcomes of the treaty - just the consolidated position of the two sides. "It shouldn't come as a surprise that there are areas where the EU and the US have different views," Malmstrom said. Belgium: Anti-TTIP protesters rally in Brussels What will happen to TTIP next? The leak comes as senior politicians around Europe have distanced themselves from the controversial trade deal. President Francois Hollande announced this weekend that France will veto any TTIP agreement that could endanger the countrys agricultural sector. Meanwhile Germanys economy minister Sigmar Gabriel has also said that if TTIP collapses, US intransigence is the cause. 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. The products were designed to generate big profits for Goldman, the LIA claims.Goldman denies wrongdoing and says the LIA was treated as an arms-length customer Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former boss of BHS said his life was threatened - June 2016 Darren Topp, the former boss of BHS, has said former owner Dominic Chappell threatened to kill him when he challenged him over a 1.5 million transfer out of the business. MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee asked Mr Topp about a 1.5 million transfer Mr Chappell made from BHS to a company called BHS Sweden. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley admits paying workers below the minimum wage - June 2016 Mike Ashley admitted paying Sports Direct employees below the minimum wage at a hearing in front of MPs. 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. A Swiss criminal investigation into the pair is ongoing. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Libor fraudster City trader Tom Hayes, 35, has become the first person to be convicted of rigging Libor rates following a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court. Hayes worked as a trader in yen derivatives at UBS before joining the American bank Citigroup in Tokyo. He was fired from Citigroup following an investigation into his trading methods. He returned to the UK in December 2012 and was arrested following a two-and-a-half year criminal investigation by the SFO. Getty What about the UK's position? In the House of Commons on Wednesday, David Cameron accused opponents of TTIP of using the issue of the NHS as a red herring to stand against "a trade deal that could add tens of billions to our economy and generate jobs". "There are plenty of reasons that people dont want to see trade expanded, I think they should be honest about it and say they dont like trade deals," David Cameron said. Cameron has publicly stated his support for the deal. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The average council in England will need to pay more than 25 million a year to fund the Governments controversial right-to-buy extension, research has revealed. Shelter, a housing charity, said this corresponds to the sale of 23,500 council homes in the UK in just one year. The Government has said that a planned extension of its right-to-buy scheme will be funded by local authorities selling off their most valuable council houses. The money should then go towards people trying to get on the housing ladder by funding discounts of up to 103,900 for tenants seeking to buy their own home. But the plans mean each local authority would need to raise an average of 26 million to reach the 4.5 billion per year necessary to fund the extension of the right-to-buy, Shelter said. Shelters analysis estimated the value of council homes in each area that are likely to become vacant and compared it to the price per year needed by the government to fund the extension of right-to-buy. http://www.statista.com/ (Shelter/Statista) The association found that Birmingham is expected to be the area hit the hardest, with the council forced to raise 145 million per year from the sale of 1,190 council houses. Leeds and Southwark follow with the councils expected to raise 129 million and 122 million respectively. The Housing Bill also makes no commitment to replace the homes sold off like-for-like, Shelter said. This means that affordable homes in an area could be replaced by starter homes costing up to 250,000, or 450,000 in London. Campbell Robb, Shelters Chief Executive, said the Government decision to force the council to sell off huge swathes of the few affordable homes is "reckless". Inside the cheapest flat in London Show all 3 1 /3 Inside the cheapest flat in London Inside the cheapest flat in London A flat in Clapton, east London has been sold for 79,000 Inside the cheapest flat in London The advert on Purplebricks described it as an exceptionally rare opportunity for a first-time buyer, landlord or commuter seeking a bolthole to purchase a property in a desirable part of London for the same price as a high-end family car Inside the cheapest flat in London The tiny studio was sold after 36 people viewed the property and nine made offers The small number of lucky winners from this policy will understandably be grateful for the chance to buy their Housing Association property. Ultimately, far more people will lose out and be left with no choice but expensive, unstable private renting," Campbell said. The government is out of touch on this issue, and running out of time to help the millions of ordinary people crying out for a home that they can actually afford, he added. (Datawrapper/Shelter (Datawrapper/Shelter) Shelters report echoes fears raised by the Public Accounts Committee last week. The committee, which is made up of both Tory and opposition MPs, said the Government should provide a full analysis showing how this policy is to be funded, provide a clear statement of where financial and other risks lie, and spell out its contingency plan if its policies prove not to be fiscally neutral. It added that the Department of Communities and Local Government should also publish detailed data on how it intended to ensure that every home sold off would be replaced with a like for like social property. Where new homes are built in different areas, or are let at higher rents or sold as Starter Homes, the Departments policy of extending the right-to-buy could mean a long-term reduction in homes for social rent in some areas, the committee said. A Department of Communities and Local Government spokesperson said the Government made no apology for helping people into homeownership. Our voluntary agreement with housing associations will mean 1.3 million tenants will have the chance to own their own home, while every home sold will be replaced with a new affordable property, they said. The scheme is due to be rolled out across England later this year. Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Voices Dispatches email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The UKs reputation on the world stage for having some of the best universities is diminishing as Asian institutions gather pace, claims a new set of rankings. According to Times Higher Educations (THE) World Reputation Rankings, the UK has just ten universities in the complete 100 - down two on last year - while institutions from across Asia have managed to take up 18 places - an increase of ten on 2015. Recommended Read more How to get into an Oxbridge university Editor of the rankings, Phil Baty, acknowledged how the UK has lost ground, even though the country is still the second most-represented nation in the list of the most reputable universities, behind the US which dominates with 43 out of 100. Highlighting how seven of the UKs ten institutions are ranked in lower positions on last year, Mr Baty said: Even the countrys most prestigious institutions have slipped, with the universities of Cambridge and Oxford each dropping two places to fourth and fifth place respectively. The rise of Asia has become something of a cliche in recent times, but our evidence - from six massive global surveys over six years, including the views of more than 80,000 scholars - proves the balance of power in higher education and research is slowly shifting from the West to the East. Among the reasons for the UKs somewhat poorer performance, the editor cited the nations continued cuts in higher education funding, as the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) receives a 150m budget slash. As well as this, he said a series of immigration measures affecting overseas students and scholars could also be to blame for having an impact on the UKs global reputation. This, though, he cautioned, could yet be reversed, as he added: The UK will have to ensure it can still draw in talent and investment from across the world, and it does not lose its position at the heart of higher educations global elite. On the whole, Harvard University in the US has taken the top spot for being the most powerful global university brand for the sixth year in a row. The University of Bristol and Durham University are the two British institutions to have have fallen out of the top 100. Japans University of Tokyo is the highest-ranking outside of the US and UK in 12th place. China has broken into the top 20 for the first time with Tsinghua University placing 18th, and Peking University has taken a respectable 21st place. The 20 hardest universities to get into Mr Baty described how reputation is the global currency of higher education, and said: It may be subjective, it may not always be fair, but it matters deeply. The clear lesson is that we have a firmly entrenched elite group of six global university superbrands. The six - two from the East Coast of the US, two from the West Coast, and two from the UK - have topped the list, standing head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. Click here to see the complete 100 list NEW YORK, NY Nadia Ali will be embarking on a New York City media tour today, May 4, and tomorrow, May 5. The Pakistan porn star will be promoting her upcoming feature dance debut appearance at HQNYC, on Thursday at 10pm EST. Im so excited about coming to New York City and meeting my fans, and hopefully making new ones, says Ali. Its going to be a fantastic, hot time in the Big Apple! Nadia Alis media tour schedule is as follows: Wednesday, May 4 Fox News Live, in-studio interview at 11am PT / 2pm ET Refinery29 Taped interview at 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET Race Wars Opie Radio (Sirius XM) Live, in-studio interview at 4pm PT / 7pm ET Thursday, May 5 The Luis Jimenez Show LuisNetwork.com Live, in-studio interview 6am PT / 9am ET Thisis50 ThisIs50.com Taped interview at Noon PT / 3pm ET The Anthony Cumia Show AnthonyCumia.com Live, in-studio interview at 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET Show Off Radio with Statik Selektah Shade 45 (Sirius XM) Live, in-studio interview at 5:30pm PT / 8:30pm ET HQNYC is located at 552 West 38th Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues) in New York City. For more information, including VIP reservations, visit HQNewYork.com or call the club directly at 212-967-4646. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The family of an autistic airport cleaner ridiculed by 50 Cent has accepted the rappers apology. 50 Cent faced a fierce backlash for mocking a 19-year-old, who has autism, Aspergers syndrome and a social anxiety disorder, and accusing him of being on drugs. In a since-deleted video shared on his Instagram page, the 40-year-old rapper could be seen poking fun at Andrew Farrell as he pushed cleaning supplies through Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. 50 Cent has now apologised for the viral video he shared on his Instagram page and written a personal letter of apology to the family of Farrell. 50 Cent mocks teenager with disorder accusing him of being high on drugs The family have chosen to accept the apology. As requested we have received a letter apologising for 50 cents behaviour and we have chosen to accept it, along with a request that a donation be made to Autism Speaks, said his stepfather, Ken Kramer. Though a letter of apology will not undo what 50 Cent has put our family through, we are choosing to forgive." 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' Show all 14 1 /14 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337814.bin AP 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337861.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337860.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337859.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337857.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337855.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337854.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337853.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337852.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337851.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337849.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337848.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337847.bin Getty Images 50 Cent: 'I still have passion for music' 337846.bin Getty Images In the controversial video, the rapper, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson III, asked whether Farrell was on drugs while at work. Look at him. What kind of s*** do you think he took before he got to work today? 50 Cent says. He high as a motherf****r right here in the airport. Pupils dilated the new generation is f***ing crazy. Recommended Read more 50 Cent faces backlash for mocking airport cleaner with social anxiety Dozens of businesses in Cincinnati are reported to have stopped selling Effen Vodka, the alcohol brand which 50 Cent promotes, after the incident. In his apology, 50 Cent explained that it was not his intent to insult them and wished them well in the future. While the incident at the airport resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, please accept my sincere apologies for offending you, it reads. This is not the first time 50 Cent has come under fire for remarks about people with disabilities. In 2012 the musician said to a fan, Just saw your picture fool you look autistic and told another follower he didnt want no special ed kids on [his] timeline. After receiving heavy criticism, he deleted the tweets and apologised for his remarks. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A British actor who took out an injunction five years ago to prevent a tabloid from reporting on his alleged sexual activity with a former escort will reportedly be identified in the US today. The man secured the injunction in 2011 after High Court judges agreed it violated his right to privacy. A decision was made at a later date to allow the media to identify Helen Wood, a former sex worker and reality TV star who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2014. The married actor allegedly paid 195 to have sex with Ms Wood. He was described by Lord Justice King in the initial hearing as a world famous celebrity. A report by The Sun claims he will be identified in a US magazine while the injunction remains in place in the UK, meaning he cannot be named by publications here. People news in pictures Show all 18 1 /18 People news in pictures People news in pictures 7 October 2015 Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an ice hockey match between former NHL stars and officials at the Shayba Arena in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Vladimir Putin spent his 63rd birthday on the ice, playing hockey with NHL stars against Russian officials and tycoons EPA People news in pictures 6 October 2015 German designer Karl Lagerfeld (R) and model Cara Delevingne (C) appear at the end of his Spring/Summer 2016 women's ready-to-wear collection for fashion house Chanel at the Grand Palais which is transformed into a Chanel airport during the Fashion Week in Paris, France Reuters People news in pictures 5 October 2015 Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne addresses the Conservative party conference in Manchester. The Chancellor argued that reducing the payments to people in low paid jobs would give them economic security by reducing the Governments spending deficit Getty Images People news in pictures 4 October 2015 Cowboys captain Johnathan Thurston takes a moment in the centre of the field with his daughter Frankie Thurston, holding dark-skinned doll, after winning the 2015 NRL Grand Final match between the Brisbane Broncos and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The image quickly became the talking point of Australias National Rugby League Final and provoked a strong reaction on social media, with many praising Thurston for giving his child a toy that promotes inclusiveness and diversity Getty Images People news in pictures 3 October 2015 Pope Francis gives a thumbs-up as he greets people at the end of an audience to the participants of a meeting organized by the "Food Bank" at the Paul VI audience hall in Vatican Getty Images People news in pictures 2 October 2015 Britain's Finance Minister George Osborne (L) throws an American football as he meets with former American football players Dan Marino (2nd R) and Curtis Martin (not pictured) at 11 Downing Street in London, ahead of the New York Jets playing against the Miami Dolphins at London's Wembley Stadium on 4 October Getty Images People news in pictures 1 October 2015 An honor guard opens the door as Russian President Vladimir Putin enters a hall to attend a meeting with members of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia People news in pictures 30 September 2015 Former Mrs America Lisa Christie, who alleges misconduct by Bill Cosby, holds up photos of her younger self during a news conference at the law office of attorney Gloria Allred in Los Angeles People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Matt Damon has defended himself against claims that he instructed gay actors to remain in the closet. He had said I think youre a better actor the less people know about you and sexuality is a huge part of that. Whether youre straight or gay, people shouldnt know anything about your sexuality but an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show said, I was just trying to say actors are more effective when theyre a mystery. Right? Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Marion Cotillard has said that there is no place for feminism in Hollywood. Speaking to Porter magazine, she saidFilm-making is not about gender/ You cannot ask a president in a festival like Cannes to have, like, five movies directed by women and five by men. For me it doesnt create equality, it creates separation. I mean, I dont qualify myself as a feminist." Getty People news in pictures 29 September 2015 Actor Paul Walkers daughter, Meadow, is suing Porsche over her fathers death in a lawsuit that claims he was trapped in the burning car because of design flaws and the seat belt. The Fast and Furious star was killed when the Porsche Carrera GT he was a passenger in hit a pole in California in 2013. The driver, his friend Roger Rodas, also died when the vehicle burst into flames. AP People news in pictures 28 September 2015 Robert Mugabe waits to address the United Nations General Assembly. The leader of Zimbabwe reportedly exclaimed 'We are not gay!' as he criticised Western nation's "double standards and attempts to prescribe new rights that are contrary to our values, norms, traditions and beliefs. In 2013 he described homosexuals as worse than pigs, goats and birds. Reuters People news in pictures 28 September 2015 South African comedian Trevor Noah hosts the first 'Daily Show' since taking over from Jon Stewart as host. Stewart had presented the US satirical news show since 1999 and was described by Noah during the show as a 'Political father' 2015 Getty Images People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Sir Elton John may have received a phone call from the real Vladimir Putin. Mr Putin's spokesman announced he had made contact weeks after the singer was duped by pranksters pretending to be the Russian President. Getty People news in pictures 25 September 2015 Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was mistakenly declared as the artist who produced the Mona Lisa by Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. It was in fact Leonardo da Vinci. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 A new biography claims Donald Trump expected to be dead by 40 and never marry. The Guardian says the a new book also claims that in 1980, Mr Trump manufactured a fake vice-president of his real estate conglomerate, whom he called John Baron. People news in pictures 24 September 2015 The Dalai Lama has said that Britain's policy towards China is just about 'Money, money, money.' And asked 'Where is morality?' People news in pictures 24 September 2015 Puff Daddy secured the number-one spot on the Forbes Hip Hop Cash Kings list, with the publication calculating he made an estimated $60million (39m) between June 2014 and June 2015. The report comes as five Supreme Court judges continue to consider whether an injunction preventing The Sun on Sunday from reporting on a celebritys alleged extra-marital activities should be lifted. The man, named in court documents as PJS, has been identified by publications in the US, Scotland, Australia and by a political blogger. They said they will return their decision as soon as possible but have not set a date. Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger said the court would take time to consider this matter on 21 April. Super injunctions 'untenable' The injunction remains in place until a decision is reached. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Over a celebrated career spanning six decades, Sir David Attenborough has issued warning after warning about the fate of humanity should it continue on its current path. While the gravity of his messages has been undeniable, few have actually had an effect on policy as a result. Speaking at the launch of his Natural Curiosities series at London Zoo in January 2015, Sir David addressed politicians directly. The veteran broadcaster spoke about the fate of humanity and outlined what he believes to be the biggest threat to human existence: climate change and political apathy towards it. David Attenborough: Life in pictures Show all 35 1 /35 David Attenborough: Life in pictures David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1957 David Attenborough with his three-year-old daughter Susan, as they cover their ears while sulphur-crested cockatoo Georgie lets out a piercing shriek David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1950 David Attenborough with his wife Jane Oriel and older brother and film actor Richard Attenborough at St. Anne's Church, Kew Green David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1955 David Attenborough, holding his son Robert, whilst looking at an animal called a coatimundi, brought home from the combined London Zoo David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1955 David Attenborough and Jack Lester, curator of London Zoo's reptile house, plan their next expedition to British Guiana with the help of Gregory the parrot David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1956 David Attenborough with six-year-old Michael Webb of Kingsbury pets a Capybara after Sir David had lectured to children on the 'Zoological Expedition to British Guiana' at the Royal Geographical Society in Kensington David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1957 David Attenborough, with wildlife photographer Charles Lagus, preparing to depart for New Guinea to make 'Zoo Quest' at London Airport Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1958 Prince Charles with his sister Princess Anne meeting Sir David Attenborough and Cocky, the cockatoo brought back from his last Zoo Quest expedition, at the BBC Television Studios in Lime Grove, London David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1961 David Attenborough with two ring-tailed lemurs during a Christmas lecture at London zoo David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1963 David Attenborough with an armadillo from 'Attenborough's Animals' David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1965 David Attenborough after he was appointed the new head of BBC 2 David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1965 David Attenborough and Michael Peacock, Contoller of the BBC, with soft toy versions of Hullabaloo and Custard, the kangaroo mascots which were used as logos for the launch of BBC 2 David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1980 David Attenborough shows Charlie the Llama to schoolboy Patrick Flynn, the millionth child to attend London Zoo's educational lectures and tours David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1982 David Attenborough feeds orangutan David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1985 David Attenborough after being knighted by the Queen at an investiture at Buckingham Palace, London, with his wife Jane (right) and daughter Susan David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1985 David Attenborough signs his book 'the Living Planet' in a Sydney Bookstore in Australia 2004 Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1986 David Attenborough with Queen Elizabeth II filming the Christmas Message in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1990 David Attenborough poses for a photograph David Attenborough: Life in pictures 1995 David Attenborough watches nature during the filming of Natural Curiosities David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2000 David Attenborough and his wife at the Tate Modern Art Gallery opening party David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2002 David Attenborough with meerkat on his shoulder being filmed for BBC series Life of Mammals David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2003 A python greets Sir David Attenborough during a photo opportunity at Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, Australia Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2003 Sir David Attenborough holds a baby salt water crocodile during a photo opportunity at Taronga Park Zoo in Sydney, Australia Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2005 David Attenborough poses with The Swan Hellenic Oldie of the Year Award at the 'Oldie Of The Year Awards' honouring veteran notables together with Britain's oldest celebrity superstars, at Simpsons in the Strand in London. Sir David Attenborough was announced as the Swan Hellenic Oldie of the Year at the 13th annual awards Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2005 David Attenborough plants a Wollemei Pine at Kew Gardens in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2005 David Attenborough signs copies of his latest publication Life In The Undergrowth, published in relation to the BBC One series, at the Natural History Museum in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2006 Sir David Attenborough and Lord Richard Attenborough robe up, before they are awarded the title of Distinguished Honorary Fellowships from the University of Leicester at De Montfort Hall in Leicester Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2007 Sir David Attenborough launches National Moth Recording Scheme at London Zoo in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2008 Sir David Attenborough sits in The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace in the Amazing Rare Things exhibition in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2009 Prince William, Dr Michael Dixon and Sir David Attenborough host the opening of the The New Darwin Centre at The Natural History Museum in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2011 Britain's Queen Elizabeth II speaks with naturalist David Attenborough during a special exhibition of artefacts from the Royal Collection and Royal Archives at Buckingham Palace in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2011 Sir David Attenborough with the Specialist Factual award at the Philips British Academy Television Awards at the Grosvenor House in London David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2012 Sir David Attenborough poses with a floral sculpture of himself outside the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew Gardens in London Getty Images David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2012 Sir David Attenborough at the UKTV Showcase held at the Saatchi Gallery in west London David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2013 David Attenborough during the filming of "Micro Monsters with David Attenborough," a series about insects David Attenborough: Life in pictures 2016 Sir David Attenborough attends the launch of the London Wildlife Trust's new Flagship nature reserve Woodberry Wetlands in London Getty Images When asked by the Independent if the world should be more concerned by our deteriorating environment than we are about the threat of terror attacks, his answer was simple: Yes. The nature of human beings is that theyd far rather face the disaster that is happening tonight than the one that is happening tomorrow, he said. Climate change will affect the whole of humanity, while terrorist attacks will only affect a small section of humanity. Of course, you wouldnt say that if you were related to someone who had been beheaded or blown up or murdered. But humanity is facing a very big, slow, long, drawn-out threat, and that is to do with the way the weather is changing and the size of the population. Recommended Read more David Attenborough reveals why gender equality is crucial in one quote Sir David reiterated his warning during an interview with the Associated Press to mark his 90th birthday on Sunday, when he explained the most critical problems facing the natural world today. Top of his list was rising temperatures caused by climate change - a very, very serious worry indeed. Children around the world today are going to inherit a very different world from the one I inherited one which is much more crowded and one which has more severe problems than anybody could have supposed, certainly when I was a child, he said. I believe that if we find ways of generating and storing power from renewable resources, we will make the problem with oil and coal and other carbon fuels disappear because, economically, we will wish to use these other methods. And if we do that, a huge step will have been taken toward solving the problems of the Earth. It remains to be seen whether politicians and world leaders will ever heed his advice. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Corbyn's brother has said Ken Livingstones comments about Jews and Hitler were misunderstood and there was far too much sensitivity on antisemitism in the Labour Party. Piers Corbyn also referred to the relationship between the Nazis and Jews as complicated. His comments follow Ephraim Mirvis, the UK's most senior rabbi, saying the party had a severe antisemitism problem within its ranks. Mr Livingstone, former Mayor of London, caused a furore when he said Hitler supported Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews. His comments have been widely criticised as historically inaccurate. Piers Corbyn is not a member of Labour, but has close associations with the party. He told the Evening Standard: I think Ken has been misunderstood, because he has been talking actual history which now looks incomprehensible. We cant understand now the context those things happened in, but there are numbers of historical documents around which seem to bear out some things bear out some things that Ken has said. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 Britain's former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Conservative MP, Rishi Sunak leaves from an office in central London AFP/Getty 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 But theyve been taken out of context. He refused to deny Mr Livingstones comments were antisemitic, but added: You have to look into the whole history of what happened in Germany. The relationship between Nazis and the Jews, and Russia, have been complicated and there have been serious alliances, or mutual supports, or dealings which are difficult to understand now. But there have been arrangements that went on, or certainly some type of understandings going on between Hitler and Zionists. He also retweeted a message supportive of Livingstone which said No one with an iota of fairness wud consider #KenL remarks anti-semitic- unless pandering to #Israel [sic]. (Twitter/JShk3 (Twitter/JShk3) He said he wasnt totally informed with everything that was going on and didnt necessarily agree with everything he retweeted, but said to the Standard: I think people should certainly see that comment. Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Voices Dispatches email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A human embryo has been grown in a laboratory for twice the length of time than was previously possible in a breakthrough that could revolutionise medicine but also raises fresh ethical questions about when life begins. Since scientists first fertilised an embryo in a test tube in 1969, they have never managed to keep one alive for long after the point at which the foetus implants in the womb, normally about seven days. However researchers at Cambridge University have now grown embryos for 13 days -- a process they only stopped to avoid breaking the current legal limit of about 14 days. The ability to observe a human embryo as it grows during this most enigmatic and mysterious stage of life in a lab should shed new light on genetic diseases and disabilities. And it could help improve the dismal failure rate of IVF embryos -- currently up to 70 per cent do not successfully implant and lead to better understanding of miscarriages. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world Show all 14 1 /14 Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 1. Bowhead whale genome, linked to cancer resistance, DNA damage repair and increased longevity, mapped by scientists In a UK-based study, scientists working together with scientists in Alaska, Denmark, Ireland, Spain and South Korea successfully mapped the genome of the bowhead whale - the longest-living mammal - identifying a number of genes that are linked to cancer resistance, DNA damage repair and increased longevity. PA Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 2. Researchers develop 'imaginary meal' pill An 'imaginary meal' pill called fexaramine has been developed by researchers at the Salk's Gene Expression Laboratory. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 3. Scientists prolong lifespan of flies Scientists at the Institute of Cell Biology, in Switzerland, have successfully managed to prolong the lifespan of flies, activating a gene that destroys unhealthy cells. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 4. Green tea can help cure oral cancer Green tea can help kill off cancerous cells, say researchers. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 5. Mars once had a large ocean covering a large portion of its northern hemisphere Almost half of the northern hemisphere of Mars was once covered by a large ocean that held 20 million cubic kilometres of water: more than the Artic Ocean. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 6. Offices playing natural sounds can boost worker moods and improve cognitive abilities Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute learned that offices which play natural sounds such as ocean waves, trees and bird calls can boost the moods of workers and improve their cognitive abilities, as well as providing privacy (by masking speech). Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 7. Impact glass may exist on Mars Brown University researchers found that spectral signals indicate the existence of impact glass on the surface of Mars, with specific deposits conserved in craters. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 8. Fathers experience weight gain Fathers have been found to experience weight gain and a rise in their body mass index (BMI), according to a research conducted by Northwestern Universitys Feinberg School of Medicine. The study, which followed over 10,000 men throughout a 20 year period, also revealed that the men who didnt become fathers actually lost weight. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 9. Scientists create intelligent mice that do not experience fear or anxiety Scientists participating in a joint University of Leeds and Mount Sinai Hospital study managed to alter a gene within mice; improving their intelligence and reducing their ability to feel anxious or fear. The discovery could prove instrumental in research into age-related cognitive decline, such as Alzheimers or schizophrenia. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 10. Paralysed man walks again The brain-computer interface system will be improved by developing an implantable version, say experts A 26-year-old male who had suffered a spinal cord injury which had paralysed him from the waist down was given the ability to walk again by scientists, who rerouted brain waves to electrodes on his knees. The doctors responsible said that he was the first person with paraplegia caused by a spinal injury given the ability to walk without relying on manually controlled robotic limbs. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 11. Virtual reality can revolutionise healthcare Cardiologists at the Institute of Cardiology in Poland have successfully used virtual reality to restore blood flow to a blocked artery, leading the way for it to revolutionise certain aspects of healthcare, in surgical procedures and during training. Using wearable virtual reality equipment, similar to that of Google Glass, developed specifically for the surgical procedure, doctor completed the difficult procedur Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 12. Puppies born by IVF in the US After years of failed attempts, scientists at Cornell University successfully bred the world's first puppies born through IVF, allowing for research into the conservation of endangered breeds and protection of those that are at risk of disease. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 13. Cancer is caused by environmental factors Research into the causes of cancer concluded that, on the whole, it is due to environmental factors, not, as was previously thought, bad luck. Recent scientific discoveries that will change how you see the world 14. Fusion reactors could become economically viable Researchers at Durham University and the Oxfordshire Culham Centre for Fusion Energy have found fusion reactors could become economically viable ways of generating electricity in just a few decades, telling politicians and policy makers to begin the process of planning for their introduction and the replacement of nuclear power stations. Analysis by these researchers has found that the costs associated with fusion power shows its feasibility, when compared with traditional fission reactors, generating electricity at a similar price. Greater knowledge of our early embryonic development might also hasten the arrival of one of the medical worlds greatest hopes: regenerative medicine using stem cells. These can turn into any different kind of cell and doctors believe they could one day be used to treat Alzheimers, heart disease and a host of other conditions. The breakthrough immediately led to calls for the Government to consider extending the legal limit, but such a move would be hugely controversial. About 14 days the limit is also linked to biological changes -- was chosen in the 1980s because it was deemed to be the point at which individuality is assigned as twins do not develop after this point. Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, one of the lead researchers, stressed the benefits of being able to observe an embryo up to 13 days. We can now, for the very first time, study human development at this very critical time, the time of implantation, she said. It is really most enigmatic and mysterious stage of our own development. The research raises ethical questions, Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz admitted Implantation is a milestone in human development as it is from this stage onwards that the embryo really begins to take shape and the overall body plan is decided. It is also the stage of pregnancy at which many developmental defects can become acquired. But until now, it has been impossible to study this in human embryos. "This new technique provides us with a unique opportunity to get a deeper understanding of our own development during these crucial stages and help us understand what happens, for example, during miscarriage. It had been absolutely unbelievable, she said, to see the amazing, self-organising ability of the cells. They have to talk to themselves and together they make something more beautiful, Professor Zernicka-Goetz said. Development of a day 5 human embryo But she accepted the research raised ethical questions, particularly how far we can go? I think that longer cultures [of embryos] could provide absolutely critical information for basic human biology. They can improve IVF success, they can improve stem cell differentiation, so this is very important, she said. But this would raise the next question, where should we put the next limit? I think this is really not my place to say, one way or the other. "Even if I believe theres a scientific case for it, [the decision] should be taken with other scientists, ethicists and the general public. Professor Zernicka-Goetz added that she thought they might only be technically able to grow an embryo for perhaps a day past the limit and dismissed suggestions that it could lead to the lab-based creation of human life. Theres no way to grow [even] a mouse outside the womb. Its really just science fiction, its not possible, she said. Development of a day 9 human embryo This point was echoed by Professor Allan Pacey, of Sheffield University, who was not involved in the research. "It will not open the door to couples being able to grow babies in the laboratory; this is not the dawn of a Brave New World scenario," he said. "But it does open up exciting opportunities to understand the nature of human disease and disability and for that reason the scientists involved should be congratulated." Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, a leading geneticist and stem cell expert, said there should be a public debate about the 14-day limit. He suggested it could be extended only slightly to allow scientists to study a key process in embryonic development called gastrulation. We dont need to take it beyond that, but just that few days [after 14] would be useful, he said. I think you could do a lot of valuable research. Other scientists are arguing for maybe just a couple more days, maybe a week. "Proposing to extend the 14-day limit might be opening a can of worms, but would it lead to Pandoras box or a treasure chest of valuable information ? This is not a question to be left to scientists alone. Religious figures expressed concern about how any new limit would be set. The Rev Dr Brendan McCarthy, the Church of England's national adviser on medical ethics, welcomed the scientists' calls for a debate. But he added: "The present limit recognises the importance of the emergence of the primitive streak heralding the beginning of neural development. "If the beginnings of neural development do not provide a watershed for research, it is difficult to see where else the limit might be placed in order properly to respect the developing human embryo and foetus. However Professor David Jones, director of the Roman Catholic Anscombe Bioethics Centre, described the 14-day limit as "completely arbitrary" and pointed out abortions were legal up to 24 weeks. He said it was likely that a scientist somewhere in the world would now go further than the Cambridge team. "In the future this may even be seen as the first step towards culturing babies outside the womb, where the child is not only conceived outside the protection of his or her mother's body but no such protection is even envisaged at any stage," said Professor Jones, who opposes any research on human embryos. "Human life and human pregnancy should not be separated in this way. On a technical level it is a scientific breakthrough but it is also a further step away from humane and ethical science and a further step towards an increasingly inhuman future." The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has already decided to hold a meeting of experts "to evaluate whether, after 25 years, there may be persuasive reasons to review this legal limit or whether the reasons for its introduction remain sound". "The Council has agreed to explore whether arguments for reviewing the 14-day limit are gaining force," it said, "in the expectation that any move to review this limit will be likely to generate significant moral controversy and would require careful analysis." The research was reported in the journals Nature and Nature Cell Biology. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Two police officers have been fired over failing to protect a disabled refugee who was murdered by a misguided vigilante. PC Leanne Winter and PC Helen Harris have been dismissed without notice by Avon & Somerset Constabulary over their conduct in the case of Bijan Ebrahimi - who had complained he was being threatened by a man who would go on to kill him three days later. Mr Ebrahimi was punched and kicked to death and his body set on fire by neighbour Lee James outside his Bristol home in July 2013. James was jailed for life in November 2013. A police complaint was filed against Mr Ebrahimi in the days before his death alleging that he had been taking pictures of neighbourhood children. Police arrested him and examined his camera and computer but found nothing suspicious. He was released without charge, but was not given any protection. Mr Ebrahimi made several calls to the police in the 48 hours before his death, but they went unanswered. It comes after another police officer and a community officer from the force were jailed over their role in the affair in February. Bijan Ebrahimi with PC Helen Harris in a police cell after being accused of paedophilia PC Kevin Duffy was sentenced to ten months and PCSO Andrew Passmore was given four months after being found guilty of misconduct in a public office. PC Winter and PC Harris stood trial alongside them but were acquitted. Bristol Crown Court heard how Duffy, who had had dealings with Mr Ebrahimi for six years before his death, considered him to be a timewaster and told a dispatcher he had no intention of taking any calls from Bijan Ebrahimi I will speak to him at my convenience. 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 The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said their investigation into the polices dealings with the 44-year-old Iranian refugee over a seven year period found that it had failed him when he was particularly vulnerable. IPCC Commissioner, Jan Williams, said: Todays outcomes mark the conclusion of a series of misconduct proceedings against Avon & Somerset Constabulary officers and staff. We carried out a substantial and detailed investigation into the actions police took in the days prior to Mr Ebrahimis horrific murder, and their historic contact with him over a seven year period. Bijan Ebrahimi called the police repeatedly in the last 48 hours of his life The evidence we gathered has informed both the misconduct and earlier criminal proceedings. It was proven in crown court and at disciplinary hearings that some police officers and staff failed Mr Ebrahimi, in particular at a time when he was highly vulnerable. "We have liaised regularly with Mr Ebrahimis family and the Constabulary throughout our investigation, and during the subsequent proceedings. The Chief Constable of Avon & Somerset Police, Andy Marsh, said in a statement: I must sincerely apologise once again to Bijans family. They have suffered and will continue to suffer deeply, and have endured their loss with great courage and dignity. We failed Bijan in his hour of need and I am unreservedly sorry for the pain and heartache his family have suffered in the years since. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A woman attempted to recruit a contract killer to murder her husband and make it look like an Isis execution, a court has been told. Nurten Taycur, 28, allegedly offered a man 5,000 to kill Uber driver Ercan Akan and spray "Isis" on his car, The Mirror reported, in an attempt to be with her boyfriend after a two-year affair. She was arrested after handing over a 1,000 "down payment" to a man she reportedly thought was a hitman, whom she had first met near Victoria Park in Hackney, east London on 13 November 2015. The man was in fact an undercover police officer. The remaining 4,000 was found hidden at her home in Hackney, the Old Bailey heard. The Sun reported that after her arrest her husband told police: "I dont understand why Nurten wanted me to be killed if she wanted to separate she could have done it in the normal way." Ms Taycur has admitted soliciting to murder and is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on May 13. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} More than a quarter of a million homes are expected to be built on Englands green belt this year, a 20 per cent increase on 2015 and a two decade high. Plans for the construction of 274,792 new homes have been proposed for the restricted land which is 55,000 more than in March last year. Unsurprisingly, Londons green belt is under the most pressure with 117,208 homes proposed - an increase of 35 per cent on last year - according to statistics released last week by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE). Elsewhere, Yorkshire has 46,900 houses planned for green belt development, and the West Midlands has 44,170, increases of 14% and 22% on last years figures. The CPRE says this undermines the Conservative Partys manifesto promise to safeguard national green belt protection and increase protection of important green spaces. Only Oxfordshire has seen a decrease in the number of green belt homes planned since this time last year - from 4,500 to 3,510, while Nottinghamshire and the South West expect to build the same number as last year - 13,800 and 16,245 respectively. The government was also recently under fire for allegedly planning to relax laws to build on green belt land after launching a consultation on the matter in December. The rules would allow councils to to allocate appropriate small-scale sites in the green belt specifically for starter homes. However, a Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman, said: There are no plans or policy to relax the strong protections that prevent inappropriate development on the green belt. Ministers have repeatedly been clear that demand for housing alone will not justify changing green belt boundaries. Councils are already expected to prioritise development on brownfield sites, with 90% of brownfield sites expected to have planning permission by the end of this parliament. It means that in 2014-15 just 0.02% of Green Belt was converted to residential use, and the Green Belt is actually 32,000 hectares bigger than it was in 1997, he said. According to the CPRE report, green belt boundaries are being changed to accommodate housing at the fastest rate in twenty years. The Conservative government, they say, have nearly doubled the number of homes planned for green belt land compared to the regional plans outlined by the Labour government in 2009. The countryside campaign group also says some cities have given the go ahead for green belt development, despite urban brownfield areas being available. The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis Show all 7 1 /7 The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis Zed Pod A ZED Pod is a small, low cost energy efficient starter home intended for housing young people within city boundaries over existing areas of parking or garages. This avoids having to purchase land to create affordable homes. zedfactory The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis Who is ZED POD for? The occupancy will vary depending on the location of the ZED Pods. The Pods flexible nature allows them to serve as short term accommodation, such as for holiday makers, as well as in a long term scenario for young professionals, or single people wishing to get on to the property ladder in an affordable manner. zedfactory The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis Terraced-Pod By minimising the demand for energy and water, and placing a translucent waterproof solar canopy over the space between the homes, it is possible to provide zero energy bills for the these homes as well as providing zero emissions electricity to charge points integrated in the parking spaces zedfactory The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis The tiny homes could sell for between 50,000 to 60,000 or rented as one bed homes for young couples for around 750 month with around 50 bills on top, according to the architects estimates.The development costs are reduced as there is no need for land acquisition. zedfactory The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis Shanghai POD - Shanghai Art & Design Exhibition Further benefits extend to the prefabricated nature of the pod, which significantly increases speed of construction without effecting the durability of the pod. A typical Pod community can be erected and commissioned in under a month, and within a week on sensitive sites. zedfactory The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis Shanghai POD - Shanghai Art & Design Exhibition The eco-friendly houses, around 74 square feet of floor space, would be complete with solar panel roofs, water recycling systems and electric vehicle charging. zedfactory The pod homes that sit on stilts above car parks designed to crack the housing crisis Communal space under the canopy It is cheap to live in, gives young people privacy, has good shared communal spaces, has good access to public transport and saves key workers from long commutes into city centres with high property values, Bill Dunster OBE told the Independent zedfactory Paul Miner, CPRE's planning campaign manager, said: The Government is proposing to encourage further development in the green belt. Our green belt is invaluable in preventing urban sprawl and providing the countryside next door for 30 million people. We need stronger protection for the green belt, not just supportive words and empty promises. To build the affordable homes young people and families need, the Government should empower councils to prioritise the use of brownfield sites. Brownfield land is a self-renewing resource that can provide at least one million new homes. PA contributed to this report. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Lawrence of Arabias famous white robes and ornate dagger are set to be saved for the nation after lobbying by Foreign Office minister and Lawrence-admirer Tobias Ellwood. A temporary export bar had been placed on the historic items by the Government earlier this year, after they were bought at auction by a mystery foreign buyer. An alternative buyer would have to now match the considerable asking price of 122,500 for the dagger and 12,500 to save the robes for the nation. Government sources now say that they are hopeful a successful purchase will take place. The Arts Council, which administers temporary export bans on items of cultural significance, said serious expressions of interest had been received, and have extended the deferral period until 1 July to allow time for funds to be raised. Middle East minister Mr Ellwood an ex-army captain and admirer of First World War hero T.E. Lawrence is understood to have taken a keen personal interest in the items fate, and has insisted they should be put on display in the UK to spark interest in Lawrences exploits and his role in shaping UK-Arab relations to this day. Lawrence, whose role in the Arab Revolt of 1916-18 made him globally famous, wore the robes in some of the most famous portraits made of him at the time, crafting a heroic image of himself that was later immortalised in the classic 1962 David Lean film. Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Show all 13 1 /13 Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills Lawrence of Arabia 4k stills The ornate dagger, a steel jambiya with a curved blade, gilded silver hilt and scabbard, was presented to Lawrence after the victory against the Ottoman army by Arab forces at Aqaba, now in present day Jordan, in 1917. It was given by Sherif Nasir, a cousin of Lawrences close ally Emir Feisal, who went on to become king of Syria and later Iraq. Culture minister Ed Vaizey placed the export bar on the items in February, calling Lawrence one of the most extraordinary figures of the 20th century. Such temporary pauses in export licencing decisions can be applied to items with special historical and cultural significance to the UK. The Arts Council could not confirm the identity of the potential buyers, but the Foreign Office said it was not directly purchasing the items. Lawrence explained the practical purpose for wearing Arab robes in his epic memoir Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Getty) Lawrence wore the robes and the dagger while sitting for a portrait by sculptress Kathleen Scott the widow of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott in 1921. After sitting, he left both items with her so that she could complete the work, but then never retrieved them. They remained with the family until they were sold at Christies auction house in July 2015. Although he faced accusations of deliberately cultivating a romantic image of himself, Lawrence explained the more practical purpose for wearing Arab robes, originally at Emir Feisals suggestion, in his epic memoir Seven Pillars of Wisdom. If I wore Meccan clothes, he wrote, [the Arabs] would behave to me as though I were really one of the leaders; and I might slip in and out of Feisals tent without making a sensation which he had to explain away each time to strangers. I agreed at once, very gladly; for army uniform was abominable when camel-riding or when sitting on the ground; and the Arab thingswere cleaner and more decent in the desert. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A teenage girl who died after taking an ecstasy pill known as MasterCard has been named as Faye Allen. The 17-year-old from Liverpool died after taking the drug at the Victoria Warehouse in Trafford. Greater Manchester Police have made two arrests as part of their investigation into the girls death. A 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman from the St Helens area have been arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug. Faye had been at the Dont Let Daddy Know club night with her boyfriend when she took the drug. Her boyfriends father, who was not named, told the Manchester Evening News that this was the first time Faye had been to a nightclub and that she had not taken the drug before: She had never been to a rave or nightclub before. This was the first time. "They are a couple of young lovers who have gone to a club. Faye took a pill for the first time and disaster has struck. The whole family are absolutely devastated. We dont know how we are going to look after each other, he added. Police have urged anyone who may have taken the MasterCard pills to seek medical attention. They believe the pink pills may have contained a double dose of MDMA. Over the course of the night and in the early hours Faye appeared to have had an adverse reaction to the drug. After appearing very unwell she was treated outside the venue, Detective Chief Inspector Ben Ewart said. She appeared very disorientated and unsteady on her feet. Once she left the venue of her own accord, security were concerned for her welfare. The on-site medical staff then called an ambulance, he said. Two of Fayes friends who are understood to have taken the same tablets were taken to hospital as a precaution but were later discharged. Photo issued by Greater Manchester Police of a batch of ecstasy tablets known as 'MasterCard' (PA) The Liverpool Echo reported that this is the third tragedy to have hit Fayes family. Her mother, Maxine, lost a son named Jordan to cot death when he was aged 23 months in 2004. Just one month later Maxines daughter Neve died from cot death aged at 18 weeks. In a statement, Victoria Warehouse confirmed the incident took place at the venue and said it was working with investigators. It said: "The Victoria Warehouse would like to convey our deepest sympathies to the family of the deceased, and will continue to assist Greater Manchester Police with their inquiries." Additional reporting by PA LOS ANGELES, CA There are three brand new DVDs with Romi Rain on the cover, including the release of Deadly Rain by Brazzers. An original series created by the company, the action-packed movie shows Romi having to fight, flee and fuck on a whole new level. The scenes originally appeared on the Brazzers site last year. Im so excited for the entirety of Deadly Rain to be on DVD, Rain said. I worked very hard on the series, everyone did, and I loved every second of it! Some of my most intense scenes ever were for Deadly Rain and Id do it all over again! It features my second-ever DP/airtight scene since Brazzers House, which a lot of fans have said they wanted to see. Now its available for everyone to watch! Two other DVDs in the new release section with Rain on the cover are Big Titty Creampies 9 (Lethal Hardcore) and Inked MILF (Hustler). Additionally, RomiRain.com has officially relaunched this week. The layout has been completely revamped for your viewing pleasure, and is much more interactive, explains Rain. Now, along with dozens of exclusive scenes and photosets, you can like/comment on your favorite things and even make requests! I also have added a new blog area, and I'll be doing monthly members only free live shows! I'm so excited to share everything with you! Rains next feature dance appearance will be at the Cadillac Lounge in Rhode Island on May 20 and 21. Rain also has 2016 XRCO nominations for Female Performer of the Year and Superslut. The 2016 XRCO Awards will be held at OHM in Hollywood on June 22. For more information go to XRCO.com. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A group of Conservative MPs are 100 per cent prepared to rebel against the Government over its refusal to take in unaccompanied child refugees from Europe, one of their number said, as they prepared to meet the immigration minister on Wednesday. Around 30 Conservative MPs are expected to back a new House of Lords amendment to the Immigration Bill next week which would require the Government to take in an unspecified number of child refugees from the continent. South Cambridgeshire MP Heidi Allen, one of the group, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that she and colleagues were absolutely prepared to vote against the Government if it did not back down. Downing Street has said it will look again at the issue, and the rebel MPs will meet immigration minister James Brokenshire today to discuss alternatives, including a potential deal to speed up reunions for refugee children in Europe with family members already in the UK. The meeting comes after Sir Erich Reich, chairman of the Kindertransport-Association of Jewish Refugees, who was one of 10,000 children taken into safety in the UK before the Second World War, made a personal appeal to David Cameron to accept 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees, calling on the UK to once again demonstrate our compassion. The Government rejected a previous amendment tabled by Lord Dubs, who was himself one of the 10,000 Kindertransport children. The amendment was defeated by just 18 votes last week, meaning that the Tory rebellion on the new amendment, which is also has the support of DUP MPs, would likely be enough to defeat the Government. 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. One compromise understood to be under consideration would see humanitarian visas issued to the children, allowing them to apply for indefinite leave to remain in the UK once they reach the age of 18. Criticising the Prime Ministers claim that refugees in Europe were already in relative safety, compared to those that the Government is supporting in Syria and the region, Ms Allen told Today: It is not relatively safe to be pulled into trafficking and prostitution. Talk to the doctors there from Medecins Sans Frontieres; they are literally stitching up children on a daily basis and sending them back to the camps. That is not the safety you and I think of when we think of Europe. These children are not safe at all and they need our help. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Government has backtracked on its refusal to resettle refugee children who have already reached Europe by letting local councils take in more unaccompanied minors from Greece, Italy and France. Angus Robertson, the Scottish National Partys leader in Westminster, challenged David Cameron on the issue at Prime Ministers questions. While insisting he would stick to the principle of resettling children from refugee camps in the Middle East and North Africa because the Government did not want to encourage more treacherous sea journeys, the Prime Minister hinted at other changes. Were already taking child migrants in Europe with a direct family connection to the UK and we will speed that up, Mr Cameron said. Syrian refugee children stand at a fence in Nizip district near Gaziantep, Turkey (EPA) We are also talking to Save the Children to see what more we can do, particularly with children who came here (to Europe) before the EU-Turkey deal was signed. What I don't want us to do is to take steps that will encourage people to make this dangerous journey because otherwise our actions, however well-meaning they will be, could result in more people dying rather than more people getting a good life. He said the UK would not opt in to "failed" European Union resettlement quotas and argued that comparing the issue to the Kindertransport that saved children from the Nazis was an "insult" to the countries involved. But Mr Cameron confirmed that there is no longer a set number of refugee children in an amendment to the Immigration Bill, allowing the Government to "go round" British councils to see what more they can do. A spokesperson for Downing Street said children registered as asylum seekers in Greece, Italy or France before 20 March would be eligible for resettlement. Those deemed to be vulnerable to trafficking or exploitation will be prioritised as part of work with the UN Refugee Agency and Save the Children. Children play among cubicles that contain bunk beds in Berlin (Getty) "The Government is not putting a fixed number on arrivals, but will instead work with local authorities across the UK to determine how many children will be resettled," Downing Street said. "We will move quickly to consult local authorities, with the first arrivals expected before the end of the year." The initiative will be on top of a previous proposal for unaccompanied children and the UK's pledge to take 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years. Campaigners said the Government's existing plans to take in up to 3,000 children from refugee camps in the Middle East and North Africa were not good enough last month. That proposal was announced days before a crucial vote in the House of Commons on a rival plan to take in unaccompanied minors who have already risked their lives to reach Europe. Humanitarian organisations say thousands of children are trapped across the continent, sleeping rough or in squalid camps and detention centres where they are left vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Mr Cameron has previously insisted the children who have succeeded in reaching Europe are not in immediate danger as they are no longer in a conflict zone and they should be looked after as near to their home countries as possible. David Cameron attacked over refugee vote Some ministers have also argued that taking in unaccompanied minors from camps such as the Jungle in Calais would simply encourage more to make treacherous journeys across the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. Tory backbencher Heidi Allen - who abstained when the issue was last debated by MPs - said that ministers faced defeat at the hands of Conservative rebels unless they gave ground. "It is not relatively safe to be pulled into trafficking and prostitution. Talk to the doctors there - Medecins Sans Frontieres - they are literally stitching up children on a daily basis and sending them back to the camps, she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. "That is not the safety that you and I think of when we think of Europe. These children are not safe at all. They need our help." Pressure on ministers intensified with the intervention of a former Jewish child refugees from the Nazis, urging them to offer sanctuary to those in need. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Sir Erich Reich, chairman of Kindertransport-Association of Jewish Refugees, appealed to him to "demonstrate compassion", while an amendment to the Immigration Bill to take refugee children from within Europe was started by another refugee from the Nazis, Lord Dubs. 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 proposal was due to be voted on again next week but Mr Cameron said the step was no longer needed and the Bill would not be sent back to the House of Lords. Downing Street said on Wednesday that it had "responded" to the campaign and would accept the revised amendment put forward by Lord Dubs, when it returns to the House of Commons next week. Lord Dubs said he welcomed the Government's decision and hoped it would help "ease the plight of some of the unaccompanied child refugees in Europe". He added: I trust the Prime Minister will be true to his word and move swiftly to ensure the Home Office works closely with local authorities to find foster families to give these young people a stable and secure home. The Refugee Council said the announcement only raised the policy of "limited chances" for lone children to find safety in Britain. Dr Lisa Doyle, the charity's head of advocacy, said: However, we shouldnt be fooled into thinking the Government has suddenly discovered its conscience while its simultaneously vilifying asylum seekers who are already in the UK and doing its best to trap all other refugees in poor countries. The British public have made themselves clear refugees lives matter. The Government must stop trying to outsource its wider responsibilities and instead act quickly and generously to offer refugees safe passage. Additional reporting by PA Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn have exchanged verbal blows in an at times brutal clash over antisemitism and racism in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister launched a furious attack on the Labour leader, demanding he withdraws a previous description of Hamas and Hezbollah as friends. In the exchange, on the eve of elections taking place across the UK, Mr Cameron quoted the Labour leaders comments as a backbench MP, when he said he had invited "our friends" from Hamas and Hezbollah to speak at an event. "He referred to Hamas and Hezbollah as his friends. He needs to withdraw that remark, Mr Cameron said during Prime Minister's Questions. He then directly asked Mr Corbyn: "Are they your friends or are they not? Because these organisations in their constitutions believe in persecuting and killing Jews. They are anti-Semitic organisations, they are racist organisations. "He must stand up and say they are not his friends." Mr Corbyn responded: "Obviously, anyone who commits racist acts or is anti-Semitic is not a friend of mine. I am very clear about that." He insisted that the event Mr Cameron mentioned was intended to promote the peace process in the Middle East, and that "I absolutely do not approve of those organisations". But Mr Corbyn then turned to London mayoral race, accusing the campaign of Conservative candidate for London Mayor Zac Goldsmith of "systematically smearing" his Labour rival Sadiq Khan. The clash came as two more Labour councillors were suspended over allegations of anti-Semitism. Three were suspended on Monday. Miqdad Al-Nuaimi, a councillor in Newport, South Wales, and Terry Kelly, who sits on Renfrewshire Council, have been suspended "pending an investigation", a Labour spokesman said. Additional reporting by Press Association Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} David Cameron has refused to withdraw his condemnation of comments made by Donald Trump as "divisive, stupid and wrong". The Prime Minister has "no intention" of withdrawing his remarks, Downing Street has said. Last December, Mr Cameron criticised Mr Trump during a debate in parliament on whether to ban him from the UK over his call for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the US. The PM told the House of Commons he opposed the travel ban, but added: "I think his remarks are divisive, stupid and wrong. "If he came to visit our country I think he would unite us all against him." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY However, George Papadopoulos, an adviser to Mr Trump, hs called on Mr Cameron to apologise, after the withdrawal of his main rival Ted Cruz made it all but certain he would secure the Republican nomination. The adviser said Mr Cameron's remarks were "uncalled-for" and he suggested it would be "wise" for the Priem Minister to "reach out in a more positive manner". When asked if Mr Trump would forgive Mr Cameron's comments, Mr Papadopoulos told the Times: "I can't speak directly for him but it would seem that if Prime Minister Cameron is serious about reaching out, not only to Mr Trump's advisers but to the man himself, an apology or some sort of retraction should happen. "To see Mr Cameron come out as the most vocal opponent was uncalled for. "Considering that we believe that the UK-US relationship should be a cornerstone, not just of Nato policy but elsewhere, it would be wise for him to reach out in a more positive manner to Mr Trump." Trump on Muslims Responding to his comments, an official spokeswoman for the Prime Minister told the Press Association: "The PM has no intention of withdrawing his comments, which were made in response to comments that Donald Trump made calling for a ban on Muslims entering the US. That was the context for the PM's comments." Donald Trump celebrated a huge victory in the latest US primary in Indiana, making it all but certain he will face off against Hillary Clinton in the general election. In his victory speech, Mr Trump declared: "Weve been losing all the time, we lose with our military, we cant beat Isis, we lose with trade, we lose with borders, we lose with everything. Were not going to lose, we are going to start winning again and were going to win bigly. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Voters should not let concerns about migration from Turkey affect their vote in the EU referendum, David Cameron has said, claiming that the countrys accession to the European Union is not remotely on the cards. Recommended Read more Higher turnout among older voters could tip Britain into Brexit Hitting back at close ally and friend Michael Gove, who claimed in a speech last week that staying in the EU would leave Britains doors open to millions of migrants from prospective members, the Prime Minister said that he did not believe Turkey would join the EU for decades. Facing questions on the referendum from MPs on the House of Commons Liaison Committee, Mr Cameron also issued a new warning over the consequences of Brexit for the City of London, claiming that the head of the London Stock Exchange had warned him 100,000 jobs could be lost in the banking and financial services sector if Britain left the EU because of changes to passport rules. If your vote in this referendum is being influenced by considerations about Turkish membership of the EU dont think about itPrime Minister, David Cameron
Appearing relaxed as he faced questions from a number of prominent Eurosceptic MPs from his own party, Mr Cameron said that his views on Europe had evolved as Prime Minister, and that he was now more convinced than he had been that the UKs membership improves security against international crime and terrorism. He said that there was a patriotic case for remaining In, and claimed he did not feel less British because of the countrys EU membership. Challenged by Labour MP Frank Field over the likely impact of Turkish accession to the EU on UK immigration, the Prime Minister said: I dont think the accession of Turkey to the EU is remotely on the cards. I dont think it will happen for decades. I think if you look at the facts, the facts are it requires unanimity of all European members, the French for instance have said they would have a referendum on it. I would say very clearly to people: if your vote in this referendum is being influenced by considerations about Turkish membership of the EU dont think about it. However, he faced new questions over the decision to allow the civil service to support the Governments public arguments for a Remain vote, as senior Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin claimed that the Government could be breaking the law by allowing pro-Remain information to remain on official websites during the pre-referendum purdah period during which government organisations are not allowed to make announcements that could be advantageous to either side. Mr Cameron suggested would be an extreme move to have the web pages taken down, but said the Government would seek its own legal advice on the matter. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The imam branded an Isis supporting extremist by David Cameron has said he is a Conservative supporter and demanded an apology. Suliman Gani denied allegations he supports Isis and said he was surprised by the Prime Minister's comments, especially because he had been invited to a Tory event encouraging Muslims to become councillors. Attempting to link Labour's mayoral candidate to extremists during Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron had said: The honourable member for Islington might be interested in this. He [Gani] describes women as subservient to men, he said that homosexuality was an unnatural act. "He stood on a platform with people who wanted an Islamic state. That is why his attempts to deal with antisemitism are utterly condemned to failure, because he wont even condemn people who sit on platforms with people like that. Watch the moment Corbyn corrects Cameron about Suliman Gani Hours after Jeremy Corbyn reminded Mr Cameron the man in question was a Conservative supporter, Mr Gani told Sky News he thought the allegations were "preposterous". The imam stressed he had never supported the terror group, saying: "I have openly condemned the barbarity and monstrosity of Isis." He also said he had no problems with homosexuality - as Mr Cameron had alleged - saying: "I have no problem with any person's personal inclination." Mr Gani also said he was a Conservative voter and had previously been invited to an event encouraging more Musilms to become Tory councillors. "I'm very surprised," he said, "I was invited to a Conservative Muslim forum, encouraging Muslims to become Councillors for the Conservative Party. "So how is it I am labelled as a person who is supporting IS? "This is really something I cannot accept. I demand a serious, immediate apology." Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Corbyn has suffered an early wobble in his first electoral test as Labour leader after his spokesman was forced to "clarify" comments in which he said he did not intend to say the party would lose no seats in the local elections. Mr Corbyn surprised MPs on Tuesday when he said at a campaign event that the party was not going to lose seats. Independent experts and internal party polling have estimated Labour could lose somewhere in the region of 100 to 150 council seats in England. Asked about the comment, Mr Corbyns spokesman said it had been misinterpreted. What he said was he would make no prediction about the number of seats [that would be] won or lost in the local elections. Were not in the business of losing seats and well be fighting to win as many as possible, he said. Challenged over the exact wording of Mr Corbyns comment, which was explicit that the party would not lose seats, the spokesman said: Im telling you what he was intending to say. While the party could lose seats in the English council elections, Mr Corbyn will be boosted if Sadiq Khan wins the London mayoralty. The Labour candidate is polling well ahead of his Conservative rival Zac Goldsmith, with an Opinium poll on Tuesday giving him a nine-point lead. However, Labour MPs are also concerned that the party could perform badly in both the Welsh and Scottish Assembly elections. London Mayoral Election: Who's who The partys electoral performance is likely to have a bearing on whether rebel Labour MPs decide to launch a leadership coup against Mr Corbyn, with reports suggesting a challenge could emerge after the EU referendum in June. What are the May 5 elections? The devolved governments the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly, Welsh Assembly, and London Assembly are all being elected. The Mayor of London is also elected, as are some local councils in England, and police and crime commissioners. English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Show all 12 1 /12 English councils to watch in the 2016 elections English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Southampton Includes symbolic parliamentary seat (Southampton Itchen). Bad sign for Labour if it loses majority, probably to No Overall Control (NOC). Result expected 3am Friday Bob Balestri English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Cannock Chase Labour could lose majority to NOC. Not counting until Friday morning (results will come from late morning onwards) English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Crawley Con target (from Lab). Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Redditch Con target (from Lab). Expected 3.30am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Dudley Con target (from Lab). Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Rossendale Con target (from Lab). Counting Friday morning English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Kirklees Lab target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Calderdale Lab target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Three Rivers Con target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Trafford Con could lose majority to NOC. Expected 3.30am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Plymouth Close fight between Lab and Con; Ukip could hold balance. Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Thurrock Ukips best shot. Expected 3am Fri Why are these elections important? The Mayor of London election is arguably the highest directly elected office in the UK with a personal mandate. Whichever party wins it not only gets to run the capital but also gains a high-profile figure. The devolved elections are important to the places they take place in because a lot of important services like health and education are devolved the Scottish, Northern Irish, and Welsh governments theyre not run from Westminster. The local elections are of course important to peoples local communities they decide who runs local councils. But more importantly for national politics, theyre often seen as a barometer of opinion mid-election cycle. Why is everyone talking about Jeremy Corbyn? Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn (Rob Stothard/Getty Images) The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is under attack by internal opponents within his own party and a bad showing in these elections could give them an opening to try and get rid of him. Will a bad showing by the Conservatives hurt David Cameron the same way? Probably not hes stepping down anyway soon, and has less organised resistance against him in his own party who would look to exploit a defeat. He has however personally associated himself with his partys campaign in London which has had to deny accusations of racism against Labours Sadiq Khan. What are the big things to watch out for? Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale (left) and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Getty Images) In Scotland, the SNP are going to come first but the battle for second place and third place between Labour and the Tories is looking very close. A third place finish for Labour in its former heartland would be humiliating and symbolic. In Wales, the question is whether Labour can hang on as a majority government or whether it will have to do a deal with another party to stay in power. They will likely come first there, however. In London, taking back the mayoralty would be a big win for Labour theyve been out since Ken Livingstone lost in 2008. How many seats Labour loses or gains in the local council elections will also be important but this is harder to interpret objectively and everyone is going to be spinning the result to try and further their interests. The Northern Ireland political system operates in a bit of a bubble so its result wont affect the UK-wide parties in any big way. If the SNP win will Scotland go independent? No, but theres a good chance the might hold another independence referendum, which they might win in future. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Corbyn, David Cameron, and Ken Livingstone will be asked to give evidence to a committee of MPs inquiry into anti-Semitism. The Home Affairs Select Committee said it would summon the politicians to give evidence, after a week in which various Labour figures were accused of anti-Semitism. Recommended Read more This is what distinguishes antisemitism from other racism Mr Livingstone himself, a former Mayor of London, was suspended by the party after bringing Adolf Hitler into a radio discussion about criticism of the state of Israel. Labour has ordered an inquiry into alleged anti-Jewism racism in the party, which will be led by independent campaigner, Shami Chakrabarti. The dates of the Home Affairs Committee hearings is yet to be set and will be subject to the politicians availability. The same committee, which is chaired by Labour MP Keith Vaz, allowed Naz Shah, a Labour MP embroiled in the row, to stand aside from her role due to her close involvement. Ms Shah has also been suspended from the Labour Party over historical social media postings referencing Jews and the possibility of relocating Israel to North America. Mr Corbyn said the issue had been dealt with by the party. The Labour leader has claimed anti-Semitism is not a huge problem in the party and that a relatively small number of people were implicated. Labour has suspended all members accused of anti-Semitism shortly after or before their comments became publicly known. The Conservatives were embroiled in a race row last week after outgoing Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, suggested that US President Barack Obamas part-Kenyan heritage meant he had an ancestral dislike of Britain. He made the intervention in a column for The Sun newspaper responding to the Presidents advice that Britain should stay in the EU, which Mr Johnson is campaigning to leave. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Jeremy Hunt and other Conservative front benchers have been scolded by the Speaker of the House of Commons for "fiddling" with their mobile phones during a debate in Parliament. John Bercow said the behaviour was "rank discourteous" when he caught the Health Secretary and his colleagues looking at their gadgets at the beginning of a discussion over NHS bursaries. Mr Bercow said: "I do very gently say that to sit on the bench... fiddling ostentatiously with an electronic device defies the established convention of the house that such devices should be used without impairing parliamentary decorum. They are impairing parliamentary decorum. "It's a point so blindingly obvious that only an extraordinarily clever and sophisticated person could fail to grasp it. When the Deputy Leader of the House Therese Coffey appeared to continue pressing buttons on her phone, Mr Bercow shouted: "Put the device away, and if you don't want to put it away, get out of the house. I'm telling her its discourteous to continue, a point most people would understand." How the Coalition carved up the NHS Show all 2 1 /2 How the Coalition carved up the NHS How the Coalition carved up the NHS Pg-22-nhs1-pa.jpg PA How the Coalition carved up the NHS Pg-22-nhs2-getty.jpg Getty Images Parliamentary legislature from 2007 states that: "Hand-held electronic devices (not laptops) may be used in the Chamber, provided that they are silent, and used in a way that does not impair decorum." Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The American political scientist who posted the diagram that triggered an antisemitism row in the Labour Party has dismissed the furore as obscene. Norman G Finkelstein, a Jewish author whose parents survived concentration camps during the Holocaust, said he published the map shared by Naz Shah on his blog in 2014. Entitled Solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict relocate Israel to into United States, it went up on his website on 4 August, the day before the future Bradford West MP shared it on her Facebook page. Ms Shah has been suspended from Labour and quit two of her posts, while comments made by Ken Livingstone in her defence sparked a new row culminating in an independent review into antisemitism in the party. Corbyn slams 'obsessed' media Mr Finkelstein said he posted the map because he found it funny, claiming that such jokes are commonplace in the US. In an interview published by Open Democracy, he called comparisons to policies introduced by Holocaust organiser Adolf Eichmann sick, saying the Facebook post could not be likened to his parents experience of Nazi transportation. What are they doing? Dont they have any respect for the dead? he said. All these desiccated Labour apparatchiks, dragging the Nazi holocaust through the mud for the sake of their petty jostling for power and position. Have they no shame? Mr Finkelstein, whose work including a book called The Holocaust Industry has met with controversy, also said Mr Livingstone was more or less accurate with his subsequent claims about Adolf Hitler. Lets remember when Hitler won his election in 1932, his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel, said the former Mayor of London, who was also suspended from the Labour Party. He was supporting Zionism this before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews. Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said Show all 14 1 /14 Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Israel and Palestine The simple fact in all of this is that Naz made these comments at a time when there was another brutal Israeli attack on the Palestinians; and theres one stark fact that virtually no one in the British media ever reports, in almost all these conflicts the death toll is usually between 60 and 100 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. Now, any other country doing that would be accused of war crimes but its like we have a double standard about the policies of the Israeli government Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Antisemitism in the Labour Party As Ive said, Ive never heard anybody say anything antisemitism-Semitic, but theres been a very well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as antisemitic. I had to put up with 35 years of this Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Naz Shah Its completely over-the-top and rude, but who am I to denounce anyone with all of that. It was wrong. I dont think she is antisemitic, it was incredibly rude but I dont believe she is an antisemite. When the NEC investigation is finished they'll say it was rude and over the top but they wont find any evidence that she actually hates Jews. Weve got to investigate all these charges and the context in which they are made. If she is antisemitic like the other three or four members weve found who are antisemitic, shell be expelled Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On other alleged antisemites in Labour That is part of the classic antisemitic thing about an international Jewish conspiracy that is the reason we need to have an investigation. Ive got an open mind. Ive seen nothing to suggest to me that she is antisemitic. I wouldnt have supported her if I [thought] she was antisemitic Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On whether what Hitler did was legal, as stated by Naz Shah Thats a statement of fact Hitler, Im sure, passed all those laws that allowed him to do that its history literally, Hitler was completely mad, he killed six million Jews. Shes not saying its legal to kill six million Jews: what they were doing in that country allowed them not just to kill six million Jews, kill all the communists, kill all the leftists like me, my father almost died when a Nazi sub sank his boat. I have no sympathy with Hitler Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On another alleged antisemite in Labour No, that is, and thats why shes been suspended or expelled. What Ive said is that in 47 years of the party in all the meetings Ive been in Ive never heard anyone say anything antisemitic. There are bound to be in a party of half a million people youll have a handful of antisemites, youll have a handful of racists. Youve managed to dig out virtually every antisemitic comment that Labour members have made out of half a million people. Ive never met any of these people. Theres not a problem. Youre talking about a handful of people in a party of half a million people. Jeremy Corbyn has moved rapidly to deal with them Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Jeremy Corbyns response to the allegations He met with Naz and she agreed she would stand down while the investigation is going on. He called her in to see her. Theres been a huge investigation of virtually everything that anybody put on the internet many of these people are quite new and recent members of the party that joined in the big influx. 300,000 new people came in Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On his meeting a man accused of antisemitism in London This is the man who called for Muslims around the world to donate blood after the attacks of 9/11 when he came to London I went with him to the Regents Park mosque where he said no man should hit a woman and you should not discriminate against homosexuals. So I cant equate what I heard him say he made no antisemitic statement while he was here in London. I dont investigate people. Ive simply said what I believe to be true which is that Naz was not antisemitic. She was completely over the top, very rude, but that does not make her an antisemite Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On John Manns comments He went completely over the top. I was actually doing a radio interview at the time that he was bellowing that Im a racist antisemite in my ear. Ive had that with John Mann before a few weeks ago screaming that I was a bigot down the phone. Im not an apologist for anyone who makes antisemitic statements. What Im saying is dont confuse antisemitism with criticism of the Israeli government policy Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On calling a Jewish journalist a concentration camp guard whilst Mayor of London I cant tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic. We won the case Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On claims about Hitler and Zionism I cant tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic. We won the case Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On John Mann Id simply say to John Mann go back and check. Is what I say true, or is it not? The BBC, youve got a huge team of researchers, it will take just an hour or two to go back and confirm. I was asked a question, I answered it. I have never in 45 years since I won my first election, I have never lied. I have always answered the question Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On raising the issue if Hitler It lays you open to people smearing and lying about you. Ive always answered the questions put to me and that simple fact is weve had a handful of people saying antisemitic things in the Labour Party, theyve been suspended, some of them are on their way to being expelled, some of them have been expelled already Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On people calling for him to be suspended All my usual critics but the simple fact is I agree with them; there is no place for antisemitism in the Labour party. For them to suggest I am antisemitic is a bit bizarre considering we worked with Jewish groups and put on exhibitions about the scale of the holocaust, we worked with Jewish groups to tackling the scale of antisemitism back in the 1970s. Ive always opposed every form of racism whether its against black people or Jews. Im going to stay in the Labour party and continue to fight against all forms of racism and discrimination as I have my entire life Analysts have said that although Hitlers government explored various transfer agreements before the Final Solution, it did not amount to supporting Zionism because the Nazis opposed the self-determination at the heart of the movement. Mr Finkelstein called comparisons between the Israeli government and Nazis gratuitous and a distraction but said politicians should not be crucified over the issue. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said the divisive author, who was banned from entering Israel for 10 years in 2008, does not represent mainstream views in the UK. He might think the map was funny but most Jews in this country think the very opposite, the groups communications officer, Simon Round, told The Independent. It might have been treated as some kind of joke but there are sensitivities there and the context is vitalits not something that sits well. Mr Finkelstein was also sceptical of Labours antisemitism inquiry, arguing that finding a working definition of the term will be impossible. The UK-based Campaign Against Antisemitism told The Independent that being anti-Zionist is antisemetic. Mr Finkelstein said Naz Shah should not have been 'crucified' for her Facebook post (PA) Zionism is the Jewish people's right to self-determination in Israel, a spokesperson said. All people have the right to self-determination, so denying that right just to Jews is antisemitic. The group said it was not antisemitic to oppose Israeli policies but cited examples of hatred directed at Jewish peopledisguised as political discourse. But the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said there was a clear difference between antisemisim and anti-Zionism, calling the latter a political ideology that could be legitimately contested. While some seek to define Zionism as the right of Jewish people to self-determination, the Zionism of the Israeli state has resulted in the denial of basic human rights to Palestinians, a spokesperson said. To confuse whether deliberately or otherwise legitimate criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism only serves to undermine the struggle against racism. Ms Shah stood down from her post on the Home Affairs Select Committee as the row continued on Tuesday. The committee is conducting the inquiry into antisemitism, which could see David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn among the prominent politicians giving evidence. CYBERSPACEShemaleYum.com, which is celebrating 20 years as a leading transsexual website, is bringing back many original models, including Wendy Williams appeared on the site between 2002 and 2009. For the 20th anniversary celebration, she shot two solos, the first of which debuted May 2. Fans will be able to see Williams return to the site she debuted on by joining ShemaleYum.com. "Wendy is certainly an icon and her red hair, Southern accent and love of being a performer are matched only be her good business acumen and excellent promotion and marketing which she's learned from so many years in the business, said Stephen, founder of ShemaleYum.com. "Wendy has her own website, DVDs, and even a Doc Johnson toy! We welcome her back to Shemale Yum. Fans can also check out Wendy at her official website WendyWilliamsXXX.com to see her in hardcore and solo action. Currently she is doing PR work for BBWCon, Trans500 and TS model Kelli Lox. You can also read her monthly blog at Shemale.com or attend one of her monthly T-Girl and Admirers Parties held every first and third Friday in Lexington, Ky., at BlueGrass Connections. Follow Wendy on Twitter @tswendywilliams and Instagram.com/tswendywilliams. Check out her website WendyWilliamsXXX.com or her party website LexingtonTGirlParties.com. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Whats being voted on? Between 100 and 200 local councils in England will hold elections, mostly so-called Metropolitan Boroughs like Birmingham and Sheffield. Some district councils are also up for election. Read our guides to the 2016 UK elections Most councils having elections will elect one third of their councilors, some will elect all of them at the same time. What are the main issues at stake? Local issues like planning, housing, parking, etc; some voters use local elections to have their say on how they think parties are doing at a national level, however. English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Show all 12 1 /12 English councils to watch in the 2016 elections English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Southampton Includes symbolic parliamentary seat (Southampton Itchen). Bad sign for Labour if it loses majority, probably to No Overall Control (NOC). Result expected 3am Friday Bob Balestri English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Cannock Chase Labour could lose majority to NOC. Not counting until Friday morning (results will come from late morning onwards) English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Crawley Con target (from Lab). Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Redditch Con target (from Lab). Expected 3.30am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Dudley Con target (from Lab). Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Rossendale Con target (from Lab). Counting Friday morning English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Kirklees Lab target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Calderdale Lab target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Three Rivers Con target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Trafford Con could lose majority to NOC. Expected 3.30am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Plymouth Close fight between Lab and Con; Ukip could hold balance. Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Thurrock Ukips best shot. Expected 3am Fri Whos going to win? The results will be a patchwork across the country; local elections like this are usually benchmarked compared to previous results and used as a barometer of how parties are doing. Labour is expected to lose seats, because it was at a polling high point last time these seats were up for elections. The partys leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested that his party may in fact gain support, however. A particularly poor result may prompt calls for Mr Corbyn to step down from his opponents within the party. Expect a huge spin session from all sides, focusing on Labours results. Most counting will begin the next day, Friday. How do the elections work? It varies by local authority, but all are elected using the First Past the Post system. Some wards have multiple councillors representing them, others have only one councillor per ward. Because only some wards are up for election in most councils the balance of power will likely subtly shift in most areas of the country rather than dramatically change. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Elections will be held across the UK on Thursday. Scotland will choose a new government, all the seats in the Welsh Assembly are up for grabs, and mayors will be elected in cities such as London and Bristol. In England, 2,743 seats in 124 local elections will be contested. Read our guides to the 2016 UK elections He we answer some questions to make your voting a little smoother: How can I vote? As the deadline for postal votes and voting by proxy has already passed youll now have to vote in person at your local polling station. When can I vote? The elections take place on Thursday 5 May and polls open at 7am. Voting closes at 10pm. Where is my polling station? To find this out, you will need to contact your local authority directly. If you've been sent a ballot paper in the post you should be able to see the address of your polling station on the front. Who are my candidates? There is no official source of information on candidates, so make sure you do some research on the candidates before heading to the polling station. You can do this by checking candidate websites and party websites. If you type in your postcode here, you'll be able to find the names of your local candidates. Staff at the polling station will give you a ballot paper listing all the candidates you can vote for. Do not write anything else (besides the cross next to the candidate you select) or your vote may not be counted. No need to rush to a stationery shop, as a pencil will be provided. If you make a mistake, tell one of the assistants theyll give you a replacement. Fold your ballot paper in half; pop it in the ballot box. Youre done! London Mayoral Election: Who's who Why are these elections important? The Mayor of London election is arguably the highest directly elected office in the UK with a personal mandate. Whichever party wins it not only gets to run the capital but also gains a high-profile figure. The devolved elections are important to the places they take place in because a lot of important services like health and education are devolved the Scottish, Northern Irish, and Welsh governments theyre not run from Westminster. The local elections are of course important to peoples local communities they decide who runs local councils. But more importantly for national politics, theyre often seen as a barometer of opinion mid-election cycle. Why is everyone talking about Jeremy Corbyn? Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn (Rob Stothard/Getty Images) The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is under attack by internal opponents within his own party and a bad showing in these elections could give them an opening to try and get rid of him. English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Show all 12 1 /12 English councils to watch in the 2016 elections English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Southampton Includes symbolic parliamentary seat (Southampton Itchen). Bad sign for Labour if it loses majority, probably to No Overall Control (NOC). Result expected 3am Friday Bob Balestri English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Cannock Chase Labour could lose majority to NOC. Not counting until Friday morning (results will come from late morning onwards) English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Crawley Con target (from Lab). Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Redditch Con target (from Lab). Expected 3.30am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Dudley Con target (from Lab). Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Rossendale Con target (from Lab). Counting Friday morning English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Kirklees Lab target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Calderdale Lab target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Three Rivers Con target (now NOC). Counting Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Trafford Con could lose majority to NOC. Expected 3.30am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Plymouth Close fight between Lab and Con; Ukip could hold balance. Expected 3am Friday English councils to watch in the 2016 elections Thurrock Ukips best shot. Expected 3am Fri Will a bad showing by the Conservatives hurt David Cameron the same way? Probably not hes stepping down anyway soon, and has less organised resistance against him in his own party who would look to exploit a defeat. He has however personally associated himself with his partys campaign in London which has had to deny accusations of racism against Labours Sadiq Khan. What are the big things to watch out for? Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale (left) and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Getty Images) In Scotland, the SNP are going to come first but the battle for second place and third place between Labour and the Tories is looking very close. A third place finish for Labour in its former heartland would be humiliating and symbolic. In Wales, the question is whether Labour can hang on as a majority government or whether it will have to do a deal with another party to stay in power. They will likely come first there, however. In London, taking back the mayoralty would be a big win for Labour theyve been out since Ken Livingstone lost in 2008. How many seats Labour loses or gains in the local council elections will also be important but this is harder to interpret objectively and everyone is going to be spinning the result to try and further their interests. The Northern Ireland political system operates in a bit of a bubble so its result wont affect the UK-wide parties in any big way. If the SNP win will Scotland go independent? No, but theres a good chance the might hold another independence referendum, which they might win in future. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Londoners will vote to choose the new Mayor of London on Thursday and it will bring an end to a contest that has been riddled with accusations of racism. The Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith has been accused of running a negative campaign, employing dog-whistling tactics against the Labour frontrunner Sadiq Khan. David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn clashed over the mayoral election in this weeks PMQs session. The Labour leader accused the Conservatives of running a smear campaign against Mr Khan with their continual reference to the Labour candidate sharing a platform with Suliman Gani, a London imam who Cameron insists is a supporter of Isis. Mr Gani has denied the allegations he supports Isis and said he was surprised by the Prime Minister's comments. In a statement, he writes: For the avoidance of any doubt, I state again that Islamic State is in no way compatible with my beliefs. I condemn IS wholeheartedly, and have done so repeatedly in public and in private since its inception. It has been revealed that Mr Gani is in fact a Conservative voter and previously been invited to an event encouraging more Muslims to be Tory councillors. Watch the moment Corbyn corrects Cameron about Suliman Gani Mr Corbyn told the Prime Minister: The gentleman concerned is actually a Conservative, so maybe he would care to think about that. 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 He might also consider that Shazia Awan, a former Conservative Parliamentary candidate, said this of the Tory mayoral campaign: Ill be voting Labour. A life-long Tory voter and ex-candidate, Im ashamed of the repulsive campaign of hate. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Whats being voted on? Londoners will vote to choose the Mayor of London, who effectively runs the capital and most of its suburbs. Read our guides to the 2016 UK elections The Mayor jointly administers the city with the local borough councils but has powers over policing, transport, planning, housing, and the local environment. Voters will also elect the London Assembly a body that scrutinises the mayors policies and holds them to account. Nastiest moments in the London mayoral election What are the main issues at stake? Sadiq Khan poses next to his new campaign poster on March 29, 2016 in London (Ben Pruchnie/Staff) (Ben Pruchnie / Staff) Most voters in London are concerned with housing, which is very expensive in the capital. Transport is also a significant concern. The Conservatives have based their campaign around claims that Labours candidate Sadiq Khan is somehow associated with extremists, but voters seem fairly disinterested in these claims. Labour has proposed a freeze for transport fares and a new city agency to help build more houses. 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 Whos going to win? Sadiq Khan has a 20-point lead over the Tories Zac Goldsmith in all polls; for Khan to lose would be a major upset. Minor parties are expected to do quite well, with the Greens hoping to maintain their third place finish from 2012 and Ukip looking to make inroads possibly gaining a member of the London Assembly. London Mayoral Election: Who's who When will we know the result? Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith visits Sidcup High Steet during his campaign tour on March 3, 2016 in Sidcup, England. (Ben Pruchnie / Staff) Counting starts on Friday morning, the votes having been cast on Thursday. Depending on how many recounts there are and how close it is, we might not know until early evening or it could be in by a late lunch. How do the elections work The London Assembly is elected using a system of proportional representation called the 'additional member system' (Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images) Voters elect the Mayor of London using a system called supplementary vote where they can make a first preference and a second preference. If a voters second preference isnt in the top two placed candidates, their second vote is activated. This system allows people to vote for a smaller party candidate without worrying that their vote might be wasted. The London Assembly is elected using a system of proportional representation called the additional member system members (AMs) are elected to represent particular part of London; but voters also have a second vote that elects AMs to represent the whole of London. The London-wide AMs are added to the result to make sure the final result is proportional to the votes cast, which helps smaller parties who dont have enough concentrated support to win a constituency. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The race for second place in the Scottish Parliament elections is on a knife-edge with less than 48 hours to go before polls close as the latest survey show Labour risks being relegated to third place. With the SNP set to dominate in Thursdays elections, the UK-wide unionist parties are battling for second position, with Kezia Dugdales party now trailing by one point. The Survation poll, conducted for Scotlands Daily Record newspaper, shows once-dominant Labour on 19 per cent in the regional list vote, with the Scottish Tories narrowly leading it on 20 per cent. Labour retains a narrow lead in the constituency vote, but because of Scotlands electoral system, the Tories would be likely to end up with more MSPs if such a result was repeated on polling day. Meanwhile Ukip, which has been hoping to make gains in other areas of the UK on Thursday appears to be in disarray north of the border. Polling two per cent below the threshold to win any seats the Eurosceptic party was described this weekend as being in all-out civil war by Alan Melville, its main candidate in Lothian. Leader David Coburn, the partys only MEP in Scotland, dismissed the warning as a lot of tosh. Some activists called for a change in leader earlier this year, but Mr Coburn has remained in post. Labour has tried to put clear red water between it and the SNP pledging to raise taxes to cancel cuts and attacking the SNPs reticence to raise the top rate of the highest earners. Ms Dugdale said her party was the only party with a plan to stop the cuts but the strategy has so far made few inroads into SNP support, with former Labour voters apparently backing the nationalist party in their hundreds of thousands. (Left to right) Scottish Green Party co-convener Patrick Harvie, Scottish Labour Party leader Kezia Dugdale, First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie (PA) The Tories have conceded that they are unlikely to win, but have pitched to Scottish voters as the party most able to provide a strong opposition to the dominant SNP. A third place result in Scotland would be a humiliation for Labour with activists long having gloated at the Tories irrelevance there since the 1980s. Though the partys troubles there started under Jim Murphy and Ed Miliband, a symbolically poor result in its old heartland could increase pressure on UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to quit and give succor to his internal enemies. Labour lost all but one of its seats in Scotland at last years UK general election; the Tories and Liberal Democrats also have one each. The other big winners on Thursday could be the Scottish Greens, who polls suggest are on course to triple or even better their number of MSPs, currently at two. Some SNP voters are reportedly lending their regional list votes to the Greens in order to maximise the number of pro-independence MSPs in the Scottish Parliament. The approach would work because parties that sweep the board in the constituency vote as the SNP is likely to do not tend to receive top-up seats on the regional list vote no matter what they score. SNP MPs have criticised the tactic however, and launched a social media campaign for their supporters to make #bothvotesSNP. The Survation phone poll has top-line list figures of SNP 43 per cent, Conservatives 20 per cent, Labour 19 per cent, Greens 7 per cent, Liberal Democrats 6 per cent, and Ukip 2 per cent. At the constituency level the SNP are on 49 per cent, Labour are on 21 per cent, the Tories are on 19 per cent and the Liberal Democrats are on 7 per cent. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Tony Blair has said there is no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party as the furore continues to rage following the suspension of Naz Shah, Ken Livingstone and several local councillors. The former Prime Minister praised Jeremy Corbyns decision to set up an inquiry into the issue and introduce a new code of conduct. I know I speak for the overwhelming majority of Labour Party members when I say theres absolutely no place for antisemitism in our party, Mr Blair told Bloomberg during an interview in Los Angeles. Corbyn on Livingstone remarks On the contrary, we have always been strong and powerful campaigners against that type of prejudice and that sort of poison. Its been a difficult time but well have this inquiry take its course and Im sure it will come out with some very strong conclusions. Mr Blair was made the chairman of the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation last year, which combats antisemitism, racism and extremism. His successor insisted there was no crisis within the Labour Party last week, amid outrage over Mr Livingstones claim that Adolf Hitler supported Zionism. Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said Show all 14 1 /14 Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Israel and Palestine The simple fact in all of this is that Naz made these comments at a time when there was another brutal Israeli attack on the Palestinians; and theres one stark fact that virtually no one in the British media ever reports, in almost all these conflicts the death toll is usually between 60 and 100 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. Now, any other country doing that would be accused of war crimes but its like we have a double standard about the policies of the Israeli government Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Antisemitism in the Labour Party As Ive said, Ive never heard anybody say anything antisemitism-Semitic, but theres been a very well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as antisemitic. I had to put up with 35 years of this Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Naz Shah Its completely over-the-top and rude, but who am I to denounce anyone with all of that. It was wrong. I dont think she is antisemitic, it was incredibly rude but I dont believe she is an antisemite. When the NEC investigation is finished they'll say it was rude and over the top but they wont find any evidence that she actually hates Jews. Weve got to investigate all these charges and the context in which they are made. If she is antisemitic like the other three or four members weve found who are antisemitic, shell be expelled Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On other alleged antisemites in Labour That is part of the classic antisemitic thing about an international Jewish conspiracy that is the reason we need to have an investigation. Ive got an open mind. Ive seen nothing to suggest to me that she is antisemitic. I wouldnt have supported her if I [thought] she was antisemitic Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On whether what Hitler did was legal, as stated by Naz Shah Thats a statement of fact Hitler, Im sure, passed all those laws that allowed him to do that its history literally, Hitler was completely mad, he killed six million Jews. Shes not saying its legal to kill six million Jews: what they were doing in that country allowed them not just to kill six million Jews, kill all the communists, kill all the leftists like me, my father almost died when a Nazi sub sank his boat. I have no sympathy with Hitler Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On another alleged antisemite in Labour No, that is, and thats why shes been suspended or expelled. What Ive said is that in 47 years of the party in all the meetings Ive been in Ive never heard anyone say anything antisemitic. There are bound to be in a party of half a million people youll have a handful of antisemites, youll have a handful of racists. Youve managed to dig out virtually every antisemitic comment that Labour members have made out of half a million people. Ive never met any of these people. Theres not a problem. Youre talking about a handful of people in a party of half a million people. Jeremy Corbyn has moved rapidly to deal with them Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Jeremy Corbyns response to the allegations He met with Naz and she agreed she would stand down while the investigation is going on. He called her in to see her. Theres been a huge investigation of virtually everything that anybody put on the internet many of these people are quite new and recent members of the party that joined in the big influx. 300,000 new people came in Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On his meeting a man accused of antisemitism in London This is the man who called for Muslims around the world to donate blood after the attacks of 9/11 when he came to London I went with him to the Regents Park mosque where he said no man should hit a woman and you should not discriminate against homosexuals. So I cant equate what I heard him say he made no antisemitic statement while he was here in London. I dont investigate people. Ive simply said what I believe to be true which is that Naz was not antisemitic. She was completely over the top, very rude, but that does not make her an antisemite Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On John Manns comments He went completely over the top. I was actually doing a radio interview at the time that he was bellowing that Im a racist antisemite in my ear. Ive had that with John Mann before a few weeks ago screaming that I was a bigot down the phone. Im not an apologist for anyone who makes antisemitic statements. What Im saying is dont confuse antisemitism with criticism of the Israeli government policy Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On calling a Jewish journalist a concentration camp guard whilst Mayor of London I cant tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic. We won the case Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On claims about Hitler and Zionism I cant tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic. We won the case Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On John Mann Id simply say to John Mann go back and check. Is what I say true, or is it not? The BBC, youve got a huge team of researchers, it will take just an hour or two to go back and confirm. I was asked a question, I answered it. I have never in 45 years since I won my first election, I have never lied. I have always answered the question Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On raising the issue if Hitler It lays you open to people smearing and lying about you. Ive always answered the questions put to me and that simple fact is weve had a handful of people saying antisemitic things in the Labour Party, theyve been suspended, some of them are on their way to being expelled, some of them have been expelled already Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On people calling for him to be suspended All my usual critics but the simple fact is I agree with them; there is no place for antisemitism in the Labour party. For them to suggest I am antisemitic is a bit bizarre considering we worked with Jewish groups and put on exhibitions about the scale of the holocaust, we worked with Jewish groups to tackling the scale of antisemitism back in the 1970s. Ive always opposed every form of racism whether its against black people or Jews. Im going to stay in the Labour party and continue to fight against all forms of racism and discrimination as I have my entire life The former Mayor of London was defending Ms Shah, the MP for Bradford West, after she was suspended over a Facebook post she shared in 2014 showing Israel being relocated to the US. Ms Shah stood down from her post on the Home Affairs Select Committee as the row continued on Tuesday. The committee is conducting a separate inquiry into antisemitism in the UK, which could see David Cameron and Mr Corbyn among the prominent politicians giving evidence. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Whats being voted on? Voters in Wales will elect the Welsh Assembly, which decides the composition of the Welsh Government a devolved administration with powers over health, education, local government, and other areas of policy in Wales. Read our guides to the 2016 UK elections What are the main issues at stake? Sajid Javid speaks with steelworkers at Tata Steel's steel plant in Port Talbot on April 1, 2016. (AFP/Stringer) (AFP / Stringer) The election takes place while thousands of steel jobs at Port Talbot are hanging in the balance; Labour has backed nationalisation of the plant to save it from closure. Plaid Cymru, who support Welsh independence, are also calling for a referendum on further powers for the Assembly. Whos going to win? Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones outside Downing Street ( Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images) (AFP/Getty) Labour are almost certainly going to come first, the question is whether they retain their very narrow majority in the Assembly. If they cant they will have to form a coalition or do a deal, probably with the Liberal Democrats or Plaid Cymru. Polls are currently inconclusive and the result could go either way. When will we know the result? The votes will be counted overnight and the winner will become apparent in the early hours of the morning, depending on recounts and other delays. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 Britain's former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Conservative MP, Rishi Sunak leaves from an office in central London AFP/Getty 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 How do the elections work? The Welsh Assembly elected using a system of proportional representation called the additional member system members (AMs) are elected to represent constituencies in Wales; but voters also have a second vote that elects AMs to represent larger regions. The regional AMs are added to the result to make sure the final result is proportional to the votes cast, which helps smaller parties who dont have enough concentrated support to win a constituency. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britain will take in lone child refugees from Europe, David Cameron has said, in a major reversal of Government policy that charities said should enable thousands of vulnerable young people to escape poverty and exploitation on the Continent. Downing Street said the Government would consult with local councils to determine how many children could be resettled. Refugee children who registered in Greece, Italy, and France prior to March 20th will be eligible for the scheme. The cut-off point coincides with the EU-Turkey deal to return refugees arriving in the EU, and would ensure that the new policy is consistent with the Governments determination not to provide a perverse incentive for refugees from the Middle East and North Africa to risk journeys to Europe, officials said. While the Government said it would not set numbers, Save the Children, the charity that has led calls for the UK to take in unaccompanied children, and which will work with the Government in implementing the plan, said that the lifeline should allow thousands of lone, vulnerable children to come to the UK. The first children granted sanctuary under the scheme are set to arrive before the end of this year. The U-turn by the Government comes after months of pressure from charities and MPs over the issue. Britain has already committed to taking in 20,000 refugees living in refugee camps in the Middle East, as well as 3,000 vulnerable children who will be resettled from the region, and from North Africa. But Mr Cameron had, till now, resisted calls from opposition parties and many of his own MPs to extend the offer of UK sanctuary to unaccompanied refugee children already in Europe. No country has done more than Britain when it comes to help for Syrian refugees, he told MPs. We are going to do more for children who were already registered in Europe before the EU-Turkey deal. But we must stick to the principle that we shouldnt be encouraging people to make that perilous journey. Thats been the cornerstone of our policy and that should remain the case. 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 Government had been facing defeat in a House of Commons vote next week on the issue. Around 30 Conservative MPs were planning to back an amendment tabled by Lord Dubs who was himself one of 10,000 Kindertransport refugees who fled the Nazis in the 1930s which would have committed the Government to accepting lone minors from Europe. Downing Street said the Government would now be backing the Dubs amendment. Lord Dubs welcomed the decision, and urged the Prime Minister to move swiftly to ensure the Home Office works closely with local authorities to find foster families to give these young people a stable and secure home. Tanya Steele, chief executive of Save the Children, said the announcement echoes Britains proud history of offering safety at times of great crisis. Refugee children, many of whom have fled war and persecution and have made dangerous journeys to Europe alone are now living on the streets, in overcrowded camps or locked in police detention, she said. The Prime Minister has today offered a lifeline to these vulnerable children and we will work with the government and the UN to ensure that these commitments are rapidly implemented so that thousands of lone, vulnerable children can reach safety in the UK in the coming months. However, the Refugee Council was more critical. Its head of advocacy Dr Lisa Doyle said the plan would offer limited chances to lone children. Charities want to see the Government reconsider its policy of denying sanctuary to child refugees who have arrived in Europe after the March 20th cut-off point. Rates of arrival remain high despite the EU-Turkey deal, with Save the Children figures indicating that in one week in April, 633 unaccompanied refugee children arrived in Italy alone. The Local Government Association said councils stood ready to help, but called on the Government to clarify long-term funding arrangements and provide more detail for how the scheme would operate nationally. Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, who first raised the issue of unaccompanied child refugees with the Prime Minister in October last year, said the announcement was a victory, but not the end of the story. The detail remains to be seen, he said. Tens or hundreds simply wont be good enough and would be a betrayal of the British public and Parliament...The Government must also ensure that local authorities are properly funded so that they can help these traumatised children rebuild their lives and achieve their full potential. Yvette Cooper, chair of Labours Refugee Taskforce also called for more detail on the plan. "The Prime Minister should not try to fudge this, she said. He was wrong to claim last week that child refugees alone in Europe don't need help, so I hope he will be clear about that now and set out what the Government will do next. That way everyone can welcome the Government's action and come together to support child refugees. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} President Barack Obama addressed the people of Flint in his first visit to the Michigan city since news of the contaminated water supply broke out. Calling the water crisis in Flint "avoidable" and "preventable," Mr Obama said that the contamination "should not have happened in the first place" in a speech delivered at Northwestern High School. He spoke to the importance of investing in infrastructure - like citywide water systems and bridges - that ensure the safety of an entire town. "Part of what contributed to this crisis was a broader mindset a bigger attitude - a corrosive attitude - that exists in our politics that eixsts in too many levels of our government," he said. "And its a mindset that believes that less government is the highest good, no matter what. Its a mindset that says environmental rules designed to keep your water clean or your air clean are optional." "I hear you, I see you and ... I've got your back." In a press conference after his arrival, Mr Obama drank filtered water from a Flint to show residents that it is safe to drink following the years-long contamination. After he was briefed on the federal response to the water crisis, a reporter asked Mr Obama if he would drink the glass of water that was on the table in front of him, the Associated Press reports. This used a filter, Mr Obama said, holding the glass of water. The water around this table was Flint water and it just confirms what we know scientifically, which is, if you're using a filter, if you're installing it, then Flint water at this point is drinkable. The president landed in Flint Wednesday afternoon, on his first visit to the city since it was revealed that the water supply had been contaminated with lead and other chemicals. Michigan Gov Rick Snyder greeted Mr Obama on the tarmac of Bishop International Airport, as the president planned to tour the city and speak with residents. Earlier that day, Flint residents protested outside of the high school demanding that he declare Flint a disaster area. The White House announced the visit after Mr Obama responded to a letter from an 8-year-old activist, Mari Copena, commonly known as Little Miss Flint. I am one of the children that is effected (sic) by this water, and Ive been doing my best to march in protest and to speak out for all the kids that live here in Flint, she wrote. She added that she would like to meet the President and First Lady during a trip to Washington to watch the congressional hearing of Michigan Gov Rick Snyder. Mr Obama announced the Wednesday visit in his reply to Mari. I want to make sure people like you and your family are receiving the help you need and deserve, he wrote. Like you, I'll use my voice to call for change and help lift up your community. The contamination occurred after Flint witched its water supply from Detroit to the untreated Flint River in April 2014 as a move to save the city money. The water leached lead from old pipes, taking it to the sinks and showers of Flint homes. The revelation led to a criminal investigation that resulted in the indictment of three officials. Members of Congress have called for the resignation of Mr Snyder, who alleged in a hearing that he was made aware of the toxic water at least a year before it was made public. Mr Snyder has been urging Flint residents to begin drinking from their taps again, assuring them that new filters have made the water safer. To prove his point, he announced he would only drink water from Flint residencies for a 30 day period. Mr Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint in January, opening up federal resources to assist local relief efforts. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Cinco de Mayo the Spanish translation of May 5th - is not the celebration of Mexican independence as many people believe. In fact, Cinco de Mayo is an annual celebration of the unexpected victory of the Battle of Puebla by the Mexican Republic. The battle took place on 5 May 1862, between a powerful French army (who were chasing unpaid debts) allied to conservative Mexican nobles and a liberal, republican Mexican force. The 6,000-strong French forces outnumbered the poorly equipped Mexican army of just 2,000 troops. Despite this, the native forces won a decisive victory, killing more than 400 French troops. Despite the republicans losing the rest of the conflict, with the French eventually withdrawing from Mexico, the Battle of Puebla came to represent courage and bravery against the odds and became a source of pride. 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. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The Cinco de Mayo victory is primarily marked regionally in Mexico and is mainly only commemorated in Puebla state. However, the occasion is a well-known holiday in the US, celebrating American-Mexican relations. However, this has led to confusion for some Mexican immigrants north of the border. The first time I heard about Cinco de Mayo was in elementary school [in the US], when the teachers began talking about this holiday and teaching more about Hispanic culture. We [Mexican students] didnt even know what they were talking about, Jose Alamillo, professor of Chicano studies at California State University, told Atlanta news outlet AJC. However, the commercialisation of the holiday in the US has led to a rather unfortunate nickname. Before, it was a small celebration, and it was not focused on selling beer, said Mr Alamillo. Now, instead of Cinco de Mayo, they call it Drinko de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by Mexican-America citizens in the US with festivals, street parties, food, music and folk dancing. However, the American commercial instinct is not the only for its popularity in the US. General Ignacio Zaragosa, who led the Mexican forces to victory, was born in Texas when it was still Mexican territory. He is therefore considered by some to be the first Mexican-American hero. ALEXANDRIA, VAThe Woodhull Freedom Foundation announces the funding of a scholarship from sponsor Smitten Kitten for one person to attend the 2016 Sexual Freedom Summit. Held August 47 at the Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia, the Summit is the one conference focused on sexual freedom as a fundamental human right in the US. Were grateful to Smitten Kitten for offering this fabulous scholarship opportunity to bring a new voice to the Summit, said Ricci Levy, President and CEO of The Woodhull Freedom Foundation. Its thanks to sponsors like Smitten Kitten that sexual freedom advocates are able to attend the Summit, when they may have otherwise not been able to, and then share what they have discussed and learned out into the worldall part of our goal to help create positive change. Smitten Kitten will be awarding a scholarship totaling $728, consisting of: Woodhull Sexual Freedom Conference Registration for one ($195) Travel stipend ($200) The cash equivalent of a three-night stay at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center at the conference rate ($333.00) Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Smitten Kitten is a sex positive, education focused sex toy store, where everyone is welcome. For more information, visit SmittenKittenOnline.com. Sex positive doesnt just mean were really enthusiastic about sex, noted Jennifer Pritchett, owner of Smitten Kitten. It means that we work to promote an inclusive, shame-free environment, where its okay to talk about all kinds of consensual sex. Peoples pleasure, consent, and physical and mental health are whats most important when it comes to sexuality. Continued Pritchett, Were also deeply committed to consumer advocacy in the sex toy industry. In 2005, we founded badvibes.org, an organization dedicated to demystifying the adult sex toy industry and positively transforming socially irresponsible, environmentally and personally hazardous sex toy manufacturing and sex toy sales practices. Our most recent project involves research around personal lubricants, their ingredients, and investigation of FDA regulations that limit the sale of body-safe lubes, while making potentially harmful lubes easily accessible. The Smitten Kitten scholarship will be provided to a person who is not otherwise eligible for conference expense reimbursement through their current employer, organizational affiliation, or university, and for whom the cost to attend would be prohibitively high. Priority will be given to candidates with intersecting and marginalized identities, especially people of color. The deadline for applications for the Smitten Kitten Scholarship is May 15, 2016. To apply, click here. The Scholarship Award Recipient will be notified the week of June 1, 2016. Now in its seventh year, the focus of the Sexual Freedom Summit is the goal of the sexual freedom movement: global recognition of our fundamental human right to sexual freedom. The Summit is for everyone interested in sexual freedom, from activists, educators, students, attorneys, and clinicians, to people who are simply curious about how to make the world a freer place for all. From gender expression to reproductive justice, LGBT rights to polyamory, sex work to spirituality, and much more, the Summit welcomes attendees to bring ideas and concerns to the table, all within a human rights framework. The four-day schedule of institutes and workshops, roundtable discussions and sessions cover a gamut of topics, ranging from geriatric sexuality, abuse, sex education, religion, gender identities, mental health, condom use, policy trends, intellectual and developmental disabilities, consent, sex work, and more. For more information on Woodhulls Sexual Freedom Summit, visit SexualFreedomSummit.org, or follow the Summit on Twitter and on Facebook. Those following the conversation on Twitter may do so by using the hashtag #SFS16. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A man who was recently fired returned to his former workplace on Wednesday, fatally shooting one person and injuring two others, before turning the gun on himself and taking his own life. The Harris County Sheriffs Office said that two people died, and one of the two persons injured was a police officer, who was hospitalized due to a knee injury. Police have not released the names of those injured in the shooting. Gunshots rang out at 8:43am local time, deputies responded to reports of an active shooter at Knight Transportation in Katy, a suburb 30 miles west of Houston. The gunman was fired from the trucking company several weeks ago and returned to the scene with a shotgun and handgun and opened fire on multiple employees. Yall ruined my life, the shooter yelled out, before shooting his former supervisor, then himself. Other than he was terminated, we don't know anything about him, Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman told reporters. He parked right outside the building and came right in. Sheriff Hickman added that only the shotgun was fired during the shooting. "This was the action of a lone former employee, who also died as a result of todays events," Knight Transportation said in a statement. "One other employee was confirmed to have injuries, and was treated at the scene and released. According to the company website, the Phoenix-based Knight Transportation is one of the largest trucking companies in the country with more than 5,000 employees in 20 states. Franz Elementary and Morton Ranch High School, both located across the street from the business, went on a precautionary lockdown for nearly an hour after the gunman was reported. One Katy resident, who lives near the trucking company, shared images with KPRC that showed bullet holes in the windows of the Knight Transportation building. Texas Congressman Michael McCaul offered his condolences on Twitter. Praying for Katy right now. Thanks to the [Harris County Sheriff's Office] for the quick actions and response to the shooting. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A safe haven baby box facility allowing parents to anonymously drop-off unwanted new born babies has been introduced in Indiana. The box is accessed from the exterior of the Woodburn Volunteer Fire Department building by the parent and is padded with climate control inside. Emergency staff are notified when a baby is placed in the box via a security system and can get to the infant within minutes. Knights of Columbus, the worlds largest Catholic fraternal organisation, will pay for the first 100 baby boxes. Each box costs between $1,500 (1,030) and $2,000 (1,400). Monica Kelsey, founder of the Safe Haven Baby Boxes and an advocate for baby boxes in Indiana for a number of years, said the scheme is benificial as some people want total anonymity and yet know the baby is safe. This is not criminal, Ms Kelsey said. This is legal. We dont want to push women away. But critics of the baby boxes say it makes it easier to surrender child without considering other options, which can deprive parents of medical care if they need it. Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty A second box opened on Thursday in Michigan City. State Representative, Casey Cox, has supported the concept of baby boxes in Indiana and has been working with lawmakers and Governor Mike Pences administration on safety protocols. All 50 states and the District of Colombia have safe haven laws, which allow unharmed new-borns to be surrendered without fear of prosecution. Indianas law allows parents to drop off new-borns younger than 30 days old at police stations, fire stations and hospitals. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} NEW YORK President Barack Obama is preparing to name New Yorks Stonewall Inn a national monument, the first honoring gay rights in US history. The president is expected to take action next month, The Washington Post reports, as Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, National Park Service Director Jonathan B Jarvis and New York Democrat Representative Jerrold Nadler will hold a listening session on May 9 to solicit feedback for the proposed monument. Next month is recognized as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month in the states. Stonewall became an iconic location for LGBT rights after police raided the Greenwich Village tavern in 1969, prompting employees and customers to fight back against the routine harassment from New York Police Department officers. Brian Sullivan, a 57-year-old former bartender at the tavern, said he witnessed the police raids, as well as iconic speeches from drag queen Marsha Johnson. Stonewall deserves to be remembered, Sullivan told The New York Times. When I started coming here, gay people were disowned by their families, so this is the place where we formed a new gay family of our own. This is the mecca; its where it all started, he added. Cellll-e-brate good times, come on! #stonewallin #newyork #lovewins #ding A photo posted by everettjohn (@everettjohn) on Jun 26, 2015 at 7:43pm PDT The national monument may include Christopher Park, a small area surrounding the Mahattan bar. Stonewall Inn was also given landmark status by the city of New York last year. LGBT groups applauded the upcoming announcement and the history the monument would represent. At a dark time in our nations history when LGBT Americans were targeted, marginalized, and oppressed by almost all of society just because of who they were, the brave individuals who stood up at Stonewall and said enough is enough sparked a movement to end unfair and unjust discrimination against LGBT people one that were unfortunately still fighting today, David Stacy, governor affairs director at the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement. A Stonewall National Monument would pay tribute to the bravery that has made possible the pro-equality achievements we enjoy today, help tell their incredibly important stories, and continue to inspire fair-minded Americans across this country to stand up for equality. Ian Thompson, a legislative representative with the American Civil Liberties Union, also welcomed the President Obama's proposal. This would certainly be a welcome step, and a powerful way to permanently memorialize a landmark in the long struggle for basic dignity and equality for LGBT people," Thompson said. "Our focus at the ACLU remains on working to make the most of the time President Obama has remaining in office to, for example, protect the rights of transgender students to use bathrooms that reflect who they are and to make clear that existing federal laws that ban discrimination based on sex also protect LGBT people. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Yet again, Bernie Sanders has vastly outperformed expectations and yet again, cold hard maths makes it all but impossible for him to become the Democratic presidential nominee. The Vermont Senator overcame a seven-point poll deficit to beat Hillary Clinton in the Indiana primary last night, by a margin of more than five points. But while his victory in the Hoosier State should provide the necessary momentum to propel his campaign as far as the California primary on 7 June, it was insufficient to significantly diminish Ms Clintons commanding delegate lead. Before the Indiana vote, the former Secretary of State was more than 320 pledged delegates ahead of her rival, with the deficit rising to more than 800 after factoring in the Democratic Partys so-called super-delegates. Indianas 92 Democratic delegates will be distributed proportionally between the candidates, such that the arithmetic remains largely unchanged. Speaking in Louisville, Kentucky as the Indiana results rolled in, Mr Sanders reminded supporters once again that he had begun his campaign at least 60 points behind Ms Clinton in national polls. He has subsequently won some nine million votes and 18 primaries and caucuses including Indiana. We end up winning the vote of people 45 years of age or younger, he said. That is important because it tells me that the ideas that we are fighting for are the ideas for the future of America and the future of the Democratic Party. In an interview earlier yesterday, Ms Clinton said she was focused on moving into the general election. Promising to unify Democrats for the coming battle against Donald Trump, she told MSNBC, were going to have a tough campaign against a candidate who will literally say or do anything. And were going to take him on at every turn on whats really important to the people of our country. 'Now We Are Winning' - Sanders Marks Pivotal Moment in Campaign Mr Sanders has continued to argue that Ms Clinton cannot reach the necessary 2,383 majority to claim the nomination with pledged delegates alone, and that he could potentially flip super-delegates to his side at a contested Democratic convention. Despite laying off hundreds of campaign staff last week, he has vowed to pour the majority of his remaining resources into California. Ms Clinton is due to campaign in the Golden State later this week, where she is around 10 points ahead in recent polls. A closer race there would add weight to Mr Sanderss attempts to influence the Democratic party agenda. In recent days, he has shifted his focus from Ms Clinton to, in his words, [putting] together the strongest progressive agenda any political party has ever seen. Indiana provided favourable conditions for the Sanders campaign, which reportedly spent some $1.8m (1.2m) on advertising in the state, while Ms Clinton spent almost nothing. Indiana voters are overwhelmingly white, and the states open primary system permits independents to cast a ballot in the Democratic presidential contest. Mr Sanders has consistently outperformed the frontrunner among both white and independent voters. The California primary will also be open to independents. Latinos, who in previous states have split almost evenly in their support for the two Democratic hopefuls, outnumber non-Hispanic whites in the Golden State. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Get ready. America is bracing itself for what may well be one the ugliest, most unpleasant presidential elections in history. In addition to his populist appeal, Donald Trump defeated his Republican rivals by a mixture of attacks and personal slights, by employing nicknames that stuck and looking for vulnerabilities that he could cruelly expose. Her termed Ted Cruz Lyin' Ted, he dismissed former Florida Governor Jeb Bush as low energy, and mocked Senator Marco Rubio for constantly sweating. This past weekend, he continued to poke fun at his sole remaining rival, Ohio Governor John Kasich, by attacking his eating habits. Recommended Read more Trump set for showdown with Clinton as Cruz drops out Two words best describe what's coming: scorched earth, Larry Sabato, Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, told The Independent. Both candidates have unfavourable ratings so high that the obvious tactic will be to destroy the opponent. Both may succeed, though one has to win - absent a surprising, unifying independent entry. Anyone looking for a flavour of just how unpleasant the 2016 showdown - all but certainly a battle between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton - will be, need look no further than last December as the two candidates were campaigning ahead of the Iowa primary. First, Mr Trump claimed the former secretary of state had got schlonged when she lost to Barack Obama in 2008. Ms Clinton then hit back, saying Mr Trump had a penchant for sexism. 10 of the scariest things Donald Trump has ever said The abrasive tycoon then took it to another level when he brought up some of the more notorious aspects of Bill Clintons personal behaviour while he was both president and governor of Arkansas. Mr Trump later bragged that he had silenced the Clinton campaign by targeting her husband. For the last week shes been hitting me really hard with the women card and I had to say, 'OK thats enough'. And we did a strong number, he said. He later added: You look at whether its Monica Lewinsky or Paula Jones or many of themthere were certainly a lot of abuse of women, he said, referring to Mr Clintons affair with then-White House intern Ms Lewinsky and various allegations of sexual misconduct that riddled his presidency. With an eye to the general election, Mr Trump has already started attacking Ms Clinton. After suggesting to a crowd that he start calling her Incompetent Hillary, he instead spelled for Crooked Hillary, a name that he can use to raise the issue her use of a personal email server, something that is still being investigated by the FBI, as well as allude to the many controversies surrounding the Clintons, from the Whitewater incident to donations from foreign government to the Clinton Foundation. Mr Trump will also raise questions about Ms Clintons physical ability to serve as president (last month he suggested she had little stamina), and given that most of his supporters are men, the tycoon will likely also question whether a woman is up to the job, something that will also turn many people off him. Trump has proven he will say absolutely anything. No proof required, said Mr Sabato. Yet Mr Trump had better expect to prepare to receive some attacks himself. Reports have suggested that Ms Clinton will avoid going overly negative herself in order to seek to retain a more positive, presidential image. But she will use surrogates or other senior Democrats to attack Mr Trump and raise questions about his temperament, his lack of experience and his own controversies. There is plenty to get into. Those looking to go negative on Mr Trump would be able to examine his failed businesses, including a series of casinos in Atlantic City and his failed Trump University, which is currently the subject of at least one lawsuit. Mr Trump will also be attacked over the controversial comments has made about women, Muslims and immigrants from Central America. One area Ms Clinton will take personal aim at Mr Trump is over his lack of readiness for the job. Indeed, in an interview this week with MSNBC, she said that raising questions about Mr Trumps suitability for the White House will be a big part of my campaign. Weve seen lots of rhetoric, weve seen lots of insults. He has given no indication that he understands the gravity of the responsibilities that go with being commander-in-chief, she said. She added: Were going to have a tough campaign against a candidate who will literally say or do anything. And were going to take him on at every turn on whats really important to the people of our country. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} John Kasich has called it quits. After trailing by nearly 900 delegates in the Republican race, and only winning his home state, the Ohio governor has suspended his presidential campaign. Kasich addressed the media on Wednesday night. I have always said that the Lord has a purpose for me as he has for everyone, Kasich told reporters in Columbus, Ohio. And as I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith, deeper faith, that the Lord will show me the way forward, and fulfill the purpose of my life. Recommended Read more Mutiny simmers as Donald Trump takes Republican crown Donald Trump has all but sealed the Republican nomination after a decisive win at the Indiana primary that first pushed Ted Cruz out of the race on Tuesday. After Cruz made his own exit, seeing no path to victory, Kasich said the Texas Senator should be "proud of his disciplined campaign." Earlier in the day, Kasich tweeted a message for Star Wars Day, saying that he is America's "only hope" against Trump and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. Reince Priebus, the Republican National Committee chairman, declared Trump the "presumptive nominee" on Twitter, adding that Republicans "must unite and focus on defeating Hillary Clinton." Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} It was the day when, in the unvarnished words of Donald Trump, that Ted Cruz went wacko. It ended with the Texas senator finally admitting he no longer had a viable chance to securing the partys nomination and ending his campaign. At his election night rally, the televisions had been turned off. Had he left them on, they would have shown that with more than 60 per cent of the polls having been counted, Mr Trump was on 53 points, with the Texas senator on just 37. John Kasich trailed in third place on eight points. Thank you to each of you who have fought so hard to save our nation, he said to supporters gathered at a hotel ballroom in Indianapolis. Ted Cruz announces he is ending his bid for the Republican presidential nomination after defeat in Indiana (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Americans are desperate for change. I said Id stay in as long as there was a viable chance to victory. Tonight, Im sorry to say, there is not. On Tuesday morning, as he attended a final election rally in Evansville, an angst-looking Mr Cruz was unable to contain his rage about Mr Trumps latest, colourful swipe at him. The tycoon had repeated a tabloid magazine claim that Mr Cruzs father was somehow involved in the assassination of President John F Kennedy. Mr Trump, the Texas senator railed, was utterly amoral, a narcissist, a pathological liar and a serial philanderer. It was hard not to feel a degree of sympathy for Mr Cruz, a devout Christian who had hoped the states social conservatives could save his campaign. But, however correct he was to feel angry about the latest attack on him and his family, it was also clear that some of that anger came from the realisation that he was trailing Mr Trump and that his dream of securing the nomination was poised to be torn apart. Both Mr Trump and Mr Cruz has acknowledged the crucial importance of the state; just last week Mr Cruz wrote to voters saying that if Mr Trump won Indiana and its 57 delegates, he would be on his way to seeking the Republican nomination. Mr Trump was even blunter. If we win in Indiana, its all over, he boasted to supporters. No one could have criticised Mr Cruz for a lack of effort. He travelled all over the state and took his message to people relentlessly. He was supported by his wife, Heidi Cruz, and his recently-minted running mate, Carly Fiorina. But in the end, Mr Cruzs determination to campaign as a religious and social conservative and an non-establishment candidate, was insufficient to overcome the whirlwind of support and momentum that Mr Trump has managed to gather around him. At times, it appeared he believed that just by persuading people of his integrity and decency that it would be sufficient to win their vote. It was not, or at least not in enough cases. Among his supporters at Tuesday nights rally, there was sadness and anger. Vicky Vaughan said that for the first time, she was now considering not voting in the presidential election, so determined she was not to vote for Mr Trump. I dont have any respect for a man who swears like that, she said of Mr Tump. Mr Cruz came out to speak about ninety minutes after the television networks had called the race for the man with whom he had been engaged in a bitter and at times toxic battle. We gave it everything we got. But voters decided differently, he said. It is with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the future of out nation, that we are suspending our campaign. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump was the runaway winner in the Indiana primary, as expected. Polls, and the demographics of the state, had suggested as much. And as usual during this election, theyve been proven right. Less than three weeks ago, Mr Trumps odds had fallen to 55 per cent. Now, he is as likely to be the Republican nominee as Hillary Clinton is to be the Democratic nominee, with both a 98 per cent favourite in the betting markets. But the question remains: will he actually become President? Now that hes wrapped up the nomination, his chances of being Americas next president have shot up from 17 per cent to 29 per cent. But that still makes Hillary Clinton a 69 per cent favourite (Mr Sanders or some other Republican both have a 1 per cent chance). Trump has ways to catch up. That means Ms Clinton begins this six-month race more favoured than any other candidate in modern history: more than Mr Obama ever was against John McCain in 2008 or Mitt Romney in 2012, or George Bush was against Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004. Ms Clinton leads Mr Trump by 7-8 points in the 40 or so hypothetical general election polls published in the past six weeks. If she won by such a margin her victory would be at least as convincing as Mr Obama's in 2008. Donald Trump: What are his actual policies? Yet a Donald Trump presidency is still a real possibility. A 3-in-10 chance is 1,450 times more likely than Leicester were to win the league this year - and we all know what happened there. And those percentages will change rapidly if the national polls start to change, or if Mr Trump proves formidable in swing states like Florida where he performed very strongly in the Republican primary and across the Rust Belt in places like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, where white and working-class voters may swing behind him. Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY We just dont know yet. The next six months are set to become one of the most contentious and aggressive political campaigns in history, between two figures who have each been in the limelight for more than 40 years. The primaries will drag on for another month (see here for an explanation of why Mr Trump has won, even though hes still short of the 1237 delegates he needs), with California and a few other states effectively wrapping up each race on June 7. Trump won tonight, as he did last week and the week before. Then the race will turn quiet in so far as a Mr Trump V Ms Clinton race ever could until the conventions in late July, which now look increasingly unlikely to be contested. Attention will be focused on who each candidate chooses to be their running mate, with Mr Trump purportedly short of options. Both will also try and unite their party, and ensure Mr Cruz or Mr Sanders supporters back them in the general election. August could see fierce protests across the US as Mr Trump holds rallies that will surely be even larger and more fractious than those so far. And in September and October the race reaches its final stretch, with three presidential debates over a fortnight (beginning on September 26). America will finally vote on November 8. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} With the Republican presidential race all over bar the shouting, it is Hillary Clinton once considered the most presumptive of nominees who must fight on against an insurgent challenger. Her rival for the Democratic nomination, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, shed hundreds of his campaign staff last week, but he has vowed to throw his remaining resources into an attempted upset in the California primary on 7 June. In spite of Mr Sanderss slim victory in Indiana on Tuesday, the maths of the Democratic race is essentially unchanged. As she edged ever closer to the nomination, Ms Clinton said yesterday that she was focused on moving into the general election against Donald Trump. Mr Sanders picked up 43 delegates from the Hoosier State and Ms Clinton 37, maintaining her pledged delegate lead of more than 300 and an overall lead of 802, including super-delegates. Mr Sanders has admitted that he faces an uphill fight on a narrow path toward victory. His route is as steep and unforgiving as the South face of Annapurna. To have any chance of overtaking the frontrunner, he would have to win every remaining primary by significant margins. The largest left in the calendar are California and New Jersey; polls put Ms Clinton well ahead in both states, by around 10 and 15 points respectively, according to Real Clear Politics. Recommended Read more Mutiny simmers as Donald Trump takes Republican crown Until Ted Cruz suspended his campaign yesterday, the Golden State was bracing itself for a major GOP clash. Now, the Democrats are the only game in town. The Clinton campaign is leaving nothing to chance. Ms Clintons husband, former President Bill Clinton, was due to host organising events in San Diego and Los Angeles on Wednesday, to be followed by California rallies with the former Secretary of State herself on Thursday on Friday. In an unspoken acknowledgement of his diminishing chances, Mr Sanderss rhetoric has shifted perceptibly away from Ms Clinton to focus on pressing his progressive agenda. Speaking after his Indiana win, he noted that he had consistently won the support of younger voters. That is important because it tells me that the ideas that we are fighting for are the ideas for the future of America and the future of the Democratic Party, he said. The Sanders campaign has said it can keep Ms Clinton from the outright majority of 2,383 pledged delegates that she needs to claim the nomination ahead of the Democratic convention in Philadelphia in July. But to win a floor-fight in Philly, Mr Sanders would also have to flip many of the partys super-delegates, who so far overwhelmingly back Ms Clinton. Given the likelihood of a bruising battle with Mr Trump, the Vermont Senator will be under pressure to withdraw before the convention in the interests of party unity. He and his supporters have also clung to the claim that he would be the stronger general election candidate he polls better than Ms Clinton in hypothetical match-ups with Mr Trump. But that point, too, may be moot: either Democrat will begin the general election with a significant poll advantage over the race-baiting businessman. A national CNN/ORC poll conducted after the Indiana result found the former Secretary of State leading Mr Trump by 13 points. Speaking to MSNBC, Ms Clinton warned of a tough campaign against a candidate who will literally say or do anything, but added: Were going to take him on at every turn." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A new drug considered to be 10,000 times more powerful than morphine has hit the market in the US after being discovered in Canada. The synthetic opiate W-18 is a psychoactive substance and opioid similar to heroin, but is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl. It is now making its way to the US at a time when fentanyl-related deaths in Canada continue to rise. From 2009 to 2014, there were an estimated 655 deaths in Canada linked to fentanyl overdoses, according to Vice News. Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary While fentanyl is now a controlled substance, W-18 is yet to be prohibited in Canada or the US. It was made illegal in Sweden on 26 January, 2016. W-18 was first seized in Canada in August 2015, when police in Calgary seized a shipment of 110 pills thought to contain fentanyl, CBC news reported. A small number of those pills were actually found to contain traces of W-18. Over the last year, larger quantities of W-18 have been found in other locations across Canada and the US. In March, a man in Florida was found to have two and a half pounds of W-18 when he was arrested for selling fentanyl pills, the Sun Sentinel reported. Cheese triggers same part of the brain as drugs The drug is believed to be created in labs in China and then sold online. It was originally developed as a painkiller by scientists at the University of Alberta in 1981. After being deemed too strong, it was never picked up by pharmaceutical companies and was largely forgotten about. The effect of W-18 on humans is largely unknown, because the drug was only ever tesed on lab mice. It is currently unclear how addictive it may be, or what potential side-effects it may cause. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The world is expected to suffer a major rice shortage after global production was hit by extreme weather patterns - potentially fuelling an international price crisis. Hot weather and droughts brought on by the El Nino system continue to affect production in India, Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam, where 60% of the worlds rice is grown. Grain stocks in those countries are forecast to plummet to 19 million tons by the end of the year, down from a peak of 43 million tons in 2013. Dr Samarendu Mohanty from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) told The Independent: There is no doubt that the supply situation is very tight, and this will inevitably cause a spiral in demand. The extent of this crisis all depends on what happens during the upcoming monsoon season. If it goes badly in India and Indonesia and the crops dont get the rain, there could be real trouble ahead. The monsoon season in India lasts from July to September and supplies up to four-fifths of the countrys annual rain. Giant El Nino wave flips SUV He continued: At the moment it looks like the situation wont be as serious as in 2008 but the countries affected must act more rationally this time rather than panicking, and they must learn from the mistakes of the past. El Nino is a major fluctuation in the Earth's climate system and see changes in the sea-surface temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean every few years. During the 2008 crisis in Asia, lower rice output caused by El Nino prompted India to impose a blanket ban on exports and prices hit a record $1,000 per ton worldwide. The benchmark price for a ton of rice last month was $389.50, the strongest since July last year, and rates continue to increase. Top 10 islands in the world 2016 Show all 10 1 /10 Top 10 islands in the world 2016 Top 10 islands in the world 2016 10 - Fernando de Noronha, Brazil The archipelago of Fernando de Noronha is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a delicate ecosystem. Visitors are restricted, but the lucky few are rewarded with unrivaled beaches and soothing warm waters filled with dolphins and sea turtles, making Noronha one of the worlds top diving destinations Find hotels in Fernando de Noronha EVARISTO SA/Staff Top 10 islands in the world 2016 9 - Bora Bora, Society Islands Turquoise lagoons, soft white sands, and deep tangerine sunsets set the scene for romance on the island so nice they named it twice Find hotels in Bora Bora Top 10 islands in the world 2016 8 - Phuket, Thailand Thailands largest island is an international magnet for beach lovers and serious divers, who enthusiastically submerge themselves in the Andaman Sea Find hotels in Phuket Top 10 islands in the world 2016 7 - Mauritius, Africa Mauritius is arguably Africas wealthiest destination, a tropical paradise with tons to do Find hotels in Mauritius Top 10 islands in the world 2016 6 - Majorca, Balearic Islands The dreamy island that provided inspiration to Chopin and Miro now has a reputation as a spring break beach destination Find hotels in Majorca Top 10 islands in the world 2016 5 - Bali, Indonesia Soak up the sun on a stretch of fine white sand, or commune with the tropical creatures as you dive along coral ridges or the colorful wreck of a WWII war ship Find hotels in Bali Top 10 islands in the world 2016 4- Providenciales, Turks and Caicos The most populated of the Turks and Caicos islands, Providenciales is one of the worlds top beach destinations Find hotels in Providenciales Top 10 islands in the world 2016 3 - Jamaica Jamaicas forests feature prime hiking and bird watching. History buffs can the heritage sites of Trelawny, while reggae and dancehall fans will love the authentic music clubs of Kingston. Montego Bay is perfect for snorkeling and shopping, while the spas of Ocho Rios can make any stresses melt away Find hotels in Jamaica Top 10 islands in the world 2016 2 - Santorini, Greece Even if youve never been to this Cyclades island in the Aegean Sea, youd still recognize it immediately candy-colored houses carved into cliffs, sapphire waters, gleaming white buildings topped with half-spheres the color of a stormy sky Find hotels in Santorini Top 10 islands in the world 2016 1 - Maui, Hawaii The Hawaiian island of Maui is a destination for true nature lovers Find hotels in Maui Thailands last major crop haul was around half the peak production from 2013 and output is expected to fall to just 15.8 million tons this year. Meanwhile, 593,000 acres of paddy fields have been destroyed by recent drought and salination in Vietnams Mekong Delta region. The situation has not been helped by the one million wells built in the country since the 1960s, which have worsened the saline problem and contaminated the Vietnamese product. The Phillippines is weighing up whether to import an extra 500,000 tons of rice this year in an effort to boost state reserve stocks in case of a future crisis. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Three men are being held by police after the brutal rape and murder of a young law student in India - prompting hundreds of angry protesters to take to the streets. The 30-year-old victim, named only as Jisha on social media, had her body mutilated during the assault and was found dead by her mother outside her home in Perumbavoor, Kerala. Officers said two of the three detained suspects were Jishas neighbours and the third worked at a nearby restaurant. The attacker or attackers used a sharp implement to remove the intestines of the victim and her chest was pierced on both sides. The cause of death was severe head injury. Jisha belonged to the Dalit or Untouchables sect, the lowest rank on Indias traditional caste system which accounts for 201 million of the countrys population. The vicious crime has drawn comparisons with the gang rape and murder of medical student Jyoti Singh on a Delhi bus in December 2012. Hundreds of human rights advocates launched a protest following the latest case, in an effort to pressure the government to tighten up the legal protection of Dalit women and sexual assault victims. They assembled outside the hospital where the victim's body had been taken with placards demanding justice. Meanwhile, Jishas traumatised mother reportedly remains bedridden under medical supervision and claims the family had previously complained to police about the danger to [their] lives. The hashtag #JusticeForJisha began trending in India on Sunday, with thousands tweeting their support for the cause. 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 Critics have claimed the police and UDF government initially tried to ignore the crime because of the upcoming local assembly elections in two weeks. In a statement, the Communist Party of India said: It is shameful that the state police and the Congress-led UDF government initially tried to cover up this heinous crime. It was thanks to a vigilant media and the massive public outcry that followed that forced the police to finally act. Outrage caused by Jyoti Singh's rape and murder in 2012 forced the government to rush through laws offering improved protection for women in sexual assault cases. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Indonesia is preparing to execute prisoners in a move which appears to signal the end of a suspension to capital punishment for a number of foreign nationals. Two Britons, as well as a Philippine maid many believe is innocent, are on death row on charges of drug-smuggling related offences. President Joko Widodo has said the policy of killing drug smugglers is necessary because of a problem with substance abuse in the country. But while the prisoners' fate had been delayed after an international outcry over executions in 2015, a police official has now said preparations are being made at the Nusa Kambangan island prison. "We have had a warning since last month to prepare the place," Aloysius Lilik Darmanto, a central Java police spokesperson, told The Guardian. "We carried out some rehabilitation of the location, like painting and repairs, because there will probably be more people who will be executed." Linsay Sandiford in prison (Getty) Mr Darmanto said he did not know which prisoners would be executed nor whether the two Britons, Lindsay Sandiford and Gareth Cashmore, were among them. Ms Sandiford, who is from Teeside, was convicted in 2013 of trying to smuggle 4kg of cocaine into Bali at a worth of 1.6 million, a claim she admitted but which she said she was coerced into after threats to her son's life. Gareth Cashmore, who is from Yorkshire, was sentenced to death after being found guilty of having 6.5kg of methamphetamine - or crystal meth - in his suitcase. He has a son. A Phillipine maid, Mary Jane Veloso, was given a last-minute "reprieve" by President Widodo after a woman turned herself in for planting the drugs in Ms Veloso's luggage, yet she remains in prison. Where most executions were carried out in 2014 Show all 10 1 /10 Where most executions were carried out in 2014 Where most executions were carried out in 2014 1. China (1000+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 2. Iran (289+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 3. Saudi Arabia (90+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 4. Iraq (61+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 5. USA (35+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 6. Sudan (23+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 7. Yemen (22+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 8. Egypt (15+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 9. Somalia (14+) Getty Where most executions were carried out in 2014 10. Jordan (11+) Getty There are a number of other prisoners on death row whose families have been trying to see them. Indonesia's stance on capital punishment and drugs has strained its relations with countries around the world. Ambassadors, heads of state and royals from Brazil, Malawi, the Netherlands, Nigeria and Indonesia were ignored by Mr Widodo after they personally contacted him to prevent executions of their citizens that went ahead in 2015. The president has also been accused of executing foreign nationals as a measure to increase his popularity at home - and of trying to secure the release of Indonesian nationals held for drug offences overseas. Meanwhile the Bali bomber, Umar Patek, who caused the death of 200 people in a nightclub in 2002, was acquitted of death by firing squad and sentenced to 20 years in an Indonesian jail. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The infamous 500 note, long associated with money laundering and tax evasion, is to be phased out by the European Central Bank. The ECB decided to permanently stop producing the so-called Bin Laden banknote at a meeting in Frankfurt. It had acquired its distinctive nickname in Spain partly because it is favoured by criminals and terrorists for cash smuggling, and partly on the basis everyone knows what it looks like but few people have ever seen it. The large, violet bills are the most valuable Euro notes and also physically bigger than the others. A statement issued by the ECB said the note would no longer be issued from 2018, when 200 and 100 notes would be introduced. "In view of the international role of the euro and the widespread trust in its banknotes, the 500 will remain legal tender and can therefore continue to be used as a means of payment and store of valueThe Eurosystem, which comprises the ECB and the euro area national central banks, will take steps to ensure that the remaining denominations are available in sufficient quantities," the statement said. "The 500 banknote, like the other denominations of euro banknotes, will always retain its value and can be exchanged at the national central banks of the Eurosystem for an unlimited period of time." In February, a study by the EU Commission concluded the use of high denomination notes, in particular the 500 note, was a problem for law enforcement authorities". These notes are in high demand among criminal elements due to their high value and low volume," the study said. The ECB says 500 bills account for 28% of the value of banknotes in circulation, but only 3% of the total number of notes. In March, French finance minister Michel Sapin reportedly said of the unpopular note: They are used more for hiding things than buying them. It is used more to facilitate transactions which are not honest than to allow you and me to buy food to eat. 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. The products were designed to generate big profits for Goldman, the LIA claims.Goldman denies wrongdoing and says the LIA was treated as an arms-length customer Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former boss of BHS said his life was threatened - June 2016 Darren Topp, the former boss of BHS, has said former owner Dominic Chappell threatened to kill him when he challenged him over a 1.5 million transfer out of the business. MPs on the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee asked Mr Topp about a 1.5 million transfer Mr Chappell made from BHS to a company called BHS Sweden. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley admits paying workers below the minimum wage - June 2016 Mike Ashley admitted paying Sports Direct employees below the minimum wage at a hearing in front of MPs. 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. A Swiss criminal investigation into the pair is ongoing. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Libor fraudster City trader Tom Hayes, 35, has become the first person to be convicted of rigging Libor rates following a trial at London's Southwark Crown Court. Hayes worked as a trader in yen derivatives at UBS before joining the American bank Citigroup in Tokyo. He was fired from Citigroup following an investigation into his trading methods. He returned to the UK in December 2012 and was arrested following a two-and-a-half year criminal investigation by the SFO. Getty One aspect of French intelligences reaction to the Paris attacks in November last year has been a concerted crackdown on terrorist financing. However, the prospect of losing the bill has not been greeted so readily in Germany, where an estimated 80% of transactions are still carried out in cash. The issue of whether removing the banknote will aid the fight against organised crime is also in doubt, with more gangs using illegal online bank accounts to transfer funds. The cost of removing the note from circulation was also a factor under consideration, with some experts putting the figure as high as 600 million to make the transition. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} European countries which refuse to take in refugees may be fined hundreds of millions of pounds, it has been reported. The proposal is reportedly due to be announced by Jean-Claude Junker on behalf of the European Commission today as part of a package of reforms of the EUs asylum rules amid the ongoing refugee crisis. The draft law will suggest countries pay a solidarity contribution of 250,000 Euros per asylum applicant which it does not take, The Daily Telegraph reports. The money would be paid to states which have accepted refugees. The Dublin convention, which holds countries responsible for refugees which arrive within their borders, would still apply outside of the fining system. The potential fines are designed to address growing tensions that the responsibility for the refugee crisis is disproportionately falling on a small number of countries, in particular Greece, Italy and Germany. Judith Dennis from the British Refugee Council told The Independent: "Its painfully clear that the current system for protecting refugees in Europe simply isn't working and that more needs to be done to help share responsibility for sheltering refugees more evenly." 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 redistribution scheme was introduced to alleviate some of this pressure but has been described as flawed and faltering; as out of 160,000 refugees, just 937 were resettled within the first six months of the scheme. Countries including Hungary and Slovakia refused to participate citing a need to protect local cultural and customs. The UK would be exempt from the fines due to historically not subscribing to the European Commissions direction on justice matters. In 2015, the UK received 38,878 asylum applications and resettled 1,000 Syrian refugees UK under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation scheme. David Cameron has pledged to accept 20,000 Syrians over the course of the next five years. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The organisation running the French railway system are investing in a 700mph inter-city super tube train which could make HS2 obsolete before it its built. The SNCF, creator of the high-speed train concept, have decided to invest Euros 80m in one of two American companies which are developing the hyperloop, a wheel-less train or capsule projected through a tube with relatively small energy needs. The idea, first proposed in 2013 by the South African-born billionaire-inventor Elon Musk, has been gaining credibility and financial backing in recent months. A pilot scheme is due to be built in Nevada later this year. The SNCF, which pioneered the TGV (train a grande vitesse) from 1981, is the first large European railway company to take the idea seriously. There are also vague plans to build a pioneer hyperloop system linking cities in Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. Hyperloop technology would shoot capsules or linked trains of capsules, containing passengers and cars through low pressure tube at up to 760 mph. This is more than three times faster than a conventional high speed train and double the speed of most commercial air-liners. The tubes could be placed underground in cities but would be erected on stilts in open country, possibly using the central reservation of existing motorways to save costs. Two competing American start-up companies which are developing the idea say that it would be much faster, cheaper to build, less intrusive and less greedy for energy than conventional steel-on-steel trains. They hope to have the first system working possibly linking Los Angeles and San Francisco in 30 minutes within 15 years. This would be roughly the same time scale as the opening of the first section of Britains second high speed line HS2 which will link London and Birmingham by 2026. Promoters claim that the 350-mile LA to San Francisco hyperloop would cost only 5bn to build compared to an estimated 43bn for HS2 which is much shorter. (Facebook (Facebook) Sceptics suggest, however, that hyperloop might prove to be as ephemeral and impractical for long distance travel as other non-conventional train projects such as monorails and trains floating on magnetic track beds (Maglev). The critics point out that the experience of being shot through a tube for half an hour or longer, without a view and without being able to move from ones seat, might not appeal to everyone. They also point out that a hyperloop system would be able to link conurbations but unlike a conventional high-speed train - would not be able to reach city-centre stations using existing tracks. The chief executive of one of the two companies developing the idea Dirk Ahlborn of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies told a conference in New York on Tuesday that such objections would prove groundless. Were trying to make travel suck less, he said. Were trying to fix public transport. Speed is one of the advantages (of hyperloop), but its not the only one. Building something that has economic sense, that has a good business model behind it, for me, is even more important. LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes: Paypal founder Elon Musk unveils 800mph Hyperloop 'trains' Show all 6 1 /6 LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes: Paypal founder Elon Musk unveils 800mph Hyperloop 'trains' LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes: Paypal founder Elon Musk unveils 800mph Hyperloop 'trains' hyperloop.jpg LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes: Paypal founder Elon Musk unveils 800mph Hyperloop 'trains' hyperloop-2.jpg Reuters LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes: Paypal founder Elon Musk unveils 800mph Hyperloop 'trains' hyperloop-3.jpg Reuters LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes: Paypal founder Elon Musk unveils 800mph Hyperloop 'trains' hyperloop-4.jpg spacex.com LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes: Paypal founder Elon Musk unveils 800mph Hyperloop 'trains' hyperloop-5.jpg spacex.com LA to San Francisco in 30 minutes: Paypal founder Elon Musk unveils 800mph Hyperloop 'trains' hyperloop-6.jpg spacex.com Hyperloop Transport Technologies signed an agreement with the Slovakian government earlier this year to explore the possibility of building a high-speed tube system which would link Bratislava, Budapest and Vienna. The French railways have decided, however, to invest Euros 80m in another start-up, Hyperloop Technologies, which will open a test-track in Nevada by the end of this year. The SNCF yesterday declined to discuss he investment, first reported by the French 24 hour news channel BFM TV. However, officials in the state-owned company confirmed that SNCF had decided to take part in a second round of fund-raising by Hyperloop Technologies. In September of last year, Guillaume Pepy, the boss of SNCF, said: Hyperloop is a project which is both far-fetched and visionary. We are watching it very closely. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A German couple used personal adverts to lure women to their rural home where they tortured and killed at least two, authorities claim. Investigating officers say they have not ruled out further deaths at the property, dubbed the 'house of horrors', where a woman's body was allegedly cut up and burned in a fireplace. Police have arrested a 46-year-old man, identified only as Wilfred W, and his 47-year-old ex-wife, known as Angelika B last week. The pair are accused of tormenting a woman through nearly two months of captivity at a property in home in Hoexter, north west Germany. Police said the couple were "caught" after their car broke down with a severely wounded 41-year-old woman inside. She died later in hospital from a head injury. The second alleged victim was 33-year-old woman whose body was stored in a deep-freezer before being dismembered and burned in a fireplace - according to the police. Bielefeld Chief of Homicide Division, Ralf Oestermann told reporters "We are looking for more victims" that survived, AFP reports. Two policemen with a dog arriving at the house in Hoexter, northwestern Germany (Getty Images) Mr Oestermann said Angelika B had admitted to at least one killing while Wilfred W has denied any guilt. The pair married in 1999, filing for divorce in 2013 - the same year Wilfred W married the 33-year-old woman who later died, Oestermann added. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Who can blame a homeless man for stealing a small amount of food from a grocery store? Certainly, it seems, not Italy's Supreme Court. Five years ago, Ukrainian national Roman Ostriakov was homeless in Genoa when he was caught stealing cheese and sausage worth less than $5. He was fined 100 (80) and sentenced to six months in jail in 2015, a sentence that he appealed. On Monday, the Italian Supreme Court ruled in his favor. "The condition of the accused and the circumstances in which he obtained the merchandise show that he had taken the little amount of food he needed to overcome his immediate and essential requirement for nourishment," it ruled. "People should not be punished if, forced by need, they steal small quantities of food in order to meet the basic requirement of feeding themselves." The Italian newspaper La Stampa praised the verdict in a front-page editorial. "The courts decision reminds us all that in a civilised country no one should be allowed to die of hunger," it read. Another Italian newspaper, Corriere Della Sera, noted in an opinion piece that statistics show the ranks of Italy's poor grow by 615 people daily and that it was "unthinkable that the law should not take note of reality". The piece also took issue with how long the judicial system took to arrive at its final decision. The ruling is "right and pertinent," Italiaglobale.it wrote. The decision is rooted in a concept that "informed the Western world for centuries it is called humanity," it wrote, according to a BBC translation. Ostriakov's appeal was based on different reasoning than that employed by the court. His lawyers argued that his sentence should only be reduced from theft to attempted theft because he was caught before he exited the store. Copyright: Washington Post Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Race Report email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A woman pictured facing down hundreds of neo-Nazis has spoken of the anger that prompted her defiant gesture. The image of anti-racism activist Tess Asplund stood with her fist raised while staring directly into the eyes of one of the three white male leaders among 200 far-right extremists in the Swedish city of Borlange has gone viral across Scandinavia, being shared by thousands. But the 42-year-old , who lives in Stockholm, has said a group which was "spreading hate" should not have been given a permit to demonstrate in the first place. "Of course they shouldn't be allowed to march in the first place. They are Nazis," she told The Independent. "They are spreading hate. They want a white area. If they got control of the country they would kick me out, kick my family out." The Nordic Resistance Movement, one of many Swedish neo-Nazi groups which has seen its popularity increase, was granted permission by local officials and police to demonstrate in the city, which is 130 miles north of Stockholm. The Social Democrat Party, the Left Party and non-profit organisation Dalarna Against Racism, which were also allowed to demonstrate, reportedly outnumbered the neo-Nazi group. 10 things immigration has done for Britain Show all 10 1 /10 10 things immigration has done for Britain 10 things immigration has done for Britain The Mini The 1959 classic, that is, perhaps our greatest piece of industrial design, a miracle of packaging and revolution in motoring. Its genius designer was Sir Alec Issigonis, who was an asylum seeker. His family, Greek, fled Smyrna when Turks invaded this borderland in around 1920, and he wound up studying engineering at Battersea Polytechnic. He went on to create that most English of motor cars, the Morris Minor, as well as the Austin-Morris 1100, all much loved products of his fertile imagination. Getty Images 10 things immigration has done for Britain Marks and Spencer Once upon a time there was no M&S in Britain, difficult as that may be to believe. We have one Michael Marks to thank for our most famous retailer, and he was a refugee from Belarus, arriving in England in about 1882, and soon after set off to flog stuff around Yorkshire. He eventually teamed with Thomas Spencer to create the vast business we know today. Getty Images 10 things immigration has done for Britain Thunderbirds And many other TV shows created, funded and otherwise produced by that largest of larger-than-life characters, Lew Grade (also a world class tap dancer). The man who dominated commercial television gave us memorable entertainment such as The Prisoner, the Saint and brought the Muppets to Britain (a sort of fuzzy felt wave of immigration), as well as puppet shows where you could see the strings. All this from a penniless Jew from Ukraine, born Lev Winogradsky, who escaped the pogroms in Ukraine with his family in the 1890s. His nephew Michael Grade has also done his bit for British television. Rex Features 10 things immigration has done for Britain The House of Windsor Or the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha until George V prudently rebranded the family during the First World War. Well, our royals are a pretty German bunch, as well as having various types of French and other alien blue blood coursing around their veins. Twas ever thus. There was William the Conqueror, Norman French, who certainly broke the immigration rules; William of Orange, a direct import from Holland; the Hanoverian King Georges, the first barely able to speak English; Queen Victoria, who married a German, Edward VII, who couldnt stay faithful to his wife, a Danish princess; George V wed another German princess; Edward VIII married an American (though she hardly visited England and prompted his emigration and exile); and the Queen is married to man born in Corfu. The embodiment of the British nation, to many, but one thinks of them as quite multicultural really. Getty Images 10 things immigration has done for Britain I Vow To Thee My Country Our most patriotic hymn was the product of a man named Gustav Holst (pictured), born in Cheltenham, but of varied Swedish, Latvian and German ancestry, who adapted part of his suite The Planets to put a particularly stirring and beautiful poem to music, just after the Great War. As the second verse has it, there's another country/I've heard of long ago/Most dear to them that love her/most great to them that know. Imagine if the Holst family had been kept out because the quota on musical European types had been reached. Creative Commons 10 things immigration has done for Britain Curry and Cobra Chicken Tikka Masala is, so they say, a dish which not only the most popular in Britain but specifically designed to cater for European tastes. For that we probably have to thank an Indian migrant, Sake Dean Mahomed, who came from Bengal to open the first recognisable Indian restaurant, the magnificently named Hindoostanee Coffee House. History does not record if a plate of poppadoms and accompanying selection of pickles and yoghurts were routinely placed on the table for new diners, but we do know that we had to wait until 1989 to taste the ideal lager for a curry - Cobra. That brew was brought to us by Karan (now Lord) Bilimoria, a Cambridge law graduate who hailed from Hyderabad. Getty Images 10 things immigration has done for Britain That big red swirly sculpture at the Olympic Park Or Orbit, to give it its proper name, the work of Anish Kapoor, who arrived in 1973 from India and had the artistic imagination to fill a power station. Getty Images 10 things immigration has done for Britain The Sun Love it or hate it, and many do both, this has been a symbol of much that is successful and a lot that is awful in British journalism since its inception in 1969. In its turn it spawned the Page 3 Girl and some nastily xenophobic headlines. All the stranger when you consider its creator was, of course, Rupert Murdoch, born 11 March 1931 in Melbourne, Australia. Getty Images 10 things immigration has done for Britain Marxism OK, Karl Marxs philosophy was not much of a gift to the world, but for a while it seemed like a good idea. Though we might not dare admit it, Marxism still has a few insights to offer to anyone wanting to understand the workings of capitalism, though too few to excuse everything that was done in its name. Born in Germany spent much time in the British museum and the British pub, buried Highgate Cemetery. Oddly, his ideas never really caught on in his adopted homeland. Getty Images 10 things immigration has done for Britain The NHS They came from many, many backgrounds, including Ireland, the Philippines, east Europe, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa, as they still do, but the contribution of the black nurses who came to the UK from the Caribbean to heal and care for is a debt of honour that must be recognised. It so sometimes forgotten that it was Enoch Powell, then Minister of Health (1960-62), who campaigned to recruit their skilled nurses to come and work over here. One abiding legacy we can thank Enoch for. Getty Images But Ms Asplund said she was still shocked by how many right-wing extremists were present and had stood in their path "without thinking" out of anger. "That's the scary thing, there were more than 100 of them and that's too much, that's scary," she said. "I did it because I was so p***** off. I was standing there and I looked at him, and he looked at me. Then the police came and asked me to step away, which is their job of course." The raised fist salute has historically been used as a gesture of solidarity with oppressed peoples and defiance at their opressors, and became a symbol of the Black Power movement that began during the 1960s in the US. Russia warns against rise of far-right in Europe Members of the Nordic Resistance Movement, which is a registered political party, were marching with green flags that show an arrow pointing upwards. Their website says they aim to establish a Nordic national socialist government in a fight that may require "bloodshed". Stefan Dangardt, a Borlange police spokesperson, has defended the decision to allow the Nordic Resistance Movement to demonstrate. "There is a constitutional law in Sweden to freely express opinions and have meetings," he told Radio Sweden. Groups promoting anti-immigration and far-right ideologies have been on the rise in the traditionally liberal Scandinavian country, with rallies and PR activity for neo-nazi group doubling over three years, according to Reuters. The Sweden Democrats, a social conservative party in the Swedish Parliament, won a 14 per cent share of the seats in the last election with an anti-immigration rhetoric that has seen its popularity grow since the early 2000s. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The suspected abuse by Israeli soldiers of three Palestinian boys who crossed the separation barrier from Gaza into Israel during clashes along the border is being investigated by Israeli military police, according to Haaretz. Claims the three boys were violently mistreated by Israel Defence Force (IDF) soldiers during their arrest are being looked into by the Military Polices investigation department. The boys testimony, told to a researcher for the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights, includes allegations of being beaten, kept handcuffed for hours and deprived of sleep. The boys also alleged they had soft drink poured on their bodies and cigarettes extinguished on them. A report seen by Haaretz said all three boys had a severely traumatic experience while in IDF custody. A Palestinian boy stands behind a wall in Gaza City damaged during the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas-led militants in the summer of 2014 (Getty) (A Palestinian boy stands behind a wall damaged during the 50-day war between Israel and Hamas-led militants in the summer of 2014, on April 30, 2016, in Gaza City.) Clashes broke out along the border fence surrounding Gaza on 10 October, near the al-Bureij refugee camp, when Gaza Strip residents arrived at the fence and burned tires, with some throwing stones. At least two were killed during the altercations, and at one point a group of young men breached the iron gate in the border fence into Israeli territory, including the three Palestinian minors. The boys were found by IDF search dogs and taken to an Israeli army base where the alleged abuse took place. One of the boys, 16-year-old Abed, told Haaretz: "It was in the evening, and a short time later we felt that the soldiers had surrounded us and sent dogs that attacked us among the bushes." Abed says he was handcuffed and blindfolded along with two of his friends. "Here began a nightmare that lasted for three days. They stripped us, cursed and beat us all over our bodies whether by kicking or with the rifle butt. At night we fell asleep half naked on the floor, without any blankets or covering, he said. His friend Mohammed told Haaretz the soldiers extinguished cigarettes on them, and described being beaten, cursed at and forced to drink an alcoholic drink. All three boys reportedly had no prior criminal record. A probation officer reported two boys received a six-month sentence and the other a four-month sentence. All were released to the Gaza Strip in the past two months. An IDF spokesman confirmed to Haaretz that: After the arrest of the Palestinans, there were various complaints regarding the conduct towards them. When the IDF received the complaints an investigation was opened. The findings were recently sent to be examined by the MAG. Last month, an Israeli soldier was charged with manslaughter for shooting a Palestinian man in the head at close range in Hebron. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Syrian Army says it will implement a "regime of calm" in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. The ceasefire is scheduled to begin on Thursday morning and last 48 hours. Earlier, US officials said the US and Russia had persuaded Syria's government and moderate rebels to extend a fragile truce to the country's biggest city. In pictures: Aleppo bombing Show all 14 1 /14 In pictures: Aleppo bombing In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Smoke rises after airstrikes on the rebel-held al-Sakhour neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family runs for cover amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of Al-Qatarji in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man reacts as he stands on blood stains at a site hit by airstrikes in the rebel held area of Aleppo's al-Fardous district, Syria, April 29, 2016. Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damage of the airstrikes in the rebel-held area of Aleppo on April 28 Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo The damaged the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)-backed al-Quds hospital after it was hit by airstrikes, in a rebel-held area of Syria's Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians evacuate an injured man amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following an air strike on a rebel-held of Aleppo on April 29, 2016. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo People inspect the damage at a site hit by airstrikes, in the rebel-held area of Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A man leads a woman in tears and child out of the scene after airstrikes hit Aleppo AP In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Civil defence members search for survivors after an airstrike at a field hospital in the rebel held area of al-Sukari district of Aleppo Reuters In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian boy is comforted as he cries next to the body of a relative who died in a reported air strike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Soukour in the northern city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo A Syrian family walks amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following a reported air strike in the Bustan al-Qasr rebel-held district of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers and rescuers remove a baby from under the rubble of a destroyed building following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrians help a wounded youth following an air strike on the Fardous rebel held neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Getty Images In pictures: Aleppo bombing Bombing in Aleppo Syrian civil defence volunteers evacuate people from a damaged building following a reported airstrike in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Tareeq al-Bab in the northern city of Aleppo The Syrian government's bombing campaign in Aleppo over the last two weeks has been described as "the worst" among the five-year civil war, the UN political chief told an emergency meeting of the UN security Council. Jeffrey Feltman demanded the perpetrators be bought to justice at the International Criminal Court. He said the UN urges all parties "to abide by this immediately and comprehensively," noting "implementation has proven challenging even as it has led to an overall decrease in violence." Mr Feltman said Aleppo has been subject to "systematic destruction," including from opposition shelling of government-controlled neighborhoods. He also said the violence and killing must stop. Deadly attack hits hospital in Syria's Aleppo Germany's foreign minister welcomed the US-Russian agreement. Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for President Bashar al-Assad's government and all armed groups to respect the cease-fire in full and give the people of Aleppo "a respite from war and violence." Mr Steinmeier said in a statement that "if the cease-fire is kept to, that will be far more than a major relief for people in Aleppo." He said it would be an "important basis" for resuming peace talks in Geneva. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The United Arab Emirates is planning to build a man-made mountain to increase rainfall. The desert nation is hoping the major project will recreate the effect of mountain ranges and force air to rise, creating clouds that will allow cloud-seeding. Cloud-seeding is a type of weather modification which aims to alter the amount and type of precipitation produced by clouds. Scientists from National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) run by the US-based University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) are currently in the "detailed modelling study" phase. They are deciding on the most effective locations in the Emirate states to build it, while also pondering how wide and tall it should be. Roelof Bruintjes, an expert in weather modification programs from NCAR, told Arabian Business: "Building a mountain is not a simple thing. We are still busy finalising assimilation, so we are doing a spread of all kinds of heights, widths and locations [as we simultaneously] look at the local climatology. "If [the project] is too expensive for [the government], logically the project wont go through, but this gives them an idea of what kind of alternatives there are for the long-term future. "If it goes through, the second phase would be to go to an engineering company and decide whether it is possible or not." Does the sun still shine on Dubai? Show all 4 1 /4 Does the sun still shine on Dubai? Does the sun still shine on Dubai? 272044.bin Does the sun still shine on Dubai? 271655.bin Reuters Does the sun still shine on Dubai? 271654.bin AFP/Getty Images Does the sun still shine on Dubai? 271656.bin Reuters If successful, these man-made clouds will allow planes to deposit chemicals such as silver iodine, which will increase rainfall. The UAE already has a permanent weather modification department which spent $385,400 on cloud-seeding last year alone. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Saudi Arabia has decreed that women now have the right to own a copy of their marriage certificates. The decision, which was introduced by the Minister of Justice Waleed Al Samaani on Monday, aims to protect womens rights. Prior to the new legislation, only men were allowed to have a copy of the certificate. Now it is compulsory that a married womans guardian in Saudi Arabia gives her the certificate so she is aware of her rights and the conditions of the marriage. Last month, Saudi Arabia announced its plans on how to decrease its reliance on crude exports in its Saudi Vision 2030 plan. One of the reforms introduced is increasing the participating of Saudi women in the workforce, from 22% to 30% by the end of year 2030. The new vision, revealed by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, also seeks to improve the education and training of Saudi citizens, both men and women, by equipping them with the skills needed to prepare them for the new opportunities to be provided. Recommended Read more Saudi women are registering to vote in elections across the country Saudi women were given the right to vote in 2011 by late King Abdulla Bin AbdulAziz Al Saud and run as candidates in municipal election in 2015. It is still illegal for women to drive or travel abroad without being accompanied by a male relative. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Continental Europes universities have presented a mixed picture in this years Times Higher Education (THE) World Reputation Rankings, largely down to the success of institutions from across Asia. Recommended Read more League tables reveal universities with the best graduate prospects While four of Germanys six institutions have dropped down the complete 100 list of the worlds most reputable universities, this year is the first time there are six German institutions within the top 90. This marks a generally positive trend, said THE, since four German universities appeared in the first set of reputation rankings in 2011. Top 10 reputable universities in mainland Europe: (with accompanying world ranking) ETH Zurich (Switzerland - 19) Lomonosov Moscow State University (Russia - =30) LMU Munich (Germany - =40) Ecole Polytechnique (Switzerland - 48) Delft University of Technology (Netherlands - 51-60) Heidelberg University (Germany - 51-60) Humboldt University of Berlin (Germany - 51-60) Karolinska Institute (Sweden - 51-60) Technical University of Munich (51-60) University of Amsterdam (Netherlands 61-70) With the UK having lost two institutions - Bristol and Durham - the Netherlands has also dropped back, with four of its five losing their positions in the list. Denmark and Finland, meanwhile, no longer make the top 100 at all, despite having one university each in last years rankings. However, Sweden has two universities in the top 100 for the first time since 2013, up from a single representative last year. Student news in pictures Show all 34 1 /34 Student news in pictures Student news in pictures South Korean policemen detain a student demonstrator during a protest against South Korean President Park Geun-Hye EPA Student news in pictures South Korean policemen detain student protestors during a protest against South Korean President Park Geun-Hye outside the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea. The protesters demanded that the parliament takes steps to impeach President Park Geun-Hye EPA Student news in pictures Filipino demonstrators face off with anti-riot police during a protest near the US Embassy in Manila, Philippine EPA Student news in pictures Hundreds of protesters including Indigenous People, students and militant groups marched towards the US Embassy to protest against the presence of US military troops and condemning the violent dispersal which left at least forty people hurt including twenty police officers and three people who were run over by a police van EPA Student news in pictures A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that a once-fugitive police chief be held on charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of 43 students Student news in pictures A man holds up a photograph of a missing student with a caption reading 'We are missing 43,' during a meeting marking the 25-month anniversary of the disappearances of 43 students in the southern state of Guerrero, in Mexico City. A federal judge in Mexico has ordered that a once-fugitive police chief be held on charges of kidnapping in the disappearance of 43 students AP Student news in pictures Miguel Perez, an intern student from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, puts away his cell phone before walking into the operating room at the Dr. Isaac Gonzalez MartInez Oncological Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Once they complete their general surgery training, many residents are moving to the United States in search of better wages, one of the main factors linked to the current shortage of specialists in the Island Student news in pictures Fewer EU students have applied to start university courses in the UK next autumn. There was a 9% fall in the numbers who had applied for courses, according to admissions service UCAS. PA wire Student news in pictures University students protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. Masses of protesters jammed the streets of Venezuela's capital on the heels of a move by congress to open a political trial against Maduro, whose allies have blocked moves for a recall election AP Student news in pictures University students protest against President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela AP Student news in pictures Thousands, most of them high school students, march during a demonstration in Madrid, Spain, on a one day strike to protest about the country's education law that increases the number of annual exams AP Student news in pictures Students gather on the west mall to confront the Young Conservatives of Texas student organization over a controversial bake sale on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin sparked the protest with an affirmative action bake sale. The club encouraged students to buy a cookie and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action Student news in pictures Donald Parish Jr, right, confronts Electrical and Computer Engineering senior Dewayne Perry over a controversial bake sale on The University of Texas campus in Austin, Texas. The Young Conservatives of Texas chapter at the University of Texas-Austin sparked the protest with an affirmative action bake sale. The club encouraged students to buy a cookie and talk about the disastrous policy that is affirmative action AP Student news in pictures Brigham Young University announced that students who report sexual assault will no longer be investigated for possible violations of the Mormon-owned school's strict honor code that bans such things as alcohol use AP Student news in pictures Students of secondary education march to protest against the final examinations and LOMCE (The Improvement Quality Education Law) law, after a call by trade unions, in Murcia, Spain EPA Student news in pictures South African police have used stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of protesters who had marched to the parliament building to call for free university education, where the finance minister was giving a budget speech AP Student news in pictures Police break up student protests outside the parliament in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters Student news in pictures South African Policemen fire rubber bullets at student protestors in Cape Town, South Africa AP Student news in pictures A student protestor is hit by a rubber bullet in Cape Town, South Africa AP Student news in pictures An injured student is helped by colleagues during protest outside the parliament during South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's medium term budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa Reuters Student news in pictures Plaintiffs and bereaved families of elementary school students killed in the tsunami that followed a major earthquake in northeastern Japan in 2011, show banners that say 'victory in a suit filed with the Sendai District Court' in Sendai. A Japanese court ordered municipalities to pay $13.7 million dollars to families of school children who were swept away to their deaths by the 2011 tsunami Getty Student news in pictures A group of student at Ewha Womans University calls for a thorough investigation into those involved in years of engagement with state affairs backstage by Choi Soon-sil, a personal confidante of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, at the school's front gate in Seoul, South Korea EPA Student news in pictures Students raise placards during a strike action called by the student union, in Madrid against university entry exams Getty Student news in pictures Libyans throw a newly graduated student into a fountain as they celebrate during the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi Getty Student news in pictures Libyans celebrate as they attend the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi Getty Student news in pictures Libyans celebrate as they attend the graduation ceremony for students from the Faculty of Pharmacy at the Al-Arab University in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi Getty Student news in pictures Thousands of Thai Catholic students take part in mourning tributes and in singing the Thai Royal Anthem to honour late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at Saint Dominic School in Bangkok, Thailand EPA Student news in pictures Students of Silpakorn University paint portraits of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the university campus in Bangkok Getty Student news in pictures A student of Silpakorn University paints a portrait of the late Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the university campus in Bangkok Getty Student news in pictures St Andrews University students take part in a foam fight known as Raisin Monday in the Lower College Lawn behind St Salvator's Quadrangle following the Raisin Weekend PA wire Student news in pictures St Andrews University students take part in a foam fight known as Raisin Monday in the Lower College Lawn behind St Salvator's Quadrangle following the Raisin Weekend, an annual tradition where student 'parents' inflict tasks on the unfortunate first-years they have adopted as 'children' as part of a mentoring scheme PA wire Student news in pictures Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) in Havana, Cuba Reuters Student news in pictures Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) take part in a practice in Havana, Cuba Reuters Student news in pictures Students at the Cuba's National Ballet School (ENB) wait in line to enter a classroom in Havana, Cuba Reuters France has also seen a strong performance with five of the nations institutions making the top 100 this year, and Insead in Fontainebleau making its first appearance. In many cases, THE said European universities achieved similar or higher scores than last year, but failed to improve as rapidly as those across Asia. Where last year, ten Asian universities made the top 100, this year, 18 have made the cut. Editor of the rankings, Phil Baty, described how the rise of Asia has become something of a cliche in recent times. The 20 hardest universities to get into However, he said THEs evidence - from six large global surveys over six years, including the views of more than 80,000 scholars - proves that the balance of power in higher education and research is slowly shifting from the West to the East. Mr Baty also described how reputation is the global currency of higher education, and said: It may be subjective, it may not always be fair, but it matters deeply. Making reference to the top six universities in the complete 100 list - which consist of four US and two UK institutions - Mr Baty said: The clear lesson is that we have a firmly entrenched elite group of global university superbrands. Click here to see the complete 100 list Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Travel essentials Why go now? The Peruvian capital just got a lot easier to reach thanks to direct British Airways (0344 493 0787; ba.com) flights from Gatwick, which launched today the first since 1982. It will surely be an enticing prospect for the legions of travellers that dream of visiting this mystical land, home to ancient civilisations, crumbling citadels and the worlds most famous trek. But dont head off on the Inca Trail bound for Machu Picchu too hastily Lima is a city that surprises and delights. Furthermore, at this time of year, it hosts some of its most interesting religious and cultural events, including the Festival of the Crosses and the feasts of Saints Peter and Paul, on 29 June. Touch down Flights arrive at Jorge Chavez International Airport (1), located in the Callao district around 12km west of the city centre. The new BA service is scheduled to land at 8.25pm, when, in theory, the traffic choking Limas notoriously congested streets should be starting to ease. Indirect flights are offered by Air Europa (0871 423 0717; aireuropa.com) from Gatwick via Madrid, Iberia (0870 609 0500; iberia.com) from Gatwick and Heathrow via Madrid, Air France/KLM (0871 231 0000; klm.com) from a range of UK airports via Paris or Amsterdam and American Airlines (0844 499 7300; americanairlines.co.uk) from Heathrow via Miami. From the airport, make life easier for yourself by avoiding the complicated public transport system and taking a taxi. A ride to Miraflores District will cost 60 Peruvian sols (S60) and take at least one hour while the Centro Historico district is slightly cheaper at S50 but no speedier. I travelled to Lima with Journey Latin America (020 3393 7286; journeylatinamerica.co.uk), which offers tailored trips throughout Peru. The Barranco neighbourhood (Shutterstock) Get your bearings On first impressions, Lima is not the prettiest of cities. Home to flyovers, skyscrapers and 8 million people, its blanketed under an almost perpetually grey sky between April and October a fog known locally as garua but theres colour beneath the gloom, with colonial squares, busy fishing communities and lively nightlife to discover. Founded by Francisco Pizarro in 1535, it went onto become one of the most important cities in the Spanish Empire. Today, it is South Americas only coastal capital. Its heart remains the atmospheric Centro Historico, while the coastal and bohemian neighbourhoods of Miraflores and Barranco offer a flavour of Limas contemporary flair. The main tourist information office (2) is at Pasaje Santa Rosa 145 (peru.travel; 8.30am-5.30pm daily). Check in Plush rooms, a heavenly spa and sea views await at the Belmond Miraflores Park (3) on Avenida Malecon de la Reserva (00 51 1 610 4000; belmond.com), one of the most luxurious hotels in the city. Doubles start at US$418 room only. Hotel B (4) at Saenz Pena 204 (00 51 1 206 0800; hotelb.pe) may well be Limas most chic property, located in an early 20th-century Belle Epoque mansion in Barranco and filled with bold art. Doubles start at US$343, including breakfast. Situated in the heart of Miraflores is Hostal El Patio (5) at Calle Ernesto Diez Canseco 341 (00 51 2 444 2107; hostalelpatio.net) with just 23 rooms and a charming terrace. Doubles from US$55, including breakfast. Day one Take a view From up high in the historic heart of the city, downtown Lima is all cobbled streets, church spires, pretty squares and canary yellow colonial buildings and a pleasing contrast to its other less scenic parts. A good vantage point is the belltower in the Church and Monastery of Santo Domingo (6) at Jiron Camana 170 (00 51 1 426 5521; 9am-1pm; free). Take a hike From Santo Domingo church (6), wander south-east towards Plaza de Armas (also known as Plaza Mayor) (7), the grand birthplace of the city. Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro laid the foundations of Lima here upon a site previously occupied by an indigenous tribe. Today its home to some of the citys boldest architecture, most notably the baroque stone cathedral (8) (00 51 1 427 9647; S15) which stands on the squares eastern side and is renowned for its gold-plated altar. The cathedral From Plaza de Armas (7), stroll east along Jiron Junin, turning left on Jiron Lampa heading towards the narrow Rimac River and pretty Parque la Muralla (9) (9am-6pm daily). Step inside to see the bronze statue of Pizarro and the excavated ruins of the old city walls. From there, its a stones throw to the mighty monastery of San Francisco (10) (00 51 1 426 7377; 9.30am-5.30pm daily; S15). Once inside, look out for the wooden staircase that dates back to 1625 and the spooky catacombs, formerly part of Limas first cemeteries. Its believed more than 75,000 bodies were buried here. Lunch on the run El Cordano (11) at Ancash 202 (00 51 1 427 0181; restaurantecordano.com, 8am-8pm daily) is a cosy spot with a brown and white tiled floor and old photos of past customers, all suited and booted, framed lopsidedly on the walls. It opened in 1905 and has long been popular with Peruvian presidents. Try the parihuela, a fish stew with boiled yucca and red onions (S28). Window shopping Theres no shortage of opportunities to pick up souvenirs and handicrafts in Lima. Choices range from Inca carvings to garments of the softest alpaca wool. Two recommended spots are the arcades around Santo Domingo church (6) or from the Mercado Indio market (12) on Avenida Petit Thouars (10am-8pm daily). Some shops are closed on Sunday. An aperitif Its widely agreed that the old-fashioned El Bolivarcito bar inside the Gran Hotel Bolivar (13) at Jiron de la Union 958 (00 51 1 427 2788; elbolivarcitoperu.com; 7am-9pm daily) is the place to go for the citys best pisco sour (S25) It was certainly among the first to serve it. This much loved drink a sharp tipple of pisco (the national spirit), bitters and citrus juice - was rumoured to have been invented here by a barman in the early 20th century. The place is now dubbed the Cathedral of the pisco sour. Judge for yourself. Dine with the locals Feast on Amazonian delicacies at Amaz Restaurant (14) at Avenida La Paz 1079 (00 51 1 221 9393; amaz.com.pe; 12.30pm-11.30pm Monday-Saturday to 4.30pm Sunday). The menu features yucca empanadas and churros pishpirones giant Amazonian snails stewed with chorizo and chilli. The jungle-themed interior, including bar stalls carved from fallen trunks from the worlds largest rainforest, completes the experience. Mains from S60. Fine dining Perroquet (15), part of the Country Club Hotel at Los Eucaliptos 50 (00 51 1 611 9007; hotelcountry.com; 6.30am-11.30pm daily), is regarded as one of the best restaurants in South America. Highlights of the menu include zesty sea bass with mashed corn. Mains from S70. Day two Sunday morning: go to church By now, having explored the Centro Historico neighbourhood, youll have already seen the cathedral (8) on Plaza de Armas, so head instead to arty Barranco, famed for its pretty central square with colourful flowerbeds and colonial buildings. La Iglesia Ermita (16) - located beside the wooden and well-known Bridge of Sighs footbridge built over a ravine in 1876 - was originally a small chapel used by local fishermen but was rebuilt after being burnt to the ground during the Chilean invasion in 1881. Its closed to the public but its handsome mustard-coloured facade and twin belltowers are worth admiring from outside. Out to brunch Across the road from Parque Municipal, Barrancos charming central square, and housed in a train wagon one of the first to come to Peru from Europe in 1909 is Cafe Expreso Virgen de Guadalupe (17) at Avenida San Martin 16 (00 51 1 252 8907; 9am-2am daily). Secure a small marble table in the charming interior, with stained glass windows, and order an omelette with cheese and mushrooms (S16) and a cup of coca tea (S7) or, perhaps, a Machu Picchu cocktail of orange juice, grenadine and, of course, pisco (S21). Mario Testino's Mate gallery Cultural afternoon See another side to Perus most celebrated contemporary photographer, Mario Testino, at Mate (18) at Avenida Pedro de Osma 409 (00 51 1 251 7755; mate.pe; 10am-7pm, closed Monday; S10), the museum dedicated to his work including portraits of stars such as Kate Moss, Princess Diana and the Rolling Stones. The Alta Moda collection focuses on Peruvians local to the Andes around Cusco in festive costume. Alternatively go back in time, to the pre-Columbian days at Museo Larco (19) at Avenida Bolivar 1515 (00 51 1 461 1312; museolarco.org; 9am-10pm daily; S30). Housed in a grand, former mansion and charting 5,000 years of history, its exhibits include erotic art and ancient archaeological finds as well as jewellery and textiles. Dont miss the Sacrifice Ceremony room detailing the unsavoury custom of spilling blood to appease the Gods in centuries gone by. A walk in the park Limenos (locals from Lima) have been fond of Parque de la Reserva (20) located between Avenida Arquipa and Paseo de la Republica (00 51 1 331 0353; parquedelareserva.com.pe; Tuesday-Sunday, 3pm-10.30pm; S4) since it opened in 1929. These days its more popular for the synchronised light show that takes place in the 13 fountains that dance to Peruvian music each night at 7.15pm, 8.15pm and 9.30pm. It remains a pleasant spot to stroll outside of these times, its eight hectares filled with large lawns and palm trees. Ceviche (Shutterstock) Icing on the cake The best ceviche in town? Opinions vary but the busy stands within Mercado Central (21) on Jiron Ucayali (8am-6.30pm daily) are testament to the quality of the food. Choose from the freshest grouper, tuna and tilapia drizzled copiously with zingy limes (S15) and washed down with a papaya juice (S6). The conversion rate at the time of publishing was 21 Peruvian sols / 1 and US$1.4/1 Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Q My wife, who is 76 years old and has arthritic ankles, walks with a stick. At Milan Bergamo airport, she had her walking stick confiscated by security. They removed the rubber cushion at the end of the stick, and found a short spike with threads to hold the cushion on. That was deemed a hazard that would not be allowed on a Ryanair aircraft. When we had flown to Italy eight days earlier, it had not caused a problem. Mary was very distressed with the situation, especially with trying to get onto the bus to the aircraft, climbing the stairs and the very long walks through the terminal. We would not like other people to go through this type of embarrassment and discomfort. Should we inform the airport, the airline and our travel company? George Dean, Somerset A Sorry to hear about your wifes upsetting experience. The present regime of aviation security is fixated on detecting specific items that are perceived as dangerous. That makes such incidents as your wife endured depressingly frequent without, in my opinion, doing much at all to keep travellers safe. So why does the box-ticking exercise vary from one security checkpoint to another? Simply because different members of security staff interpret the rules in different ways. I have had an innocuous puncture repair outfit - containing nothing remotely sharp - confiscated at the security checkpoint La Guardia airport in New York. My mother-in-law had a run-in with security staff at Lyon airport because of some soft cheese in her hand luggage (though in subsequent discussions I was assured that all fromage of whatever consistency is regarded as a potential threat in France). And of course every day the cabin baggage of countless airline pilots is searched fastidiously for items regarded as dangerous. This check takes place a few minutes before they take responsibility for hundreds of lives, in command of an aircraft - aboard which one of the emergency tools of their trade is an axe. Conversely, shortly after the liquids ban came into effect worldwide, I inadvertently tried to take a bottle of wine through a checkpoint at a Spanish airport;. I had forgotten it was in my backpack. When the official spotted the bottle on his X-ray screen I said, Its all yours, senor. But he waved me and the wine through - a gesture that I fully support. He assessed whether the bottle and I posed a hazard and concluded we did not. Perhaps one day aviation security will embrace a holistic approach, with passengers demeanour and behaviour scrutinised as closely as their possessions. That would allow most travellers to enjoy a more dignified travel experience, But until that happens, I fear that the innocuous possessions of frail passengers will continue to regarded by zealous security staff as threats to the world as we know it. And I also fear that if you take the trouble to report your experience, the response will simply be, rules is rules. Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles readers questions. Just email yours to: s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Heathrow has been a hub for aviation enthusiasts for nearly seven decades, and it is celebrating its 70th anniversary of the official opening on 28 May 2016. Before 1930, Heathrow was a hamlet an isolated row of cottages on Hounslow Heath called Heath Row, approximately where Terminal 3 is now. In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Show all 22 1 /22 In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Inside one of the terminal tents in 1946 The year the airport opened. Comfortable armchairs and flowers try to distract from the conditions Graham Bridges collection In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow An aerial view of the airport in 1949 Construction of the runway layout and Central Area are under way In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow A Pan Am crew checks out the Boeing Stratocruiser N1029V Clipper Golden Eagle in 1954 During the early 1950s, Pan Am and American Overseas Airlines operated Statocruisers into London Airport in direct competition on the North Atlantic route operated by BOAC In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow One of the first official London Airport guidebooks C.1953, priced 1s In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow In 1950 a permanent concrete terminal building was built This replaced the tents previously used at London Airport North and is seen still in use for charter and cargo flights in this 1959 view via Graham Bridges In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow BOAC check-in desk in 1954 Inside the new London Airport North terminal building, just before the move to the Central Area Graham Bridges collection In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Air traffic control tower in the 1960s Inside the visual control room CAA Archives via Pete Bish In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Rear cover of the 1956 guidebook Showing a plan of the airport at the time, with entrance prices to the spectators viewing terraces and for airport coach tours In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Spectators in 1958 How close can you get? As soon as the Central Area was open, spectators were afforded unprecedented views of the airliners In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Terminal 3 was opened as the Oceanic Terminal on 13 November 1961 It was built to handle flight departures for long-haul routes. Renamed Terminal 3 in 1968, it was expanded in 1970 with the addition of an arrivals building In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Inside Terminal 3 in 1969 Check-in desks for BOAC and QANTAS airlines In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Plane spotting on Heathrows viewing terraces in the 1960s Wrap up warm, take your spotting logbooks, pen and binoculars and get your mum to pack your sandwiches In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow No 1 Passenger Building Also called the Europa Building. In this photo, taken on 22 June 1963, flags of the many airlines it serves are flown Lee Holden In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Luggage-trailer-towing Routemaster buses When BEA and BOAC merged to form BA on 1 April 1974, both fleets had to be repainted in the new livery, but so did all the ground support equipment In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow The entrance to the traffic tunnel in 1974 A Lufthansa Boeing 737 is seen on the runway In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow A 40 per cent scale model of Concorde In September 1990 it was erected on the roundabout at the entrance to the tunnel that passes under the northern runway at Heathrow Airport. It was built in four main parts, with an 80ft-long central fuselage section, to which the wings and tail fin were attached. The completed model was placed on the roundabout in September 1990 and was monitored by CCTV and surrounded by an infrared perimeter alarm that was connected to the local Heathrow police station to ensure it was not vandalised In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Heathrow Airport's 50th anniversary On 2 June 1996, Heathrow marked its anniversary with a flypast of representative airliner types that have served the airport over the years. This culminated in a formation flypast by Concorde with Hawks of the RAF Red Arrows aerobatic team In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow The roof of Terminal 3s car park One of the last bastions for plane spotters and spectators was here. This is the unfriendly notice that greets anyone who attempts this today Richard Vandervord In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow On 24 October 2003 BA withdrew its Concordes from service The final scheduled commercial flight was BA002 from JFK operated by G-BOAG. Here we see three of the Concordes parked together outside the BA hangar on 8 November 2003 following withdrawal John Hughes In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow The new control tower Costing 50 million to construct, it gives controllers an excellent 360-degree panoramic view NATS photograph In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow The new Terminal 2 The Queens Terminal In pictures: 70 years of Heathrow Looking due west down Runway 27L The history of Heathrow as an airfield can be traced back to 1929 and the Fairey Aviation Companys Great West Aerodrome. On a grass site, experimental and test flying was carried out during the 1930s, while Croydon was Londons main airport at the time. During the Battle of Britain, Heathrow became a satellite airfield for Northolt and operated Hurricane fighters. In the following years, RAF Transport Command and the Air Ministry started looking for sites close to London suitable for long-range transport operations. It was decided to establish Heathrow as Londons primary airport and expansion work continued. The work enlarged the pre-war airfield, demolishing Heath Row hamlet in the process to make room for it. The RAF never got to use the airport. Heathrow Airport was officially opened by the then minister of Civil Aviation, Lord Winster, on a very wet Thursday 31 May 1946 as "London Airport", with just the single runway. Heathrow in Photographs - Celebrating 70 Years of London's Airport, by Adrian M Balch, is published by The History Press (25, thehistorypress.co.uk). Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} From the publication of the Panama Papers to the collapse of the Doha oil negotiations, recent news has not shown the political elites of post-Soviet countries in a positive light. Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan nations that relied on natural resources for several decades are now looking vulnerable thanks to a lack of transparency in their economies and a worsening of financial conditions. In 2016, Russias economy will contract by 1.9 per cent, according to the World Bank, while Kazakhstan and Azerbaijans will barely grow (by 0.1 and 0.8 per cent). Budget deficits are on the rise. Local currencies fall as citizens prepare for a prolonged depression. Whats interesting is the different ways in which elites, at least in Russia and Kazakhstan, have reacted to the crisis. In Russia, the government seems not to care about the national economy at all. The so-called anti-crisis program, comprised of several random measures, is valued at a feeble 0.2 per cent of GDP. At the same time, the government raised military outlays to 19.8 per cent of overall budget spending while the Interior Ministry got another 8.2 per cent (both figures are at post-Soviet highs). Moreover, Mr Putin announced the creation of a new paramilitary service, the National Guard, directly answerable to the President. Fearing unrest, the government is putting in place measures to shut down a protest movement should one arise. Secondly, Russia continues to reinforce the states grip over the economy, extending its countersanctions, and questioning foreigners participation in a new wave of privatisation deals planned for this year. Russias imports are falling dramatically, decreasing from $27.4bn in June 2014 to $9.7bn in January 2016. The government, it seems, is preparing for a long defence against the whole world, economically as well as militarily. Only tax rises can fund this struggle. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, Russias financial elite is now primarily concerned not with supporting business, but by joining the political class. Its no wonder, given the main means of personal enrichment is now state contracts and purchases. In 2015, more than 70 per cent of budget-financed infrastructural deals were granted to just three companies. More and more officials are accused of corruption and dismissed, some of them fleeing Russia only to be extradited later, like the former chief of the State Border Control service Dmitriy Bezdelov. Plundering the state budget and the countrys wealth remains the main source of the Russian political elites private enrichment. If, however, one looks at other post-Soviet states, considered by some to be equally corrupt and badly managed, a better approach seems to be taking hold. For example Kazakhstan not a country renowned for human rights has started to prioritise economics over politics. The budget now devotes more than 55 per cent of outlays to the development of the national economy, up from 39 per cent last year. The anti-crisis action plan is set to receive over twice the amount of state funding as the military, which was cut by 17 per cent in 2015. In 2016, one per cent of GDP (4.8 per cent of the budget spending) will go to the military, 4.2 times lower than in Russia. After the 2009 crisis, the Kazakh economy grew 1.2 per cent while Russias dipped by 7.9 per cent. Then, Kazakhstan responded to the crisis by attracting foreign capital with new projects focused on interstate cooperation. There was the modernisation of the port of Aktau on the Caspian shore, a huge infrastructure project, with new highways connecting the port to the Chinese border. The main Kazakh oil projects giant Tengiz and Kashagan fields were developed by European, U.S. and Japanese companies (with combined investments valued at $65bn). Chinese investment is also growing, already exceeding the countrys investments in Russia and outstripping Russian-owned assets in Kazakhstan by 11 times. Overall tax revenues in Kazakhstan (as a proportion of GDP) are 1.6 times lower than in Russia, and there is no intention to push them up due to the current crisis conditions. Meanwhile a new, interesting trend is emerging. Increasingly, senior Kazakh officials are quitting positions in government to start their own businesses, aiming not to pillage the states finances but to encourage foreign investment in the country. Bulat Utemuratov, a senior official in the presidents administration, recently launched a joint venture for investing in Kazakh banking and telecom sectors. Another former bureaucrat, former Secretary General of the ruling Nur Otan party, Kairat Satybaldy, left government to become chairman of Alatau Capital Invest, which teamed up with Baring Vostok to put money into several projects in the banking sector. The company also cooperated with China National Machinery, which has invested $200m in developing an automobile production facility in Kazakhstan. Satybaldy, together with other former government officials, is also engaged in establishing a global financial centre in Astana. The paths of post-Soviet states, it seems, are diverging. The main reason for this is the countries is history, and geopolitical clout. While Russia used its moment to secure its dominant position in Eurasia, neglecting its economic needs, Kazakhstan embarked on a more realistic course trying to integrate itself into the regional economy and even sacrificing some of its elites interests for the sake of nations peaceful rise. They will reap the rewards. Vladislav INOZEMTSEV, Ph.D. (Econ.) is Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council in Washington (DC) and Professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Something has changed inside the Labour Party during the bitter row over antisemitism. A few weeks ago, if a group of Labour MPs with no love for Jeremy Corbyn were chatting, they would have discussed whether he would lead the party at the 2020 general election. Today the same group would discuss when Corbyn will be forced out before then. The tectonic plates have shifted, said one Labour frontbencher. The widespread view across the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] now is that he is not going to last the course. Corbyns delayed response to the allegations of antisemitism will not in itself provoke an attempted coup. What the controversy did was to crystallise a feeling among many Labour MPs fewer than 20 out of 232 voted for Corbyn last year that he is not up to the job and must go. It is wrong to say that the claims are being invented by his internal enemies to pave the way for a leadership contest. The person who did most to fan the flames was Ken Livingstone, a friend of Corbyn. The critics of Corbyns handling of the affair are not all embittered Blairites, as Livingstone argued, but included his closest ally John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor. Triggering a leadership contest would require the backing of only 51 MPs and MEPs. Although the critics have the numbers, it is far from certain they will deploy them. The antisemitism row has made a challenge more likely, and given the rebels a cause. However, they know they have only one shot before 2020 and they are not even close to rallying behind a single plan or alternative candidate. There are eight different plots; we need one that will work, said one Shadow Cabinet member. Some Blairites believe their best bet is to endorse a soft left figure, probably one serving on Corbyns frontbench rather than a backbench refusenik, to boost the chances of the party uniting behind him or her. Angela Eagle, the shadow Business Secretary, is the most likely to fit that bill. Lisa Nandy, the shadow Energy Secretary, also has her admirers. So does Hilary Benn, the shadow Foreign Secretary, but he is reluctant to put himself forward for the top job, and his support for bombing Isis in Syria alienated many party members. If the anti-Corbyn forces coalesce behind a new face, it could be Dan Jarvis, a former soldier now on leadership manoeuvres, but who some colleagues say is not yet ready for action. Despite brave talk about a coup, Corbyn still enjoys the overwhelming support of the Labour members who will decide the leadership and who gave him a huge 59 per cent mandate only eight months ago. A YouGov survey suggests that he would now win 43 per cent of first preference votes, and 62 per cent after second and third references were reallocated. Yet some MPs insist the grassroots mood is changing, that some members who voted for Corbyn last year now regret it not because of his left-wing views, but because of a lack of competence, of which the antisemitism row is a good example. A leadership challenge would not be launched until after the 23rd June EU referendum, since moving more quickly would divert Labours energies from the Remain campaign. A key factor in whether Corbyns critics press ahead will be Labours performance in Thursdays elections to English councils, the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, and for Mayor of London. Corbyns enemies have deliberately set the bar high, saying the Opposition should win 400 council seats at this stage of the electoral cycle. Independent experts predict that Labour could lose more than 100 seats because the party did well when the seats up for grabs were last contested. This week Corbyn refused to play the expectations game but naively gave a hostage to fortune by saying: Were not going to lose seats. His spokesman said afterwards that Corbyn didnt mean it. Any coup would need the tacit support of Tom Watson, the deputy leader, and Rosie Winterton, the chief whip. The first phase could be a wave of resignations by several Shadow Cabinet members, who would warn that Corbyn was leading the party to electoral disaster in 2020. The anti-Corbyn mood is now black enough for such hurdles to be cleared. But the fear stalking the plotters is that, even if they prise Corbyn out, another left-winger could win the ensuing leadership election. The most likely candidate would be McDonnell, who has dismissed as ludicrous nonsense growing speculation about a faultline between him and Corbyn, but would probably run if Corbyn stood down or was forced out. Corbyn reminds Cameron that "racism was endemic" in his Conservative party Corbyn said on Tuesday he is enjoying being leader but does not look like a man who is; some critics believe he might just walk away and try to hand over the baton to another left-winger. McDonnell might enjoy less grassroots support than Corbyn, yet it might still be enough to see off a challenger. Corbyns critics are not playing a clever hand. By advertising their plotting, they may help Team Corbyn blame poor election results on the MPs refusing to accept his mandate, deflecting criticism from his own performance. Indeed, the blame game has already begun in Labour circles. For Labour from now on, things can only get bitter. Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Nadine White Sign up to our free fortnightly newsletter The Race Report Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the The Race Report email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} One of the leaders of the Rhodes Must Fall Campaign, Ntokozo Qwabe, has recently come to the attention of the media after he and a friend made a white waitress, Ashleigh Schultz, cry in a South African restaurant. Qwabe and his friend refused to give the waitress a tip and instead wrote on the bill that she could have one when you return the land. This act reduced the waitress to what Qwabe later referred to as typical white tears. The Facebook post which appears to be written by Ntokozo Qwabe. He says later 'go to your fellow white people and mobilise for them to give us our land back.' (Gofundme.org) Whilst revelling in the upset of Schultz may have been wrong, Qwabe raises a legitimate point about white tears and racism. One of the stumbling blocks in getting mainstream society to address racism is the brick wall response received when these issues are raised. Our concerns tend to be either dismissed as something from the past we need to move on from; or people are so racked with white guilt that all meaningful conversation is stilted. I have lost count of the number of times when confronted with the realities of racism, white colleagues have become overwhelmed, emotional and sometimes cried. When this happens it completely shuts down the debate and shifts the focus from the issue of racism, to the guilt and anguish expressed by the white tears. There could be no more inappropriate focus for a discussion of racism. Yes, there is a lot to feel guilty for, both historically and currently, but tears do not solve any of the continuing problems. In fact, white tears are a form of racial oppression themselves, a mechanism to attempt to share the pain of racism rather than accepting responsibility and addressing this oppression. To accuse Qwabe of racism is absurd. We entirely conflate racism and prejudice in discussions today. Even if Qwabe, or others, are prejudiced against white people, racism is a system of oppression. Racism systematically organises society in ways that structurally disadvantage communities of colour. Individual prejudice against any white person can never be equated to this systemic oppression. Qwabe may have been wrong to delight in the tears of Schultz, but his frustration is understandable. Until we can have a conversation about racism, in the absence of white guilt and tears, there will be no progress towards racial equality. Recommended Read more Generation Rent are being prevented from voting in London In his autobiography, Malcolm X famously regretted telling a white student that she had no role in combatting racial oppression. On reflection he argued that the place where really sincere white people have got to do their proving of themselves is not among the black victims, but out on the battle lines of where America's racism really is - and that's in their own home communities. White tears take us further away from doing the important work of confronting the legacy of racism. Racism should be an uncomfortable discussion for white people, but it needs to be addressed openly and move beyond the self-obsession of guilt. Caretaker Taoiseach Enda Kenny says a new minority government could be close to a deal Caretaker Taoiseach Enda Kenny has declared a new minority government could be "signed off tonight or tomorrow morning". His Fine Gael party is locked in talks with two factions of Independents to form an administration, more than two months after the country went to the polls. Fianna Fail agreed at the weekend to effectively support a Fine Gael-led minority government from the Opposition benches in return for some concessions. The deal, to be reviewed at the end of 2018, has paved the way for Mr Kenny to be re-elected premier - which would be a first for his party - if he can secure the support of at least another six TDs (MPs) from outside his own ranks. Party negotiators are trying to woo two groupings of 11 Independents. Despite a number of the Independents casting doubts on a deal being struck this week, Mr Kenny voiced his optimism. "I can confirm that (talks with Independents) are progressing with a sense of urgency," he told the Dail (parliament). "I'd like to think this matter could be concluded this week, but obviously I'm not in a position to confirm that finally. "But I do hope that today's discussions, that are currently under way following on from the discussions and agreement with the Fianna Fail party, can be brought to a conclusion and that the matter could be signed off on tonight or tomorrow morning." Mr Kenny added: "Hopefully that can be reached - I can't guarantee it, but the discussions are very real and are progressing with a sense of urgency." The country has been locked in a political stalemate since the February 26 general election split the vote like never before. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, the traditionally dominant parties who swapped power for generations and whose bitter enmity stems back to the Irish civil war, balked at pressure to form a "grand coalition". Attention is already being focused on how long a new minority government will last. Under the arrangement, Fine Gael will have to rule and Fianna Fail oppose without either of them undermining the other too much. Teresa Devlin, chief executive of the watchdog, has described the disclosures as shocking A paedophile priest who admitted abusing more than 100 children was allowed unfettered access to youngsters for more than two years after allegations were first made against him. The cleric who served in Ireland, England, Australia and Rome, abused children up until at least 2004 despite his seniors being warned about him in 2002, the Catholic Church's own watchdog has found. After one of his own relatives came forward to say she was molested, the priest's senior moved him on from his Dublin parish without telling the Archbishop the "real reason" for his move. The then provincial of The Salvatorians congregation also failed to notify police, health chiefs and parishioners about the allegations - despite being duty-bound to under guidelines issued eight years previously. The revelations are among the latest tranche of reports as part of a massive child safety audit of religious congregations by Ireland's National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church (NBSCCC). Teresa Devlin, chief executive of the watchdog, has described the disclosures as shocking. "The knowledge that he was abusing children was known in 2002 and we believe that he possibly continued to abuse for another two years," she said. "He was allowed to continue to do what he wanted to do and that is shocking. "It is so recent and there are still a number of young women who are dealing with the aftermath of this abuse." Based on the known behaviour of serial paedophiles, the NBSCCC said the priest possibly continued his child abuse right up until he was forced to undertake residential treatment in the UK in August 2004. The abuser - referred to only as Fr A - was eventually convicted and sentenced to prison in December 2007 for child sexual abuse over a 25-year period. He was released from prison in early 2009 and moved to the UK where he died later that year. The priest served as a teacher in the UK, as a parish priest in Australia and Dublin and as a hospital chaplain in Rome. The NBSCCC said the Salvatorians, officially known as The Society of the Divine Saviour, has to date received no complaints against him related to any of the three postings outside Ireland. But it has called on the congregation to seek to identify the paedophile priest's victims "within and beyond Ireland". The watchdog warned the religious congregation of the "considerable responsibility it still carries to ensure that the devastation perpetrated on his victims by Fr A is conscientiously, compassionately and effectively addressed". Salvatorian case files show knowledge of nine named victims. However, "by his own admission Fr A had abused in excess of 100 children, mostly girls in the age range 6 years to 9 years of age, in various parts of Ireland", the watchdog report states. It found the paedophile "did not provide the names of these children when making this admission". Despite his abuse, the priest is "still esteemed by some members of his congregation for his work and personal piety", the watchdog found. Fr A served as a Salvatorian priest from his ordination in the 1950s to the time of his death in 2009. The busy route was closed for a time and diversions put in place Two elderly women have been killed within minutes of each other while crossing the road in separate accidents. One the victims, aged in her early 80s, was hit by a car as she was attempting to get across the southbound carriageway of the N11 in Dublin. The incident occurred close to Cabinteely shortly before 1pm. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and her body taken to St Columcille's Hospital in Loughlinstown for a post mortem examination. The busy route was closed for a time and diversions put in place. Around the same time, a woman in her 70s was killed after being struck by a lorry in Carrick on Suir, Co Tipperary. She was also trying to cross the road at the time on the N24 Limerick to Waterford road in the Townspark area. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. The road was closed for several hours to allow Garda technical experts carry out a forensic examination. Investigating gardai have appealed for witnesses to come forward in both cases. The block on Dublin's North Quays has been on the market since last autumn but the sale process has taken much longer than expected (Stock picture) US property firm Hines has pulled out of a 242m purchase of PriceWaterhouseCoopers' (PwC) headquarters in Dublin, it is understood. Hines was expected to complete the deal for the 226,624 sq ft office block, located at One Spencer Dock D1, on a joint venture basis with two German pension funds. However, according to a report in The Irish Times, Hines has decided against proceeding with the deal with officials from the company indicating the firm's new take on the property. The block on Dublin's North Quays has been up for sale since last Autumn with the breakdown of the long-awaited deal coming as a surprise due to Hines' lengthy due diligence process. The office space is let to PwC on a 25-year lease, which has over 15 years left to run. It is understood the lease includes upwards-only rent reviews every five years. Competition in farm loans is expected to increase with a new entrant to the agri sector launching a 50m fund to provide 'low cost' finance for buying and leasing agri-equipment. First Citizen Finance has become the sixth lending partner to offer Stategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) finance to the agri-sector. Nick Ashmore, CEO of the SBCI described the move as "another key step in delivering low cost, more flexible funding" to the Irish agri-sector. The area already accounts for 26pc of all SBCI loans which offers 800m of funding through three banks, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, and three non-bank lenders, First Citizen Finance, Finance Ireland and Merrion Fleet. It does not fund land purchases. Discounted Chris Hanlon, MD, First Citizen Finance said the partnership with SBCI will enable them to offer loan facilities at discounted rates with repayment spreads of up to seven years for purchase or lease of machinery including tractors, combine harvesters and balers. EU Agriculture Commissioner, Phil Hogan said he was heartened by the announcement which should provide further benefits to the development of the agricultural sector which is experiencing "a significant competitiveness deficit" at the core of the problem". The ICMSA's Lorcan McCabe said farmers have been "starved of choice" for bank loans for too long. Meanwhile, following a meeting with the Financial Ombudsman to explore the options for farmers who feel they are getting a raw deal from banks and other financial entities, ICSA president Patrick Kent said they were increasingly concerned at the pressures faced by farmers in financial difficulty. One of the big lessons of the recent general election was not to presume too much about how people in different parts of the country are doing. Highlighting a 7pc growth rate in the economy to people who simply aren't feeling it is like having a political death wish. The outcome of the election has put the question of rural Ireland centre stage once again. But, having successfully grabbed the Dail's attention, the big question is what should be done about it. We aren't actually closer to solving the problems facing rural Ireland because there is little agreement on what those problems are. Broadband, lack of foreign multinationals, crime and health services are frequently mentioned. But there isn't even any agreement on what we mean by rural Ireland in the first place. Rural economies are increasingly plugged in to the major towns or cities in their region. There are around 170,000 fewer people farming than when we joined the EEC in the 1970s. Farmers are vital in a rural area because they work, generate income and employment, in the very parish in which they live. If anything there aren't enough of them and the numbers are expected to fall further in the future. They have great scope to act as future employers in rural areas. The cyclical nature of farming incomes and profit is a real challenge. Nationally, there is definitely a poor understanding of the dynamics of rural economies. Too often the economic performance of rural Ireland is seen exclusively through the lens of farming. Today, nearly half of all working people living in rural Ireland commute to towns or cities. So, if we want to work out a plan for rural economies, we have to think not just about the future of the post office at the crossroads, but also what happens to major towns like Athlone, Longford, Letterkenny or Dundalk. Some will argue there is no two speed economy between Dublin, and a couple of other cities, and the rest of the country. I have seen statistics used in recent weeks by commentators which "prove" that incomes in rural Ireland have grown by just as much as the capital city. Sometimes statistics don't tell the whole story. You could be lying down with your head in an oven and your feet in a deep freeze, and statistically speaking you are comfortable. Unemployment levels in rural areas might not tell the full story of how many people have left the place. Someone in Donegal with a similar income to a person in Dublin, faces a much bigger battle sending their children to a university that is hundreds of miles away. By 2030 around 60pc of the population will live within 25 miles of the east coast. That concentration of population will bring economic advantages not just to Dublin but to the entire eastern seaboard. This population growth shift will increase the economic advantages of the higher populated east coast over other places. Bigger populations get a bigger call on resources, investment and representation. For example, there are now 18 TDs representing Cork City and County, but there are only 20 for the entire province of Connacht. Of course Dublin and its environs have to plan for this change too or it will go hopelessly wrong. The current housing crisis in Dublin is just one early symptom of the problems that may await inhabitants of Dublin in the future. The debate shouldn't be about Dublin-bashing. Ireland needs a vibrant economy in the capital city but if as a society we also want parts of rural Ireland to be vibrant places too, then it will require some real planning. So where does the eastern population advantage leave places like Connacht, the Midlands and the North West? As a greater portion of people living in rural communities will actually work somewhere else, a commutable distance away, proximity to a city or vibrant large town is becoming more and more important. Rural Ireland has grabbed the nation's attention. But the problems facing rural Ireland are not just about what happens in their parish, but what economic, infrastructural and other plans are put in place for each region. The other part of the solution for rural communities is to look at developing entrepreneurship in their locality. Creating employment in a rural area can be done, and has been done successfully all around the country. The problem is that we don't have enough entrepreneurs. In Co Monaghan, more than one in five people working are self-employed. Seven of the county's top 10 employers are local companies. Necessity has been the mother of invention there, but other counties could learn from that experience. The best way to get more home grown employers is to target supports into these areas. But local people also have to make their community an attractive place to live. It stops people moving away and encourages others back again or to move there for the first time. If Dublin gets its population explosion wrong, and it looks like it is going that way, local rural communities can provide an attractive alternative for talented smart people to set up businesses. That is where all the other stuff comes in. These communities need broadband. People need to feel the nearest Garda isn't 25 miles way. They need access to health and community services and decent schools. Short term spending by government without long term thinking won't benefit anybody in the long run. There can be a fair and a bright future for rural places. But throwing a bit of money at very local social issues, without thinking through a wider economic plan, won't be enough. Richard Curran is a columnist with the Irish Independent Grass growth continues well below normal for this time of year on most farms away from the south of the country. The weather remains extremely cold by day and night with the average temperature recorded here beside us in Athenry for April reading just 7.4C, a massive 1.3 degrees below normal. This is the third consecutive month of below normal temperatures so there is nothing normal about this year as it continues to be extremely challenging across every area including cow care, calf rearing, grass growth as well as our own health and well-being. Grass is our only source of cheap feed for the dairy cow and is the one area where we have a competitive advantage over milk produced from grain fed cows. I believe the only way we can survive the low milk price of 2016 is to feed the cow as much grazed grass as possible. To graze it we must grow it and there is no doubt the missing ingredient continues to be heat. In the meantime we must ensure that there is enough Nitrogen available when the heat eventually arrives and in the knowledge that the lime, P and K status are already good. To date this year we have spread 97 units of N per acre and our last application was Sul can with 5pc sulphur. We farm on free draining sandy soil and research has shown large increases in grass grown when 20 units per acre is applied from April onwards. The ongoing milk price drops are unsustainable for any system and the only action we can take that is under our control is to reduce costs by feeding the cows as cheaply as possible. We farmers, along with the farm organisations and milk purchasers, must work together to improve our lot as primary producers. This must involve rationalisation and amalgamation to increase our strength. At EU level last year we saw them plunder a massive superlevy payment from Irish dairy farmers and what has been given in return? This year the shocking level of import tariffs we pay on fertiliser has been highlighted, but no reductions achieved. The sanctions imposed on Russia have impacted us more than any other sector yet no support is offered. A small number of retailers have control of the market and appear to enjoy the protection of the powers that be with regard to "hello money" or below cost selling. As John F Kennedy said in 1961, and the same still applies, "farmers buy retail, sell wholesale and pay the freight both ways". This must change to give farmers fair play. Back on the farm, we will start breeding both cows and heifers on May 3. The cows are milking 25 litres at 4.35pc fat and 3.52pc protein or 2kg/ms/day. Stocking rate is 3.4 cows/ha which gives us a demand of 58/kg per day. Currently we are growing over 40kg/DM/ha daily and still feeding an unprecedented 4kg of concentrate per day. With the weather forecast it is difficult to see when we will be able to reduce to a more normal 2kg and I am acutely aware of the need to achieve a rising plain of nutrition during the breeding season. While all the cows have been tail painted for pre heat detection activity has been low. We conditioned scored the herd and put 10pc of them on OAD. Our method is to put a green tape on the tail and they are not milked in the evening. We will put scratch cards on just over half the maiden heifers to assist with heat detection for AI. The rest will be let off with the JEX bulls to reduce workload as well as cost. I am intending to shorten the period of AI to the cows this year to five weeks and then let out the stock bulls. I may use AA straws also for a further two weeks to reduce the risk of infertility in the bulls. Henry and Patricia Walsh farm in Oranmore, Co Galway along with their son Enda and neighbour and outfarm owner John Moran FBD chief executive Fiona Muldoon has sought to reassure farmers that insurance premium hikes this year will be modest. Ms Muldoon told shareholders the company's AGM that its primary focus is on returning to profitability, and premiums would have to go up as a consequence. "Our farm book will see some increases, I do not expect them to be anything like the order that we have seen, but we will see low single digit increases in the farm book," Ms Muldoon said. "On motor, however, the motor increases are likely to be more than that," she added "Many of our shareholders will also be farmers and will know all about the issues in the industry particularly in the dairy sector where commodity prices are very challenged. We will judge it and we will judge it finely, and we are aware of our customer base and what they're going through, but FBD has got to protect its shareholders and it has got to return to profitability." Ms Muldoon was speaking at a lively AGM at which FBD chairman Michael Berkery revealed the company's former chief executive Andrew Langford is working on a secret FBD project outside the day-to-day affairs of the business, for which he is being paid 16,300 a month. Chairman Mr Berkery said that at the time Mr Langford resigned, the former boss was working on a "satellite project". "At that time in July, Andrew and the company had another commercial project outside of the day-to-day management of FBD, I would say something of a satellite project, underway. "We agreed as a board, and we agreed as a remuneration committee etc, that Andrew had a contribution he could make, not in the day-to-day management of FBD...that project is underway, he is engaged to deliver it, and I will report at another time about that." Ms Muldoon said she believed that FBD had "broadly stabilised" in the second half of 2015. "We have a clear strategy, it has been articulated, we continue to strengthen our customer base in the Irish agricultural and small business sectors." In a closing statement, Ms Muldoon said she believed FBD is "a fine business". "A lot of the difficulties and the anger and the hurt that has gone before needs to be put behind us and we need to be out fighting the competition, not each other," she added. Many discoveries are made by accident. Take, for example, the French classic, Tarte Tatin. The most common story of how it came about concerns a lady named Stephanie Tatin who, in the 1880s, ran a hotel south of Paris One day Stephanie was making a traditional apple pie when she left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish. She whipped up a simple pastry, draped it on top and popped it into the oven. Voila, a classic was born. In 1941, a Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral was on a hiking trip when he found burrs clinging to his pants and also his dog's fur. On inspection, he found the burrs had hooks which would cling to anything loop-shaped. The seeds were sown for Velcro, a combination of the words "velvet" and "crochet". A few weeks back I attended a conference entitled Farming for a Resilient Landscape, which detailed a farmers' initiative in mid Wales named the Pontbren Project. The project began in 1997 when three neighbouring farmers came together because they realised their approach to farming wasn't working. Like most of upland Wales, the structure of farming in Pontbren had changed during the 19th and 20th centuries. Since joining the EU, farmers had embraced various schemes which encouraged higher production, by increasing stock numbers and introducing continental breeds. Pastures were drained and reseeded and new buildings erected. However, despite all the changes, these farmers concluded they were no better off. They were getting more for their stock but they were working harder while fertiliser and feed bills were growing. They were on a treadmill. This approach had moreover weakened the environment. The removal of hedges meant the landscape had become simpler, providing fewer habitats for wildlife. Dr Tim Pagella of Bangor University explained how the farmers switched from crossbred ewes to hardier local breeds such as Welsh mountain, Lleyn and Speckled Face. These have a lower requirement for housing but did require the establishment of shelter belts. While conifers had been widely planted previously, they now went for a range of native species including birch, rowan and alder. Over 120,000 new trees and shrubs were planted, with 16.5km of hedges created or restored. This led to improved live weight gains for livestock with no negative economic impact on farming incomes. But the farmers also realised that what they were doing was having other, beneficial, effects, in terms of slowing down water run-off. One day someone noticed that water running down across the grazed fields disappeared as soon as it reached the edge of the new woodland. Scientific investigation found that infiltration rates inside the woodland were 60 times those on the pasture ten metres away. This is one of a number of significant "accidental" flood management discoveries arising from the Project. Discoveries along the same vein are now being made in the Burren and Aran LIFE projects, which I hope to return to at a later date. A 71.5ac farm in the same family for 246 years in Co Offaly is to come under the hammer of auctioneer Matt Dunne over the next few weeks. Records show that a Mr Hugh Kelly lived on land located at Ballinakill, Walsh Island as far back as 1770. The farm is still in the Kelly name but this will more than likely come to an end at the executor sale of the property to be conducted by auctioneer Matt Dunne. The land will be sold in lots with a collective guide price of 330,000. "Unfortunately dynasties such as this come to an end sometime, but every grey cloud has a silver lining and this now gives young farmers in the area a 'rare opportunity' to extend their existing holding," said Mr Dunne. The auctioneer describes the land as surprisingly good, "being so close to the bog one would expect the land to be marginal and peaty - but , on the contrary, every inch of this land has been ploughed over the years with great results," said Mr Dunne. The vendor, Joseph Kelly, had been in poor health for some time, and the land was mainly rented for the past 10 years. Farmhouse The farmhouse, a spacious two storey residence, constructed in the 1950s is approximately 1,150sqft, with accommodation that includes three bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, bathroom and scullery. The farmyard includes a three-span hay shed with lean-to and a range of other outbuildings. For the purposes of the auction the farm will be offered in three lots. The first lot consists of the farmhouse on 13ac and is guided at 120,000. The second lot adjacent to the house comprises 41.5ac with turbary attached that has commercial potential and this is guided at 160,000. Lot three consists of 17ac of forestry planted in 2010 and made up predominantly of Norway Spruce with some Scots Pine, Ash, Alder and Birch. The annual premium is 3,100 with 14 years left to run. This is guided at 50,000. The final lot is comprised of the entire. The auction takes place at the Bridge House Hotel, Tullamore at 3pm on Tuesday, May 10. The ever-evolving nature of the global agri-food business was emphasised at the AGM of Glanbia plc when shareholders learned that the Performance Nutrition sector of its operations is now its biggest earner. During 2015, Performance Nutrition which comprises sports, health and other supplements and comes from food products such as whey, drew 135.6m globally for the Glanbia group. That compared to the Global Ingredients business which earned 106.6m for the food giant last year. What was once the foundation and core of Glanbia, dairy, accounted for 28.8m in earnings in 2015 while the group's joint ventures with other entities earned it 40m. Last year was Glanbia's sixth consecutive year of double-digit share growth while early indications for the first quarter of 2016 pointed to another strong year on a global level. Glanbia now employs over 6,000 people in 32 countries, many of them in the United States. Board chairman Henry Corbally said the group has "transformed itself into a global leader" and become a 5bn business. The group's aim is to maintain and grow its position as a global leader in Performance Nutrition, group MD Siobhan Talbot said, with the United States a key market. Glanbia has the number one position in the sector in the US while its recently-announced investment of $140m in Southwest Cheese in New Mexico, fully-funded by joint ventures, is set to consolidate its overall position across the Atlantic. Many of the questions from the floor of the AGM concerned the ongoing low prices being achieved by dairy farmers for their milk, with Ms Talbot warning that "it might get a bit worse before it gets better," while expressing the belief that milk prices will start to improve next year. Ms Talbot, who saw her remuneration increase by 16pc last year to 1.9m, was also asked about any possible implications for Glanbia of a potential Brexit that would see the UK depart the EU. "There's a lot of uncertainty, for sure," the MD replied, "and I suppose like any large corporate, we don't like uncertainty." The UK "wouldn't be our biggest market," she pointed out, particularly when compared to the scale of its operations in the USA, and the biggest impact of our neighbours leaving the EU would be on Glanbia's joint ventures. "We'll plan and manage like we always do. We'll navigate that as we get greater clarity, but ultimately the people will decide." Asked later by the Farming Independent if such a move by the UK is a worry for the group, Ms Talbot said: "It is of course. The potential for uncertainty, to the extent that that's there, is always a factor, but at the end of the day, though, it's one of a myriad of factors that we're always managing. "There's lots of change, always, in today's world." She was also asked about the long delay in forming a government in this country after the election and said that "like any corporate we like stability" and this was true for both the country and Glanbia. Ms Talbot said that while the milk price situation is "very challenging" at the moment, the "totality" of the Glanbia situation is very strong, with recent investments in its facilities in Monaghan and Portlaoise and upcoming in Wexford. It's important to have a "strong plc," she said, and the whole group is working hard to help milk suppliers through the current difficult period. "The reason we were able to give out 60m [to shareholders] in the last number of years was because the plc had such strong growth." Upcoming developments are an important aspect of continuing the group's growth, according to the MD. "The Avonmore brand is fantastic so we want to bring that to more global consumers." "Delivering Better Nutrition for Every Step of Life's Journey," is Glanbia's mission statement and Ms Talbot said it underpins activities at every level of the group. "It's important to us how we do business and not just what we achieve. We put our customer front and centre," she told shareholders, adding that the group values its 6,000 employees who show creativity, innovation and curiosity throughout their work. 'No one is suggesting that my one-year son is going to be a farmer, but the robots might maximise its appeal," said 42-year-old Waterford dairy farmer, Ken Murphy. He has gone a step further than most farmers in the country by not only investing in robotic technology to milk his 144 cow herd, but also to feed his calves, clean his passagewaysand even scratch his cows. "Lely threw in the back-brusher for free," admits Murphy, and given the 230,000 that the farmer spent with the Dutch-based firm, he was probably entitled to it. "A single robot costs about 120,000, but the second one is a lot cheaper at 90,000. The calf feeder was about 8,500, and the muck scraper was about 12,000. All those prices exclude VAT," he said. Another 100,000 was spent on extensions and modifications to the shed, but Murphy believes that he would have spent at least that on building a new shed on a greenfield site if he had opted to go for a herringbone parlour. "Even though I saw robots in operation on a college trip to Holland back in 1995, and thought they were great, I never really considered them for more than a moment as a real runner here. "I did initially run it past my Teagasc advisor, and he ruled it out on the basis that it was untested technology. He was right in that regard, and I wasn't brave enough to go it alone," remembers Murphy of the thought process that finally brought him and several farmers to the automated system. "So I was hankering after some kind of a parlour upgrade, and then realised that two of my neighbours, along with my cousin and a few other farmers locally were all in the same boat. So we decided to get together to pool our knowledge and see if our collective requirements could generate a bit of a discount. "Initially it was all about the conventional parlours, but after a Lely guy came to visit us, we decided to take a closer look." Two years later, six of the original seven have opted to buy Lely robots, with Ken's two machines heading into their first spring season. "We milked cows over the winter for the first time, basically because it wasn't me that had to do the milking," explains Ken. "We milked some of the later calving cows on through, and we'll probably do the same this year." Daily routine He has found that the daily routine is shorter, and more flexible. "I'm still starting at 7am, but I'll probably ease off on that once we get over the spring workload. But more importantly, I'm home at 5pm rather than 7pm. That's really important to me with a baby in the house. It's just nice to get a chance to be feeding him his tea." But how does he cope when he wants to take holidays? "Well I have a full-time man on the farm, but he doesn't work weekends, so I'm still on at the weekends, but there are lads in the area now that understand doing relief work with robots, so it's no different really from having a standard milking parlour. "You still have to brief them on the problem cows and grazing situation, but they know how the system works - basically check the robots once or twice during the day, check the filters and keep an eye on the phone. I think that the system is also a good way to ensure that you keep good staff onboard." Murphy is using an A-B-C grazing system where there are three grazing blocks on the go during any single 24-hour period, and he believes that the system might actually improve the grass utilisation by his 1,200 gallon cows. "The cows are definitely more content. Some of them love getting back into the machine to get out first to a new block of grass, but others are the opposite, preferring to hang back and graze out pastures really well before being moved on." And what about the higher running costs or the cost of further expansion? "There's no doubt that the robots are going to have higher running costs than a parlour. It's too early for me to quantify how much, but I'm happy to pay extra in that I'm paying for a machine to replace human labour. "With regard to further expansion, we could, in theory, go up to 160 cows, but that would be it. And I'm happy now sticking at 140. If I've 140 good cows, we'll have room for comfort, and not be chasing grass." A limit of 70 cows has always been mooted for a single robot, and he believes that his machines are at their limit now, albeit with an adequate amount of free-time to allow the shier cows access the machine. "The average number of milkings per day was averaging 2.2 last week, which I'd be happy with," he says. The calf feeders were purchased two years before the robots, again to take some of the drudgery out of the daily routine. "I used to have a milk-bar that fed about 30 calves on teats at a time, but I was always concerned about the slower drinkers only getting half the amount that the best drinkers got. "I only really need to check the machine once a day. It takes a bag of milk replacer and gradually increases the feed for each calf as they grow older to a point where you specify that you want it to taper off again before weaning. "Each calf has a transponder on her neck so the feeder knows when they've got enough, and then it shuts down access for that animal for a few hours." Farmers throughout the country are currently asking lots of questions about banks. Recent media coverage of loan sales, tactics by some sub-prime lenders and high profile repossessions have forced farmers to think about their own situations. The wall to wall coverage combined with poor weather, rock bottom commodity prices for milk, corn and pork have created an uneasiness amongst farmers. Should farmers be worried or not? There is absolutely no need for the vast majority of farmers to worry about their financial situations in Ireland. Worrying about the price of milk or the weather is frankly a meaningless exercise as one cannot change either. A farmer with a cashflow problem is better off dealing with it rather than worrying about it, there is a solution to every problem big or small. National Level The big picture according to the Central Bank is that Agriculture accounted for almost 19pc or 649m of credit advanced to Irish small and medium sized enterprises in 2015. Agricultural lending is firmly back in fashion since the end of the economic boom, all three of the main banks Allied Irish Bank, Bank of Ireland and Ulster Bank are active in the agricultural market and lending to farmers. They have employed agricultural graduates to better understand farmer needs and their applications for finance. Immediately after the property crash in 2008 all of the banks set up bad debt resolution departments or 'bad bank departments'. These initially dealt with the big money property loans in excess of 10m who were mostly in negative equity ie loans were greater than the value of the property held as security, there were very few farmers involved in this process, more recently theses departments are dealing with smaller loans of under 3m. A small number of farmers have ended up in these 'bad bank departments' having purchased expensive residential/commercial property or land during the boom. Many of these cases have been resolved or are presently being resolved, so much so that these bad bank departments are being closed or amalgamated in most of the banks. These cases tend to get much more publicity than their numbers would support. The reality is that Irish farmers have greatly reduced their level of bank debt since 2009. Irish agri-lending peaked at 5.2bn in Q1 of 2009 and has steadily fallen to less than 3.2bn by Q4 of 2015. The peak in bank lending happened when farmers borrowed to fund farm buildings done under the very popular Farm Improvement scheme and Dairy Hygiene grant schemes in 2007/2008. The reduction in lending since is quite spectacular especially given the reputed massive investment going into dairy expansion. Putting the 3.2bn of current agri-lending into perspective is interesting when one compares this level of bank debt with that of large property developers. A number of the top 10 property developers in the 2007 had individual bank borrowings in the region of 2bn each, two of them would have had the same bank borrowings as all the farmers in Ireland added together. Another interesting comparison is to look at the ratio of debt to equity or assets. When applying for a mortgage to buy a house in Ireland today you must have a 20pc deposit, therefore your mortgage or debt will be 80pc of the value of the house. If one adds up the value of all Irish farmers land, buildings, livestock and machinery it would come to 78bn and compare that to the level of bank and trade creditor debt of 3.7bn, the comparable debt to equity ratio is only 4.7pc. Farm level Even though Irish farmers as a whole are not heavily borrowed of course some individual farmers have high levels of bank debt. Low commodity prices like the current price of milk will exacerbate a deficit of cash to meet all financial commitments in a bad year. In fact many smaller dairy farms with no bank debt and a small Basic Payment Scheme entitlement will not make enough cash to meet personal drawings at a base milk price 22c/l, a price some of the banks are requesting as a base for 2016 cashflow budgets. So how does one kill the worry of not being able to feed your family or meet your bank repayments? The answer is simple, do not ignore it and hope it will improve or go away, DEAL WITH IT. Firstly get your 2015 financial accounts done, then do a farm business plan or cash flow budget for 2016 to see if you have a deficit of funds ie not enough cash generated to meet all financial commitments. It is important to be realistic when doing the projections for 2016, perhaps one should even be a little pessimistic, do not assume the milk price will rise at the backend of the year or that you will cut feed fed by 100kgs a cow, in fact assume it will not happen. It is better to over perform rather than over budget. When you have established your position you must then set about dealing with the problem as soon as possible. Some farmers have cash reserves in a deposit account to fund a deficit of cash, others have enough space in their current account overdraft facility to cover the bad year. Most will need to speak to their bank about getting an interest only repayment schedule or in some cases even a holiday from bank repayments altogether for a period of time. Of course there will be some who have a more serious cancer in their business which will need surgery but these are few and far between, there is a solution to every problem. I find the mere fact of talking about it helps every farm family it is never as bad as it appears inside your head, a problem shared is a problem halved. The majority of farmers are worrying unnecessarily about banks in the current climate, assess your financial position, stop worrying and deal with it. Mike Brady is an agricultural consultant and managing director of the Brady Group - email: mike@bradygroup.ie Europe wants quality food, cheap food and environmental protection - and all at the same time. Compliance with regulations and introduction of new legislation is now so commonplace that few questions are asked when yet another product is banned. Chlorpyrifos, which most knew as Dursban, had a final use by date of March 31, 2016. Last year tillage farmers were advised that if prethroids failed to control aphids in spring crops to follow up with either chlopyrifos or pirimicarb. So while we still have pirimicarb we are ok? I'm afraid not. Next year pirimicarb is likely to be banned. The result will be that according as resistance to pyrethroids increases we will have no chemical control to kill aphids that transmit Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus. Yields of late sown spring crops (mid April onwards) are likely to suffer a yield penalty of 2t/ha. That in itself should not be a problem for farmers as decreased supply should result in increased price. However the price of grain, nor of any agricultural product, is not determined by European supply. Price is determined by world supply and the world, outside of Europe, does not have a ban on chlopyriphos nor does it have a ban on many other products that we are not allowed to use - hormones to boost beef and milk production, GM varieties . Given that the rest of the world does not appear to be concerned about products that Europe has banned it is unrealistic to expect that we would get a premium price for our products except for niche markets. Our regulators, though, see fit - on environmental grounds and or risk to humans - to ban European farmers from using them. It would be logical then to expect that there would be a ban on the importation of raw materials or finished foods that have been produced using those substances. That is not the case. We have a strange situation where a tillage/beef farmer is not allowed to use GM varieties of maize when sowing a crop yet is buying a ration that contains GM maize. The farmer who grew that GM maize had a higher yield potential at lower cost/t than the European farmer yet the European farmer can use the product for animal production and put that animal into the European food chain. Has the European consumer won by getting an animal that has been produced at lower cost? Is it acceptable that Europe has taken a position on environment risk for some products and yet supports farmers in other parts of the world by buying that product from them. One of the first products to be highlighted as an environment risk was DDT - in 1962 with the publication of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. DDT is now banned virtually everywhere as are many other chemicals. Chemicals are banned for several reasons - toxicity, carcinogenic risk (cancer causing), persistency (chemical very slow to degrade) or suspicion that it may be causing damage to something other than the target. All of the approved chemicals used in European agriculture have limitations as to usage. Restrictions These include individual crop permissions/restrictions, maximum rates, periods of permitted usage, conditions under which application is permitted, buffer zones in which application is permitted, condition of application equipment and usage restricted to persons who have undertaken a training course in pesticide application. The same level of controls are not in place for imported products. How much product are we importing in foodstuffs that does not meet our standards? Within Europe we have a very comprehensive residue testing in food products combined with records keeping by farmers of all products used and traceability of both animals and crops. Controls are rigidly enforced on farm. Can the same be said for imported product? If Britain exits the EU will we have different environmental standards for crops produced in the Northern Ireland? The issue of immediate concern is that the food we import in Europe should meet the same standards as Europe demands of it's farmers. Every standard that we must meet is putting additional costs on farmers and in many cases reduces their yield potential. We cannot be competitive on the open market while we have restrictions that other farmers do not have. Our tillage farmers would be in a far better position to compete if GM varieties and the full range of pesticides approved in other countries is allowed to them. If that is not going to happen we urgently need controls which will prevent access to product which does not meet the standards which we are achieving. PJ Phelan is a tillage advisor based in Tipperary and is a member of the ACA and ITCA Some 5,200 workers at Intel's Irish manufacturing facilities remain in the dark about the future of their jobs, two weeks after the multinational chip company announced 12,000 global layoffs. Staff at the Leixlip plant, where 4,500 are employed, had expected an announcement about specific redundancies last night, with senior management previously indicating lay-off news at that time. But workers say that they have received no information as bosses at the facility finalise the job cuts. However, Intel management have committed to telling individual staff within 72 hours of today. It is now thought that Intel may not issue a statement about its overall job cuts in Ireland, as it has already done in several US states. Instead, staff to be affected are set be told on a case-by-case basis. Sources close to the company have speculated that many of the imminent redundancies will be offered on a voluntary basis. "The company has done this before and previous packages have included six weeks' pay for each year worked," a source said. "I think there will be a lot of people interested in any offer." A spokesman for the Government declined to comment on the number of projected job losses. "Intel's processes have to be respected, it will still remain a key employer even after the projected job losses," he said. By law, Intel must communicate with the government about potential job losses within 30 days of cuts taking effect. In an email to staff last week, Intel's Ireland manager Eamonn Sinnott said that employees would be notified "within 72 hours of 4 May" if they were to lose their jobs. Those facing redundancy will be offered a range of supports from the Government including access to social welfare, retraining and advice on employment law in the event of any post-redundancy disputes. Intel has invested more than 4bn in Ireland in recent years with the overhaul of two of its factories. Ireland is considered to be less exposed than some of Intel's other global operations as its main plants here are producing chips used for high-end servers and data centres as opposed to PCs. It has already announced more than 2,000 cuts in its US plants. However, the company is also believed to produce mobile Atom chips, which are set to be discontinued. "What we are hearing is the jobs will probably be cut in the old technology areas of the business," one worker said. As well as 4,500 employees directly employed in Ireland, Intel also has some 700 long-term contract workers, most working out of Leixlip, Co Kildare. Businessman Denis O'Brien said he may draw a dividend from his Digicel Group over the next two years, after halting payments for now. Mr O'Brien last year shelved a share sale, citing volatility in equity markets. "In the last 18 months, two years we've spent more than than $1bn on capex," Mr O'Brien said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "It seems out of kilter to be paying a dividend to myself. We probably will in the next year, two years, but there's no rush for that at all." In April, it was reported that Mr O'Brien had waived about $20m (17.5m) of cash dividends last year. Mr O'Brien told Bloomberg that Digicel remains "highly profitable" and plans to keep investing heavily, including through acquiring other businesses. Mr O'Brien founded Digicel in 2001 and turned it into a mobile-phone empire spread from El Salvador to Vanuatu, partly on the back of high-risk, high-yield debt. Corporate debt markets are still showing a "little bit of skittishness," he said. ''The market is getting a bit more solid, and looking at every credit for its own particular strengths. We have a great spread of assets.'' The yield on Digicel's April 2022 bond has dropped to 11.4pc from 14.3pc three months ago. Last October Mr O'Brien pulled the Digicel IPO set for New York in a move that surprised many analysts at home and abroad. The telecommunications company, which does business in the Caribbean and South Pacific, aimed to sell 142.8 million of Class A common shares at between $13 and $16 each, according to a regulatory filing. The company, built from scratch by Mr O'Brien after he secured a mobile licence to operate in Jamaica in 2000, had intended to raise between $1.8bn and $2bn (1.6bn and 1.8bn) on the New York Stock Exchange from the sale of about 39pc of Digicel's equity. Despite that, Mr O'Brien, who is chairman, would have retained almost complete control of the business. Mr O'Brien is worth $3.9bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In the Bloomberg interview, Mr O'Brien also criticised the Government's decision to suspend water charges, saying a plan to set up a commission to examine the issue meant it had been "kicked in the air and down the field". An employee passes American oak barrels containing Jameson whiskey, produced by Irish Distillers Ltd., at the Pernod-Ricard SA distillery in Midleton, Co Cork Pernod Ricard affiliate Irish Distillers has entered into exclusive talks with Sazerac to sell Paddy, the fourth largest Irish whiskey brand in the world. If completed the deal would see the whiskey continued to be made at the Midleton Distillery with no impact on roles at the distillery expected. Pernod Ricard didn't disclose how much it would sell the brand for but the move is in line with its strategy to simplify its portfolio, which also includes Jameson and Powers. Irish Distillers chief executive Anna Malmhake said at the heart of everything the firm does is "a desire to see Irish whiskey grow". "This deal with Sazerac, if completed, would allow Irish whiskeys reputation and footprint to grow further internationally. The proposed deal would ensure that Paddy would continue to be produced with the same love and care by our team in Midleton, Cork. Paddy Irish Whiskey sells around 200,000 nine-litre cases across 28 countries every year. Its popularity is expected to grow in line with the Irish whiskey industry, which expected to expand by 100pc by 2020. Sazerac president Mark Brown said Irish whiskey has been outpacing all other spirits in terms of volume growth. "Consumers worldwide are seeing it as an alternative to other whiskies. If this deal goes through, we are confident that we will be able to take Paddy to the next level, building on its strong history and roots," Mr Brown said. Here are the main stories from this morning's papers: Irish Independent * Manufacturing growth in Ireland has slowed to a two and a half year low, with output, new orders and employment all posting weaker growth, while Brexit uncertainty drags down the sector in Britain. The sluggishness here is particularly acute in the crucial export sector, according to the latest Purchasing Managers' Index for the sector, with firms warning that there could be further volatility ahead of Britain's EU referendum in June. * Three landbanks in Cork will go on the market today, in one of the biggest sales of development land outside Dublin in recent years. "The Treasure Collection" is expected to fetch between 25m and 30m. The sale is being handled by Savills' Denis O'Donoghue and Peter O'Meara. Bids are due by June 8. * Shares in Anglo-Irish exploration firm Tullow Oil fell by as much as 12pc yesterday as both Goldman Sachs and Macquarie downgraded their ratings of the company. The fall comes off the back of a period of strong growth for the Irish and London-listed firm. Goldman Sachs downgraded Tullow to a neutral rating from buy, citing risks associated with planned expenditure in Africa. The Irish Times * Irish-based Lakeland Dairies has bought a Northern Irish co-op for an undisclosed sum that will allow the Cavan firm to process around 1.1 billion litres of milk a year. Following the acquisition Lakeland has now become Ireland's third biggest milk firm behind Kilkenny-based Glanbia and fellow dairy company Dairygold. * Irish Distillers has entered into exclusive talks with New Orleans firm Sazerac for the sale of the world's fourth most popular brand of Irish whiskey, Paddy. The firm did not disclose the value of the deal that would see the whiskey still being produced at the Midleton Distillery. * New figures from the European Commission predict Ireland's economy to be the fastest growing in the EU. The EU executive arm predicts the Irish economy to grow by 4.9pc this year, higher than the 4.5pc rate it predicted three months ago. Irish Examiner * Medical giant Pfizer has blown past analyst expectations in its latest quarterly results following a disappointing period for the firm that saw it scrap its proposed merger with Allergan. The 140bn deal was allegedly primarily driven by a tax inversion that would see Pfizer avail of Ireland's low tax scheme. * Shares in airline Lufthansa fell by as much as 7.1pc yesterday as the company said passenger fares as due to erode further this year. The airline is undergoing a restructuring of its European operations aiming to stem the flow of customers to discounted rivals. * Shares in Tullow Oil dropped by over 11pc on Tuesday after two major stockbrokers downgraded their ratings of the oil explorer. Concerns around the firm's proposed capital expenditure on two pipelines in East Africa have been seen as causes for concern in relation to the company's free cash flow. Low and middle-income workers are set to see a reduction in the Universal Social Charge (USC) in the minority government deal reached between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail. The agreement sees Fine Gael forced to rein in its pre-election pledge to abolish the charge for all earners over the next five years. The USC was brought in as an emergency measure by the Fianna Fail-Green Party coalition at the start of 2011 and raises about 4bn a year. The document states that the next government will: "Introduce reductions in the Universal Social Charge (USC) on a fair basis with an emphasis on low and middle income earners." This is closer to Fianna Fail's manifesto promise to eliminate USC for workers on the first 80,000 of earnings over five years, rather than Fine Gael's proposal to scrap it outright. During the election, Fianna Fail finance spokesman Michael McGrath had argued that his party's proposal was "fair, affordable and deliverable" and claimed it was in contrast to Fine Gael's plan. The minority government document also sees Fianna Fail agree to facilitate Budgets "consistent with the agreed policy principles in this document". It includes a version of Mr Noonan's pre-election plan to establish a 'Rainy Day' fund - although Fianna Fail also had proposals for such a fund. The document pledges to set aside cash for the fund but does not specify how much. The Government will seek to introduce a PRSI scheme for the self-employed "and provide a supportive tax regime for entrepreneurs and the self-employed". The parties agree to maintain the country's commitment to "meeting in full the domestic and EU fiscal rules as enshrined in law" and to keep Ireland's corporation tax rate. The documents pledges to "maintain Ireland's 12.5pc corporation tax, and engage constructively with any measures to work towards international tax reform while critically analysing proposals that may not be in Ireland's long term interests." It also recognises the full implementation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement. A Public Service Pay Commission is to be established to examine pay levels across the public service, including entry levels of pay. The deal also states that the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court are the proper forum for State intervention in industrial relation disputes. Shannon Group's new CEO, Matthew Thomas, also worked for the same group as his predecessor. Shannon Group has again tapped Canada's Vantage Airport Group to find its new chief executive. The semi-state company, which operates Shannon Airport as well as tourism attractions around the country, said that it has appointed Matthew Thomas as its new CEO. He'll start the role next month. Mr Thomas (43) is currently chief commercial officer of Vantage. He succeeds Neil Pakey, who announced his departure as Shannon Group chief executive last year. Mr Pakey also worked as a senior executive with Vantage prior to joining Shannon Group as its CEO in 2013. Vancouver-based Vantage bought the UK-based Peel Airports in 2010, which included Liverpool Airport, Doncaster Airport, and Durham Tees Airport. Mr Thomas then joined Peel Airports as its chief commercial officer before becoming chief executive of Liverpool Airport. The airports were reacquired by the Peel Group in 2014, and Mr Thomas then returned to Vantage. Mr Pakey - who was paid a total of 255,000 as Shannon Group CEO last year - served as managing director of Liverpool Airport from 2002 to 2010, and was chief executive of Peel Airports until 2010, when Vantage acquired it. He then joined the Vantage group. Shannon Group said Mr Thomas - a UK national who spent part of his childhood in Co Donegal - has been responsible at Vantage for a number of projects, including involvement in the winning by the company of a $4bn redevelopment contract of the Central Terminal at La Guardia Airport in New York. Ms Hynes said that Mr Thomas brings "deep knowledge" of the aviation industry combined with significant commercial experience to his new role. Revenue at Shannon Group, which also operates Shannon Heritage, totalled 65.5m last year. That included 37.7m from aviation and commercial activities; 14.2m from commercial property rental, management and development; and 13.5m from tourism activities. It made a 7m operating profit after exceptional charges that included a 2.1m payment in settlement of the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme. Shannon Group operates attractions such as Bunratty Castle, the GPO 'Witness History' venue; and Malahide Castle in Dublin, and has a large commercial property portfolio. While Shannon Group's tourism arm has been performing well, Shannon Airport handled 1.71 million passengers in 2015, which was just 5pc higher than in 2014. The numbers are still lower than they were in 2010. Humans of Dublin offers no shortage of heart-warming stories, but a recent one about two sisters has left readers feeling particularly inspired. The photo, which was shared on the popular Facebook page yesterday, shows a pair of elderly women sitting in a car. One of the women smiles at the camera while the other stares out of the window. We've both seen a lot of the world. I've probably been around the globe about nine times already, the caption reads. My husband was an agriculture professor from Australia so he travelled a lot too, and after each trip he would take a holiday and show me around. This is my sister; she's 92. She used to live in New York. However, after years apart while they travelled the world, the two women have reunited at home in Ireland - in search of ice-cream. The touching story concludes: We spent a good bit of our lives separately, but here we are, back to the mother land again. We just stopped off for tea and ice cream, and found out they had no ice cream, so she's a bit grumpy. The sweet post has now gathered over 6,800 likes, along with plenty of comments from people tagging their friends and saying: This will be us! Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett has been appointed an United Nations goodwill ambassador. The United Nations high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) made the announcement as the Hollywood star returned from a mission to Jordan where she witnessed the ongoing humanitarian operation for people displaced by the conflict in Syria. While there she met Syrian refugee families to hear first-hand about the perilous journeys they had undertaken and their daily plight. Blanchett said: "I am deeply proud to take on this role. There has never been a more crucial time to stand with refugees and show solidarity. We are living through an unprecedented crisis, and there must be shared responsibility worldwide. "It feels like we're at a fork in the road, do we go down the compassionate path or do we go down the path of intolerance? As a mother, I want my children to go down the compassionate path. "There's much more opportunity, there's much more optimism and there is a solution down that path." Prior to her appointment, Blanchett worked closely with UNHCR for more than a year to raise awareness about the forcibly displaced. It might be just as well Mattress Mick has already bought up the domain names containing his immortal moniker for the countries in the Far East. Because global domination now seems a matter of 'when', not 'if'. A new documentary on the eccentric Dublin businessman is to screen at the Hotdocs festival in Toronto next week and Mattress - or Michael Flynn as he introduces himself - couldn't be prouder. "A lot of people think I'm made up, a corporate character, but obviously I'm not," he tells me over coffee in his Pearse Street stomping ground. "A camera crew followed me around for three years and they've put this piece together. It's already been sold to Finnish television. We're just hopeful that one of the major networks will buy it up now. It's really about how one man survived the worst recession of our lifetimes." Survived and thrived. His business woes and money problems are now in the past - for a while the banks withdrew his credit - and the mattresses are walking out the door again; he'll help you test them on the floor of the shop ("the men too, I don't care"). With each passing year the sideburns get more absurdly fecund (he's not allowed cut them at this point, they're part of the brand), the self promotion more brilliantly ironic (budding pop stars can only dream of his YouTube hits) and his fan bandwagon is now standing room only - thank you Stephen Fry, Roddy Doyle et al. He has help with the videos from filmmaker Paul Kelly - "baldy Paul" - but of course nobody could invent this hallucinogenic composite of Saul Goodman, Del Boy and John McCririck. It was a lifetime in the making. Mick grew up in the inner city where his Dad owned a fishing supply shop and his mother's family owned a pub called Smyths on St John Rogerson's Quay. He went to school in Synge Street and then to work for the Royal Trust Company, a merchant bank, on Dawson Street, but moonlighted at a market stall in the Dandelion Market on Stephen's Green. When his Dad died, however, the burden of running the family business fell on him. He began selling furniture and bottled gas and for a few years it went really well. In his late 20s he opened a second shop and that was when things started to wobble. "I took my eye off the ball. I started to enjoy myself a bit too much. Leeson Street was just starting to take off. I was good with the ladies. The secret was: loads of bullshit. Also I wasn't a bad looking guy either, to be fair. I had the hair even then." His first girlfriend died of cancer recently after reaching out to him shortly before she passed away, which he found very hard. They had both married other people in the meantime, but you never forget your first love, he tells me. Video of the Day In his 20s he was also engaged to be married to the daughter of a prominent Dublin family. "We bought a house out in Monkstown together and we had everything to do with the wedding booked. It was just five weeks away and the invites had been sent out. I felt that her family were taking control of my life. They had all the money and they didn't like what I did for work; it was fine when I was a banker. "I'll never forget telling her. It was the hardest conversation of my life. I hurt her. I still loved her in my own way but I just didn't want to be controlled. It turned out ok in the end for her though. She married well." She must be kicking herself when she sees the YouTube videos though (the latest features a Back To The Future themed song with the lyrics "I'll fly my mattress rocket to the matressy stars"). Handily for alliterative branding purposes, everyone in the Mattress family has a name that begins with 'M'. He eventually married Margaret, a Dublin woman, and they had a daughter Michelle, who is now a psychotherapist in England. Margaret and Mick had trouble having more children and after becoming involved with the Chernobyl Children's Project they decided to adopt a little Russian girl, Marina, who is now 20 and studying to be a personal trainer. "I'll never forget the whole experience. The orphanage was so dilapidated. When we saw Marina's face it was just fantastic. You couldn't not take her. A lot of Americans in those years were going to Russia and finding kids to use their body parts - organ harvesting. We had to put their minds at ease on that score." He is religious and goes to mass in the city centre in Whitefriar Street ("it's the fastest mass in Dublin"). He says he has no interest in doing the Eurovision but he does see himself as a sort of budding Michael O'Leary, capitalising on free publicity wherever he can find it. He has registered Mattress Mick as a trademark now and the next plan is to licence it out to other furniture retailers around the country. "It's not a franchise, but for companies who want to sell beds, they can licence the name. There is one in Cork and one in Kilkenny. "They'll provide the merchandise and I'll provide the point of sale." And in lay person's terms, what does that mean? "It means there will be large cardboard cutouts of me. It will be a concession within their shop. Like, you know the way Brown Thomas has Helena Rubenstein within their shop?" I look at him, slightly dazed. "Exactly like that. Except, unlike Helena Rubenstein, I will make the odd appearance." www.mattressmick.com and ShootAudition on YouTube. Prince's death last week at the age of 57 shocked the music world A woman had reported Prince to police alleging he had an uncontrollable cocaine habit five years before his death. Newly released documents show that a 911 call was made on June 20, 2011 by a woman in Germany saying she was concerned about Prince's drug use, according to the Telegraph. The woman, who has not been identified, said she spoken to Prince a year previously and he had told her that he "cannot control his habit". The records, released by the Carver County Sherifff's Department in Minnesota, indicate that the woman was later advised to report the conversation she had had with Prince. However, the police did not pursue the information because the conversation had happened the previous year and the musician was not in any immediate danger. The records also show that the police received 46 calls relating to Prince and his Paisley Park estate in the interim five years, with most relating to traffic and trespassing issues. One call received in the hours after his death was from a woman who claimed she had a 17 year old son by the musician and wanted to know if the boy could attend Prince's funeral. Prince died last month at his home in Minnesota. He was 57. An investigation into his death has been launched into whether or not he overdosed on prescription medication. However, friends of the star, and his lawyer, have refuted claims that the artist used drugs. Read More Captain America: Civil War Review Does Spidey Belong In Marvel's Latest Movie? Tom Hollands new Spider-Man makes a spectacular entrance in Captain America: Civil War, carving out his own space in Marvels overpopulated movie-verse. He gushes at fellow super beings, oozing the wiliest charms a millennial fan boy has to offer as a perfect distraction while hes webbing feet or lining foes up for a full-swing, wide-screen kick. Suffice to say, Spidey owns during the lightweight bits he gets to swoop in on. But they are bits, so lightweight they can easily be plucked out. Actually, they dont even really belong here, dropping in during fever pitch in a high stakes internal feud between the Avengers. As amiable as he is, Spideys presence compromises the very stakes Civil War is trying to pitch. Lets backtrack a bit. The latest Avengers foray is mounted on an ideological battle between Chris Evans Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, and Robert Downey Jr.s Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. They need to account for the civilian casualties that have gone unseen under all that CGI kablooey from previous movies. The United Nations demand oversight when it comes to future Avengers missions. Stark, burdened with guilt over one particular victim, is all for it. Rogers is suspicious of overseers, because if he learned anything from his century-old history, its that they can be manipulative or manipulated. Evans and Downey Jr. make for perfect frenemies in this argument. Theyve invested enough in their characters opposing views during the franchises long haul that the slow disintegration in their relationship works like dynamite. It helps that weve seen the politics they wield as ammo used in real world scenarios, adding heft to their battle between caution and will, pragmatism and beliefs. Varying Avengers alums fall onto either side of the debate, either because of their personal history, loyalty, or the outcome of their interaction with Bucky Barnes. Hes at it again in brainwashed Winter Soldier mode, though the man within, once Steve Rogers best friend, is fighting to be lucid. All these moving pieces come together with the same Bourne-style momentum that made Captain America: The Winter Soldier a Marvel standout. And then the franchise gears get in the way. Before engaging on a mission to detain his friends, Tony Stark heads to Queens to recruit our new Spidey, a gambit that goes against the very reason hes fighting. If Stark wants to minimize unnecessary casualties by following due process with his superiors, why would he recruit a minor into a major battle without running it by anyone? It doesnt make sense in the storys terms but it makes perfect sense for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Spider-Man, Marvels most cherished property, has just been returned to the franchise on babysitting terms from Sony Pictures (who hold the movie rights to the character). So Marvel needed to shove that kid into Civil War so he could promote his upcoming movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, even though his appearance here works against what purity this story could have had. This is just another example of my biggest problem when it comes to Marvels recent outings. They cant focus on telling a good story and Civil War could have been one because halfway through, the franchise is already thinking about whats coming down the pipeline. So the beef between old friends and the real world politics presented so craftily early on fades away amidst pulled punches and chuckles, with Spidey and Paul Rudds Ant-Man joining the fray just because they were asked. Chadwick Bosemans fine take on TChalla (aka Black Panther) at least has a revenge story, though its hard to care considering how much he has to elbow his way in to get noticed. That the directors Anthony and Joe Russo manage to juggle all the promotional tie-ins with some rather slick action is impressive. They keep things ticking along, having fun despite the heavy baggage in a way that Joss Whedon couldnt with Age of Ultron. But the movie loses its heart, becoming less about a battle between ideas and beliefs, and more about breaking up the Avengers so that we can see them unite again in another franchise cycle. Civil War never had any stakes, because Marvel would have never let any of its lucrative properties die. It has been 18 long months since the second season of hit BBC period crime drama Peaky Blinders wrapped, and anticipation for the third is at fever pitch. Kicking off tomorrow on BBC One at 9pm, it will see the return of Cillian Murphy as Thomas Shelby, the head of a Birmingham gangster family trying to emerge from the grit and make it in 1920s Britain. The new series, set two years later in 1924, promises "to take the Shelby family onto the next level", according to writer Steven Knight. "Theyre richer and not necessarily happier," he recently told Deadline. "Tensions in the family are growing. The question of the whole series is, Can people from this background escape, become respectable, get away? "Were trying to dramatize the things that pull them back Cash you can get, the respectability could possibly take 500 years. It looks like they're moving up in the world and Helen McCrory has already revealed that Aunt Polly will move in bohemian circles and will attract an aristocratic admirer. Her son, who had been taken from her when he was five and adopted by a respectable family, was tracked down by Tommy in season two. Aside from Poll herself, he's the only one with the smarts to rival Tommy. Will Tommy come to rue the day he knocked on Michael's adoptive mother's door? Tommy's brother Arthur will also see some changes this season. The resident loose-cannon he was last seen shagging and snorting his way through Birmingham but this series sees him settling down with a wife. Linda (Kate Phillips) may not be all that she seems, however, according to Knight. Aside from those teasers, here are 7 more good reasons to get stuck into the series, if you haven't already... It's based on a real gang The Peaky Blinders were a Birmingham gang who sewed razor blades into the peaks of their flat caps and weren't afraid to use them as weapons in fistifuffs. Knight's father's uncle was a gang member and he has based his group of fictional characters on stories his parents told him. Knight has also drawn inspiration from Westerns, "I wanted to do was take something from my background and mythologize it in a similar way." Expand Close Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders Video of the Day Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby Paddy Considine The In America actor is a new arrival for this third series and will play "the most evil character that Peaky Blinders has ever seen" in Father Hughes , according to Knight. Given throats have been slashed and men unceremoniously shot in their nether regions that's saying something. Tom Hardy will also return "with a bang" as Alfie Solomon towards the second half of the series. In fact, the cast is superb across the board from Murphy to Paul Anderson as elder brother Arthur Shelby, Joe Cole as the youngest, John Shelby, Richard McCabe as Churchill and newcomer Finn Cole as Michael Gray, Polly's biological son. The female cast is equally as impressive (see below). Expand Close Paddy Considine in Peaky Blinders / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Paddy Considine in Peaky Blinders Paddy Considine as Fr Hughes The soundtrack Read More You can feel the grit under your fingernails The collective efforts of the cinematographer, costume designer, hairstylist, production designer and more must be applauded for completely immersing the viewer in 1920s Birmingham, whether it's the grimy, industrial bleakness of the city streets, the gloomy, gloopy canals, or the technicolour vibrancy of a roaring 20s London club. Expand Close Peaky Blinders / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Peaky Blinders The Irish connection Thomas Shelby's mother was an Irish gypsy and he's close pals with Johnny Dogs (Irish actor Packy Lee), a Traveller, while his nemesis for the first two series was Northern Irish Detective Inspector Chester Campbell (Sam Neill, whose accent was pretty darn good), and his love interest (and possible wife - we'll find out on Thursday) Grace Burgess (Anabelle Wallis) is a Protestant Irish barmaid whose father was killed by the IRA. Expand Close Grace Burgess, Peaky Blinders / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Grace Burgess, Peaky Blinders Annabelle Wallis as Grace Burgess Speaking of Grace... While Peaky Blinders might outwardly seem like a blokey kind of series, it boasts some of the most interesting and layered female characters on the small, or indeed big, screen. Knight knows how to write women in all their complex, contradictory glory. Helen McCrory deserves special mention for her gripping portrayal of family matriarch Aunt Polly. She steals every scene, which is no mean feat given the calibre of talent. Last time we saw her she was shooting Detective Campbell in the aforementioned man bits. Natasha O'Keefe, who plays former prostitute Lizzie Starke was particularly impressive in a galling rape scene in the final episode of series two. Expand Close Helen McCrory in Peaky Blinders / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Helen McCrory in Peaky Blinders Helen McCrory Series three kicks off two years after the end of the second, with a potential love triangle. It's Tommy's wedding day although it's not clear whether he's marrying Grace, who declared she was pregnant with his child (despite being betrothed to another) or aristocrat May Carleton (Charlotte Riley), who offered herself to him despite knowing his heart (black as it is) belongs to Grace. Our money is on May. Expand Close Charlotte Riley as May in Peaky Blinders / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Charlotte Riley as May in Peaky Blinders Charlotte Riley as May and Cillian Murphy as Tommy It's digestible Who really relishes the thought of binge watching an entire series of Game of Thrones or some other such never-ending 20 episode series? Peaky Blinders boasts just six succinct episodes each series. That's just 12 episodes to get through between now and tomorrow, ahead of the new series premiere. They're all available on Netflix too so there's no excuse... Peaky Blinders series 3 kicks off on BBC Two at 9pm on Thursday May 5. Corrie fans will be thrilled to know that actress Beverley Callard, who plays Liz McDonald, has returned to the set of the ITV soap, according to reports. The writers sent Beverley's character to Spain in order to allow the 59-year-old star to take some time out from work to focus on her health. The departure involved some tough scenes in which Jason Grimshaw (played by departing actor Ryan Thomas) publicly blamed Liz for his father Tony's death from a heart attack. The funeral scenes for Tony had to be reworked due to the actress's time out. However, The Mirror reports that the much-loved star is back on the Weatherfield set in Manchester although producers are reportedly mindful of not placing too much pressure on her regarding storylines. The actress revealed she suffered from depression to Piers Morgan on his Life Stories show in 2014 and said she had even contemplated suicide. She said: "I tried maybe half a dozen times, but it wasn't a cry for help at all. I'd known for quite a while that I wasn't myself, but I didn't really know what to do about it. "I was going to work and I was still filming and I didn't really talk to anyone about it and on that day they took me into The Priory in the early hours of the next morning and ... my doctor said, I looked like a 100-year-old woman. "They tried different medications, but none of them seemed to work." She also previously told The Mirror that she struggled to keep her battle a secret at work but broke down one day when she felt she didn't have the confidence to portray her ballsy character. "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," she said. "Fear took over and I started to cry. I thought, 'I'm not confident enough to put this on. I can't do it". Video of the Day However, the star revealed to fans that she is seeing a new doctor and has "hope" in her battle with depression. Irish actor Packy Lee will be back with a bang for the highly-anticipated third series of Peaky Blinders - the BBC's post-First World War crime drama television series starring Cillian Murphy. The 34-year-old, from west Belfast - plays rough-and-ready Traveller honcho Johnny Dogs, best friend of charismatic gang boss Thomas Shelby, whos played by Murphy. Lee landed the role after sending a tape of his performance in the acclaimed Irish drama King of the Travellers to Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. I thought I was too late for the auditions, but 24 hours after they got my tape, I was on a plane over to England to meet them, says Lee. It really is a dream role for me and, in this series, Johnny Dogs provides a bit of comic relief although he can also be serious. Hes not as violent as the Peaky Blinders, though. A father-of-three Sodhla (8), Seadhna (5) and Dallan (1) Lee has been acting for 20 years and starred in the Oscar-winning short film The Shore (2011) and in Killing Bono (2011). He has relatives in the Travelling community, who have given him positive feedback on his performance in both King of the Travellers and Peaky Blinders. Im from west Belfast Im the only one in the family into acting and Ive spent time with the Travelling community to get into character. I wanted to be 100% authentic for these roles, he says. I would never disrespect them. The accent I have in Peaky Blinders is something I created with the writer and director. I came in with a very strong Traveller accent and they asked me to make it lighter and add a bit of Liverpool, Birmingham and Cork into it. I came up with something thats all forward from the front teeth. I get this wonderful expansion of every word. Over the course of four years of filming Peaky Blinders, Lee has become good friends with its very generous star Cillian Murphy, whom he describes as a pleasure to work with. Video of the Day In the new series, he has also been filming alongside Tom Hardy and Paddy Considine and will appear in the dramatic wedding scene in the first episode tomorrow. And before he dashed off to the red carpet premiere in London last night while his wife Danielle was looking after their three children Lee confirmed the rumours that the late David Bowie was a Peaky fan, who wanted to get involved with the drama. Writer Steven Knight strongly hinted at Bowies potential involvement when he said in a recent interview: Ive had unsolicited communication from Michael Mann, the film director, from (the author) Dennis Lehane, Snoop Dogg hes such a fan. And the late David Bowie was a huge fan more of that to come. Lee says: Yeah, Bowie left a podcast for Cillian to listen to and all these pictures of him wearing Peaky Blinders caps years ago. He wanted to contribute to the show. I mean wow. For something that was such a slow-burner at the start, with very little hype, it has really taken off. But the writings so good, we knew it would. And this series is going to be more nail-biting and international than ever. Im living the dream. I really am. A former solicitor has been sent forward for trial accused of misappropriating about 255,000. Stock Picture Former solicitor Jacqueline Durcan leaves court after facing charges of misappropriating 255,000 A former solicitor has been sent forward for trial accused of misappropriating about 255,000. Jacqueline Durcan (47) previously based in Co Mayo but who now has an address at Rue Laubespin, 10 Laeken, Brussels, Belgium, appeared at Dublin District Court. The prosecution follows an investigation by the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation. She faces charges under the Theft and Fraud Act and the Solicitor's Act for alleged offences in Co Mayo from 2008 until 2010. Judge Anthony Halpin heard that the DPP consented to her being returned for trial on indictment to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. A book of evidence was served and the judge said she was being sent forward for trial on 10 charges. She has not yet entered a plea. There was no objection to her remaining on bail. Judge Halpin told her she will face her next hearing on June 10 in the Circuit Court. He also made an order for disclosure of video evidence to the defence, and legal aid was granted. Ms Durcan is accused of dishonestly appropriating 100,000 and knowingly making a false entry in accounting records on October 21, 2008. She is also charged with dishonestly appropriating 51,000, 20,000 and 60,000 on separate dates in September 2010 and 24,000 in December 2009. She also has charges of making false entries in account records in December 2010 and failing to maintain records in a prescribed manner in September 2010. The parents of a baby boy who died four days after birth say their son was returned to them after his autopsy with blood seeping from his head. Parents Maree and Eoin Byrne said they were driving home when Maree noticed the blood. Holding a blood-stained baby's hat outside Dublin Coroner's Court after a verdict of medical misadventure was returned at an inquest into her son's death, she said: "No parent should ever have to see that." Baby Darragh Byrne was born at the Coombe Women's Hospital in Dublin but died four days later on February 19 2013. His parents, from Woodgrove Lawns, Portlaoise, Co Laois, said they faced "many difficulties, delays and setbacks" in their search for answers. "Our mission today was to seek the truth around baby Darragh's death and prevent a tragedy happening to any other family," Maree Byrne said. "We've lost our son Darragh... Our only comfort is that Darragh's short life will make having a baby in this country a safer place," she said. Dublin's Coroner's Court previously heard how the couple received a "letter of apology" from the hospital acknowledging "failings" in the care of their son. Holding a stained baby's hat, Maree told of a difficult drive from Dublin back to Co Laois. "This is my son's hat, returned to us after his post-mortem. This is the only thing I have left remaining belonging to my son, his blood-stained hat and the harrowing memories of how his perfect little body was cut up and handed back to us." Following three days of evidence, Coroner Dr Brian Farrell returned a verdict of medical misadventure based on the risk factors identified during the inquest. These included the loss of a cardiotocography (CTG) reading while oxytocin, a drug used to induce labour, was administered and accelerated. No medical review of the baby's condition was sought, despite hospital protocol that ensures oxytocin administration requires simultaneous CTG readings. No blood gas analysis or foetal scalp electrode was taken to determine the baby's condition during the period before birth, the court heard. Around an hour before Darragh was born, the registrar decided the baby needed to be born as quickly as possible. But he was unable to perform the C-section and the consultant on call was performing surgery elsewhere. This caused a 20-minute delay which was a matter of concern for the family, barrister Sara Antoniotti told the coroner's court. Baby Darragh was born in poor condition at 1.06pm and passed away four days later. The cause of death was multi-organ failure due to hypoxia, or lack of oxygen. The coroner said he would look at the current protocols around electronic foetal monitoring and the use of Oxytocin at the Coombe and would liaise with the hospital as requested by the family. The demand for Georgian investment properties in north Dublin resulted in intense bidding wars and high sale prices. A jobless man has been charged with an armed robbery at a south Dublin post office during which several gunshots were allegedly fired. Glen Kavanagh (40) was granted bail after he appeared in court today on charges following the incident last January. Judge Timothy Lucey remanded him in custody until he is able to take up bail. Kavanagh, with an address at Oriel Street, Upper North Wall, is facing four charges arising from the alleged incident on January 19 last. According to gardai, a number of shots were fired during the alleged robbery at the post office at Woodbine Park, Blackrock. Mr Kavanagh is charged with robbery, unlawful possession of a Makarov 9mm pistol and ammunition and discharging a firearm, recklessly endangering life. Sgt Trevor Hayes told Dublin District Court he arrested the accused today outside his partners address, where gardai knew where to find him. He was brought to Donnybrook Garda Station and made no reply to any of the charges after caution and was handed a copy of the charge sheets. The arrest followed an investigation by the Donnybrook Detective Unit. Sgt Hayes objected to bail being granted on grounds including the seriousness of the allegations. Applying for bail, defence solicitor Jenny McGeever said the defendant was unemployed and not a man with a drug addiction history. The court heard a doctor was called for him while he was being detained at the garda station but this was only because a burger he was given disagreed with him. He was prepared to abide by conditions if granted bail. Sgt Hayes said if the accused were granted bail, gardai were seeking an independent cash surety of 10,000. The defendant in evidence gave a sworn undertaking to turn up in court, abide by all conditions and get a mobile phone for contact with the gardai. Judge Lucey said he believed 10,000 was tooo much. He set bail in the accuseds own bond of 250, with no cash required. He must also have 5,000 independent surety and either half or all of this can be in cash. He must sign on daily at Store Street Garda Station, surrender his passport and not apply for any other travel documents. Mr Kavanagh was remanded in custody with consent to bail, to appear in Cloverhill District Court next week. George McKelvey (57), who is originally from Dundee in Scotland, leaving court Pic: Courtpix A sub-contractor for Cash and Carry Kitchens who deliberately didn't pay tax on his wife's income as a Weight Watchers leader has avoided a jail term. George McKelvey (57) who is originally from Dundee in Scotland, acknowledged that as he and his wife, Olive, were jointly assessed by Revenue it was his responsibility to disclose both their incomes. However, he failed to declare her profits from 2002 to 2009, which his accountant later estimated to be 309,813, and instead declared his wife as a home-maker with no income. Revenue has since assessed McKelvey as owing them 96,893 in income tax. With 61,213 in interest he has an outstanding tax bill of 158,106. McKelvey of Kenure Lawns, Rush, Co Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to four sample charges of knowingly or willingly delivering to the Office of the Revenue Commissioner an incorrect return in connection with income tax relating to year ending 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009 on various dates between November 2005 and January 2010. He has no previous convictions. James Dwyer BL, defending, said 35pc of his client's income was withheld by Revenue and if that amount exceeded his own current tax liability the balance would be paid off his bill. He also had set up a monthly online payment to Revenue of 433. Judge Melanie Greally previously adjourned the case having heard evidence. She noted from a report from the Probation Service that McKelvey was considered a suitable candidate for community service. She suspended an 18-month sentence and ordered that he carry out 240 hours' work in the community within 12 months. McKelvey admitted he knowingly filed incorrect income tax in relation to his wife, referred to her as a home-maker and stated that she had no income. It came as quite a shock some years ago to learn that half the maths teachers in second-level schools were not qualified to teach the subject. But a new initiative is showing that, all over the country, inside teachers of geography, science, business, and other subjects there is a maths teacher waiting to get out. The finding, in 2010, that 48pc of maths teachers were not properly qualified, emerged in research conducted by Dr Maire Ni Riordain and Professor Ailish Hannigan at the then National Centre for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and Learning (NCEMSTL), now called EPI*STEM, National Centre for STEM Education, based at the University of Limerick (UL). What made it more worrying was evidence that teachers qualified in maths were gradually disappearing: 65pc of maths teachers aged over 35 had a proper qualification, compared with 40pc among those aged under 35. At the time the report was published, only about 16pc of Leaving Cert students were sitting higher level papers, about half of the Government's target if the country is to have a pipeline of school-leavers and graduates with skills essential for a modern economy. There were also concerns that Irish teenagers were presenting as below average in maths in global surveys known as PISA, conducted by the international think-tank the OECD. Multi-national companies were demanding better. There was a national tendency to shrug and sigh that maths was not a strong point of the poetic Irish. But the NCEMSTL report presented an incontrovertible case to seek answers elsewhere - starting with doing something about the quality of teaching. Faced with a shortage of qualified teachers, principals tend to turn to someone with a degree, most likely in science or business, to fill the gap. Raising maths standards became a national priority. Among the Government responses was a programme to upskill what are known as 'out of field' maths teachers - those teaching maths whose main qualification is in a different subject. Many bring a significant background and commitment to maths teaching, but are fully qualified to do so. The programme was an historic step in terms of supporting maths teaching in post-primary schools. A contract to run what is called the Professional Diploma in Mathematics for Teaching (PDMT) was awarded to NCE-MSTL, now EPI*STEM. It is jointly accredited by UL and NUI Galway, and, most importantly, recognised by the Teaching Council. While EPI*STEM is responsible for course design and delivery, the programme involves a national consortium of higher education institutions, also including UCD, DCU and a number of institutes of technology and other colleges. The Department of Education awarded a four-year contract to run the part-time, two year programme, leading to a Level 8 qualification, which is fully funded by the State, so participating teachers pay no fees. Because it has to be accessible to teachers all over the country, it is delivered through a blended learning approach, with both online and face-to-face teaching, at a number of regional centres. As well as the network of third-level colleges, teacher education centres are also used and Google Ireland is a technology partner. It is deemed a huge success and, to date, 528 teachers have graduated. The third class is due to finish soon and the fourth group will complete their studies next year, bringing the original contract to an end. However, the Department of Education recently approved a fifth intake, to start next September, for which EPI*STEM is seeking applications. The course is open to 'out of field' maths teachers, who teach at least one maths class a week. While these are generally science, business or geography teachers, PDMT academic advisor, Dr Niamh O'Meara says they have also had students from other disciplines. PDMT director, Professor Paul Conway of the Faculty of Education and Health Sciences, UL, says one of the big issues in teacher supply, not only in Ireland, but internationally, is fully qualified teachers in all science technology, engineering and maths (STEM) areas, particularly maths. He says the graduation rate on the course is a very high, at above 90pc: "It is a demanding programme but supports are in place in so far as possible to ensure that everyone who starts, finishes." Prof Conway estimates that, when the first five cohorts finish by 2018, there will be about 1,000 graduates, who he says, will make very considerable contribution to maths teaching in Ireland. The roll-out of the programme coincided with the phasing in of the new Project Maths syllabus, providing an added benefit in ensuring that the newly qualified teachers are well equipped for that. The challenges in delivering a high-quality maths education was referred to in reports from the chief examiner on last year's Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate maths exams, which were published last week by the State Examinations Commission (SEC). The reports noted that all countries grapple with the issue and acknowledge the range of initiatives put in place in Ireland in recent years, including the PDMT programme for 'out-of-field' teachers. 'The maths upskilling course was a great string to my bow' Fiona Keary was teaching maths without being properly qualified in the subject. The Mullingar, Co Westmeath, native graduated from the University of Limerick with a science teaching qualification, but with a shortage of qualified maths teachers, she stepped into the breach as the need arose, taking classes up to Leaving Certificate ordinary level standard. Maths was one of her strengths and she had covered a lot during her third-level studies but says "I fell short in terms of credits to have a Teaching Council qualification." Ms Keary, who works in Our Lady's Secondary, School, Mourne Road, Drimnagh, Dublin jumped at the chance to do the PDMT course and graduated in January. "It's a great string to my bow and it has definitely increased my confidence in teaching maths," says Ms Keary, who can now also take a Leaving Certificate higher level class. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has said he believes the late South African President Nelson Mandela would be understanding of his use of the N-word earlier this week. Adams, who was a pallbearer at Mandelas funeral in 2013, apologised for his tweet which featured the offensive word, and admitted he was stupidly and inappropriately trying to make a political point. Adams was applauded warmly at Mandela's funeral when his name was read to the assembled guests. Adams has also referred to Mandela as his hero. Mr Adams told RTEs Ryan Tubridy today: I think he (Nelson Mandela) would understand, I got to know him quite well, I met him numerous times and I had numerous conversations with him. He was loyal He argued for peace, he argued for talks he never wavered on any of those issues. Mr Adams said if he could turn the clock back, he wouldnt send the tweet. He admitted that he had a glass of wine with dinner before tweeting the N-word but he said he was sober. He tweeted Watching Django Unchained A Ballymurphy N*****!, before referring to the main character as an uppity Fenian. Today he explained: I took a glass with my dinner when I tweeted it. I was as sober as could be. Unconditionally it was wrong, he said. I was making a political point quite stupidly and inappropriately. I tapped it in just towards the end of the film (Django Unchained), the film wasnt quite over, the word is used at least 100 times in the film. No I certainly wouldnt do it [again] I was very moved by the film so I probably would have tweeted something about the film factored in my experience that day. Theres no excuse for it and it was silly and stupid, he added. Mr Adams explained he was trying to draw parallels in the similarities of the experiences of the African Americans and the Irish. The whole thing was to make a political point, It was done in a stupid and a clumsy way. He added: In a funny stupid way Im a wee bit colour blind on these issues. Were all human beings and our skin colour or gender or ethnicity beneath it all, we are human beings. With elections looming, politicians from across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland were quick to criticise the use of the racial slur. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he found it "absolutely bizarre" Mr Adams would put out a tweet "with such racist language in it". Nelson McCausland of the DUP said: "The comment is absolutely horrendous, not only in terms of the language by using the N-word, but also in that it shows what he really thinks of Northern Ireland." Plain package cigarettes to be sold from this summer after EU ruling The EU's top court has given the go ahead for the introduction of plain packaging on cigarette packets sold in Ireland from this summer. It dismissed objections from the tobacco industry to the life saving measure. The ruling was handed down by the European Court of Justice this morning. The packets will also contain warnings on the dangers of smoking. Branding will be removed from cigarette packets and warnings can be spread over two thirds of the box. Around one in five people in Ireland still smokes but the rate is higher in deprived areas. A male stripper has told of how he was brutally beaten by three men wearing ski masks while on his way to a job at the weekend. Renoir Taha (30), originally from Turkey but based in Dublin, was heading to the job in Co Louth on Saturday evening with his girlfriend when he was attacked by three men brandishing steel bars. Speaking on RTE Radio Ones 'Liveline', he said he couldnt find the house he had been booked to visit. When he tried to call the woman who had made the booking, a male voice answered and told him to wait in the housing estate. When I was waiting, three guys came in a black car. Two of them came to my side of the car, and one of them went to the passenger side. He asked me to get out of the car, and as soon as I got out the guy was aiming to hit me, so I jumped back into the car. Expand Close Renoir Taha / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Renoir Taha My girlfriend was already out of the car, she ran out because the third guy was hitting the windows with a steel bar, so she ran out and started screaming for help, he said. After his girlfriend had escaped, the men targeted Renoir and began to beat him with the bar, as he rushed back inside the car. At first, I thought it was a robbery but they werent trying to take my phone or my car, they were aiming to hit me. He managed to crawl out of the passenger side and started running as well. Expand Close The damage to the car / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The damage to the car As his girlfriend called for help, several residents of the estate came out of their homes, but Renoir said they merely looked on. I called the Gardai myself and when they came, we were completely in shock. The three men fled, and they have not been caught, he added. Renoir works a minimum of five jobs every Saturday, each lasting between 15-25 minutes, and charges 100 per job. Donning costumes such as a police uniform, he travels all over the country for his work, visiting houses, pubs and hotels to perform for groups of women and men. Most of them are hen parties and birthday parties. I sometimes do baby showers, but thats very rare, he added. I am very professional, I dont head off with any girls. I respect the women, they are just there to have a good time, not some weird guy coming up and trying to get with them. I have good feedback, I always try to make the best out of it and ensure the girls are enjoying it to the maximum. Renoir is unable to return to work immediately due to his injuries. A 23-year old Mayo man is walking barefoot for 2,000 kilometres along the Irish coastline in aid of suicide and self-harm charity Pieta House. Eamonn Keaveney set off from Claremorris Co. Mayo on Sunday, shoe-less, for his three month odyssey. I will be camping out every night - unless I'm offered a place to stay - and only bringing what I can carry with me. I have walked barefoot before but never anything like this. I'm most dreading tender feet and camping in the rain and the cold. I'll probably miss my bed, family and reading books the most. I'd love to meet people along the way and have a chat, he said. Eamonn, who has a Masters in Anthropology, has raised 3,000 so far. Donations can be made here. The 23-year-old says Pieta House is a very worthy cause, helping people across Ireland cope with suicidal ideation and self-harm. I'd really appreciate your support in helping me to raise funds for this organisation. Any donation no matter how small is hugely appreciated. You can follow in Eamonn's footsteps on the Baring my Soles for Pieta House Facebook page. "If you or anyone you know would like to offer him a place to stay over along his journey, please message us [on Facebook]. We have some locations sorted already, thanks to people's generosity and kindness," a message on Facebook read. Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae has been branded Kerry's Sarah Palin following his remarks about climate change. Deputy Healy-Rae told the Dail chamber that mankind had no impact on climate change and that "God above" alone is is responsible for the weather. Galway TD Catherine Connolly drew comparisons between Sarah Palin, the former vice presidential candidate and supporter of climate change denial, and Mr Healy-Rae. "Unfortunately Kerry's Deputy Palin Healy Rae has left the chamber and I would refer him to the inter-governmental panel on climate change and on their assessment and in particular to their fifth assessment report," she told the Dail. Mr Healy-Rae caused controversy when he addressed a Dail debate on the issue. He denied that the burning of fossil fuels was a root cause of global warming despite widespread scientific agreement that it is. Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae told the Dail today that we "can't do anything" about climate change, because "God above" controls it all. The TD made his comments during out-going Environment Minister Alan Kelly's discussion on climate change in the Dail. God above is in charge of the weather and we here cant do anything about it," he said. Meanwhile, TD Kelly criticised Fianna Fail on climate change suggesting it thought pints with the people was more important. The Tipperary TD pointed out the issue was left out in the party's recent deal with Fine Gael. I find it deeply ironic that this house is debating climate change today as reports come through regarding a deal to support a minority government, he told the Dail today. The major issue now missing from this document is actually climate change. It's not in it. The global cause of our generation is missing from the now famous document. Mr Kelly said Fianna Fail did not have global focus as he claimed it did not consider the affect climate change on the poorest. Before he added, maybe pints with the people is more important than the world's poorest. He also hit out at the two largest parties length of time discussing the deal, also known as the Trinity Treaty. A third level college was the right location for these talks because the Trinity Treaty is the greatest example of Student politics at its worst, he said. Gerry Adams continued to drag modern politics and even water protesters into his attempts to justify the use of the phrase "Ballymurphy N****r" on Twitter. In a sometimes bizarre radio interview Mr Adams denied being a racist, saying: "I've never seen myself as white." But Mr Adams continued to draw comparisons between 19th century slavery depicted in the movie 'Django Unchained' and the Troubles. He stuck to using the 'Irish slave myth' to try and justify his shocking N-word outburst on Twitter. During a lengthy defence of his use of the toxic word in a tweet on Sunday night, he even brought the water charges protest into his argument. While apologising for his use of the N-word, the Sinn Fein president said: "I live a wee bit on the edge on Twitter. I enjoy it. I know it excites some comment. Some people see some of my tweets as a bit bizarre. "I know some people think I shouldn't be on Twitter at all, at all. But sure in the middle of it all, despite the seriousness of the discussion we're having, you have to have a bit of craic and be yourself every so often." Speaking on LMFM, Mr Adams insisted: "I saw a parallel as I have for a long time between the plight and the struggle for African Americans and people back here at home. I tweeted about that." He described the Quentin Tarantino film as a "very violent but very powerful movie". "I used the N-word, realised that was a mistake, deleted it and then apologised. But I stand over my main point, my substantive point which was to look at the broad parallels between what was happening in America with African American folks and what was happening in our own place," Mr Adams said. Rambling However, in a sometimes rambling explanation he then went on to drag modern day politics into the debate. He said penal laws were ended because people stood up for themselves. "People of my own home district, Ballymurphy, have stood up for themselves. And people in Louth whether it's water protesters, not trying to compare like with like, or demanding health services, or fighting for the hospital to be returned to Dundalk or better services in Drogheda, people standing up for themselves or their neighbours. "While they may not be like with like because if you're being horsewhipped or hanged that's a different matter. But in terms of the dignity of human beings. "I've never seen myself as white. That's only skin deep. I'm a human being. We're all human beings, whatever our skin colour, whatever our gender, whatever our ability or disability. The fact is we're all human beings and we all deserve to be treated properly. And it's all about rights and what was happening in America." With elections looming, politicians from across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland were quick to criticise the use of the racial slur. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he found it "absolutely bizarre" Mr Adams would put out a tweet "with such racist language in it". Nelson McCausland of the DUP said: "The comment is absolutely horrendous, not only in terms of the language by using the N-word, but also in that it shows what he really thinks of Northern Ireland." Police in Britain are investigating the tragic death of a young Irish father-of-one after a fight in the early hours of the morning. Kilkenny man Kevin Kelly (27) died from injuries he sustained about 5am last Sunday in Luton. Bedfordshire Police have launched an investigation called 'Operation Dubnium' and have appealed to the public for assistance. Police say Mr Kelly was in the Upper George Street area of Luton when "an altercation" broke out. He was taken to hospital, where he died from his injuries. Police have confirmed a man has been arrested in connection with the incident. Locals in the village of Skeoughvosteen, in rural Kilkenny, said they were only just coming to terms with the tragedy. His mother and father, two brothers and two sisters are said to be "completely devastated" by the news. It is believed the last time Mr Kelly returned home was just five weeks ago to attend a friend's wedding. Local Fianna Fail councillor Peter Cleere, who knew Mr Kelly and lives near his family home, said the entire community was shocked by the tragedy. "I knew Kevin very well, he was a couple of years below me in school. The whole area is stunned," Cllr Cleere said. "They are a well known family and well liked. He was a likeable fellow and a lovely chap. He was just a nice lad and everybody is stunned. "We are all devastated for the family. Everybody is shocked, a young man from a rural community. When the word came out, nobody knew what to say. "He loved going out for a few pints . . . he was just a typical rural Irish lad." It is expected Mr Kelly's remains will be returned to Kilkenny. Labour Party chairman Willie Penrose has revealed he is willing to provide free legal representation to householders who wish to launch legal action against the State over the water charges fiasco. The Longford/Westmeath TD last night said that he believes Irish Water customers who have paid their bills would be justified in launching the legal action if they are refused refunds. Mr Penrose, who is a qualified barrister, said such cases could be taken on "discrimination grounds" and that he is willing to provide legal representation "pro bono". "The Government is on a sticky legal wicket if they don't deal with this," Mr Penrose told the Irish Independent. "Law-abiding citizens are entitled to receive refunds and they should be given without delay. If not, our opinion is there could be a constitutional case on discrimination grounds. And I would be happy to provide representation pro bono," he added. Legal sources last night concurred that cases may be taken in the event of refunds not being issued. To date, more than 950,000 households have paid their bills. However, there is still confusion within political circles in relation to whether refunds will be issued, following the work of the independent expert commission. A number of Fine Gael ministers, including Heather Humphreys and Damien English, have publicly called for refunds to be issued. One source suggested that such a move would cost the State in excess of 250m. Politically, the decision to suspend charges is seen as a capitulation by Fine Gael to the demands of Fianna Fail. A woman who had 9,500 taken from her account by scammers says she is going to the Financial Ombudsman over the banks treatment of her case. The lady, named Carmel, fell victim to the fraud after she responded to an email purporting to be Bank of Ireland in February. She has not yet received any refund from her bank. Speaking to RTEs Liveline, she said she could understand why people would say she should have been more careful. If this was 100 or 200 youd say fair enough, she said. Given that its a substantial figure, I suppose I was expecting a completely different outcome. The problem first arose when Carmel responded to an email, which said Bank of Ireland wished to update her account details. She was then prompted to put her own name and her mothers maiden name in a pop-up box, which she did. She was not asked for her password or other security details. She was then alerted to a number of transactions via her banks text and email service. She then realised that her account had been emptied in three transactions, all within the space of an hour. What came back to me was that I had revealed sufficient information to allow [the scammers] to be able to use the data to withdraw the money, she added. She also stressed that she had the large sum in her account after she changed her car just prior the scam. The bank later told Carmel that since she had revealed her own information, they could do nothing about it. That decision did not change after Carmel made a complaint. While Carmel admitted that the bank did alert her to the problem, she said the procedure would lead you to believe if they alerted you they would do something about it. Carmel added that she thought telling the bank she had revealed her information in response to an email had reduced her chances of getting the money refunded. Im a customer for 20 years plus, she said. I have all of my banking with them. I have my mortgage with them. They are making more than [the money lost] from the interest on my mortgage. Carmel also expressed her dismay at not receiving a phone call from the bank, and dealing only through letters. My next step is the Financial Ombudsman, so thats what Im on with now, she added. That seems to be as much as I can do, she continued. But as I say, for such a substantial amount, I would have imagined a phone call at least. In a statement, Bank of Ireland said: Customers are always advised if they receive a fraudulent pop-up, email or webpage not to reply or follow any of the specified instructions, regardless of how genuine they may appear and report it immediately to the bank. It added that complaints are assessed on an individual basis. Carly Fleischmann has severe, nonverbal autism but that hasn't stopped her from interviewing one of Hollywood's biggest actors. The 21-year-old is challenging misconceptions about her condition. The young woman was diagnosed with autism and oromotor apraxia at the age of two when her parents noticed that her development was different from that of her twin sister. However, at the age of 10 she had a breakthrough and discovered that she could communicate through typing on a computer. Expand Close Carly Fleischmann interviews Channing Tatum. Photo: YouTube / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Carly Fleischmann interviews Channing Tatum. Photo: YouTube As part of her YouTube series, Speechless with Carly Fleischmann, the Canadian girl is fulfilling her dreams of becoming a TV host and brought Hollywood actor (and her biggest crush) Channing Tatum on board for episode one. He has been a stripper, a police officer, a secret agent, a reporter, a boyfriend to many, and soon he will dump his wife to be with me, she says. I welcome Channing Tatum. She gets the 36-year-old to open up about a number of topics, including the beliefs that he doesn't share with his wife Jenna, his childhood, his dream acting partner, his life as a stripper, his baby Everly and which president he'd most like to have a drink with. Carly made the Magic Mike star laugh throughout their session with her dry wit and cheeky sense of humour. But she wasn't there to joke, she was there to ask the tough questions. "How about that, Channing, would you date a 21-year-old with autism?" she asked. Tatum said yes, but only if he had permission from his wife. "All right," she responded. "I've got my lawyers working on your divorce papers as we speak!" AutismAwareness.com calls Speechless the first nonverbal talk show. The series launched on April 29 and will see Carly interview a number of famous faces over the course of its run. Carly, who uses a communication device, gained notoriety when a video giving insight to how she processes the world when viral in 2012. It's since been viewed more than two million times and brought well-deserved attention to her book Carly's Voice. Aer Lingus's new service to LA takes off today, in the latest boost for Dublin Airport's transatlantic connectivity. The year-round service, which sees four flights per week to LAX, will be operated on the airline's fleet of long-haul, Airbus 330 aircraft. It is the first of three new North American routes Aer Lingus is launching this year, to be followed by direct flights from Dublin Airport to Newark (New Jersey) from September 1, and Hartford (Connecticut) from September 28. One-way fares on the 11-hour flight start from 299, the airline said. The Aer Lingus route is the latest boost in connectivity to LA, with Ethiopian Airlines already operating direct flights as part of its one-stop service between Addis Ababa and LA, and Iceland's WOW air offering connections via Reykjavik. Ethiopian operates its three-times weekly service on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner with fares from 271 in June as we publish, although it does not offer US Customs and Border Preclearance in Dublin, as is the case with Aer Lingus. WOW's fares start from 189 each way, though its service includes at least an 80-minute stopover in Iceland and checked baggage fees from 54.99 (Aer Lingus and Ethiopian both include checked bags in their fares). However you get there, Los Angeles will enthrall. Enjoying something of a revival and about to get a new Metro line from Downtown to Santa Monica, the Californian city offers sun, sea, a tantalising food scene and a world-class arts district. And that's not even starting on Hollywood and its surrounding hills. Transatlantic travel is booming at Dublin Airport, which will operate over 290 flights per week to/from nine destinations in the US this summer. Read more: The fact that Irish Water is continuing to send bills to households at a time when charges are supposed to be suspended is a nonsense. But the blame does not lie with the utility. The law says that if a household draws water from the public mains, or discharges wastewater into a public sewer, they must pay. Irish Water's hands are tied. In fact, the law also says that not only must the utility send a bill, you must pay it. In the absence of legislative change, it's business as usual. But there is no doubt that payment rates, which currently stand at 61pc, will plummet. After all, why would anyone pay after Fine Gael and Fianna Fail made it abundantly clear that they plan to suspend the charge for at least nine months? And, given that there has to date been no action against non-payers, compliant customers might be forgiven for thinking Irish Water is giving them the two fingers when the latest bill lands on the mat. The message has also been sent that the Dail will ultimately decide if the charges will be re-introduced. Given the make-up of the house, there are two chances of this happening - slim and none. Sending these bills comes at a cost of at least 800,000. That's a lot of money which could be used to fund upgrades, including installing alarms in smaller plants to ensure that water is being treated to the required standard, protecting drinking water sources, or helping to reduce leakage. And, lest we forget, raw sewage continues to flow into the sea, so every cent does count. But because Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have so far failed to cobble together a government, the fiasco that is water continues and bills continue to be sent out. Money is being wasted because the parties haven't directly told people there is no legal requirement to pay their bills by enacting the necessary legislation. For this ridiculous and shambolic state of affairs, don't blame Irish Water. The public's ire should be directed at the politicians who have allowed this to happen. Premium John Downing Opinion Pension reforms are dicey territory but grand plan by minister Heather Humphreys just might win through Pension system changes all across the western world have a great propensity to infuriate those most feared by politicians: the grey brigade. And when the oldies take to the streets, they usually play for keeps. Sun's out, legs out Razors out? Body hair removal may appear to be quite a modern beauty invention - it's certainly true that female shaving and waxing has become mainstream since World War 2. However, hair removal actually has a 6,000-year history. The Egyptians removed all body hair apart from their eyebrows and eyelashes. In ancient Greece, body hair was deemed uncivilised and as such is completely absent from all their ancient artwork. These original beauty buffs used a form of depilatory cream called 'dropax', a mix of vinegar and earth to trim back body hair. While today we have a huge array of body hair removal options - Brazilians, Hollywoods, landing strips - something of a backlash has begun, with women shunning hair removal in the name of feminism. Celebrities including Cameron Diaz and Lena Dunham have made keeping their body hair a political statement, contributing to social media hashtags such as #armpithairdontcare. Gwyneth Paltrow (pictured) describes her bikini line as "working a '70s vibe", while Madonna posted a selfie proudly displaying her dyed underarm hair in an effort to encourage body positivity and autonomy. I wholeheartedly applaud their gumption and totally understand the point they're making. Ultimately, it comes down to personal aesthetic and choice. Wherever you stand on the issue of female body hair, I know very few women who would be comfortable with excessive or very visible facial hair. And I can't imagine any of those celebs above gracing the front cover of many magazines with their furry moustaches and chin whiskers blowing in the wind machine. So, if body hair is not your thing, take a look at the panels on the right for some pain-free and effective hair removal options. La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Eye Lift Cream, Brown Thomas Expand Close La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Eye Lift Cream 292 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp La Prairie Skin Caviar Luxe Eye Lift Cream 292 292 The cult beauty brand delivers serious results, but with an eye-watering price tag. Lacura Caviar Video of the Day Expand Close Aldi Lacura Caviar / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Aldi Lacura Caviar 8.99 Illuminating Cream, Aldi This supermarket product is an impressive alternative. 3 of the best Hair Removal Products Remington Lady Shave, 19.99, pharmacies nationwide Expand Close Remington Lady Shave, 19.99 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Remington Lady Shave, 19.99 For ladies not keen on waxing, this shower-proof battery-operated razor is a powerfully precise yet hypoallergenic alternative. Comes with a bikini line attachment. Dr Bronner 18-In-1 Castile Soap in Almond, 12.30, health food stores nationwide This fantastic brand is fully organic, vegan, biodegradable and has an industry-leading environmentally friendly ethos. This is their hard-working hero product - it has 18 different uses from cleaning skin and hair to cleaning floors, clothes and even the dog! Brilliant when used as a calming shaving cream - perfect for sensitive skin. Kiehl's Nurturing Oil for Mom & Baby, 21, department stores Expand Close Kiehls nurturing oil / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kiehls nurturing oil For silky smooth baby soft skin post wax or shaving, smooth on this 100pc natural product. It acts as a nurturing and super-soothing post-shaving skin balm. (NOTE Mineral oil - is a petroleum based oil used in numerous skincare products. It is extremely unhealthy for skin. It is comedogenic (clogs pores, increases likelihood of acne and blackheads) It infuses the skin with zero nutrients and does not actually penetrate the skin' s surface - it may feel silky but actually it has been proven to merely sit on top of the skin. To be avoided) Treatment of the week What? Lycon waxing, available in beauty salons throughout Ireland. See lycon.ie for stockists. Where? Brazilia, South William Street, Dublin 2. (01) 675-0000, brazilia.ie Treatment? Lycon is an all-natural Australian soft wax that is 60pc less painful then strip waxing and threading. Areas that can be treated include the upper lip, chin, face, nose and nipples as well as bikini, leg and underarm areas. Cost? From 10-90. Ruths verdict? This was such a brilliant discovery for me. There was absolutely no redness or discomfort afterwards because this wax sticks to the hair not the skin, resulting in a much more gentle treatment. Lycon wax can be used on hair as short as 1mm so its ideal for facial waxing. It uses only natural ingredients, aromatherapy oils and a very low temperature. Results can last up to six weeks. Much less abrasive than strip waxing or threading. (TIP: Get waxing done a week after your period your pain threshold will be a lot higher!) Recommended product? Lycon Ingrown-X-It Soloution Smooth this lotion onto affected areas to decongest and minimise the occurrence of ingrown hairs after waxing. 21.50 at Brazilia Lord Patten said it would be "ridiculous" to stop the BBC showing popular shows at peak viewing times Lord Patten has said it would be "ridiculous" to bar the BBC from showing popular shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and The Great British Bake Off at peak viewing times. The BBC Trust's former chairman delivered a robust defence of the BBC in which he also criticised Culture Secretary John Whittingdale and sections of the press. As part of a speech at the Reuters' Institute Lecture on the future of the BBC, he also addressed reports that Mr Whittingdale is said to want a BBC that is more "distinctive". In response, Lord Patten said in his lecture: "Yes, it really would be 'distinctive' to strike Strictly or Bake-Off from the schedules because they're too good and too popular. It would also be ridiculous. A BBC One that's not popular wouldn't be the BBC that licence payers demand." Mr Whittingdale is being widely tipped to include a bar on the BBC going head-to-head with commercial rivals as part of the review of its charter. He is due to publish a White Paper within weeks that will set out a tougher new regime as part of a proposed deal to grant a new Royal Charter to safeguard the service for another 11 years. In the speech delivered at Oxford's St. Anne's College, Lord Patten said the forthcoming charter is "the one chance we have to stop the BBC becoming more and more the plaything of the government of the day". He called for the end of the link between Charter renewal and the new fixed term Parliaments. "How ridiculous it is that, because the Charter expires eighteen months after a general election, the BBC is bound to become a priority for any incoming government," Lord Patten said. Lord Patten also spoke of a "besieged" BBC and called for "everyone who cares" to "make our voices count." Video of the Day He said the corporation was under attack "by Government. By the Press. By Sky. By Google. By Apple". "Once a giant in the communications market" the BBC is "now dwarfed by multinational platforms who drive up the cost of content - of acquisition, of talent, of production, and of ideas - but have no interest in the UK except as a market". He added: "BBC's real income has fallen over the past decade by more than 15%," he said before adding, in the past five years alone, "BSkyB's revenues went up by more than 16%, and ITV's increased by 21%". He said that in order for the BBC to produce programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain, terms spelled out in its Royal Charter, it would require a BBC "not just free of political control but free of political threat". "A BBC that can stop looking over its shoulder and waiting for the next White Paper," he stated. On the subject of politicians who "grab an easy headline at the BBC's expense" he said "constituencies where the voters worry more about the BBC than they do about having a job ... don't exist." He also put forward the idea of a new Commission "to guarantee the independence not just of the BBC but of all broadcasting". Its roles, he said, would be to appoint the chairman and non-executive directors of the BBC. It would also recommend and publish proposals for future levels of BBC funding. Finally, it would appoint the chair and deputy chair of Ofcom. "Such a Commission would make it much more difficult for future governments to raid the licence fee," he said. Lord Patten also talked of the public's overwhelming support for the BBC. "The consultation exercise plainly failed to provide the answer Mr Whittingdale wanted," he said. The review of Mr Whittingdale's plans for a reform of the BBC, one of the largest-ever public consultations, saw 81% of respondents indicate satisfaction with the corporation's content. Lord Patten praised the corporation's output, including dramas such as Happy Valley, Wolf Hall, Sherlock and Line Of Duty and said: "No-one would invent the BBC today. But thank God our predecessors did. The BBC is one of this country's greatest institutions." Heidi Cruz, wife of Republican U.S. presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz, bites her lip and closes her eyes as she listens to her husband drop out of the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during his Indiana primary night rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., May 3, 2016 Republican U.S. presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump pauses as he speaks to supporters after his rival, Senator Ted Cruz, dropped out of the race for the Republican nomintion following the results of the Indiana state primary, at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, U.S., May 3, 2016 Republican front-runner Donald Trump went from long-shot contender to become the party's presumptive nominee with a commanding win in Indiana, and the party began to coalesce around him as top rival Ted Cruz bowed out of the race. The New York billionaire, who has never held public office, had repeatedly defied pundits' predictions that his campaign would implode. He prevailed despite making outrageous statements along the way that drew biting criticism but still fed his anti-establishment appeal. Expand Close Heidi Cruz, wife of Republican U.S. presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz, bites her lip and closes her eyes as she listens to her husband drop out of the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during his Indiana primary night rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., May 3, 2016 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Heidi Cruz, wife of Republican U.S. presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz, bites her lip and closes her eyes as she listens to her husband drop out of the race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination during his Indiana primary night rally in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., May 3, 2016 The former reality TV star now can prepare for a matchup in the Nov. 8 election with Hillary Clinton expected to be his Democratic opponent. Clinton's march to the Democratic nomination was slowed by rival Bernie Sanders' victory over her in Indiana. Trump's immediate challenge is to unite deep fissures within the Republican Party as many party loyalists are appalled at his bullying style, his treatment of women and his signature proposals to build a wall on the border with Mexico and deport 11 million illegal immigrants. "We have to unite the party if we want to win in November," said Henry Barbour, a Republican National Committee leader from Mississippi. "Donald Trump is the guy with the keys to the car. He's the one who needs to unite us. Now is his opportunity. The voters have picked him." Trump himself called for unity in a speech at a victory rally that was free of his usual bombast and flamboyance. Trump's victory put to rest a belief that Republicans would choose their nominee at a contested convention when party leaders gather in Cleveland July 18-21. At his victory rally at Trump Tower in New York, Trump walked on stage with wife Melania and other family members as the Rolling Stones' "Start Me Up" blared over loudspeakers. He is likely to formally wrap up the nomination on June 7 when California votes, although Ohio Governor John Kasich vowed to stay in the race as Trump's last challenger. Trump called Indiana a "tremendous victory" and immediately directed fire at Clinton. "We're going after Hillary Clinton," he said. "She will not be a great president, she will not be a good president, she will be a poor president. She doesn't understand trade." Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called Trump the party's presumptive nominee in a tweet and said, "We all need to unite and focus" on defeating Clinton. CRUZ: "VOTERS CHOSE ANOTHER PATH" As the vote returns flowed in, Cruz announced that he has ended his campaign in Indianapolis, with his wife, Heidi, at his side. Cruz, 45, sounding beaten but defiant, said he no longer sees a viable path to the nomination. "We gave it everything we got. But the voters chose another path, and so with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign," said Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas. Clinton's campaign signaled the former secretary of state's approach to dealing with Trump in a statement issued by senior Clinton adviser John Podesta, who said Trump seeks to "bully and divide Americans." "Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he's too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world. With so much at stake, Donald Trump is simply too big of a risk," he said. Cruz had hoped to show he was still a factor in the race. Some at his event expressed shock at the decision by Cruz, who had been the last serious challenger to Trump out of an original field of 17 candidates. Dan Follis, 62, was too rocked by Cruz's announcement to know for sure his next thought on the campaign. But he was sure of one thing: "I will not vote for Trump." Trump won at least 51 of 57 possible delegates awarded in Indiana, according to the Associated Press delegate tracker. His victory in the state pushed him to 1,047 delegates of the 1,237 needed to clinch the nomination, compared with 153 for Kasich. Cruz had 565 delegates before suspending his campaign. On the Democratic side, Clinton now has 2,202 of the 2,383 needed, while Sanders has 1,400. Trump declared Cruz a tough man to beat. "Ted Cruz, I don't know if he likes me or doesn't like me. But he is one hell of a competitor. He is one smart guy. And he has got an amazing future," Trump said. Trump also reached out to both Hispanics and African-Americans as he talked about ensuring jobs and saying he would "make America great again." "This is going to be a beautiful and loving country," Trump said. THIRD-PARTY ALTERNATIVE But anti-Trump groups said they would continue fighting, and Lanhee Chen, who had advised former Republican candidate Marco Rubio, broached the possibility of a third-party candidate. "Tonight's outcome raises seriousness & urgency of discussions about third-party alternative; how real it is depends on who steps up to run," he tweeted. Cruz had been counting on a win in Tuesday's primary to slow the New York businessman's progress toward the nomination. But Trump rode momentum from wins in five Northeastern states a week ago to wrest Indiana from Cruz, whose brand of Christian conservatism had been expected to have wide appeal in the state. The only hope Kasich has for becoming the Republican nominee is to somehow deny Trump the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination outright and force Republicans at the July convention to choose one of them. Kasich vowed to stay in the race. "As long as it remains possible Governor Kasich will fight for the higher path," said Kasich senior strategist John Weaver. "Governor Kasich will continue to campaign and offer the voters a clear choice for our country." A furious Pakistan has condemned Donald Trump's "ignorant" claim that he could force Islamabad to free a doctor who helped the CIA track down Osama Bin Laden. Chuadry Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistan's interior minister, told Mr Trump that his country "is not a colony of the United States" and would decide for itself on the fate of Dr Shakil Afridi. It seems that even as the New Yorker was hoping that Indiana's nominating contest will make him unstoppable in what originally had seemed to many a quixotic quest for the Republican presidential nomination, new storm clouds were gathering for the famously blunt-spoken real estate mogul. Trump enjoys a double-digit polling lead over US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who has been campaigning in the Midwestern state almost non-stop since mid-April. Cruz has trumpeted Indiana, one of the last big states left in the fight to get onto the November ballot, as his golden moment to force a brokered nomination at the party's July convention. But it appears to be shaping up as his Waterloo. Dr Afridi is feted as a hero in the US for running a fake vaccination campaign that led to the raid on Bin Laden's Abbottabad compound in May 2011, but has been in jail in Pakistan for almost five years. Mr Trump told Fox News on Friday that he would make Pakistan cooperate in freeing Dr Afridi if he were elected as president because the South Asian country needs US aid money. "I think I would get him out in two minutes. I would tell them let him out and I'm sure they would let him out. Because we give a lot of aid to Pakistan," said Mr Trump. But Mr Nisar responded that Mr Trump's statement "serves to show not only his insensitivity, but also his ignorance about Pakistan." "Pakistan is not a colony of the United States of America. He should learn to treat sovereign nations with respect," he said. Since 2002, Pakistan has received around $13bn for its support of the US-led war in Afghanistan, in addition to billions more in humanitarian aid. But Pakistan maintains that it has made huge sacrifices in standing alongside the US since the 9/11 attacks, and suffered the losses of thousands of its citizens' lives as a result. "The peanuts the US has given us in return should not be used to threaten or browbeat us into following Trump's misguided vision of foreign policy," said Mr Nisar. Demands Mr Trump's promise to pursue the freedom of Dr Afridi is consistent with several US leaders' demands in recent years. Hillary Clinton, during her tenure as US secretary of state, denounced Dr Afridi's treatment as "unjust and unwarranted", while furious senators withheld $33m of aid in protest. Mr Afridi was arrested in July 2011 amid revelations that the CIA had organised a fake Hepatitis C vaccination campaign in the area they suspected bin Laden of living in, to try and get his family's DNA. He remains in prison charged with murder relating to a patient he had treated eight years previously. The row comes as the US Congress this week forced the withdrawal of a subsidy to Pakistan for the purchase of eight American F-16 fighter jets worth 880m, under intense Indian lobbying. A study says an overeating gene can explain why some Labradors become obese Labradors are often overweight because they have a gene linked to overeating, new research has suggested. The most common breed of dog in the UK and the US, Labradors are more likely to become obese than others. Scientists at the University of Cambridge have discovered that 23% of the loveable dogs have a variant of an obesity-related gene strongly associated with weight and appetite. In a study published today in the journal Cell Metabolism, a team of researchers studied 310 pet and assistance dog Labradors to look for variants of three candidate obesity-related genes. They also examined the dogs' "food motivation" by asking owners about their animals' relationship with food. The researchers found that a variant of one gene in particular, known as POMC, was strongly associated with weight, obesity and appetite in Labradors and flat coat retrievers. In both breeds, for each copy of the gene carried, the dog was on average 1.9kg heavier, an effect size particularly notable given the extent to which owners, rather than the dogs themselves, control the amount of food and exercise their dogs receive. Lead author Dr Eleanor Raffan said: "This is a common genetic variant in Labradors and has a significant effect on those dogs that carry it, so it is likely that this helps explain why Labradors are more prone to being overweight in comparison to other breeds. The gene affected is known to be important in regulating how the brain recognises hunger and the feeling of being full after a meal. "People who live with Labradors often say they are obsessed by food, and that would fit with what we know about this genetic change," says Dr Raffan. The scientists even believe that understanding how the gene - which is also found in humans - works in dogs might help tackle the obesity crisis. Professor Stephen O'Rahilly, Co-Director of the Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Institute of Metabolic Science, says: "Common genetic variants affecting the POMC gene are associated with human body weight and there are even some rare obese people who lack a very similar part of the POMC gene to the one that is missing in the dogs. "So further research in these obese Labradors may not only help the wellbeing of companion animals but also have important lessons for human health." The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have said "there will always be hope" in the hunt for their daughter despite doubt over the future of the British police investigation into her disappearance. Kate and Gerry McCann on Tuesday marked nine years since the little girl vanished, saying in a statement on their website that "information is still forthcoming" in the inquiry. It came after Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe revealed that British investigators have one remaining line of inquiry before the probe is wound up in the next few months. In their statement, the McCanns said: "As yet another anniversary comes around, we'd like to thank all our supporters for your continued help and commitment in the search for Madeleine, and the hope for her safe return. "It has been a very long time but the investigation continues, information is still forthcoming and our hope and resolve continue. Until we have answers, until there is news (real news!), there will always be hope and we will continue to do everything we can to help find Madeleine." According to the Daily Mirror, the couple marked the anniversary with a prayer meeting in the village of Rothley in Leicestershire where they live. Expand Close Madeleine McCann (right) and her mother Kate / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Madeleine McCann (right) and her mother Kate Madeleine vanished at the age of three while on holiday with her parents in Portugal on May 3 2007 and, despite a hugely high-profile international hunt, no trace of her has ever been found. Speaking on LBC last week, Sir Bernard said: "There is a line of inquiry that remains to be concluded and it's expected that in the coming months that will happen." The Home Office has granted 95,000 funding to keep the investigation - which now only has a handful of officers working on it - going for another few months. The McCanns are helping to promote a single, called I Hope, which is being released by the charity Missing People on May 20 ahead of International Missing Children's Day. It is performed by relatives of missing children alongside stars including Rick Astley, Chesney Hawkes and Lesley Garrett. Greek police in riot gear stand near refugees and migrants at the northern border point of Idomeni (AP) The European Union's executive commission has recommended that Turkish citizens be allowed to travel to Europe without visas on short holidays and business trips, a major step towards fulfilling a key part of an agreement with Turkey to deal with the migrant crisis. The European Commission said Turkey has met most of the 72 criteria needed for a visa waiver, and it invited member states and EU politicians to endorse the move by June 30. Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans said "there is still work to be done as a matter of urgency but if Turkey sustains the progress made, they can meet the remaining benchmarks". Turkey must fulfil the final five criteria before the visa waiver is approved. The move is part of a package of incentives offered to Turkey - including up to six billion euro (4.7 billion) in aid for Syrian refugees and fast-track EU membership talks - to persuade Ankara to stop migrants heading to Europe and take thousands back from Greece. That deal has raised legal and moral questions, as EU nations unable to agree among themselves about how to handle the refugee emergency chose instead to outsource it to Turkey, where almost three million refugees are staying, most of them people fleeing war in Syria. Visa liberalisation, which must come by June 30, would be an important sign that the Europeans are living up to their promises. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that the whole agreement will collapse if the EU reneges on any pledge. Once the visa proposal is endorsed, only Turkish citizens with biometric passports including facial and fingerprint data would be allowed to enter, Mr Timmermans said. Visa-free travel would be possible in all EU member states except for Britain and Ireland, which have provisions for opting out of such policies, and would include four members of the Schengen passport-free travel area; Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. In a separate move, the commission proposed that EU countries refusing to accept refugees under new proposals to overhaul the EU's failed asylum laws face fines - dubbed a "solidarity contribution" - of 250,000 euro (197,000) for each asylum seeker rejected. The penalties are part of a new plan to more evenly share the burden of hosting hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict and violence in places such as Syria, with the current asylum system on the verge of collapse. The plan still has to be accepted by a large majority of member countries - around two-thirds under the bloc's qualified majority system - and EU politicians. The fine will prove controversial as some countries already vehemently oppose the current EU scheme to share 160,000 refugees in Greece and Italy. Hungary has even moved to hold a referendum on the issue. Under present EU laws, people seeking international protection in Europe must apply for asylum in the country where they first arrive. That effectively means Greece and Italy have been overburdened, and many of their EU partners have failed to help them cope. The new scheme would kick in automatically once a country comes under high migration pressure. Other member states would take in a share of any asylum seekers - not people trying to escape poverty or looking for jobs - calculated from each nation's population and economic strength based on gross domestic product. But members could choose not to take part for 12 months. "The member state which temporarily does not take part in the corrective allocation must make a solidarity contribution of 250,000 euros per applicant," according to the text, which is a draft legal proposal to EU states and the European Parliament. A new EU asylum agency would also be set up and be responsible for supervising the way the whole system is working. Israel has a vibrant food scene, melding flavours from Jewish immigrants around the world with local Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine The leader of an organis-ation representing Jews across the world has asked the Michelin travel guide to evaluate Israeli restaurants with its famous rating system, implying that the decision to omit the country may be political. In a letter to the Michelin Guide, World Jewish Congress president Ron Lauder said it was a "concerning omission" that Michelin did not have a guide to Israel. "Israel today is a venerable amalgam of cultures and traditions, which come together to produce a distinctive and exceptional culinary scene," wrote Lauder. "Why, therefore, has your company refused to produce a guide to Israel's restaurants? "Though I am sure that it is not your intention, some have speculated that reasons other than merit colour Michelin's decision not to visit Israel," Lauder, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist, added. Israel, particularly Tel Aviv, has a vibrant food scene, melding flavours from Jewish immigrants around the world with local Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. Ted Cruz is out of the Republican presidential race (AP) Republican Donald Trump is all but clear to run for US president (AP) John Kasich is set to end his bid for the White House (AP) Ohio governor John Kasich is leaving the Republican US presidential contest, sources said, giving Donald Trump a clear path to his party's nomination. Mr Kasich will announce the end of his underdog White House bid on Wednesday, according to three campaign officials. The decision comes a day after Mr Trump's only other rival, Ted Cruz, dropped out. With no opponents left in the race, Mr Trump becomes the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee to take on the Democratic nominee in November - presumably Hillary Clinton. Though armed with an extensive resume in politics, the second-term Ohio governor struggled to connect with Republican primary voters in a year dominated by anti-establishment frustration. Mr Kasich was a more moderate candidate who embraced elements of President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul and called for an optimistic and proactive Republican agenda. Even before news of Mr Kasich's decision surfaced, Mr Trump signalled a new phase of his outsider campaign that includes a search for a running mate with experience governing and outreach to one-time competitors in an effort to heal the fractured Republican Party. "I am confident I can unite much of" the party, Mr Trump said on NBC's Today Show, as several prominent Republicans said they would prefer Democrat Mrs Clinton over the New York billionaire. In a shot at his critics, Mr Trump added: "Those people can go away and maybe come back in eight years after we served two terms. Honestly, there are some people I really don't want." His comments on several networks came a few hours after Mr Trump, once dismissed as a fringe contender, became all but certainly the leader of the Republican Party into the autumn campaign against Mr Clinton. The former secretary of state suffered a defeat in Indiana to her rival, Bernie Sanders, but holds a definitive lead in Democratic delegates who will decide the Democratic nomination. The Republican competition changed dramatically with Mr Trump's Indiana victory and Mr Cruz's abrupt decision to quit the race. Mr Trump won the Indiana contest with 53.3% of the vote, to Mr Cruz's 36.6% and Mr Kasich's 7.6%, according to unofficial results. Some Republican leaders remain wary of Mr Trump and have insisted they could never support him, even in a face-off against Mrs Clinton. "The answer is simple: No," tweeted Nebraska senator Ben Sasse, who has consistently said he could not support Mr Trump. What is their plan moving forward? "Prayer," responded Republican strategist Tim Miller, a leader of one of the party's anti-Trump groups. "Donald Trump is just going to have an impossible time bringing together the Republican coalition." Some conservative leaders were planning a Wednesday meeting to assess the viability of launching a third party candidacy to compete with him in the autumn. Such Republicans worry about Mr Trump's views on immigration and foreign policy, as well as his over-the-top persona. Hours before clinching victory in Indiana, Mr Trump was floating an unsubstantiated claim that Mr Cruz's father appeared in a 1963 photograph with John F Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald - citing a report first published by the National Enquirer. Mr Trump defended his reference to the Enquirer article as "not such a bad thing", but the line of attack was the final straw for some Republican critics. "(T)he GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks it's on the level," Mark Salter, a top campaign aide to 2008 Republican nominee John McCain, wrote on Twitter. He added Mrs Clinton's slogan: "I'm with her." On finding a running mate, Mr Trump told MSNBC's Morning Joe that he will "probably go the political route", saying he is inclined to pick someone who can "help me get legislation passed". Mr Trump did not identify any of the names under consideration. He also said he is hoping to decide within a week how to fund a general election campaign, but said he did not want to accept money from super PACs. He told ABC's Good Morning America that he would begin to accept more political donations. "I'm really looking at small contributions, not the big ones. I don't want anyone to have big influence over me," he said. A prominent Cruz donor, Mica Mosbacher, quickly signalled support for Mr Trump and urged others to follow. "I call on fellow conservatives to unite and support our new nominee Trump," said Ms Mosbacher, widow of a member of George H W Bush's cabinet. "My heart goes out to Cruz, who has a bright future. He did the unselfish thing to drop out." Vermont senator Bernie Sanders eked out a victory over Mrs Clinton in Indiana, 52.5% to 47.5%. But the outcome will not slow the former secretary of state's march to the Democratic nomination. Heading into Tuesday's voting, Mrs Clinton had 92% of the delegates she needs. "I know that the Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They're wrong," Mr Sanders said. But Mrs Clinton has already turned her attention to the general election. She and Mr Trump now plunge into a six-month battle for the presidency, with the future of America's immigration laws, healthcare system and military posture around the world at stake. While Mrs Clinton heads into the general election with significant advantages with minority voters and women, Democrats have vowed not to underestimate Mr Trump as his Republican rivals did for too long. Mr Trump later said he would be willing to consider Mr Kasich as a running mate. He told CNN he would "be interested in vetting John," but added that even as governor, Mr Kasich would be "helpful" with swinging Ohio into the Trump column on Election Day. Mr Trump added he has a good relationship with Mr Kasich. SHARE Shown from left are Sheriff Mike Crenshaw, Sergeant Bryan Long and Captain Jeff Underwood of the Uniform Patrol Division. Sergeant Brian Long named Oconee Officer of the Year Oconee County Sheriff's Office Uniform Patrol Sergeant Bryan Long was awarded the Oconee Officer of the Year Award recently during the 11th annual Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens Law Enforcement Appreciation Banquet, held at T.L. Hanna High School. The Oconee officer of the year award is sponsored by 10th Circuit Solicitor Chrissy Adams. The banquet is held to benefit the criminal justice scholarship funds for the criminal justice programs at Anderson University and Tri-County Technical College. The keynote speaker was Republican 4th District U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy. Long, who is the Road Sergeant for the Alpha shift patrol unit, has worked for the Sheriff's Office for almost 12 years and is a member of the Sheriff's Office SWAT team and is also an instructor in Firearms, Defensive Tactics, Ground Defense and Emergency Vehicle Operations. Long is also a member of the Dive Team, has gone through the Swift Water Rescue Program and is a volunteer firefighter. In nominating Long for the Oconee Officer of the Year award, Uniform Patrol Division Captain Jeff Underwood noted that under Sergeant Long's supervision, three deputies from the Alpha Shift have received Life Saving awards during 2015. Captain Underwood also wrote in the nomination paperwork, "There is absolutely nothing I would not trust Bryan to handle, take care of or get accomplished. If Sergeant Long is tasked with an assignment, it will get completed and in a timely fashion. Bryan has never received many accolades for his work because he does not need them or seek them." This is the second award that Long has received this year. Back in February, Long was awarded the 2016 Seneca American Legion Law Enforcement Officer of the Year at the annual Joseph Earl "Jake" Robinson Law Enforcement Dinner. SHARE PHOTOS BY KEN RUINARD/INDEPENDENT MAIL Lesly Temesvari, principal investigator for the Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence of the NIH, smiles at the Watt Family Innovation Center at Clemson University while talking about a $10.5 million grant from COBRE for research on eukaryotic pathogens. Officials said Wednesday that Clemson received a $10.5 million federal grant to fight infectious diseases that threaten people around the globe. A poster displays details about Clemson University's Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center. Kerry Smith, co-investigator for a $10.5 million grant from COBRE to Clemson University for research on eukaryotic pathogens, speaks at the Watt Family Innovation Center in Clemson. Lesly Temesvari (left), COBRE principal investigator, smiles while standing with co-investigator Kerry Smith (middle) and Clemson University President Jim Barker before announcing a $10.5 million grant from COBRE to Clemson. By Mike Eads of the Independent Mail CLEMSON Clemson University researchers are getting a $10.5 million to fight infectious diseases that threaten people around the globe. The National Institutes of Health award to Clemson's Eukaryotic Pathogens Innovation Center was announced Wednesday at the Watt Family Innovation Center. The NIH money will be distributed through that organization's Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence to train and mentor young scientists and researchers to fight dysentery, fungal meningitis, African sleeping sickness and other diseases ravaging populations in the developing world. Those diseases may seem a world away, but they are closer than they may seem, said Kerry Smith, Clemson biology professor and director of EPIC. "It's very clear that as economic development occurs, travel becomes easier and the climate changes, these diseases that were once constricted to tropical and subtropical areas will start coming to the United States," Smith said. EPIC researchers collaborate with physics, biochemistry and chemistry researchers across the campus to understand parasites and improve drug delivery systems. Much of the work is done in the center's labs and offices on the top floor of Clemson's Life Sciences Facility, which, like EPIC, opened for business in 2013. Both Smith and EPIC co-founder Lesly Temesvari said having so many of the students and professors researching pathogens under one roof strengthened the grant proposal to the NIH. "It's the shared infrastructure, having all of the EPIC faculty are together except one and there's interaction not just between faculty, but also students, in the labs," said Temesvari, who will become associate dean for graduate studies and research for Clemson's new College of Science this summer. The NIH money comes from a bundle of grants to fund more opportunities for junior scientists, research technicians, graduate students pursuing doctoral degrees, administrative support and matching young scientists with mentors at other universities and research facilities. Vice President of Research Tanju Karanfil said the grant reflects well upon EPIC, Clemson University and the greater research community across the state. "To me, this shows that South Carolina and Clemson have the intellectual capital to train the students and conduct research with implications well beyond the state," said Karanfil, who took over recently for the now-retired Larry Dooley. "This shows we have the faculty who can train and the infrastructure for this research." Clemson University President Jim Clements agreed with Karanfil. "A grant of this nature can truly be transformational for a program, and I am grateful to the NIH for their support," Clements said Wednesday. "This grant is a testament to the outstanding research that our faculty is doing. What our faculty in EPIC are doing could someday make a difference for people around the world, and I am so proud that this type of work is happening right here at Clemson." This is Clemson's second COBRE award and the first to the university outright. In 2009, a $9 million grant helped establish the South Carolina Bioengineering Center of Regeneration and Formation of Tissue (SC BioCRAFT), collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina. In 2014, SC BioCRAFT received a follow-up grant from the COBRE for $11 million. Follow Michael Eads on Twitter @MikeEads_AIM SHARE State Sen. Lee Bright By Tim Smith, tcsmith@greenvillenews.com COLUMBIA A proposal on Tuesday by Sen. Lee Bright to withhold funds to local governments that pass certain bathroom ordinances has failed, likely ending any legislative debate on the issue this year. Bright's proposal came as the state Senate began debating its version of the budget for the fiscal year starting in July. The proviso would have withheld funds from any local government if it adopted any ordinance or regulation "requiring a business to allow a person to use a restroom, dressing room, or shower room different than the restroom, dressing room or shower room designated for that person's sex as identified on that person's birth certificate." But senators asked that the proposal be ruled out of order, citing a rule that requires amendments be germane and not alter permanent law. Bright argued that because the state maintains a local government fund and often alters the amount of money going into the fund, there is precedent to amend the budget that way. But Lieutenant Gov. Henry McMaster, without elaboration, sustained the point of order, killing the proviso. Ted Pitts, the CEO of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, told The Greenville News that if lawmakers allowed Bright to address the issue in the budget it would be "bad for South Carolina jobs." "It's one politician's effort to try and be relevant in an election year where he is worried about his political career," he said. Bright was the chief sponsor of a controversial bill that would bar people from using public bathrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms that do not correspond with their biological sex and prevent local governments from passing legislation allowing such use. The bill failed to collect enough votes to get out of the Senate General Committee, which held two hearings on the matter. The legislation was modeled on a recently enacted North Carolina law that has spawned controversy, protests and a move to repeal the law. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory issued an executive order several weeks ago addressing some provisions in the law though leaving unchanged the most talked about part that requires people to use bathrooms of their sex at birth. Opponents of the bill, including transgender adults and youth, said if passed the bill could trigger further harassment and violence against transgender people and was unnecessary. Three mayors spoke against the bill as well as former State Education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum, who warned it could cost the state billions of dollars in federal funding because it violated federal law. Proponents of the bill said it was needed to protect children and adult females from people posing as transgender females. Gov. Nikki Haley has said the bill is unnecessary. Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. Receive information of your transactions directly from Exchanges on your mobile / email at the end of day and alerts on your registered mobile for all debits and other important transactions in your demat account directly from NSDL/ CDSL on the same day." - Issued in the interest of investors. KYC is one time exercise while dealing in securities markets - once KYC is done through a SEBI registered intermediary (broker, DP, Mutual Fund etc.), you need not undergo the same process again when you approach another intermediary. No need to issue cheques by investors while subscribing to IPO. Just write the bank account number and sign in the application form to authorise your bank to make payment in case of allotment. No worries for refund as the money remains in investor's account." 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. Star Ferro & Cement, holding company for cement manufacturing company, reported consolidated net profit of Rs.39.75 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, registering decline of 27.71% yoy, but growth of 114.17% qoq. The companys revenue stood at Rs. 563.18 crore, up 11.09% yoy and 31.35% qoq. Its consolidated core operating profit of Rs. 126.70 crore for the quarter, declined by 18.13% yoy but clocked growth of 38.14% qoq. Operating profit margin for the current quarter at 22.5% contracted by 803 bps yoy but expanded by 111 bps qoq. For the year ended March 31, 2016, the company reported consolidated net profit of Rs. 91.98 crore, growing by 10.23% yoy. Its consolidated revenue for the period stood at Rs. 1,712.09 crore, registering growth of 19.69% yoy. Star Ferro & Cement 's core operating profit stood at Rs. 394.95 crore, recording decline of 9.22% yoy. Operating margin for the current period at 22.93% contracted by 749 bps yoy. On standalone basis,Star Ferro & Cement , reported standalone net profit of Rs.0.30 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016. However, it had reported net loss of Rs.0.74 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year and Rs. 0.42 crore in the preceding quarter. Its standalone core operating loss narrowed to Rs. 0.15 crore for the quarter compared to Rs. 0.73 crore in the same quarter of the previous year and Rs. 0.44 crore in the preceding quarter. For the year ended March 31, 2016, the company reported standalone net profit of Rs. 22.71 crore as compared to net loss of Rs. 1.38 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. Star Ferro & Cements core operating loss widened to Rs. 1.49 crore from Rs. 1.39 crore in the corresponding period of previous year. Result Highlights: (Rs. in crore) Reported Results IIFL Estimates Variance (%) Consolidated Revenue 563.18 450 25.15 Consolidated Net Profit 39.75 35 13.57 Consolidated EPS for the quarter stood at Rs. 1.79. Stock Commentary: Star Ferro & Cement Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 119, down by 3.05 points or 2.5% from its previous closing of Rs. 122.05 on the BSE. The scrip opened at Rs. 121 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 122.45 and Rs. 118 respectively. So far 7929(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 2711.95 crore. The BSE group 'B' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 175 on 22-May-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 96 on 12-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 128.25 and Rs. 119.35 respectively. The promoters holding in the company stood at 66.64 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 0.12 % and 33.24 % respectively. The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA. The Indian equity market yet again closed in the negative terrain extending its losing streak to the third consecutive trading session. Nifty closed near days low amid an absolute monotonous session as Nifty was stuck in a mere 50 point range. After a decline in the manufacturing PMI, sentiment was hit again today as services PMI fell to 53.7 in April 2016 from 54.3 in March 2016. Global cues too weighed on the indices. China manufacturing data and downgrade in Eurozone growth forecast led to resurfacing of fears about slower global growth in the future. The metals stocks, which were in momentum in the past week, were top losers for second consecutive session as the BSE metals index slipped by 3.5% followed by the realty, auto, telecom and banking index. The midcap and smallcap index lost further ground. Only the BSE IT index closed with modest gains. Finally, the BSE Sensex ended with a loss of 128 points at 25,102. The BSE Sensex opened at 25,211 touched an intra-day high of 25,246 and low of 25,061. The NSE Nifty closed with a loss of 40 points at 7,706.55. The NSE Nifty opened at 7,724 hitting a high of 7,749 and low of 7,697. The India VIX (Volatility) index was down 0.55% at 17.3650. The BSE Midcap index ended down 1.22% and Smallcap index closed lower by 0.98%. On the global front, China's Shanghai Composite index and Hang Seng ended lower. The Japanese stock market is closed until Friday for the Golden Week holidays. European stocks hovered near a three-week low on Wednesday, with shares in Dialog Semiconductor and BHP Billiton among the worst performers. The FTSE 100 is trading lower by 1.28%. DAX and the CAC 40 are trading down over 1% each. The Indian Rupee was trading down 22 paise at 66.63 per US dollar. HDFC, NTPC, Aurobindo Pharma, HCL Tech, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Idea Cellular and Sun Pharma were among the gainers on NSE, whereas Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Tata Motor DVR, Hindalco and BHEL were among the losers today. Out of 1,453 stocks traded on the NSE, 1,096 declined and 306 advanced today. Adani Ports and SEZ tumbled 11.9% to Rs. 207.65. The company posted a net profit of Rs. 9140.60 mn for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 compared with Rs.6607.30 mn for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. Tata Steel slipped 5.6% to Rs. 329 on BSE. The UK-based commodity trading firm Liberty House Group formally submitted the first bid for some of Tata Steel Ltds UK assets. Sun Pharmaceutical gained 0.6% to Rs. 802.75 on BSE. The company singed a global deal with ICGEB for treatment of Dengue. Under the deal, Sun Pharma is expected to produce novel Dengue drug for 17 countries. MEP Infrastructure gained 1% to Rs. 42. The Company received the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) dated May 03, 2016 from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) informing that MEP has been engaged as the Contractor for the Project of "Collection of user fee through Fee Collection Agency on the basis of competitive Bidding for Paduna Toll Plaza at Km. 311.100 for the section Km. 278.000 to Km. 348.000 [Udaipur- Kherwada] of NH No. 8 in the State of Rajasthan". Tata Motors dropped 6.7% to Rs. 381 after its wholly-owned subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported 2 per cent fall in US sales in April 2015 BASF India jumped 4% to Rs. 961.25. The companys standalone revenue stood at Rs.1,152.12 crore, up 7.44% yoy and 1.8% qoq. A total of 14 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, whereas 22 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE. Alankit Limited, Bharat Bijlee Limited, Biocon Limited, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Limited, Essel Propack Limited, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited, Maithan Alloys Limited, Orient Paper & Industries Limited, Parrys Sugar Industries Limited, Piramal Enterprises Limited, Petronet LNG Limited, Sagar Cements Limited, Supreme Petrochem were some of the prominent stocks to log a fresh 52-week high intra-day. Adhunik Metaliks Limited, ANG Industries Limited, Austral Coke & Projects Limited, Birla Cotsyn (India) Limited, Farmax India Limited, First Winner Industries Limited, GEI Industrial Systems Limited, Global Offshore Services Limited, Impex Ferro Tech Limited, Jaypee Infratech Limited Paras Petrofils Limited, Prakash Steelage Limited, Provogue (India) Limited, Rainbow Papers Limited, Radha Madhav Corporation Limited, Som Distilleries & Breweries Limited, SHRI ASTER SILICATES LIMITED, Sterling Biotech Limited, Surana Corporation Limited, Visesh Infotecnics Limited, Visagar Polytex, Zee Learn were some of the notable stocks to record new 52-week low intra-day. Dollar Industries Limited, one of the leading hosiery brands of the country, released their 5TV commercial featuring Brand Ambassador, Akshay Kumar shortly. The Bollywood action hero was seen wearing a Dollar vest and showcasing different stunts involving martial arts in the new TV commercial.The basic motto of the TV commercial is to highlight how fitness and flexibility helps to overcome challenges. Mr. Andzei Matsukevits, acclaimed International AD Filmmaker has directed the commercial. Sainath Saraban, who was earlier working as the Creative Head of Leo Brunnet has scripted the TVC.Akshay Kumar has been seen as a mix martial art specialist in the TVC, practicing with Winchu Wooden stand and suddenly challenged by a goon. The brand ambassador used a witty trick and won the fight without even touching him. The TVC ends up with the tagline Jiske Collar Ke Niche Dollar Hota Hain, Usse Panga Nehi Lete Hain. The film is a must watch for those who loves to watch witty flicks.With Akshay becoming the face of Dollar, the brands products have received widespread acceptance across millions of homes in India and abroad. The brands success lies behind its dedication and effort to keep its designs trendy, comfortable and stylish so that consumers are given nothing but the best.The association with Akshay Kumar has created the perfect brand image for our company and it has been a journey worth mentioning. In this period our company has witnessed exponential growth in terms of sales, customer base, dealer distribution network and has become one of the most popular hosiery brands of the country. This is our fifth TV commercial with him and we are very confident that the commercial will have an instant connect with the audience, saidThe concept of the TVC is catchy and in the same line of humour and using your brain. I am delighted that the company is growing day by day, flourishing each fiscal, said the brand ambassadorDollar as a brand always believes in having a fit body and a fearless mind. And the new TV commercial is a reflection of this belief,Dollar will have a 360-degree advertising campaign across print, electronic, outdoor & online media to promote their new commercial. The growth of the company is on an upswing with annual growth rates averaging more than 18% year-on-year.Dollar Industries Ltd., is today amongst the top three hosiery brands in India. The company has four manufacturing units in Kolkata, Tirupur (TN), Delhi and Ludhiana. Dollar Industries enjoys a 15% market share in the branded hosiery segment in India. Dollar Industries have recently started business in African market with Nigeria to reserve more export revenue. The companys existing export markets are in Gulf Middle East as well as Nepal. MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET) a leading global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs, announced that it has been recognized with awards for innovation in three categories at the 2016 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards including: Category Award Country/Region/Product Award for the Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service - Financial Services Industries Silver Stevie Winner MetLife Asia Advanced Data Analytics (ADA) Program Award for Innovation in Consumer Products & Services Silver Stevie Winner MetLife Korea GoldenCare Award for Innovation in Brand Development Silver Stevie Winner MetLife Hong Kong Pursue More From Life Campaign Ralph Brunner, Chief Marketing Officer, MetLife Asia said: MetLife is delighted that the Stevie Awards has recognized our industry-leading use of data technology and product innovation as we deliver on our commitment to enhance the experience of customers across Asia. Related to the Award for the Innovative Use of Technology in Customer Service, MetLife Asia established its Center of Excellence for Data Analytics (COEDA) in 2014 to transform big data into customer insights, deliver a more holistic customer experience, and drive improvements to business performance. Brunner added: Our innovative use of data analytics is transforming our understanding and engagement with the customer. We have seen a demonstrable improvement in customer satisfaction across Asia. For the Award for Innovation in Consumer Products & Services, MetLife Koreas GoldenCare Annuity, first launched in 2015, was recognized as a first-of-its-kind solution helping consumers build health and wealth for a better retirement particularly in the context of Koreas rapidly growing elderly demographic. For the Award for Innovation in Brand Development, MetLife Hong Kong was awarded for its successful Pursue More from Life brand engagement campaign. By implementing an integrated yet disruptive approach to challenge the traditional definition of happiness, MetLife successfully raised its brand awareness by harnessing mobile technology and the use of its online e-platform. Created in 2002, the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are among the worlds premiere business awards. The mission of the Stevie Awards is to recognize achievements in the workplace worldwide. More than 600 nominations from organizations across the 22 Asia Pacific countries were considered, with each category featuring up to three finalists (gold, silver and bronze). The awards will be presented to winners during a gala event in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, 27 May. About MetLife MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (MetLife), is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. Founded in 1868, MetLife is a global provider of life insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management. Serving approximately 100 million customers, MetLife has operations in nearly 50 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit www.metlife.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160426007041/en/ The government, through finance minister, had proposed a retrogressive tax and withdrawal clause on the EPF while delivering the budget speech in February 2016. In a recent address, the finance minister, Hon. Arun Jaitley, was quick to defend the move and explained the rationale behind the taxation and restricted withdrawal proposal. He said the governments aim was to achieve policy objectives through taxation. The minister was also categorical that the proposal would have affected the minority subscribers, not the over 3.2 crore subscribers who earn less than Rs 15,000 a month.EPF is Indias largest pension fund with assets value estimated at US$104bn. Apart from having a fairly decent interest return, which is almost same as bank fixed deposit, below are 4 reasons why citizens consider EPF to be the best long-term savings plan.The employer contributes 12% of the employees basic pay to the members provident fund. This is guaranteed by the EPFO who also ensure that these contributions accrue interest at a rate determined by the Central Government. A member can also withdraw from his accretions to cater for financial emergencies such as for education, purchase or construction of house or flat, settling an existing home loan, or to cater for medical expenses. Such expenditure must, however, be accounted for and if found to be misused a refund is demanded. A member can also settle the account upon resignation and receive his contribution, employer contribution, and interest accrued.Through the EPF members are eligible for a pension or to their family in case of death of the member. The member is also eligible for a scheme certificate that displays the service and family details of a member. This certificate is used to apply for the pension (for members who have attained service of over 10 years). A member is guaranteed of pension even if the employer does not contribute to the pension fund.Members who are not eligible for a pension can withdraw accumulated amounts in their pension account. This amount is calculated on the basis of the last average salary and service tenure and not on the actual amount existing in the pension fund account.Upon the death of a member the provident fund, pension, interests earned and Insurance (EDLI) amount are paid to the family or a nominee.These reasons make the EPF the preferred long term savings and investment plan for the working population in India. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will leave early morning tomorrow for Frankfurt, Germany in order to participate in the 49th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will arrive early morning tomorrow at Frankfurt on a days visit. Thewill leave early morning tomorrow for Frankfurt, Germany in order to participate in the 49th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will arrive early morning tomorrow at Frankfurt on a days visit. Soon after his arrival in Frankfurt, the Finance Minister Jaitley will attend the First Business Session of the ADB. In his Speech at the Session, the Finance Minister would focus on the performance of Indian Economy in the period of global slowdown. He would highlight the micro and macroeconomic indicators of the economy. Cooperation with ADB in development will also be on his agenda. Later, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will be meeting Mr. Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, Parliamentary State Secretary to German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. During the bilateral meeting, the issues of mutual interest of India and Germany in ADB are likely to be discussed. Thereafter, Shri Jaitley will meet Mr. Lyonpo Namgay Dorji, Finance Minister of Bhutan and discuss about economic assistance packages from India to Bhutan, progress of work of hydropower projects funded by India and Sub-Regional Cooperation in the region. Before taking part in the CNBC debate as panelist, the Finance Minister Jaitley will attend other Round Table Meetings and Bi-lateral Meetings including meeting with Mr.Takeshi Kunibe, President and CEO, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Asian Economic Outlook-2016 is the theme of this years CNBC debate being held in the evening tomorrow. In the debate, the Finance Minister Mr. Jaitley will be joined by Indonesia Finance Minister Bambang P.S. Brodjonegoro, Pakistan Finance Minister Mr Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Regional Head for Greater China and ASEAN, Commerzbank AG Ms. Agnes Vargas and ADB President Mr Takehiko Nakao. The 49th Annual General Meeting of Asian Development Bank is being held from 2-5 May, 2016 at Frankfurt, Germany. This Annual meeting has gained significance as Asian Development is playing a significant role in the development of Asia-Pacific region which remains a growth engine for the world. Though Asian Development Outlook 2016 predicts softening in the regions growth rates from 5.9% projected last year to 5.7% each in 2016 and 2017, India continues to maintain high growth rate with rising real incomes and domestic demand and is projected to grow at 7.6% in 2015-16 as compared to 7.2% in the previous year despite decline in exports and two consecutive years of unfavourable monsoons. In the statements released from Frankfurt, ADB President Mr Takehiko Nakao has also expressed confidence in growth story of India. India is going to play a major role in the development of the region. In this context, role of India gets significant importance in the AGM where the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will be representing India along with Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Secretary. Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance. After participating in the day long events, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will start for return journey back home late in the evening and will return to national Capital on 5th May, 2016 after completing his one day official visit to Frankfurt. , has joinedas the Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) of the company. In his capacity as CMIO,will take on advising and overseeing the clinical operations of the company.Speaking about his new appointment,, Health infrastructure in India is skewed to deliver in Tier 1 cities There is roughly one doctor per every 1800 people and healthenablr is a tele health platform that is working toward connecting patients to verified doctors for trusted health information. I am excited to be part of a venture like this.Dr. Puthillath, MD is a practicing medical oncologist based out ofand is currently the co-chair of the, St Joseph Medical Center, California and Vice Chief of Staff Lodi Health, California. His experience also includes a fellowship in Medical Oncology and Hematology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI), the oldest cancer center in the US.As a digital healthcare ecosystem, getting someone from the healthcare sector, especially someone as accomplished and senior as Dr. Puthillath on board, is a big step in the right direction for us. saidDr. Puthillath, has presented research papers in themeetings and has a deep interested in digital health technologies that improve health care delivery models and patient outcomes. He is also at present, part of the advisory board of several health care startups based out of the US and has published numerous articles in peer reviewed medical journals.said, Not only is Dr. Puthillath is a highly respected Oncologist with envious credentials, he is also very passionate about digital healthcare and extremely committed to the growth of Healthenablr. As the Chief Medical Informatics Officer, he will play a critical role in building our telehealth platform and advise us on incorporating the best practices in the fields of medicine and healthcare that he has learned over the years. We are thrilled to have him on board.The healthcare sector is one of the last sectors to be disrupted by technology of Indian doctors still use paper charting for documentation. The per capita expenditure on healthcare is estimated to increaseThe market size of the sector of India was estimated to beduring 2012-13 and is projected to reach, while hitting the7. In such a market, Healthenablr has developed a robust electronic and patient health record system `to seamlessly access data from any point of care.I look forward to working withto make them the preferred ecosystem for consumers to connect with doctors and makethe number one wellness platform for patients, for all their health needs. Tata Motors Ltd ended lower by 7% at Rs. 381. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the company's British luxury car unit, recorded decline in US sales during the month of April 2016. Fitch Ratings has affirmed India-headquartered Tata Motor Limited's (TML) Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB'. The Outlook is Stable. The rating reflects TML's small size in relation to global auto majors and its profitable wholly owned subsidiary, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR, BB-/Positive), which accounted for 75% of TML's consolidated revenue and 90% of EBITDA in the financial year ended 31 March 2015 (FY15). The scrip opened at Rs. 406.75 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 406.75 and Rs. 394.8 respectively. So far 1995924(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 133492.92 crore. The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 530.95 on 11-May-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 266 on 11-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 425 and Rs. 395 respectively. The promoters holding in the company stood at 33.01 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 41.3 % and 25.69 % respectively. The stock is currently trading above its 50 DMA. BRIDGETON, Missouri They cant breathe. Residents of this community near Ferguson site of 2014s police-involved shooting death of teenager Michael Brown have complained for years about lung troubles caused by toxic fumes tied to radioactive waste linked to the atomic bombs that flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Missouris Department of Health and Senior Services will release a study in June to gauge these concerns. Many here call this step positive, small and too late; a slow-moving, subterranean landfill fire that began in 2010, could boost the sites toxic-gas emissions. Some locals have been diagnosed with cancer, which they connect to nuclear waste illegally dumped at the West Lake Landfill by the Cotter Corporation in 1973. This radioactive refuse is from World War IIs top-secret Manhattan Project. Thanks to these conditions, residents who seek government-assisted relocation feel abandoned. Lengthy fights over who ultimately should control the site have slowed cleanup efforts. Paul Berry III, a local African-American small business owner running for the U.S. House as a Republican, has long raised awareness about the toxic waste. I take issue with President Obama and his focus on the Iran nuclear deal while we have nuclear waste sitting derelict in my community less than two miles away, said Berry, who grew up in the area. How are we going to be a steward for nuclear waste when were not even taking care of business in my backyard? asked Berry. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reportedly investigating the issue following a September 2014 study by Missouris health department. It found that, between 1996 and 2011, the ZIP codes around the landfill included statistically significant, higher incidences of leukemia plus cancers of the colon, prostate, kidney, bladder and brain. [The] recent study by St. Louis County is actually the first time that a government entity has asked people if they feel ill, said Laura Barrett, executive director for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. This is a hot mess, said Dawn Chapman, a local mother and co-founder of Just Moms STL, a non-profit organization made up of local mothers who worry that these radioactive materials are sickening their families. When Chapman bought a home in nearby Maryland Heights in 2005, she says she was never warned that her family would live near a radioactive waste site. She discovered their close proximity just three years ago when her family began experiencing what she called a horrible odor emanating from the site. A 1988 Nuclear Regulatory Commission study revealed that its inspectors discovered in 1974 that the Cotter Corporation which agreed to buy the atomic refuse from the federal government and dispose of it mixed this waste with 39,000 tons of topsoil. Cotter illegally covered the West Lake Landfill with this irradiated earth in 1973, according to the nuclear agencys report. Its not in barrels. Some of its mixed in the soil and the garbage, said Chapman. Some of its just lying on the surface for over 40 years, and none of us knew about this. Chapman, who lives with her husband and their three special-needs children, described the odor as a burning-electrical smell mixed with trash and petroleum. Two of her kids suffer developmental problems, Chapman said. She personally complains of breathing difficulties. Im 35 and have never had an issue in my life, said Chapman. These past couple of years, Ive found myself using and borrowing other peoples inhalers. Some, however, consider these fears overblown. Low-level radiation is generally a health benefit, said Dr. Jerry Cuttler, a scientist with more than 50 years of experience with nuclear radiation and an adviser to the New York-based American Council on Science and Health. The natural radon level in an open area is very low, said Cuttler. To find a harmful radon level, you would need to go into a uranium mine that has no forced ventilation. Despite ordering landfill owner Republic Services to build a barrier between the fire and the toxic waste, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denies residents are at risk. St. Louis County, on the other hand, published a 2014 shelter-in-place plan due to concerns that the fire could reach and burn the toxic waste, increase pollution and hurt residents. The fire is expected to smolder until 2024. This plan dismays Chapman, whose home is located several miles from the landfill. Some locals live within half a mile of the site, and the odor penetrates their residences, according to Chapman. What are those people supposed to do? said Chapman. A lot of people here feel like theyre prisoners in their own homes. Situated in the Palpung Sherabling Monastic Seat in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district, this Buddhist Stupa was built in remembrance of the late Freda Bedi. Famously known as sister Palmo, Freda Bedi was the mother of veteran actor Kabir Bedi. The stupa was built to exemplify her work and service towards her fellow beings. Freda Houlston Bedi was indeed an extraordinary woman with extraordinary deeds. She lived an active and purposeful life, and was very drawn towards Tibetan Buddhism, spending her entire life leading and looking after the welfare of Tibetans in India. A visit to Burma in 1952 while working for the United Nations persuaded her to follow Buddhism, where she learnt Vipassana meditation with Mahasi Sayadaw, apparently one of the first Westerners to be initiated into Vipassana. In 1959, when thousands of Tibetan refugees fled across the Himalayas to India, Freda played a vigorous role in their welfare, establishing schools and religious communities for young Tibetan Buddhists in the new land. She took to practicing Tibetan Buddhism of the Kagyu School under the direct guidance of the Karmapa. She also became the principal of a school established by the Dalai Lama in Delhi for young Tibetans, besides other organisations. In 1963, Freda helped in setting up Karma Drabgyu Thargay Ling, a nunnery for Tibetan women in northern India. In 1966, Freda Bedi became the first British woman to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist by the Karmapa. She was also one of the first nuns to reach the higher stature of Lama. Born in Austria, Freda got her education in England and married a Sikh (Kabir Bedis father) at Oxford in 1933, before moving to India in 1934. In the last decade of her life, she chanted and went to Sikkim. She was seen as a motherly figure and apparently, it was during her visit to Sikkim that Freda met 12th Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa - the head of Sherabling Monastery - and took care of him when he was growing up in Darjeeling and Gangtok. Established in 1976, Tai Situpa envisioned the Palpung Sherabling Monastic Seat as a place to preserve and propagate the sacred teachings of Lord Buddha and to protect the ancient living Tibetan heritage. Palpung Sherabling has been categorically developed and designed keeping in mind the inspirations of the Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa, blending in a perfect mix of traditional Tibetan architecture with modern materials. Today, it is one of the major learning and practice centers of the Kagyu Lineage as well as Tibetan Buddhism. Its existence has helped in the preservation of art and traditions - so much so that in 2004, the monks of Palpung Sherabling Monastic Seat received the Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album for Sacred Tibetan Chant'! If a proposal by the government goes through, only Rs 2,500 might be charged per ticket for one-hour flights. This is what the government told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, in the wake of concern over exorbitant airfares. Air Ticket Costs To Leave Chennai Inflated Up To Rs 50,000 As Flights Set To Resume Exorbitant airfares, charged by airlines when people are trying to evacuate, or reach disaster-struck regions might also be curbed. Roderick Eime flickr Economy fare of Rs 35,000 from Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram. Stop this disgraceful exploitation by a public airline! pic.twitter.com/2qNPMrZwQz Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 13, 2015 "The Ministry will commence the process of consultations with stakeholders, including airlines, to explore possibilities ... of containing fares," Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said while replying to a debate on Demand for Grants for the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism which was approved by the house later. These rates were seen recently the floods in Chennai and Srinagar, and the recent Jat community agitation samanthalh Raju reminded the members that the that the airlines did assist evacuations with flights from Arakonam airbase to Bengaluru and Hyderabad, during Srinagar floods, Nepal earthquake, and the Jat agitation in Haryana. Mr Raju said that during the Chennai floods, the airlines did help the government to evacuate stranded people by operating flights from Arakonam airbase to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. When a member from Kerala complained of exorbitant fares on the Gulf route, the minister remarked, "We can control only things in India". Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said the government is working on strengthening regional air connectivity and in this regard, there is a proposal to ensure that only Rs 2,500 per ticket is charged for one-hour flights. Mr Raju said a comparative study undertaken by the ministry for January-March 2013 and the same period during 2016 showed a reduction of 18.10 per cent in airfares. This shows that the airlines are passing the benefits from lower ATF (aviation turbine fuel) costs to the passengers, he added. In recent times, concerns have been expressed in various quarters about rising airfares despite fall in fuel prices, which account for over 40 per cent of a carrier's total operating costs. A 25-year-old woman from Manipur has been arrested by police in Mumbai for a 'crime' something that would have been otherwise lauded as an act of bravery. Her crime? She fought-off her molesters! YouTube/ Representational Image The incident happened on Sunday in Kalina when the woman along with three of her friends were returning from a birthday party. While they were waiting for an auto, a group of men approached them and began making comments at them, following which a scuffle broke out. Police said she was arrested as she threw a stone at one of her attackers. The woman was arrested as she threw a stone at one of her attackers as a result of which he started bleeding from a wound to his head, a police official said. The girl complained that the group made derogatory remarks on them including calling the victim 'Nepali'. Police have arrested two men over molestation charges, following the complaint by the girl. commons.wikimedia/ Representational Image I will have to check if the accused used words like 'Nepali'. It is possible the accused are uneducated and do not know it is an offence, Mahadev Wavale, senior police inspector, Vakola police station told Hindustan Times. The accused have been remanded in police custody for two days. The Manipuri woman and her friends were denied bail as they do not have a permanent address. Baba Ramdev has a new fan and it's none other than the former Bihar chief minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav. The two met in Delhi this morning where Lalu was seen endorsing Patanjali products and getting chummy with the Yoga Guru. What ensued thereafter was a riot of laughter. Praises were showered as if they were Delhi rains - completely unexpected. According to Lalu, "People are jealous of Baba Ramdev because he is highly successful." And he didn't stop there. Defending the man who courts controversy with every product his Patanjali makes, Lalu said, "There is conspiracy against Baba Ramdev. If a person becomes healthy by eating bones, no harm in that." Here's how the conversation made its course. 1. It has what now? 2. Healthy as a cow? 3. Umm, okay... 4. And your cow? 5. Is it available in flavours? Say, cow milk? 6. Successful at creating controversies? 7. Rabriji's cows? 8. Why buy Patanjali when one can buy a cow? At a time when the brutal rape and murder of a 29-year-old law student shook the conscious of Kerala, another incident of rape has been reported in the state. This time, the victim was a 19-year-old nursing student. She was raped by two men in an autorikshaw near the capital Thiruvananthapuram. Screengrab The girl who is currently admitted in a hospital after being found unconscious near a railway station has identified the two culprits. Police said one of the rapists, the auto driver was the friend of the victim. "We have clear leads and the accused will be arrested soon, said Deputy Superintendent of Police R. Chandrasekhar. The incident happened on Tuesday, while there were mass protest across the state demanding the arrest of the culprits in the rape and murder of law student Jisha, last week. Manorama Even though police is yet to make any formal arrest in the case, around seven people, including Jisha's neighbour has been detained for questioning. With elections just around the corner, the government has also swung into action. Top cabinet members including chief minister Oomman Chandi and home minister Ramesh Chennithala met the mother of the victim, who is hospitalised due to the trauma over the death of her daughter. The sate government has promised financial aid for the family to build a house and a job for the victim's sister. Meanwhile protests have intensified across the state on Wednesday with thousands holding marches demanding justice for the victim's family. PTI PTI PTI Many are even calling for boycott of the votes if the government and police fail to bring the culprits to justice. #NoVote until #JusticeForJisha, Keralites can we dare once for women's safety? sunitha krishnan (@sunita_krishnan) May 4, 2016 Appalled and saddened by the brutality. If our women and children are not safe from our men then what is?? #JusticeForJisha dulquer salmaan (@dulQuer) May 3, 2016 #JusticeForJisha Today once again Nirbhaya soul may be crying, we lost anthr Nirbhaya. All the rapist must be hanged immidetly. Pradeep Kumar (@pradeepkm2272) May 4, 2016 The Indian government has reportedly rejected smartphone giant Apple's request to sell refurbished iPhones in India. According to a report in Bloomberg, "The US company's application has been turned down." The report quotes telecommunications ministry officials. rollingstone.com Apple had sought permission from the government to import pre-owned iPhones for sale in India. In a written reply to Rajya Sabha telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "An application from Apple regarding import of certified pre-owned iPhones for sale in India and manufacturing certified pre-owned iPhones for sale in India has been received in the ministry of environment and forests." The decision is said to have involved several ministries as well as the Prime Minister's Office. Earlier this month, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology had told the environment ministry and the director general of Foreign Trade that it does not support the import of second-hand consumer products as they contribute to electronic waste being dumped in India. cbsistatic.com A previous application by Apple was also rejected by the environment ministry on grounds that this would add to the local e-waste burden as the phones would be close to end of life. Android smartphone makers in the country too are said to be putting pressure on the government to reject Apple's application. According to them Apple's plan to sell 'used iPhones' in India will negate government's Make in India programme. iphonelife.com Mobile and Communications Council of India had written a directly to the government opposing Apple's application. The group's members include the largest phone brands In India like Micromax, Intex and Samsung. Sudhir Hasija, chairman of Karbonn Mobiles, had said, "Make in India could turn into Dump in India." Recently, Apple has also sent an application for approval to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) for setting up retail outlets in India. For this, a government panel has recommended exempting the iPhone and iPad maker from mandatory local sourcing norms. This would pave the way for the company to open single-bits brand retail stores in the country. phonearena.com 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. Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje is the latest Indian politician to join the growing list of leaders who are indifferent to the acute water crisis and suffering of the people. PTI At a time when the state is reeling under a heat-wave with temperatures hovering above 45 degrees and facing water crisis, lakhs of liters of water was spent on preparing a temporary helipad for the CM's visit to Ajmer. She was in Ajmer to inaugurate the first rope-way system in the state. Twitter The chief ministers visit was for a very short period. Keeping in mind her convenience, we ordered the construction of a new helipad, Ajmer sub-divisional magistrate HL Meena said. Locals the' preparation' of the helipad went on for days. Hindustan Times I was ordered by the officials to water the helipad area to settle the sand at the site. I have been watering the site for past three days. 40 tankers of 6,000-litre capacity each have been pouring water at the site, Shaitan Singh, a water tanker owner told Hindustan Times. The waste of water comes at a time when the state is already declared drought hit. As many as 19 of the total 33 districts are affected by the drought. Rjae is not alone when it comes to shocking insensitivity towards drought victims. Earlier Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and Maharashtra relief and rehabilitation minister Eknath Khadse had come under fire for wasting water meant for drought victims. Another Maharashtra minister, Pankaja Munde had faced criticism over her 'drought selfie' in Latur. Nevsun Resources has been invited to attend BAMLs Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference from Tuesday, May 10 - Thursday, May 12, 2016, in Miami Beach, Florida. This conference brings together global leaders from multiple sectors and consists of formal presentations and in-depth Q&A sessions, one-on-one and small group meetings, as well as evening networking receptions. TTIPAmerican Economic Imperialism By Paul Craig Roberts May 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - Greenpeace has done that part of the world whose representatives are so corrupt or so stupid as to sign on to the Trans-Pacific and Trans-Atlantic partnerships a great service. Greenpeace secured and leaked the secret TTIP documents that Washington and global corporations are pushing on Europe. The official documents prove that my description of these partnerships when they first appeared in the news is totally correct. These so-called free trade agreements are not trade agreements. The purpose of the partnerships, which were drafted by global corporations, is to make corporations immune to the laws of sovereign countries in which they do business. Any countrys sovereign law whether social, environmental, food safety, labor protectionsany law or regulationthat impacts a corporations profits is labeled a restraint on trade. The partnerships permit corporations to file a suit that overturns the law or regulation and also awards the corporation damages paid by the taxpayers of the country that tried to protect its environment or the safety of its food and workers. The law suit is not heard in the courts of the country or in any court. It is heard in a corporate tribunal in which corporations serve as judge, jury, and prosecutor. In other words, the partnerships give global corporations the power to overturn democratic outcomes. Allegedly, Europe consists of democracies. Democracies pass laws protecting the environment and the safety of food and labor, but these laws democratically enacted reduce profits. Anything less than a sweatshop, with starvation wages, no environmental protection, no safety legislation for food or worker, can be overturned at will by global corporations under the terms of the partnerships. Only a traitor, a well paid one, could sign such a pact. In my opinion, corporate taxation can also be overturned as it obviously reduces profits. The Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific partnerships have been conducted in secrecy. The reason is obvious. Had people known how they were being sold out, there would have been a firestorm of protest. The corporate shills and their propagandists in the financial media could deny my revelations, because I had no official documents to release. The partnership agreements are treaties. Under the US Constitution, treaties are the prerogative of Congress, not the prerogative of an executive branch appointed Trade Representative who represents not the people but the corporations seeking the advantage. To avoid the US Constitution, the agreements are defined as non-treaties. You see how the groundwork for corruption is established. The way it works is that the appointed US Trade Representative negotiates with appointed trade representatives of other countries. Any resistance to the deal is overcome with bribes and intimidation. All of the negotiation is conducted in secrecy. When the trade representatives sign on to the deal, it is presented to the legislatures of the countries. The legislators are told that they must approve the pact and not endanger all the hard work that has gone on for so long and that is in everybodys interest as attested to by all of the bribed and coerced trade representatives. These trade pacts originate in the US, because American global corporations and the American mega-banks are the largest players in the world economy, and the agreements that the corporations walk through the process give the American companies economic hegemony over the countries that sign the agreements. The Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific partnerships are tools of US financial imperialism. Today (May 3, 2016) I debated on Press TV Sean OGrady, the financial editor of the UK newspaper the Independent. It is extraordinary that OGrady took a line totally opposite to that of his newspaper. I suggested to him that perhaps he should read his own newspaper. Today an article in the Independent reported that the leaked documents show that US corporations will be granted unprecedented powers over any new public health or safety regulations to be introduced in future. If any European government does dare to bring in laws to raise social or environmental standards, TTIP will grant US investors the right to sue for loss of profits in their own corporate court system that is unavailable to domestic firms, governments or anyone else. For all those who said that we were scaremongering and that the EU would never allow this to happen, we were right and you were wrong. As I understand it, the situation is worse than the article describes. TTIP applies to laws already on the books, such as Frances laws against GMO seeds and food products. The Independent article continues: Todays shock leak of the text of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) marks the beginning of the end for the hated EU-US trade deal, and a key moment in the Brexit debate. The unelected negotiators have kept the talks going until now by means of a fanatical level of secrecy, with threats of criminal prosecution for anyone divulging the treatys contents. Now, for the first time, the people of Europe can see for themselves what the European Commission has been doing under cover of darkness and it is not pretty. The leaked TTIP documents, published by Greenpeace this morning, run to 248 pages and cover 13 of the 17 chapters where the final agreement has begun to take shape. The texts include highly controversial subjects such as EU food safety standards, already known to be at risk from TTIP, as well as details of specific threats such as the US plan to end Europes ban on genetically modified foods. The leaked texts also reveal how the European Commission is preparing to open up the European economy to unfair competition from giant US corporations, despite acknowledging the disastrous consequences this will bring to European producers, who have to meet far higher standards than pertain in the USA. According to official statistics, at least one million jobs will be lost as a direct result of TTIP and twice that many if the full deal is allowed to go through. Yet we can now see that EU negotiators are preparing to trade away whole sectors of our economies in TTIP, with no care for the human consequences. The European Commission slapped a 30-year ban on public access to the TTIP negotiating texts at the beginning of the talks in 2013, in the full knowledge that they would not be able to survive the outcry if people were given sight of the deal. In response, campaigners called for a Dracula strategy against the agreement: expose the vampire to sunlight and it will die. Today the door has been flung open and the first rays of sunlight shone on TTIP. The EU negotiators will never be able to crawl back into the shadows again. For those of us in the thick of the EU referendum debate, the contempt shown by the TTIP negotiators to the people of Europe is the most potent reminder of the democratic deficit at the heart of the EU institutions. You can read the Independent article here: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/ttip-leaks-shocking-what-are-they-eu-us-deal-a7010121.html The revelations are disconcerting for the British and European peoples. For example, the Independent reports that TTIP could cause the privitazation of the National Health Service and the UK Parliament would be powerless to stop it. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/ttip-could-cause-an-nhs-sell-off-and-parliament-would-be-powerless-to-stop-it-says-leading-union-a7006471.html See also: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/what-is-ttip-and-six-reasons-why-the-answer-should-scare-you-9779688.html In our debate Sean OGrady performed as a shill, a propagandist for the corporate interests behind TTIP. He said that it was a free trade agreement that benefitted everyone just as NAFTA and other such agreements have proved to be the case. Tell that to all the displaced American workers. He said that it was unfortunate that the secrecy had possibly hurt the agreements prospects and that it would have been better if the pacts provisions had been known as they were negotiated. That way, he said, the agreement would not be threatened by the shock effect of the leaked documents. OGrady also claimed that no one has thus far agreed to the pact despite the fact that the representatives have agreed to the pact. Perhaps what he means is that legislatures have not given their approval. The headline on the Independent article suggests that the leak will prevent approval: After the leaks showing what it stands for, this could really be the end for TTIP. If so, OGrady regards it as a great loss. For the global corporations, of course, not for the peoples it would exploit. The Greenpeace revelations should deep-six the pact, but I am uncertain. French president Hollande says, provisionally, that France will not sign the pact as it is. In other words, give us some fuzzy language to make it look like we got it fixed. The EUs chief negotiator, Ignacio Garcia Bercero, a likely recipient of a large bribe, rushed to the defense of TTIP by declaring Greenpeace to be flatly wrong. Berceros statement makes no sense. Greenpeace released the official documents. No one denies that the leaked documents are legitimate. So apparently Berceros position is that the official documents are wrong. He sounds like a guy working hard for his money. Bercero, went on to say, according to the BBC, that it is not correct to say the US is pushing for lowering of the level of protection in the EU. This is an amazing lie ! Those who are trying to put a good face on the leak themselves admit that this is precisely what the US is trying to do. They claim that the Europeans havent yet given in. It is disingeneous for Bercero or OGrady or anyone to pretend that TTIP has not been from the very beginning about establishing global corporate hegemony over the governments of democratic countries. I pointed this out when the corporations first made their move. There is no doubt whatsoever that the Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific partnerships are about giving global capitalism immunity from the laws of sovereign countries. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilla Malmstroem is, according to the BBC, steering the TTIP talks. Malmstroem, another likely recipient of a large bribe, says: I am simply not in the business of lowering standards. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36185746 Her statement is misleading. She is not in the business of lowering standards. She is in the business of making it possible for global capitalism to overthrow all standards, high and low. From my encounter today with Sean OGrady, a person whose integrity I no longer respect, I expect the corporate bought-and-paid-for Western financial press and governments to close ranks and discredit the leaked documents as some kind of Greenpeace conspiracy theory. Even in my presence, a former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury and Wall Street Journal editor, OGrady had no compunction about misrepresenting to my face the agreement as a good one harmed only by secrecy. If it hadnt been secret, said OGrady, it would have been OK. All of the blather about free trade and tariff reduction is mere cover for the only purpose of TTIP, which is to establish American economic imperialism over the peoples whose governments sold them out for money. Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order . May 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - How is it possible that a hospital is bombed, killing 42 people, including doctors and 2 children burned alive in their beds, and no one is held accountable, punished or has admitted to any wrongdoing? How is it possible that a policeman arrives at a playground, and in less than 2 seconds shoots and kills a 12-year-old, and no one is held accountable? The officer, who had been terminated from another police force for an inability to use firearms responsibly, is still on the job after killing a 12-year-old. No one will be charged, tried, or held accountable in any way. No one has admitted to any wrongdoing. How is it possible that a 12-year-old in a playground is shot dead in two seconds, and the authorities say no one did anything wrong? How is that possible? Let that be your 12-year-old, and have them say no one did anything wrong. How did we get here? This country has dramatically changed its core beliefs since conception. Most Americans are unaware the founding fathers feared, and did not want, a standing military. They were steeped in history and knew full well that strong militaries historically use their power against their own citizens, and the founders fought bitterly over whether there should be any army at all. It was the most bitter argument in the constitutional convention, but finally a small military was created out of fear that Britain would try to reconquer the colony. The military however, was loathed by clear thinkers and viewed as a necessary evil that had to be closely watched, contained, and monitored, which is also the view of this writer. Of course the military has served a useful protective function, but since the end of WWII the public has been led to believe the military must always expand and be honored. We have 1000 bases around the world and the military is out of control. We have lost the ability to solve problems diplomatically and military power is the only tool in our bag. We resort to war as the one solution to all problems. Today, citizens who have no concept of human history revere the military. Every sporting event has a salute to the military. We have "flyovers" and the like, which the founders would have loathed. You have been led to believe the military is a good thing, and you should honor the troops, which would be the last thing the founders would ever have imagined. So that said, here we are. Last October, the US bombed a hospital in Kanduz Afghanistan, and lied about it, then, because of overwhelming evidence, grudgingly admitted it, but called it a mistake. The hospital had given their exact GPS coordinates to the military many times, and had a huge hospital insignia on the roof, but that didn't mean a thing to the US military. The hospital, after the initial bombing, contacted the US military and told them the hospital was being bombed, yet the attack continued for another 45 minutes. Fleeing innocents were strafed. The military made up another pretext, saying there were fighters in the hospital, which also was proven to be false. The hospital and the Afghan government wanted an independent investigation, which the US blocked. We said "we" will investigate ourselves. Guess what they found. It was simply a mistake; no one was charged, tried or severely punished. This, by the way, is not an isolated event. The US has bombed several hospitals in the past, including a pediatric hospital in Iraq. Once might be an accident, but when there is a history of "accidents", something is wrong. Schools have been bombed, entire wedding parties have been obliterated and incinerated. All said to be "accidents", while at the same time bragging about how "smart" our bombs are. No one is ever held accountable for any of these countless horrific murders. The military is now viewed with awe. Years of groundwork have paved the way for the glorification of the military, and they are held high above any kind of law. They can do no wrong. But what happens, for example, to a school teacher who puts his/her hands a child? They are fired immediately and charged in court, as they should be. But police and the military can kill innocents, and not be held accountable. Meanwhile, back to the playground where the 12-year-old was gunned down by a renegade policeman. Our reverence for the military has carried over to anyone who wears a uniform. Most police recruits have a military background, have military weapons, and use military tactics against their own citizens. They can do no wrong; i.e. shooting down a 12-year-old. This is not an isolated example; just follow the Black Lives Matter movement for a few minutes, and you will conclude that blacks are just targets. A young man is simply walking down a stairwell, having done absolutely nothing wrong, and is gunned down by a policeman and no one is held accountable. An elderly man in CT accidentally triggered his Life Alert; the police show up, break down his door and shoot him to dead and no one is held accountable. A man is shot in cold blood while walking down a street having committed no crime. He is shot not just once, but 11 times. A man is shot 41 times by police in NYC. No officer was found to have did anything wrong. Space prevents me from continuing with the senseless slaughter by police. They are viewed as an extension of the military, and so, like the military, can do no wrong. How far we have strayed! It is too bad we have no appreciation for the history of mankind and the history of military forces. The military is so worshipped it consumes most of the available tax money. While cutting every social program possible, the military budget is increased every year. We spend more on the military and security than the rest of the world put together, while slashing all programs for people and infrastructure. This writer will undoubtedly be disparaged for distrusting the military, which proves the point of this article. Next time you watch a sporting event and see a "flyover" by machines that are designed to kill, stop and ask: What is the possible connection between a sporting event and a "flyover" by killing machines? The answer is simple. There isn't any, but it does reinforce the concept of reverence for the military. The True Anti-semites, Past and Present By Jonathan Cook May 04, 2016 " Information Clearing House " - We are desperately in need of some sanity as the British political and media establishment seek to generate yet another new anti-semitism crisis, on this occasion to undermine a Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour party before the upcoming local elections. Corbyn and his supporters want to revive Labour as a party of social justice, while Britains elites hope that in a period of unpopular austerity they can turn the Labour leaderships support for the Palestinians into its Achilles heel. This is nothing more than a class war to pave the way for a return of the Blairites to lead Labour. Israel and its supporters in the UK are only too willing to help fuel the hysteria, given their own fears that a Corbyn-led government would be bad news for an Israel committed to destroying any hope of justice for the Palestinians. I have analysed earlier efforts to foment panic about a new anti-semitism, including during the early years of the second intifada, when Israels popularity plummeted. As now, Israel tried to deflect attention from its increasingly clear abuses of Palestinians and its lack of interest in peace-making by suggesting that the problem lay with critics rather than its policies. You can see my articles about this here, here and here. Then, the chief targets of the new anti-semitism smear were supposedly leftist elements in civil society and the media who were concealing their true goal vilification of Jews behind criticism of Israel. The campaign, despite being patent nonsense, was successful enough that it cowed the few newly emerging critical voices in the media and terrorised senior editors at the BBC into supine compliance with Israels narrative. Thats why we should take this current campaign seriously and worry that Corbyn, who is already on the back foot, is in real danger of conferring credibility on this whole confected narrative of an anti-semitism problem in Labour simply by giving it house room. The only suitable response is derision. Instead Corbyn has suspended leading members of his party and has announced an inquiry. We should be particularly wary of the wolves in sheeps clothing. The Guardians Jerusalem bureau chief Peter Beaumont, for example, was set the task of bolstering absurd claims against Ken Livingstone for being an anti-semite after he stated admittedly clumsily a historical truth that for a period of time Hitler and the Zionist movement shared enough common ground that they held negotiations about transferring Jews to Palestine. Livingstone said the following on radio: When Hitler won his election in 1932 his policy then was that Jews should be moved to Israel. He was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews. Theres a lot of information about this out there Lenni Brenner even wrote a book on the subject. Livingstones mistake was both to express himself slackly in the heat of the moment and to refer to a history that was supposed to have been disappeared down the memory hole. But what he is saying is, in essence, true. He could have gone further, in fact. A century ago, many European anti-semites, including most members of the British government that formulated the Balfour Declaration in 1917 to create a national home for Jews in Palestine, upheld the same logic as the Zionist movement. They saw the Jews as a race apart. They thought in terms of a Jewish question, one that needed solving. And for many, the solution was to export that problem far away, out of Europe. This was not surprising because Zionism emerged both in reaction to Europes ugly ethnic nationalisms where it was normal to speak of races and mirrored these nationalisms failings. The Zionists wanted to claim for themselves the same traits as other European races: nationhood and territory. And the European anti-semites were only too happy to oblige especially if the primary victims were going to be brown people in the colonies, whether in Uganda or Palestine. Fortunately, there is an antidote to Beaumonts kind of stenographic journalism, apparently written up after an afternoon at Israels Holocaust museum Yad Vashem, in the form of this interview with Norman Finkelstein. It is full of profound insights. Finkelstein puts into perspective both Livingstones comments and the orginal offending Facebook post by Labour MP Naz Shah that triggered the latest hysteria. Finkelstein notes that the post (one dredged up from two years ago), which shows a map of the United States with Israel superimposed, and suggests resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict by relocating Israel to the US, was clearly intended to be humorous rather than anti-semitic. I would make a further point. It is also obvious that the true target of the post is the US, not Jews or even Israel making the anti-semitism claim even more ridiculous. The posts implicit argument is that, if the US government and ordinary Americans are really so committed to the creation of a safe haven for Israeli Jews, then would it not be far wiser to locate them inside the US rather than supporting at great expense a garrison state in the Middle East that will always be at war with its neighbours? This is classic satire, and the fact that almost no one in the British media and political establishment can see this or, in the case of Corbyn and his allies, afford to admit it is the real cause for concern. In addition, Finkelstein concludes with a very powerful argument that the new anti-semitism canard is likely and possibly intended to fuel the very anti-semitism that it claims to be exposing and challenging. Here is what Finkelstein says: Our Corbyn is Bernie Sanders. In all the primaries in the US, Bernie has been sweeping the Arab and Muslim vote. Its been a wondrous moment: the first Jewish presidential candidate in American history has forged a principled alliance with Arabs and Muslims. Meanwhile, what are the Blairite-Israel lobby creeps up to in the UK? Theyre fanning the embers of hate and creating new discord between Jews and Muslims by going after Naz Shah, a Muslim woman who has attained public office. Theyre making her pass through these rituals of public self-degradation, as she is forced to apologise once, twice, three times over for a tongue-in-cheek cartoon reposted from my website. And its not yet over! Because now they say shes on a journey. Of course, what they mean is, shes on a journey of self-revelation, and epiphany, to understanding the inner antisemite at the core of her being. But do you know on what journey shes really on? Shes on a journey to becoming an antisemite. Because of these people; because they fill any sane, normal person with revulsion. Here is this Muslim woman MP who is trying to integrate Muslims into British political life, and to set by her own person an example both to British society at large and to the Muslim community writ small. She is, by all accounts from her constituents, a respected and honourable person. You can only imagine how proud her parents, her siblings, must be. How proud the Muslim community must be. Were always told how Muslim women are oppressed, repressed and depressed, and now you have this Muslim woman who has attained office. But now shes being crucified, her career wrecked, her life ruined, her future in tatters, branded an antisemite and a closet Nazi, and inflicted with these rituals of self-abasement. Its not hard to imagine what her Muslim constituents must think now about Jews. These power hungry creeps are creating new hate by their petty machinations. Jonathan Cook is a Nazareth- based journalist and winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism - http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog A 17 year old chap named Agayo Lorzenda is currently cooling off in police custody after murdering his mother in cold blood. Lorzenda shot his mother with a locally made gun after accusing her of using witchcraft to make him impotent. The unfortunate incident occurred at Tse-Agbaigbe Ikyurav-Tiev 11, in Katsina/Ala Local Government Area,Benue state.The suspect was paraded at the Command Headquarters. State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Paul Yakadi, confirmed the incident. Speaking to newsmen, Lorzenda said; It was workers day a couple of days ago in Nigeria and every where across the world. But the question is what kind worker are we in Nigeria? It is based on this that INFORMATION NIGERIA has put together the 6 types of workers you would find in a Nigeria company. The end of the Month workers: These group of workers have no passion for whatever job they are doing. The do it just because of the end of the month package. The overzealous ones: These ones are so ambitious they put in their best on their job. The ones who do not add any value to the company: These one are in the company just like they are receiving their pension. They wont do anything all day. The selfie freaks: These ones would snap with everything they are doing and upload on their page. They may even turn their colleagues to photographer if given the chance. The informants: These league of workers are the ones who would spy on their colleagues, eavesdrop on conversations and go give the MD feedback. The Notice mes/eye service: These ones would suddenly become a super worker on noticing the presence of their superior even when they did not do any before the superior comes in. Former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, has debunked rumours of his death, describing it as the handiwork of mischief makers. An online media reported that Anenih had died of cancer-related ailment in a London hospital on Tuesday night. But the Uromi chief told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone from London where he has been for a while that he was well and strong. If I am dead, will I be talking to you? I am in London; I am alive and enjoying myself, he said. I am not going to issue any press release to debunk the rumour. God will punish them, and I believe that they will die before me. I will be back by Sunday, he said. According to another report, Anenih had slumped on Sunday while having breakfast at his Durham Broadway London home after being recently discharged from hospital. A former Minister of Works and erstwhile Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Tony Anenih is alive, his political associates have said. The associates said they spoke to Chief Anenih after the social media became agog with rumors that he had died of cancer in a London hospital. The associates Edo State PDP Chairman, Dan Orbih and Barrister Vincent Akhere, said they spoke with Anenih. They also described the rumored death as a total fabrication and handiwork of mischief makers. Akhere confirmed that Chief Anenih travelled to London on Tuesday and that he would be back in the country this weekend. Akhere said, I spoke with him on phone about 15 minutes ago. Chief is well, alive and kicking. We even joke over the matter. It is true that Chief had a surgery not too long ago but is fine now. In his reaction, Orbih simply said that the rumour was unfortunate, adding that the people behind it should ask God for forgiveness. President Muhammadu Buhari last night commended the people and government of Republic of Cameroon for hosting over 56,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Nigeria since July 2014. These group of Nigerians were displaced while fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency that ravaged some Northeastern states. Buhari made the commendation at a dinner and cultural night organized in honour of the visiting President of Cameroon, Paul Biya and his wife, Chantal, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. While expressing appreciation to the United Nations and other international donor agencies for their assistances to the IDPs across the country, the Nigerian leader also condoled with the families of those that lost their loved ones as a result of the murderous activities of the Boko Haram insurgents. He said: Our special condolences go to families of our fallen heroes who had sacrificed their lives to safe guard our territorial integrity and provide security of lives and property of our people Permit me to use this occasion of your Excellencys visit to Nigeria to once again extend my personal gratitude and that of the Federal Government for your countrys hosting of over 65,000 Nigerian refugees since July 2014. We also appreciate the assistance of the United Nations System, International donors, local and international non-governmental organisations and the ordinary Cameroonian families who share their meager provisions with the refugees in the spirit of African brotherhood. We thank them all. President Buhari said that a comprehensive rehabilitation and resettlement programme for the IDPs are being worked out by the Federal Government in collaboration with some international organizations, noting that data of the IDPs are being compiled for smooth implementation of the scheme. He also expressed satisfaction with the successes being recorded in the fight against Boko Haram insurgency by the Nigerian military in collaboration with the Multinational Joint Task Force against Boko Haram. Mr. Buhari specifically commended the Cameroonian security forces, who recently participated in a joint military onslaught against the terrorist sect along the border areas of the Lake Chad Basin. According to him, the battle against the terrorist group would soon be over as efforts had been intensified by various security agencies across member countries of the multinational joint task force. Nigeria and Cameroon, he said, would continue to maintain the path of dialogue and peace in addressing possible incident of social conflict or misunderstanding among the citizens of both countries. He also assured that Nigeria would continue to partner with Cameroon in growing the economies as well as to ensure the safety of lives, land and maritime borders of the both countries. In his remarks, President Biya, who spoke in French, reiterated the determination of his country to end the menace of the Boko Haram insurgency. Biya also hailed Buharis efforts in the fight against the activities of Boko Haram within and beyond Nigeria. He further called for joint agricultural programmes between Nigeria and Cameroon along their border communities to address the challenges of youth unemployment in their respective countries. The event was attended by dignitaries among them Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara. Others are Chief Justice of the Federation, Mahmud Muktar and top private sector and government functionaries. President Muhammadu Buhari has returned the 2016 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly for further legislative work. This makes it the third time the president was rejecting the Bill sent to him for assent, after he reportedly picked holes in it. Vanguard reports that the re-worked budget was sent to the President at about 1.15 am, yesterday, but was returned to the National Assembly at about noon the same day. According to the newspaper, a source close to the budget review committee confirmed that the budget was actually submitted to the President but that he refused to touch it due to some issues he was not comfortable with. The budget got to the State House at about 1.10 am and Mr. President went through it early this morning (yesterday) and still had some issues with some of the figures, Vanguard quoted the source to have said. I cannot tell you exactly what it was but I think the insertions made by the lawmakers were not significantly altered. You know the lawmakers had moved some allocations for key projects that are dear to the President to other areas, especially to their constituency projects. Of course, they have changed some but I believe Mr. President is not satisfied with the reconciliation they made. I think this is one of the reasons it was returned. However, he held that if the required changes were made on time and the budget was sent back to the president, he would sign the documents. I can assure you, Mr. President is desirous to sign the budget because he is aware and has acknowledged that Nigerians are going through hardship. So, if the budget is cleaned up this night and sent to him, he will sign it as soon as possible. That I know very well, the source said. Some prominent chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, have called for the postponement of the partys national convention slated for May 21, 2016 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The group, comprising immediate past governor of Niger State, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu and eight others, made the call under the aegis of PDP Concerned Group yesterday. In a communique issued at the end of their meeting in Abuja, Aliyu, who is chairman of the group, said the current zoning formula for the position of the partys national chairman as adopted by only 1/3 of the National Executive Committee, NEC, is inconsistent with the original PDP principles. The meeting, which had in attendance immediate past minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed; Honourable Zainab Maina, John Odey, Hon Sulaiman Abubakar, Captain Hassan Mohammed (rtd), Saidu Ndako Idris, Dr. Bolere Ketebu and Honourable Kaulaha Aliyu, also said that the procedure and conduct of the congresses nationwide were flawed with resultant disaffection and disagreements. According to the group, the postponement of the convention would enable the party to restrategise, organize and conduct a more cohesive and acceptable national convention to avert the situation whereby aggrieved members may be compelled to organize parallel congress and convention. The current zoning formula for the position of national chairman as adopted by only 1/3 (One-Third) of NEC is inconsistent with the original PDP principles. In consonance therefore, the group unanimously call for the postponement of the national convention and appeal to the leadership of the party to revisit these fundamental issues to enable the party to organize and conduct a more cohesive and acceptable national convention to avert the situation whereby aggrieved members may be compelled to organize parallel congress/convention, the group said. The group also observed a minute silence in memory of the late President Umar Musa YarAdua to mark the sixth year anniversary of his demise. Nigerian dynamo Ramsey Noah is one of Africas sexiest men alive but when he showed up at the opening ceremony for the Cameroon International Film Festival (CAMIFF) in Buea, on April 25, all hell let loose! The top Nollywood star arrived the red carpet event in a pair of short blue jeans, a rumple t-shirt and a face cap while others showed up in ball gowns and tuxedos. Ramsey Noah at CAMIFF 2016 Fans immediate jumped on social media slamming the Nigerian hunk for disrespecting the dress code for the event. One fan wrote, Is it me or is Ramsey Noahs outfit totally out of place?. Another followed with, He [Ramsey Noah] thinks we do not know fashion? Another added, He looks like he just came from a beach or a mountain tour. Another said, Lead by example. However, defending his look on the first day of CAMIFF, Noah told DECODED TV his look was in deed right for the event. Its a film festival not an award show, Noah said. I knew I had to move around a lot, greet and meet people and network so I didnt think I was wrong with what I chose to wear, he continued. After receiving serious backlash for his looks on Day one of the festival, the actor played safe for the rest of the six-day event wearing what many later considered appropriate. Source: Gist24 The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh says the Federal Government will establish one agricultural extension office in each Local Government Area within the next three years. Ogbeh disclosed this while speaking at the ongoing Sectoral Debate on Nigeria Economy at the House of Representatives on Wednesday in Abuja. According to him, the extension offices would further keep the farmers abreast with daily research findings targeted at boosting agriculture in the country. He said extension officers would also convey challenges faced in the farm by the farmers to research institutes to find appropriate solutions. Ogbeh said delegates from the ministry would be touring all the research institutes in the country with the aim of finding out why they are not performing as expected. However, he decried the low budgetary allocation to the agriculture sector, currently 1.6 percent. If agriculture is going to come back to prominence again, it then means all of us will have to do whatever we can to sympathise with agriculture. The elites have generally walked away from this area of business and they even look down on it with scorn. Budget allocations are always pathetically low; the Maputo Declaration says 10 per cent of national budget. In future when we bring budget proposals, please show sympathy and understanding, the minister said. An Israeli court has handed down a life sentence to the ringleader of a Jewish gang who kidnapped, attacked and burned alive a Palestinian teenager in 2014. Yosef Haim Ben-David, 31, was handed a life sentence for killing 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir and was given a separate 20-year sentence for other crimes. Prosecutors said that he organised the killing of Khdeir. The court also ordered him to pay 150,000 shekels ($39,000) to Abu Khdeirs family. Two other Jewish youth who helped him abduct Khdeir were sentenced in February, one to life in prison and the other to a 21-year term. All three defendants had earlier confessed and said that the murder was revenge for the killing days earlier of three Israeli youths by Hamas, the Palestinian group, in the occupied West Bank. Al Jazeeras Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from West Jerusalem, said the verdict did not come as a surprise even though it had taken quite a long time to reach. It was a high-profile case and it took a long time for it to get to this point. The trial was very much in the focus of the media and rights groups, he said. Even though the judgment gave a closure to the case and the family, Ben-David still has the right to appeal. Members of Abu Khdeirs family cursed Ben-David as he was taken away from court. Ben-David, wearing a burgundy yarmulke and a black shirt, earlier told the court he was sorry. I am sorry for the family. This is not me. I wasnt in control, he said. Stealing small amounts of food to stave off hunger is not a crime, Italys highest court of appeal has ruled. Judges overturned a theft conviction against Roman Ostriakov after he stole cheese and sausages worth 4.07 (3; $4.50) from a supermarket. Mr Ostriakov, a homeless man of Ukrainian background, had taken the food in the face of the immediate and essential need for nourishment, the court of cassation decided. Therefore it was not a crime, it said. A fellow customer informed the stores security in 2011, when Mr Ostriakov attempted to leave a Genoa supermarket with two pieces of cheese and a packet of sausages in his pocket but paid only for breadsticks. In 2015, Mr Ostriakov was convicted of theft and sentenced to six months in jail and a 100 fine. For the judges, the right to survival prevails over property, said an op-ed in La Stampa newspaper (in Italian). In times of economic hardship, the court of cassations judgement reminds everyone that in a civilised country not even the worst of men should starve. An opinion piece in Corriere Della Sera says statistics suggest 615 people are added to the ranks of the poor in Italy every day it was unthinkable that the law should not take note of reality. It criticised the fact that a case concerning the taking of goods worth under 5 went through three rounds in the courts before being thrown out. The historic ruling is right and pertinent, said Italiaglobale.it and derives from a concept that informed the Western world for centuries it is called humanity. BBC. Punch President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday evening disclosed that over 56,000 Nigerians are currently taking refuge in neighbouring Cameroon because of the activities of the Boko Haram sect in the North Eastern part of the country. Vanguard As the controversy over calls by organized labour for a N56, 000 minimum wage rages on, the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has said states should be allowed to fix their wages according to their capabilities The Sun A former minister, Sen. Iyabo Anisulowo, who was abducted on Wednesday, has described her experience as terrible and dehumanising. Thisday As a mark of respect for the Oba of Benin who recently transited to immortality, the Edo State Government has declared a five-day public holiday with effect from May 3, 2016, to mourn the revered royal father. Daily Times Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday, congratulated all practitioners in the media across the country and the world for their invaluable service to humanity as they celebrate the World Press Freedom Day. Guardian Again, court adjourns as prosecutor fails to produce Dasuki for trial A Federal Capital Territory High Court yesterday adjourned the trial of former National Security Adviser (NSA), Colonel Sambo Dasuki to May 23, 2016, for failure of the Federal Government to produce the accused in court for trial in corruption charges brought against him. Daily Trust The Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly, Victor Edoror and his deputy, Bright Osayande were yesterday impeached over alleged financial recklessness and highhandedness. Leadership The Ebonyi State governor, Chief David Umahi yesterday suspended indefinitely two Development Centres chairmen, and shut out three state executive council members and over 10 Development Centre coordinators for lateness during a security meeting held at the International Conference Centre (ICC) Abakaliki, the state capital. Tribune THE Diocesan Bishop of the Osun Anglican Diocese, Right Reverend James Afolabi Popoola, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive measures in tackling the growing menace of Fulani herdsmen in the country Senators from the northern part of the country have warned against provocative statements that could fan the embers of division in the country following the recent killings by suspected herdsmen in Nimbo, Uzo-Uwani local government of Enugu State. They also frowned at the general categorization of all herdsmen as Fulani saying it is wrong and should be stopped. The Senators under the aegis of Northern Senators Forum, Wednesday said that they note and appreciate the steps that the Federal Government has taken so far to contain the problems of herdsmen/farmers clashes. They specifically asked community leaders (including governors) to be careful when making statements on these ugly incidences. Chairman of the Forum, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, who read the communique of the lawmakers in Abuja, said that they resolved to continue their complete support for President Muhammadu Buhari in order to bring about even development to all sections of the country. Adamu said that members of the Forum further resolved to work assiduously to enact laws and amend existing ones when and where necessary in order to promote the interest of Northern Nigeria in particular and Nigeria in general. He added that they noted specially the steps taken by the government to wipe out incidences of insurgency and are hopeful that in no distant time, we shall say bye-bye to the problem of insurgency. On tagging every herdsman a Fulani, Adamu said, We have tried to kill the idea that every herdsman is Fulani. I am a farmer but I am not Fulani by birth. It is very very wrong to say that everybody you find with a cow is Fulani. Adamu noted that when former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae was kidnapped, the news went round that the kidnappers were Fulani. He said that when those responsible for kidnapping the elder statesman were eventually arrested, it was discovered that they were not Fulani. The senator also noted that when he travelled to the western part of the country, he saw a lot of Yoruba cattle rearers. He insisted that cattle rearing is no longer the exclusive preserve of the Fulani. On inflammatory utterances, the Forum said that some groups in the South East have said that the Fulani should leave their part of the country, if people from the North say the same thing of people from the south East, we wonder where it will lead the country. Famous Nollywood actor, Ramsey Noah has shown that he can also be a philanthropist and encourage the film making in other parts of Africa. The talented actor reportedly dropped 500,000 frs CFA (175,000 Naira) as donation to promote film production in Cameroon at the closing ceremony of the Cameroon International Film Festival (CAMIFF) on April 29. Making good films is very important to every film maker, Noah said at the event. One of the major challenges we face is finance and real skill at acting, script writing, directing so any help from anyone who believes in the vision is most needed. Noah, who received a serious backlash for his poor look at the opening ceremony of the event in Buea, South West Region on April 25, explained to DECODED TV, Cameroon: Its a film festival not an award show, Noah said. I knew I had to move around a lot, greet and meet people and network so I didnt think I was wrong with what I chose to wear, he continued. However, the actor spent six straight days at the event holding talks with young film makers and actors, encouraging the art and promoting Nollywood. At least three people have been killed in a rebel rocket attack on a hospital in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. The attack was part of a shelling that left at least 19 people dead in government-controlled areas of the city on Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), the UK-based monitoring group, said. Rebels and forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have been battling each other with rockets and bombs across Aleppo and its outskirts for days now. A partial truce is in effect in Syria but it does not cover Aleppo, the countrys largest city and the scene of its worst violence in recent weeks. Syrias conflict erupted in 2011 after the repression of anti-government protests and has since morphed into a complex, multi-faceted war. Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria, recently estimated that 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict so far. He rose to the position of President of Egypt in 1981, after Anwar Sadat was assassinated. He is the longest serving Egyptian president, having held the office for 28 years. Mubarak is married and has two sons. Hosni Mubarak is also considered the most powerful Arab leader in the Middle East and is a close ally of the United States. Among his most prominent accomplishments is maintaining stability in the region, and that Egypt maintains semi-amicable relations with the Israeli state. Equally on this day in 2010: Royal Dutch Shell said it spilled nearly 14,000 tons of oil into the creeks of the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, blamed thieves and militants for the environmental damage. And on this day in 2012: Twenty three (23) Boko Haram suspects were arrested during an attack on a police station in Banki town, Borno State in Nigeria, Some students of the University of Lagos were forced to sleep out in the open on Tuesday after failing to complete their re-absorption forms. According to the university management, no student was allowed to stay in the residential halls without completing the forms which now include a hall of residence clearance form for students who reside on campus. The university, which resumed academic operations on Tuesday, refused to give students who could not complete their forms,access to the halls of residence. The University also banned squatting and any form of gathering in the halls of residence. A 29-year-old tricycle operator, who was arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for robbery has alleged that some of the arms used by robbers were given to them by politicians during campaigns. Some locally made pistols and live cartridges were recovered from the suspect Muyideen Ibrahim, who was arrested alongside others like Ramonu Sanusi, Rilawanu Ayinde , Sodiq Olaide and Kazeem Idris. I use my keke Marwa to convey weapons for the gang, he confessed to Vanguard in an interview. I am a political thug and not a robber. I work during elections only. Most of the guns were given to us by politicians. We get the guns from some honorables at Onike. They pay us at the end of the day. But some political thugs end up not taking the guns back to the politicians. Most of the thugs are cultists, he said. One of them (cultists) Dagbe Ahmed, stays with me. But I never knew he is an armed robber. I was arrested because the police got to know that he stays with me. Dagbe and I work for different politicians. I do not fight or kill like them, I only operate with my keke marwa after elections, he said. A website offering fake doctors notes to help customers get out of work, school or other duties is offering a 100-percent-refund guarantee. The website, BestFakeDoctorsNotes.net, offers phony excuses purporting to be from healthcare providers including general practitioners, dentists, gynecologists, oncologists and other types of doctors. The site offers purported testimonials from supposedly satisfied customers who used the faux doctors notes to get out of work and school commitments. There are even YouTube videos featuring blurred-out faces of alleged customers who praised the realism of the notes. The service includes call-back numbers that will play a pre-loaded MP3 message to anyone who tries to verify the authenticity of the notes. The site offers a one-year no questions asked refund guarantee for anyone whose notes fail to pass scrutiny. Attorney David Aylor, who is not associated with the business, said a disclaimer on the website protects BestFakeDoctorsNotes from any legal action stemming from illegal use of the fake notes. They state clearly that this is fictitious doctors and fictitious names, fictitious hospitals, Aylor told WCIV-TV. When you look at the promotion of it; what they are promoting is the authenticity of the looking in that it could be used as a form of trickery of an employer getting out of work and getting paid for it. He said the site would be unlikely to face any legal action from duped employers or customers whose fake notes fail to fool their targets. What you can claim as an owner of the website is that you have no idea what someone is using it for in that once you sell it, he said. What they determine what they want to do with it is their own decision. UPI. The Marion County Sheriffs Office says a woman wanted for taking her tenants dog named Isis following a bizarre dispute showed up in a limousine at the Marion County Jail to turn herself in. Deputies say it all began when Brooke Skoda-Kempton decided to kick her tenant, Kate Taylor, out for being disrespectful late last month. Taylor moved out of the home the day she was asked to leave,deputies say, and sold her horses that were being boarded at Kemptons mothers house as part of the rental agreement. Last Tuesday morning, deputies say Kempton went to Taylors fathers house on Marion Hill Road Southeast to confront the 61-year-old man, Kevin Taylor. Deputies say she told him that his daughter stole two saddles from her, and she was going to take Taylors dog, Isis, until she got her saddles back. Ms. Skodas brought nothing to us in regards to those allegations. Lt. Chris Baldridge, spokesman for the sheriffs office, told KATU on Monday. Kevin Taylor told KATU he jumped on the running boards of Kemptons truck in an attempt to stop her, but instead of stopping, she accelerated and he was thrown from the truck. He said he injured his hand and wrist, was taken to the hospital but is now OK. Deputies say they were able to make contact with Kempton, who agreed to turn herself in at the Marion County Jail Friday. Kempton pulled up to the jail in a limousine and walked in about 10 minutes later. The location of Isis the dog is still unknown, and deputies say Kempton refused to say where the dog is. Shes just declining to speak with us at all, Baldridge said. After being arrested on charges of theft and robbery Kempton was released on her own recognizance. Shes due in court on May 27. KATU. Last week I wrote about an odd security update, KB 3146706, that appeared to be bricking pirated copies of Windows 7 and locking horns with Microsoft's own EMET 5.5 malware blocker. Details are hazy, but apparently Microsoft released MS 16-044/KB 3146706 on April 12 as a "checked" Important update. Since it was checked, those who ran Windows Update or had enabled Automatic Update got the patch installed, sometimes to deleterious effect. Shortly after the patch was released, the auto update "check" disappeared from most -- if not all -- Windows 7 computers. Customers could install the patch, but only if they manually checked it first. KB 3146706 also raised a storm of complaints, particularly in China, among people using a particular pirated version of Windows 7 known by the name Ghost -- no doubt in reference to its origins as a Norton Ghost copy of a heavily modified (and sometimes malware infested) version of Win7. Suddenly, without any notification and not much explanation, KB 3146706 is back again. It appeared, checked, on many computers yesterday afternoon. (I have reports that on some systems it still isn't checked.) The KB article has been modified, raised to version 2 with this caveat added: After you install this security update on a Windows 7 SP1-based system, you may experience any of the following problems: The system slows down You cannot access folders under the Documents and Settings folder. You cannot modify permissions on the Security tab in a the Properties dialog box You may receive a disk write failure error message This problem may occur when certain third-party DRM software is installed. The problem is known to occur with certain DRM software from Fasoo.com. Contact the manufacturer of your software for more information about how to resolve this problem. Fasoo is a company based in Seoul that "provides data-centric security to protect data as it travels both within the organizational perimeter and beyond by limiting access to sensitive data according to policies that cover both users and activities." Microsoft's KB article doesn't mention the well-documented EMET 5.5 problems, nor does it say whether those problems have been solved. Tellingly, the published File Information shows that all of the modules were compiled on or before March 21. That's three weeks before original, buggy version of 3146706 rolled out. Whether the modules have been changed to fix the problem, whether there's a change in the "metadata" that controls the Windows Update behavior, or there's no change at all is simply unknown at this point. Microsoft also neglected to mention the change in the official Windows Update list. It would be a good idea to avoid installing KB 3146706 until we have a clearer understanding of the situation -- especially if you run EMET. Update: A Fassoo spokesperson has contacted us with this explanation: WSUS 2012 R2 admins may face a difficult day ahead if a report from Cliff Hogan, posted this morning on AskWoody.com, is any indication. Hogan reports: What a mess!!! Microsoft Update upstream for WSUS was down for about 12 hours for Windows 2012 R2 version. It was OK for Windows 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2016 Technology Preview 5. This is more than likely related to the failed patch last month KB3148812 which has now been pulled. The problem is the "new" WSUS distribution method that was supposed to take effect on May 1. Microsoft had warned about it, tried to put manual procedures in place to fix it, and ultimately pulled the bad patch, as I described two weeks ago. Right now, Microsoft's most recent update to its What you need to know about KB3148812, Part Two Technet post says: This update contains critical functionality that needs to be in place before the Anniversary Update, but it does not need to be installed this week (e.g., there is no security fix that patches a known vulnerability). Therefore, here are our recommendations: Until further notice, if you have not already installed this update, do not install KB3148812 We have identified the root cause for the issue and are currently testing a fix. We've gotten a good number of positive results from those that offered to test the package, and are working out some corner case scenarios with the few that had issues. It looks like the root cause has come home to roost. WSUS on Server 2012 R2 appears to be badly broken. I'm starting to see reports in Europe this morning that say WSUS 2012 R2 is throwing errors 7032 and 7053 when trying to connect to the WSUS server. Hogan (who's tackling these problems in Australia) says: While failing syncing, it still synchronised 10 Office Updates this morning. I am wondering if it fails on that new functionality only or it is just an outage at Microsoft or a last minute try to block some updates. It works for individual computers though. It is likely that Windows Server 2008 R2 is not aware of the new configuration while Windows 2016 TP5 supports it natively. It looks like the WSUS 2012 R2 Titanic just crashed into the new ESD-encrypted update stream iceberg. Microsoft really needs to get its patching act together. If it can't get KB 3148812 to work, there should be an alternative. Now. Give your admin a smile this morning. They may be in for a hellacious day. Fate of Q4 Rally Monica Kingsley - 26 minutes ago S&P 500 turnaround was driven by the WSJ article that painted 75bp Nov and 50bp Dec hikes as some kind of a pivot, when its not even a pause. While I had been for weeks of the opinion that this is the... Defense Industry: A look at Boeing, Northrup, L3Harris and Leidos Monetive Wealth - 37 minutes ago In this final post in our series on Defense Industry we look at the rest of the large players prior to their earnings release EURNZD Is Coming Into Resistance Zone Wavetraders - 1 hour ago EURNZD is coming into resistance zone, as we see it finishing a five-wave cycle within wave (C) from Elliott wave perspective. Does Chevron still have fuel for bull run? Trade Precise - 1 hour ago There was Wyckoff spring action in late September and early October that broke below the trading range. Nevertheless, the trading range from March 2022 onward seems to suggest Wyckoff accumulation. CVX : 173.44 (+0.14%) Turbulence The PRICE Futures Group - 1 hour ago Oil prices continue to have trouble maintaining altitude as economic turbulence around the globe is shifting focus from the market being undersupplied to a potential economic crash. The Japanese yen, after... The macro mood feels worse this week SpreadEdge Capital, LLC - 1 hour ago Soybean Oil and Lean Hogs were the biggest gainers in the agriculture complex Morning Cotton Weaker for New Week Barchart - Mon Oct 24, 7:22AM CDT Cotton futures are heading into the new week with 20 to 60 point losses. Cotton futures traded in a wide 413 point range from +253 to -160 (Dec). At the close the front months were 32 to 173 points in... CTZ22 : 76.17 (-3.74%) CTH23 : 75.96 (-3.30%) CTK23 : 75.89 (-2.89%) This content is from: Culture People investing in ESG funds want their money to have an impact. They just dont have a way to ask for that information, says Jason Saul of the Center for Impact Sciences. Last week marked a year since Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance received its licence to sell general insurance products in Australia.The arrival of Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance in Australia was anticipated for some time, given the Berkshire Hathaway name is inextricably linked to billionaire investor, Warren Buffett.To mark Berkshire Hathaways first year of business in Australia, Insurance Business caught up with Susan Donaldson, BHSIs head of Claims and Frank Costigan, CFO, COO to find out how the company is faring.According to Donaldson, so far, BHSI has had an overwhelmingly positive response from customers, brokers and (now) new team members their entry to the Australia market.People have been genuinely interested in the business were building, our differentiators, our products and service offering, she said.Weve had the opportunity to meet with hundreds of customers and brokers and work on their insurance solutions.She said theyve also had the ability to create meaningful long-term agreements and bespoke policy wordings which have met their clients needs.Donaldson also said that building the team had been a highlight, with BHSI having assembled a diverse team of experts a total of 56 across Australia and New Zealand.Each are committed to building a forever business from the ground up, she said.When it comes to challenges faced by BHSIs arrival in the Australian market, Costigan said the company had expected it to be hard work and it was, but he said thanks to their deliberate and focussed approach, they were able to quickly engage with local regulators to ensure everything was in place to meet their local reporting and licence requirements.The Berkshire Hathaway business has been involved with the Australian market for a long time and we were able to leverage that knowledge and local presence when building our plans, he said.He said the broker response had been intrigued, excited and curious but the company had been put through its paces testing their wordings, underwriting ability and claims service.Weve been impressed by the level of detail brokers have gone to with us and very pleased by the level of support, helping us to build a meaningful portfolio in a short space of time.And you can expect more of the same from BHSI in the future, Costigan said.Were all about building a forever business and our approach from one year to the next will be the same. Were about being wanted, not needed, by customers and delivering consistency: in pricing, in claims, in overall service standard, in responding to quotes and in everything we do.There are unlikely to be any surprises from BHSI in year two except perhaps in terms of the size of the team, he said. Australian insurer QBE could be anticipating some heated debate at its shareholder meeting today after an activist attack on Monday highlighted its support of the fossil fuel industry.Investment activist group Market Forces hijacked the insurers branding by plastering the slogan Made possible by QBE over images of coalmines and natural disasters from the QBE headquarters in Sydneys CBD.The group hoped the stunt would prompt the insurer to stop making climate change possible.Its about highlighting their role in the perpetuation and expansion of the fossil fuel industry, which is contributing to climate change, said Market Forces Dan Gocher, a former QBE analyst until last year. Because as their slogan tells you, they make it possible.Gocher said the inspiration came from QBEs own imagery, citing its 2012 annual report which had Made possible by QBE on the cover, over an image of an operating coalmine.In that report, the company said it was a major insurer of the mining sector in Australia and insured coalminers in the Queensland Bowen Basin and New South Wales Hunter Valley.Gocher said Market Forces planned to target other insurers but had started with QBE as it had revealed some of its involvement in the sector.He said they had already targeted banks and super funds so insurance companies were the next frontier, The Guardian reported.Market Forces said it was asking Australian insurers to divest from fossil fuel in their investment portfolios, begin withdrawing from underwriting fossil fuel companies and play a role in the public conversation about climate change.Gocher said Australian insurers lagged behind their foreign counterparts, who had recognised they were particularly exposed to the effects of extreme weather events.French insurer AXA and Germanys Allianz had divested from thermal coal because of climate change, and in 2015 Munich Re said it was convinced there were particular regions and hazards where climate change was already having a definite influence on losses.Indeed, QBE annual reports show it paid US$76 million for storms that hit the NSW coast in 2014; US$144 million for storms Desmond, Eva and Frank in the UK in 2015; and US$108 million for cyclone Pam, which hit Vanuatu in March.While the company cannot deny the imagery it has used previously, more recently in March of this year QBE Group CEO, John Neal , posted his views on climate change and insurance on LinkedIn, saying: So to me 1) climate change is real, 2) it is posing a serious threat to our environment. The release of Verizons 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) underlines the need for businesses to have robust cyber coverage and for brokers to have conversations with their corporate clients about cyber security, says a top cyber and financial institutions specialist.The highly anticipated annual report includes industry-specific information discussing the top threats for financial services, healthcare, hospitality, public sector, retail and technology, and how these sectors can mitigate risks.This years report points to repeating themes from prior-year findings such as the fact that 89% of all attacks involve financial or espionage motivations and exploit known vulnerabilities that have never been patched and that the top ten known vulnerabilities accounted for 85% of successful exploits.It also found that 63% of confirmed data breaches involved using weak, default or stolen passwords, 95% of breaches and 86% of security incidents fell into nine patterns and basic defences continued to be sorely lacking in many organisations. AIG s National Cyber and Financial Institutions Specialist, Liliana Uhrik said: With the risk of cyber-crime heightening every year, it is crucial that brokers and insurers are regularly talking to clients about uninsured exposures and the most suitable insurance solutions for their business.A cyber policy can provide everything from cover for fines, investigations costs, IT forensic services costs to public relations, breach notification and business interruption costs following a cyber-attack, she said.But its equally as important to assist clients in developing risk mitigation strategies for avoiding cyber risks, she said.Simple actions businesses can take include generating cyber-crime awareness among employees, ensuring firewall and IT security software is up to date, encrypting mobile devices and creating a business continuity plan.Any good insurer will strongly support the broker in helping the client understand the risk of cyber-crime and the potential solutions, she said.At AIG we do this by providing access to expert claims personnel who can talk through risk mitigation strategies, as well as access to useful sales tools that contain insightful thought leadership articles and whitepapers, claims stories and information about our insurance solution. A Newport surfing club and a Mona Vale insurance company have joined forces to offer a scheme in which surfers (or their next of kin) could claim up to $50,000 lump sum pay-out in the event of a shark-related injury or death.Newport surfing club 1 Love Surfing founder Benny Bradley said the scheme run via Carriers Insurance Brokers will help give surfers more peace of mind while theyre in the water.The policy, believed to be an industry first in Australia, covers a range of circumstances which lead to death or injury for surfers and costs $130 per annum for members.Bradley said surfers worrying about their increasing risk of shark attacks was one of the main drivers behind the initiative.I think everybody who surfs is always kind of thinking about sharks. Its just having that peace of mind it makes a big difference, he said. Capsicum Re, the London-based specialist reinsurance broker, announced it has launched Capsicum Re Latin America (CRLA). This is a major step in Capsicum Res strategy to become a full service, international, challenger reinsurance broker, said the company, adding that the unit will be led by Joe Smith, who has been appointed as CEO of CRLA and will be based in Miami. He is joined by Luiz Araripe, who has been appointed as managing partner of CRLA and CEO of CRLA Brazil and will be based in Rio de Janeiro. Smith was CEO of Aon Benfield Chile and brings over 20 years of reinsurance broking experience to this role. He joined Aon Benfield Latin America as managing director in 2003, following five years in Tokyo as executive vice president for Aon Re Japan. In 2010 he was appointed treaty director for Aon Benfield Chile before becoming the CEO in 2013. Araripe was chief commercial officer for Aon Benfield Brazil, a role he was appointed to in 2014 following five years as treaty director. Prior to this he was head of the claims department for Aon Benfield Brazil where he was responsible for negotiating the largest claim in Brazil for Aon. Araripe has also held roles with Prudente Seguros Retail and Bradesco Seguros. Launching CRLA heralds a new chapter in the Capsicum Re story, said Rupert Swallow, CEO of Capsicum Re. We have made fantastic strides in building out our offering since we established the business 30 months ago and have received an overwhelmingly positive response since our inception, demonstrating the widespread support for our customer centric proposition, he added. Joe and Luiz are market leading brokers who bring significant experience, an in-depth understanding of the region and a focus on relationships that complements our ethos. I look forward to working with them and collaborating with Arthur J. Gallaghers Latin America team, to deliver innovative solutions that fulfil the growing demand for specialist reinsurance products in this market, Swallow said. About Capsicum Re Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers is a reinsurance broker working in partnership with Arthur J. Gallagher as its primary treaty reinsurance broking outlet. Founded by Grahame Chilton and Rupert Swallow in 2013, the company operates out of offices in London and Bermuda. Source: Capsicum Re Related: Topics Agencies Reinsurance Aon Japanese insurers made more than $18 billion worth of acquisitions in the U.S. last year, and their spending spree isnt over yet, industry dealmakers said on Tuesday. Japan has a number of large, healthy insurers facing dim growth prospects at home, a panel of investment bankers said during a mergers and acquisitions conference in New York hosted by law firm Mayer Brown. The countrys aging population, devalued currency and low rates pressuring returns are all stunting domestic development, they said. These dynamics have spurred a wave of Japan-to-U.S. insurance dealmaking thats yet to crest, they said. The U.S. is the biggest place to go shopping, Meir Lewis, managing director in Morgan Stanleys insurance investment banking group, said during a panel discussion. I expect that to continue because these issues are continuing. Placid Market Japanese buyers willingness to keep striking deals in the U.S. should help buoy an otherwise slow market for U.S. insurance dealmaking in 2016, panelists said. New rules aimed at curbing so-called inversion deals have put a chill on cross-border deals involving reinsurers and, to some extent, property and casualty insurers. U.S. life insurers, meanwhile, have become skittish about pairing up in light of stiffer oversight of so-called systemically important non-banks, such as Prudential Financial Inc. The midsize companies that could merge among themselves are hesitant to do so, said Nandini Mongia, managing director with Deutsche Bank AG. The greater the size of the transaction, the greater the scrutiny. The Japanese foray into the U.S. has been led by four companies that together struck $18.4 billion in deals last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg: Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., Sumitomo Life Insurance Co., and Dai-Ichi Life Insurance Co. Other Japanese insurers are likely to follow their lead and enter the U.S., while those that already have a presence will look to bulk up through additional deals, said Gautam Chawla, managing director and co-head of the global insurance group at Citigroup Inc. He noted that Dai-Ichi bought Genworth Financials life and annuity business last year, less than a year after acquiring Protective Life Corp. for $5.5 billion. This is just step one of what can can be step two and beyond, Chawla said. High Prices Japanese acquirers have been looking to buy high-quality companies run by competent managers that can oversee expansion into the U.S., Morgan Stanleys Lewis said. They have also shown that they are willing to pay high prices to close a deal, he said. Tokio Marine paid a premium of more than 30 percent to acquire HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. in a deal worth close to $7.5 billion that closed in October. Nippon Life Insurance Co. and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Holdings Inc. are among Japanese insurers that may look for targets in the U.S. to boost profits, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Steven Lam. MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc. President Yasuyoshi Karasawa has also expressed interest in U.S. M&A. Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Carriers USA Human Resources Michigans state worker safety agency didnt issue fines in the majority of asbestos abatement cases where it found serious violations during the past seven years, and not one company was fined the maximum $7,000, a newspaper reports. Fines werent issued in two-thirds of the more than 4,000 violations that the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration closed between February 2009 and February 2016, the Detroit Free Press reported. The newspaper also found that 96 percent of safety violations resulted in penalties of $1,000 or less. MIOSHA spokeswoman Tanya Baker took issue with the report that two-thirds of the violations werent fined, saying the newspaper looked at each violation individually. She said the agency grouped related violations and assigned a penalty to just one of them. She also said the penalties are meant to correct violations and deter others. John Newquist, a former top official in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administrations regional office in Chicago, which oversees Michigan, said he never grouped asbestos violations. Celeste Monforton, a former OSHA policy analyst, said if MIOSHA wants to use penalties as a deterrent effect, you wouldnt be grouping them. Both said each violation should be treated separately. Monforton, who spent 12 years at OSHA and at the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said MIOSHAs penalties overall are so minimal that they dont serve as an effective deterrent. He said weak enforcement encourages fly-by-night operations who risk peoples health because they may get away with it. Monforton, now a lecturer at the School of Public Health at George Washington University, also took issue with MIOSHAs assertion that it uses penalty reductions to encourage employers to remedy hazards quickly, noting that with asbestos, exposure has already happened and theres no way to abate that. Newquist said states that choose to oversee worker safety rather than have the federal government do it tend to go easier on employers. MIOSHA Director Martha Yoder, who recently retired, told the newspaper last year that her asbestos inspectors could not monitor all abatement projects in Michigan. The agency has four inspectors this year, down from five in fiscal 2015. Our job is to do spot-checking, Yoder said. Yoder said MIOSHA sees quicker abatement as more advantageous than collecting a larger penalty. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Michigan Commercial property/casualty rates decreased across all size accounts in the first quarter of 2016, continuing a trend that has been evident since the first quarter of 2015. This year, first quarter rates decreased by an average of 3.7 percent. According to the Commercial P/C Market Index Survey by the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB) rate decreases in Q1 were the largest seen since the trend began, with the exception of large accounts. It does not come as a surprise that the soft market conditions weve seen over the past year have continued in the first quarter of 2016, said Ken A. Crerar, president and CEO of The Council. First quarter rates decreased by an average of 3.7 percent. Large accounts decreased at -4.6 percent, followed by medium-sized accounts at -4.4 percent and small accounts at -2.1 percent. Carriers were working hard not to lose their renewals. [They were] trying to put accounts to bed early if they could before they hit the market, a surveyed West Coast broker said. The decline in rates was consistent across most lines, with the exception of commercial auto, which increased 3.6 percent in the first quarter and has been increasing steadily since the third quarter of 2011. Auto was the only line pushing (and obtaining) rate increases. But there are still some competitive carriers who were writing auto because they were confident in their pricing, a Florida broker said. Another Southeast broker said that auto is getting difficult to place with loss activity. Directors & Officers Liability and Employment Practices Liability lines also saw a very slight uptick in rates of 0.2 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. While rates have been down, our members have told us that the market has increased capacity across the board and for coastal property coverage, particularly in the Southeast region, said Crerar. We have been fortunate to have quiet hurricane seasons the last few years but there is a lot of concern that these new markets will retreat after the first major loss event. While the increased capacity has kept rates low, buyers have shown interest in purchasing additional coverages such as cyber, according to the survey. Looking ahead, some see the price decreases coming to an end soon. A spring report from Willis Towers Watson said that the pricing declines are beginning to slow down, raising the likelihood that companies will experience some price increases in various commercial lines of insurance in the coming year. At the macro-level, the market remains stable and pricing is still considered soft, but we may be starting to see the bottom end of that softening, said Matt Keeping, head of broking for North America, Willis Towers Watson. CIAB survey respondents were asked to name the top developments in the industry that they believe have and will impact their business. They cited the following: The economy The price of oil Carrier and broker consolidation Cyberrisks and educating producers and clients Recruiting and retaining talent The continued impact of crude oil prices and the trajectory of the global economy weighed on our members sentiment at the start of 2016, said Crerar. Elevated economic volatility is likely to continue but our members are positive about the opportunities that lay before them to make up for the effects of the oil downturn felt most intensely by brokers in the last quarter of 2015. Topics Trends Agencies Commercial Lines Pricing Trends Property Casualty After fighting for more than two years to avoid paying almost $1 billion in oil spill damages to Gulf Coast shrimpers, oystermen and seafood processors it claimed didnt exist, BP Plc has thrown in the towel. We have withdrawn our claims seeking an injunction against payments by the Seafood Program so the program can be concluded, Geoff Morrell, a BP spokesman, said in an e-mail Tuesday. The company will keep pursuing fraud claims against lawyer Mikal Watts and his firm, Morrell said. Watts was indicted for allegedly making false claims in connection with the BP spill. A federal judge in New Orleans Monday allowed BP to drop its bid to avoid paying the second half of $2.3 billion in compensation promised to seafood interests harmed by the blown-out well. The subsea gusher pumped more than 4 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, closing fisheries and blackening the shores of five states. BP claimed lawyers negotiating on behalf of the seafood industry fraudulently inflated the number of Southeast Asian immigrant fishermen and boat hands claiming damages from the spill. The overstatement jacked up BPs settlement by hundreds of millions of dollars, the company said. BP had paid out about $1 billion of the seafood fund when it balked at paying the remainder after discovering irregularities in a law firms client list. The seafood payout is a separate earmark within BPs larger settlement of all spill-related economic and property damage claims, which the company said in an April 26 earnings statement will now cost significantly more than $12.9 billion. Watts Indicted Watts, a Texas attorney, was indicted last year for allegedly lying about representing more than 40,000 mostly Vietnamese American boat captains and crew members in spill claims against BP. He was appointed to a lucrative seat on the lawyers steering committee largely on the strength of his client roster, which BP and federal prosecutors claim was riddled with fake names and Social Security numbers, dead people and even a dog. Watts is set to face trial in Mississippi in July. BP held onto its civil fraud claims against Watts and his San Antonio law firm, while dropping the rest of the fight against the seafood industry payout, according to court records. Tammy Tran, a spokeswoman and attorney for many in the Gulf Coast Vietnamese community, has submitted in a separate fraud lawsuit against Watts what she said is proof that most of the Vietnamese fishermen and women on the disputed client roster are real people with real claims against BP. The court order doesnt specify how quickly BP would pay the balance of the seafood fund. The case is In re Oil Spill by the Oil Rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, 10-md-02179, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana (New Orleans). Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Claims Fraud Energy Oil Gas An owner of a construction company in Orlando, Florida. is being charged with workers compensation premium fraud and engaging in an organized scheme to defraud, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrest of Oscar Matute, owner of Orlando construction company Matute Express General Construction Inc. Matute is alleged to have misrepresented information regarding Matute Constructions employees and payroll when applying for a workers compensation policy, DFS said. By doing so, Matute allegedly avoided at least $300,000 in workers compensation premium payments. After discovering significant discrepancies between the amount in payroll checks that were being cashed and the amount of payroll that had been reported on the business workers compensation policy, workers compensation compliance officers working for DFS began questioning the companys number of employees and total payroll figures. After failing to comply with multiple requests for financial documents, compliance officers visited two different Matute Construction work sites and workers on both sites confirmed that they were paid by Oscar Matute. DFS alleges by utilizing multiple money service businesses in Orlando and Jacksonville to cash his companys payroll checks, Matute was able to conceal hundreds of thousands of dollars in unreported payroll; a common method used to bypass workers compensation statutes. By misrepresenting the amount of Matute Constructions payroll, employees and the businesses operations Matute was able to avoid more than $300,000 in workers compensation premium dues. Workers compensation policies are calculated by factoring in a companys total payroll and number of employees along with the risks associated with the companys field of work, among other factors. Investigators alleged that Matute lied when obtaining a workers compensation insurance policy from Commerce & Industry Insurance Company to cover Matute Express General Construction Inc. He did so by grossly underreporting the companys payroll. During the dates represented on the policy paperwork, more than $2.7 million in payroll checkers were cashed, far more than the $148,000 that was reported. Matute was arrested and charged with workers compensation premium fraud and engaging in an organized scheme to defraud, both of which are first degree felonies. This case will be prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney Angela Corey of the Fourth Judicial Circuit and if convicted, Matute faces up to 20 years in prison. Source: Florida Department of Financial Services Topics Florida Workers' Compensation Construction A trial is underway in a lawsuit over whether the city of Columbia Falls in Montana is responsible for a mans death in a skateboarding accident on a subdivision trail system. The Daily Inter Lake reported Sara Kent sued the city in 2011 seeking damages for its role in the design and construction of the trail system, which includes a 24-degree slope on which Casey Kent suffered a fatal head injury in 2008. Kent argues the city had been notified about potential hazards with the trail system during construction. Marcel Quinn, the attorney for the city, said the city didnt design or construct the trail, that Casey Kent accepted the risk when he chose to ride a skateboard down the path and that the accident occurred on private property. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits A northern Utah woman whose husband and 4-year-old daughter were killed when a doghouse fell out of a mans truck and caused a highway pileup has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Alyssa Chambers filed the suit last week seeking $300,000 in damages. She is suing the man who had the doghouse in his truck, a woman who rear-ended their car and the womans employer since she was driving for her job. The August 2015 crash started when a large wooden doghouse slid out of Joshua Sinykins truck during rush hour on Interstate 15 in Weber County, authorities said. Several cars were forced to slow down, including the Chambers vehicle carrying Alyssa and Ryan Chambers, their two daughters and the family dog inside, the lawsuit said. A car driven by Uchenna Uzoh smashed the Chambers vehicle, forcing it to collide with a semitrailer. Ryan Chambers and the couples young daughter, Evelynn Chambers died. The family dog, Archer, also died. Alyssa Chambers and their other daughter, Kaya Chambers, were injured but survived. The lawsuit alleges were negligent in their actions that day, failing to take reasonable care for others on the highway. The lawsuit was first reported by the Standard-Examiner of Oregon. Weber County prosecutors declined to bring criminal charges related to the deaths, but Sinykin and Uzoh are both charged with driving infractions that day. Sinykin paid a $310 fine for failure to secure loose cargo. The AP sought comment on the lawsuit from Sinykin, but could not verify whether he had a listed telephone number or an attorney. Uzoh was charged with speeding and following a vehicle too close. That case has yet to be resolved. Her attorney, Micah White, declined comment on those charges. He said the investigation is ongoing. Uzohs employer, Canyon Home Care and Hospice, declined comment through an office manager. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Auto Four women are suing a southern Idaho doctor because they say they were given counterfeit breast implants and knock-off Botox without their knowledge. The women filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court on last week, contending that Dr. Temp Patterson, a plastic surgeon in the southern Idaho town of Burley, used implants and injections that were imported from China and not FDA approved. Patterson did not immediately return phone calls requesting comment. Rick Hearn, an attorney and former medical doctor who is representing the women, says he believes that there are other women who remain unaware that they were given counterfeit medical products. Hearn said three women in the lawsuit are in the process of having the Chinese breast implants surgically removed. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Johana Magnolia Paredes, 45, of Bellflower, Calif. was arrested by California Department of Insurance detectives on two felony counts of workers compensation insurance fraud after allegedly misrepresenting her injuries to collect $39,953 in disability payments that she was not entitled to. Paredes claimed she injured her right wrist while working at the UCLA Medical Center. An investigation by the CDI and video evidence reportedly revealed Paredes was able to exercise at the gym using her right hand and right shoulder with no limitations. Upon reviewing the video evidence, the medical examiner stated Paredes had misrepresented her injuries and he would not have authorized additional disability payments or medical treatment if he had witnessed the video surveillance earlier. The disability system is an important lifeline for people truly injured and unable to work, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement. People who take advantage of the system do so at the expense of business and taxpayers. Paredes was booked by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department on May 2. Bail is set at $30,000. This case is being prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office. Topics Workers' Compensation Fraud Medical Professional Liability American International Group Inc., the insurer burned by losses on hedge funds, has submitted notices of redemption for $4.1 billion of those holdings through the end of the first quarter. As of today, we have received $1.2 billion of proceeds from those redemptions, Chief Financial Officer Sid Sankaran said Tuesday in a conference call discussing results at the New York-based insurer. Hedge funds helped drive a $183 million first-quarter net loss, the insurers third-straight unprofitable period, AIG said in a statement Monday after markets closed. The company is scaling back from those holdings as lock-up periods expire and instead investing in highly rated bonds and property lending. That frees up capital that can be deployed in our core business, which is underwriting insurance risk, Chief Executive Officer Peter Hancock said in a televised interview with Bloombergs Betty Liu. The focus of the company is to improve our sustainable earnings, which comes from improved underwriting and improved cost efficiency and improved capital efficiency. Operating earnings were 65 cents a share, missing by 35 cents the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. AIG dropped 2.5 percent to $55.18 at 10:24 a.m. in New York, extending its decline for the year to 11 percent. The loss on hedge funds widened to $537 million in the first quarter from $349 million during the same period last year. Average invested assets in hedge funds were $10.1 billion for the first quarter, compared with $11 billion in the last period of 2015, according to a supplemental filing on the companys website. Sankaran didnt identify which hedge funds the insurer is leaving. Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Profit Loss Global Risk Partners Ltd. (GRP), the London-based insurance broking and managing general agent investment vehicle, has completed its second transaction in Northern Ireland by funding the acquisition of broker McGrady Ltd. by Abbey Bond Lovis Ltd. (ABL), a GRP subsidiary. In August 2015, GRP supported the management buyout of Northern Ireland broker ABL, as it continues to develop its retail broking business. As a result of this latest investment, GRP will control in excess of 35 million ($51.2 million) of insurance premium across ABL and McGrady. As McGrady Insurance, the broker transacts both commercial and personal lines business from its office in Downpatrick. Its present owner, Fintan McGrady, will continue to run the business day to day. Selling my business was a big decision. I am convinced GRP is the ideal vehicle for our business to prosper going forward, especially with the local knowledge they have gained through their involvement with ABL, said McGrady. I look forward to being part of an expanding retail broking business in Northern Ireland, whilst maintaining our local identity, he added. It was always in our plans to increase our footprint in Northern Ireland following our investment in ABL, and we are pleased to have been able to do this so quickly, and with the acquisition of a business of such quality. We are delighted to welcome Fintan and his colleagues to GRP, commented Mike Bruce, CEO Broking, for GRP. Following our MBO in 2015, GRP has proven to be a supportive investor in our business, said Maurice Boyd, managing director of ABL. We know Fintan and his business well, and they share our client focused approach, based around the provision of professional and locally delivered service. We look forward to working closely with the McGrady team and combining the strengths of our two businesses, Boyd added. Source: Global Risk Partners Related: Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Sandra Benedetto Ignacio Nunez As the framework for the global exchange of information regarding investments abroad is being moulded, Chile as the only South American member of the OECD has been highly committed to applying such principles and, in order to promote tax assistance and transparency, has signed international conventions and reformed domestic legislation at a legal and administrative level. Improving international assistance Chile signed the Convention of Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in October 24 2013. Even though the aforementioned convention is not yet enforceable in the country, it has been passed by the Chilean Congress and is just awaiting presidential promulgation. Meanwhile, and on the understanding of creating a common framework, two instruments have been signed by Chile: the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (CRS MCAA), signed in June 2015; and the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-by-Country Reports (CbC MCAA), signed in January 2016. Related to the CRS MCAA, Chile would be required to send financial information since September 2018 onwards regarding commercial year 2017. Even though a specific date has not been provided in order to submit the CbC MCAA, it has been recommended by the final report on Action 13 of the BEPS Project, to provide the first country-by-country (CbC) report by December 31 2017 with the information pertaining to fiscal year 2016. It is expected that once the convention becomes enforceable, the Chilean IRS will proceed to regulate the implementation of the convention. Independently of those modifications, Chile has already made some administrative and legal modifications in accordance with the OECD principles and the BEPS Project. Disclosure of investments abroad in Chilean Legislation. At an internal legislation level, since Tax Reform Act No. 20.780 of September 2014, Chile has implemented different procedures in order for taxpayers to inform their investments abroad. As an example, a tax amnesty programme was available during 2015, which received 7,832 declarations, increasing the available information for the Chilean IRS. As part of these policies and in order to keep an updated register of investments abroad, in December 2016 the Chilean IRS issued a resolution extending the obligation to inform investments, insurances, assets and other operations abroad and related gains in Affidavit No. 1851, which applies to taxpayers whose yearly investments exceeded $100,000 (previously this obligation only applied to taxpayers whose incomes surpassed the amount of $1,000,000). The aforementioned affidavit must be submitted by taxpayers by June 30 2016 and is subject to a penalty which can ascend to approximately $800. The Chilean IRS has made some adjustments related to the CbC MCAA by creating Affidavit No. 1913 (affidavit of global tax characterisation) on December 2016, which has to be filed yearly by certain companies (for the most part this applies to big companies and major taxpayers), indicating if they are part of a holding company and detailing international transactions conducted during the previous year (with a series of other obligations that goes beyond such information request). Finally, from 2017 onwards and under the new taxation regime applicable in Chile, taxpayers under the attributed or semi-integrated regime must inform to the Chilean IRS, by June 30 of each year, of the investments made abroad during the previous year, indicating the amounts, the type of investments, the country in which the investments were made, the percentage of participation over those entities and its destination. The penalty in this case will consist of a fine and the possibility to consider those investments as withdrawals of profits, subject to a sole tax of 40%. We must indicate that these are just some of the current requirements or newly-introduced procedures by Chilean tax legislation, as there are other multiple obligations that are directly and indirectly related to the adoption of these principles. Therefore, this is a matter that we expect to continue to evolve swiftly and therefore should be tracked closely by any taxpayer performing cross-border operations with Chile. Sandra Benedetto Back (sandra.benedetto@cl.pwc.com) and Ignacio Nunez (ignacio.nunez@cl.pwc.com) PwC Website: www.pwc.cl Collection of tax is administered by imposing a 15% withholding tax obligation on the purchaser unless advance Revenue certified clearance is obtained. On 22 April 2016 Irish Revenue issued revised guidance on when clearance is not required. This is relevant to foreign investors in Irish loans secured on Irish property, loans purchased into Section 110 SPVs and property acquired in funds. In summary, the Irish tax authorities (Revenue) has adopted a position that a disposal of a debt secured on Irish property is a transaction on which a buyer needs to withhold unless: (a) the seller obtains advance Revenue certified clearance, (b) the sale is by a financial institution as part of its Irish trade, (c) the sale is by a person exempt from capital gains tax (eg Irish regulated fund), or (d) the sale is by a qualifying Section 110 company in the ordinary course of carrying on in Ireland a business of holding or managing or holding and managing certain qualifying assets. Where foreigners, including private equity houses, have purchased loans at a discount to face value and wish to realise the loans, they need to be conscious that there may be obligations of both the seller and purchaser to account for Irish tax. The Revenue position is based on the definition of the Interpretation Act 2005. This defines land to include any estate, right or interest in land and an argument that a debt secured over Irish property constitutes a right or interest in land in Ireland. Revenue has also taken the view that security over Irish land is equivalent to a shareholding in Irish land. Double tax treaties do not typically override the Irish taxing rights on Irish property related assets. Revenue has also confirmed disposals of a unit holder or shareholding in Irish tax exempt funds are outside the scope of withholding. Hence, where non-residents have established qualifying tax exempt funds, either as companies or unit trusts, the disposal of interests in these companies or unit trusts remains free of Irish tax. Separately, it should be noted that the acting Minister for Finance has indicated he intends to review the use of tax-exempt collective investment undertakings being able to obtain returns on Irish property free of tax. This article was prepared by Mason Hayes & Curran, International Tax Reviews correspondents in Ireland. For further information, please contact: John Gulliver Keogh, tax partner. T: +353 1 614 5007 E: jgulliver@mhc.ie Robert Henson, tax partner. T: +353 1 614 2314 E: rhenson@mhc.ie Maura Dineen, tax partner T: +353 1 614 2444 E: mdineen@mhc.ie Niamh Keogh, of counsel T: +353 1 614 5848 E: nkeogh@mhc.ie Noi siamo fiduciosi del fatto che la Clinton comprenda il ruolo degli Stati Uniti nel mondo, non abbiamo dubbi che lei affrontera in modo assiduo i problemi che il nostro Paese deve affrontare, e lei ha dimostrato la sua disposizione allanalisi ed al duro impegno. E un estratto delleditoriale con cui il magazine The Atlantic ha palesato il suo appoggio alla candidata democratica alle elezioni presidenziali, Hillary Clinton. Il magazine ha deciso di dare il suo endorsment alla Clinton definendola uno dei candidati piu preparati di sempre e, inoltre, ha bollato Donald Trump come demagogo, xenofobo, sessista, uno che non sa niente ed e un bugiardo, specificandolo che lo considera il candidato piu dichiaratamente non qualificato nei 227 anni della storia della presidenza americana e che sarebbe una minaccia esistenziale per la Repubblica. Fondata nel 1857, la prestigiosa e storica rivista solo in altre due occasioni si era apertamente schierata a favore di un candidato alla Casa Bianca: nel 1860 con Abraham Lincoln e nel 1964 con Lyndon B. Johnson. A sottolineare limportanza e leccezionalita della decisione e il direttore di The Atlantic, Scott Stossel, che paragona la scelta di sostenere la Clinton a quella fatta nel 1964 a favore di Johnson che si scontrava con il repubblicano Barry Goldwater. What Is Cumulative Exposure? In the insurance industry, the term cumulative exposure refers to situations in which a policyholder has been exposed to a hazard or source of damages over an extended period of time. In these situations, the policyholder may not become aware that they have been affected until long after the hazard first appeared. This can lead to complicated legal disputes in which the insurance company and policyholder disagree about which party is responsible for the related damages. Key Takeaways Cumulative exposure is a term used in the insurance industry that relates to situations where damages have been sustained over time, such as in the case of gradual exposure to pollutants or other sources of illness. Cumulative exposure can make it difficult to determine whether the insurance company is at fault for damages, since the timing and source of the exposure is often unclear. How Cumulative Exposure Works Oftentimes, policyholders can easily determine when they have been exposed to a source of damages that could prompt them to file a claim. For example, a home insurance policyholder would know to file a claim if they see that their home has been burgled. Likewise, an auto insurance holder would file a claim shortly after being involved in an accident. These cases are therefore relatively easy to process from the perspective of the insurance company, since the nature and timing of the incidents involved are clear and occur shortly before the claim is filed. Cumulative exposure, on the other hand, offers more room for disagreement. For instance, if a health insurance holder is exposed to toxic chemicals in their environment over a period of many years, it may be difficult for them to specify what caused the illness when they are filling out their insurance claim. After all, the insurance company could argue that it was a different factor, such as the policyholders lifestyle or genetics, that caused the sickness, or that the exposure to toxic chemicals occurred before or after the term of the insurance policy. Another area where cumulative exposure is often discussed is in relation to workers compensation insurance claims. Oftentimes, workers will develop ailments that result from repetitive tasks spread out over their careers. Carpal tunnel syndrome, for example, has become increasingly common in recent years as a growing percentage of workers are employed in office jobs involving typing and other repetitive manual tasks. This condition, which involves potentially severe pain in the hands and arms and a reduction of muscle control, has led to a slew of insurance claims under workers compensation policies. Although policyholders might argue that their office work exposed them to cumulative exposure ultimately leading to their illness, their insurance companies might argue that the condition was brought about or exacerbated by other factors, such as obesity or repetitive tasks performed outside of work hours. Real-World Example of Cumulative Exposure A recent example of cumulative exposure took place in 2018. In that case, the plaintiff argued that the decedents father was exposed to the asbestos-laden clothes of her father, who was employed as an electrician, with additional exposure taking place over many years of replacing the brakes on the family cars. The brakes in question were manufactured by the American multinational firm, Honeywell International Inc. (HON), leading the plaintiff to allege that the company was responsible for this cumulative exposure to asbestos. Although a jury initially sided with the plaintiff, finding Honeywell partially liable, this decision was later reversed on appeal. What Is Asia ex-Japan (AxJ)? Asia ex-Japan (AxJ) refers to the economic region of countries located in Asia, but not including Japan. These countries are generally considered emerging markets and are of interest to investors looking for high-growth investment opportunities. Meanwhile, Japan is often considered to be a developed economy. Key Takeaways Asia ex-Japan (AxJ) involves the Asian economic region but excludes Japan. Many Asian countries are considered to be emerging or developing markets, which many investors find attractive as growth drivers. Because Japan is a developed economy, emerging markets investors interested in the region would not want to hold securities from an advanced and mature economy. Several benchmark indices and ETFs are available that track AxJ. Understanding Asia Ex-Japan (AxJ) Asia ex-Japan is a popular strategy with numerous indexes and funds. These countries comprise a significant portion of the worlds emerging market countries. Emerging market countries are of interest to investors because of their potential for growth. These countries are seen to be in a high growth phase. Emerging market analysis typically considers macroeconomic conditions, rapidly increasing GDP rates, political stability, legal property rights, capital processes, and trading and settlement procedures when classifying a country as an emerging market. Asias emerging market countries have been exporting more commodities and increasing electronic manufacturing. Growth in China specifically has also been escalating with leading innovation and growing adoption of new financial technology offerings. Asias growing middle class has also been a significant factor for the regions growth. Mutual funds that are classified as Asia ex-Japan seek to focus on stocks in these countries exhibiting high growth potential. Japan is excluded from investment strategies focused on Asia because it is a highly developed economy. As the only developed economy in Asia, companies in the country will be found in developed market indexes alongside the stocks of Europe, the U.S. and Canada. Asia Ex-Japan Indexes To invest in the emerging market countries in the Asia ex-Japan universe many investors may look to indexes for passive management approaches. Top indexes include the MSCI All Country Asia ex-Japan Index, the FTSE Asia ex-Japan Index and the Markit iBoxx USD Asia ex-Japan Index. Asia Ex-Japan Funds Both equity and bond mutual funds are managed to include securities from countries in the Asia ex-Japan region. Two of the categories top performing funds are included below. Morgan Stanley Asia Opportunity Fund The Morgan Stanley Asia Opportunity Fund has a five-year average annual return of 12.02% as of April 20, 2022. The return for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country Asia ex-Japan Index, was 6.75% for the same timeframe. The Fund is actively managed and seeks to invest in top companies from the Asia ex-Japan universe. As of March 31, 2022, its greatest allocations were to consumer discretionary and financials. Fidelity Emerging Asia Fund The Fidelity Emerging Asia Fund has a one year return of -32.66% through March 2022. The comparable one year return for the MSCI All Country Asia ex-Japan Index during the same timeframe was -14.64%. The Fund primarily invests in Asian emerging market companies. As of March 31, 2022, 85% of the Fund was invested in Asian emerging market equities with 47% of that invested in China. Top holdings through March 31, 2022 were Alibaba Group, Taiwan Semiconduct, Meituan, and Samsung. Responsible Credit Card Uses Personal finance experts spend a lot of energy trying to prevent us from using credit cardsand with good reason. Many of us use credit cards irresponsibly and end up in debt. However, contrary to popular belief, if you can use the plastic responsibly, you're actually much better off paying with a credit card than with a debit card and keeping cash transactions to a minimum. Let's examine why your trusty credit card comes out on top, and certain credit card uses and strategies to employ. 1. One-Time Bonuses There's nothing like an initial bonus opportunity when getting a new credit card. Often times, applicants with good credit or excellent credit can get approved for credit cards that offer bonuses worth $150 or more (sometimes much more) in exchange for spending a certain amount (anywhere from $500 to several thousands of dollars) in the first several months the account is open. Other cards entice applicants with bonus reward points or miles that can be redeemed for travel, gifts cards, merchandise, statement credits, or checks (more on those below). In contrast, a standard debit card that comes with a bank checking account generally offers no initial bonus or ongoing opportunity to earn rewards. 2. Cash Back The cash-back credit card was first popularized in the United States by Discover, and the idea was simple: Use the card and get 1% of your purchases rebated in the form of cash back. Today, the concept has grown and matured. Now, some cards now offer 2%, 3% or even as much as 6% cash back on selected purchases, though such lucrative offers involve quarterly or annual spending caps. The best cash-back cards are those that charge minimal fees and interest, while offering a high rewards rate. Some cards, like the Fidelity Rewards card, offer a high 2% rate of cash back rewards on all spending but you must deposit your cash directly into a Fidelity investment account. 3. Rewards Points Credit cards are set up to allow cardholders to earn one or more points per dollar in spending. Many reward credit cards provide bonus points for certain categories of spending like restaurants, groceries or gasoline. When certain earnings thresholds are reached, points can be redeemed for travel, gift cards from retailers and restaurants, or for merchandise items through the credit card company's online rewards portal. Your credit card rewards options are almost endless. Get a co-branded card offered in partnership with a hotel chain, clothing retailer or even a nonprofit organization like AARP, and you can leverage your everyday spending to earn valuable rewards day in and day out. The trick is to find the card that best fits with your spending patterns. Doing the inversealtering your spending patterns to fit with a particular cardcan be counterproductive. But if you're already spending money on a regular basis with a certain retailer or have an affinity for a certain hotel, why not use the card that will encourage your continued patronage by offering you enhanced rewards, discounts and perks? 4. Frequent-Flyer Miles This perk predates almost all the rest. Back in the early 1980s, American Airlines began offering their consumers a novel way to earn frequent-flyer miles even when they weren't flying, by forming a partnership with credit card giant, Citibank. Now, all domestic and international airlines have at least one credit card offered, in a similar partnership, by major credit card issuers. Cardholders generally earn miles at a rate of one mile per dollar in net purchases, or sometimes one mile per two dollars spent for lower-end cards that have no annual fee. How valuable this reward actually is, depends on the type of airline ticket you purchase with your points or miles. Many frequent flyer cards are made immensely more valuable by their mileage-based introductory bonuses. These are often enough to put you 50100% of the way toward an award flight after meeting the card's initial spending requirement. 5. Safety Paying with a credit card makes it easier to avoid losses from fraud. When your debit card is used by a thief, the money is missing from your account instantly. Legitimate expenses for which you've scheduled online payments or mailed checks may bounce, triggering insufficient funds fees and affecting your credit. Even if not your fault, these late or missed payments can lower your credit score. It can take time for fraudulent transactions to be reversed and money restored to your account while the bank investigates. By contrast, when your credit card is used fraudulently, you aren't out any moneyyou just notify your credit card company of the fraud and don't pay for the transactions you didn't make while the credit card company resolves the matter. Credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard provide zero liability coverage for unauthorized purchases as a way to encourage usage of their cards over cash or check. Help with purchase refunds Credit card companies can also help resolve refund issues when consumers are unable to resolve merchant disputes on their own. 6. Keeping Vendors Honest Say you hire a tile setter to set some flooring in your entryway. Workers spend the weekend cutting, measuring, grouting, placing the spacers and tiles and letting the whole thing set. They then charge you $4,000 for their troubles. You draw upon your savings account and write a check. But what do you do when, 72 hours later, the tile starts to shift and the grout still hasn't set? Your entryway is now a complete mess, and that vein in your forehead won't stop throbbing. You can take up the issue with your state licensing board, but that process could take months and the contractor still has your money. That's why, if you can, you should pay for a big-ticket item like this with a credit card. The issuer has an incentive to discourage fraud among its vendors, and if there is a problem, they have a mechanism to try to resolve it. More important, if you dispute the charge, the card issuer withholds the funds from the tile setter, and not only will you get your money back, you might even get help finding a new contractor. 7. Grace Period When you make a debit card purchase, your money is gone right away. When you make a credit card purchase, your money remains in your checking account until you pay your credit card bill. Hanging on to your funds for this extra time can be helpful in two ways. First, the time value of money, however infinitesimal, will save you money. Delaying eventual payment makes your purchase a tiny bit cheaper than it would be otherwise. Beyond that, by paying with a credit card versus your debit card, cash, or check, your cash will spend more time in your bank account. And if you pay your credit card from an interest-bearing checking account, you will earn money during the grace period. The extra cash will eventually add up to a meaningful amount. Second, when you consistently pay with a credit card you don't have to watch your bank account balance as closely. 8. Insurance Most credit cards automatically come with a number of consumer protections that people don't even realize they have, such as rental car insurance (though often secondary to your personal auto insurance), travel insurance, and product warranties that may exceed the manufacturer's warranty. 9. Universal Acceptance Certain purchases are difficult to make with a debit card. When you want to rent a car or stay in a hotel room, you'll almost certainly have an easier time if you have a credit card. Rental car companies and hotels want customers to pay with credit cards because it makes it easier to charge customers for any damage they cause to a room or a car. Another reason is that, unless you have prepaid for your rental or hotel stay, the merchant doesn't know the final amount of your transaction. The merchant, therefore, needs to block out a certain amount of your available credit line to protect themselves from potential charges they didn't anticipate. So if you want to pay for one of these items with a debit card, the company may insist on putting a hold of several hundred dollars on your account. Also, when you're traveling in a foreign country, merchants won't always accept your debit cardeven when it has a major bank logo on it. 10. Building Credit If you have no credit or are trying to improve your credit score, using a credit card responsibly will help because credit card companies will report your payment activity to the credit bureaus. However, debit card use doesn't appear anywhere on your credit report, so it can't help you build or improve your credit. Even if you need to deposit some funds to get a secured credit card, this can help you build your credit history and eventually qualify for unsecured cards or larger loans. When Not to Use a Credit Card Paying with credit cards isn't always better than paying with cash. Retailers honor credit cards because they want to make it easy for you to shop there. But the merchants still have to pay the major credit card companies a portion of every sale in the form of a transaction fee. Since a cash sale means more to the retailer's bottom line than an equivalent credit sale, some retailers give discounts for the privilege of immediately taking your cash. On a big item, like a furniture set, for instance, the difference could be substantial. However, you'll forego the consumer protections offered by credit cards. There are other reasons when paying with credit isn't better, and they have to do with you and your spending habits. Using a credit card may not be right for you if: You can't pay your credit card balance in full and on time: If this tends to happen, stick with the debit card (or cash) to avoid falling into credit card debt and incurring interest charges. If this tends to happen, stick with the debit card (or cash) to avoid falling into credit card debt and incurring interest charges. You tend to spend more than you can afford: Paying with debit will limit you to spending money already earned. Paying with debit will limit you to spending money already earned. You can only get a credit card with a low credit limit and you have a hard time staying under the balance: Exceeding your credit limit results in costly fees, and doing this can also put a dent in your credit score. The Bottom Line Credit cards are best enjoyed by the disciplined, who can remain cognizant of their ability to pay the monthly bill (preferably in full) on or before the due date. If you already know how to use a credit card responsibly, shift as many of your purchases as possible to your credit card, and don't use your debit card for anything other than ATM access. If you do, the combination of rewards, buyer protection, and the value of cash-in-hand will put you ahead of those who pay with a debit card, check, or cash. Top News - Investor Idea Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Continues Acquisition Path With Purchase of ELMS Assets Including Factory in Mishawaka, IN., Enabling EV Production for Retail and Commercial Vehicle Lines BREA, Calif. - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces the US Bankruptcy Court approval on Oct. 13th, 2022 of its acquisition of electric vehicle company ELMS's (Electric Last Mile Solutions) assets in an all cash purchase. Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking EV Stock News: Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Announces the I-GO, New Urban Commercial Electric Delivery Vehicle Available Now for European Markets BREA, Calif. - October 24, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle ("EV") manufacturer, announces today it has secured exclusive sales, distribution and branding rights to the new compact urban delivery electric vehicle, the I-GO, which is fully EU Standard homologated and certified for sale in select European Markets. Top EV Stock News - Investor Idea EV Stocks Driving Higher: (NASDAQ: $MULN) (NASDAQ: $TSLA) (NYSE: $NIO) (NYSE: $F) Vancouver, Delta, BC - October 20, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Investorideas.com, a leading investor news resource covering EV and automotive stocks releases a special report featuring Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), covering the continued growth of the EV market as government policy and infrastructure plans sync up with consumer and investor interest in the EV space. Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea Breaking AI Stock News: FatBrain (OTCQB: LZGI) Acquires Confidential Computing Platform ZeroTrust to Protect Data Privacy and Accelerate Innovation for Millions of Growth Businesses NEW YORK, NY - October 19, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, has acquired the confidential computing and privacy intellectual property (IP) plus software assets of Zero2A PTE LTD ("ZeroTrust Platform"), a software company based in Singapore. Check out our Podcasts for great investor ideas: Get new posts by email: Subscribe Powered by Investorideas.com Newswire: Subscribe to Investor Ideas Newswire Every once in a while, an Irish property comes on the market looking and sounding like something from beyond your wildest dreams - and at the lowered price of just over $2.1 million it just might be This waterfront retreat on Mermaid Isle in southern County Kerry is absolutely one of those properties. The stunning property went on the market in 2006 at $3.2 million but now appears listed on Daft.ie for $2,124,757. On the peninsula of Mermaid Isle, a protected inlet of Kenmare Bay, sit a stunning but incredibly cozy main house and a quaint guest house that was once a fishermans cottage. Also included in the listing? Illaundrane, a private island just off the shore; 4,000 ft of private shoreline with access to crystal clear water for swimming, bathing and snorkeling; and neighbors such as seals, dolphins, otters, and seabirds. The property was listed by Engel & Volkers, with an asking price of $3.4 million (2.95 million) but now appears on Daft.ie for $2,124,757 exactly! The 25 acres include a forest, Illaundrane Island, and two outdoor hot tubs. The three-story main house is an architectural masterpiece, lovingly and carefully built in 2001 with design elements from around the world: Californian Douglas Fir beams, stained glass windows, marble, limestone, doors, and wooden accents reclaimed from old churches and abandoned manor houses; French doors leading directly to the waterfront; an atrium tiled with Chinese slate. The house was built barn-style, with wide open spaces, vaulted ceilings, and sweeping, south-facing windows that flood with the sunshine. It includes an open plan kitchen and living area, a sunroom, an atrium leading on to a terrace, a library, a master bedroom with an en-suite bath boasting a soaking tub and a double shower, a second bedroom accessed by a wooden staircase leading from the library, and a large open plan area currently used as a studio and workspace which could be easily converted into additional bedrooms. The guest cottage, hidden in the woodlands, also boasts stunning views and is a renovated fishermans cottage with exposed stone walls. According to the listing description, Dolphins patrol in front of the house and curious seals bask on the rocks in the bay. The mature wooded groves and the island are home to many different kinds of seabirds, otters and many other animals. Speaking with the Daily Mail, Ron Krueger, the propertys agent described it as A perfect property for someone looking for a special retreat for their family and someone who loves the peace and quiet of Ireland. Nearby attractions include the lovely Kerry towns of Sneem, Caherdaniel, and Kenmare. Mermaid Isle is also a short drive away from Cork and Kerry Airports. To view the full listing, click here. If money were no object, would you snap up this property, or does your dream Irish home have different criteria? Share your thoughts in the comment section. * Originally published in September 2016. We can of course expect total decorum in the upcoming shoot out between Hillary and The Donald for the title of Most Important Person in the World that is, President of the United States. It will be Marquis of Queensbury rules Not! during the first debate. The Donald will spring out of the gate declaring during his presidency he will ensure people wish each other a Merry Christmas again as against Happy Holidays which will be a major policy initiative. If you are caught saying Happy Holidays you will be forced to watch every Trump and Clinton speech made during the primaries. Trump will say how kind and professional he will be towards women. In response Hillary Clinton will use some of Trumps quotes about women, such as Shes a fat pig, or as Megyn Kelly stated, You have called women you dont like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals. Or Trumps presidential-like quote: You know, it doesnt really matter what [the media] write as long as youve got a young and beautiful piece of ass. Trump will also announce an immediate congressional inquiry about the widely respected National Enquirer revelations that Ted Cruzs father took part in the Kennedy Assassination in 1963. For her part Hillary will, no doubt, oppose that inquiry and be labeled a terrorist-coddler, covering up the truth about the assassination, by Fox News. Trump will also announce massive employment for bus drivers and airline pilots as it will take a minimum of 17,296 chartered flights and 30,701 chartered bus trips to accomplish sending 11 million immigrants home. Then there will be the $600 billion in costs to the federal deficit to hire all the federal workers, the buses, border agents, planes etc. Hillary Clinton will protest this and Fox News will say shes unAmerican for opposing getting rid of immigrants. Trump will also commit to building a wall between Mexico and the US about 2,000 miles long. Cripes our very own Berlin Wall. Not since Reagan told Gorbachev to tear down this wall has a piece of masonry been so controversial. It will add a mere $25 billion to the federal deficit. Then after seven years it will cost that much every year just maintain it, according to experts. Hillary Clinton will protest, but Fox will drown her out with protesters chanting Build That Wall. Trump will also reveal how Mexico will pay for the wall. He will license the rights to cartoon character Speedy Gonzalez which he secretly bought for $ 25 billion. Hillary Clinton will object on the basis that Speedy Gonzalez is a Latino stereotype. Fox News will bellow that Clinton is coddling illegals. Finally Trump will announce he has found a way to pay off Puerto Rico's massive debt. He will practice eminent domain and take over Hamilton Lin-Manuel Mirandas smash hit (Hes from Puerto Rico, so close enough.) Stay tuned. An Irish family from Tallaght is leading the campaign for a monument to be built to the victims of An Gorta Mor in Glasnevin Cemetery, which is the biggest mass grave of Irish Famine victims. The memorial, which is lobbied for by the Committee for the Commemoration of Irish Famine Victims (CCIFV), will represent all of the unmarked Famine graves in Glasnevin Cemetery, across Ireland and overseas. Micheal Blanch, from Raheen, who founded CCIFV with his family, said: Dublin was the epicenter of the Famine people flocking to the city for work, food, emigration and, sadly, dying when they got here. Read more: Ten most famous people buried in Dublin's Glasnevin Cemetery Thats how Glasnevin Cemetery holds the most victims of An Gorta Mor in the world, and its important the victims are remembered with a fitting memorial after more than 170 years of national amnesia. The memorial will symbolize all the victims of the Great Hunger who lie in unmarked grass on the island of Ireland, at the bottom of the sea in a watery grave and those overseas in unmarked graves they will all be remembered in our national cemetery in Glasnevin. Blanch, who designed the memorial with the support of his business, Craft Monuments, says he is frustrated over the delay in getting the memorial approved. CCIFV have asked county and city councils across Ireland to donate a flagstone with the countys name on it, with each local authority paying for their own flagstone. The organization is willing to pay for the memorial and is not seeking funding. This memorial will cost the Government or Glasnevin very little, so there really is no excuse, Blanch said. However, the memorial will only happen when the Government and Glasnevin are given a little hoosh by bringing it to the publics attention, bringing it out for discussion. It is hard to defend the biggest mass graves of Famine victims in the world and no memorial to them, what sort of society are we to allow this to go on? The computer image of the memorial has been shown to many independent people and they have all said it is a fitting memorial, let the people decide. A Glasnevin Trust spokesman said: Glasnevin Trust has had correspondence with Michael Blanch in which it has expressed its view that any famine memorial placed in Glasnevin Cemetery must be at the behest of the Irish Government and has advised that any application for such a memorial should have the full approval of the relevant government department together with agreed funding for the monument and its future upkeep. H/T: The Echo. Opposition to the site of the new National Children's Hospital is mounting. 80% of the country's County Councils have so far voted against the planned location on the grounds of St James' Hospital in Dublin. Building work is expected to be completed by the year 2020, at a cost of 650m. But opponents have the new facility should be moved to a green field site off the M50 motorway in Blanchardstown. Under the plans, the existing children's hospitals in Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght will shut, with staff transferred to the new city centre location. A maternity hospital will also be built on the same site - but retired pediatrician Dr Fin Breathnach has said it comes with many conditions attached: They have to knock down the lovely outpatient department in Jamess which is highly regarded. They actually have to build it someplace else because you cant do without an outpatient department. You have to knock down their intensive care unit and build a new one. You have to build a new adult accident and emergency department and a new facility management hub, that is going to cost you about 200m. Then you can start building your maternity hospital, I mean , you couldnt make it up. The Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association will protest today against two proposed trade deals which will affect Irish farmers. ICSA is against Mercosur and TTIP, saying the deals would threaten the future of the Irish beef industry. A tenth day of strike action by Luas workers is taking place today. 90,000 passengers are this morning affected by this industrial unrest that is showing no signs of abating. The light rail service is in its 10th day of shutdown as part of the long running pay dispute at the company. Even docking the pay of the striking workers has not deterred them with four more days of scheduled strike action this month. Both sides, the union and the company have reached deadlock with no immediate prospect of further meetings. Two pay offers have been rejected by the Luas drivers so far with the exception of a 13% deal with three non driver grades. Both the red and green lines will not be operating and the company is apologising for the inconvenience. As a nation, we have developed as an internationally leading manufacturing hub particularly in areas like biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors but like many countries, Ireland faces increasing global competition from lower-cost economies. The quality of Irish scientific research is crucial in attracting multinationals in the manufacturing, technology, biomedical, pharmaceutical and energy sectors to our shores. The presence of world-class scientific research expertise is important in many ways; it provides the basis for research support many companies rely on, it provides access to infrastructure not routinely available in-house and provides the talent pipeline that high-tech companies require. Irelands reputation as international leaders in nanoscience research continues to grow. Investment in research equipment is critical to that reputation. The infrastructure directly benefits the ability of a nation to grow high-value manufacturing sectors. It has been shown that companies are increasingly reliant on academic collaboration to develop new products. It is clear that in order to anchor and attract both international and national manufacturing companies in Ireland, quality research programmes between industry and academia are crucial. These programmes allow Irish manufacturing sites to become centres for innovation and best-practice templates for global manufacturing. This aids national growth via revenue and job creation. Therefore, the delivery to CRANN, the nanoscience Institute based at Trinity College Dublin, this month, of a Nion UltraStem 200 microscope is a landmark in development for Irish scientific research. Funded by Science Foundation Ireland, this 5.7m microscope is the most expensive single piece of research infrastructure ever to be funded by the State. It is a purpose-built piece of equipment that will allow researchers in the SFI-funded Advanced Materials and BioEngineering Research centre (Amber) based at CRANN, as well as the wider Irish research community, to image and characterise materials at atomic and even sub-atomic resolution. The Nion UltraStem is such a powerful microscope that it can show an atom within a solid at 20m times its size. However, it is not just the scale of magnification that makes this microscope unique it is also the sharpness of the image and the instruments ability to provide elemental and chemical data about the individual atoms within the solid. The way the microscope works is by scanning a beam that has been focused down to the size of an atom, across a sample, providing chemical information on the sample. There are very few Nion microscopes around the world and it is arguably the equivalent of a Formula-1 car representing the pinnacle of innovation and design. Ambers Nion tool is not an off the peg microscope. This one has been tailored to our partner company requirements. It will allow us to provide opportunities for new kinds of experiments and we anticipate scientists will travel from all over Europe to use it; making Ireland a global centre of excellence for microscopy research. The Nion UltraStem 200 will allow Irish scientists to carry out world-leading research and impact sectors such as medical science, energy, agri-food and electronics and the return on investment will be significant. Whilst equipment of this scale is expensive, it is necessary and a landmark in the development of Irish science. The instrument will support the continued excellence of Irish research in the important areas of nanoscience and materials science that underpin a modern manufacturing economy. Excellence in areas such as the science of 2D materials and chemistry and electronic and magnetic materials are related to the manufacture of everything from mobile phones to cars. Through world-class facilities such as this, the Government is enabling the university system here to attract the leading talent to maintain and extend our global reputation. The impact of leading research infrastructure, such as the Nion UltraStem 200, in the area of product manufacturing and its contribution to the national economy, cannot be underestimated. The availability of the instrument is critical to research carried out within Amber industry partner companies such as Intel, Alcatel-Lucent (Nokia) and Western Digital. To support such partnerships Irish science must provide world-class research expertise and infrastructure, such as the nion. Investment by the Government in this instrument shouldnt be a one-off event but rather a landscape change in the way we value science nationally. Professor Michael Morris is director of Amber, the Science Foundation Ireland funded materials science centre based at Trinity College Dublin Latest data from specialist bank Investec Ireland shows that the manufacturing sector saw the slowest rise in new customer orders in nearly two and a half years in April. The sluggishness was most acute in the export sector, with new export orders expanding only marginally in the month. A general weakening in demand in international markets was blamed for the underwhelming performance. Seen as the chief barometer of health for the sector, Investecs manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) showed a reading of 52.9 points for April; down from a reading of 54.9 for March. While any reading above the neutral 50 point mark denotes an industry in growth mode, the reading marked the weakest for the sector since November 2013. Despite the disappointing month, Investec remained upbeat as staff hiring levels continued. While the rate of expansion in the employment index [firms hired more staff in April for the 34th straight month] has slowed to its weakest seen in 2016 so far, the ongoing increase in hiring activity suggests that Irish manufacturing firms expect that the current softness in new orders may not prove enduring, said Investec Irelands chief economist Philip OSullivan. However, he warned: With that being said, we think the second quarter is likely to prove to be a tricky period for many Irish manufacturing firms ahead of Junes EU referendum in the UK the destination for roughly one-seventh of Irish merchandise exports. "In this regard, firms should give careful consideration to strategies designed to provide some protection in the event of further sharp moves in the currency and/or commodity markets. Investecs PMI came a day after corresponding manufacturing sector data for the rest of the eurozone painted a mixed picture for the region. The surveys painted a mixed picture of the wider economy. Manufacturing growth was strong in Italy and Spain last month and Germany showed signs of reviving, but activity in France contracted at the steepest rate in a year. Markits manufacturing PMI for the eurozone rose to just 51.7 from Marchs 51.6, slightly better than an earlier flash estimate of 51.5. The Independent Alliance of six TDs is seeking to strike a new agreement over the banks balance sheets and secure a new deal for the many thousands who are struggling with home-loan debt. Documents have passed between Independent TDs and Fine Gael negotiators, including Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, over the last three weeks. Negotiations continued yesterday. But what could any deal look like? And why is it needed? Central Bank arrears figures published in March show the total number of mortgage accounts in arrears had fallen by the end of 2015, to 88,292 cases, or about 12% of all mortgage accounts for main homes in the State. Long-term arrears have fallen too. A huge number of all home mortgages, totalling 120,739 accounts, have been restructured. However, the experience of people at the sharp end of the mortgage crisis the debt and restructuring loan advisers say the problem is far from settled. Gerry Dowling of the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (MABS) of Dundrum and Rathfarnham, in Dublin, said new cases are still coming through his door every week. Mortgage debt has not gone away, Mr Dowling said. He favours a major housing agency to intervene to take on homes in some sort of shared-ownership arrangement with existing owners. His experience tells him that under the current restructuring regime lenders are offering solutions to distressed borrowers in an inconsistent way. The menu of solutions is cherry picked by banks to suit what is best for the banks, he said. Perhaps surprisingly, Mr Dowling said his experience is that so-called vulture funds or service providers, who bought distressed home loans or administrate mortgage loans of conventional lenders, are often willing to cut deals with homeowners in distress. But such lenders do not have split mortgages in their repertoire, he said. He said he deals with AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC, Permanent TSB and Ulster Bank, as well as funds and service providers such as Start, Pepper, Mars Capital and Certus. Michael Dowling (no relation), chair of the mortgage committee at the Irish Brokers Association IBA said Ireland experienced a world-record slump in home prices during the crisis, and yet the solutions eight years on are not world-beating. He said that of 14 off the shelf solutions available that only four types of deals interest only; extending the length of the mortgage, capitalising arrears and split mortgages are commonly used in the Republic. It is still a significant problem for those who are two years or more in arrears on their family home, he said. There have to be solutions for that cohort. That number may not be rising but it is not falling significantly. "Repossession is not going to be a solution to the problem neither from the borrowers point of view or for the banks either, he said. And despite what people say, there is not going to be mass repossessions, Michael Dowling added. Lufthansas yield, a measure that reflects average ticket prices, suffered the biggest drop in at least four years in the first quarter, while airline revenue declined almost 4%. Europes third-largest airline, which is seeking to build its Eurowings discount arm into a rival for low-cost leaders Ryanair and EasyJet, said the intensity of competition and price pressure shows no sign of easing. The firm, headed by Airtricity founder Eddie OConnor has appointed US investment bank PJT Partners to raise at least 100m from one or more investors through an equity sale. The funding will be used to support its expansion in South America, Africa, and South-East Asia. The announcement came as the company reported after-tax profits of 96m. The result marks a significant turnaround in fortunes for the firm, which posted a 46.6m loss in 2014, which was achieved after a strategic review of its business. Last year was a landmark year of growth and progress for Mainstream. Following a review of our business activities in 2014, we implemented a business plan reflecting a renewed strategic focus; concentrating on the development of renewable energy platforms in growth markets, Mr OConnor said. I am delighted to attribute the robust financial turnaround made in 2015 to the diligent implementation of our new business plan, which reflects the value realised from the recent sale of certain offshore assets, payments received following delivery of projects to the Lekela platform and reductions to our cost base. This year has already seen us build on this momentum. We are currently planning a significant equity fundraise of at least 100m to take advantage of the growth opportunities available to us and following the indication of a significant level of appetite to become part of the Mainstream growth story from third party institutional and strategic investors. Mainstream is reducing its presence in the European market. As part of the strategy, the group sold its Hornsea 1 project in Q1 2015 for 82.9m (104.87m). Sales of its new cancer and arthritis treatments and the acquisition last year of hospital products company Hospira boosted the US pharmaceutical giant. The largest US drugmaker, which employs 4,000 people in Cork and across other centres in Ireland, also raised its revenue and earnings forecast for the year. It is the Republics tenth largest exporter, with 7bn in exports last year, according to the Irish Exporters Association and Investec Ireland. Its shares rose as much as 2.4% yesterday, valuing the US giant at $202.8bn. Global sales jumped 20% to $13bn in the first quarter, which was $1bn more than Wall Street had expected. But the quarter included five more days of sales in the US than the year-ago quarter, adding revenue of $900 million in the most recent period. Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan said the results were impressive, with most drug categories beating sales expectations. But Mr Divan said investors are eager to hear how Pfizers strategy might change, given its dashed hopes for Allergan. Pfizer walked away after the US Treasury issued rules curbing tax inversion deals. Many analysts believe Pfizer needs to buy new medicines or biotech companies to ensure competitive earnings growth. Sales of Pfizers generic medicines rose 17% in the quarter to $5.97bn, while sales of its array of patent-protected drugs jumped 23% to $7.03bn. Net income rose to $3.02 billion. The announcement late last year that Pakey was to leave the group when his contract expired was seen as a shock and potential blow to the company and wider region given his extensive experience. In Thomas, the group has landed a replacement with a remarkably similar record, however. Thomas joins from Vantage Airport Group where Pakey acted as a senior director before joining Shannon Group. The 43-year old Manchester native has also held the roles of chief commercial officer and subsequently chief executive of Peel Airports following its acquisition by Vantage. Peel comprises Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Doncaster Robin Hood Airport and Durham Tees Valley Airport. Pakey is a former managing director of John Lennon Airport and chief executive of Peel Airports. I am delighted to announce Matthews appointment as the new CEO of Shannon Group plc. "He brings to the role a deep knowledge of the aviation industry combined with significant commercial experience. He combines pragmatic, effective management with strategic purpose and has an excellent track record. We are very fortunate to have secured an executive of Matthews ability and proven international experience to drive our strategic agenda, not just for the benefit of Shannon Group, but for the benefit of the Irish economy as a whole, Shannon Group chairman Rose Hynes said. Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe also welcomed the appointment. As Vantage chief operations officer, the Sheffield University graduate played a leading role in winning the recent 3.48bn redevelopment contract of the Central Terminal at New Yorks La Guardia Airport, the largest public-private-partnership in the United States. He also had responsibility for the development of Vantages portfolio of eight airports in four countries, and was a board member of Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, Bahamas and John C Munro Airport in Hamilton, Toronto. Mr Thomas, who has been appointed on a five-year term, said he is looking forward to moving to Ireland. Im excited to be coming to Shannon and Ireland at this time, and to have this opportunity to share my diverse experience with the Shannon Group. Shannon has an iconic place in aviation history. Im looking forward to working with my new colleagues in Shannon, the board of directors and all of the stakeholders to ensure the group grows and makes the impact the West of Ireland deserves, Mr Thomas said. This 'Jedi-friendly' mashup comes to you from the YouTube account of Nick Jack Pappas and is one of the best #MayTheFourthBeWithYou things we have seen all day. Hamilton, which has just received 16 Tony nominations, is becoming one of the most recognised sounds in musical theatre and this is the only way we want to see a Star Wars musical! Yom HaZikaron, Israel Memorial Day for the fallen soldiers and the victims of terror attacks, will be held at the Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace Road, on Wednesday, May 11 at 6:45 p.m. There is no cost to attend this event. Attendees are asked to wear a white shirt. "Yom Hazikaron is an important day in Israel. Each year residents of Israel stop their daily routines and honor the lives lost. Most families have lost a family member or close friend in wars or during terrorist attacks within the country. This special program honors the memories of fallen Israeli soldiers and the victims of terror attacks whom gave their lives to protect Israel," officials said. Two guest speakers will present their personal stories of lost and experience: Amit Farkash and Major Gilad Pasternak. Ms. Farkash is 27 years old. At the age of two years, she was living with her family in Ramat HaSharon, Caesarea, Israel. At 13 she began to study singing. She became known in 2006 when she recorded the song "Millions of Stars" in memory of her brother, Captain Tom Farkash, who died in a helicopter crash during the Second Lebanon War in 2006. The song was written and composed by a friend of Captain Farkash, being sung by Ms. Farkash for the first time at his funeral. It gained fame on radio and became the song most closely identified with the war. Major Pasternak is 32 years old. He is a member of the Israeli Defense Force Nahal Brigade, and veteran of Operation Protective Edge. "They began the battle greatly outnumbered, lost two fighters with many more wounded, but Battalion 931 of the Nahal Brigade refused to surrender. A ground force of 16 fighters, including two dog handlers from the Oketz Unit and a team of engineering troops from the Yahalom unit, entered Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip in the late night hours of July 25, 2014.The force from the 931 Battalion, under the command of Major Gilad Pasternak, was preparing for an attack in a built-up area, without knowing that a much larger Hamas force was readying a strike against it," officials said. The Yom Haatzmaut celebration for Israels 68th birthday will begin at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, also at the Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace Road. The cost to attend is $18 and includes dinner, beverages and a live band. This is a 21-year-old plus event. RSVP to 493-0270 or rsvp@jewishchattanooga.com. Israeli Rock Band Exit 10 are the feature performers for the evening. All Israelis, the band members are coming from Atlanta and have performed in different venues across the United States. They have arranged a playlist that includes both Israeli and American rock greatest hits. Band members include Alon Zaibert (vocals), Lee Lis (vocals and acoustic guitar), Elad Gazit (lead guitar), Guy Tesler (bass), Tal Tzfani (drums) and Yinon Sahar (keyboards). A report from the Higher Education Authority (HEA), on how 2014 graduates are faring, shows employment rates for honours bachelor degree candidates rose from 45% in 2009 to 58% in 2014. The report, published each year, found 65% of all graduates are in employment, with 82% of that figure employed in Ireland. As education increases, so too does salary, with over half of honours bachelor degree graduates earning 25,000 or more. It increases to 91% for those with doctorates, with 31% of doctorate graduates earning over 45,000. Arts and humanities graduates are the least well-paid, with 25% earning less than 13,000. Computer science/ICT honours bachelor degree graduates are the highest earners, with 62% of such graduates earning 29,000 or over. The report found, overall, there was an increase in salary for honours bachelor degree graduates in 2014. Some 48% of 2013 honours bachelor degree graduates commanded an initial salary of 25,000 or more, compared to 51% for the 2014 cohort. Similarly, a higher proportion (49%) are earning between 25,000 and 45,000, when compared to the previous year (45%). The proportions gaining initial salaries between 25,000 and 45,000 have also increased for postgraduate diploma, taught masters, and research masters graduates. Dublin remains the region with most employment opportunities for graduates, followed by the South-West region. Commenting on the findings, HEA CEO Tom Boland said the report made for positive reading for graduates. The findings of this report highlight many positive outcomes for graduates, said Mr Boland. Overall, employment levels and employment in Ireland in particular have improved from last year, and fewer graduates are going overseas for work. Editorial: 10 Ms Owen was responding to an article in yesterdays Irish Examiner, in which Mr Mullen denied all of the allegations against him, and said that the affair has had a devastating impact on him and his family. Ms Owen has alleged that Mr Mullen was a member of a paedophile ring in Dalkey, Co Dublin, to which she was hired out as a child by her parents. She also claimed that Mr Mullen, a former garda, was involved in the cover-up of the murder of her daughter, to whom she gave birth as a result of rape in 1973, when she was aged 11. In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Mullen denied all of the allegations, and said he had decided to tell his story in public in order to clear his name. Yesterday, Ms Owen said she stood over all the allegations. It is not for me to address every point Mr Mullen makes in his interview but, by his own admission, he has not been cleared of his involvement in the abuse I suffered and the murder of my daughter as a result of that abuse, said Ms Owen. Mr Mullen said he felt that the gardai had not properly vindicated his innocence, because, he claims, the allegations were not examined in full detail. Ms Owen went to say that she had been found to be credible by the HSE and by the psychologist hired by the gardai to assess my mental health. I have been calling for a sworn inquiry and now repeat that call as otherwise the truth will not come out, she said. Ex Garda Frank Mullen and his wife The allegations have been investigated a number of times by the gardai, but on eight occasions the DPP has ruled there was no case for a prosecution. A review of the case by a senior counsel in 2007 came to the conclusion that no further inquiry was merited. In 2011, a HSE inquiry stated that it found Ms Owen credible and consistent, but also told Mr Mullen that no allegations against him were proved. Just last year, a review panel set up to look at more than 200 cases of alleged malpractice by the gardai found there was no case for a fuller inquiry in relation to Ms Owens allegations. Frank Mullen, 78, told the Irish Examiner that he had come forward in order to clear his name. Were five generations in Dalkey, he said of his family. And I couldnt leave a legacy like that behind me. I had to clear my name before I departed this world. Monkstown resident Mark Elmes broke down more than once as he outlined how a lone farmer had taken on the might of pharma and the State in the past, and although the Supreme Court ultimately found in favour of John Hanrahan of Co Tipperary on three counts, the victory came at great personal expense to the Hanrahan family. Mr Elmes, former president of the Rotary Club of Cork, was comparing the plight of locals living in Cork Harbour opposed to incineration to the Hanrahan case. In this case, he said, the Supreme Court had established a precedent ruling that incineration of toxic chemicals, is, in law, to be understood as the most likely explanation for any appearance of ill health in the immediate area of the operation. Members of the public assisted gardai in catching two of four men arrested shortly before midday on February 11, 2015, in connection with a robbery which had taken place a short time earlier at Hartmann jewellers. One of the four men, Irmantas Paulauskas, aged 38, pleaded not guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court yesterday to the robbery of diamond rings and Rolex watches from Richard Hartmann, 29 William St, Galway, on February 11, 2015. He also denied a second charge of having an imitation pistol with a silencer fitted, in his possession with intent to commit robbery on the same date. Conor Fahy, prosecuting, told the jury Mr Hartmann was in his office upstairs at 10.42am, viewing the CCTV cameras when he saw men, wearing dark clothing, gloves and with their faces partially covered, enter the shop downstairs. He heard a loud bang and dialled 999, alerting gardai at Galway garda station to the robbery. Garda street cameras were trained on the front of the premises and the men were observed exiting the building 90 seconds later. They were carrying two holdalls, which contained 16 trays of diamond rings, with each tray holding 13 rings, along with 32 Rolex watches, all worth 1,139,653. Passersby noticed the men, walking quickly down Shop St. Garda cameras tracked the men as they turned left onto Abbeygate St, heading towards Middle St. Det Sgt John McElroy and Det Gerry Carroll, who happened to be in the area, chased them. Two members of the public helped the gardai restrain two of the suspects at Middle St, after a violent struggle. Mr Fahy told the jury that one of the two men caught at Middle St was the accused, and he advised jurors they need not be concerned with the other three men. A lump hammer and one of two imitation guns used during the robbery, were found on the shop floor by gardai afterwards, Mr Fahy said. The second imitation firearm was found on the other man caught in Middle Street with the accused, he added. The accused, Mr Fahy said, was wearing glasses and these glasses were found at Middle Street later on. The trial continues tomorrow. Limerick Circuit Court was told that accused, now 20, met the woman when they were students in China. When she returned to Ireland, he came a short time later to continue their relationship. In 2012, the victim became pregnant. They were at their apartment at Ducart House, Steamboat Quay, on September 8, 2013, when there was an argument. He struck the victim with part of a hoover and food fell on the floor. He then forced the victim to lick the food off the floor. The woman fled the scene and contacted gardai. Later that night, the accused turned himself into the gardai. He was contrite for what he had done. The accused returned to the US. When the case came to court, he returned. The court heard there had been a reconciliation and the couple are now together with their child. Judge Tom ODonnell said the violence used on the victim was not acceptable but the couple had made considerable advances since the assault. He imposed a 12 month suspended sentence. Judge ODonnell directed that the parties not be named. Shortlisted for The Great Town award by The Academy of Urbanism, it will be competing with Blackpool in Lancashire and Todmorden in West Yorkshire. A panel of five judges will visit all three centres this summer, using a range of assessment criteria from community, character, amenities and public spaces to connectivity, commercial success, local governance and viability. Separately, the European Commission has obtained a mandate to initiate arbitration under the EU-US Open Skies agreement in a bid to resolve the impasse over the US foreign air carrier permit for Norwegian Airlines Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International (NAI). The Dublin-based airline has been waiting more than two years for a decision. It is being opposed by a coalition of labour unions and US legacy airlines who have objected to NAIs business model, claiming it violates Open Skies under labour practices. The airline has consistently rejected the claims. The latest developments in the long-running saga comes just days after four US Congressmen introduced a bill in the House of Representatives in a bid to prevent the issuing of the permit. Cork Chamber has now ramped up its lobbying efforts in a bid to secure the historic transatlantic service from Cork Airport. It has begun urging its members to make submissions to the DoT stressing the importance and benefits of the proposed service on both sides of the Atlantic. NAI announced plans last September to launch a Cork-to-Boston service this year and a Cork-to-New York service next year. The Boston services May launch was postponed because of the licensing delays. The breakthrough came in mid April when the DoT announced tentative approval for NAIs licence, triggering a consultation process which was due to close on May 6, with answers to the submissions on May 13. However, the Transportation Trades Department of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the largest federation of unions in the US, joined with the European Cockpit Association, the Air Line Pilots Association, the International Association of Machinists, the Association of Flight Attendants, and the Transportation Workers Union, to seek a 10-day extension of time to file objections. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association filed a similar request. All parties said the extension is needed so they can submit as consolidated a response to the DoTs tentative licence approval plan as possible. The unions have also cited the novelty and complexity of the issues in this case. NAI objected to the request for an extension and said it is the consumer who will ultimately lose out. However, the DoT said an extension of time was reasonable and in the interest of ensuring procedural due process. It has now confirmed that it will take submissions until May 16, and will address them by May 23. Meanwhile, Aviation Daily reported over the weekend that the European Commissions transport directorate is now ready to trigger arbitration in a bid to resolve the long-running licensing issue. We are prepared to take the necessary steps to resolve the NAI issue. But we are confident that things will go as planned and look forward to the DOT granting the final approval, a source told Aviation Daily. If used, it would be the first time the dispute-settlement procedure has been used since Open Skies was signed in 2007. The Sinn Fein president caused international controversy when he compared the struggle against slavery in the US to the situation encountered by Irish nationalists. After watching a Quentin Tarantino film Mr Adams tweeted: Watching Django Unchained A Ballymurphy N*****!. Addressing the provocative tweet, which was quickly deleted but which drew much criticism Mr Adams yesterday said: Ive never seen myself as white. Speaking on LMFM radio Mr Adams said: Ive never seen myself as white. Thats only skin deep. Im a human being. Were all human beings, whatever our skin colour, whatever our gender, whatever our ability or disability. The fact is were all human beings and we all deserve to be treated properly. And its all about rights and what was happening in America. The political party leader was forced to apologise for his use of the six-letter word on Sunday but yesterday continued to defend the message being put forward. The 2012 film highlights the inhuman treatment of slaves in America in the 19th century. Describing the film as a very violent but very powerful, Mr Adams said: I saw a parallel, as I have for a long time, between the plight and the struggle for African Americans and people back here at home. I tweeted about that. Speaking of his twitter page which has 112,000 followers he said: I live a wee bit on the edge on Twitter. I enjoy it. I know it excites some comment. Some people see some of my tweets as a bit bizarre. Counsel John Scott told the court that in October 2014, Emma Olteanu had been swimming with her father Marius Olteanu at the Clarion Hotel in Clondalkin, Dublin, when the incident happened. Circuit Court president Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard Emma had been wearing non-slip swimming socks but had tripped on the sharp edge of a mat inside the pool, falling and cutting her chin. Prospective and current students at Lee University will soon be able to take courses for a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics degree with a pre-engineering emphasis, thanks to a recent vote of approval by the faculty. The degree will be an option beginning this fall as part of Lees work towards an eventual dual-degree engineering major with partner institution Tennessee Technological University. The pre-engineering emphasis will be a starting point for students interested in both an engineering degree and Lees unique methods of holistic education including the global perspectives requirement and the religion core. According to Dr. Blayne Carroll, professor of mathematics, providing a full engineering major at Lee would require new laboratories, equipment, and robotics, so the dual degree partnership allows both institutions to continue to do what they do best. "Until now students who wanted both an engineering degree and the unique Christian liberal arts education that Lee provides were forced to choose between the two, said Dr. Carroll. We now have an option for those students, and we are moving forward with plans to make it even better." The dual degree would allow students to complete a general education core in three years and then move on to the partner school for another two years in the engineering discipline. So far, five new pre-engineering classes have been proposed to be added to the science and math department curriculum. For more information about this degree, call Lees Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at 614-8275. Rodney Daunt of Blackpool-based Daunt Instrumentation and Control said: You cannot control that which you cannot measure and if you are not measuring, nobody is going to know and corrective action will not be taken. Mr Daunt was speaking on day nine of the hearing into a proposal by waste management company Indaver Ireland to build a 240,000 tonne waste-to-energy facility in Ringaskiddy. Referring to Indavers environmental impact statement (EIS), which he said states that samples from the chimney stack will be analysed every two weeks, Mr Daunt said that, for failsafe accountability, continuous live online measurement and control of dioxin emissions is essential. Dara Fitzgerald, lecturer in analytical chemistry in UCC, said that despite Indavers voluminous EIS, there is no data to support or reassure the public of an adequate monitoring regime for the proposed incinerator. He called into question a paper previously presented on behalf of Indaver at the hearing, which he said showed none of the sampling points were even within 5km of the incinerator. The paper, by air quality expert Edward Porter, said modelling had shown there would be no adverse impact on public health or the environment as a result of the incinerator. Planning inspector Derek Daly said he would pose questions specific to air emissions later in the hearing and that Indaver would be given the chance to question Dr Fitzgeralds claims. Dr Fitzgerald also queried Indavers intention to monitor heavy metals on a regular basis, without stating the interval. As an expert in heavy metals I know that it is not possible to monitor metals in real time, he said. He added that the An Bord Pleanala must be made aware that incinerators are working to aspirational emission values. Una Chambers, spokeswoman for the Carrigaline branch Chase (Cork Harbour Area for a Safe Environment) said monitoring is not preventative, merely historical record of what has occurred. Professor of Analytical Chemistry at UCC, Jeremy Glennon, quoted from several research papers on the dangers of dioxins, including that they are known carcinogens which can take up to 11 years to break down in humans. Children exposed before birth to dioxins were reported to display hormonal and developmental changes and possible neurobehavioural effects (learning difficulties), Prof Glennon said. Colin Bradley, professor of General Practice at UCC and a part-time GP in Cobh, said he and several colleagues had concerns regarding the effect of proposed incineration on the health and wellbeing of the people of Cobh. He said the coastal town already has its share of health problems including respiratory, musculosketal problems and impairments of hearing related to working in previous industries such as Irish Steel, Verolme Dockyard, and IFI chemicals. While a link to cancers is disputed, it remains a fact that the incidence of certain cancers is higher in Cobh, Prof Bradley said. Indaver points out that, in 2011, the National Cancer Registry said that while the risks of some cancers in Cobh are above average, the risk of many others is below average. The registry said selective reporting of the high rates only serves to cause unnecessary worry to residents. The hearing continues. The opposition leader took the unpopular position as Fine Gaels acting Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said his party should tell constituents to contact Mr Martin to find out why they are paying money despite the service continuing. Speaking to reporters last night after a four-hour meeting with his TDs and senators to discuss confirmation of the parties long-awaited government formation deal, Mr Martin repeatedly said it is his view that people who have yet to pay their first three water bills must address their debt to the State. Asked if this included the latest water bills, which have been sent out by Irish Water in recent days despite the fact the deal means they will be suspended in six weeks, Mr Martin said it did and urged people to comply with the soon-to-be-scrapped law. Yes [the latest bill should still be paid], the bottom line is weve been consistent people should uphold the law, he said. The Fianna Fail leader side-stepped questions on if the existing 500 threshold for when repayment of water-bill debts can be sought by the State should be lowered to ensure all debts are honoured, saying his party hasnt made any specific commitments on that, yet. However, he continued to hold firm to his partys election manifesto commitment that while Irish Water should end as a utility, existing bills are part of the laws and as such should neither be refunded nor ignored. If you want to refund people theres a [budget] cost involved, so we will have to make choices. One could not have a government formed if water wasnt dealt with. Its very simple. It would not have lasted two-to-three months, he said. Mr Martin rejected criticism from billionaire businessman Denis OBrien, one of whose companies is linked to the Irish Water service, over the decision to suspend water charges, saying that it was democracy in action. At an earlier four-hour meeting with his TDs and senators, Mr Martin faced further questions from Carlow-Kilkenny TD John McGuinness and others on the need to refund people who have paid. However, alongside environment spokesperson Barry Cowen, he said it was key to a government being formed and further rejected calls from Fianna Fail Dublin city councillor Daithi de Roiste for an emergency ard fheis on the deal last night. Meanwhile, the acting Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney told Fine Gael TDs to tell constituents who are asking about refunds for paying water charges to contact Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin. The business association said it is planning ahead to create flexible workspaces for new and small established companies in what is regarded as one of the countrys industrial powerhouses. Little Island Business Association (LIBA) is planning a three-phase development in Little Island on the eastern outskirts of Cork City the first phase of which will open on July 1. LIBA chief executive Michael Mulcahy said the new Little Island Business Centre will be specifically designed to cater for flexible workspaces. At its peak we hope it will have facilities for up to 50 separate businesses, said Mr Mulcahy. It is clear to us that in the past year the interest in flexible work spaces in Cork has risen sharply and the number of Dublin, Galway, London and other national and international based businesses looking for a base in Cork without the fixed costs associated with office leases and utility costs is on the rise. The LIBA Business Centre model is based on offering a desk and cubicle office within a shared office environment with full office facilities provided. Mr Mulchay said parking and meeting rooms will also be made available to occupants at exceptionally competitive prices. We expect to attract a wide variety of business users from local small businesses, start-ups, remote workers to large corporate customers, both national and international, who want to open satellite offices in Corks most vibrant business location, Mr Mulcahy added. He said that as well as offering a fixed-price solution for a new Cork office base for businesses, they will also offer all clients a complimentary membership of LIBA. At present, there are around 1,000 businesses of operating in the Little Island area. Michael Ryan, aged 25, of 7 Fairgreen, Rathkeale, was yesterday jailed for 18 months at Limerick Circuit Court for violent disorder and threatening to kill two gardai on June 7, 2013. Garda Tom Flavin told the court gardai went to Fair Hill to investigate a suspicious shed fire on June 7, 2013. They came on an English- registered Ford Mondeo, which was travelling at speed. On stopping this car, men wearing balaclavas got out and confronted gardai. The men got back into the car which reversed and crashed into a gateway where it got stuck. The men in the car then retreated into the Ryan home. The mother of the accused, Bridget Ryan, emerged from the house accompanied by a large group. Michael Ryan went nose to nose with one of the gardai and threatened to kill him. The situation was so hostile, gardai had to move back and call for backup assistance. One man drove a car at the Garda car as they tried to take possession of the Ford Mondeo and the gardai feared for their safety. Bridget Ryan was one of the main protagonists and instigators in trying to prevent gardai take possession of the Ford Mondeo. Following his arrest, Michael Ryan got High Court bail and fled to England. While there he was jailed for a burglary. On his release, he was extradited to Ireland. Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Tom ODonnell said the situation in which the gardai found themselves was very explosive. Bridget Ryan, the mother of the accused, he said, was the main spark who lit the fuse. He jailed Michael Ryan for three years with the final 18 months suspended. Bridget Ryan and another son have already been dealt with by the court in connection with the incident. Ann Doherty, whose twin sister Mary Boyle went missing from her grandparents rural Donegal home in 1977, met Mr Martin last week to relay her belief that her sister was murdered, and that the investigation into her disappearance has been the subject of Garda and political interference. The following day Ms Doherty wrote to Mr Martin to ask that he raise the matter in the Dail, and to claim that a Fianna Fail politician interfered in the investigation preventing the chief suspect from being arrested. By simply reporting these matters to the gardai, you are handing it back to the organisation which has covered up Marys murder for four decades and in whom I told you I have no trust, she said. A man sits in the meeting room of the Patrician Academy, a secondary school in Mallow, Co Cork. Hes here to talk about his 16-year-old son. The boy, an avid Real Madrid fan who likes to draw, isnt here his transition year class have gone for driving lessons, something he has been looking forward to. Normally, a parent being summoned to his sons school is a sign the boy has done something wrong, but not in this instance. In fact, the man sitting at the polished wood boardroom table is here at his sons request to tell how the boy is the one who has been wronged, along with his whole family. The mans name is Ahamad Al Raai and he is here to tell how he, his son Ahmed, and the rest of their family ended up in north Cork, having fled from their home in Syria. The Patrician Academy is one of a number of schools in the Blackwater Valley taking part in Operation Mayday, a community-driven initiative that aims to raise awareness of the consequences of the ongoing refugee crisis while raising money for Plan Irelands work in helping migrant children on the Mediterranean. When Ahmed heard of his schools involvement in Operation Mayday, he immediately volunteered to do something to help promote the events. Ahmed and Ahamads family are one of eight Syrian families to have been relocated to north Cork since leaving their war-torn home. The Department of Justice has yet to appoint the promised interpreter who is supposed to help these eight families integrate into an unfamiliar country which is unfortunate, given his limited English. Luckily one of his fellow countrymen has some English, and he acts as an interpreter for Ahamad. Ahamad was a successful businessman in his home country his company installed and serviced elevators. However his family of six left it, their extended family, and friends behind, to flee to Lebanon as the fighting between the Assad Regime and other factions grew closer to his home. Ahamad says his children are traumatised by the rockets that flew over their heads and the explosions that hit just metres from their home in Baba Amr, on the outskirts of Homs. Their 2013 departure from Syria was complicated by Ahamads arrest. He was caught outside Damascus by the Syrian Army when he was attempting to retrieve some furniture. They saw his ID and he wasnt in Baba Amr. Because of this, they think he may be wanted. If he wasnt from this area, they think he is dangerous, his friend explains. The consequences of this perceived misdemeanour made it all the more critical that the family made it out of Syria without getting caught away from home a second time. The Al Raai family subsequently travelled for two days through the mountains to Lebanon, where they stayed for a year and a half before poor living conditions and a hostile environment prompted another move. A family walks amid the rubble after a reported air strike in Aleppo last week. The Al Raai family was forced to flee the terror of living in a war-torn country At this point, the UN intervened and secured them passage to Ireland. They left for Ireland via Istanbul, and ended up in the orientation centre at the Hazel Hotel, in Monasterevin, Co Kildare last September. From there they came to North Cork, where they have been since the start of the year. Ahamad is entitled to work, and is willing, but his efforts are hampered by his poor English and lack of interpreter. He clutches a black A4 ring binder with picture stories and phrases to learn. Occasionally he will wait until his friend finishes interpreting what he has just said, and chips in with a few words for emphasis. So are the Ahamad family happy to be in Ireland now? He feels comfortable and safe, but he was very sad about his country, his friend interprets. He lost everything. We have lost our friends, our relatives, our neighbours, our houses. All our memories. We lost everything, he says. Ahamads brother was killed during the fighting in Syria. It is very difficult. We are in a new culture, a new people, a new language, new country, he says, adding that most Irish people he has met have been lovely. So what are his hopes for his family now? What would he like to see Ahmed do in future? He relays his answer to his friend, who repeats it back to him for clarity. He wishes for his son to be a doctor in the future, and his hope is to go back someday to Syria. It is his homeland. To work in a hospital to help the poor people and homeless. It is my dream, Ahamad adds. Operation Mayday begins on May 20 with an awareness exhibition and awards ceremony in Mallow GAA Complex from 7pm. Other events across the weekend include an event in Fermoy at which RTE broadcaster Valerie Cox will discuss her experience following her recent visit to Lesbos in Greece, where she worked on the frontline with refugees. For more information see facebook.com/Operationmaydayavondhu Known for his lack of patience with the trappings of success, Mr Blackshaw rarely gave interviews and shied away from publicity but one person who knew him very well was his model and muse of 30 years, Dr Judith Stephens of Queens University, Belfast. Dr Stephens said that one of the joys of modelling for Mr Blackshaw was watching him at work. He never kept still. He engaged in a way that was very dynamic; he moved continuously around his canvas, evaluating it from different angles as he worked, she said. Im going to miss the quiet philosopher, his mischievous sense of humour, his kindness, and his talent, but Ill be reminded of all of these things every time I look at one of his paintings, she said. Mr Blackshaws portraits included playwright Brian Friel, actor Clint Eastwood, and former SDLP leader John Hume, but he was perhaps better known for his depictions of rural life, influenced by his interest in greyhounds, racehorses, and cock fighting. One of Northern Ireland's greatest artists has passed away. @colin_davidson pays tribute to Basil Blackshaw.https://t.co/hcDhM7Ff72 BBC Newsline (@bbcnewsline) May 3, 2016 Having battled alcoholism, marital breakdown, and a studio fire in 1985, Mr Blackshaws life has been described by art critic Brian Fallon as an epic of survival. Despite occasional periods of low productivity, he continued to develop and experiment with his style well into his seventies, progressing towards a bold and increasingly abstract output, having been hailed in earlier work as an Irish Expressionist painter. Cork gallery owner Nuala Fenton paid tribute to Mr Blackshaw as an artist who really pushed the boat out throughout his career. Ms Fenton exhibited Mr Blackshaws work in her Cork gallery in 2005, with the painter creating a dramatic collection of 15 new paintings exclusively for the exhibition. It was a dream to work with someone of that vision and awareness. The scope of what he touched upon got philosophically more interesting all the time. He didnt like the commercial art world and he didnt like auction values, exhibition openings, hype; any of that stuff, she said. His retiring nature and lack of patience for publicity led to the artist jokingly donning a paper bag for publicity shots for the 2005 exhibition, which was shown in Paris the following year. Other examples of Basil Blackshaw's works painted over a period of years. Basil has a new perspective today. RIP pic.twitter.com/31QUtKcHfu Eamonn Mallie (@EamonnMallie) May 3, 2016 Mr Blackshaw is survived by his daughter, the artist Anya Waterworth, and his partner of 40 years, Helen Faloon. The deal was agreed by both parties last night, as Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin also said the issue of any refunds for customers who had paid could be decided under the next budget. Water charges are now set to be suspended in six weeks under the deal. However, several stumbling blocks for Independents, whose support is needed for a minority government, are delaying the deal, which was expected to pave the way this week for a final vote for Taoiseach. Instead, disagreements between Fine Gael and Independents over judicial appointments, turf-cutting, health, and education are thought to be some of the sticking points. The three-year deal stops Fianna Fail from supporting any motions of no-confidence against the government and commits Mr Martins party to supporting Fine Gaels budgets. Fianna Fail denies the deal is all but a partnership agreement, and says it will allow it implement its policies but from opposition. Members of the Independet Alliance The deal also commits the Fine Gael government with Independents to: Reducing USC for lower and middle income earners; Improving supports and services for older people, including possible pension increases; Publishing all agreements with Independent TDs or other parties in full; A 2:1 split between investment and in public spending and tax reductions; Speeding up social housing building, removing barriers to private housing, and extending mortgage interest relief; Planning to create a five-year health service plan; Employing 15,000 more gardai and instigating a review of where garda stations are located. However, a number of questions remain about the deal by the two parties when it comes to suspending water charges. Agriculture minister Simon Coveney last night told the Fine Gael parliamentary party that any constituents who had queries about refunds with water charges should ring Micheal Martin. Agriculture minister Simon Coveney However, Mr Martin said his party supported the idea of non-payers being pursued for water bills. He said no one could support breaking the law. He also hinted that the issue of any refunds for customers could be dealt with in the context of debate around the next budget. According to the deal though, charges could be abolished after a Dail vote is held next April. Under the deal, water charges will be suspended within six weeks of a government being formed. Within eight weeks, an independent commission will be set up to examine the future of charges and will have five months to issue findings. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin At that stage projected as this December a cross-party Oireachtas committee will be established and asked to draw its own conclusions from the findings over the following three months. While this committees work timeframe can be extended if required, the deal states a Dail vote on the future of water charges must be held within one month of this committees work. This means a vote could be held next April. Meanwhile, billionaire businessman Denis OBrien has waded into the disagreement over water charges, criticising a climbdown by Fine Gael on the issue. A plan to get a commission to examine the future of charges meant it had been kicked in the air and down the field, he said. Denis OBrien The Government was wrong to back down on Irish water, he told Bloomberg Television. He said as much as 4bn is needed to upgrade the water system and that now was in question. Mr OBrien was drawn into the Irish Water fiasco when one of his companies was awarded a contract to install water meters in 2013. The Xperia X will set you back 599, boasting a 5-inch Full HD display, a "traditional" Sony design, a 13MP selfie camera, and a 23MP rear-facing camera. Meanwhile, the Xperia XA features a 5-inch 720p curved display, an 8MP front-facing camera, and a 13MP rear-facing camera. It costs 299, half the price of the Xperia X. Sony revealed that the Xperia X Performance will be available in a select number of European countries: France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and Sweden. It features a 5-inch Full HD display, a Snapdragon 820 processor, 3GB RAM, and a 23MP camera. It will cost 699 in France and Netherlands, and 729 in Italy and Spain. Sony is yet to disclose availability in the UK and Germany. The Xperia X will be available from May 23, 2016. Chattanooga Community Housing Development Organization is offering forgivable grants for roof replacement to income qualified homeowners in the city of Chattanooga. CCHDOs Roof Replacement Program is designed to assist lower-income families in making this vital improvement. Since 2012 CCHDO has replaced 75 roofs on homes owned by low income Chattanooga homeowners. The homeowners who received assistance were living in homes with roofs that were leaking and were in risk of becoming uninhabitable. This program helps improve the quality of life for low income homeowners and allows them to maintain ownership of their homes, said officials. The roof is one of the most important parts of a homes structure," said CCHDO Executive Director Roya Evans. "A compromised roof, if not repaired in a timely manner, will deteriorate the house bit by bit and in a short time makes that house uninhabitable. The moisture damage to a house will create conditions that pose a serious threat to the health, safety and welfare of the household and affects the immediate livability of the home. CCHDOs funding for the roof replacement program is through federal Community Development Block Grant, which is provided through the city of Chattanooga. CCHDO provides a five year forgivable grant to homeowners who make below 80 percent of Chattanooga median income - approximately $34,000 for an individual and higher for larger households. Additional eligibility requirements may apply. Interested homeowners should call 668-9804 and ask about the roof replacement program. The applications will be treated on first come first serve basis. We accept applications throughout the year and when we receive funding we start replacing roofs until we run out of money," said Ms. Evans. "Those applicants who dont receive a roof in the current year will go on our waiting list for next funding cycle. We are hoping to replace more roofs this year than previous years." CCHDO is a private non profit organization with the goal to provide affordable homeownership for low to moderate-income families and revitalize neighborhoods within the city limits of the city of Chattanooga through partnership with the city of Chattanooga, and other community development organizations. For years after the 2003 American invasion, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr had an outsized influence on Iraqs politics: He mobilised the Shiites in a way few other Iraqi leaders could, his followers created one of the most powerful militias during the civil war, and he played kingmaker in the selection of prime ministers. But after US troops withdrew from Iraq in late 2011, Sadr went into a self-imposed seclusion, even as his supporters ran for parliament and controlled key ministries. Sadr was waiting for his opportunity to play the saviour of Iraqs Shiites. Today, Sadr is making a comeback, as a nationalist who can both fight Islamic State and stand up to Irans growing influence over Iraq, especially through its support of Shiite militias. On April 30, after months of protests over political reforms, hundreds of Sadr supporters stormed the parliament in Baghdads heavily fortified Green Zone. The protesters withdrew after 24 hours, but Sadr has threatened another mass protest this week. As Iraqs Shiite-dominated government tries to retake territory from Islamic State militants and cope with the loss of revenue caused by the global collapse in oil prices, the country faces a new danger: An intra-Shiite conflict, among factions competing for power. While most attention has focused on the struggle between the weak prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, and his Shiite competitors including his predecessor, Nuri al-Maliki the once-renegade Sadr has again taken centre-stage. While Sadr is casting himself as a populist and reformer, he has a bloody history. His paramilitary force, the Mahdi Army, led a Shiite rebellion against American troops in Iraq, starting in 2004, and it carried out kidnappings and assassinations, and an ethnic-cleansing campaign against Sunnis during the subsequent civil war. In February, Sadr instigated a mass protest in Baghdad aimed against political corruption and financial mismanagement. In scenes reminiscent of uprisings in other Arab capitals, Sadr brought tens of thousands of Iraqis into the streets of Baghdad. The cleric demanded that Abadi keep his promises to form a new government and to impose political reforms (eliminating the three posts of vice-president, cutting government spending, and removing sectarian quotas in political appointments) that had stalled since last summer. Sadr did not call for Abadis ouster, but framed his protests as an effort to help the prime minister consolidate support. On March 31, Abadi announced a new cabinet, made up of technocrats, most of them unaffiliated with the powerful political parties that divvied up patronage jobs and government contracts. Sadr declared victory, called off his protests in the centre of the capital, and returned to his home in the southern city of Najaf. But, since then, Shiite parties have forced several of the proposed ministers to withdraw their candidacies and have pressured Abadi to replace them with political operatives. Iraqs parliament also failed to approve the new cabinet, setting off a new round of protests, led by Sadr, who is threatening to oust the weakened Abadi and to call for early parliamentary elections. Prime minister, Haider al-Abadi The months-long political paralysis is diverting the attention of Iraqi leaders from the fight against Islamic State. Iraqi military officials have been working with American counterparts to prepare a major operation to retake Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city. In June, 2014, Islamic State militants, backed by Sunni tribal fighters, captured Mosul and announced that they would march on to Baghdad, and the southern Shiite heartland of Karbala and Najaf. After the takeover of Mosul, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the most revered cleric in Iraq, issued a call to arms, urging all able-bodied Iraqi men to join the security forces. Within weeks, tens of thousands of Shiite volunteers had signed up to join the Iraqi military, or to join one of a growing number of Shiite militias (two forces that became indistinguishable in the fight against Islamic State). With Sistanis appeal and the intervention of Iran, which armed the Shiite militias, Iraqis began to turn the tide against the jihadists. But the effort to retake Mosul has stalled, due to the political bickering and because Iraqs Shiite leaders have not shown a willingness to share power with the beleaguered Sunni minority. Since he reemerged this year, Sadr has portrayed himself as an agent of political reform, who can also make a nationalist appeal to Sunnis. But his overtures failed to generate support in the Sunni community. Today, I am among you to say, frankly and bravely, that the government has left its people struggling, Sadr told supporters at a rally in late February, against death, fear, hunger, unemployment, occupation, a struggling economy, a security crisis, poor services, and a major political crisis. The 42-year-old Sadr does not have the religious credentials of Sistani or of other senior clerics, but he is the son of a revered ayatollah and he has broad support among the Shiite masses. Sadr has emerged as the bad boy of Najaf, who challenges the religious hierarchy represented by Sistani. In the days after the fall of Mosul, Sadr called for peace brigades that would protect Shiite shrines, churches, and holy sites. But Sadrs peace brigades were simply a new label for his feared Mahdi Army, which had supposedly disbanded in 2008. In June, 2014, his militia returned to its stronghold, the capitals teeming Shiite slum in Sadr City. In its largest show of force in six years, thousands of Shiite fighters marched through the streets with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and suicide explosives belts strapped to their chests. I will purify Mosul, I am a Sadrist, some of the fighters chanted. Sadr represents the triumph of a defiant brand of Shiism. Because Sistani and other senior theologians shun direct political involvement, they create a power vacuum among Iraqi Shiites one that Sadr is eager to fill. He wants to be both a respected cleric and a political broker. In the Shiite world, it is unusual for a young cleric with Sadrs limited theological credentials to gain such a wide following. Sadr is several ranks, and years, away from attaining the title of ayatollah. But he is the only surviving son of Grand Ayatollah Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr, who was assassinated by the Iraqi regime in 1999. The elder Sadr was a leading Shiite scholar, and unlike Sistani he advocated a strong political role for the clergy. Sistani and the elder Sadr became rivals in the Shiite religious hierarchy. Aside from his pedigree, Sadr has another claim to leadership: He did not leave Iraq to live in comfortable exile during Saddam Husseins rule. Amid the euphoria that followed Husseins ouster in 2003, clergymen debated their role in politics. Sadr and his supporters argued that they should fill the void left by the Baathist system. They denounced the US occupation, and also Washingtons plan to install an interim government made up mainly of exiled Iraqi politicians, such as Ahmad Chalabi and Ayad Allawi. Sadr started out as a militia leader, with the populist appeal and credibility that comes from being heir to a family of martyrs. He then turned himself into one of Iraqs most effective politicians. The elder clerics watched from the sidelines, confident that their religious authority would be more enduring than Sadrs fleeting political power. Now, the renegade cleric is once again poised to command the Shiite street, and become kingmaker in Iraq. Mohamad Bazzi is a journalism professor at New York University, and former Middle East bureau chief at Newsday. A former fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, he is writing a book on the proxy wars between Saudi Arabia and Iran. He tweets @BazziNYU Three musical greats have died in 2016: Prince, David Bowie, and Merle Haggard. When Haggard died, US National Public Radio announced that Country music legend and icon, dies at 79. The terms are considered interchangeable, but are they? Many entertainers have been labelled icons Britney Spears is an example. But Prince, Bowie, and Haggard seem to be in a different realm. Our culture, and our world, are different because they existed. An icon can show us who we are. But a legend shows us who we could be. Prince, a child prodigy who taught himself to play more than 20 instruments, explored daring erotic themes in his music. He toyed with new ways of being a black man in America, showing off his feminine side in purple silk and diamonds. Prince blended pop, funk, blues, jazz and rock n roll. He set his own rules and branched out from music into film. His songs could be explicitly raunchy ( Darling Nikki), but could also bring passion to a spiritual plane (Adore). Prince, a Jehovahs Witness, broke with pop tradition to include religious motifs in his songs, such as in the messianic I Would Die 4 U. Philosopher Cornel West noted Princes strong social consciousness, which channeled rebellion against oppression, and care for societys most vulnerable, into his art. In 2015, Prince wrote Baltimore, a song lamenting the death of Freddie Gray, the unarmed African-American whose fatal encounter with Baltimore police sparked riots in the city and widespread outrage nationally. Princes lyrics became a mantra for protesters: If there aint no just, then there aint no peace. Prince not only remade the sonic landscape, but also left us with expanded notions of what it means to be male and female, black and white, erotic and spiritual. Bowie, too, changed musical and cultural paradigms. In his first TV appearance, in 1964, as the founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men, the 17-year-old announced himself as an impish subvert, who would take society as he found it. For example, in 1983 Bowie challenged MTV to include more black musicians. Upon the news of his death, rap artist MC Hammer tweeted: Salute and Thank you to #DavidBowie for standing up for #BlackMusicians. Bowies views on societys wrongs emerged in songs such as Under the God, which depicts the rise of neo-Nazis and the horror of racism. From his incarnations as the glam Ziggy Stardust and the avant-garde Thin White Duke, to his nimble turns at rock n roll, disco, new wave, folk rock, industrial rock and electronica and his roles in films such as The Man Who Fell to Earth Bowie was an innovator and shape-shifter. Without David Bowie, electronica and dance musician Moby, said, popular music as we know it pretty much wouldnt exist. Prince and Bowie not only transcended the particularities of the decades associated with them (Bowie, the 1970s and 1980s; Prince, the 1980s and 1990s), they transformed their art form. They created fresh outlets for expression in music, in fashion, and in gender identity. The word icon comes from Latin, meaning a picture or statue, and from the Greek eikon, referring to a likeness or portrait, but also to an image in a mirror. Spears status as pop icon is easy to justify. If you were watching MTV in the 1990s, her pigtailed debut as a sexy Catholic schoolgirl, in Baby One More Time is etched into your brain. She launched a new phase of teen pop, grew to be world-famous, and her songs became ubiquitous earworms. While an icon mirrors trends in society, a legend offers something more. Spears might be the product of a specific time rather than an artist with a lasting legacy. Whereas the word legend has its roots in storytelling and map-making, of understanding and finding our way. Legends do not just reflect the culture; they reveal it and point society in new directions. Haggard is credited with helping to create the raw-edged Bakersfield sound of country music in the 1950s which influenced rock-and-rollers, such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He brought the roughness of his hardscrabble background (including prison) to the genre and expressed solidarity with the working man, in songs such as Big City, which rails against economic inequality: Theres folks who never work and theyve got plenty/Think Ill walk off my steady job today. In 1969, his hippie-blasting hit, Okie from Muskogee, became the anthem for Americans angry with the left for protesting the Vietnam War. The song brought him wealth, fame, and the appreciation of US president Richard Nixon. But he wasnt just a cultural icon for conservative whites, because he also wrote Irma Jackson, about a white mans thwarted love for a black woman in a world that doesnt understand that love is colourblind. He released that song in 1972 years after he wrote it because his record company had feared it would hurt his image. Haggard was about healing wounds as much as challenging wrongs. Through their art, Prince, Bowie, and Haggard not only showed us new possibilities for our individual identities, but they also revealed to us how to better connect to one another. Such is the power of true legends. Lynn Stuart Parramore is a contributing editor at AlterNet, co-founder of Recessionwire, and founding editor of New Deal 2.0 and IgoUgo.com. Its not all context as Gerry Adams pleaded after he inappropriately tweeted the N-word last Saturday night. Tomorrows election for mayor of London may turn on the outburst of former Labour mayor Ken Livingstone. Charged with anti-Semitism, Livingstone is certainly anti-Zionist. His cack-handed suggestion that Hitler was somehow a proto-Zionist because he favoured deportation of Jews to Palestine was a crude conjunction of historical fact with political polemic. The politics were that he was defending a Labour MP, Naz Shah, who suggested on Facebook that, if Jewish Israelis moved to the US, it would be problem solved for Palestinians. The problem to be solved, though first it must be acknowledged, is that increased virulence and exceptionalism of criticism of Israel is giving permission for a resurgence of anti-Semitism across Europe. This criticism, at its most aggressive, is more and more the prerogative of the left, having once been a mainstay of the right. Our society is again becoming a cold house for Jews. Jewish institutions, including the synagogue, the shop, or school, increasingly require a police presence to exist. In north inner-city Dublin, the local community rightly protested after a series of gangland killings that armed Garda checkpoints stigmatised the community and meant their daily lives felt like a warzone. For many European Jews, this is daily life, and seemingly a permanent reality. French Jews especially are emigrating to Israel in ever greater numbers. I dont think Adams is a racist, and I hope Livingstone is not an anti-Semite. What both unquestionably are is ruthless polemicists who routinely annexe any other argument or cause to their own, as needs must. Hence Adams casual appropriation of the N-word. Slavery, as he told Aine Lawlor on RTEs News at One on Monday, is part of the preferred trope to justify sectarian murder after the fact. In West Ulster, the slaves revolt of Ballymurphy N****** was felt among rural Protestants as ethnic cleansing. So it is all the more important that key words and terms are owned, contextualised, and detoxified. Slaves are victims, not perpetrators. Its not what happened that really matters, it is what you call it now that counts politically. And so it is with Israel. The association of the state of Israel with a Nazi-like ideology is a disproportionate stigmatisation which, if partially distinct from, fuels anti-Semitism, and is partly rooted in it. The exceptionalism and singularity applied to the state of Israel is becoming ever more extreme. Standards which European countries, including the European left, routinely apply to themselves for their own security are labelled as racial in Israel. There is racism in Israel, as there is in Ireland. Regrettably, there are peace walls there, as there are here. They inflict hardship and injustice. The justification, if there is one, is that, rightly or wrongly, they are perceived as matters of life and death. It is not the argument against specific Israeli policies that is wrong indeed some have a basis; it is the singularity and invective with which they are deployed which has darkened the context within which European Jews now live. Ironically, this strengthens the hand of those in Israel who would pursue the very policies that are most objectionable in the irony-free zone of the politically correct. It is not the facts or fictions which outsized political characters such as Livingstone or Adams enunciate that matter, it is their self-colonisation of new truths about themselves which is at stake. Anti-colonial in posture, they relentlessly build an empire of self. The dispossessed are emblems to be worn like the scarf or keffiyeh, decorations earned during lives lived in struggle. Ken Livingstone When anti-Semitism was still largely a function of the European right, Zionism was generally high in favour with the left. A proto- Israel was Left-led with a utopian vision of socialist solidarity. Of course, there is no utopia. Statehood there, like the reality of government here for those willing to undertake it, brings responsibility, not least to defend from attack. The end of mixed communities; the forced separation of divided communities; sealing the border with the North, were all tactics applied with very mixed results, the consequences of which continue. But statehood slowly made Israel a pariah. It slotted neatly into a post-colonial analysis after the 1967 war, when it was attached on all fronts. Marxism and nationalism combined, not only in Adams and Livingstone, but around the world to regenerate a form of anti-Semitism, that transferred from the individual Jew, to the Jewish state an ultimate form of responsibility for what is wrong in the world. This is the core and purpose of anti-Semitism. In succeeding centuries, its purpose is to identify the cause of what is wrong, kill or expel it, and preferably profit from its expropriation. The Jews of North Africa, expelled after the establishment of the state of Israel, mainly came from Spain or Portugal centuries before. They were identified by the Inquisition as being what was wrong with society. Many of them now in Israel, with other Jews from around the Middle East and Europe, look out from a geographically small state. They look back on decades of characterised by an intermittent, unsuccessful peace process and ever increasing securitisation of a political problem. Electorally, many have decided, they were right. In the context of a region in conflagration, there is too little appetite to do anything except hunker down behind ever high walls. It doesnt advance the situation, but from a perspective we refuse to listen to, it makes sense. People only come out from behind walls when they feel safe. The boycott of Israel is the ghettoisation of what we do not wish to hear a self-colonisation of new truths about ourselves, at variance from home truths we are so uncomfortable with. We know that a fortress Europe is neither fair nor sustainable. It offends principles we hold dear. So the scapegoat is more intensely criticised. Refusing to take any chances with our own security, even at the cost of our principles, we uniquely insist on placing Israel in a state of double jeopardy where grudgingly it is still conceded as legitimate, but should not take effective means to defend itself. Israel may be wrong in many of its policies, especially in colonising the West Bank, but we are hypocrites. On the lips of polemicists, for whom words are weapons, it creates at one remove, a space in Europe where an older anti-Semitism can regrow, inoculated as anti-Zionism. Criticism of Israel is legitimate and necessary. But when by dint of virulence and repetition, anaesthetised by casualness in conversation, conversation which in the continuum between Naz Shahs Facebook post and Ken Livingstones comments, it undermines Israels right to existence at all, it is hard to see the distinction one should always be careful to look for. Because through anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are not the same, they can be woven together. The 21-year-old woman was flown 4,500km from Nauru to the Australian city of Brisbane after setting herself on fire on Monday, the Nauru and Australia governments said. A 23-year-old man died in the same Royal Brisbane Hospital on Friday after setting himself alight days earlier in an apparent protest over Australias strict asylum seeker policies. His actions were a protest intended to coincide with a visit to the island by representatives of the UN refugee agency, Naurus government said. Both patients have received the utmost care, treatment and consideration both in Nauru and in Australia, Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton told reporters. Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said that in November the woman had suffered serious head injuries on Nauru and had been flown to Brisbane for treatment. She was among three refugees who were taken from a Brisbane immigration detention centre where she was recuperating on Wednesday last week and flown back to Nauru, Rintoul said. She was on 24-hour mental health watch because of a number of attempts at suicide inside the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation, Rintoul said. Australia refuses to accept asylumseekers who try to reach its shores by boat and pays Nauru and Papua New Guinea to hold them in immigration camps instead. The divisive policy has faced fresh criticism in the wake of the mans death and a court decision last week that dubbed Australias detention of asylumseekers on Papua New Guineas Manus Island as unconstitutional. Papua New Guineas prime minister Peter ONeill said he would close the Manus centre after the island nations supreme Court ruled that detaining asylumseekers and refugees there was a violation of their constitutional right to personal liberty. The decision has sent Australian officials scrambling to find a solution. If we win Indiana, its over, Trump told a cheering crowd in Terre Haute, Indiana. The blunt-spoken real estate mogul holds a double-digit polling lead over US senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who has been campaigning in the midwestern state almost non-stop since mid-April. Cruz has trumpeted Indiana, one of the last big states left in the fight to get onto the November 8 presidential ballot, as his golden moment to stop Trump and force a brokered nomination at the partys July convention. But it appeared to be shaping up as his Waterloo. Fresh off a sweep of five northeastern states last week, Trump knows a win in Indiana will put him within reach of the 1,237 delegates required to lock up the Republican nomination before the convention. Top Trump aide Corey Lewandowski told CNN on Tuesday the campaign expected to win more than the required number of delegates 1,300 to 1,400. Cruz vowed to compete to the end but a loss in Indiana would be particularly crushing for the senator, who has argued that his brand of religious conservatism is a natural draw for heartland Republicans. He won the endorsement of conservative Indiana governor Mike Pence. Cruz had hoped for smoother sailing in Indiana after he and John Kasich reached a stop-Trump deal in which Kasich would steer clear of the state while Cruz would do likewise in Oregon and New Mexico. But the waters are looking choppier for Cruz, with the senator losing considerable ground against Trump in opinion polls as voting neared. Cruz last week also announced his choice for a prospective vice president, the former presidential contender and Hewlett Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina, during an event in Indiana that some criticised as premature. Trump has drawn both passionate support and vitriolic condemnation with his stands on immigration and national security including a call to build a 1,000-mile wall along the Mexican border that he says Mexico would pay for and a bid to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country. Julie Blackwell Chase, a clerk treasurer in the town of Bedford in southern Indiana, said she voted early for Trump in part because she appreciated his willingness to break with conventional politics. We need new blood, she said. The outcome in Indiana may ride on the votes of evangelical Christians after Trump offered praise for planned parenthood family clinics and signalled support for gay and transgender rights views that rankled some Christian conservatives. The court sentenced Yosef Haim Ben David, aged 30, to life plus 20 years. The state prosecutor said the damage he caused Israel and the Palestinian teens family is irreparable. Ben David and two accomplices abducted 16-year-old Mohammed Abu Khdeir in his east Jerusalem neighbourhood, drove to a forest, and burned him to death. They said the abduction was revenge for the killing of three abducted Israeli teens by Palestinians earlier that summer. The killing was widely condemned in Israel, but fuelled violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police. On April 19, despite an eleventh hour insanity plea in December, the Jerusalem District Court convicted Ben David of the murder. Rejecting the plea, the court wrote that, at the time of the perpetrating of the crime, the accused was not psychotic, understood his actions well, was culpable for his actions, in control of them, had no disturbance in judging reality and had the ability to prevent commission of the crimes. In February, the court sentenced two minors who had already been convicted of the murder one to life and one to 21 years in prison. At the hearing, Mohammeds mother wore a pendant containing a picture of her son, and his father said the decision should have been made a long time ago. The boys father, Hussein Abu Khdeir, said in April: We knew that he wasnt mad. It was all a big lie to get off from the crime which he carried out. Even if they sentence him for life, this will never bring Mohammed back again. Our hearts are wounded from what happened. Meanwhile, the Israeli military demolished the home of a Palestinian attacker who killed two Israelis in front of their children last year. Ziad Amer, father of suspected killer Zeid, says dozens of Israeli vehicles raided the town of Nablus yesterday and demolished the familys apartment. He said his appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court against it was rejected. Israel says it carries out demolition to deter attacks by letting militants know their families will pay a price for their actions. The Palestinians consider it to be a form of collective punishment. Flower pots lined balconies along streets that have been tidied as part of a 70-day campaign for the first Workers Party congress in 36 years, which starts on Friday. Security has been stepped up ahead of the congress. The Daily NK, a website run by defectors with sources in North Korea, said that since mid-April, free movement in and out of the capital had been stopped and security personnel summoned from the provinces to step up domestic surveillance. At the congress, Kim is expected to declare isolated North Korea a nuclear weapons state and formally adopt his Byongjin policy to push simultaneously for economic development and nuclear capability. It follows Kims fathers Songun, or military first, policy and his grandfathers Juche, the Norths home-grown founding ideology that combines Marxism and extreme nationalism. Lets uphold Great Comrade Kim Jong Uns Songun revolutionary leadership with patriotism! one banner read. Isolated North Korea has conducted a series of weapons tests, including three failed launches of an intermediate-range missile, in the run-up to the Workers Party congress. One banner in Pyongyang extolled a February rocket launch that put a satellite in space. Overseas, however, the launch drew condemnation as a ballistic missile test in disguise. Kim has aggressively pursued nuclear weapons and could be looking to a successful fifth test this week as a crowning achievement, foreign analysts have said. South Korean Defence Minister Han Min-koo said Pyongyangs nuclear test may come before or around the time of the opening of the congress. North Koreas goal is to be internationally recognised as a nuclear weapons state, Han told a parliamentary hearing. We believe its nuclear capability is advancing. North Korea has invited foreign media to cover the congress, although journalists movements are closely managed and much of the country and its people remain off-limits to outsiders. Rebel fighters launched an assault in Syrias divided northern city of Aleppo yesterday and fired rockets on a hospital, in the latest violence to hit civilians as diplomats struggled to restore an unravelling ceasefire and resurrect peace talks. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based group that monitors the conflict, said rebel rockets had killed 19 people in government-held territory, including an unspecified number at the al-Dabit hospital. It described a rebel offensive that led to casualties on both sides. Rebels had hit a government-gun position with a guided missile. The Syrian state-run Ikhbariya news channel said three women were killed at the hospital and 17 people wounded. A Damascus Information Ministry statement called it a crime against humanity. The rebel attack followed government air strikes on rebel areas, including one that hit a hospital last week, which medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said killed 55 civilians. Aleppo has been the scene of the worst surge in fighting in recent days, wrecking the first major ceasefire of the five-year-old civil war, sponsored by the US and Russia, which had held since February. In an effort to revive the ceasefire, temporary local truces have been put in place in two parts of Syria, but those have not been extended to Aleppo, Syrias largest city before the war and its biggest strategic prize now. UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura, who met US Secretary of State John Kerry in Geneva on Monday and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday, said he hoped the truce could be extended to Aleppo swiftly. We all hope that in a few hours we can relaunch the cessation of hostilities. If we can do this, we will be back on the right track, de Mistura said. If the truce were extended to Aleppo, peace talks could resume, he said. Lavrov said: The process of agreeing a ceasefire in Aleppo is being finished right now between Russian and American military personnel. He said he hoped it could be announced in the near future, maybe even in the coming hours. The Aleppo fighting threatens to wreck the first peace talks involving the warring parties, which are due to resume at an unspecified date after breaking up in April when the opposition delegation walked out. Washington and Moscow, co-sponsors of the ceasefire and peace talks, have announced a new joint centre in Geneva to monitor the ceasefire, to be staffed around the clock by US and Russian officers. The Observatory has reported 279 civilians killed on both sides in Aleppo since April 22, by intense government air strikes and rebel shelling, with 155 killed in opposition-held areas and 124 in government-held districts. Wilmore concluded his remarks noting progress on race and how much it meant to him that a black man was president. He concluded: Yo Barry, you did it, my n****. You did it. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he talked with Mr Obama, and he appreciated the spirit of racial progress Wilmore was trying to convey. Burma Broadcasters Terminology in Arakan Conflict Coverage Irks Military Burmas military, known as the Tatmadaw, condemns a Burmese broadcaster for calling an ethnic armed organization the Rakhine Tatmadaw, in reference to the Arakan Army. RANGOON Burmas military, officially known as the Tatmadaw, strongly condemned a Burmese broadcaster for calling an ethnic armed organization the Rakhine Tatmadaw and referring to Tatmadaw troops as government forces, according to a military statement released Tuesday night. MRTV-4, a private broadcaster affiliated with Burmas Ministry of Information, aired a story on Friday in which it reported that 1,100 locals in Arakan State, also known as Rakhine State, were recently displaced by fighting between the Rakhine Tatmadawin reference to the Arakan Armyand government forces. The military took exception to the word Tatmadaw being used to describe any group that is not the state armed forces, officially translated as the Defense Services in English. Further stoking ire was the replacement of the word Tatmadaw with government forces, a term which the military apparently felt had diminished its authority. In every country in the world, there is only one armed forces to safeguard the country, read a statement from the Tatmadaw True News Information Team. And Section 337 of the 2008 Constitution states that the Tatmadaw is the main armed force assembled for the defense of the Union. This misuse of the word Tatmadaw defames the image and dignity of the Tatmadaw, and implies that MRTV-4 supports the Rakhine insurgent group, continued the Tatmadaw statement. MRTV-4 failed to follow media ethics and it was an unfair broadcast. On behalf of the Defense Services [Army, Navy and Air], we strongly condemn and call upon officials to take necessary action. The militarys indignationfumes was the verb chosen by English-language state media to describe the Tatmadaws moodwas not ineffectual. Shortly after the Tatmadaw statement was issued, MRTV-4 posted an apology on its official Facebook account. MRTV-4 unintentionally misused the term [Rakhine] Tatmadaw in reference to the AA insurgent group, according to the apology. The editorial team failed to properly check the story and apologizes to the Defense Services for upsetting them, it continued. With two children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild, 73-year-old Veronica Longwith has made the decision to take to the open road as she pursues a commercial truck driving career at Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Currently from Summerville, Ga., Ms. Longwith is originally from a military family and doesnt really claim a hometown. However, the soon-to-be long-haul trucker was born in Brooklyn, NY on March 20, 1943. Her parents, Edna Mae and Jack London Moore, are long-deceased, as is her only brother, Gerard. Hes the reason I left the trucking world the first time, said Ms. Longwith. Thats right, the silver-haired trucker has already worked on the open road from 1987-92 with Reeves Transportation in Calhoun, Ga. and DonCo Trucking out of Oklahoma City, Ok. My first time around, I found a local company out of Chattanooga that offered training for truck drivers. With me raising a young daughter at the time, I found it easiest to take their weekend classes all day Saturday and Sunday for three months. On the last day of class, Ms. Longwith got her license and was ready to begin orientation with Reeves. After finishing all of my training in Chattanooga, my first job with Reeves had me hauling carpet and flooring out of Dalton, Ga. to terminals all across the United States, said Ms. Longwith. I did that job for about five years and loved every minute of it. But, it was family that saw Ms. Longwith take her hiatus from a career she enjoyed and concentrate her efforts on caring for her only brother. Gerard got very sick and I needed to stay closer to home and take care of him when he really needed some help, said Ms. Longwith. It was a phone call out of the blue back in 1992. He told me about how bad his health had become and that the problems he was now facing would probably be fatal. I needed to be home. After his passing, Ms. Longwith owned and operated a couple of businesses. Then, she made the decision to return to commercial truck driving 24 years after her first stint as a big rig driver. Married once before, the now single senior had nothing but time and the open road ahead of her. So, this past winter, she enrolled into GNTCs ten-week Commercial Truck Driving program in Walker County, Ga. When asked what her family thought of this decision to be a commercial truck driver one more time, it was her son who was first to find out. I didnt tell anyone I was doing it, said Ms. Longwith as she smiled. He happened to see me on the highway one morning and saw me pull into the main entrance for GNTC. Thats when I realized that Id need to tell him. He wasnt happy about my decision. But, Im really happy about it. Her son, Patrick Clark, 52, works for Northwest Georgia Power out of Summerville, Ga. Also, her daughter, Jennifer Clark, is a 44-year-old cosmetologist from Knoxville. Ms. Longwith first broke into the industry at the age of 44-years-young. The father of a girlfriend of mine first told me about the trucking industry back in the mid-1980s and it sounded very exciting, said Ms. Longwith. And now, nearly 30 years later, Im coming back to trucking. With many of the students in GNTCs Commercial Truck Driving industry being nearly 50 years younger than Ms. Longwith, she has had a lot of wisdom for the newcomers. Ive tried to tell them throughout the program that you really have to have a passion for this or you wont last long in it at all, said Ms. Longwith. Like a lot of advice, Im not sure if the younger people listen. I know I didnt at that age. But, theyve been good classmates and weve learned a lot from each other. Ms. Longwith has already been pre-hired with Dart Transit Company. Provided she passes her testing, she would take part in the companys next orientation program beginning May 9. From there, she would go to Indiana for on-the-road training with the company as soon as the very next week. For more information on Commercial Truck Driving at Georgia Northwestern, contact them at 706-764-3698. Or, you can contact the main line at GNTC at 866-983-4682 (GNTC). Burma Burmas Media Landscape Through the Years In the wake of World Press Freedom Day, celebrated on Tuesday, The Irrawaddy revisits a history of Burmese media stretching back to the 1800s. Recent years have seen dramatic changes to Burmas media landscape, with the previous quasi-civilian government taking steps to unshackle a press corps long muzzled by successive military regimes dating back to 1962. In the wake of World Press Freedom Day, which was celebrated on Tuesday, The Irrawaddy revisits a media history stretching back to the 1800s. 2011 2015 2015 Much of the years news coverage is devoted to the Nov. 8 general election, Burmas first poll in more than half a century to take place in a relatively free media environment. The Myanmar Times, for 15 years a weekly, goes daily in March, taking up the mantle of Burmas only English-language daily newspaper, a title previously held by the now defunct Myanma Freedom Daily. 2014 The year begins inauspiciously for Burmas media with the detention of four journalists and the CEO if the Unity journal in connection with a January report alleging the existence of a government chemical weapons factory. Charged and convicted under the State Secrets Act, the men were sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was later reduced to seven. The men were released as part of a broader amnesty by the new government last month. March sees passage of two new media laws that are received with mixed reactions, while the press corps is rocked to its core in October by news that the freelance journalist Par Gyi was killed while in military custody. No one was ever convicted of a crime in the case. 2013 On April 1, four Burmese-language private dailies begin publishing after the government granted licenses to 16 private dailies. In August, Myanma Freedom Daily emerges as the first English-language daily in almost five decades. The paper folds less than a year later. According to government figures, the Information Ministry has so far issued 35 licenses for private and state-run dailies, and 22 are in publication. It has granted licenses for 32 news agencies, of which 23 are in operation. And 260 out of 437 licensed journals are being published. 2012 President Thein Seins government allows international news agencies, which were technically banned under the military regime, to conduct reporting in Burma. Exile media like The Irrawaddy are also allowed to return. Founded by Aung Zaw in 1993, The Irrawaddy distributed its magazine for the first time in Burma in December 2012, and also shifted its online operations to Rangoon while maintaining a small office in Thailands Chiang Mai. The Irrawaddy published its first Burmese-language weekly in January 2014, and switched to an all-digital format early in 2016. The Burma Press Council (Interim) is formed with 29 members on Oct. 17. As part of its media reforms, the government announces in December 2012 that it will allow the uncensored publication of private daily newspapers, dissolving its notorious Press Scrutiny and Registration Division under the Information Ministry in a follow-up move after it did away with decades-long draconian pre-publication censorship in August 2012. 2011 With the Thein Sein government coming to power, local publications in Burma are allowed to feature articles written byand interviews withpro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi for the first time. 1988 2010 * In 1988 Burma enjoyed press freedom for the short time of one month due to pro-democracy uprisings. In 1997 Burma was labeled as the regions number one adversary of the press. Today, it has about 100 publications, all censored by Press Scrutiny Boards. 2007 Kenji Nagai, a Japanese photojournalist seasoned in conflict reporting, is shot dead by a Burma Army soldier during the 2007 anti-government protests in Rangoon. The 50-year-old was the only foreign national killed in the protests. The military regime of the time, which ruled as the State Peace and Development Council, ultimately quashed the demonstrations and continued to hold a tight grip on the media until Thein Seins government came to power in 2011. April 28, 2004An international pro-democracy group, Freedom House, ranks Burma as one of the top five Worst of the Worst countries for press freedom in the world. February 2000The English-weekly Myanmar Times & Business Review is launched by an Australian businessman and military officials. Sonny Swe, the son of Brig-Gen Thein Swe who is a high ranking Military Intelligence officer, is the deputy CEO of the journal. Later, it starts to publish a Burmese-language version. 1997US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, describes Burma and Indonesia as the regions two foremost enemies of the press. Yet, since the fall of Suharto in the same year, Indonesias mass media blossoms, leaving Burma as the regions number one adversary of the press. Mid-1990sThe junta launches the Kyemon that was also nationalized in 1964. April 1993The regime changes the name of the Loktha Pyithu Nezin (the Working Peoples Daily) to Myanma Alin (the New Light of Myanmar) that was banned in 1969. 1989After taking power again, the military amends the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act to heavily increase the fine payable by offenders. September 1988Immediately after the military ceases power on September 18, all newspapers are banned except for the Loktha Pyithu Nezin and its English version, the Working Peopls Daily. Strict censorship is imposed and many journalists are arrested. At first, foreign journalists are allowed into the country but later they are banned and only a few selected foreign journalists are given press visas. August September 1988After 26 years of silence, about 40 independent newspapers and journals, including the Light of Dawn, the Liberation Daily, Scoop, the New Victory and Newsletter, appear in Rangoon for about a month during the period of nationwide pro-democracy uprisings. The publications run political commentaries, biting satires and humorous cartoons of the rulers. Even the state-run newspapers like the Guardian and the Working Peoples Daily publish outspoken political articles. 1958 1970s * About 30 newspapers emerge. The year 1964 is said to be Burmas last year of press freedom. At this time, dictator Ne Wins Revolutionary Council shuts down some newspapers and nationalizes most newspapers. 1974The Socialist partys new constitution grants freedom of expression. However, all forms of public expression are subject to Press Scrutiny Boards to ensure that these freedoms are only expressed within the accepted limits of the Burmese Way to Socialism. 1969The right-wing Hanthawaddy and the Myanma Alin (the New Light of Burma) are nationalized. Eventually, only six newspapers are left: the Loktha Pyithu Nezin, the Botataung, the Kyemon and the Hanthawaddy, the Guardian and the Working Peoples Daily. The News Agency Burma controls the flow of news in and out of the country. All foreign correspondents, except those working for the Soviet Tass and Chinas Xinhua, are expelled. Visits by foreign journalists are officially banned. Locally based foreign news agencies are forced to appoint Burmese citizens as correspondents that must be approved by the authorities. In the late 1990s, the British Broadcasting Company and the Voice of America pull out after being unable to appoint their own correspondents. 1966The government announces that private newspapers are to be banned altogether.All Chinese and Indian language newspapers are stopped as printing is required to be done in Burmese or English language only. 1964Said to be the last year Burma enjoyed a free press, the government nationalizes all private newspapers, the liberal Kyemon (theMirror), Botataung (A Thousand Officers) and the Guardian. The left-wing Vanguard offers itself for nationalization. Smaller newspapers are shut down and several editors and journalists are arrested. October 1963The government launches the Loktha Pyithu Nezin (the Working Peoples Daily) to compete with exiting private newspapers. In January 1964, the English version of the Working Peoples Daily appears. July 1963The government establishes the News Agency Burma. 1963The military government closes down the Nation, an outspoken defender of press freedom, arresting its editor Law Yone three months later. 1962The Burma Press Council, or BPC, is founded to promote and preserve freedom of the press through a voluntary observance of a code of press ethics. Writers and journalists from 52 newspapers, journals and magazines signed the BPC Charter. Later that year, the Dictator Ne Wins Revolutionary Council revokes all existing press laws and enactes a single law, the Printers and Publishers Registration Act. The act establishes Press Scrutiny Boards to scrutinize all material prior to publication, or in some cases after publication. 1946 1957 * About 70 newspapers come out during this period. April 16, 1957The Mirror Daily, the Reporter Daily and the Pyidawsoe News Daily appear on Burmese New Year day. August 21, 1949The parliamentary government introduces a Bill in Parliament to limit press criticism, saying: Any person, making criticism, defamatory allegations or charges concerning public servants, including ministers, and officials, would be recognized as committing a criminal offense. 1948Burma gains independence. There are 39 newspapers published in various languages throughout the country. Seven of the papers are printed in English, 11 in foreign languages, five in Chinese and six in Gujarati, Urdu, Tamil, Telgu and Hindi. 1947Burmas first constitution guarantees citizens the right to freely express their opinions and convictions. This gives the country a reputation for having one of the freest presses in Asia. 1935 1945 * More than 60 newspapers emerge across the country, including Japanese-language and ethnic newspapers. 1943 1945Kanbawza newspaper, the Kachin-language Shi Laika Ningnan, the Rangoon Liberator, the Shwe Man Aung Si, Tai-4, the British government published New Age, the Tavoyan, the Lanhnyun Daily, the Freedom, the Morning Star, Burma Economic Daily, the Peoples Voice and the Guide Daily are all in circulation. Kachins Shi Laika Ningnan is printed in India and airdropped into the Kachin-inhabited area of northern Burma. September 1942Domei News Service publishes a Japanese daily newspaper. 1942The Tavoy Daily appears in Tavoy. The New Light of Burma and the Sun emerge again. Bamakhit and Mandalay Thuria appear. 1941A Christian newspaper, the Sower and the Daily Mirror appear in Rangoon. 1940The Mon Bulletin, the Student, World Telegrams Daily and Saturday News are published in Rangoon and Mandalay. 1939The Advance Daily, the Burmese News Mandalay, the Shwe Pyi Daw (Burma News), Thakin Thadinsa, the Local Bodies, Lu-Nge-Let-Yone Daily and the Nationally Daily are published in Rangoon and Mandalay. 1938The Progress, the Aazaanee, Burmas Voice, the Deedok Daily and the Leader emerge in Rangoon and Mandalay. The editor of Deedok, Ba Cho, is assassinated together with national leader Aung San on July 19, 1947. 1937Doat-Let-Yone (the Arm), claiming to be the only Arakan-language paper, is published in ArakanState. Asariya and the 10, 000, 000 (the Ten Million) are set up in Rangoon. 1935The Rakhine-Pyi-Thadinsa, an Arakan newspaper, is published in Sittwe for four years. Ye newspaper, the Myanmar Uzun, the Burma Daily Mail and the Burmese Improvement come out in Rangoon and Mandalay. 1924 1934 * About 40 new newspapers emerge, tripling the number of papers since the press laws of 1908 and 1910 are repelled and amended. 1934The Mawriya Daily appears. 1933Myanma Myochit, Daung-Settkya, the Laborer, the Success, Daung, the New Mandalay Sun Daily and the Evening Report appear. 1932Tharrawaddy, Anawyahtar, the Myanma Zeyyar, the Ma-Haw-Tha-Dha and the Rangoon Optic newspapers emerge. 1931Ratanathiha and Lawkasara Daily News come out in Sibaw, ShanState and Rangoon. 1929Kesara, the Burma Advertiser, the Burman and the Mandalay Daily Supplement to the Sun are set up in Rangoon, Mandalay and Moulmein. 1928The National Observer and the Shwenannyun Gazette are published in Rangoon and Mandalay. 1927The Bandoola, the Traders Spectacles, the pro-British Headmans Gazette, Essence of Buddhism and another Dhamma newspaper emerge in Rangoon. 1926The Myanma-Myo-Nwe, Aung Myanma, Mawrawadi News, the Shwe Pyi, the Ledi Religious Instructor are published in Rangoon. 1925The Independent Weekly, the Truth, the Market Report, the Victor (Zeya), the Trades Exchange and the Silver Moon come out in Rangoon and Mandalay. 1924The Burmese-language Yarmanya and the Myochit newspapers appear in Moulmein and Rangoon. 1913 1923 * One of the longest-running newspapers, still being published by the junta today, Myanma Alin (the New Light of Burma), appears in 1914. Associated Press of India, known as API, opens an office in Rangoon and a Muslim newspaper also emerges. 1923According to an official statement, there are 31 newspapers being published in Rangoon, Mandalay, Moulmein, Sittwe, Bassein and Tharawaddy. 1923The Associated Press of India, known as API, opens an office in Rangoon. 1923The Muslim Herald, the Comet, the Burmese Review and the Myanmahlut News are established. Fair Play (in Karen and English), the Rangoon Daily News and the Irrawaddy Times (in Burmese and English) are already being published. The Wunthanu (the Patriot) is also published in Rangoon with a circulation of around 5,000. 1922The Karen Times and the New Leader appear in Rangoon and Mandalay. The following year, the New Leader changes its name to Shae-saung. In October, the Servant of Burma emerges in Rangoon. The Myanma Myo Taw Saunt and Aungzeya newspapers also begin to be published. March 1922The Press Law Repeal and Amendment Act is enacted. The act allows the authorities to confiscate any newspaper that runs news and opinion pieces considered as instigating revolt against the government. 1921Burmas Progress is published by the British government but stops two years later. 1921The Home Rule is published in Mandalay. 1920The New Burma is set up in Rangoon and continues to be published until 1942. May 1919Myanma Alin Thadinsa Athit (a second New Light of Burma) is published in Rangoon. 1918The Knowledge (Pyinnya Alin) and the Burma Observer are published in Rangoon. The paper is halted in 1924 and again in 1929. 1917The Burma Guardian and the Rangoon Mail are published in Rangoon. The Tharrawaddy Record is set up in a town near Tharrawaddy, central Burma, with a female editor. 1914Thuria and Myanma Alin publish a newsletter called War Telegrams about World War I. Thurias circulation reaches about 10,000. August 1914Myanma Alin (the New Light of Burma), an outspoken newspaper, appears no later than May 1919. It is published three times a week in Burmese. In December 1924, it becomes a daily newspaper until its publication ceases in 1929. 1901 1912 * Reuters News Agency opens in Rangoon. Other outspoken newspapers appear, such as the Thuria (the Sun). By 1904, there are about 15 newspapers running with circulations of up to 1,500. New newspapers continue to be established. July 4, 1911One of the most outspoken Burmese-language newspapers, Thuriya (the Sun), emerges three times a week. In March 1915, it becomes a daily newspaper and continues to be published until October 14, 1954. In the same year, the Salween Times appears in English. Newspapers Running in 1910s: The Rangoon Gazette, the Rangoon Times, the Friend of Burma, the Rangoon Advertiser, Publicity, the Maha-Bodhi News, the Burma Herald, the Burma Printer News are all published in Rangoon. The Upper Burma Gazette, the Mandalay Herald, the Star of Burma, the Mandalay Times, Moulmein Advertiser, Moulmein Gazette and the Burma Times are all published in Mandalay. 1909The Dawkale, published in the Karen-language of Sagaw, is published once a week by Karen Magazine Press in Bassein, Irrawaddy Division. 1908The Burma Commercial Advertiser is published twice a week in Rangoon. November 1907The Burma Educational Journal is established. May 18, 1907The Burma Echo appears once a week in Rangoon. April 1907The Burma Critic begins publication in Mandalay. In the same year, a religious newspaper with the name of Dhamma Day-Tha-Nar Thadinsa appears. August 2, 1904The Burma Printer News emerges three times a week in Rangoon, but is stopped three years later. July 22, 1903The Myanmahitakari Fortnightly Journal is established. 1903A Reuters News Agency office opens in Rangoon. March 3, 1901The religious Maha-Bodhi News appears once a week in Rangoon and continues to be published up until 1926. 1880 1900 * King Thibaw, the last Burmese monarch, is removed and Upper Burma is annexed by the British. One of the most outspoken newspapers,Hanthawaddy Thadinsa, is established along with some other new newspapers. 1900The pro-British Burmese-language Star of Burma is published in Mandalay. It continues to be published up until 1948. 1899The Times of Burma and the Upper Burma Gazette are established in Rangoon and Mandalay. February 1895The Mawlamyaing Myo (MoulmeinTown) is published in Moulmein. 1894The English-language newspapers, the De Vaux Press Advertiser, the British Burma Advertiser, the Rangoon Commercial Advertiser and the Burma Chronicle News are all being published in Rangoon. De Vaux Press Advertisers circulation was said to be around 1,000 a day. The Karen National News, the Bassein Weekly News and the Advertiser are also published weekly in Bassein, Irrawaddy Division. The Karen National News written in the Karen-language of Sagu (Sgaw) reaches circulation of about 500. 1892The English-language papers, the Daily Advertiser, the Arakan Echo and the Arakan Advocate are established in Sittwe. Later, the Daily Advertiser and the Arakan Echo combine to form the Arakan Times. 1889The Hanthawaddy Thadinsa (the Hanthawaddy Weekly Review) appears twice a week in Rangoon. It is regarded as one of the most outspoken newspapers of its time. The newspaper covers foreign news from Reuters news agency through an agent. In 1904, its circulation reaches about 1,000. March 3, 1887The Mandalay Herald emerges three times a week in Mandalay. It becomes a daily in 1899 up until 1902, when the paper stopped being published. 1886The Mandalay Times newspaper appears twice a week in Mandalay. 1884The English-language weekly, the Maulmain Almanac, is published in Moulmein. The Burmese-language Friend of Burma is also set up in Rangoon and eventually becomes a daily newspaper before its publication stopped in 1929. 1869 1879 * Freedom of the press is guaranteed by King Mindon, the second last Burmese monarch, in an Act of 17 articles that is regarded as Southeast Asias first indigenous press-freedom law. The Kingdom publishes an official newspaper. March 11, 1878The British government enacts a law called the Vernacular Press Act to ban newspapers from reporting and picturing defamation of the government. 1878The Burma Herald is set up by the King of Mandalay to counter the pro-British views of Rangoon newspapers. Two other English newspapers, the Rangoon Daily Mail and the Daily Review, are established and halted six months later. 1876The Burmese-language Tenasserim Thadinsa (The Tenasserim News ) appears in Moulmein. March 20, 1875Yadanabon Nay-Pyi-Daw (with the heading of Mandalay Gazette in English on the masthead) is published weekly by King Mindon, possibly as early as 1874. Publication ceases in 1885 when Upper Burma is annexed by the British. 1875Yadanabon Thadinsa (British Burma News) appears in Rangoon. August 15, 1873King Mindon (1853 1878) bestowes immunity on the local press corps with the introduction of an act consisting of 17 articles that ensure freedom of the press. November 1874The Burmese-language Friend of Maulmain newspaper appears in Moulmein. January 11, 1873Law-Ki-Thu-Ta (the Worldly Knowledge) newspaper emerges in Rangoon. May 8, 1871The Burmese-language paper, the Burmah Gazette, appears in Rangoon. This weekly newspaper alters its name to the Burma News in May 1872. It ceases publication in 1916. 1869Myanmar Thandawsint Thadinsa (the Burmah Herald) is published once a week by Myanmar Thandawsint Press, possibly as early as 1871. It is the first Burmese-language newspaper in Rangoon. In 1884, it becomes a daily with a circulation of around 500. It ceases publication in 1912. 1858 1868 * At least three new newspapers emerge. There are six newspapers being published during this period. 1862The Dhamma Thadinsa (the Religious Herald), first published by the Baptist mission in 1843, changes its name to the Burman Messenger. The Times Commercial Advertiser, the Daily Advertiser, Pole Star, British Burma Gazette, the Mercantile Gazette and the Arakan News are still published during this period according to newspaper research conducted in 1868. 1861The Rangoon Gazette is established as a rival of the Rangoon Times. It is published twice a week and later daily. It ceases publication in 1942. June 2, 1858The English-language Rangoon Times is published, possibly as early as 1854. The newspaper began as a twice-weekly publication, however, it increased to three times a week by 1861 and later became a daily. It ceased publication in 1942, when the British left Rangoon. 1847 1857 * About four English-language newspapers emerge. One is published by ethnic Arakan in the capital of Sittwe, Arakan state. The British legislation council enacts a law, known as the law to shut mouth banning the publication of news without prior approval. June 13, 1857Lord Canning, the Governor General of India from 1856-1862, introduces a law banning the publication of any news without prior approval in an attempt to regulate the press. 1853The twice-weekly English-language Akyab (Sittwe) Commercial Advertiser is published in Sittwe, by Arakan Weekly News Press. The following year, the paper changes its name to the Arakan News. Circulation reached about 150. January 5, 1853The Rangoon Chronicle newspaper is published twice a week. Later, it changes its name to the Pegu Gazette. It ceased publication in May 1958. 1849A weekly publication, the English-language Friend of Burmah newspaper, starts in Moulmein. July 1, 1848The English-language paper, the Maulmain Advertiser, is published in Moulmein. It may have first appeared as early as 1846. The paper, published three times a week by W. Thomas & Co, altered its name to the Maulmain Times in 1850, but the following year it resumed its previous name. 1836 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern Burma. The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period. 1846The Maulmain Free Press newspaper is published by an English merchant in Moulmein. January 1843The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian Dhamma Thadinsa (the Religious Herald), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Anglo-Burmese War in 1853. In 1862 the paper resumed publication under a different name, the Burman Messenger. September 1842Tavoys Hsa-tu-gaw (the Morning Star), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of Sgaw, is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. March 3, 1836The first English-language newspaper, The Maulmain Chronicle, appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. References: Index of Burma Newspapers, Volumes 1 and 2, by Htin Gyi A Journalist, A General and An Army in Burma, (1995), by U Thaung Inked Over, Ripped Out, by Anna J. Allott Burma, Laos, and Cambodia, Status of Media in, by Bertil Lintner His Majestys Newspaper, by Htin Gyi Some Early Newspapers in Myanmar, by Hla Thein Research by Kyaw Zwa Moe. Additional Updates: Thet Ko Ko & Wei Yan Aung. Burma Lashio Residents Hope Slashings Will Stop After Drug Bust A major drug bust in Lashio, Shan State, results in 46 arrests, bringing hope to citizens recently terrorized by assailants armed with machetes and swords. RANGOON Counter-narcotics police in Lashio, Shan State, raided a drug trafficking camp early Wednesday morning, arresting 46 alleged drug traffickers and seizing methamphetamine pills, hypodermic needles, machetes and swords, according to Aung Myat Moe, a deputy colonel of the Shan State Police. The camp was located near Ma Nar village, eight miles outside of Lashio town. The state police officer said authorities were still cataloguing the confiscations and that an investigation had been launched. He declined to provide additional details about the arrests. Police forces burned down the camps 11 tents after arresting the people who had been allegedly using it as a base to trade drugs. They also seized more than 30 soap containers of opium, 80 bottles of cocaine and nearly 3,000 methamphetamine pills. The police have not yet calculated the total value of the seizure. We believe that some of the culprits also committed machete attacks, the state police colonel said. Ko Thet, a Lashio resident, said he assumed those apprehended had been responsible for several savage attacks recently, in which roadside assailants slashed bags from the backs of motorcyclists before disappearing into the jungle. Residents are very happy, Ko Thet said. Recently people have been frightened to walk alone at night. In April, at least 20 locals were wounded in machete and sword attacks in Lashio Township, said Sai Myint Maung, a National League for Democracy (NLD) member who unsuccessfully contested a regional legislature seat in the township in last Novembers election. Burma No Quick Return for Border Refugees Despite High Hopes for NLD Era Repatriation of refugees along the Thai-Burma border was discussed recently during a meeting of stakeholders, but there remains no firm timetable on a large-scale return. RANGOON The repatriation of some 120,000 refugees along the Thai-Burma border was discussed during a meeting of stakeholders last week, but an official from the United Nations refugee agency insists there remains no firm timetable on a large-scale return of the displaced despite talks on the matter between Burmas new government and its Thai counterpart. The main focus of the meeting was on refugee registration and resettlement [to third-party countries], which is winding down after 11 years. The subject of voluntary return was not on the agenda but was prompted by a question, said Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok. Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) spokesperson Naw Blooming Night Zar confirmed that the April 27 meeting, which included officials from both governments, NGOs and representatives of the UNHCR and from refugee camps, did not focus on repatriation of those living in nine camps on the border. We concentrated on how to handle those who are not yet registered with the United Nations and the Thai government, she told The Irrawaddy. We want to ensure that the Thai policy on refugee repatriation has not changed. There is no pressure on the refugees to return home. They will be required to return home only when there is genuine peace. She added that the Thai government acknowledged that it was not the right time for them to return to Burma, despite an abatement of conflict in eastern Burma. Even internally displaced people [IDPs] in Karen State cant go home, so it will be difficult for those living in Thailand to return, she said. At the meeting, Thai official and Tak province Deputy Governor Suttha Saivanid said the Thai government had been in contact with Burmas newly elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government to arrange for repatriation, according to Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). DVB reported that Suttha said Thai officials expected repatriation of the refugees would take place within two to three years time. While the new NLD government has emphasized Burmas peace process and national reconciliation as core priorities, prospects for a lasting peace will to a large degree be determined by the Burma Army, which remains outside of civilian control. Karen State, where most of the border refugees fled from, has seen relatively little conflict in recent years, but elsewhere in Burma renewed fighting has cast doubt on the militarys stated commitment to peace. Tan said the UNHCR continues to talk with the governments of Thailand and Burma about options for the eventual, voluntary return of refugees. Our position remains unchanged: Any refugee return must be voluntary. It must be based on an individual, informed decision, and must take place in safety and dignity, said Tan. She said the UNHCR would only facilitate the voluntary return of refugees who approach the agency for support. We are not proactively promoting or encouraging returns, but will try our best to support those who have decided that they wish to return shortly. We are exploring how best to facilitate their return, said Tan. Details of that support are still being discussed on both sides of the border between governments, the United Nations, NGOs, ethnic groups and community-based organizations, she added. The KRC spokeswoman said NGOs had already begun preparing for repatriation back in 2012. The return wont happen overnight, said Naw Blooming Night Zar. We provided vocational training and skills for them to apply when they return home, spent three years preparing them in order to smooth the process and trained them to stand on their own feet, she added. She emphasized that before repatriation occurs, there should a stable nationwide ceasefire agreement, a guarantee for safety, household support and proper housing. She added that success would also depend on contributions from the West, but that a sluggish global economy and the varying interests of foreign donors had contributed to a decline of humanitarian support for the refugees. It depends on the interests of the donors. Some believe that Burma is peaceful, so they have [moved their focus] inside the country. But there are others who will continue supporting the refugees until they can return home, she said. Burma Religion Minister Raises Concerns Over Pagoda-Crazed Monk Burmas religious affairs minister worries that one monks recent spree of pagoda-building on other faiths lands is fueling religious tensions in Karen State. MANDALAY Unresolved religious tensions in Karen State could affect national peace, stability and reconciliation, according to Religious Affairs and Culture Minister Aung Ko, who was referring to one monks recent spree of pagoda-building on other faiths lands. U Thuzana, a Buddhist monk and spiritual leader to an ethnic Karen armed group, and his followers recently built pagodas in Christian compounds and near a mosque in Karen State, prompting the ministers comments at an event on Wednesday in Mandalay, where he met with members of an interfaith group based in the city. Since there are armed groups involved, solving these urgent problems could affect the peace and stability of the region, as well as the ongoing national reconciliation and peace process, he said, referring to members of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA), some of whom helped build the pagodas. He added that the matter is currently being handled by the regional Mahana, an association of appointed Karen State Buddhist monks that oversees and regulates local Buddhist clergy; however, resolution in at least one case may not come quickly due to a dispute over which of the groups, Christians or Buddhists, are the rightful claimants to the land. We need to be patient, wait for an appropriate time, and work step by step starting from within, Aung Ko said. After the Mahana makes their decision, the state government will step in. Despite protests from the Christian community, the monk continued his mission last month, believing that rebuilding on the sites of demolished pagodas would bring good Karma. Since he imposed on church compounds in Hlaingbwe and Hpa-an townships, and near a mosque in Mya Pyi village, hundreds of people have taken to social media to criticize and condemned the monks actions. Meanwhile, U Thuzana has plans to build additional structures in a church compound in Kondawgyi village, where monks chanted on Tuesday to bless the area marked for construction. The monk first built on the church property last month, despite objections from religious authorities. Tensions increased again when he recently began laying the foundation for Buddhist ordination and assembly halls nearby. Karen State Religious Affairs Minister Min Tin Win told The Irrawaddy that officials from his ministry and religious groups would visit Kondawgyi village on Wednesday night to see where U Thuzana intends to build on the Christian property and decide what to do afterwards. A Buddhist ordination hall should be built on Buddhist land, he said. But, this land belongs to Christians. Lawi Weng reported from Rangoon. The community is invited to a celebrate culture at Eastbrook Middle Schools 2nd Annual Latino Festival. The festival, scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, will include games and activities for all ages including: traditional, contemporary, Mariachi, and Andina music as well as the Eastbrook Band; folklore dance groups; $2 picture booth with funds going to Parent Resource Center; booths of community organizations and businesses; and guest speakers including Mr. Jerry Gonzalez, director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO). GALEO will have a voter registration booth. If you plan on registering, bring any one of these acceptable forms of identification: - Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID - A Georgia drivers icense, even if expired - Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority or other entity of this state - Valid U.S. passport ID - Valid U.S. military photo ID - Valid tribal photo ID Eastbrook Middle students will also attend to play music, give speeches, and display their artwork. Lunch will be available along with pin~atas and activities for children. Those who would like to volunteer to help during the festival should contact Ana Quintana at ana_quintana@whitfield.k12.ga.us or Kayla Almazan at kayla.almazan@whitfield.k12.ga.us. Both are available by phone at 706-278-6135. DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is a common technology for bringing high-bandwidth (broadband) information to homes and small businesses over standard (copper) telephone lines. DSL comes in many different flavours, such asand. The most common forms of DSL in the UK, ADSL (Asymmetric DSL) and ADSL2+, splits a single telephone line into separate voice and data channels, allowing you to make a phone call while surfing the Internet at the same time. ADSL offers speeds of up to 8Mbps (Megabits per second) downstream and 448Kbps upstream (832Kbps on business lines). The technology is cheap, fast and easy to install (doesn't require an engineer) and reasonably reliable, although performance can suffer due to ISP congestion, distance from the local exchange (shorter lines are faster but anything over 6.5km is usually slow), poor home wiring and interference from other electrical devices. Each connection is fixed to a specific telephone line. The latest ADSL2+ (ITU G.992.5) technology is capable of pushing download speeds at up to 24Mbps and uploads at up to 1.4Mbps, it also supports port bonding (linking several lines together for faster speeds) and has an improved range over ADSL. Both ADSL and ADSL2+ are "best efforts" broadband services, which means that bandwidth is shared between many users and can be highly variable - especially over long distances and at off-peak times (i.e. busy afternoons will slow the performance). The following graph shows what impact distance can have on speeds. Users of these services should learn to understand common router statistics, which can help in diagnosing line problems. Figures for the following items will change depending on your line condition (e.g. expect them to be worse during thunderstorms that will cause extra interference): ADSL/ADSL2+ Router Terms and Statistics * Line Profile / Sync Speed This is the speed (usually in Kbps) at which your router connects to the local telephone exchange. The actual performance of your line will usually be around 20% less than this, possibly even lower due to ISP-side limits or environmental factors (e.g. interference from Christmas tree lights, microwaves and AC adaptors). * Line Attenuation (dB) High attenuation usually means you live further from your local exchange, thus lower is better (e.g. an attenuation of 60dB might give you a best speed of around 2Mbps). * SNR / Signal to Noise Ratio (dB) A high SNR usually means that faster speeds are possible and upgrading to a faster connection will often cause the SNR to drop. SNR can be improved by installing a special filtered faceplate on the line, such as BT's iPlate (Broadband Accelerator) device (not to be confused with Splitters / MicroFilters). * SNR Margin (dB) Related to the SNR above, an SNR Margin is a measure of the difference between your current SNR and the SNR that is required to keep a reliable connection speed. SNR Margins tend to range from around 6db to 12db, with higher being better. The figure will fluctuate during the day, especially at peak times. Note that significant fluctuations (e.g. going from 8db to 4db) may cause connection problems. It is sometimes possible to tweak this figure and keep it higher, depending on what make of router you have. Using your homes mastersocket for the broadband router is also helpful. Elsewhere some businesses still use(SDSL) technology, which is similar to HDSL via a single twisted-pair wire and can carry 1.544Mbps (U.S. and Canada) or 2.048Mbps (Europe) in each direction on a duplex line (the speed is the same in both directions). In addition, those looking for information on VDSL and VDSL2 (FTTC) services should look under oursection above as this is somewhat of a mixed technology. Furthermore BT has also introduced a special long-reach style of DSL called Broadband Enabling Technology (BET), which is based off Symmetric Hi-Speed Digital Subscriber Line (SHDSL). This is designed to deliver speeds of up to 2Mbps into rural areas that can reside up to 12km away from their local telephone exchange, where normal DSL services would fail. But this method is extremely expensive (costing up to 1,094 +vat to install), poorly supported by ISPs and requires two phone lines (twisted pairs) to achieve the best performance. ITs Role in Sales Force Transformation To date, people using the Internet to buy goods across state lines have not been charged sales tax. The question of whether this continues or is an idea whose utility has passed seems to be coming to a head. Its an important issue for businesses for one direct and one indirect reason. The direct reason, of course, is that companies ability to sell in this manner will be affected if the rules change. The indirect effect will be that usage patterns will change if Internet shopping slows. Technology and contention algorithms are computed against the heaviest usage patterns (telephone contention schemes are determined against the ultimate: if there is an earthquake on Mothers Day). If those extremes moderate, the algorithms and technology implementations to support them will change as well. Grant Gross at Computerworld reported yesterday that a new law in South Dakota requires out-of-state retailers to charge residents of the state sales tax on most purchases. That, he writes, could lead to a test of a 25-year-old Supreme Court ruling that prohibited the taxes. This could lead to a domino effect: Unless courts overturn the South Dakota law, it will embolden other states to pass similar Internet sales tax rules, critics said. The law could set the course for enormous tax and administrative burdens on businesses across the country, Steve DelBianco, executive director of e-commerce trade group NetChoice, said in a statement. The story says that the state has already filed lawsuits aimed at forcing online retailers to follow the law, which went into effect last Sunday, and that proponents of the new law argue that it is unfair to have an unequal playing field forcing brick-and-mortar stores to charge higher prices. Whether or not it is due to a push by legislators in South Dakota law, at least two states are moving in the same direction. KFOR reports that the Oklahoma House of Representatives has passed House Bill 2531, which is the Oklahoma Retail Protection Act. It changes the current law and allows the state to collect sales tax on purchases by Oklahomans from out-of-state online retail sites. The story quotes state representative Chad Caldwell, who said that the law mandates stronger enforcement of existing law and is not a new tax. The effect, at the end of the day, seems the same. In Louisiana, Speaker Pro Tem Walter Leger is working to strengthen existing tax laws. The legislation, which has been assigned to the Ways and Means Committee, would require online retailers to submit to the Department of Revenue a list of all customers who have made purchases greater than $250, according to the Greater Baton Rouge Business Report. Widespread changes to implement online sales taxes would be a big deal. Enabling online retailers to avoid sales tax was an idea that clearly made sense in an earlier time in the Internets history. The success of online shopping just as clearly justifies looking at these rules anew. Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at [email protected]ptonline.net and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk. For the twelfth time in nine years, a Gates Millennium Scholar has come from Dalton High School. Senior Uriel Paniagua, 18, is the most recent Catamount to receive this prestigious scholarship. The Gates Millennium Scholars program was founded in 1999 and is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. To qualify, a student must be of a minority race and show outstanding academic achievement, community service and leadership skills. Paniagua heard of the scholarship back in October when his counselor mentioned it to him. I was called in about something else, but then she told me to apply for Gates. I didnt understand how much you would get, he said. Everyone who has gotten it seemed happy, so I thought I might as well apply. The scholarship is very competitive and only given to 1000 students nationally every year. The Gates Millennium Scholarship covers any expenses related to collegeit overs tuition costs for as long as the student wishes to further their education, books, equipment, as well as everything down to supplies and living expenses. The average amount each recipient receives is $12,785 (the amount given depends on the financial need of the student). The application process can be rigorous for some students. Paniagua had to fill out an application, have both a Nominator form and a Recommender form, and write eight essays. The essays had a 1,000 word maximum and ranged from strengths and weaknesses to describing community service projects. For my strengths I wrote about math and science, and my weaknesses are history and English, said Paniagua. For his community service essay, Paniagua wrote about how he lends his time to the Save Program at Dalton Statethat program goes to local agencies such as the Boys & Girls Club. All of the materials for Paniaguas submission had to be submitted by Jan. 15. By mid-April, Paniagua received good news through the mailhe had been awarded the scholarship. I was surprised, he said. I wasnt expecting it. I spent a couple hours of my time writing essays, and I got free money. With the big determining factors being academic achievement, community service and leadership skills, Paniagua said the academic and community service aspects were what made him stand out. Besides his community involvement, Paniagua stands out at Dalton High with his strong academicshe is ranked first in the senior class, hes in the National Honor Society, Beta Club, and the French Club where he is on the advisory council, he is an Advanced Placement Scholar, was named Star Student, was a Governors Honors finalist in science, and he is a National Merit Commended Student. Paniagua also takes part in dual enrollment. During his senior year, he spends half his day at DHS and the other half taking college courses at Dalton State. Paniagua has taken 17 college credit hours per semester, and those long hours make for tiring days. Sometimes I get out at 2:00 p.m., Paniagua said of college classes, but other days Im there until 7:25 pm. Paniagua has been accepted to the University of Georgia, and will be going to Athens in the fall. He is undecided on a major (maybe something with math, science, or economics), and has yet to decide what he wants to pursue as a career. He hopes once he dabbles around in college classes that he will find something he loves. Paniagua said he has mixed emotions about his upcoming graduation. Im excited to be done, but Im nervous, because you have to think about what you want to do for the rest of your life. But for as long as he wants to continue his education, Paniagua will have the Gates Millennium Scholarship there to make sure he doesnt worry about college finances. Paniagua said hed like to say thank you to those who thought he was worthy of this honor. Its nice having everything paid for, he said. Im pretty grateful. Sony is in the front of the line of tech giant companies in filing a patent for a cutting-edge contact lens, which can zoom, shoot, record and store data within the lens itself. The patent, which was filed in February 2014 and was granted just last month, is still raw and theoretical as the technology for this small-scale device has yet to be integrated. The patent designed by seven Japanese inventors offers a technology making lens capable of recording through the use of blinking as the trigger; it is equipped with mechanics able to discern intentional from natural blinking to switch the device on and off. It is literally taking pictures with the blink of one's eyes. The idea of high-tech lenses first surfaced with Google's Glass in 2013, which has met criticisms for its privacy issues. The idea of capturing images without any visible device other than the eyes concerned consumers with potential privacy violations, even prompting the U.S. Congress to intervene. Sony has already made a promising marketing with the product and even added features such as focus, zoom, aperture and stability, just like a real camera would do. It also offers the storage of the data within the lens itself, and it can be transferred wirelessly to the next available device whenever one is ready. However, the technology of the camera lenses is only a mere prototype for now, and the patent does not guarantee anything yet. While the market is filled with other types of high-tech lenses offering a wide variety of advanced functionalities such as Google's patent for solar-powered lenses in January 2014, which reportedly helped detect health and body factors such as temperature and glucose levels, and another that could be directly injected to the eye, Sony stood its ground with its patent on the technology of the future. Microsoft is reportedly working on its purported Surface Phone, which is expected to replace the unsuccessful Windows Phone line. If rumors circulating online are to be believed, the device will be launched in April 2017 to coincide with the release of "Redstone 2," the second major Windows 10 upgrade for PC and mobile. The Redmond tech giant launched the Surface tablet and Lumin 950 phones in 2015. But while the tablet has been a huge success, the Lumia phones failed to entice customers. As a result, 23 million Lumia phones were shipped during FY 2016. Eventually, the company has dropped the idea of manufacturing any further Lumia phone models, Windows Central reported. It is worth mentioning here that the delay in launching the Surface Phone is not related to its hardware, but Microsoft wants to release the device with "Redstone 2," the follow-up to the first major upgrade to Windows 10. According to reports, "Redstone 1" is likely to be the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The company has already released a beta last week along with some new features. Since "Redstone" will be a substantial update, a follow-up cannot be expected any time soon. Hence, it is understandable that "Redstone 2" may arrive in 2017. There are rumors that "Redstone 2" and "Redstone 3," which are yet to be announced by the company, are both likely to focus heavily on "innovation around mobile phones," Network World stated. This is in line with the remarks of Microsoft Windows chief Terry Myerson at Build conference last month that the company was not focusing on the Windows Phone this year. Consequently, the Surface Phone did not come up for discussion at the conference. Nevertheless, according to the report in Windows Central, Microsoft currently intends to concentrate on two areas. These include making the most secure phone available globally and making the most efficient smartphone. The Windows Phone is already considered to be rather secure, as there are no vulnerability complaints like in the case of Android or regarding malware. On the other hand, malware writers generally do not target platforms having a market share below 2 percent. Secondly, Microsoft has been endeavoring to develop the Windows Phone as a productivity device equipped with support for Microsoft products. Watch the video on "Microsoft Surface Phone - Leaked" below: Americans have shown great interest toward auto vehicles since time immemorial, hence the evident growth of auto sales in the past few years. The month of April this year, in particular, displayed huge numbers from U.S. consumers who purchased trucks and SUVs (also known as sport-utility vehicles). But despite the increase, analysts believe that the auto-market is left with nothing but a small room to breathe. According to the Los Angeles Times, U.S. consumers have purchased roughly 1.5 million vehicles just in the month of April alone. The figure was quite amassing that it dethroned the oldest auto sales record set in April 2005. In 2005, auto sales hiked due to automakers offering huge discounts and lease deals in hopes to keep their manufacturing plants running. However, this time around, it was the consumers who were responsible in driving auto sales to a massive hit. Among the major global automakers, Honda, led with a whopping 14.4 percent auto sales increase -- both in cars and SUVs. Nissan, on the other hand, rose at 12.8 percent. Fiat Chrysler and Ford also rode with 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Lastly, Toyota acquired a total of 3.8 percent auto sales, thanks to the notable RAV 4 small SUV (which just recently broke a monthly auto sales record of up to 32 percent). While this increase in auto sales numbers is fascinating, automakers should still be alarmed, as reported by Washington Post. Wall Street analysts reportedly said that the U.S. auto industry is nearing a cyclical peak, and as this enters, automakers must opt into more production cuts. Although this is only right in order to keep records of vehicles from inflating later this year, this could also affect auto sales profits. In fact, the shares for both General Motors and Ford have dropped by 1 percent, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plummeted to more than 2 percent. And although GM's (as well as Ford's) auto sales to individual consumers are still increasing, its overall U.S. auto sales in April have been decked by 3.5 percent. Analysts believe that the sluggish economic pace in the U.S. has been one of the major factors in this upcoming dilemma. While these auto sales forecasts can be proven in the following months to come, it is still a topic worth worrying about. For quite some time now, analysts keeping track of popular Internet browsers have been suggesting that Google Chrome was the most popular among the lot. But not everyone agreed, especially NetMarketShare. By virtues of its combination of different Internet Explorer (IE) versions, the Microsoft browser was successful in trumping Chrome in its quarterly statistics. While the Internet Explorer alone dominated the scene with its latest version, the previous editions also had strong followings, making other browsers like Chrome and Firefox small outliers. However, things have changed since the last month and now Chrome is the undisputed leader. Last month, Internet Explorer lost its No. 1 rank to Chrome. This not only marked a major milestone in the 21-year lifespan of Internet Explorer but also brought a significant change in the desktop browser guard, Computer World reported. Statistics made available by the U.S. analytical firm Net Applications showed that the IE and Edge, which were merged as "IE," dropped 2 percent point in April, enjoying 41.4 percent of the global browser user share. On the other hand, Chrome gained 2.6 percent points, increasing its global browser user share to 41.7 percent. Though the lead over IE is very slender, it is significant nonetheless. In fact, Computer World had forecast earlier that going by the long-term trends data offered by Net Applications, Chrome would become the No. 1 browser by May end. In fact, Mozilla's Firefox also dropped 0.8 percentage point to fall below 10 percent to 9.8 percent, compared to what was anticipated earlier. On the other hand, Apple's Safari and Opera Software's Opera remained static or witnessed slight increase last month, ending the month at 4.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively. All said and done, it is significant to note the continuous decline of IE and the simultaneous rise of Chrome. Statistics provided by NetMarketShare, however, emphasizes that while Chrome comes in with a 41.66 percent share of the market, all versions of the Internet Explorer together enjoy 41.35 percent global browser user share, Digital Trends reported. So what triggered the decline of IE? In August 2014, Microsoft forced customers to upgrade to the latest IE version, when Redmond tech titan told majority of the customers to migrate to IE11 if they wished to continue receiving security patches. This actually set off a catastrophic turn down in IE's user share. Considering the need to change browsers, users instead reviewed their choice and subsequently ditched Microsoft's browsers for Chrome. Watch "Web browser performance showdown - Edge vs. Chrome vs. IE11 vs. Opera" below: As Oculus Rift release date was getting near, the virtual reality craze was getting higher and the fan base of the industry was getting more and more excited. Now, according to the latest reports, the company decided to offer the upcoming virtual reality gadget on sales at Best Buy during this weekend. The launching of the Oculus Rift VR headset was rougher than expected, according to The BitBag. Experiencing delays in fulfilling the preorders, Oculus decided to offer free shipping to its early customers. Venture Beat reports that before fulfilling all of its preorders, Oculus decided to launch its retail plans for Rift before fulfilling all of its preorders. This leaves customers who preordered the $599.99 Rift unhappy. After all, the whole point of preordering some product is getting it before everybody else can. Now Oculus tries to appease these unhappy customers by offering them the possibility to get their Rifts on May 7, through retail at select Best Buy stores. Those customers who preordered the Rift would need to inform the company through this link that they have purchased their units from retail. Customers will still retain some preorder benefits like "EVE: Valkyrie Founder's Pack," but not all are happy with this measure. According to comments in the Oculus blog, many do find this quite a hassle. According to Yahoo!, those who have not preordered but still want to get their Rift can just walk into 48 Best Buy stores on May 7. It might be possible that some of those who did not preordered can even get their unit earlier than those who have preordered. Best Buy brick and mortar stores will also feature test units for customers to try. On May 6 starting at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time, the Rift will also be available on Microsoft Store and Amazon. The company announced that there will be just an "extremely limited supply" of the Oculus Rift VR headsets for purchase. In case that some of the customers who preordered cannot make it to Best Buy in time to get their units, this could certainly add to their frustration. But at least there is at least a little hope of getting a VR unit for the large number of people who are still waiting on their Rift preorders. The Verge reported that a few dozen games are already available for the Rift. For instance, hacking puzzler "Darknet" is priced at $9.99, while "Elite Dangerous: Deluxe Edition" has a price tag of $59.99. Google finally wins it with FCA as the latter has agreed to consign 100 of its cars to use for Google's driverless car experiment. Varied news sources previously reported on the seemingly endless search for Googleand finally has named the car maker to which it would get its vehicles from. Yahoo! reported that Chrysler Pacificas would now be seen on road tests as part of Google's self-driving car experiment. The project is said to be a launching effort of the IT giant in its continuous efforts to improve autonomous car technology. FCA's collaboration with Google is considered a huge step for the latter as the company had previously built driverless Lexus RX 450h and Toyota prius prototypes. However, confirmed sources told on the lack of support for the project from the car maker itself. Google had also designed its own version of a self-driving car a few months' back; this time, John Krafcik of Google's automotive unit exerted all efforts to pair the company with a suitable car maker for the project. On the other hand, Fiat Chrysler also has some advantage with its partnership with Google regarding financing the experiment. CEO Marchionne himself stated that high-technology costs could spiral down the car industry in the future. FCA, in a way, has already stepped up in leveling the autonomous driving competition with Nissan, Ford and Volvo. In related news, Telegraph UK also mentioned the rise in sales for FCA units last month alone, which was a 6 percent increase for the same month last year. Reported sales of 199,631 was announced by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, saying it was the company's best April sales of all time. The Chrysler Pacificas would not be sold to the buying public; more details on the specifics of the renewed self-driving experiment would be available soon. That yearly event of glitz and glamour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one cannot help with their "oohs" and "aaahs" over the unique creations worn by famous celebrities. At this year's Met Gala, Claire Danes literally lit up at the prestigious event. According to Vanity Fair, attendees were also in for a surprise as Claire Danes showed up at the venue in a bus and were in for another surprise when her Zac Posen gown glowed in the dark as well. The sky-blue ball gown was a beautiful hand-made creation by the actress' longtime friend-designer. Made of organza and dolled up with fiber optics, the elegant gown showed off its sheer beauty the moment Danes stepped inside. And because of the large skirt, Zac Posen arranged for Danes to arrive at the event in the rather unconventional mode of transport. Danes also stated having to stand up during the entire trip going to the Met Gala. She also had to be escorted by her husband, actor Hugh Dancy, and designer Zac Posen up the escalator as she walked up the red carpet in the glowy dress. USA Today also reported on the Marchesa dress worn by Karolina Kurkova, which designers Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman referred to as a "cognitive dress." The fashion designers also stated partnering with IBM Watson on the technical aspects of the LED-embedded dress. Sure, many other famous celebrities in their equally unique outfits had their own take on the theme for the 2016 Met Gala, "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology," Claire Danes' ball gown was the clear standout of the night, says News AU. Fashion critics and media circuits have been all over social media giving a solid commendation to the Cinderella-esque gown. Zac Posen's high-tech creation perfectly showcased the Gala's theme of tech-inspired futuristic fashion and Claire Danes' simple, yet elegant coif provided the classic harmonious balance to the entire look. LG Innotek has developed an innovative fingerprint sensor module that can sit under glass and allows users to unlock their smartphones without a recognition button. According to Korea Times, this innovation coming from the South Korean tech giant LG will bring a paradigm shift in smartphone design. The world's largest smartphone camera module maker explained in a statement Sunday, May 1, that the module would not require an existing rectangular or circular fingerprint sensor button. An LG spokeswoman also said that the button-less fingerprint module will also help manufacturers of handsets to improve features such as dust and waterproofing protection. As it does not require a specific fingerprint recognition button, the new module could significantly reduce any smartphone malfunctions. The new module was designed as LG has succeeded in developing the required technology to attach a fingerprint sensor into the small space under smartphone's glass face. The South Korean company also announced that it is negotiating "with some handset manufacturers to commercialize the new modules within the year." The under-glass fingerprint scanner module can be customized by LG Innotek for any handset manufacturer upon their request. A high molecular substance has been compounded into glass, guaranteeing a high level of solidity and helping it to absorb external shocks. The company said that even after a 130 gram ball bearing was dropped on it from 20 centimeters the compounded glass did not break. As the in-glass fingerprint module comes with a 0.002 percent of error rate, the module's security level is also on par with that of other existing button-type fingerprint modules. According to Android Police, the new technology is somewhat similar to Qualcomm's Snapdragon Sense ID since it can be basically invisible. The difference is that LG's design appears to be of the traditional capacitive variety, while Qualcomm's solution uses ultrasonics to identify a fingerprint. Kim Chang-Hwan, LG Innotek's research and development center chief, said in a statement that the company is gathering all its capabilities with the aim of developing differentiated technologies for its customers. LG Innotek will keep offering innovative products that serve customers in more easy and convenient ways. The latest innovation is part of the LG Group's efforts to increase its market share on the fingerprint sensors sector that is experiencing a rapid growing demand. According to market analysts, it is estimated that the shipments for fingerprint sensor modules will be worth 1.6 billion won by 2020. According to market researcher HIS, this would represent a threefold increase from 499 million won as of the end of last year. The launch of the joint Russian and European ExoMars mission has been moved to 2020. The mission was initially planned for 2018. Russia and Europe have decided to launch the second phase of their ExoMars mission in 2020 instead of 2018, according to Engadget. In March, the first part of the mission took off on time. The second phase of the ExoMars mission will launch a Martian rover that will be capable of drilling up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) below the surface. ExoMars mission has been delayed because European Space Agency's engineers are challenged in putting together all the components and instruments ExoMars' second phase needs. At the same time, Roscosmos' engineers have been encountering difficulties in designing rover's landing mechanism, according to BBC. Gizmodo reports that the head of ESA's Robotic Exploration Coordination Office, Rolf de Groot, explained that his team has tried to evaluate whether it is still possible to make the 2018 launch. The scientists and engineers were analyzing if it is acceptable from a risk point of view to shorten the assembly, integration and testing (AIT) phase. However, according to de Groot, his team has come to the conclusion that this is not achievable without adding an unacceptable amount of additional risk to the mission. In these circumstances, they decided that it would be necessary to move the 2020 launch date. The statement released by the European Space Agency (ESA) said that they have been assessing the situation and took into account the delays in Russian and European industrial activities and deliveries of the scientific payload. In these circumstances, the best solution remains a launch in 2020. Due to the lack of a proper budget, the ExoMars project has been going through difficulties even from the start. At one time, the ESA even teamed up with NASA. Their collaboration ended when the two agencies found themselves with different priorities. Researchers from the University of Liege in Belgium have detected three new Earth-sized planets that may host alien life. According to the publication Business Standard, the team of astronomers led by Michael Gillon of the Institute d'Astrophysique et Geophysique used the Belgian TRAPPIST telescope to observe the star 2MASS J23062928-0502285. The star is also known by the name of TRAPPIST-1. The astronomers found that, at regular intervals, the TRAPPIST-1 star that is dim and cool faded slightly. This observation is an indicator that several objects were passing between Earth and the star. TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra cool dwarf star, barely larger than Jupiter and much redder than the Sun. After a more detailed analysis, the scientists deducted that there were three planets present with similar size to the Earth. Despite being so close to the Earth, researchers observed that the TRAPPIST-1 star is too red and too dim to be seen with the naked eye. The star cannot even be observed with a large amateur telescope. According to astronomers, TRAPPIST-1 is located in the constellation of Aquarius. The planets orbiting TRAPPIST-1 have very similar sizes to that of our planet. The orbital periods of two of the planets are about 2.4 days and 1.5 days, respectively. The orbital period of the third planet could be less well determined in the 4.5 to 73 days range. The dwarf star with the three Earth-sized planets orbiting planets is less than 40 light years away. This would make the first time when planets have been found around this type of star. The discovery opens up new possibilities in the search for extraterrestrial life. It is estimated that around 15 percent of the stars near our Sun are also similar ultra cool dwarf stars. Fox News reports that currently, scientists are making atmospheric observations of the three temperate exoplanets using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Next week will also join in the study the Hubble Space Telescope. Chattanooga State will hold its annual Commencement exercises at Memorial Auditorium, 399 McCaliie Avenue, on Saturday, May 7, beginning at 10 a.m. (EDT). Mitch Patel, Vision Hospitality CEO and President, will present the commencement address to the 2016 graduating class that includes degrees and certificates awarded to 1,335 graduates. Dr. Flora Tydings, Chattanooga State President, will grant conferring of rights and privileges. 2016 graduates range in ages from 17-63 with more than 52 percent over age 25, while approximately two-thirds are women. A total of 330 students will be awarded academic honors. The top five College Division Programs with the highest number of graduates include Transfer Programs, 364; Nursing, 167; Tennessee Transfer Pathway, 139; Engineering Technology, 70; and Applied Science, 50. Among the top five College Technical Certificates, Acting, Emergency Medical Technicians, Dental Assisting, Paramedic and Pharmacy Technicians boast the greatest number of graduates. In the Embedded Certificate category, the top five include Entrepreneurial, Advanced Process Technology, Process Technology, Volume Non-Destructive Testing, and Surface Non-Destructive Testing. Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State recognizes class leaders Chloe Rene Russell-Vernon, Valedictorian and Kara Cher Elaine Walsh, Salutatorian. A total of 49 graduates will receive their high school diploma with a number of college-credit classes under their belt, while 21 of these graduates also have earned enough credits to receive their Associate Degree. Also recognized during commencement will be this years Faculty Fellows: Jacqueline Smith, Dr. Jennifer Arbogast, Libby Farrelly, Lisa Legg, Dr. Lindsay Holland and Jimmy Jones. Faculty and staff Excellence Award winners include Vicki Headrick, Debbie Poteet, Ed Grun, Dr. Patricia Ochoa, and Dr. Kathy Trotter. With a combined total of more than 449 years, retiring faculty and staff for 2015-16 are: Billy Anderson, Cindy Birchell, Joan Byron, Karen Castleberry, Bill Chamberlain, Arlene Flerchinger, Alan Herweyer, Steve Huskins, Kathy Long, Paul Mangiofico, Dan Mayfield, Sharyn Moreland, Jeff Morris, Bill Norman, Charles Parks, Timmy Ross, Mickey Rountree, Margery Sanders, Marcia Sivley, Joyce Smith, Hartley Varnell, Vicki Von Schaaf, and Allen Wallace. MYOB CEO Tim Reed says initiatives announced by the Federal Government in Tuesdays budget will have a positive impact on SMEs but could have gone further and faster. While congratulating the Government on again recognising the power of SMEs in driving the Australian economy especially as it transitions away from a reliance on the mining boom, Reed says the plan to cut the company tax rate to 25% is an excellent one but the timeline could and should be shortened. The Governments economic plan deserves a 9 out of 10 for respecting the vital role SMEs play in the Australian economy. This is the second year in a row where small and medium businesses have been recognised and put front and centre in the budget. I have no doubt they will respond in the way the government hopes by investing more in innovation and creating high quality jobs.Reed said MYOB has for a long time called for a reduction to the company tax rate and welcomed the announcement to eventually reduce it to 25%, and to complement it with an increase in the tax discount for unincorporated businesses from 5% to 7%.MYOB also welcomes the move to widen eligibility for the $20,000 tax write off for small businesses however the Government should consider making this a permanent feature to better support the economy.Reed acknowledged that the Government has also listened to SMEs who have long called for a simplification of Business Activity Statements (BAS).Simplifying GST compliance has been a high priority for businesses for over a decade now so we heartily congratulate the Government for announcing a trial to streamline the process. This is something weve been lobbying the government about for years, it is great to see this is a government that listens to and responds to requests from small business.Reducing the G-Codes or tags on the BAS from seven to three as part of that trial is a great step forward.Reed says MYOB commissioned research with Australian and New Zealand small businesses to find out the cost of administering GST.The survey revealed that GST compliance costs Australian SMEs more than $13.7 billion a year, which is $6,778 a year for each of Australias two million SMEs and. according to Reed, this cost could be halved if the GST was revamped to reflect a simpler model, similar to that in New Zealand.If the Government had the conviction to fully address the GST issue once for all in this Budget, MYOB would have given it a 10/10, but we knew some time ago the government had no appetite to broaden the base of the GST that is the only way to truly make it simpler for small business owners. As if Australian politics is not overwhelming enough, CNN News has released a data-driven app to see if the US will come up trumps! Of course, Apple users are the only ones interested! Campaign 2016 is the data election, and CNN Politics is telling the story of every twist and turn of the race for the US White House in a new data-centric app now available to iOS users in the Apple app store. The CNN Politics app, built with CA Technologies API management and mobile analytics software, is a unique mobile experience that tracks the latest polling, delegate, voting and fundraising data behind the 2016 race. With personalized alerts and notifications, the app positions users at the forefront of this election and empowers them to analyze the data driving the political landscape to Election Day. Key features of the CNN Politics app include: Exclusive data-driven stories and visualizations, which will help voters understand who is winning the election and why Comprehensive election results, breaking news, enterprise and video reporting from the No. 1 online political news destination Personalized alerts and notifications to keep users up-to-date on the storylines and trend-lines defining the race From polling to fundraising to delegate counts, who is tracking well and who isnt, there is a wealth of data associated with this historic campaign, said Matthew Drooker, vice president of app development and technology, CNN. We partnered with CA Technologies to build a native mobile experience for users to digest the meaning behind the numbers in a compelling and entirely personal way. The result is an informative, immersive and indispensable multimedia experience. The CNN Politics app was built using CA API Management and CA Mobile App Analytics products. The CA API management software transfers and aggregates data points from numerous different sources, including CNN polling data, Federal Election Commission data, and the CNN/Pivit Political Prediction Market, to help users navigate the race and draw conclusions based on how the election is tracking. CA Mobile App Analytics provides the insight to gauge app use with advanced data visualization and optimize app performance to deliver a seamless user experience. The application economy has pushed the political discussion online and mobile. There is a tremendous appetite to know whats happening right now in this election, and the CNN Politics app satisfies that voter appetite with the tap of a single icon, said Otto Berkes, chief technology officer, CA Technologies. Were excited to partner with CNN to bring the CNN Politics app to life. Our API management technology ensured that the app was built efficiently, and our mobile analytics provide valuable insights into app performance and app use, so we can collectively ensure the user experience is what they expect and want. CA Technologies is a technology sponsor of the 2016 Americas Choice Election on CNN. The overall partnership extends across the global power of CNNs multi-platform footprint. On digital, CA is the exclusive sponsor of the CNN Politics app, as well as the hub on CNNPolitics.com that houses the apps content and includes CA branding. On television, there will be featured updates courtesy of the app and social polling segments to gauge viewer sentiment around key political announcements. It you are on a management board you may have heard of Diligent Boards the worlds leading software solution to securely create, distribute and collaborate on board meeting materials. Diligent in use by more than 120,000 Directors to aid in more effective board meetings. It manages current and archived materials, questionnaires, board resources, calendars, contacts and meetings and much more. It has been awarded the Gold Stevie Award winner 2016 for Innovation in Customer Service Management (Planning & Practice - Computer Industries), adding to the two Bronze Stevie Awards won by Diligent in 2015. The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only business awards program to recognise achievement in the workplace in all 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region. The Stevie Awards are widely considered to be the worlds premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in programs, such as The International Business Awards, for more than a decade. Andrew Carrick, Director of Customer Success for Asia Pacific at Diligent comments, It is fantastic that we have been able to do even better than last years results. In my opinion, we have improved on near perfection. We strive to provide the highest level of innovative service to our customers and I think that we have really raised the bar for service excellence year after year. With the phenomenal growth within Diligent in the past year, its an achievement to see that our customer service has risen to the challenge to remain a key pillar of our offering worldwide. For Diligents users, every minute spent trying to resolve an issue is precious time spent away from board meeting preparation, said Carrick. Due to this time-critical work environment, we pride ourselves on always being accessible to our clients 24/7/365, and we are proud to now offer our support across multiple languages. The Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards are the only business awards program to recognise achievement in the workplace in all 22 nations of the Asia-Pacific region. The Stevie Awards are widely considered to be the worlds premier business awards, conferring recognition for achievement in programs, such as The International Business Awards, for more than a decade. The awards will be presented in Sydney on 27 May at the Westin Hotel. Tickets are here. EMC's Leap suite is a set of cloud-native content apps designed to deliver enterprise-grade content management capabilities with an intuitive experience for business users. Leap includes applications developed by EMC and by other companies. They work with existing content repositories, particularly Documentum, and content is managed in place, avoiding the need to make additional copies. During a media briefing, EMC enterprise content division president Rohit Ghai described the suite as "a giant leap for ECM." The first five applications are: Leap Courier (pictured above) - secure and structured document exchange, validation and tracking, even between organisations Leap Snap - automatically captures, categorises and organises documents and related document information in real-time Leap Concert - collaborative document creation Leap Express - browse, access, search and approve content,regardless of its location Leap Focus - document consumption on mobile devices, with automatic reformatting to suit the device. The Leap Together program provides maintenance-paying Documentum customers with free access to Leap applications. Otherwise, Leap applications are available on pay-per-use subscription basis. Leap Courier and Leap Snap will be generally available in June. Leap Concert, Leap Express, and Leap Focus will be generally availability in the second half of 2016. "Our goal with the EMC Leap family is to humanise the experience of interacting with business content," said Ghai. "Beautiful, intuitive, and purpose-built apps drive engagement, which has a ripple effect. Customer engagement drives loyalty; employee engagement improves productivity; and partner and supplier engagement fosters better collaboration across the value chain. "This level of engagement enables superior customer service, greater agility and new business opportunities, and is a key marker of a successful digital business." Disclosure: the writer attended EMC World as a guest of EMC Nuix says that petabyte sized Big Data sets will soon become the norm. Analytics needs to evolve to cope with the tsunami of big data. Nuix has released version 7 of its patented processing engine, which extends the companys big data capabilities to petabyte scale by giving customers the option of using Elasticsearch as the back-end database for Nuix case files. In parallel, Nuix will continue to update and support its existing architecture - which scales from the portability of a laptop to an enterprise data centre - to maintain the performance and reliability customers expect. The biggest data challenge every organisation faces, now and into the future, is how to find, analyse, and correlate critical facts from ever increasing volumes of complex data while retaining the accuracy and forensic precision theyre used to, said Eddie Sheehy, CEO of Nuix. With Nuix 7, we are investing in the future of our customers and our technology. Weve built an architecture that will address their needs today, tomorrow, and in years to come. By the way 1024 Terabytes = 1 Petabyte 1024 Petabytes = 1 Exabyte 1024 Exabytes = 1 Zettabyte 1024 Zettabytes = 1 Yottabyte 1024 Yottabytes = 1 Brontobyte (and after that Geopbyte). With Nuix 7, customers can: Hyper-scale processing and search capacityscaling within a single large server or across multiple high- or low-powered machines by combining the patented Nuix Engine with Elasticsearch as a database platform. Understand hidden relationships - using the redesigned Nuix Context interface that leverages the OrientDB graph database to connect items more efficiently. Get ready for real time - adding the advanced capabilities of Elasticsearch positions Nuix to make the transition to real-time search and analysis in future products. Dig deeper with greater forensic precision - going deeper into file system and forensic artifacts to assist with investigations, cybersecurity incident response, and eDiscovery. Apply enhanced image analysis - combining facial recognition with skin-tone analysis to quickly filter down to relevant images for investigation. Address more enterprise data - extending the power of Nuix to data in EMC Documentum document management systems and other enterprise sources. Combining Nuix 7 with Elasticsearch allows customers to take full advantage of the database platforms scalability, durability, and real-time searching and analysis. Customers can run tens or hundreds of Nuix workers - scaling vertically within a single server or horizontally across multiple machines - and seamlessly consolidate all that information into a single Elasticsearch index. This greatly improves the performance of processing, searching, and exporting. It also can search and correlate information across archives of historical Nuix cases and other information and intelligence sources. Even petabyte-scale data sets are no longer a challenge with Nuix and Elasticsearch working together, said Sheehy. Our customers can confidently plan to handle much larger data sets and more advanced searching capabilities, with Nuix reliably at the centre of those plans. Nuix has redesigned the Context investigative interface with input from specialists in digital forensics and user experience. The Context interface uses the OrientDB graph database to make connections between people, objects, locations, and events. Customers can use timeline analysis, context bubbles, and automatic linking to slice and dice evidence, said Sheehy. This makes it much easier for investigators to tell stories from large data sets and quickly understand the facts of the case, as the ongoing Panama Papers investigation has demonstrated in dramatic fashion. A new program initiated by CyberArk brings together enterprise software, it security, and services providers to build on the power of privileged account security and better protect customers from cyber threats. CyberArk , the company that protects organisations from cyber-attacks that have made their way inside the network perimeter, has announced the launch of the C3 Alliance . Inaugural members include BMC Software, Duo Security, FireEye, ForeScout, Intel Security, LogRhythm, Qualys, Rapid7, SailPoint, SecureAuth, Symantec, Tenable Network Security, Tripwire, and Varonis. C3 Alliance members have committed to incorporate privileged account security best practices into their offerings, leveraging CyberArks privileged account data to deliver more valuable insight and threat response to customers. Privileged account security has become increasingly critical since compromised privileged account credentials are a common denominator of many modern attacks, said Garrett Bekker, senior security analyst at 451 Research. With certified integrations between CyberArk and alliance members products, the C3 Alliance should make it easier for customers to extend the power of privileged account security across their organization and enhance their overall security posture. C3 Alliance members represent enterprise software, infrastructure and security solutions, including security information and event management (SIEM), identity and access governance, asset and vulnerability discovery, security management and authentication services that benefit from tighter integration with CyberArk for securing privileged accounts and using privileged data to detect and respond to threats. CyberArk is the leader in privileged account security and is pleased to work with a strong and growing ecosystem of partners that understand the importance of protecting and monitoring privileged accounts in the enterprise, said Adam Bosnian, executive vice president, global business development, CyberArk. The C3 Alliance brings together key enterprise and security software companies to deliver integrated, tested solutions to better protect our shared customers. C3 Alliance members typically integrate with the CyberArk Privileged Account Security Solution to deliver value to customers in the areas of proactive protection, detection and response: Proactive Protection Through certified CyberArk integrations with hardware and software applications, including vulnerability and compliance management solutions, DevOps tools and discovery and orchestration software, customers benefit from knowing that the privileged accounts used to access their systems, as well as the general targets and critical applications accessed, are better secured and monitored. Faster Detection Identity and access governance, SIEM and security analytics platforms benefit from access to detailed privileged activity data; and targeted analytics, as well as bi-directional communication to deliver improved, centralised, enterprise-wide monitoring and identification of critical security threats. Privileged activity data includes information such as who has access to what systems, why, and when certain actions were taken . from access to detailed privileged activity data; and targeted analytics, as well as bi-directional communication to deliver improved, centralised, enterprise-wide monitoring and identification of critical security threats. Privileged activity data includes information such as who has access to what systems, why, and when certain actions . Intelligent Response Analytics and response-focused members leverage privileged account activity information to help customers identify and respond to high-risk attacker activity in real time and carry out deeper forensics analysis and remediation activities. Inaugural C3 Alliance members had this to say. Ed Barry, vice president, Cyber Security Coalition at FireEye said, Our recent M-Trends report identified privileged account harvesting and abuse as the single most consistent attack vector witnessed during our engagements last year. Were pleased to be part of the CyberArk-led C3 Alliance and through tight integration of our respective solutions we enable our customers to respond much more quickly to these sophisticated attacks. Pedro Abreu, chief strategy officer, ForeScout said, The C3 Alliance fills a critical gap in the market by bringing vendors together to address privileged account vulnerabilities across the enterprise. ForeScout's CounterACT requires administrative credentials for all of our customers' network endpoints, servers, systems, and devices. With the CyberArk integration, we can securely store and manage these credentials, ensuring our customers' most privileged user accounts have around-the-clock protection. Joe Gottlieb, senior vice president of corporate development for SailPoint said, As an inaugural partner in the C3 Alliance, SailPoint is embracing CyberArks initiative to apply strong, policy-based controls to privileged credentials throughout the enterprise. The integration of SailPoint IdentityIQ and the CyberArk Privileged Account Security Solution gives our customers a unified view and centralised control of all identities, all accounts, and all privileges, enabling them to better assess risks and streamline operations. If you want a single source of common online security threats McAfee has bought them together in its new security hub. There were 5.1 million online fraud incidents and 2.5 million cybercrime offences reported in England and Wales in the last year alone. Despite this massive level of cybercrime and corresponding levels of publicity the average member of the UK public is still under-educated when it comes to protecting themselves online. McAfee (an Intel Security Company) has launched a new security hub - the Ultimate Guide to Security Threats - as part of a campaign to educate the general public about the increasing danger to their personal information online. At present its all UK oriented by security is a global issue. The hub covers virus, Trojan, worms, spam, spy/adware, DDoS, spoofing, phishing and botnet and offers practical advice to help protect against these. In a recent survey of 1,242 users 90% believed their online habits were secure, despite 35% of them either knowing someone who had been hacked or having been hacked themselves. McAfee also found that: 27.7% of people have not updated their internet security over the past 12 months. 34.6% read the terms and conditions when downloading an app. 90% of people selected an incorrect safety signal when asked to identify a safe and secure web page 37.8% of parents of children under 12 surveyed were not fully aware of what their children did online. A spokesman for McAfee commented on the data and the launch of the security hub. Our survey revealed that there was a disparity between how safe we believe we are online, and the reality of our online situation. 90% of us believe we are secure online, despite almost a third of us having not updated our internet security in over a year, leaving those users susceptible to the worst viruses out there. The security threats hub is designed to help educate people on what to look out for when online and to give them a better understanding of why being safe and secure on the web is so important. Weak demand for smart TVs has seen a 20.9% drop in shipments in Q1, 2016 time to bag a bargain! Global shipments of LCD TV sets in the first quarter of 2016 totalled about 48.32 million units, according to the latest report by WitsView, a division of TrendForce. This figure represents a 20.9% quarterly decline and also a 6.3% year-on-year drop. The reasons? Q1 is off season in the U.S. and Europe, the strong US dollar makes the prices higher (except in the US), the uncertain global economic outlook, and the saturation of the Chinese TV market have put significant pressure on the overall LCD TV shipments. Ricky Lin, WitsView research manager, said the February earthquake that damaged Innoluxs panel fabs in southern Taiwan, along with the issues that Samsung Display (SDC) has with its 0.4mm glass production, will affect the product launch schedules of new branded TV sets in the second quarter (April-June). He expects TV set shipments in the second quarter to grow 6.6% to 51.5 million units although much of that is due to the shorter base [sales] period of the first quarter. The outlook for annual shipments remains bleak mainly due to market saturation, and it is expected that around 219 million units will be shipped in 2016. Read on for individual performances. Samsungs shipments had a sharp drop of 34.4%. It managed to hold the top spot in the shipment ranking despite having to delay the shipments of its new TV models because of problems with its new 0.4mm production and the panel supply disruption caused by Taiwans earthquake. LG Electronics was ranked second place with 7.1 million units, representing a 13.4% drop from the previous quarter. Seasonality and weak sales depressed LGEs TV shipments during the period. Hisense benefitted from Sharps brand name license to take third place with 3.47 million units a 13.8% increase. The Chinese brand concentrated on developing overseas markets and struck a profitable deal with Sharp to acquire its factory in Mexico and the license to sell TVs in Americas under Sharps brand name. It is a growing brand in Australia. TCL shipped 3.2 million units growing 3.6%. TCL owns a variety of brands as well as Alcatel smartphones. Skyworth dropped 20.9% from fourth place to fifth. It sells in Australia via Harvey Norman and may well make the Toshiba brand under license. Sonys shipments dropped 33.3% - a major fall in recent years as the brand has shifted its focus from volume to margin. The Japanese TV vendor was knocked out of the top five by Skyworth. Japanese brands, on the whole, are gradually losing market shares to the rapidly growing Chinese brands. Lin said a recent notable trend in the TV market had been the rise of the Chinese Internet brands. By offering affordable premium products online, these Internet brands have seized much of the domestic market and upended the strategies of established TV makers. He added that due to changes in business models and consumer habits, holiday sales will not be as a powerful force in clearing inventories. Lin expects North America become the next target market of the Internet brands like LeTVs recent investments in TCLs subsidiary, TCL Multimedia Technology. Comment China remains the largest consumer market and the trend has turned to buying home-made over brand imports. HiSense and TCL are seen now as quality TV makers and premium brands like Sony and Toshiba are on a sharp decline even in their home markets. But the TV market problems run deeper. Tablets, smartphones, hybrids, and PCs are all increasing as content viewing devices. Analysts point to a raft of statistic indicating that at least 55% of content is now consumed mobile and its growing exponentially as people find that they have less time to enjoy long form content over short manageable chunks. The result is that the imperative of having that latest, greatest. TV has diminished. There is also a major long term concern that VR will spell the death of large screen TVs I cant see that but Augmented Reality (AR a.k.a. Microsoft Hololens) may succeed. But it is not just TVs and consumer electronics smartphones makers have recently been gobsmacked by two relatively new comers OPPO and VIVO taking out global fourth and fifth place. These companies are owned by BBK who also has a huge range of electronics interests (including OnePlus) and collectively beaten Huawei to the second spot. Apple has dropped 16.3% in sales in Q1 and the trend looks to continue. It is Asian Tiger time. As reported by iTWire on Tuesday, The Community Network was fined $230,000 by the Federal Court for breaching Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by engaging in unconscionable conduct in its dealings with one small business. The Federal Court declared that in its dealings with the small business The Community Network had refused to release it from its contract for advertising services when the company was not providing those advertising services - then pursuing the business for non-payment, threatening legal action and engaging debt collectors. In a statement issued on Wednesday from Brett Wilson of Adams Wilson Lawyers, Wilson said that The Community Network has accepted liability and has already undertaken measures to improve customer communication and overall satisfaction. Wilson said the consumer allegations could have been managed more effectively with more stringent customer service programs in place, and my client is working closely with the ACCC to develop processes that adhere to their requirements, but ultimately there was no intent to do the wrong thing and this was recognised by the court.And, The Community Network Managing Director Dave Ravenscroft says the company and its board of directors is cooperating with the ACCC with absolute transparency and is determined to rectify any deficiencies in procedure and policy.Customer service and client satisfaction is at the core of our business and we are committed to delivering a quality service and maintaining a high standard of practice."We take responsibility and accept the judgement handed down to us and have already started to take the necessary steps to improve our processes to ensure no further incidents like this arise.Ravenscroft said the company has already implemented a comprehensive compliance and training program which addresses each of the ACCCs requirements and has increased the number of customer service staff by 50%. It has also employed an internal quality controller and flagged that it plans to engage an independent company once a year to oversee the internal processes "to ensure nothing is missed".Ravenscroft also stresses that The Community Network has already integrated a new customer and partner feedback system - Listening Post Online - which streamlines the organisations management of customer feedback, complaints and general communication.And, he says the company has also addressed issues pertaining to the clarity of certain clauses within client contracts to prevent misunderstanding, in particular a rollover clause which required customers to give 12-months notice of contract termination.We have had an automatic, standard rollover clause in all contracts which was originally designed to promote customer loyalty."Ravenscroft said The Community Network has customers who have been with the company since 2004, who have enjoyed significant cost savings due to the rollover clause, however on the back of some criticism we have reduced the notice period to two months prior to the end of the advertising period.Customers now also have the option to commit to a standard two year contract or sign up to the new rollover agreement.Commenting on the breach of consumer law, Wilson said, If anything the whole matter has been a misunderstanding caused by some administrative issues that are being addressed and remedied. Basically this is a good product that a lot of small businesses see a real and valuable benefit from.Wilson says three clients of The Community Network submitted complaints to the ACCC regarding contract breaches over the provision of advertising services between 2013 and 2015, and the principle complaints related to The Community Network failing to provide the nominated advertising sites stipulated in the client contracts, within the agreed timetable.He also acknowledges that the consumer allegations could have been managed by The Community Network more effectively with more stringent customer service programs in place. Wilson also says that The Community Network is working diligently to implement new procedures to manage customer relationships and improve response times to customer enquiries, and they will continue to tune their systems to avoid any further customer dissatisfaction. The Community Network specialises in providing digital advertising and information systems using the latest technology to give exposure to local businesses, and says its "highly visible content information systems are installed in medical centres, hospitals, supermarkets, convenience stores, fitness centres, pharmacies and many other types of venues across the globe". In New York City, IT employees of EmblemHealth recently staged a protest over the decision to outsource their jobs. CEO Karen Ignagni told the employees the company needed to modernize its platforms and didn't have the money or expertise to do this work. Among those at this protest was Phillip Tsen, a former outsourcing project manager. It was once his job to move IT work to outsourcing firms. By joining the demonstration, Tsen wanted to show his support for EmblemHealth workers losing their jobs. Emblem's justifications for its wholesale layoff of its IT employees are similar to those Tsen once made as an outsourcing project manager. The difference is that he just doesn't believe in those arguments anymore. Tsen was a global leader of IBM offshore management for more than 15 years. He has a master's degree in computer science from Columbia University and earned a patent for his work on a knowledge transfer process. He left the industry in 2011. He now considers himself an unemployed writer. [Related story: Sold Out offers a new look at the H-1B debate.] Tsen has written a work of fiction inspired by his experiences of running outsourcing operations. This book, The PM Executioner: A Project Manager's Journey in Offshoring Jobs, describes what happened to one Peter Fallon, a project manager. (The book is available in both Kindle and softcover editions; Amazon price $2.99 - $16.95. What's this?) This book brings you inside the conference rooms where the decisions are being made. It explores the friction and dynamics among executives embarking on this course and shows its impacts on the affected workers. It helps you to understand their pain. It's a compelling read. Booklocker; jacket art by Todd Engel Published in December, former offshoring project manager Phillip Tsen has written a fictional account of his experiences. Fallon is increasingly troubled by the human consequences of his previous work and the questionable actions of executives paid large bonuses for eliminating jobs. Tsen began his professional career as an artist working as a designer at a textile firm. (You can see some of his work by scrolling down on this page.) But when the textile industry moved offshore, he changed careers and pursued studies in computer science, and joined Bell Labs when it was part of AT&T. He was a manager and distinguished engineer. In an interview, Tsen explains the reasons for writing this book, and talks about his hope that it might move executives to reconsider their direction. He describes the effort as a personal redemption. What follows are edited excerpts from an interview. What prompted you to write this book? Instead of being an executive, sitting in a war room, looking at a spreadsheet where decisions can be made easier, I worked in the field. You see people suffering. You see people trying to resist and fight [the outsourcing of their jobs]. I see all the things that are going on behind the scenes. You deteriorate inside your heart. I couldn't do it anymore, and took a leave of absence and wrote what's inside my heart. After a year, I went back to the job. I tried to get back to my work again. But I saw the affected IT workers, people with gray hair, with families, children in college, people who really need a job and I felt like: 'What am I doing here?" I quit and then wrote a book to get my voice out. What is the personal toll of this work? Some companies feel they have no choice [to outsource], and need to fix the processes and save the money. They are trying to do something that appears as if they are transforming the business to a better position. That seems like a good reason for it, but I'm still not sure that's the right solution. The savings (per job) are 30% -- if you offshore 100 people your savings is about $3 million. That's a quick savings. But then at the beginning of the next year, after you have done all the offshoring, the CEO and executives take million dollar bonuses. This is just not right at all. That's what is hurting me, this betrayal of loyal employees. The book's main character, Peter Fallon, argues that "we weren't responsible for firing hundreds of people; we were responsible for saving hundreds more by making this company solvent again." That's sounds like a moral justification for offshoring jobs. Isn't it? In 2001-2002, when the dot.com bubble burst, [saving a company] seemed like a good reason for outsourcing. I put my heart into it and did a good job. But in the years following the dot.com bubble, a lot of CEOs turned to outsourcing to appeal to Wall Street. In their hiring agreements there is a pre-set cash bonus and if you meet this number, you get this much in bonus. That's what I've seen happening. Not every every CIO or firm decides to offshore their IT department. What arguments are brought to bear by companies that reject offshore outsourcing? Some companies take moral responsibility, social responsibility and don't go offshore. Rather than lay off people, they try to retain their valuable, loyal employees. I don't mean job protection, because a company does not have the obligation to protect an employee's job. The employee needs to bring their value, and management also needs to bring its value. I'm not anti-offshoring because there are certain low-cost offshore skills that can help speed up the initial rollout of new technologies. But it's your loyal employees that know the best processes and the data. Phillip Tsen, author of "The PM Executioner" and former IBM global outsourcing manager. Companies that outsource their IT departments, and then announce job cuts, will call it a hard decision. To me, it's an easy solution to go offshore. They feel they can achieve business success by holding the service provider accountable to meet all the KPIs [Key Performance Indicators]. That's not the truth. Companies that retain their employees through a recovery retain their competitiveness. Companies that offshore are losing that competitiveness, that loyal employee -- you are losing the stability of a team in the long term. You put a lot of weight on loyalty. The premise is that a firm's IT employees will be adaptable and will act in the best interest of the company. You don't think that's true for offshore resources? Exactly, yes. When you offshore your knowledge, the person that you train will take your technical and business strategy knowledge and work for your competitors when they offshore their stuff. You never get a loyal, stable team offshore. Long-term, you are better off to keep your employees and use offshore for short-term work. There are some IT departments that outsource the vast majority of their IT work, if not all of it. What is the outcome for firms that take this path? A firm will say IT is not their core business. The drivers may be out-of-date systems, work backlogs, an understaffed IT department. They see their staffs as higher paid and decide that going offshore is cheaper. A lot of times managers [in other departments working with IT] are not following the best practices of project management. Requirements are vague because they don't understand the complexity, which leads to modifications, small releases and patching. A lot of IT employees feel they have become the scapegoats. To me that's a symptom. Outsourcing the IT department does not solve your problem, because the other departments in the firm are not following best practices. The offshore vendors will charge more for modifications. You think you are saving, but you're not saving. The culprits are the middle and higher managers -- they have not fostered a [company-wide] organization that follows good practices. Changing the pool of employees, from U.S. employees to offshore employees, does not say that you will have a better system. You are moving to a long-term headache. Are there moral consequences to these decisions? It's not morally correct that you just lay off your long-term employees, and you sacrifice and push them out door, then you take big bonuses. There are ways to do this -- everyone needs to bring value. Management is the culprit that fosters inefficient organizations. IT is not alone, and they are not the ones that should get the blame. People do not take the approach that "we are in this together" -- they do not all tighten up the belt. Outsourcing the employees is morally incorrect, and strategically not the right solution for the long-term. Your point is that a company that offshores believes they can improve their IT operations through vendor contract management, but what you are saying is they really can't. What are they losing? They will lose their competitiveness because their offshore IT department is unstable. They have a continuous turnover. When you implement a new strategy, the [IT] response time will be slower because you are dealing with a handful of new resources again. What impact will offshore outsourcing have, generally, on corporate IT? This is probably a dangerous path we are going down. Because of my experience, back in the 1980s, working as an art director [in a textile firm], everything went offshore so we lost the textile industry. At that time, telecom was booming. I hopped on that wagon right away because I have a can-do attitude. I join AT&T Bell Labs and become a manager and distinguished engineer. But my department went offshore to India. Now I ask: What's next if we continue this trend of offshoring? Do you think offshore will be cheaper forever? Years down the road, if you look at the percentages of increase, your Indiana labor cost will be lower than the India cost. But by then we won't have the capability anymore because nobody will be in that profession. That's what I worry about for the long term. I'm not anti-offshoring; I'm not pro-protectionism. But definitely the behaviors -- laying off people and then getting big bonuses -- those things need to be transparent. There needs to be a law to disclose that.... and to disclose how many H-1B holders are on-site for a purpose that's illegal. Will transparency make a difference? Transparency will make the moral issue more visible. Management will think twice because they also want to protect their brand image. There is an IT employee at New York Life who earned a computer science degree and is training her replacements from an IT services contracting firm. In an interview, she was asked: What would you say to any young person today who is considering a computer science major? Her recommendation was not to major in that because there's no future in it. Do you think that students should major in computer science today? I do not encourage that (majoring in computer science) because of the trend we are going down. Being a developer, tester or engineer of software -- those are jobs that will be offshored. Is "executioner" a word used by project managers in the offshore outsourcing industry? One person, early in my career, said to me, "You are the executioner." At one time I thought, that's just a way to survive [as a project manager in outsourcing engagements]. When I look back at that now, the person who called me an executioner actually had a much earlier sense of what I was getting into. That's why I used the word. A lot of what's in the story is based on facts. Here is an example: One person who lost a job because of an offshore outsourcing decision had a plaque in his office marking his 25th anniversary at the firm. He cleaned out his office, but the only thing he left behind was the anniversary plaque. That's an image that has haunted me for years. Get unlimited access to all content and features at ivpressonline.com with our Full Online Access Subscription. Read our E-Edition, the digital replica of the print newspaper online, access content in exclusive sections including Family, Teen, Business, Databases, Farm and more. This option does not include daily home delivery of the Imperial Valley Press newspaper. For home delivery service, please select Premium or Premium Plus. Email Links to our top local news stories of the day, Monday through Saturday. Chicago Public Schools Have A New Transgender-Friendly Bathroom Policy By Mae Rice in News on May 3, 2016 7:05PM The new policy doesn't quite mandate this, but it's a start. (Photo via AlexLMX on Shutterstock) Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has introduced a new policy that specifically allows transgender students, teachers and adults to use the bathroom that best aligns with their gender identity, school officials announced Monday. The regulations also allow students to use the locker rooms and overnight trip accommodations that best suit their gender identity. The guidelines released today will help ensure every student and adult in the CPS family can participate in an environment of complete tolerance and respect, CPS Chief Education Officer Dr. Janice K. Jackson said in a statement, adding that CPS has become "far more aware" of transgender issues in recent years, and hopes to reflect that in this policy. The new policy specifies that transgender people who request alternate, more private bathroom, locker room or field trip accommodations from CPS must receive them. It further requires schools to provide accommodation and support to gender non-binary students, and students questioning their gender identity. The new regulations piggyback on a CPS policy implemented in 2014. That was essentially a non-discrimination policy, mandating that transgender and gender nonconforming students receive the same opportunities in PE, sexual health, sports, and clubs as any other student. Springfield is currently considering a bill that would void this policy, though, and require every multi-student bathroom at schools to be reserved for one birth gender. As activists with the Chicago Restroom Access Project previously explained to Chicagoist, having to use the bathrooms that aligns with their birth genders can create health and safety issues for transgender people. The N.C. Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of a former Winston-Salem police officer for falsifying hours he worked off-duty as a security guard. Robert Lee Baker, 42, was a Winston-Salem police officer for six years until he was fired in 2012 over those allegations. On Feb. 1, 2013, he pleaded guilty in Forsyth District Court to two counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses. As part of a plea arrangement, Baker entered a deferred prosecution program in which he was put on supervised probation for 12 months. The idea was that if he complied with all the conditions of the deferred prosecution program, Forsyth County prosecutors would voluntarily dismiss the charges. The appeals court said in a decision Tuesday that the way the deal was structured meant the charges couldnt be dropped. Because Baker pleaded guilty and a judge accepted the plea, he was convicted of the charges. And a conviction cant be voluntarily dismissed, the court said. The deal should have ended in two ways either Baker failed to comply and had the opportunity to be tried on the charges in front of a jury, or Baker complied and the charges were dismissed, the court said. But since Baker was considered a convicted felon, there was no way for him to benefit from the deferred prosecution program. The court ruled that Bakers convictions be vacated and the case be sent back to Forsyth District Court. Baker is currently serving four years and three months to six years and two months after he was convicted in 2014 of armed robbery, second-degree kidnapping, felonious entering, carrying a concealed weapon and communicating a threat. A second man wanted in connection with a fatal April shooting turned himself in to Lexington police on Wednesday. Jeramie Jamar Santiago, 25, of Lexington was charged with murder in the death of Christopher Eason, 24, of Lexington, police said. Eason was found April 12 lying in a parking lot at 817 Cotton Grove Road with serious injuries. At that time, Lexington police said that Eason had been assaulted. Eason died two days later at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, police said. Lexington police identified Santiago and Quadarius Shaquille Kirkland, 23, of Lexington as suspects in Easons death. Kirkland turned himself in at the Lexington Police Department on April 18, police said. Kirkland was charged with murder, and he is being held without bond in the Davidson County Jail. Santiago also is being held in the Davidson County Jail with his bond set at $2 million, police said. Alexander Aguirre of New York City, Santiagos uncle, said that his nephew is sorry about Easons death. He is very distraught, Aguirre said. The confrontation between Eason and Santiago was part of a ongoing dispute between the men over a woman, Aguirre said. Aguirre didnt mention Kirklands role in the dispute. These two guys were fighting over a girl, Aguirre said. Santiagos family is heartbroken about Easons death, Aguirre said. Our family expresses condolences to the Eason family, Aguirre said. This is all a big tragedy. Ohio Gov. John Kasich is leaving the Republican presidential contest, giving Donald Trump a clear path to his party's nomination. Kasich will announce the end of his underdog White House bid on Wednesday, according to three campaign officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the candidate's plans. The decision comes a day after Trump's only other rival, Ted Cruz, dropped out. With no opponents left in the race, Trump becomes the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee to take on the Democratic nominee in November presumably Hillary Clinton. Though armed with an extensive resume in politics, the second-term Ohio governor struggled to connect with Republican primary voters in a year dominated by anti-establishment frustration. Kasich was a more moderate candidate who embraced elements of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul and called for an optimistic and proactive Republican agenda. Even before news of Kasich's decision surfaced, Trump signaled a new phase of his outsider campaign that includes a search for a running mate with experience governing and outreach to one-time competitors in an effort to heal the fractured Republican Party. "I am confident I can unite much of" the GOP Trump said Wednesday on NBC's "Today Show, as several prominent Republicans said they'd prefer Democrat Clinton over the New York billionaire. In a shot at his critics, Trump added: "Those people can go away and maybe come back in eight years after we served two terms. Honestly, there are some people I really don't want." His comments on several networks came a few hours after Trump, once dismissed as a fringe contender, became all-but certainly the leader of the Republican Party into the fall campaign against Clinton. The former secretary of state suffered a defeat Tuesday in Indiana to her rival, Bernie Sanders, but holds a definitive lead in Democratic delegates who will decide the Democratic nomination. The Republican competition changed dramatically with Trump's Indiana victory and Ted Cruz's abrupt decision to quit the race. Trump won the Indiana contest with 53.3 percent of the vote, to Cruz's 36.6 percent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 7.6 percent, according to unofficial results. Some Republican leaders remain acutely wary of Trump and have insisted they could never support him, even in a faceoff against Clinton. "The answer is simple: No," Tweeted Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, who has consistently said he could not support Trump. What's their plan moving forward? "Prayer," responded Republican strategist Tim Miller, a leader of one of the GOP's anti-Trump groups. "Donald Trump is just going to have an impossible time bringing together the Republican coalition." Some conservative leaders were planning a Wednesday meeting to assess the viability of launching a third party candidacy to compete with him in the fall. Such Republicans worry about Trump's views on immigration and foreign policy, as well as his over-the-top persona. Hours before clinching victory in Indiana, Trump was floating an unsubstantiated claim that Cruz's father appeared in a 1963 photograph with John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald citing a report first published by the National Enquirer. Trump defended his reference to the Enquirer article on Wednesday morning as "Not such a bad thing," but the line of attack was the final straw for some Republican critics. "(T)he GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks it's on the level," Mark Salter, a top campaign aide to 2008 Republican nominee John McCain, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. He added Clinton's slogan: "I'm with her." On finding a running mate, Trump told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that he'll "probably go the political route," saying he's inclined to pick someone who can "help me get legislation passed." Trump didn't identify any of the names under consideration. He also said he's hoping to decide within a week how to fund a general election campaign, but said he didn't want to accept money from super PACs. He told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he would begin to accept more political donations. "I'm really looking at small contributions, not the big ones. I don't want anyone to have big influence over me," he said. A prominent Cruz donor, Mica Mosbacher, quickly signaled support for Trump and urged others to follow. "I call on fellow conservatives to unite and support our new nominee Trump," said Mosbacher, widow of a member of George H.W. Bush's cabinet. "My heart goes out to Cruz who has a bright future. He did the unselfish thing to drop out." Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders eked out a victory over Clinton in Indiana, 52.5 percent to 47.5 percent. But the outcome will not slow the former secretary of state's march to the Democratic nomination. Heading into Tuesday's voting, Clinton had 92 percent of the delegates she needs. "I know that the Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They're wrong," Sanders said defiantly in an interview Tuesday night. But Clinton already has turned her attention to the general election. She and Trump now plunge into a six-month battle for the presidency, with the future of America's immigration laws, health care system and military posture around the world at stake. While Clinton heads into the general election with significant advantages with minority voters and women, Democrats have vowed to not underestimate Trump as his Republican rivals did for too long. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but apparently its also the foundation of a creative tour de force. The songs and accompanying visuals of Lemonade, a visual album released on HBO in April by Beyonce, are laced with interstitial poetry each offering historical, sociological, and psychological codes for hurt, betrayal, depression, and renewal. Where Paul is dead if you play Revolution 9 from The Beatles White Album backwards, the messages of death and rebirth surface the more we consume Lemonade. With slow, lingering sips. The story begins with her suspicions of a cheating husband. By the next vignette, we know hes been untrue. Its a betrayal that chips away at Beyonces self-identity and, at points, sanity. Who is in the house when shes not there? What secret is he hiding that creates this bifurcated husbandone thats a good father and one thats destroying every fiber of the family in the middle of the night. She knows hes been cheating because she sees her husband behaving in the same shady ways her father did when he was cheating on Miss Tina. Betrayal is a family heirloom that is inevitably passed down through the generations. Of course, she doesnt want that lamp in her house, but its her turn to be its keeper. Although, some would critique Beyonce for airing her dirty laundry on HBO/Tidal/iTunes, in reality she is doing what she can to destroy her birthright before it is handed to her daughter Blue Ivy. First, Beyonce is telling the story of recognition to rebirth to her daughter in the best way she knows how through song. Second, Blues mother is surrounding her girl with a support system that all women need as they navigate becoming women. Tennis icon Serena Williams, intersectional feminists/actors Amandla Stenberg, Zendaya, and Somali poet Warsan Shire all have stories to tell of being broken by others and then rebirthing themselves stronger, better. Women from all races can relate to stories of infidelity, but Lemonade isnt made for them. Instead, it is a mature lyrical epic of the journey black women take as we try to triumph in a world that frequently tells us we are not enough. She tells this story, all while interweaving the confounding societal structures that makes her husbands betrayal all the more poignant. As images of contented black women flicker across the screen, Malcom Xs reminds us that (T)he most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman. Their smiles remind us that they, much like the city where they stand, are resilient in the face of nearly insurmountable odds. That disrespect is all the more profound when it comes from the man that vowed to love her. The idea that any man would turn away from the goddess Beyonce is, in itself, stupefying. She is the Queen Bey that just wakes up with all of the beauty, brains, and class we all wish we had when shut off the alarm clock. A guy, 12 years her senior, with a drug-dealing past could only dream of doing better. Perhaps the betrayal can also be explained in Lemonade. The mothers of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, and Eric Garner (symbols of the Black Lives Matters movement) remind viewers that the black man has been literally broken and beaten. How would any man even Jay Z retain his psychological security in a world that cultivates his insecurity? Of course, it is from Becky with the good hair. What more does a man who has everything need? More validation of his masculinity. By the end of the piece, it appears that Beyonce has forgiven her husband and father, deciding to let love heal the familial wounds. Her decision to forgive, but clearly not forget, is her choice. Beyonces black feminism celebrates her (and all of my upwardly mobile sisters) ability to choose out of love, not necessity. The story of Beyonce healing her black family is one of these moments where an artist rises to iconic status. Prince had Purple Rain. Michael Jackson had Thriller. Lemonade is that and more. She tells her truth to set herself, her mother and her daughter free. She takes what is bitter and gives it new life. Her Lemonade is authentic, self-reflective, and ultimately a masterpiece. Get Ready For Wicker Park's Rollicking Prince Tribute Parade This Friday By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on May 4, 2016 2:31PM Leave your motorcycle at home and get ready to dance during the 'Purple Walk.' We know letting go of Prince is proving harder than you thought it would be. His death on April 21 has led to a long outpouring of public grief, alongside a renewed interest and focus on his huge body of work. There have been a number of events and public artwork sprouting up to pay homage to Prince over the last weeks, and this Friday could offer the chance for the largest Chicago public party to celebrate his legacy yet. "A Night Of A Thousand PrincesThe Purple Walk" will take place on May 6, and hopes to draw a large crowd of Prince fans into the streets. According to the organizers' events page, this is what you can expect: So put on some eyeliner and your best 'Prince inspired' outfit, (Wear lots of Purple ;-) and meet us at Wicker Park, by the fountain around sunset. We will be playing his biggest hits, as we take it to the streets of Wicker Park around 9 p.m. We will walk down Damen to Division to Ashland to Milwaukee and end up at 6 corners. We will walk around the neighborhood and end our Prince tribute parade with LETS GO CRAZY!!! A similar event took place in the neighborhood following Michael Jackson's death, and we found that to be a celebratory and cathartic affair. It also showed that you can throw a huge party in the streets that stays positive and doesn't turn into a public disturbance, so we're hoping "The Purple Walk" celebrants and observers follows that previous example. So don your finest purple finery and meet by the Wicker Park fountain and meet at the Wicker Park Fountain at 8 p.m. to join the dance parade. Land and Space Journal Sentinel business reporter Tom Daykin talks about commercial real estate and development. SHARE By of the The developer who has converted much of downtown's former Pritzlaff Hardware Co. buildings into an event venue, offices and other commercial space is now proceeding with plans to create 99 apartments there. Ken Breunig will begin the renovations within a few weeks at the Pritzlaff complex, at W. St. Paul and N. Plankinton avenues. The work will create the Pritzlaff Lofts. The units, ranging from one to three bedrooms, will be on floors three through seven at the connected Cream City brick buildings, Breunig said. Also, construction work will begin later this year on a four-level parking structure, with 240 spaces, on a parking lot next to the Pritzlaff, he said. Both the apartments and parking structure are expected to be completed by July 2017. The apartments will likely draw millennials and baby boomers, Breunig said. Those same groups have filled Brenug's 42-unit Plankinton Loft Apartments, located in converted office space above the Grand Avenue mall's Plankinton Arcade. The units at Pritzlaff Lofts will be an average of 1,150 square feet, with monthly rents ranging from $1,163 to $2,500, Breunig said. Despite ever-growing numbers of downtown-area apartments, demand "is still pretty strong," he said. The new apartments will largely complete the redevelopment of the six Pritzlaff buildings, which were built from 1875 through 1919. Pritzlaff Hardware Co. was one of the nation's biggest hardware wholesalers before closing in 1958. The buildings were then used by Hack's Furniture, which closed in the late 1980s. Pritzlaff Events, which provides party and banquet space, occupies most of the first floor, which also has three commercial tenants. The second floor is occupied mainly by the 32,000-square-foot Ward4 Milwaukee business start-up office space, along with Miss Ruby Bridal and Crescent Grove Advisors. The project's financing includes the use of state and federal historic preservation tax credits. Markable Inc. raises $1.9 million in equity funding Markable Inc., a Madison fashion technology company, has raised $1.9 million of a proposed $2.8 million equity funding round, according to a filing with federal securities regulators. Markable has an app that helps users instantly buy fashion items they see online or on the street. The app analyzes a photo and finds instantly a shopping site and best matches for the item. The company was co-founded in 2014 by Joy Tang and Fiona Wang. Tang, chief executive officer, has an undergraduate degree in math and economice from MIT and was a 2002 China Math Olympic Gold Medalist. Wang, a vice president, has a graduate degree in finance from Illinois Institute of Technology. Both executives work in Chicago and Madison. Gearbox Express raises $1.5 million Gearbox Express LLC, a Mukwonago wind turbine service company, has raised $1.5 million to fund future growth, the company said Thursday. Privately-held Gearbox Express was founded in 2011 to remanufacture wind energy gearboxes and have them ready for utilities to install when their wind turbine gearboxes wear out or fail. The money raised was all equity, according to a filing with federal securities regulators. "Our growth is exceeding our expectations and the additional capital will fund more inventory and new products so we can better serve our customers," said Bruce Neumiller, chief executive officer. FluGen begins clinical trial on universal influenza vaccine FluGen Inc., a Madison biotechnology company that is developing flu vaccines, said Wednesday it has begun a clinical trial of its RedeeFlu universal influenza vaccine. The trial involves 96 healthy adult subjects between the ages of 18 and 49. It will evaluate the safety of the vaccine and the antibody and T-cell responses it prompts. The vaccine has in animals induced robust antibody and cellular immune responses without producing any infectious virus particles, the company says. "We believe that Redeeflu could be the first influenza vaccine to show robust protection from drifted or mismatched flu strains," said Paul Radspinner, the company's president and chief executive officer. Simple gizmos come from complex journeys The thing looks simple a gadget that holds small items tightly to a bicycle frame using industrial-grade rubber bands. But behind the "SuperBand," the latest product from a little Mequon firm called BiKASE, stands a complex mix of inspiration, doubt, sweat and trial-and-error. "These products, even though they don't look like much, they can be quite costly to develop," BiKASE owner Chad Buchanan said. Madison pharmaceutical company raises $3 million from investors Madison pharmaceutical technology company Invenra has raised another $3 million from 27 investors, according to a filing with securities regulators Wednesday. Invenra has a proprietary platform that allows for rapid screening of potential new drug candidates without using living cells. The new money will be used for "research and development and general corporate purposes," the company said in the filing. Chamber launches HealthTech Capitol website to promote Madison area The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce announced Friday the launch of the HealthTech Capitol website healthtechcapitol.com as part of an initiative dedicated to establishing Madison as a leader for health innovation by allowing companies to leverage talent, capital and mentoring. "With a robust ecosystem of world-class research, the market leader in electronic medical records, entrepreneurs and a strong network of payers and providers, Greater Madison is already a leader in health innovation," said Chamber President Zach Brandon. "HealthTech Capitol will help build on these strengths by supporting companies and talent in our region and building an infrastructure that will amplify our health discoveries to the world." HealthTech Capitol represents efforts begun in 2012 by entrepreneurs to make greater Madison the best place to start and grow a health technology company. The effort brought together a group of emerging health tech companies and providers from the Madison area, including HealthX Ventures, Moxe, Healthfinch, Forward Health Group and Wellbe. HealthTech Capitol is sponsored by the Godfrey and Kahn law firm, with support from UW Health and CUNA Mutual Group. Xemex attracts attention from angel investors Xemex, a soon-to-be company that has developed an adhesive mixing nozzle with no moving parts, has attracted interest from four angel investing groups, a University of Wisconsin-Madison official said Tuesday. Xemex is one of seven projects that recently emerged from a program aimed at turning university research into commercial endeavors, said John Biondi, director of Discovery to Product, or D2P. D2P was formed as a partnership between UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation in 2014. It has produced 12 start-ups so far, Biondi said. Neenah entrepreneur to appear on West Texas Investors Club James Oliver, a Neenah entrepreneur, will appear Tuesday night on CNBC's "West Texas Investors Club." In the episode, Oliver pitches his company, WeMontage Inc., to Rooster McConaughey and Butch Gilliam. The self-made Texas multimillionaires invest in those they view as promising entrepreneurs, but only on their turf and their terms. WeMontage has an online service that turns photos into large, removable wallpaper panels. The company raised $310,000 from angel investors in 2013. Madison chamber leader touts Wisconsins high-tech Third Wave Starting with his very first interview for the job of president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce, Zach Brandon made it clear: His was not a traditional plan. Rather than focus solely on established businesses, Brandon wanted to embrace start-ups, the "scalable and salable" companies, as he called them. Some called it a flash-in-the-pan strategy. They criticized how he never even mentioned major local employer Oscar Mayer in his vision statement. Wisconsin got more venture capital deals in 2015, but amount invested fell At least 128 state companies raised more than $209 million of angel and venture capital in 2015, with the results indicating what the president of the Wisconsin Technology Council described as a generally improving picture for early-stage financing. "I think most of the trends here are quite good," said Tom Still of the council, which puts together the annual accounting. Angel and venture financing marks an important measure of how well a state is doing at growing high-potential companies, and Wisconsin's record has been mediocre at best. WMC launches contest to find 'coolest thing' made in Wisconsin To drum up interest in manufacturing and engage young people, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce is holding a contest to determine the "coolest thing" made in the state. The Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin contest will accept nominations through Aug. 31, organizers said. "We want manufacturers and Wisconsin residents to start nominating products on our website, and we want people, especially young people, to start a conversation about manufacturing and participate in voting in September," said Kurt R. Bauer, president and CEO of WMC, a major business lobbying organization that says it represents 3,800 employers in the state. Jendusa donates $1 million to UWM for entrepreneur-in-residence program Jerry Jendusa, co-founder of aerospace products maker Emteq LLC, has donated $1 million to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to fund an entrepreneur-in-residence program, the school said Wednesday. The Lubar Center for Entrepreneurship , which was establishged in 2015 with a $10 million gift from Marianne and Sheldon Lubar, is constructing a new building on UWM's campus. "I am proud to support entrepreneurs in residence, who will bring real-world experience to the classroom and introduce students to innovators who are shaping Milwaukee and our region," Jendusa said. "Big entrepreneurial ideas start as a dream, and I want to encourage students to chase their dreams." WISC Partners raises $8.2 million WISC Partners LP, a venture capital fund with an unusual, consulting-driven business model, has raised $8.2 million, according to a filing with federal securities regulators. The fund raised the money from 29 investors, the filing said. This brings to $9.2 million the total amount the fund has raised, according to www.formds.com. WISC Partners in April said it had, with Capital Midwest Fund of Mequon, led a $1.2 million funding of Pegasus Sustainability Solutions, a Fitchburg company that is building an online marketplace for buyers and sellers in markets such as hazardous waste, medical waste and environmental remediation. IDAvatars merges with Colorado company IDAvatars, a Mequon start-up that develops health care apps featuring an avatar, or animated character, has merged with CodeBaby, a company based in Colorado Springs, Colo., that develops so-called virtual assistants. The two companies, which combined will employ about 35 people and 10 contractors, have complementary technologies, said Norrie Daroga, the founder and chief executive officer of iDAvatars. CodeBaby, which also has an office in Edmonton, Canada, has focused on developing products for websites, while iDAvatars has focused on developing mobile applications. Badger Meter CEO Rich Meeusen. Credit: Journal Sentinel files SHARE By of the Badger Meter Inc., the Brown Deer-based maker of water meters and other flow measuring devices, said Wednesday that it is exploring "various options to enhance shareholder value," which could include the sale of the company. The statement was in response to a published report that said the company was considering a potential sale. "While it is the long-standing policy of Badger Meter Inc. not to comment on rumors in the marketplace or media reports, the company confirmed today that it is exploring on a preliminary basis various options to enhance shareholder value," the statement said. "There can be no assurance that any action will be taken as a result of this exploration, and the company does not intend to provide further comment at this time." The initial report of a potential sale was published by The Wall Street Journal. A call to Badger Meter seeking additional comment was not immediately returned. Badger Meter has a market capitalization the price of its stock multiplied by the number of shares it has trading in the market of $1.08 billion. The company is coming off a strong first-quarter financial report. Badger Meter's strong earnings, record quarterly sales and growth potential have contributed to a big increase in the price of the company's stock since the start of the year. The shares closed Wednesday at $74.28, spiking up nearly 4% following The Wall Street Journal's online report, on a day when U.S. stock markets overall were down just under 1%. Badger Meter stock closed 2015 at $58.59 a share. The company confirmed that it was exploring its options shortly after markets closed, and its shares rose another 2% in after-hours trading. The company reported record quarterly sales and profit on April 18. For the first quarter ended March 31, Badger Meter posted net earnings of $8 million, an 89.0% increase from the first quarter of 2015. At the time, the company said the results were driven in part by strong demand for its municipal water products. Net sales were $100.6 million, a record for any quarter for the company and an increase of 20.2% from the first quarter of 2015. During the first quarter, municipal water products represented 76.9% of Badger Meter's sales, while flow instrumentation products represented 23.1%, according to an April 21 report by Zacks Investment Research. Badger Meter designs and manufactures flow measurement, control and communications solutions that serve water utilities, municipalities, and commercial and industrial customers worldwide. The company's products measure water, oil, chemicals and other fluids. The company holds about 26% of the U.S. water meter market, according to an April 20 report from Milwaukee investment firm Robert W. Baird & Co. The report said Baird's analysts were concerned that Badger Meter's share price was too high, although Baird's growth forecast for the company was positive, with technology and products poised to grow "with increases seen across virtually all products." Badger Meter employs about 1,400 people worldwide. The company's headquarters is at 4545 W. Brown Deer Road in Brown Deer. It also has locations in Racine; Tulsa, Okla.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Los Gatos, Calif. Overseas, Badger Meter has locations in Asia, Mexico, Europe and the Middle East. Kathleen Gallagher of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report SHARE Angel Medina-Santiago Milwaukee Police Department By , Angel Medina-Santiago, a 34-year-old Milwaukee man, was charged Wednesday with fatally stabbing 39-year-old Anthony Garcia-Cortez after a dispute that escalated Saturday outside a nightclub. Garcia-Cortez, of Milwaukee, died at 2 a.m. after being stabbed in the chest twice. Emergency responders were called after a female witness saw Garcia-Cortez go to the ground during a fight outside Tequila Night Club, 1460 S. Muskego Ave. A security guard from the bar identified Medina-Santiago from a series of photos as the man who stabbed Garcia-Cortez with a knife and said that the two had been arguing earlier that night before he had asked Garcia-Cortez to leave. Milwaukee Fire Department personnel administered CPR on Garcia-Cortez as soon as they arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m., but he was pronounced dead at 1:58 a.m. Medina-Santiago remains at large. By of the A 20-year-old West Allis man was acting extremely paranoid before randomly opening fire on a family traveling home from Wisconsin Dells last weekend, killing a woman inside the vehicle, authorities say. Zachary T. Hays was driving an SUV when he rolled down his window and fired three shots at a passing car hitting Tracy Czaczkowski in the neck while her husband drove and her two children were in the back seat, according to a criminal complaint charging him with homicide. His brother, Jeremy Hays, described Zachary as acting paranoid ever since he smoked marijuana four days earlier, the criminal complaint says. Jeremy told police that he and another brother were in the SUV because Zachary, armed with a gun, had threatened to kill them if they left, according to the complaint. Hours before the freeway shooting, Zachary Hays was identified as a suspect in the fatal shooting of his downstairs neighbor, 42-year-old Gabriel Sanchez, at their West Allis apartment building. Few details have been released about that homicide. West Allis police say they have been in contact with Milwaukee County prosecutors, but charges have not yet been filed. 'Freaking out' Court documents and law enforcement officials have outlined the following chain of events: The shooting spree began shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday when someone called 911 to report a man had forced his way into two apartments in West Allis. When police arrived, they found Sanchez suffering a gunshot wound. His front door had been kicked in. Sanchez died from his injuries. West Allis police identified Zachary Hays as a person of interest in the homicide and sent alerts to other law enforcement agencies in the state. Meanwhile, Zachary Hays and his brothers apparently headed north. The brothers stopped at a gas station near a Burger King in Wisconsin Dells before getting on I-90/94 in Sauk County. Zachary Hays had a pistol in his lap and was pointing it at cars as they drove by, his brother said. He began driving erratically, flipping people off and was particularly paranoid about cars with tinted windows, the brother told investigators. Zachary Hays was watching a black car approaching their SUV and "freaking out" about its tinted windows before shooting toward the car, the brother said. Shot by deputies Czaczkowski's husband, who was driving, told investigators he saw an SUV driving erratically and tried to pass it. He said the driver pointed a gun at his family and fired three times. His wife was hit and he pulled over to call 911. Zachary Hays continued speeding on the highway for several miles until deputies used road spikes to stop his vehicle in Dane County. He got out of the car, walked toward authorities holding a gun and ignored orders to drop it, officials said. Two deputies fired and wounded him in the shoulder. He was taken to a hospital, and an update on his condition was not available Wednesday. His brothers were arrested and remained in Dane County Jail Wednesday. At some point he also is believed to have fired at a Nissan sedan that was struck by at least one round, but the Florida woman driving the car was not hit. Zachary Hays was charged Wednesday in Sauk County Circuit Court with first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of recklessly endangering safety. The homicide charge alone carries a mandatory life sentence. Sauk County court records do not provide any information about the West Allis homicide, nor do they give any insight about why the brothers went to Wisconsin Dells. Funeral arrangements for both homicide victims are pending. The Czaczkowski family has asked for privacy and a Sanchez family member reached Wednesday declined to comment. Online funds have been established to benefit both families. To donate to Gabriel Sanchez's family, go to crowdrise.com and search for "Gabriel Sanchez." To contribute to Tracy Czaczkowski's family, visit gofundme.com/CzaczkowskiFamily. A real estate project under construction in China. [File photo] China's housing market is on track for a soft landing as cities at different levels begin to promote balanced market development in line with their conditions. The home prices in major cities have been growing at a slower pace. According to statistics released by the China Index Academy on May 1, China's four biggest cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen -- were no longer in the lead in rising prices. In particular, home transactions in Shanghai and Shenzhen declined notably last month after local governments introduced a slew of regulations to tame the market. By April 26, one month after the regulations were imposed, the number of homes sold in Shanghai declined 50 percent, and the number in Shenzhen declined by 57 percent. With the housing market cooling off in top cities, investors have turned their eyes to big cities' satellite towns and second-tier cities. Langfang City, which is near Beijing in north China's Hebei Province, Nanjing City and Suzhou City, which are near Shanghai in east China's Jiangsu Province, and Huizhou City, which is near Guangzhou and Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province, were among the 10 cities with the highest price rise in April. Meanwhile, heavy investments have gone to second-tier cities. China's top 20 real estate developers, including Vanke and Evergrande, purchased land worth 63.65 billion yuan (US$9.83 billion) in second-tier cities in the first quarter. The investment accounted for 53.6 percent of their total. In comparison, their spending in these cities in the same period last year was 35.29 billion yuan (US$5.45 billion), accounting for 34.7 of the total. Major problems now remain in cities of smaller size. Ming Lu, a researcher at the real estate consultancy company Cushman & Wakefield said that, compared with Beijing, where homes are often sold in nine to 10 months, cities rated in the third and fourth tiers are under heavy pressure, as it takes as long as 31 months to sell homes there. In the future, local governments around the country will continue to develop regulation policies in line with their conditions as required by Chinese premier Li Keqiang in the annual government work report, the China Index Academy said. Restrictive measures will be taken in cities with overheating markets, while policies encouraging home purchases will be introduced in cities under heavy inventory pressure. The former Citation plant is in the process of being torn down. The site has been the scene of graffiti, gun fire, drug dealing and prostitution, according to Milwaukee Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton. Credit: Rick Wood By of the Prostitution. Drug use. Students waiting at nearby bus stops dodging gunshots. An abandoned plant near the corner of N. 27th St. and W. Capitol Drive in Milwaukee has festered for more than a decade, becoming a magnet for all kinds of crimes. But new Common Council President Ashanti Hamilton announced Wednesday the plant and other problem properties are being targeted for demolition as part of a new blight-fighting initiative dubbed "Out of Harm's Way." Hamilton said the effort will push for partnerships with private companies to help improve safety by demolishing abandoned and dangerous properties. "Students have to walk past this going to class every day. They have to stand on bus stops with gunfire flying over their heads as a normal way of life," Hamilton said, standing surrounded by the shuttered plant's broken windows. "Our tolerance is too high. We have to start having plans of alleviating these types of nuisances in neighborhoods early, because you have to make people feel like their community is valued." Hamilton was joined by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, state Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) and Frank Crivello of Phoenix Investors. Phoenix has taken ownership of the property and plans to finish demolishing the building by the end of May. The manufacturing plant was previously owned by the Citation Corp., but it closed more than 10 years ago. Hamilton said a tour of the vacant building found evidence of prostitution and squatting. "When we walked through this place we found mattresses, we found children's toys...there were kids playing with these toys. Bags of clothes," Hamilton said. "All of this happening right up under our nose." Abele said the county is committed to finding help for people who are affected by that demolition and others by providing services, such as housing, job training and drug treatment. "It's not a challenge, it's a crisis," Abele said of Milwaukee's blight problems. "We want to make sure when the people who are squatting here, when the people who don't have hope, who are doing drugs, when the people who for right or wrong this is where they've been get pushed out, we don't drop the ball for them either," Abele said. "We're always excited to be able to help." In December, the city announced that it had sold more than 500 tax-foreclosed houses and commercial buildings in 2015, a record high number of properties returned to the tax roll since a nationwide real estate recession in 2007 was followed by a foreclosure crisis in 2008. Single-family homes and duplexes accounted for 480 of the sales, while 21 others were commercial buildings, including apartment buildings, a restaurant and one church, records show. Since 2014, the city's Strong Neighborhoods Plan has led to more than 1,000 sales of homes with about 55% being sold to owner-occupants and demolitions of more than 600 blighted properties. Patrick Curley, chief of staff for Mayor Tom Barrett, said the city would welcome help from the county. "The city has committed about $35 million to address the foreclosure crisis," Curley said. "We'd love to see the county come forward with some firm dollar commitment so we can all work together to address this problem." Curley added recent legislation passed by the state dealing with so-called "zombie" homes and another measure affecting the city's property inspection program, which he called the "gift to slumlords bill," didn't help Milwaukee's efforts. At the news conference, Crivello urged other companies to be more responsible with their properties, saying that when Phoenix bought the abandoned Citation plant it had long been home to gangs, drug users and homeless people. "In my 30 plus years in the commercial real estate business, I have never seen anything as bad as this," Crivello said. "Blighted property is like a cancerous tumor on the lung of a neighborhood." Crivello developed dozens of strip malls in the 1980s, but by the early '90s his holdings unraveled amid personal bankruptcy and he was convicted of felony fraud for lying to lenders. SHARE By of the The former South Shore YMCA, which closed last year after its parent organization's bankruptcy, has been sold to a nonprofit ethnic group. The Clifton, N.J.-based Federation of Balkan American Associations Inc. bought the property, 3244 E. College Ave., Cudahy, for $1,135,000, according to state real estate records posted Wednesday. The two parcels that make up the former YMCA total 12.8 acres, according to city assessment records. The building is around 53,500 square feet, according to LoopNet.com, a commercial real estate internet site. The Balkan American Association promotes activities that include lectures and seminars, language courses and cultural activities, including film festivals, according to the group. The association will use the former YMCA for its activities, said Roland Cinari, the organization's office manager. The group's members include people whose ethnic roots are in Kosovo, Bosnia and other Balkan countries, he said. Cinari said the group also plans to reopen part of the building as a fitness center for both the organization's members and the public. The sale comes several months after Grace Hmong Alliance Church, which has an office in Brookfield, outbid the Cudahy School District to buy the property. The church's attempt to complete the purchase apparently fell through, however. Grace Hmong worships in rented space at 4601 N. 84th St. in Milwaukee. The YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2014. The Cudahy property was transferred in 2015 to a trust controlled by BMO Harris Bank, one of the organization's largest creditors. The Cudahy School District had hoped to acquire the YMCA facility to operate it as a community center, and expected to seek a referendum to help finance it. Facebook: facebook.com/JSBusiness Twitter: twitter.com/TomDaykin A proposal from Gov. Scott Walkers administration would shift multibillion-dollar programs serving more than 55,000 elderly and disabled people from long-standing nonprofits to national for-profit health insurance companies. Credit: Journal Sentinel files SHARE State Rep. John Nygren thinks the Walker administration's proposed changes to the state's Family Care program are a "no-brainer." Not quite. The changes actually require some thought and better information from the administration before legislators approve them. Yes, the pressure of Medicaid costs on the state budget is increasing; "medical assistance and related programs" at about $3 billion were the second highest expenditure in Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget last year, taking up about 17% of the total budget (the feds pick up about another $5 billion right now). Nearly 1.2 million people in Wisconsin about one in five receive Medicaid benefits. And those numbers are only expected to go up at the same time that federal dollars are going down. And yes, the state should do what it can to mitigate those costs, including looking for innovation, efficiencies and consolidation where feasible. But it should move carefully to make sure the savings can be realized without hurting services to those who rely on these programs. The Walker administration's proposal would shift long-term care programs serving more than 55,000 elderly and disabled people from long-standing nonprofits to national for-profit health insurance companies. Officials say the plan, affecting the Family Care and IRIS programs, would expand the program statewide, save money for taxpayers and improve the health of patients by combining care for their long-term needs with attention to their immediate medical issues. Family Care includes personal care services, helping people with getting dressed, bathing, making meals and shopping. Such care can be costly but is less expensive than nursing homes, and allows people to stay in their homes. But what the administration really is proposing is an experiment in long-term care that may or may not play out as projected. Tom Frazier, co-chairman of the Wisconsin Long-Term Care Coalition, told the Journal Sentinel that the state took 16 years to develop the current Family Care model and the nonprofits within it and shouldn't move too fast on any overhaul. Critics also point out that the national insurers have sizable clout and deep political connections on their side, including a well-regarded executive at one company who is the former chief of staff to both Walker and his health secretary, Kitty Rhoades. And they argue the state hasn't yet proved the cost savings, better health outcomes or other basic premises of the sweeping changes. "We need to phase this in slowly to make sure it works," Frazier said. "The bottom line is we should not be disrupting the lives of nearly 60,000 frail elderly and disabled individuals unless we have a reasonable possibility that they're going to be as well off as they are now. The state says they'll be better off, but I think they've failed to prove that." We think Frazier has an excellent point. And state Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) may agree: She told the Journal Sentinel that Senate Republicans need time so they can get answers to their questions from the administration. Family Care and IRIS have been working just fine. Yes, changes may be warranted, but there is no need to rush through these changes. It's far more important to get this right than to do it fast, and legislators should take all the time they need. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders waves to the crowd after arriving at a campaign rally on Tuesday in Louisville, Ky. Credit: Getty Images By Chareleston, W.Va. Bernie Sanders was declared the winner of the Indiana primary Tuesday, but Hillary Clinton was already looking ahead to the general election, and Sanders' victory was not enough to change her trajectory toward the Democratic nomination. Sanders, a Vermont senator, insists his goal remains to win the partys presidential nomination, even if it appears to be mathematically out of reach. Democrats distribute delegates proportionately in all states, so the only way for Sanders to close Clinton's delegate lead is to win all future contests by huge margins and convince many superdelegates party leaders and elected officials free to support either candidate to switch their votes to him, even in states Clinton won. Speaking in Louisville Tuesday night, Sanders said, "in primary after primary, caucus after caucus, we end up winning the vote of people 45 years of age and younger," proving that "the ideas that we are fighting for are the ideas of the future of America and the future of the Democratic party." But Clinton was looking past him. "I'm really focused on moving into the general election ... We're going to have a tough campaign," Clinton said during an interview with MSNBC Tuesday. In a swing through West Virginia and eastern Ohio Tuesday, Clinton campaigned as the presumptive nominee. During a stop at a diner in Athens, Ohio, with Sen. Sherrod Brown, she said the Indiana race had been "a great campaign, and we'll see how it goes." Clinton's aim in the two-day Appalachian trip is to begin outreach to underserved communities that may be ground zero for Donald Trumps attempts to build a bigger Republican coalition. However, she is facing questions about a remark she made during a March town hall on CNN when she said she would "put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business." She was asked during the MSNBC interview about an encounter she'd had the day before with Bo Copley, a former coal employee who lost his job, who pressed her on the coal comment and the impact the coal industry had on his family. She said she was "honored" that he'd been "so open and honest, emotionally" in explaining his experience in the coal business. "I think we've got to move both toward a clean energy future. ... But we also have to remember who turned on the lights and powered the factories and provided the energy we needed to build our country," she added. West Virginia is a solid Republican state, and is trending more so in recent cycles. She knows the politics of West Virginia, said Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who joined her at a substance abuse forum. But it didnt stop her from caring and traveling to the state, he said. Sanders, meanwhile, held events in Kentucky on Tuesday, which holds its Democratic primary on May 17, and scheduled events Wednesday in West Virginia, which votes May 10. Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz hugs his father, Rafael Cruz and wife Heidi Cruz after announcing the suspension of his campaign on Tuesday night. Credit: Getty Images By New York Donald Trump easily won the Indiana primary on Tuesday, all but clinching the Republican presidential nomination and calling for party unity as rival Ted Cruz dropped out of the GOP race. "It's been some unbelievable day and evening and year," Trump told supporters at his building in midtown Manhattan, predicting that more and more skeptical Republicans will jump aboard the "Trump train" ahead of a tough fall election against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. "We're going after Hillary Clinton," Trump said to loud cheers. The Clinton campaign said it is ready for Trump. Campaign chairman John Podesta said that Trump "has demonstrated that he's too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world." Although Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was declared the winner of the Indiana primary Tuesday, but Clinton was already looking ahead to the general election, and Sanders' victory was not enough to change her trajectory toward the Democratic nomination. Cruz, who finished a distant second to Trump in Indiana, told supporters earlier in the evening that "we gave it everything we've got, but the voters chose another path." Republican Party chairman Reince Priebus, who spoke with Trump as the Indiana results rolled in, declared the New York businessman "the presumptive nominee," and said in a tweet that "we all need to unite and focus on defeating" Clinton. Hours after Trump and Cruz accused each other of being unhinged liars, the New York businessman called Cruz "one helluva competitor" after beating him in Indiana, and he added that the Texas businessman has an "amazing future." Trump also thanked the "incredible" people of Indiana for helping him overcome deficits in early polling and ignoring negative ads about his candidacy. Cruz, who had hoped for a rally that would help him force a contested convention in July, had argued earlier in the day that Trump is an unstable person who would drag Republicans down to defeat in November. "Donald Trump is such a narcissist that Barack Obama looks at him and says, 'Dude, what's your problem?'" Cruz told reporters in Indiana. The Indiana primary capped a remarkably angry campaign in which Trump and Cruz accused each other of being unhinged liars including a suggestion by Trump on Tuesday that Cruz's father was somehow linked to Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Protesting the senior Cruz's criticism of him, Trump cited an (uncorroborated) report in The National Enquirer with a picture supposedly showing Rafael Cruz standing near Oswald. "It's horrible," Trump told Fox News. Cruz called Trump's claims "nuts" and "kooky," telling reporters that Trump "is utterly amoral morality does not exist for him." He called the GOP front-runner "a pathological liar" who "doesn't know the difference between truth and lies." Responding to what he called Cruz's "ridiculous outburst," Trump described "Lyin' Ted" as "a desperate candidate trying to save his failing campaign." He said the Texas senator "does not have the temperament to be president of the United States." Ohio Gov. John Kasich who pulled out of Indiana last week and vowed to take on Trump in upcoming states, indicated he would remain in the race. In a memo sent after Trump's win, Kasich's chief strategist, John Weaver, said, "Our strategy has been and continues to be one that involves winning the nomination at an open convention." Cruz had indicated earlier in the day he would stay in the Republican race even with an Indiana loss, and his campaign had announced appearances later this week in Nebraska and Washington. But he told backers in Indiana he would continue only "as long as there was a viable path" to the nomination. "Tonight, I'm sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed," Cruz said. Trump, meanwhile, is trying to unite Republicans behind his candidacy, even as he faces continued criticism from current and past rivals as well as a variety of "Never Trump" organizations. Katie Packer, who chairs an anti-Trump group called the Our Principles PAC, indicated it would not give up despite the Indiana results, noting that Trump is still short of the delegate majority he needs. "A substantial number of delegates remain up for grabs in this highly unpredictable year," she said, adding there is "more time for Trump to continue to disqualify himself in the eyes of voters as he did yet again today spreading absurd tabloid lies about Ted Cruz's father and the JFK assassination. State officials say 11 of 30 wells have tested positive for salmonella or rotavirus in Kewaunee County in northeastern Wisconsin a region that has become Wisconsins battleground over large-scale dairy farming and the potential of the farms to harm water resources. Officials suspect the contamination is coming from manure from the farms. Credit: Brian Holmes SHARE By of the State officials say 11 of 30 wells have tested positive for salmonella or rotavirus in Kewaunee County in northeastern Wisconsin a region that has become Wisconsin's battleground over large-scale dairy farming and the potential of the farms to harm water resources. Early indications suggest that the well contamination may have come from cattle, but state officials and the chief researcher in the study say it's premature to pinpoint the source of the contamination. The results were released by the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Health Services. They are part of a larger $80,000, DNR-funded research effort to examine the extent and source of groundwater contamination in the county. The findings are the latest example of a possible link between farming and polluted groundwater. So far, no illnesses have been reported that could be linked to the polluted wells, according to a statement issued by the two agencies. Salmonella is estimated to be the source of 19,000 hospitalizations and 380 deaths annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most people affected have diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps for 12 to 72 hours after infection. Rotavirus usually affects infants and small children. People who are infected may have watery diarrhea, accompanied by vomiting, fever and abdominal pain, according to the CDC. Rotavirus vaccines have proved effective in preventing many of the symptoms caused by the virus. Kewaunee County's combination of fractured bedrock and a large cattle population have raised worries about the potential of manure to infiltrate groundwater. In October 2014, six environmental groups petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use its authority to investigate water contamination in the county. That prompted the DNR to bring together different parties farmers, residents, environmentalists, an EPA representative and local officials to form work groups to find strategies aimed at reducing the risk of groundwater pollution. On Monday, DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp released an editorial to news organizations saying her agency, in addition to the efforts of work groups, is taking steps to address water issues in and around the county. Stepp said the DNR is hiring an environmental enforcement specialist who will concentrate on the region and is filling three vacant positions that will work on environmental permits for the largest farms. Stepp also said the agency is planning a "more robust approach" to auditing manure spreading practices. But Kimberlee Wright, executive director of Midwest Environmental Advocates, said the DNR's actions have come under legal pressure from groups like hers. "Unfortunately, it took tens of thousands of dollars' worth of citizen litigation against the state; over a decade of pressure from local residents concerned about problems with manure runoff and the lack of enforcement response from the DNR; and federal scrutiny from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency... to prompt these steps," Wright said in a statement. Russ Rasmussen, the DNR's point man on manure issues, said the agency is "trying to find exactly what the problem is, so that we can tailor a response so we have something that works. We are trying to find solutions. Some things don't happen overnight." As for the latest findings, the chief researcher, Mark A. Borchardt, a microbiologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said Wednesday: "I am surprised by the level of contamination. I didn't think that we would be seeing this much." In addition to the 11 wells found to contain salmonella and rotavirus, another three wells also tested positive for two other types of microbial contaminants or almost 50% of the 30 wells tested. "In general, we have learned that we would expect a third of the wells to be contaminated," Borchardt said. The test took place the week of April 18 under dry soil conditions, prompting Borchardt to think that he would find little evidence of contamination. Borchardt contacted state officials this week and said he felt compelled to contact parties with water problems immediately after he learned of the results. Borchardt said he called them Tuesday night. "It was a pretty emotional night, last night," he said. They were advised to stop using the water for drinking and bathing and to have their wells treated with chlorine. Kewaunee County said it has advised property owners living within a half-mile of the tainted wells to test their water sources. The DNR said it will pay for the cost of testing. Don Niles, owner of Dairy Dreams in Casco, which milks about 2,800 cows, said he had read few details on the latest results but noted "any information that we have to find out what is happening will help us." Niles has launched a farmer-led initiative, Peninsula Pride Farms, to address water quality problems by emphasizing field and management practices that limit the potential of manure to pollute. "There is no doubt in my mind that we have the tools to improve our practices," Niles said. Obama trip comes as Dems try to energize young voters, voters of color Compared with the last Wisconsin midterm election, enthusiasm for voting is lagging among voters under 30 and non-white voters, according to polling. A visitor to the 2016 Beijing International Auto Expo, which was held last month, examines a new-energy vehicle made by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. [Xinhua] Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co, one of China's largest automakers in terms of sales, plans to produce up to 100,000 vehicles at its new manufacturing base in South Africa in 2018, the company's chairman said on Tuesday. Scheduled to break ground next month and begin production in November 2017, the Port Elizabeth plant will be the single-largest Chinese investment in all of Africa. With a 5-billion-yuan ($773 million) investment from BAIC, the plant will be operated as a joint venture with Industrial Development Corp, a South African financial company providing capital for various projects. Xu Heyi, the group's chairman, said continued investment in infrastructure development will be key for the company's sustained growth in Africa over the next decade as consumers there are keen to buy easily serviceable and inexpensive vehicles. Buoyed by the surging demand for new vehicles in Africa, BAIC established a minibus assembly plant that employs more than 500 people in Springs, also in South Africa, in 2013. "We will continue to invest in our South African factories and an assembly plant in Nairobi, Kenya, to make pickups and light trucks," said Xu. "Having factories in Africa will help the company move closer to the market and avoid it paying duties of up to 25 percent." BAIC's new manufacturing base will produce passenger vehicles, sport utility vehicles, minivans and vans. It will create 2,500 jobs directly, and more than 10,500 jobs indirectly. At its full capacity, the plant will generate an industrial added value of 12.4 billion yuan for vehicles and 6.2 billion yuan for parts. "More than 50 percent of the plant's products will be exported to contribute a trade volume of about 6.2 billion yuan to South Africa," said Xu. Zhao Ying, a researcher at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said in most African countries, where new vehicles are beyond the reach of most people, secondhand vehicles command a large share of the market. The proportion is about 70 percent in most Sub-Saharan countries such as South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Angola and Kenya, Zhao said. "The disadvantage of such a big secondhand market is that the brand life of some cars can be as long as 20 years, and anyone with one of the old models can face problems in obtaining spare parts." For instance, Japanese carmakers including Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co, the main source for secondhand vehicles in Africa, have stopped producing spare parts for some models from the 1990s. BAIC managed to sell 40,000 vehicles in global markets through its 24 overseas plants and 124 sales branches in 37 countries by the end of 2015. As China and other partners are accelerating the pace of the ongoing negotiations to upgrade the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, Xu from BAIC said the company will add more products in its manufacturing base in Ruili of Yunnan province by the end of 2017 to compete with other established global rivals in the markets of Southeast Asia. The three survivors of six men credited with raising a flag on Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima, donned their Marine uniforms again in 1949 for small parts in the film, Sands of Iwo Jima. Here with sound trucks in the background are, from left to right, Ira H. Hayes of Babchule, Ariz.; John Bradley of Antigo, Wis.; and Rene Gagnon of Manchester, N.H. Credit: Frank Filan By of the By the time John "Doc" Bradley reached the summit of Mount Suribachi, he hadn't slept or eaten for three days. He had seen buddies cut down and saved the lives of countless Marines on the volcanic island of Iwo Jima. When he was sent on a combat patrol to capture the summit of Suribachi, someone in his platoon carried an American flag from the transport ship USS Missoula. The Navy corpsman from Wisconsin helped hoist the flag as a pole was pushed into the rocky ground and secured with small boulders. A photographer snapped photos of the grungy troops as the Stars and Stripes fluttered overhead. Those photos were rarely seen, though. They didn't end up in newspapers and magazines around the world or on a 3-cent postage stamp or in a larger-than-life sculpture. The first flag raising would be supplanted by a second flag raising, immortalized by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal. Bradley helped raise both flags that day. He's one of many troops pictured next to the flags. But the Marines are investigating whether Bradley is in the famous photo, and his son James, who wrote a bestselling book made into a Clint Eastwood film "Flags Of Our Fathers" now is convinced the second man from the right is not his father. James Bradley thinks his father most likely got the first and second flag raisings mixed up when he was asked about it by Marine commanders. When Rosenthal transmitted his photo, it did not include the names of the men. In a 1945 version of going viral, the photo quickly became a nationwide symbol of heroism for a country tired of war and death. So the Marines scrambled to learn the identities of the flag raisers. By then Bradley was recuperating in a military hospital from shrapnel wounds to his feet and legs from an explosion on Iwo Jima 21/2 weeks after the flag raising. "It's important to realize my father didn't independently say, 'Hey, I raised the flag and I'm in the photo.' He was told months later in a hospital bed 'Here you are,'" James Bradley said in a phone interview Wednesday from his New York home. "For 70 years, the Marines sat on photos of the first flag raising that had never been seen. Those first photos reveal my dad was hidden in the official photo of the first flag raising, but in the new photos its obviously him, you can see him from head to toe." Those photos show Bradley with cuffed pants, no helmet liner and gear issued to Navy medics assigned to Marine infantry units. The man identified as Bradley in the second flag raising photo is wearing a helmet liner, pants with no cuffs and equipment around his waist typically issued to infantrymen. That's what amateur historians in 2014 first noticed and what eventually led to the Smithsonian Channel researching the photo with advanced digital technology. The Smithsonian Channel's findings were provided to the Marine Corps, which launched an investigation. The Smithsonian Channel is planning to air a documentary about the photographer this year. James Bradley does not think his father ever realized he wasn't in the famous flag raising photo. John Bradley, an Antigo funeral home director who died in 1994 at the age of 70, refused interviews and rarely spoke about the flag raising after he and the other two survivors finished a war bond drive in 1945. "He never wanted to be in the photo. I think if he had any inkling or evidence he wasn't in that photo, he would have been happy to say that," said James Bradley. "I have no evidence or reason to believe that he didn't believe he was in that second flag raising. The president of the United States, the government, the Marines all told him it was him." James Bradley is considering updating his book "Flags Of Our Fathers," but he said changes would be minimal because "everything is accurate except the re-identification of a few figures." James Bradley said videos and other photos taken on Mount Suribachi show his father helping secure both the first and second flags. The first flag was reportedly too small to be seen by men at nearby landing beaches. A second, larger flag was ordered sent up the mountain by a battalion commander and given to Rene Gagnon to carry. Rosenthal and two Marine photographers reached the summit just as men began attaching the second flag to a water pipe. One of the Marine photographers, Staff Sgt. Bill Genaust, was standing next to Rosenthal and captured the flag raising with a movie camera as Rosenthal clicked his Speed Graphic at 1/400 of a second. Genaust's video shows the flag being secured in the ground and a man, now believed to be Franklin Sousley, in the spot attributed to Bradley. Photos of Bradley taken at the first flag raising show him wearing suspenders and holding medical bags and a canteen, but those items are missing from the photo of the man identified as Bradley at the second flag raising. Another photo shows Bradley standing next to Sousley as ropes are attached to secure the second flag. "He's right next to the guys who raised the flag, that's why so many testified he was there. As soon as it goes up, he's right there with ropes holding the pole down. So he's involved in both events. But technically if you look at the photo of the second flag raising, he's not there," said James Bradley. President Franklin Roosevelt knew the image could be used for an upcoming bond drive to help pay for the war, and he ordered the flag raisers be sent to Washington, D.C. The problem was, no one knew who they were except for Gagnon, who carried the flag to the summit. Gagnon was asked to identify the other flag raisers in the photo. But by then only Gagnon, Bradley and Ira Hayes were still alive. The other three identified in the photo had been killed on Iwo Jima. Genaust, too, had died in combat. Bradley was found in a hospital and admitted he had helped raise the flag on Iwo Jima. And that's how, his son said, the wrong man was identified in the famous picture. If the Marine investigation determines what James Bradley now believes, it will not diminish his father's heroism. His family didn't know Bradley was awarded a Navy Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, for his actions on Iwo Jima until after he died. "It doesn't matter who's in the photo. It matters that these guys were heroic. All this photo stuff is important many, many years later. At the time it wasn't a big event," James Bradley said. "What was a big event was saving lives and trying not to get killed." Reddit Email 0 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment)| Muslim fundamentalist rebels, including al-Qaeda, took revenge Tuesday on West Aleppo for the heavy government bombardment of East Aleppo that has killed dozens in the past week, including at a hospital run by Doctors without Borders. At the same time that the government was bombarding the slums of the east into yet more rubble, the rebels were lobbing mortar shells over on to the upscale West, also killing dozens over the past week (though probably fewer dozens than the government did). On Tuesday the Nusra Front (al-Qaeda in Syria) and its battlefield allies of convenience staged an attack on the al-Zahra Cooperative district, deploying a car bomb and medium weaponry to take some buildings from government troops. But then the government called in reinforcements and halted the breakthrough. Then al-Qaeda and allies targeted al-Dabit Hospital with rockets, killing at least 3 women and wounding 17. Some sources alleged that al-Qaeda sent 60 rockets in short period of time into the center of East Aleppo, killing and wounding non-combatants. In sum, the insurgents killed at least 19 and wounded over 50 in these attacks on the West. West Aleppo from the accounts of the few journalists who made it into there is damaged at the edges and here and there, but people there are able to live their lives; it has a population of some 2 million. The intrepid Declan Walsh, reported of the West: One of the most striking things about [West] Aleppo is how much of the city appears to be functioning relatively normally. Much of the periphery has been reduced to rubble. But in the city center, the sidewalks bustle, traffic flows, restaurants are busy and students pour from universities and schools. It has a Christian population, which is terrified of the Muslim fundamentalist militias in the East. East Aleppo is a bombed-out slum. Estimates of its population run from a few tens of thousands to as many as 300,000, but in any case it is tiny compared to the government-held West. It is also miserable. Some neighborhoods are controlled by al-Qaeda, some by the hard line Salafi Jihadi Freemen of Syria (Ahrar al-Sham), some by militias of, essentially, the Muslim Brotherhood. It is being gradually surrounded by the Syrian Arab Army and its Kurdish and Shiite allies. At that point where Turkey can no longer send in ammunition and arms and perhaps even food, East Aleppo will go under a deadly siege. It should be remembered that most people who live there are not insurgents. They are just families trapped on the wrong side of the city. It is no longer easy to get out. I say all this because outside the newspapers of record, the character of Aleppos division is seldom stressed. That the West is the size of Houston isnt mentioned. That the east is small and slummy and ruled by hard line Salafi fundamentalism isnt brought out. You see headlines talking about the humanitarian disaster in the city (where renewed fighting has killed perhaps 250 in the past week), but it is hard to know what those headlines are talking about. West Aleppo suffers casualties but it doesnt sound like it is exactly Stalingrad, at least nowadays. East Aleppo is regularly bombed by the regime and is probably the budding humanitarian disaster. But when al-Qaeda and its allies briefly cut off West Aleppo from food and munitions last October, before Russian air support allowed the Syrian army to restore the route into the city from the south, there wasnt any outcry at all in the Western press. But far more lives were at stake then. I think East Aleppo has poor military prospects but a lot of sympathetic Saudi and Turkish press outlets. The poor people of East Aleppo are indeed in danger, and are being indiscriminately bombed, which is a war crime. But they are under the control of militias, some of which are, like, al-Qaeda or allies of it, and these are perfectly capable of war crimes, too, as with the rocket strike on Dabit hospital Tuesday. John Kerry has now admitted that in order for the ceasefire to be restored in Aleppo, the Muslim Brotherhood militias (the Free Syrian Army) are going to have to throw the Nusra Front (al-Qaeda in Syria) under the bus. Al-Qaeda doesnt accept a ceasefire, doesnt want it, and is actively disrupting it. Free Syria Army units like Division 19 have followed its lead. The way to forestall a humanitarian disaster in East Aleppo is for the fighters there to kick out al-Qaeda and dicker with the other side. Otherwise, darker times yet are coming to that part of the city. Related video added by Juan Cole: Euronews: Rebels launch surprise attack on Aleppo Syrian state TV Reddit Email 0 Shares By Engy Abdelkader w/ research team Jordan Denari, Nathan Lean | (Bridge Initiative) | This report highlights trends and patterns surrounding Islamophobia since the start of the 2016 U.S. presidential election cycle. It does so in the broader context of hatred, violence and social hostilities confronting Muslims as a minority faith group in contemporary America and with a particular focus on acts and threats of violence. Since 2015, the Bridge Initiative has been chronicling Islamophobic political rhetoric by each presidential candidate irrespective of his or her party affiliation while finding Republican candidates to be the worst offenders to date. In this publication, however, we aim to contextualize such statements nationally and internationally while also exploring potentially violent effects. To that end, we examined two distinct but overlapping time periods: January 2015 through December 2015 (entire duration of 2015) and March 2015 through March 2016 (2016 presidential election season). Based upon our analysis, the following observations are noteworthy: The 2016 U.S. presidential season began against a backdrop of already rising Islamophobia in 2015, threatening American Muslim religious freedom. During the course of 2015, there were approximately 174 reported incidents of anti-Muslim violence and vandalism, including: 12 murders; 29 physical assaults; 50 threats against persons or institutions; 54 acts of vandalism or destruction of property; 8 arsons; and 9 shootings or bombings, among other incidents. Anti-Muslim violence remained significantly higher in 2015 than pre- 9/11 levels with American Muslims approximately 6 to 9 times more likely to suffer such attacks. The number of incidents in 2015 is also higher than the total number of anti-Muslim hate crimes reported in 2014: 154. In 2015, American Muslim men were twice as likely to be victims of physical assaults and 5 to 6 times more likely to be victims of murder than American Muslim women. Since the first candidate announced his bid for the White House in March 2015, there have been approximately 180 reported incidents of anti-Muslim violence, including: 12 murders; 34 physical assaults; 49 verbal assaults or threats against persons and institutions; 56 acts of vandalisms or destruction of property; 9 arsons; and 8 shootings or bombings, among other incidents. Since the start of the presidential election cycle, American Muslim men have been twice as likely to be victims of physical assaults and about 11 times more likely to be the victims of murder than their female counterparts. Also during each period, Muslim murder victims were most likely to be aged 18 to 24. Children and youth as young as 12 years old were among those responsible for acts and threats of anti-Muslim violence. Although Islamophobia made an appearance during the first GOP debate in August 2015, the first surge of anti-Muslim political rhetoric occurred in September 2015. It corresponded with an international development: the Syrian refugee crisis. The deepening crises dominated news media headlines in the U.S. and Europe potentially highlighting the media impact on political discourse. This surge in September 2015 was accompanied by approximately 10 reported incidents or threats of violence, including 3 murders. In comparison, there was one (1) such incident in August 2015 representing a significant increase in anti-Muslim violence over the course of one month. Donald Trump, the GOP presidential front-runner at the time of publication, escalated anti-Muslim vitriol in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, France in November 2015 rather than urge calm or international unity. The attacks signify an international event that triggered a second surge in Islamophobic rhetoric in addition to the uptick in bias attacks. Trump made many anti-Muslim statements during televised appearances on mainstream news media outlets, impacting millions of viewers across the U.S. and around the world. As Mr. Trump called for shutting down mosques in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks and the mass shootings in San Bernardino, California in December 2015, anti-Muslim attacks initially tripled with nearly half of those attacks directed against mosques. Anti-Muslim attacks surged once more in December 2015. There were 53 total attacks that month, 17 of which targeted mosques and Islamic schools and 5 of which targeted Muslim homes. By comparison, when the presidential election season began just 9 months earlier, there were only 2 anti-Muslim attacks. Attacks on Muslims during this month constitute approximately 1/3 of all attacks last year. In fact, in December 2015, anti-Muslim attacks occurred almost daily and often multiple times a day. At least three separate incidents of violence involved perpetrators who were public supporters of presidential candidate Donald Trump. There was otherwise a strong perception among American Muslim leaders that political rhetoric created fertile ground for threats and acts of anti-Muslim violence. While anti-Muslim political rhetoric gives cause for alarm, the ensuing violence has inspired expressions of solidarity with the American Muslim community, too. Download a PDF of the full report here, which includes a complete list of sources Via Bridge Initiative at Georgetown University Reddit Email 0 Shares Leila Alikarami | (Open Democracy) | The problem was the Guardian Council, a body which has veto authority over any legislature, which in this case rejected all 33 bills introduced by women deputies. Parvaneh Salahshouri in the conference of elected moderates and reformists of Iran, March 2016. Wikicommons/ Hamed Malekpour. Some rights reserved.Seventeen women are going to be elected to office as a result of the recent parliamentary election in Iran. While this marginal increase in womens representation will not change the overwhelmingly masculine character of the Iranian Parliament, it is still fair to wonder whether these newly elected women deputies and reformists will have an impact. Will they be able to usher in laws that advance gender equality? The Supreme Leaders position on womens rights is not clear. Ayatollah Khamenei encouraged women to take part in this years election by stating that, There is no need for women to take permission from their husbands to take part in the elections. But will he issue similar statements in support of amendments to the discriminatory laws currently in place? His voice is crucial if the laws that require women to ask their husbands permission before taking jobs, obtaining passports and traveling outside the country are ever to be taken off the books. These are laws that most women can hardly fathom living under. For his part, President Rouhani has said that he admired the Iranian people who showed their power once again and gave more credibility and strength to their elected government. Rouhanis government received a major boost in this election, but we still need more clarity as to whether or not he will stand up for the rights of women, who constitute half of the electorate in the Islamic Republic. The experience of the Sixth Iranian Parliamentelected in 2000, comprised predominantly of reformist leaders, and yet unable to bring about meaningful reformcould serve as a telling indicator for how to achieve better results 16 years later. The reformists then, aspired, in their own words, to make use of the capacities of the Constitution to modify the power structure of the Islamic Republic and to bring transparency and accountability into the political arena. To address the gender inequalities in Sharia law, some reformist figures advocated for a pluralistic and tolerant Islam, based on human rights and democratic values. The 13 woman deputies of that parliament, all of whom were aligned with the reformists, challenged the traditional written and unwritten roles of women in Iran. They had little difficulty in persuading their male counterparts to vote for bills which addressed gender inequalities. Their problem, however, was the attitude of the Guardian Council, a constitutionally mandated and politically appointed body which has veto authority over any legislature, which in this case rejected all 33 bills introduced by women deputies. However, with the intervention of a separate government entity designed to resolve disputes between these two bodies, 16 of these proposed bills eventually became law. Among them were: removing the condition that required a woman to be married and accompanied by her husband before getting a scholarship to study abroad, and amending articles of the civil code to increase the minimum marriage age for girls from 9 to 13. Thus, the key takeaway from the eslahat or reform era was that within the legal and political system of the Islamic Republic, womens rights is a contested issue which cannot be modified even within an Islamic framework. The clash between Islamic provisions perpetuating gender discrimination and articles that are theoretically able to create full societal equality within Irans Constitution fundamentally hinders any reform of Irans legal system. Another unavoidable impediment to changing Irans legal system (and the introduction of a new interpretation of Sharia) is the absolute power of the Supreme Leader and the discretionary power of the Guardian Council over Parliament. As long as these contradictions exist, the possibilities for reform are feeble. Still, I have hope. Parvaneh Salahshouri, one of the new women elected to the Iranian Parliament, recently gave an interview in which she expressed her views regarding economic growth, sustainable development, the eradication of violence against women at home and within society, womens unemployment, the growing number of divorces, and more. Salahshouri is the first member of parliament in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran to state that she considers wearing a hijab as a matter of choice for women. At the same time, she acknowledged the difficult process that women face in order to reach the level in which they will be able to decide for themselves. The only way to reach sustainable change in favour of women is the amendment of the Constitution and the removal of the kinds of substantial legal obstacles outlined above. Pressure from society, and especially from women, might eventually compel the Supreme Leader and the government to revise the Constitution to facilitate the process of gender equality. Via Open Democracy - Related video added by Juan Cole: Press TV: Reformists win 42% of seats in Iran parliament VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 3, 2016 /CNW/ -- Tahoe Resources Inc. (TSX: THO, NYSE: TAHO) ("Tahoe" or the "Company") today announced financial and operating results for the three months ending March 31, 2016 and provided a production update for operations in Guatemala, Peru and Canada. Financial and operating data for the Company's Canadian operations, acquired on April 1, 2016, are not included in the first quarter 2016 results. Highlights for the first quarter of 2016 include the following (all amounts in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated): Adjusted net earnings (1) for the quarter amounted to $35.5 million or $0.16 per share. for the quarter amounted to or per share. Earnings and total comprehensive income were $37.8 million or $0.17 per share. or per share. Operating cash flow before changes in working capital was $69.3 million or $0.30 per share. or per share. Revenue totaled $132.1 million at total operating costs of $77.5 million leading to mine operating earnings of $54.6 million . at total operating costs of leading to mine operating earnings of . Silver production from Escobal amounted to 5.7 million ounces ("moz") in concentrate. Gold production from La Arena and Shahuindo amounted to 46,576 and 7,590 ounces in dore, respectively. Sales of 4.6 moz silver, 50,598 ounces gold, 2,386 tonnes lead and 3,336 tonnes zinc. Total cash costs (1) net of byproduct credits were $4.51 per silver ounce produced and $638 per gold ounce produced. net of byproduct credits were per silver ounce produced and per gold ounce produced. All-in sustaining costs (1) ("AISC") net of byproduct credits were $5.97 per silver ounce produced and $825 per gold ounce produced. ("AISC") net of byproduct credits were per silver ounce produced and per gold ounce produced. $13.7 million was returned to shareholders through the monthly dividend. was returned to shareholders through the monthly dividend. Cash and cash equivalents at quarter-end were $90.8 million . Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, a number of key developments were achieved. On April 1, 2016, the Company completed the acquisition of Lake Shore Gold Corp. ("Lake Shore Gold"), a low-cost gold producer with operations and growth projects located in the Timmins Gold Camp of Northern Ontario, Canada. On May 3, 2016, plans were announced for a new development project in Timmins, the Bell Creek Shaft Project, and for increased exploration drilling this year at a number of key targets in the area (see "New Capital Programs Approved" section). Also on May 3, 2016, the Company announced that construction and commissioning of the 10,000 tonne per day Phase 1 Shahuindo gold mine operation had been completed, with commercial production being achieved effective May 1, 2016. Kevin McArthur, Executive Chair and CEO of Tahoe, commented: "We had a strong first quarter in 2016, with production levels very much in line with expectations and total cash costs for both silver and gold averaging better than our target ranges for the year. Driven by low unit costs, we generated significant internal cash flow and solid earnings. We also continued to return capital to shareholders during the quarter, paying $13.7 million through our monthly dividend." "Very importantly, we took steps to ensure the long-term financial and operating success of our company. In Peru, the commissioning of Shahuindo continued on schedule during the quarter, with commercial production being achieved on May 1, 2016. Our development team at Shahuindo has done an excellent job, and we expect continued strong execution as we prepare for Phase 2 of the project, which is targeted to bring total annual gold production in Peru to approximately 300,000 ounces. "The acquisition of Lake Shore Gold on April 1st is a key development for our company, through which we have added 170,000 to 180,000 ounces of annual low-cost gold production, as well as quality growth projects, in Timmins, Ontario. We are already moving ahead with plans to increase production at the Bell Creek Mine in Timmins and to accelerate exploration drilling in the area. With the addition of Lake Shore Gold, as well as the continued advancement of Shahuindo, we are targeting growth in gold production from 174,000 ounces in 2015 to over 550,000 ounces by 2020. We also expect to add mine life at all of our operations, with a specific target of increasing mineral reserves and mineral resources in Canada by two to four million ounces over the next four years." Escobal Operations Update Average mill throughput at the Escobal mine was 4,264 tonnes per day with an average silver head grade of 524 grams per tonne ("gpt") compared to average mill throughput of 3,724 tpd with an average silver head grade of 500 gpt in the first quarter of 2015. The mine produced metal concentrates containing 5.7 million ounces of silver, 3,298 ounces of gold, 2,738 tonnes of lead and 4,224 tonnes of zinc during the first quarter of 2016 compared to 4.6 million ounces of silver, 2,542 ounces of gold, 2,258 tonnes of lead and 3,410 tonnes of zinc for the same period in 2015. The average silver recovery to concentrates was 87.1% versus 85.0% in the first quarter of 2015. During the first quarter of 2016, 5,474 dry metric tonnes of lead concentrate and 7,018 dry metric tonnes of zinc concentrate containing approximately 4.6 million payable ounces of silver were shipped and sold to third party smelters. Concentrate sales during the quarter generated $78.2 million in revenues at mine operating costs of $46.5 million resulting in mine operating earnings of $31.7 million. Total cash costs per ounce of silver produced in concentrate, net of byproduct credits, for the first quarter of 2016 averaged $4.51, compared to $7.10 per ounce in the first quarter of 2015. AISC per ounce of silver, net of byproduct credits, averaged $5.97 per ounce versus $9.78 per ounce for the same period a year ago. Cost and productivity improvements in the mine and mill, coupled with favorable diesel fuel prices, continue to drive production costs lower. Escobal Unit Costs ($/Tonne) 2014 2015 Q1/16 Mine Operations $42.76 $38.66 $34.91 Process Operations $31.20 $20.59 $18.38 Site G&A $21.84 $19.86 $16.32 Total Operating Costs $95.80 $79.11 $69.61 A total of 1,870 metres of development was completed during the first three months of 2016, with mining during the quarter concentrated on the Central Zone. Production in the East Zone commenced in April 2016. The new paste backfill plant was commissioned in March 2016 and is fully operational. Installation of paste delivery lines to the East Zone was completed during the first quarter. La Arena Operations Update A total of 3.6 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 0.48 gpt was placed on the leach pad during the first quarter of 2016. Ore tonnes mined also totaled 3.6 million at a strip ratio of 2.30 tonnes of waste per tonne of ore mined. There were 46,576 gold ounces produced in dore and 46,143 gold ounces sold during the first quarter of 2016. Gold sales during the first quarter of 2016 generated $54.0 million in revenues at mine operating costs of $31.1 million resulting in mine operating earnings of $22.9 million. Total cash costs per ounce of gold produced, net of byproduct credits, averaged $638 in the first quarter of 2016, while AISC for the same period averaged $825 per ounce. Sustaining capital projects advanced in the first quarter of 2016 included planned extensions of the leach pads and the waste dump. At the end of the quarter, these projects remained on schedule to meet 2016 production targets. Shahuindo Operations Update Construction and commissioning was completed on schedule with commercial production commencing effective May 1, 2016. Gold produced in dore during the first quarter of the year from pre-commercial production operations totaled 7,590 ounces. A total of 790,608 tonnes was placed on pads during the first quarter of 2016 at an average grade of 0.97 gpt gold. The strip ratio was 0.29 tonnes of waste rock per tonne of ore mined. Bulk heap leach tests and geologic mapping conducted in 2016 have resulted in the conclusion that the deposit contains a higher percentage of siltstone than originally estimated and that dump leaching of blended siltstone and sandstone ores will not achieve acceptable metallurgical or geotechnical results for long-term operations. Design, procurement, and construction of the crushing and agglomeration plant have begun and are expected to be completed in two phases. The first phase with a capacity of 12,000 tpd is projected to be constructed and operational in the first quarter of 2017 with an additional 24,000 tpd of capacity scheduled to be installed and operational by the second quarter of 2018. The estimated cost to complete the expansion to 36,000 tpd by the end of the second quarter of 2018 remains in the range of $140 to $160 million including expansion capital spent during the first quarter of 2016. Compared to the feasibility study filed for Shahuindo in January of 2016, crushing and agglomeration are expected to begin one year earlier which will increase operating costs and gold recovery in 2017. Minimal impact to project economics is anticipated relative to the feasibility study. Canadian Operations Update On April 1, 2016, the Company completed the acquisition of Lake Shore Gold (the "Transaction"). In connection with the closing of the Transaction, the Company issued an aggregate of 69,239,629 commons shares of Tahoe to the former shareholders of Lake Shore Gold and authorized the issuance of up to an additional 1,621,877 common shares issuable upon the exercise of the stock options held by former option holders of Lake Shore Gold. Financial and operating data from Lake Shore Gold are not included in Tahoe's first quarter 2016 results. During the first three months of 2016, the operating assets of Lake Shore Gold produced 36,800 ounces of gold by processing 305,900 tonnes at an average grade of 3.90 gpt. Other highlights during the first quarter included the release of an initial resource at the 144 Gap Deposit, a new deposit identified approximately 700 metres from existing underground infrastructure at Timmins West Mine. The resource includes 1.7 million tonnes at an average gold grade of 5.41 gpt for 301,700 ounces of gold in the indicated category and 1.9 million tonnes at an average gold grade of 5.19 gpt for 319,200 ounces in the inferred category. Initial drill results were released at the Whitney Project ("Whitney") during the first quarter of 2016. Whitney is located adjacent to the Bell Creek Complex and is a joint venture with Goldcorp Canada Ltd., with Tahoe being the operator. The initial drill results included high-grade intersections which extended the known mineralization around the historic Hallnor Mine to the west, to the north and to depth. Over 30,000 metres of drilling is planned at Whitney in 2016, with the project being advanced using an open-pit model with the potential to transition to underground mining. New Capital Programs Approved On May 3, 2016, the Tahoe Board of Directors approved the Bell Creek Shaft Project, an initiative to re-commission and deepen the historic shaft at the Bell Creek Mine. The shaft currently extends to a depth of approximately 300 metres and is used for secondary escape and ventilation. The shaft project, when complete, will extend the shaft to the 1080 metre level elevation and equip the shaft to hoist ore and waste. The benefit of deepening the shaft is to allow lower-cost production at higher production rates and accelerated delineation of the deep resources as well as exploration at depth. The project is anticipated to cost approximately $80 million and is expected to be executed over the next 2.5 years. The Board of Directors also approved additional spending to accelerate exploration and delineation of the 144 Gap area, Gold River, and Whitney projects. 2016 guidance remains unchanged, as the capital for the shaft project in 2016 and the additional exploration spending have been offset with other savings and do not result in spending outside of the ranges reflected in prior projections. Treatment of Lake Shore Convertible Debentures On April 1, 2016, as a result of the completion of Tahoe's acquisition of Lake Shore Gold, Lake Shore gave notice of its offer to purchase for cash all of its outstanding 6.25% convertible unsecured debentures (the "Debentures") at 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest (the "Change of Control Offer"). The Change of Control Offer expired on April 18, 2016 with no Debentures tendered. Concurrently with the Change of Control Offer, Lake Shore Gold gave notice of its election to redeem the Debentures on May 16, 2016 at a price equal to their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest. Tahoe and Lake Shore Gold have elected to satisfy the obligation to repay the principal amount of the Debentures by issuing Tahoe shares to the holders of the Debentures. The number of Tahoe shares to be issued will be determined by dividing the aggregate principal amount of the outstanding Debentures which are to be redeemed by 95% of the volume weighted average trading price of Tahoe shares for the 20 trading days ending on and including May 9, 2016. The accrued and unpaid interest on the Debentures will be paid in cash. Debentureholders maintain the right to convert the Debentures at any time prior to 5:00 pm (Toronto time) on May 13, 2016 at a conversion price of CAD$9.5433 per Tahoe share, being a conversion rate of 104.7856 Tahoe shares per $1,000 principal amount of the Debentures. If all of the outstanding Debentures are converted by debentureholders at this conversion price, a total of approximately 10,811,895 Tahoe shares will be issued on conversion. 2016 Guidance(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6) The Company's revised guidance to reflect the acquisition of Lake Shore Gold was first reported in a press release dated April 4, 2016 and is provided below. The financial and operating results for Tahoe's Lake Shore Gold Division are included in the Company's consolidated results effective April 1, 2016. 2016 Silver Production 18 21 moz 2016 Gold Production 370 430 koz Total cash cost per silver oz produced $7.50 $8.50/oz AISC per silver oz produced $10.00 $11.00/oz Total cash cost per gold oz $675 $725/oz AISC per gold oz produced $950 $1,000/oz Sustaining capital (incl. capitalized exploration) $115 $135 million Project capital $80 $105 million Exploration expense $15 $20 million Corporate G&A (includes non-cash stock-based compensation) $45 $50 million Footnotes: (1) See the "Cautionary Note on Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Forward-Looking Statements" sections of this press release. (2) Assumes the following metals prices: $16.00/oz silver; $1,300/oz gold; $2,094/tonne lead; $2,094/tonne zinc. (3) Assumes payable by-product metal production: 8,462 oz gold; 8,117 tonnes lead; 10,266 tonnes zinc. (4) By-product credits per ounce of silver: gold $0.52; lead $0.82; zinc $1.02; total $2.36. (5) All per ounce costs are based on silver ounces contained in concentrates (silver) and gold ounces in dore (gold). (6) Gold production guidance is based on 12 months of production from La Arena as well as the Company's Canadian operations and eight months of production from Shahuindo. Conference Call Tahoe's senior management will host a conference call to discuss the first quarter results on Wednesday, May 4, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT). To join the call please dial 1-800-319-4610 (toll free from Canada and the U.S.) or +1-604-638-5340 (from outside Canada and the U.S.). A recording of the call will be available later in the day on the Company's website. Complete financial results as well as the Company's management discussion and analysis and other filings will be filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and the Company's website(www.tahoeresources.com). About Tahoe Resources Inc. Tahoe's strategy is to responsibly operate mines to world standards, to pay significant shareholder dividends and to develop high quality precious metals assets in the Americas. Tahoe is a member of the S&P/TSX Composite and TSX Global Mining indices and the Russell 3000 on the NYSE. The Company is listed on the TSX as THO and on the NYSE as TAHO. Qualified Person Statement Technical information in this press release has been approved by Charlie Muerhoff, Vice President Technical Services, Tahoe Resources Inc., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Cautionary Note on Non-GAAP Financial Measures The Company has included certain non-GAAP financial measures throughout this presentation which include total cash costs and all-in sustaining costs per silver and per gold ounce ("all-in sustaining costs"). These measures are not defined under IFRS and may be calculated differently by other companies depending on the underlying accounting principles and policies applied. As such, these Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation. The Company's Escobal mine produces primarily silver in concentrates with other metals (gold, lead and zinc), produced simultaneously in the mining process, the value of which represents a small percentage of the Company's revenue and is therefore considered "byproduct". The Company's La Arena, Timmins West and Bell Creek mines produce primarily gold with other metals (primarily silver), produced simultaneously in the mining process, the value of which represents a small percentage of the Company's revenue and is therefore considered byproduct. The Company believes these measures will provide investors and analysts with useful information about the Company's underlying earnings, cash costs of operations, the impact of byproduct credits on the Company's cost structure and its ability to generate cash flow, as well as providing a meaningful comparison to other mining companies. These measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be substituted for GAAP measures. Consolidated adjusted earnings (loss) and consolidated adjusted earnings (loss) per share The Company has adopted the reporting of consolidated adjusted earnings (loss) ("adjusted earnings (loss)") and consolidated adjusted earnings (loss) per share ("adjusted earnings (loss) per share") as a non-GAAP measure of a precious metals mining company's operating performance and the ability to generate cash flow from operations. This measure has no standardized meaning and the Company's presentation of adjusted measures are not meant to be substituted for GAAP measures of consolidated net earnings (loss) or consolidated net earnings (loss) per share and should be read in conjunction with such GAAP measures. Adjusted earnings (loss) and adjusted earnings (loss) per share are calculated as net earnings (loss) excluding i) non-cash impairment losses and reversals on mineral interest and other assets tax, ii) unrealized foreign exchange gains or losses related to the revaluation of deferred income tax assets and liabilities on non-monetary items, iii) unrealized foreign exchange gains or losses related to other items, iv) unrealized gains or losses on derivatives, v) non-recurring provisions, vi) gains or losses on sale of assets and vii) any other non-recurring adjustments and the related tax impact of these adjustments calculated at the statutory effective rate for the same jurisdiction as the adjustment. Non-recurring adjustments from unusual events or circumstances are reviewed periodically based on materiality and the nature of the event or circumstance. The Company calculates adjusted earnings (loss) and adjusted earnings (loss) per share on a consolidated basis. Total cash costs and total production costs The Company reports total cash costs and total production costs on a silver ounce and a gold ounce produced basis. The Company follows the recommendation of the cost standard as endorsed by the Silver Institute ("the Institute") for the reporting of cash costs (silver) and the generally accepted standard of reporting cash costs (gold) by precious metal mining companies. The Institute is a nonprofit international association with membership from across the silver industry. The Institute serves as the industry's voice in increasing public understanding of the many uses and values of silver. This remains the generally accepted standard for reporting cash costs of production by precious metal mining companies. Total cash costs and total production costs are divided by the number of silver ounces contained in concentrate or gold ounces recovered from the leach pads to calculate per ounce figures. When deriving the production costs associated with an ounce of silver or gold, the Company deducts byproduct credits from sales which are incidental to producing silver and gold. All-in sustaining costs The Company has adopted the reporting of all-in sustaining costs as a non-GAAP measure of a precious metals mining company's operating performance and the ability to generate cash flow from operations. This measure has no standardized meaning and the Company has utilized an adapted version of the guidance released by the World Gold Council, the market development organization for the gold industry. The World Gold Council is not a regulatory industry organization and does not have the authority to develop accounting standards or disclosure requirements. All-in sustaining costs include total cash costs incurred at the Company's mining operation, sustaining capital expenditures, corporate administrative expense, exploration and evaluations costs, and reclamation and closure accretion. The Company believes that this non-GAAP measure represents the total costs of producing silver and gold from its operation, and provides additional information of the Company's operational performance and ability to generate cash flows to support future capital investments and to sustain future production. For additional information regarding these non-GAAP measures (including reconciliations to IFRS measures and by-product credit calculations, as applicable), see Tahoe's management's discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2016 available at www.tahoeresources.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. For information on how Lake Shore Gold has historically disclosed these non-GAAP measures (including reconciliations to IFRS measures, as applicable), see Lake Shore Gold's management's discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2015, also available on SEDAR. Forward-Looking Statements This release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "contemplate", "target", "plan", "intend", "continue", "budget", "estimate", "may", "will", "schedule" and similar expressions or statements identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements related to the following: the 2016 operations outlook and production guidance, including estimates related to gold and silver mineral reserves and mineral resources, production, total cash cost per ounce, all-in sustaining cost per ounce, capital expenditures, corporate general and administration expenses and exploration expenses; growing gold production to over 550,000 ounces by 2020; increasing mineral reserves and mineral resources in Canada by 2 to 4 million ounces over the next four years; increasing mineral reserves and mineral resources in order to add mine life in all operations; growing the Lake Shore Gold Division production to over 250,000 ounces per year by 2020; meeting targeted total annual production in Peru at 300,000 ounces; re-commissioning and deepening the shaft at the Bell Creek Mine to more than double production at that operation; advancing the Whitney Project, including accelerating exploration drilling; advancing the 144 Gap Deposit, including accelerating exploration drilling and moving into commercial production in 2017; advancing an exploration drilling program at Gold River; possible expansion of the Bell Creek Mill to 5,500 tonnes per day; completing drilling programs at Escobal to support an increase in reserve life to over 20 years; the timing for the feasibility study for the development of the sulfide deposit at La Arena; planned extensions of the leach pads and the waste dump at La Arena; the continued commercial production at Shahuindo; the installation of underground dewatering wells and the commencement of underground exploration drilling at Escobal; the timing of sustaining capital projects; the expectation of meeting production targets; the preparation of a new geological model and project scoping study at La Arena during 2016; and the timing and cost of the design, procurement, and construction of the crushing and agglomeration plant at Shahuindo. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analyses and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Management believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the Company's performance and ability to implement operational improvements at the Escobal, La Arena, Timmins West and Bell Creek mines; the Company's ability to carry on exploration and development activities, including construction; the timely receipt of required approvals; the price of silver, gold and other metals; prices for key mining supplies, including labor costs and consumables, remaining consistent with the Company's current expectations; production meeting expectations and being consistent with estimates; plant, equipment and processes operating as anticipated; there being no material variations in the current tax and regulatory environment; the Company's ability to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner; the exchange rates among the Canadian dollar, Guatemalan quetzal, Peruvian sol and the United States dollar remaining consistent with current levels; and the Company's ability to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include but are not limited to: the fluctuation of the price of silver, gold and other metals; changes in national and local government legislation, taxation and controls or regulations; social unrest, and political or economic instability in Guatemala and/or Peru; the availability of additional funding as and when required; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; the timing and ability to maintain and, where necessary, obtain necessary permits and licenses; the uncertainty in the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves; the uncertainty in geologic, hydrological, metallurgical and geotechnical studies and opinions; infrastructure risks, including access to water and power; the impact of inflation; changes in the administration of governmental regulation, policies and practices; environmental risks and hazards; insurance and uninsured risks; land title risks; risks associated with illegal mining activities by unauthorized individuals on the Company's mining or exploration properties; risks associated with competition; risks associated with currency fluctuations; contractor, labor and employment risks; dependence on key management personnel and executives; the timing and possible outcome of pending or threatened litigation; the risk of unanticipated litigation; risks associated with the repatriation of earnings; risks associated with negative operating cash flow; risks associated with the Company's hedging policies; risks associated with dilution; and risks associated with effecting service of process and enforcing judgments. For a further discussion of risks relevant to the Company, see the Company's Annual Information Form available on SEDAR under the heading "Description of Our Business Risk Factors". Although management has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There is no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as, and to the extent required by, applicable securities laws. For further information, please contact: Tahoe Resources Inc. Mark Utting, Vice President, Investor Relations This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-703-6298 SOURCE Tahoe Resources Inc. VANCOUVER, May 4, 2016 /CNW/ - Barsele Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: BME) ("Barsele") is pleased to report to its shareholders recently-released operational progress on the current exploration program within the Barsele Au-VMS Project area in Vasterbottens Lan, northern Sweden (the "Barsele Project") contained in Agnico Eagle Mines Limited's (TSX, NYSE: AEM) ("Agnico Eagle") press release announcing its first quarter 2016 results. The exploration program at the Barsele Project is being operated by joint venture partner Agnico Eagle. Ownership in the Barsele Project is 55% Agnico Eagle and 45% Barsele. In its press release, Agnico Eagle stated that the drilling results from the Barsele Project extended the known mineralization at depth and joined the Central Zone with the Skirasen Zone. The press release also suggested that the Barsele Project has the potential to become a Goldex type deposit, which is one of Agnico Eagle's existing gold mines. Equally noteworthy, is the illustration that accompanied the press release, which shows the potential growth of the known deposit to the south-east as a result of the latest drilling, and also that the deposit remains open in three directions. Highlight intercepts from drill results to date and drill hole coordinates from this program are set out in the tables below and the drill hole pierce points are also shown on the Barsele Project composite longitudinal section below. All intercepts reported for the Barsele Project show capped grades over estimated true widths, based on a preliminary geological interpretation that is being updated as new information becomes available with further drilling. Recent exploration drill results from the Barsele Project Drill hole Location From (metres) To (metres) Depth of midpoint below surface (metres) Estimated true width (metres) Gold grade (g/t) (uncapped) Gold grade (g/t) (capped)* CNT15-007 Central Zone 437.0 449.0 310 9.0 12.37 3.28 CNT15-009 Central Zone 106.0 168.0 90 46.5 1.12 1.12 and 383.0 432.0 300 36.8 1.15 1.15 CNT15-010 Central Zone 223.0 252.0 230 21.8 1.59 1.59 and 494.0 589.0 515 71.2 0.88 0.88 CNT15-013 Central Zone 473.5 492.0 370 13.9 3.00 3.00 and 519.2 526.0 400 5.1 5.02 5.02 CNT15-015 Central Zone 23.0 34.0 20 8.2 8.06 6.74 CNT15-016 Skirasen Zone 270.0 277.0 215 5.2 5.06 5.06 and 339.0 451.0 310 84.0 2.07 2.01 CNT15-017 Central Zone 623.0 632.0 540 6.8 1.72 1.72 SKI15-001 Skirasen Zone 323.0 384.0 260 45.8 1.94 1.61 and 405.0 434.0 310 21.8 1.42 1.42 SKI16-001 Skirasen Zone 101.0 108.0 75 5.2 4.85 4.85 and 120.0 140.0 95 15.0 3.92 3.23 and 276.0 312.1 210 27.1 3.06 2.40 SKI16-005 Skirasen Zone 193.0 213.0 170 15.0 1.19 1.19 and 399.0 504.0 370 78.8 1.25 1.25 and 593.0 609.0 485 12.0 1.86 1.86 *Holes at Barsele use a capping factor of 20 g/t gold. Barsele Project exploration drill collar coordinates of selected holes Drill collar coordinates* Drill hole ID UTM North UTM East Elevation (metres above sea level) Azimuth Dip (degrees) Length (metres) CNT15-007 7214686 618733 321 360 -53 725 CNT15-009 7214671 618829 317 360 -57 701 CNT15-010 7215040 618808 291 180 -70 655 CNT15-013 7214613 619033 306 333 -55 597 CNT15-015 7214601 619133 296 360 -52 523 CNT15-016 7214525 619127 302 360 -55 664 CNT15-017 7214895 618859 293 290 -60 902 SKI15-001 7214598 619125 296 040 -48 580 SKI16-001 7214515 619222 300 040 -50 557 SKI16-005 7214516 619221 300 360 -57 645 Recent drilling has connected the Central Zone with the Skirasen Zone. The combined Central-Skirasen Zone has a strike length of approximately 1,400 metres, and extends from surface to a depth of at least 540 metres and ranges in width from 10 to 150 metres. Mineralization remains open at depth and along strike. Results include hole CNT15-016 that intersected the Skirasen Zone with two intercepts: 5.06 g/t gold over 5.2 metres at 215 metres depth, and 2.01 g/t gold over 84.0 metres at 310 metres depth. Almost 300 metres away at the southeast extent of the zone, hole SKI16-001 intersected the zone with three intercepts: 4.85 g/t gold over 5.2 metres at 75 metres depth, 3.23 g/t gold over 15.0 metres at 95 metres depth and 2.40 g/t gold over 27.1 metres at 210 metres depth. The deepest intercept to date in the Skirasen Zone is hole SKI16-005 that intersected 1.86 g/t gold over 12.0 metres at 485 metres depth, as well as two shallower intercepts. Recent drilling has extended the depth of the Central Zone to 540 metres. Highlights include hole CNT15-015 that intersected 6.74 g/t gold over 8.2 metres at 20 metres depth. Hole CN15-013 intersected 3.00 g/t gold over 13.9 metres at 370 metres depth and 5.02 g/t gold over 5.1 metres at 400 metres depth. Hole CN15-007 intersected 3.28 g/t gold over 9.0 metres at 310 metres depth. In 2016, Agnico Eagle indicated that it plans to spend approximately US $4.9 million on exploration to further evaluate the mineral potential of the property. This includes 19,000 metres of diamond drilling, a recently completed Titan-24 induced polarization geophysical survey, till sampling and hyperspectral core scanning. A basic environmental assessment will be done, as well as ongoing community relations programs to engage the various stakeholders in the region. Drilling is expected to resume in early May after spring breakup. Barsele's President, Gary Cope says, "I am very pleased to see the mineralized zone has expanded so significantly in this report, and that Agnico Eagle has planned expenditures which will in aggregate fulfill the full phase one commitment per the joint venture terms and in so doing will advance us to the second phase which ultimately leads to a preliminary resource estimate for the project." Art Freeze, P.Geo. and Ben Whiting, P.Geo., are Qualified Persons as defined in NI 43-101 and take responsibility for the technical disclosure contained within this news release. About the Barsele Gold Project The Barsele Project is located on the western end of the Proterozoic "Skellefte Trend," a prolific volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits belt, where it intersects with the "Gold Line" in Northern Sweden. Both polymetallic deposits and intrusive hosted orogenic gold deposits are present in this region and on the property. Current and past producers in the region include Boliden, Kristineberg, Bjorkdal, Svartliden, and Storliden. In September of 2015, mineral resource estimates by Barsele were released for the Barsele Project in four zones, the Central, Avan and Skirasen Gold Zones and the Norra VMS Zone (Orex News Release dated 21 November 2012). The resource estimate for the Central-Avan-Skirasen Zones states an Indicated Resource of 14.1 million tonnes grading 1.21 g/t gold for 547,000 contained ounces, plus an Inferred Resource of 20.2 million tonnes grading 0.97 g/t gold for 627,000 contained ounces. The polymetallic Norra Zone contains an Indicated Resource of 110,000 tonnes grading 3.13 g/t gold, 30.3 g/t silver, 0.53 % copper and 0.72 % zinc, plus an Inferred Resource of 310,000 tonnes grading 1.62 g/t gold, 12.7 g/t silver, 0.26 % copper and 0.42 % zinc. All zones were estimated at a gold cut-off grade of 0.6 g/t. About Barsele Minerals Corp. Barsele is a Canadian-based junior exploration company comprised of highly qualified mining professionals. Barsele's main property is the Barsele Gold Project in Vasterbottens Lan, Sweden, a joint venture with Agnico Eagle Mines Limited. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Gary Cope President This News Release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements and Barsele undertakes no obligation to update such statements, except as required by law. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Barsele Minerals Corp. Barsele Project - Composite Longitudinal Section VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 4, 2016) - IDM Mining Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:IDM) ("IDM" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the 2016 drilling program, along with engineering and environmental studies planned for the Red Mountain Gold Project ("Red Mountain" or the "Project"), located in northwest British Columbia near the town of Stewart. Additionally, IDM wishes to announce that Premier Gold Mines Limited (TSX:PG), a leading North America-focused exploration and development company, participated in the Company's recently completed private placement, acquiring 9.43% of IDM on a partially diluted basis. Rob McLeod, President and CEO, stated, "Our upcoming program will target extensions and upgrade current resources of the wide, high-grade gold mineralization at Red Mountain, as well as complete detailed engineering and environmental work for inclusion in our Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment Application. Also, we welcome Premier Gold as a significant shareholder; we look forward to working with them, as we advance Red Mountain to a potential construction decision in 2017." 2016 Red Mountain Program The Company has planned an infill and step-out underground core drilling program using two rigs. Step-out holes will be completed along strike and down-dip from existing resources, primarily at the JW Zone, as well as to upgrade inferred and indicated resources in the JW zone and AV zone, respectively. This drilling will also gather additional material for metallurgical testwork, as well as geotechnical and hydrological data. The program is expected to total approximately 5,120 meters of drilling in 36 holes, pending receipt of all necessary approvals. Prior to drilling, IDM will rehabilitate and dewater the production sized decline that was driven by previous operators. IDM will also complete a comprehensive surface program of mapping and sampling, including targeting new areas of the 17,000 hectare property that have recently been exposed by rapid glacial melt. In conjunction with relogging and additional sampling of historic drill core, the objective of the surface program will be to identify new drill targets within the widespread alteration and mineralizing system at Red Mountain. Additionally, the Company will complete extensive, detailed engineering and environmental work on the Project. This will include a geotechnical drilling program at the proposed Bromley Humps tailings management facility, mill, and ore stockpile location. Further detailed engineering and survey work will be completed along the road and proposed powerline right-of-way, as well as planning for surface facilities. Ongoing hydrological and environmental studies will also be completed in support of the Environmental Assessment Application. IDM intends to fully consult with the Nisga'a Nation (Nisga'a), who hold Treaty rights in the Project area, regarding the proposed activities. IDM has shared detailed, technical information with Nisga'a representatives and looks forward to discussing the proposed activities with Nisga'a during the permitting process. IDM is committed to engaging with Nisga'a and supporting Nisga'a's full participation in the environmental and regulatory reviews of the Project, as well as in the employment and business opportunities related to the Project and the proposed 2016 work programs. Premier Gold Investment The Company welcomes Premier Gold's investment of 14.25 million common units, representing 6.49% of IDM's common shares, and 9.43% on a partially diluted basis, in the private placement completed by the Company on April 27th 2016. Premier Gold is a well-respected gold exploration and development company, with significant, advanced projects in world-class mining districts in Ontario and Nevada. Premier Gold will be in production later in 2016 with their first operation at the South Arturo mine at the northern extent of the Carlin Trend, Nevada. QUALIFIED PERSON Technical Aspects of this News Release have been reviewed and approved by Robert McLeod, P.Geo, President and CEO of IDM Mining Ltd., and Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. ABOUT RED MOUNTAIN IDM Mining is currently earning an option to acquire a 100% interest in the 17,125 hectare Red Mountain property, located 18 kilometers northeast of Stewart, BC. Numerous gold and silver deposits and exploration prospects have been identified by IDM and previous operators over a 15 km by 4 km trend of strong alteration and mineralized prospects. Since discovery in 1989, in excess of $45 million has been spent on the Project including a production-sized underground ramp. ABOUT IDM MINING LTD. IDM Mining Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The Company's current exploration and development activities are focused on precious metals in British Columbia and Yukon with a primary focus on the high grade underground Red Mountain Project which has entered the BC and Canadian environmental assessment process. Further information can be found on the Company's website at www.IDMmining.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD of IDM Mining Ltd. Robert McLeod, President, CEO and Director "Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release." Forward-Looking Statements: Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements for the purposes of applicable securities laws. These statements include, among others, statements with respect to the proposed exploration and development activities and their timing and expected results, resource estimates and potential mineralization, the Company's plan to complete an Environmental Assessment Application and a feasibility study and a potential construction decision. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve 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 statements. Such factors include, among others and in addition to those described elsewhere in this release, timing and success of future exploration and development activities, exploration and development risks, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals, permits or financing, the risk of unexpected variations in mineral resources, grade or recovery rates, of failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, of accidents, labor disputes, and unanticipated delays in completing other development activities, the risk that estimated costs will be higher than anticipated and the risk that the proposed mine plan and recoveries will not be achieved, equipment breakdowns and bad weather, the timing and success of future exploration and development activities, exploration and development risks, mineral resources are not as estimated, title matters, third party consents, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors and general economic conditions. In making the forward-looking statements, the Company has applied several material assumptions including, but not limited to, the assumptions that: required regulatory approval, permits and financing will be obtained; the proposed exploration and development will proceed as planned; with respect to mineral resource estimates, the key assumptions and parameters on which such estimates are based; that the proposed mine plan and recoveries will be achieved, that capital costs and sustaining costs will be as estimated, and that no unforeseen accident, fire, ground instability, flooding, labor disruption, equipment failure, metallurgical, environmental or other events that could delay or increase the cost of exploration or development will occur, and market fundamentals will result in sustained metals and minerals prices. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 4, 2016) - Cypress Development Corp. (TSX-VENTURE:CYP)(OTCBB:CYDVF)(FRANKFURT:C1Z1) ("Cypress" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has acquired, via staking, an additional 12 placer claims as a compliment to Cypress' existing land package located in the heart of the Clayton Valley, Nevada lithium brine exploration area. Cypress Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Nevada location map: Cypress' 1520 acre Clayton Valley Project is located on the south flank of "Angel Island" and immediately southeast of the Albemarle Silver Peak lithium mine. Cypress' Clayton Valley claims share their western boundary with claims controlled by Pure Energy Minerals. Cypress Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Nevada claims map: The newly acquired placer claims are ideally located immediately adjacent to the east of Pure Energy Mineral's CV-4 and CV-5 spudded brine wells that were completed in January and February 2016. Cypress believes that the 2 new groups of claims will have an impact on the area of influence of any potential lithium brine production from the eastern portion of Clayton Valley south. The Company will assess all available and pertinent data for this latest land package to be able to determine what exploration programs could be initiated at the same time as Cypress is carrying out its planned Phase 3 drill program targeting lithium brines at the Company's Clayton Valley Project which will also include the drilling of shallow auger holes targeting areas of strongly lithium mineralized claystones recently discovered at surface. Cypress Clayton Valley Project Proposed Drill Hole Locations: Robert Marvin, P.Geo., Exploration Manager for Cypress Development Corp. is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved of the technical information in this release. About Cypress Development Corp.: Cypress Development Corp. is a publicly traded lithium and zinc-silver exploration company developing projects in Nevada, U.S.A. Cypress Development Corp. has approx. 24.1 million shares issued and outstanding. To find out more about Cypress Development Corp. (TSX VENTURE:CYP), visit our website at www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com. CYPRESS DEVELOPMENT CORP. DONALD C. HUSTON President NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information. Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Kapuskasing Gold Corp. (TSX-V: KAP) (the Company or KAP) is pleased to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (the MOU) with Flying Post and Mattagami First Nations (the First Nations) with respect to KAPs recently acquired West Keefer Property located in Northern Ontario, near the town of Timmins. The MOU establishes the desire for First Nations and KAP to work together, creating a long-term, mutually beneficial, cooperative and respectful relationship with the spirit of social, ecological, cultural and economic well-being. The MOU also signals a commitment by KAP to identify opportunities for businesses and citizens of the First Nations communities to participate in KAP's exploration activities through business, employment and training opportunities. In addition, the Company has granted 50,000 common shares (the Shares) and 50,000 share purchase warrants (the Warrants) of the Company to Mattagami First Nation. Each Warrant will be exercisable into one Share at $0.055 for a period of 5 years. The Warrants will vest 25% on the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and 25% after six months, 12 months and 18 months respectively from the effective date of the MOU. Flying Post First Nation is not receiving shares and warrants for the signing of this MOU, as it received 50,000 shares and 50,000 warrants as signatory to a Memorandum of Understanding with KAP for the Borden North, Borden South, Golden Route, Rollo, Schewabik, and West Chapleau Projects. New Director & Officer Appointment The Company also announces the resignation of Andrew Davidson as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the appointment of Mr. James (Jim) Fairbairn as a director and as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Mr. Fairbairn is a finance professional with over 25 years of experience in corporate governance, leadership, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, financial management and financial and management reporting. He is a Chartered Accountant who brings strong financial skills and who has served as a senior officer and/or a director in both public and privately - held companies. Mr. Davidson will continue to serve as a director for Kapuskasing Gold Corp. About the Company Kapuskasing Gold has 7 gold properties located along extensions of the Destor-Porcupine or Borden Gold project. All of the properties, with the exception of Rollo and West Keefer, are situated within the Kapuskasing structural zones and have potential similarities to Goldcorp's Borden Gold project. A detailed map and property descriptions can be viewed on the Company's website: www.kapgold.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors Kapuskasing Gold Corp. Jonathan Armes President & CEO Phone 1 (416) 708-0243 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws and regulations, including statements regarding the future activities of the Company. Forward looking statements reflect the current beliefs and expectations of management and are identified by the use of words including will, anticipates, expected to, plans, planned and other similar words. Actual results may differ significantly. The achievement of the results expressed in forward-looking statements is subject to a number of risks, including those described in the Companys management discussion and analysis as filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities which are available at www.sedar.com. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction. The common shares will not be and have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or applicable exemption from the registration requirements. Dancers at Yinchuan Hedong Airport in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region welcome a Boeing 777 from the Middle East on Tuesday, when Emirates Airline launched its first direct flight between Dubai and Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia.[China Daily] Clad in traditional clothing and holding the sweet tea that local Hui people serve guests, a group of dancers welcomed a Boeing 777 from the Middle East to Northwestern China on Tuesday. Yinchuan, capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and home of one of China's largest Muslim communities in the landlocked region, has eagerly awaited the landing of the first-ever Emirates flight. The Dubai-to-Yinchuan flight is scheduled for every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. "Ningxia is joining hands with Emirates Airline to launch China's westernmost logistics center on the Silk Road to develop itself into a strategic highland in the country's westward opening-up and a strategic transit point on the Silk Road Economic Belt,"said Li Jianhua, Ningxia's top official, at the opening ceremony. He said China and Arab countries have great potential for cooperation in trade, finance, tourism and real estate, and this flight serves as a good start. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of the airline and Emirates Group, said the route provides fast and convenient connections to Middle Eastern, African and European destinations via Dubai. "We are confident that this air link will also help boost the flow of trade and tourism to growing central and western parts of China," he said. After landing at Yinchuan Hedong Airport, the flight will continue farther east to Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, before returning. The Dubai-based carrier already flies to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. New routes have been scheduled to make seamless connections to destinations in the Middle East, Europe and Africa, helping local Chinese to travel to most cities in the world, via Dubai. The new flight is the latest fact or boosting Ningxia's positioning of itself as a gateway from China to the Arab world and a strategic point in the Belt and Road Initiative. Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation. You are here: Home Six people were killed in a coal mine gas blast in southwest China's Yunnan Province Tuesday, local authorities said. Six people were killed in a coal mine gas blast in southwest China's Yunnan Province Tuesday, local authorities said.[Photo/weibo] The explosion happened at around 11:10 a.m. at Shaba Coal Mine in Yanjin County. Rescue work is underway. So far, it is not clear how many people were injured or trapped after the explosion. Cause of the accident is being investigated. Police from east China have captured four suspects related to a major hacking case, in which children's vaccination information were leaked and sold. A photo taken on April 25, 2016 shows health workers introduce vaccination-related knowledge in a primary school in north Chinas Hebei province. [Photo: hebei.com.cn] Jinan police began their operation in early April, after the mobile app of Qilu Evening News, a mainstream newspaper in the region, reported that some 200 thousand pieces of children's information in Jinan have been sold in package, with one piece worth only between 10 and 20 cents. The first suspect, surnamed Ye, was held in late April, with the help of police in Chengdu in southwest China. Ye admitted that he profited from information he stole from the hard disks of relevant institutions. He achieved this via a corporate computer-related software he purchased online. Police said the second and third suspects, both surnamed Su, were involved in obtaining and selling passwords of vaccination system or personal information, including that of children, by hacking. The fourth suspect, surnamed Chen, was involved in selling children's information online by means of instant message software. Reports say local police have vowed to strengthen measure to better cope with such cases. You are here: Home With jagged mountain ranges, lush forests and rare tropical plants, its no wonder Nyingchi was chosen by ancient Tibetans to settle almost 5,000 years ago. Several millennia later, the prefecture is hoping to expose its primal beauty to the world as a global ecotourism wonderland. Compared to other Tibetan regions, which mainly feature snow mountains and high mountain meadows, Nyingchi is a priceless valley area facing the Indian Ocean in the southeast, where warm Indian current moves upstream to meet the cold air from the north, allowing the co-existence of tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and frigid zones. With an average altitude of 3,100 meters above sea level, much lower than the average of more than 4,000m in Tibet, and more green vegetation, Nyingchi has long been a recommended resort for first-time visitors looking to acclimate to the high-altitude plateau environment. Scenic spots include the 7,780-meter-highNamjagbarvwa Peak, the 15th highest in the world awarded as the most beautiful peak in China by the Chinese National Geography magazine, and the 490-km-long precipitous Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. Lunang Forest known as the little Europe of China in the township of Lunang, the home of deities in Tibetan, is a popular getaway for tourists. Pasang Tsering, a local in Tashigang Village, said elsewhere in Tibet, people could barely make ends meet because of the adverse natural environment. But here in Lunang, our life is getting better just because of the nature, he said. Because of the thin air, barren land and cold weather, Tibetans have long struggled with their harsh living environment. Agriculture and stockbreeding, the traditional pillar industries of Tibet, are vulnerable to bad weather. Villager Penpa from Tashigang said the tourism boom had greatly improved peoples living standards. Last year he earned more than 20,000 yuan (US$3,100) renting tents and other services. Other villagers run family inns and earn 900,000 yuan a year, he said. Nyima Khamtrul, 28, a mother of two, who lives in Dongbacai Village of Lunang Township ran a small shop dealing in special local products and earned more than 30,000 yuan last year. Selling Chinese alpine rush plants, which can only grow in unpolluted areas, Nyima Khamtrul said she is always reminding people not to litter. If the environment is damaged, there will be no way out for us. We must protect the ecology, said she. In 2015, Nyingchi posted a record high gross domestic product of 10.4 billion yuan, up 11 percent from the previous year. The burgeoning tourism industry employs 5,000 people and there are 219 households running family inns. Nyingchi also has some of the most beautiful peach flowers, with an annual festival held in March. Fan Hui, who traveled from northeast Chinas Liaoning Province to attend the festival last year, said the wild peach flowers are different from those on the Tibetan plains. Flash Chinese shoppers in the Akihabara electronics shopping district in Tokyo. (Source: China Daily) Recently, a number of Chinese tourists were overcharged in Japanese duty-free shops. The customers paid high prices for health care products and were then unable to return the items. Based on recommendations from tour guides and sales assistants, many Chinese tourists bought products such as natto extract, enzymes and deep sea fish oil. The price for one box of these products was about 20,000 yen (1,200 yuan), and tourists were required to buy at least four boxes. None of the products were refundable. How could the enzyme, which is sold for just several thousand yen per box in drugstores, jump so extremely in price in duty-free shops? Why were refunds not allowed in these shops? It seems that the duty-free shops and tour guides were collaborating to cheat Chinese tourists. Such traps often target group tours. The tour guides exaggerate the effect of the products, and sales assistants claim that the products are monopolized commodities. Poor supervision by relevant authorities in Japan also helps the tourist trap to thrive. The consular section of the Chinese embassy in Japan has negotiated with the consumer affairs and tourism departments of Japan many times on this matter; however, the answer is always the same: "There is nothing we can do." In 2015, 4.99 million Chinese tourists visited Japan, spending a total of 1.42 trillion yen (86.3 billion yuan) for a per capita consumption of 284,000 yen (17,000 yuan). Chinese tourists spend the most out of any group of foreign tourists. Meanwhile, many of the deceived Chinese tourists said they would never visit Japan again. Flash Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday a joint Russian-U.S. center to monitor the ceasefire in Syria will be launched in the next few days in Geneva, Switzerland. After meeting here with the visiting United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, Lavrov said at a press conference that Russia maintains daily contacts with the U.S. side on Syrian issues. "The military of the two countries are literally in daily contact mode, and this interaction, which is now being carried out via videoconferencing, acquires direct nature with the creation in the next few days in Geneva of a joint Russian-U.S. center for a rapid response to ceasefire violations," Lavrov said. The minister also said that an agreement was expected to be hammered out soon by Russia and the United States on a ceasefire in Aleppo, a major city in northern Syria. "I hope that the decision will be announced soon, maybe even in the next few hours," Lavrov said, noting that the two countries are making joint efforts to ensure a "broadened and consolidated" truce regime in Syria. On the Geneva Intra-Syrian talks, Lavrov urged the United States to use its influence over opposition forces, put an end to the use of ultimatums as well as prevent the "brute-force scenario." The minister in particular criticized the opposition High Negotiations Committee, which withdrew from the meeting held from April 13 to 27, for being "non-constructive." For his part, de Mistura expressed the hope that the ceasefire regime in Syria could be re-launched in the next few hours, stressing both Russia and the United States should help "all of us to make sure that this (the truce) is brought back on track." "May is going to be an important month for all of us. If Aleppo is returning to the cessation of hostilities status, meanwhile we will be re-starting and pushing for humanitarian access and intra-Syrian talks. Everything is interconnected," de Mistura said. The envoy said the Russia-U.S. monitor center in Geneva should "become an immediate real-time containment" of violations of the Syrian ceasefire. De Mistura visited Russia as the ceasefire in Syria was in danger of falling apart, especially with recently intensified violence in Aleppo. The envoy met in Geneva with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday and re-emphasized his appeal to Washington and Moscow to renew their efforts to protect and restore the cessation of hostilities in Syria nationwide. On Friday the United States and Russia agreed that a "regime of silence" take place near the capital Damascus and the northwestern province of Latakia to shore up the falling truce. Flash The African Union (AU) and China have reiterated to further strengthen cooperation in different areas towards augmented relationship between China and Africa. This came on Tuesday during a reception organized on the AU premises in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, to mark the first anniversary of the establishment of Chinese mission to the pan-African bloc. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the AU Commission, other senior officials of AU, diplomats based in Addis Ababa, as well as representatives of international organizations and Chinese companies have attended the event, which was color with the accompany of Chinese folk performance, and which AU hailed a pleasant event. In his remarks on the occasion, Kuang Weilin, Chinese Mission Head to AU, said the cooperation between China and AU has made great strides in different aspects. "Exchanges at all levels have gained momentum; practical cooperation has yielded new concrete results; and China-AU cooperation in peace and security is now faced new opportunities," said Weilin. During the latest summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) last December in Johannesburg, South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced ten major areas of China-Africa cooperation, for which China has also pledged 60 billion U.S. dollars in a three-year implementation period. The summit was a milestone event in the history of China-Africa relations and cooperation, mapping out a blueprint for China's long-term cooperation with Africa, said the ambassador. "China has been working closely with African countries to expedite the implementation of the big plans of FOCAC summit," he added. According to the diplomat, discussions have been held with more than 30 African countries on ways of speeding up the materialization of some early harvest items within the FOCAC framework. He noted that China's relations and cooperation with Africa and with AU are at new historical chapter. He also said the sound and steady development of China's economy is in the interest of promoting China's cooperation with African countries. Kuang expressed China's commitment to working with Africa and AU to seize and maximize opportunities for win-win cooperation and common development. Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission, has commended China for enabling improved relationship and strengthened ties with AU by establishing mission to the pan-African bloc. The establishment of the Chinese mission to AU demonstrates China's commitment to the relationship with Africa, reiterated Mwencha. He noted that the FOCAC summit held last year illustrated the heightened cooperation between China and Africa. The Deputy Chairperson has also hailed China's support to Africa in peace and security; human capital development by providing scholarship and training; and in the effort made to halt Ebola crisis on the continent among others. "We acknowledge the 1.2 million dollars donation to the peace funds and continue to seek greater counter-terrorism cooperation to contain the scourge caused by these radical and extreme elements who continue to pose a grave risk not only to Africa but international community living and working in Africa." "The partnership between the AU and China is grounded on the areas of collaboration to walk hand in hand with Africa in our visions agenda 2063. Our cooperation, therefore, must strive to enhance the overall environment and conditions for socio-economic development for purposes of poverty reduction." "Our bilateral trade has grown to about 220 U.S. billion dollars at the end of 2015. China's foreign direct investment to Africa has grown to over 30 billion dollars and prospects are even bigger. Security threat is a global phenomenon but calls for an all inclusive approach. Africa is keen to continue its partnership with China to address security hotspots," he said. Expressing AU's commitment to strengthening relations with China, Mwencha has called for further cooperation in areas including among others addressing negative impacts of climate change, green development technology, and disease control and prevention initiatives. Flash King Felipe VI of Spain on Tuesday morning signed a decree to dissolve the Spanish parliament and convoke a new general election for June 26. The signature was a matter of protocol after Spain's main political parties failed to reach agreement over the formation of a coalition government by midnight on Monday, meaning parliament had to be dissolved under the terms of the Spanish Constitution. Felipe signed the decree in the presence of parliamentary speaker Patxi Lopez, meaning Spaniards are heading for the polls for the second time in just about six months following the inconclusive vote on December 20 last year. Lopez lamented that the country's political leaders had been "unable to fulfil the mandate the people gave us." The December vote saw the People's Party(PP) of Mariano Rajoy won 123 seats in the 350-seat Congress, while the Socialists won 90. The recently formed left wing party Podemos won 69, while center-right formation Ciudadanos took 40. Although the Socialists and Ciudadanos did sign a post electoral pact, the antipathy between Ciudadanos and Podemos meant chances of a "progressive coalition" failed, while no party was willing to pact with the PP. Latest opinion polls suggest little chance in voter intentions over the past four months, but with the Spanish people tiring of political debate there could be a lower voter turnout in June -- something which traditionally favors the PP. Stating that he was alarmed by a scathing state audit, the chairman of the Nebraska Tourism Commission pledged Tuesday to get to the bottom of problems that the audit revealed. I cannot stress how seriously the commission takes these (audit) findings, said John Chapo, chairman of the nine-member, appointed commission. We take seriously our responsibility of being good stewards of the states financial resources. Chapo commented as the commission discussed the audit, made public Friday. The audit roundly criticized the four-year-old state agency for poor accounting of spending, for allowing the states ad contract to be overspent by $4.4 million, and for spending excessively on convention speakers and moving expenses for one employee. During Tuesdays meeting, the commission held a 40-minute, closed-door discussion of the audit. Chapo declined to say whether the discussion included the job status of State Tourism Director Kathy McKillip, who was singled out in the audit for acting unilaterally at times, without approval of the board. But four members of the Tourism Commission were appointed as a committee Tuesday to review the audit and report back to the full board. That review will include the performance of McKillip, who is paid $86,364 a year to lead an 11-employee office, which directs the states tourism promotion efforts. Chapo declined to say whether he thought the directors job was in jeopardy. McKillip said she had not been asked to resign and said she doesnt believe she should be fired. Theres lots of opportunity for me to tighten up things in the office, she said. There are lessons to be learned. Who wants this kind of press? Its National Tourism Week. Chapo, who is director of the Lincoln Childrens Zoo, in reading a statement about the audit at Tuesdays meeting, criticized a lack of information provided by McKillip. We can only act on the information presented to us by the director, he said, noting that in his own job he must provide accurate and honest reports to his board of directors so they can make informed decisions. He said the audit committee would meet soon and said he would call a special meeting of the full board when the committees review is done. Tuesdays meeting was the commissions first since the audit was issued Friday. The nearly 80-page audit was a scathing review of a lack of accountability. It also faulted the Tourism Commission for reimbursing a state ad contractor, Bailey Lauerman, for spending on alcohol and cigarettes, in violation of state rules. And it questioned spending $18,000 to move one employee and $44,000 paid to a speaker for a 90-minute presentation at a conference last year. The audit also said that the hiring of McKillips daughter as a model for a tourism photo shoot was a potential violation of a state law that prohibits a state official from getting something of value for a family member, or of a state law that prohibits a contractor from offering something of value in exchange for favorable treatment on contracts or legislation. Both McKillip and an official with Bailey Lauerman have denied that any laws were broken and denied that the hiring was a special favor. State Auditor Charlie Janssen said he has forwarded the results of the audit to the Nebraska Attorney General to determine whether a law has been violated, as he does with every audit. The hiring of the daughter who ended up being pictured on the cover of the 2016 State Tourism Guide did not come up during a presentation by the State Auditors Office on Tuesday, nor did commissioners mention it during the open portion of the meeting. Craig Kubicek, who managed the audit, used the phrase lack of documentation several times during his presentation. He recommended the Tourism Commission adopt policies and procedures on how to spend its funds and account for its spending and reimbursements to its contractors. Kubicek also said that by state law, the commissioners, not just the director, must review and approve spending. On Monday, Gov. Pete Ricketts said he was appalled by the audit and would reconsider whether the Tourism Commission should remain an independent state agency. Before 2012, it was a division within the State Economic Development Department, an agency overseen by the governor. But in 2012 the Legislature and the governor at the time, Dave Heineman, approved a law that made the Tourism Commission independent, overseen by a nine-member board appointed by the governor. The result of moving the agency outside the governors reach, Ricketts said, was a lack of oversight. State Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha, who supported making the Tourism Commission independent, attended Tuesdays meeting but did not speak. He has said he supports keeping the agency independent and hopes it will be more accountable now that it has been ordered to contract with a state agency that regularly deals with accounting, the Department of Administrative Services. On Tuesday, McKillip said that she expects that contract with the department will cost $12,000 to $14,000 a year to review Tourism Commission contracts and bills. This will help us greatly, she said of the additional oversight. Also appointed Tuesday: a four-member committee that is to begin drafting policies and procedures for the Tourism Commission. The committee is made up of the same members who will review the audit: Deb Loseke of the Columbus/Platte County Visitors Bureau; Lisa Burke of the North Platte/Lincoln County Visitors Bureau; Tony Moody of John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts; and Carol Schlegel of the McCook/Red Willow County Tourism. McKillip said starting an agency from scratch has been a challenge but said that was not an excuse for the problems uncovered in the audit. Chapo said that his heart was heavy in realizing that the Tourism Commission had let down Nebraskans. It is our job to fix this and regain the public trust, he said. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Pump prices likely on the rise in coming months Gas prices are likely to go back up following the OPEC+ decision to cut oil production by 2 million barrels a day, starting in November.... Spindle Items .. ETERNAL HAPPINESS All of us are chasing happiness. None of us wants to be miserable, angry, frightened , depressed or the like. If... Out of the Past 25 Years AgoOct. 22, 1997 Zoning laws in the Town of Tonawanda received much needed updating Monday as Councilman Raymond Sinclair presented amendments in underground... Family fun for everyone Halloween is every kids dream holiday, with costumes and candy, tricks and treats. Some of my favorite memories with my family have centered around Halloween,... When it comes to pursuing a career path, todays young workers are concerned about far more than simply the size of their paycheck. Generational differences are leading to a new and growing segment of a workforce that is more often concerned with life outside of work and their experiences within the workplace than about how much money theyll earn or even how they will earn it. Young people entering todays workforce are demanding greater mobility and flexibility in their careers, as well as new and different fringe benefits which seem to make the day-to-day grind all the more meaningful. Take Serena Wagner, for instance. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2014 with a degree in graphic design. Wagner landed a job at Volume One in Eau Claire shortly after that, but she will be the first to tell you it could have easily been different. Among the friends she knew at college, only two besides herself stayed in Eau Claire. The reason is simple: at present the Chippewa Valley doesnt offer the ready access to the cultural and art scenes which are so important to young people starting out on a creative career path. Most of Wagners friends headed towards the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and that even included the ones who did not have jobs. The message is clear, job or no, culture and amenities are important to todays young workers. Theyre looking for a place to belong, a place to fit in, Wagner said. You have to build that culture yourself here. No matter where one goes, for younger generations it does not mean they will stay there for long. That trend reflects one that has been going on in society for some time, as the countrys population becomes more mobile and families spread out across the U.S. I still think about leaving, Wagner said, suggesting that like her friends, she is drawn towards Minneapolis and St. Paul, and she also spoke of Brooklyn, N.Y. Priorities change Shaughnessy Murphy graduated from UW-Eau Claire several years before Wagner, but he tells a similar story. Murphy spent a good chunk of his childhood in the Chippewa Valley, but recalls that very few of his friends wanted to stay in Eau Claire. At the time, there simply wasnt enough going on here. Community is very important in the 21st century economy, he said. The employer doesnt matter as much. After graduating in 2006, Murphy departed Eau Claire for law school. When I was in college there was never any desire among my friends to stay in Eau Claire, he said. After law school, Murphy ended up in Washington D.C., where he stayed for a while. Its a great town for young professionals, he said. It has lots of arts and culture. You name it. Thats the sort of thing that draws young employees and new college graduates. Flexible jobs, fringe benefits The 40-hour work week has long been the standard of American employment, and along the way a few benefits have been added in such as retirements, insurance and even paid vacation. But those things arent always enough to entice young workers. They dont want to do what people were doing 20 years ago, said Kelsie Beckfield, president of the Chippewa Valley Society of Human Resources Management. SHRM is a member-based organization that promotes networking and the use of best practices in the human resources field. All told, the group has between 250 and 300 member HR professionals throughout the Chippewa Valley. For Beckfield, SHRM is only something she does on the side. In her full-time job she works in human resources for Nestle in Eau Claire. That company recently began offering up to 14 weeks paid maternity leave. Federal law only mandates that employers offer 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Its just to say, Hey, we know work-life balances are important, Beckfield said of her employer. Other fringe benefits likely to be seen more often in coming years include things like telecommuting and more casual work environments. Youre going to see more and more flexible perks like that used as recruiting tools, she added. Work still matters This doesnt mean, though, that the work is unimportant. Staci Heidtke, associate director of career services at UW-Eau Claire, explained that college graduates have long wanted to find jobs closely related to their major and in line with their interests, and that hasnt changed. Students tell me they want to do work thats interesting and thats fulfilling, Heidtke said. For the most part, (students) are trying to figure out what makes them happy. While the desire for flexible work schedules and fringe benefits has certainly escalated in the last several years, Beckfield said that members of the SHRM know that those things are nothing new. Its always been a factor, she said. Not only that but it isnt just the entry-level employees that are enticed by these perks. Its not only millennials and younger workers that want this. If its brought to the area, the older workers want this, too, Beckfield said. It is merely that the younger generations are leading the charge for these benefits in ways that older workers have not done so or are not likely to. Another change in the way younger workers approach their career lies in how they view the importance of longevity with employers. New graduates do really think about the job they get after graduation as their first job, Heidtke said. Its not their only job. Thats different from even just 10 or 15 years ago. You are going to have your first job and then you are going to have another job. Things are a little different over at Chippewa Valley Technical College. Many of its students are non-traditional, and so are more likely to already have roots in the local community. They often arent going anywhere. Several of the companies SHRM works with communicate directly with CVTC to fill their technical jobs. (Companies) are actually bringing their machines to the tech and putting them directly in the curriculum, Heidtke said. That kind of cooperation ensures the companies get workers with the skills they need. As a result, CVTC has a very high post-graduation employment rate. Practically everyone who is about to graduate already has a job offer, she said. Change is coming While Wagners friends may have left the home of their alma mater in search of greener creative pastures, the 25-year-old Eau Claire native said that big things are happening in the Chippewa Valley that are helping to turn it into the type of community that offers those amenities that young people want. Between the downtown renovations in Eau Claire that include the Confluence Project, to revitalization efforts throughout other cities in the Chippewa Valley, the areas communities are coming together in a big way to stand out from the pack. The middle-of-nowhere feel that one gets in some cities is not anywhere to be found here. Another reason for that is the group of new venues for the arts and culture that are beginning to appear around the Chippewa Valley. Those things are coming to fruition, Wagner said, likening some more recent developments in Eau Claire to amenities that already existed in larger cities. (The city) is opening up to a new and different scene. Those ideas are starting to come out of the woodwork. And thats part of what has kept Wagner here: the realization of those non job-related aspects of her life. I have a certain motivation to stay and watch the scene grow, she said. Murphy, who recently moved back to Eau Claire and now works for the Ruder Ware law firm, agreed. Downtown (Eau Claire) is a diamond thats being shined up, he said. Heidtke said the recent development is making the Chippewa Valley a more viable post-graduation destination for the universitys students. That really appeals to students to have something to do when they arent working, she said. The changes have come quickly. Just a decade ago when Murphy was accepting his diploma, Eau Claire looked very different. He described a city that didnt have much of an arts or culture scene. Young professionals dont want to hang out on Water Street, but they are also not the family restaurant crowd, he added. Theres places to do that now, where 10 years ago there was Water Street and Applebees. The following editorial was published by The Janesville Gazette on Friday, April 29: It was disappointing but not surprising the Janesville School Board again shot down a spousal surcharge for health care. The surprise was that the reasonable proposal fell so soundly, on a 6-3 vote. Kevin Murray, Cathy Myers, Carla Quirk, Dale Thompson, Greg Ardrey and newcomer Jim Millard rejected it. Most or all of them have enjoyed union support in their election campaigns. Most have worked in the district, have ties to the district or work in education elsewhere. Most were or still are in unions. Some helped lead unions. Five years after Gov. Scott Walkers Act 10 supposedly devastated public employee unions statewide, union influence is still clear in Janesville. Board member Steve Huth retired from the Janesville district. Yet he joined longtime surcharge advocate Bill Sodemann and newcomer Michelle Haworth in voting for this modest $50 fee. Last spring, after the election but before newly elected members were seated, the board approved a $150 monthly surcharge for employees whose spouses have insurance available through their employers but instead choose to use the school districts generous coverage. After Huth and other newcomers were seated, the board voted again and this time rejected the surcharge. At an earlier benefits committee meeting, Huth said he thought that fee $1,800 per year was too high. But employees he recently spoke with thought $50 was fair and reasonable. Myers, an Illinois teacher, noted that the Janesville staff is paying more for premiums and deductibles and advocated shared sacrifice a union mantra. What message are we sending people if we target the spouses of employees? Myers said Tuesday. Why would they stay, is my concern. I think instead of begrudging our employees a good health plan, I think we need to be selling it as a way to attract people to this field and to this district. But what message does this decision tell taxpayers, the vast majority of whom work in the private sector and wonder why district benefits shouldnt be more like what companies offer? What message does this send to single district employees? If you assume the district has only so much money for health care, which now costs $9.8 million, why should single people pay a little more in premiums or deductibles to subsidize those who keep spouses on the plan? Its clear why couples would want to use the plan. After all, last year a consultant suggested Janesvilles plan might have the lowest employee costs and best benefits statewide. No one begrudges a good health plan. Even had the fee passed, its so generous that it would attract rather than chase employees. Thats why, after the $150 fee passed, three-fourths of affected couples would have paid the fee. The modified $50 surcharge proposal was good in principle, a small step in the right direction. Advocates suggested it would affect about 300 employees and save $180,000 through the fees and spouses leaving the plan. Each spouse costs the district about $400 per month for health care. Remember that savings number during future budget talks, when the board must cut teachers or programs or cant afford to hire instructors for enrollment spikes. District money is limited, and residents expect the board to balance reasonable benefits against spending that educates kids. As Sodemann and former board member David DiStefano whom the union managed to vote out of office last year have suggested, why should district taxpayers subsidize businesses by covering health care for their employees whose spouses work in the district and tap its generous benefit? That, Sodemann said Tuesday, is very logical and very sound. Unfortunately, not in the minds of most board members. Egyptian native Michael Youssef returns to homeland to preach while government protestors clamor outside church 03 May, 2016 by Tobin Perry , | CAIRO, Egypt (Christian Examiner) Michael Youssef's Leading the Way ministry says at least 500 people came to faith in Jesus during a three-day evangelistic event in Cairo, Egypt, last month. According to the ministry's website, more than 5,000 people attended one of the services in person along with "millions more watching live via satellite television." "Whatever your bondage may bewhether it's alcohol, gambling or pornography, sexual addictions or drug addictionsJesus can set you free tonight." "My beloved friends, a day is comingand it may be sooner than we thinkwhen there will be only two lists, those who are saved and those who are lost, those who have received Jesus as their only Savior in life and those who had their own ideas of who God is and what He should be," Youssef told the audience on the first day. "Where will your name be?" Youssef's messages, which were translated from English into Arabic, focused on "salvation in Christ and victory over sin and addiction," according the ministry website. Youssef grew up in Egypt and later moved to Australia and attended Moore Theological College. In 1977 he moved to the United States where he received a master's degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Emory University. In 1987 he started The Church of The Apostles in Atlanta, an independent Anglican congregation. Youssef's sermons at Cairo's Kasr El-Dobora Church were broadcasted on two satellite channels and reached 160 million homes worldwide, says Joshua Youssef, executive vice president of Leading the Way. He also added that people came to faith in Christ on the first evening of the event despite government protests outside of the church. Yousef's messages directed at those struggling with addictions come during a critical time in the Middle Eastern country. The L.A. Times reported in 2013 that the social upheaval since 2011 has led to an increase in drug addiction in Egypt. GulfNews.com cites "official figures" claiming five million of the country's 90 million people are addicted to drugs. Pornography, which Youssef spoke about multiple times during the four sermons over three days, has also increased in the Middle East in recent years. A 2015 article on Salon.com said that six of the eight highest porn-searching countries were predominantly Muslimincluding Egypt at number two. During the fourth of Youssef's Cairo sermons he assured the people that he had come to Egypt to bring them Good News. "Whatever your bondage may bewhether it's alcohol, gambling or pornography, sexual addictions or drug addictionsJesus can set you free tonight," Youssef said. "He is the God of power and might. If you don't allow Jesus to deliver you from whatever you are hooked on, you will end up being cynical in life." Youssef asked Christians to pray for those who made commitments during the Cairo events and that those who came to faith will find opportunities for personal discipleship. He also asks Christians to pray that God will bring a mighty move of His Spirit to the city and country. One hundred and ninety troops from James Stephens barracks are Lebanon-bound having completed their ministerial review at the Castle yesterday. Under the command of Lt Col Stephen Ryan, the 53rd Infantry group were inspected by Minister of State at the department of dDefence, Paul Kehoe TD before marching down The Parade, up High Street, through the Market Yard and back to barracks via Johns Bridge. Families, friends and well-wishers atttended the function at the Castle Park where the army band played, and also marched in front of the infantry group through the city. Among the 190 strong group were Sergeant Ruth Comerford and private Matty Comerford, brother and sister and travelling on their first mission together. Sergeant Comerford is one of nine women in the 190 strong force which has an average age of 34. Intensive training The soldiers, 68 of whom are on their first mission overseas, have undergone intensive training and they will join 335 Finnish troups deployed as part of the Finn Irish battalion. Also in attendance were Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council Mary Hilda Cavanagh, Mayor Joe Malone, local councillors and Chief Executive of Kilkenny local authority Colette Byrne. The dignatories took the salute at the Tholsel which was specially prepared for the march past. Battery Sergeant Patsy O' Driscoll is about to embark on his 15th mission. Debt is an ugly four-letter word. It comes in all shapes and sizes, and generally includes mortgages, auto and student loans, credits cards and more. In fact, as of December 2015, an average American household was estimated to have $130,922 in debt (opens in new tab), with $15,762 belonging to credit cards. Even more staggering is the total $733 billion of credit card debt owned by U.S. consumers coming into this year. As credit card debt is considered to be a costly threat to your financial success (and one of the worst kinds of debt), it's often reviewed first when putting together a financial plan. One overlooked question, however, is what comes next. What if you stuck to your plan and got those pesky credit card balances down to zero? What steps can you take to ensure you don't rack up those bills again? Below are my top three recommendations for keeping those credit card balances in check now that you've greatly reduced or eliminated your debt. Subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplingers Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Sign up Cut Up Those Credit Cards As cliche as that image has become, this is an essential first step. There are a lot of psychological factors that go into acquiring debt, and if you were prone to racking up debt in the past, chances are you are prone to do it again. Don't take the risk. Cut up your credit cards and rely on a bank debit card. This will ensure you only spend the money you actually havenot the funds your credit card company so generously lets you borrow. Check Yourself and Remain Accountable Accountability is key when it comes to keeping credit card balances in check. At a minimum, schedule an annual financial check-up to build in that accountability. This can be done in a variety of waysbe it with a family member, a spouse, financial planner or even YOURSELF. Knowing that this event is on the calendar will hopefully provide you with the needed motivation to stay on track. With the advent of technology, mobility and online resources, it's now possible to find solutions to virtually anything using tech tools. Why not leverage technology to get a comprehensive view of your financial well-being? You can do this with the help of a financial professional or even complimentary sites, such as mint.com. Use these tools to track your spending or set budgets, and make it a habit to log in once per week to ensure consistency and results. While there are plenty of reasons people fall into debt, more often than not, debt begins to spiral out of control because people neglect their finances. They are afraid to look, and by the time they get the courageit's too late. Be proactive, take control and use the necessary tools to stay on track of your debt. The less you owe, the more you own, and the better chances of a successful financial life. Taylor Schulte, CFP is founder and CEO of Define Financial (opens in new tab), a San Diego-based fee-only firm. He is passionate about helping clients accumulate wealth and plan for retirement. New Homeschool Courses Teach the Next Generation About Biblical Calling and Economic Thinking Contact: Kristin Brown, Institute for Faith, Work & Economics, 703-962-7877 MCLEAN, Va., May 4, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Two new high school courses released Wednesday by the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (IFWE) seek to equip the next generation of young people to make an impact in the world for Christ through their work. Understanding God's Calling and Biblical Foundations for the Economic Way of Thinking are courses designed for homeschool students but can be used in a variety of educational settings, including Christian schools, churches, and small groups. "It's encouraging that young people today are driven to make a difference in the world," said author and theologian Dr. Art Lindsley, who authored the course on calling. "Sadly, few have a biblical framework for understanding God's calling in work, family, church, and community." Without that biblical underpinning, tremendous potential is lost, he said. Lindsley's curriculum, Understanding God's Calling, is a 17-module course that guides high school students through an in-depth biblical exploration of calling, vocation, and personal gifting. Lindsley serves as the vice president of theological initiatives at IFWE and is also the author of C.S. Lewis' Case for Christ, True Truth, and Love, the Ultimate Apologetic. Economist Dr. Anne Bradley is driven to help others, particularly young people, understand the importance of the economic way of thinking in the everyday choices of life. "Economics is just a fancy word for understanding the process of making choices under conditions of scarcity," she said. "Guess what? You already do this on a daily basis." Bradley explained that economics is important to learn at an early age because it helps children integrate God-pleasing decision-making into their lives. "Making God-pleasing decisions is what we're called to do," she said. "It's why we're here, and it's how we're going to make lasting contributions to God's kingdom." Bradley's course, Biblical Foundations for the Economic Way of Thinking, introduces high school students to economics as a critical element for pursuing God's will and wise decision-making. This 17-module course is unique in its emphasis on learning the biblical foundations for economics. Dr. Anne Bradley serves as vice president of economic initiatives at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics (IFWE) and is a mom of two young children. IFWE is offering 50% off both the economic and calling courses through May 31, 2016. Use code IFWENEWS50 in the IFWE bookstore. Free downloadable sample lessons from both courses are available at IFWEHomeschool.com. Share Tweet Personal finance experts love to tell people how much they can save by giving up Starbucks. And its true. A cup-a-day habit can add up to a thousand bucks or more every year. But well spare you the speech. Instead, well teach you a few tricks for spending less at Starbucks. That way, you can keep more money in your pocket without giving up caffeine cold turkey. The simplest way to save is to join the Starbucks Rewards Program. Members get a birthday freebie and free in-store refills. Plus, youll earn a free drink once you spend enough. Subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Save up to 74% Sign up for Kiplingers Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail. Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplingers expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Sign up Another thrifty trick is ordering a short coffee. The smaller, cheaper serving size isnt advertised, but its usually available. You can also save by bringing your own re-usable cup. Yet another trick: Buy discount Starbucks gift cards online. We recently found some selling for 10% off face value on Cardpool.com. Check out more ways to save money at Starbucks. (Kitco News) - Gold prices are modestly lower in early U.S. trading Wednesday, on some follow-through selling and profit-taking pressure that surfaced Tuesday. However, gold prices are up from the overnight low following a disappointing U.S. ADP jobs number that was just released. June Comex gold futures were last down $1.50 an ounce at $1,290.40. July Comex silver was last down $0.039 at $17.46 an ounce. The U.S. ADP national employment report just issued showed a gain of 156,000 in April, which was well below expectations of a rise of around 200,000. The weak number immediately gave a boost to the gold market, which had been trading down over $10 an ounce on the day. Traders and investors are looking ahead to Fridays U.S. jobs report for April from the Labor Departmentarguably the most important U.S. economic report of the month. The key non-farm payrolls number is expected to show a rise of 205,000 in April. However, the just-released ADP number calls into question whether the Friday jobs number can meet expectations. World stock markets were mostly weaker overnight in lackluster trading. Japans markets were closed for a holiday. U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward lower openings when the New York session begins. The key outside markets on Wednesday find the U.S. dollar index higher on more short covering after prices hit an eight-month low on Tuesday. The rebound in the greenback at mid-week has put some selling pressure into raw commodity markets. Nymex crude oil prices are slightly higher in early U.S. trading Wednesday and hovering just below $44.00 a barrel. There is a heavy slate of U.S. economic data due for release Wednesday, including the weekly MBA mortgage applications survey, the ADP national employment report, preliminary productivity and costs, the U.S. services PMI, manufacturers shipments and inventories, the ISM non-manufacturing report on business, the weekly DOE liquid energy stocks report, and the international trade report. (Note: Follow me on Twitter--@jimwyckoff--for breaking market news.) Wyckoffs Daily Risk Rating: 2.5 (Trader and investor market risk aversion is not elevated today.) (Wyckoffs Daily Risk Rating is your way to quickly gauge investor risk appetite in the world market place each day. Each day I assess the risk-on or risk-off trader mentality in the market place with a numerical reading of 1 to 5, with 1 being least risk-averse (most risk-on) and 5 being the most risk-averse (risk-off). Technically, June gold futures bulls still have the solid overall near-term technical advantage. Bulls next upside near-term price breakout objective is to produce a close above solid technical resistance at this weeks high of $1,306.00. Bears' next near-term downside price breakout objective is closing prices below solid technical support at $1,250.00. First resistance is seen at $1,300.00 and then at $1,306.00. First support is seen at the overnight low of 1,277.30 and then at $1,272.40. Wyckoffs Market Rating: 7.5 July silver bulls have the firm overall near-term technical advantage as prices hit a 15-month high Monday. However, a bearish key reversal down on the daily chart that has just occurred does hint that a near-term market top is in place. Silver bulls next upside price breakout objective is closing futures prices above solid technical resistance at this weeks high of $18.06 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $17.00. First resistance is at Tuesdays high of $17.76 and then at Mondays high of $18.06. Next support is seen at the overnight low of $17.215 and then at $17.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 7.0. By Jim Wyckoff, contributing to Kitco News; jwyckoff@kitco.com Follow @KitcoNewsNOW (Kitco News) - Although David Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital has yet to speak at the Sohn Investment Conference, which raises money for charity, gold has already been the hot topic of the day. Earlier in the afternoon, billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller and former chief executive officer of Duquesne Family Office, extensively criticized the Federal Reserve and recommended investors sell stocks and buy gold. He warned that the U.S. central bank has no end game and that its policies are raising the odds of the economic tail risk that it is trying to avoid. He also said that the Feds dovish policies has created "recklessness at the government and corporate level. He added that the easy money that led to the housing bubble doesnt even compare to the current environment. Looking at the stock market, he noted that the seven-year bull market has exhausted itself and that investors should get out and buy gold. Three years ago on this stage I criticized the rationale of Fed policy but drew a bullish intermediate conclusion as the weight of the evidence suggested the tidal wave of central bank money worldwide would still propel financial assets higher. I now feel the weight of the evidence has shifted the other way; higher valuations, he said in his 20-minute presentation. Druckenmiller was also fairly negative on China, saying that credit growth has accompanied a sharp fall in the nations nominal gross domestic product, a toxic combo. The gold market appears to have liked Druckenmillers comments, the metal got a small rally, off the session lows at the same time as his presentation. In electronic markets, June Comex Gold Futures last traded at $1,281.5, down $10.30 on the day but well off its lows. For 21 years the Sohn Investment Conference has brought together some of the biggest hedge funds in the world to present their best investment ideas for the year, in an effort to raise money pediatric cancer research. According to the foundations website, last year it raised $4 million for cancer research. Although gold prices are $1,300 an ounce and off their 15-month highs seen earlier in the week, the market is still up almost 21% since the start of the year. By Neils Christensen of Kitco News; nchristensen@kitco.com Follow @Neils_C LARRY STEAGALL / KITSAP SUN Jake Angel talks with a customer at Jake's Pickup, his gourmet takeout restaurant located in the same building as the Chevron station on High School Road on Bainbridge Island. By Terri Gleich, Special to the Kitsap Sun BAINBRIDGE ISLAND Jacob Angel cooks mostly organic comfort food in a state-of-the art kitchen that just happens to be in the back of a Bainbridge Island gas station. It's the kind of road food that he and wife Kristi searched for in vain during a decade of crisscrossing the country for high-end catering jobs. Angel calls it gourmet fast food. He bakes his own bread, including sinfully buttery rolls for his Memphis-style pulled pork sandwiches, and buys produce, eggs and meat directly from local farmers, who deliver to the gas station daily. "We make everything from scratch, all our own bread, buns, pizza crust, sauces and pastries. We smoke, braise, roast or fry all the meats in-house. It's a tremendous amount of prep," he said. Angel's style reflects his Memphis upbringing, his mother's Brooklyn roots and the Pacific Northwest chops he earned as head chef at The Orcas Hotel and Christina's Food and Wine, a ritzy Orcas Island eatery that drew celebrity guests. Thin and bounding with energy, Angel has known his way around a kitchen since he started helping his mom, Barbara Angel, at age 3. He was working for a Memphis barbecue restaurant by age 15 and put himself through the University of Alabama with his culinary talents. Originally, he dreamed of being a children's book illustrator, but his mom said he was always drawn to the kitchen. "I would come home from work and he'd have made a five-course meal," Barbara Angel recalled. "I told him, wouldn't it be fun to do what you love for a living." Deciding to channel his creativity into cooking, Jacob Angel went to culinary school and studied baking with a French pastry chef in Colorado before heading to the San Juan Islands. Now Angel's mom works for him, baking treats that include gluten-free oatmeal, chocolate and chocolate chip cookies dubbed "better than gluten" by the customers who devour them. And Jacob Angel satisfies his artistic side by creating multihued chopped salads and picture-perfect entrees. Kristi Angel also is an artist and also works at the restaurant, covering the busy lunch shift while their son, 4-year-old Jaydin, is at preschool. The couple decided to leave Orcas Island to be closer to family and to have more opportunities for the little guy. Angel first planned to start a food truck that's where the name Jake's Pickup comes from but when he approached the owners of the Bainbridge Chevron about parking at their station, they had a better idea. They bought a gas station in foreclosure across the street, gutted it and built a new convenience store with a kitchen for Angel. That station now is the Chevron, and the old location on the southwest corner of Highway 305 and High School Road has been razed. Angel designed his workspace from scratch, fitting a full-scale kitchen and bakery into 350 square feet. He calls it his permanent food truck and said, "It rivals any high-end kitchen I've ever worked in." Situated about a mile from the Bainbridge ferry terminal, the 2-year-old cafe is perfectly positioned to feed ferry passengers. Some restaurants gear up for breakfast, lunch and dinner; Angel said he focuses on ferry sailings. "Every hour, every boat, there's a surge of excitement that runs through Jake's." One of Angel's signature dishes is hickory-smoked pulled pork, which he also serves at his Bainbridge Island Farmers Market stand. The sauce is a fragrant mix of local tomatoes, honey, maple syrup and molasses. Sandwiches run $9 and are topped with coleslaw and served on rolls that took Angel a year to perfect. The pulled pork is also available with two eggs as a breakfast dish for $7. Smoked pork shoulder shines through in Jake's popular Tri-Power Burger, which also includes bacon and grass-fed beef in a quarter-pound patty that's topped with roasted tomato remoulade. Angel calls it "a serious ride to flavor town" and likes to think it might attract Guy Fieri of the Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." Breakfasts run $4 to $10 and he offers a $5.99 egg sandwich special from 6-8 a.m. Most lunch entrees cost around $10. Many menu items are family recipes with a twist. He serves his mom's tuna salad, which replaces most of the mayonnaise with cottage cheese, but ups the gourmet quotient by using sushi-grade tuna. He makes her roasted turkey his own by serving it with basil aioli on a house-made French hoagie roll. On Thursdays, his grandmother's salmon cakes are on the menu. "Everything I do has got something in it from someone who helped raise me," Angel said. There is one creation that's all his, though the Sconenut. A cross between a scone and a doughnut, Angel said it's moister than a scone, but healthier than a doughnut because it's not fried. The treats come in various flavors and he said they are small enough that customers can eat one a day without feeling guilty. In addition to his standard menu items, Angel is also inspired to create daily selections based on whatever's delivered fresh by the farmers. That might be collard greens sweetened naturally with carrots and carrot tops or a "chop shop" salad with purple shooting broccoli sprouts, radish, cauliflower shoots, mint and homemade ranch dressing. "Jake is as enthusiastic about local food and incorporating it into his product as any chef I've experienced in 40 years," said Brian MacWhorter of Butler Green Farms, who supplies the restaurant with chicken, eggs and vegetables. "He's just doing amazing things and he's serving that food in a gas station." The cafe recently expanded its hours to be open on Sundays and stay open later on Saturdays. When the place is closed, customers can still get Angel's cooking from a grab-and-go cooler and freezer in the convenience store. Eventually, the chef hopes to use the diner to launch his own products. He's already partnered with a local roaster to develop Jake's Pickup coffee blend. In keeping with the car theme, it's available "leaded" or "unleaded." Customers are enthusiastic about his efforts: "All three generations of my family are regulars here," said Bill McCoy, who is often accompanied to Jake's by his mom and his teenage son. "Any place that can get a 13-year-old to eat caramelized onions and goat cheese is a pretty good place." Jake's Pickup Where: 406 High School Road NE, Bainbridge Island Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily Info: 206-842-5595 or jakespickup.com SHARE By Ed Friedrich of the Kitsap Sun BANGOR The Navy can't discuss how it's trying to prevent drones from illegally flying over Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, home to eight ballistic-missile submarines. Officials did provide a few more details Tuesday about several incidents involving unmanned aircraft over the past few months. Most important, the overflights haven't posed a physical threat, said Navy Region Northwest spokeswoman Sheila Murray. An unspecified number of drones have been spotted by service members and civilians on base. They've been seen at all times of day, in a variety of places and have come from off base. The Federal Aviation Administration designated the airspace above the base as "prohibited" in May 2005 at the Navy's request. Besides the base, the area extends to the water across Hood Canal and the Navy-owned portion of Toandos Peninsula. Penalties range widely, from $1,000 to $250,000, with additional fines for damages or injuries caused by the device, Murray said. Aircraft must fly at least 2,500 feet over the base, which eliminates drones because they're restricted to no more than 400 feet off the ground. They also must remain in the pilot's sight. Navy officials wouldn't speculate on the operators' motives, preferring only to emphasize how hazardous the behavior could be. The officials also don't give away tactics. "We don't discuss our security posture, but we are committed to the safety and security of our community, our personnel and our installation," Murray said. The ability to track drones is considered force protection. The Navy doesn't talk about specific capabilities and locations of those systems. It also doesn't discuss specific rules for use of force. "However, we always have the right and responsibility to self-defense," Murray said. Navy officials are working with the FAA and local law enforcement agencies to investigate and eventually prosecute those who fly drones into the national security area. Some drones can be seen on radar, but others can't because they fly too low or are too small, FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said. All drones of more than 0.55 pounds must be registered with the agency. Kenitzer suggested the Bangor culprits are just exploring. "I think it's more likely that people are just curious," he said. "They have this (new) capability. It's cool to fly and look at the neat stuff they (the Navy) have over there, even though they're not supposed to." The Navy re-emphasized that if anyone sees a drone to call 360-396-4444. If possible, take a photo or video for the security team. Drones operating illegally also can be reported to Kenitzer at 425-227-2015 or allen.kenitzer@faa.gov, or the operations center at 425-227-02015. SHARE By Ed Friedrich of the Kitsap Sun BREMERTON Kitsap Transit's board of commissioners renewed a Rich Passage beach monitoring contract for $204,000 Tuesday, including $44,000 from non-ferry funds. Monitoring is necessary to maintain an up-to-date baseline of shoreline conditions to compare with those after potential future passenger-only ferry operations, Executive Director John Clauson said. The board voted April 5 to place a measure to provide fast ferry service from Bremerton, Kingston and Southworth to downtown Seattle on the November ballot. It would require a sales tax increase of 3 cents per $10 purchase. Board member and Port Orchard Mayor Rob Putaansuu asked whether the agency should wait to see if the measure succeeds. The beach baseline needs to be kept current to accurately measure the effects of the ferry, Clauson said. Is it insurance against a lawsuit like one that shut down the state fast ferries, board member and Bremerton Councilman Richard Huddy asked. "That's probably one way to look at it, yes," Clauson said. "It maintains that confidence level in the science." The agency had $160,000 in its capital budget to put toward the monitoring. The remaining $44,000 must come from local transit funds. For that reason, board member and Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson voted against it. Since Kitsap Transit took over the low-wake research project from Washington State Ferries in 2005, it has emphasized that no bus money be diverted to the ferry. The agency received $13 million in federal grants to design, build and test a low-wake vessel the 118-passenger Rich Passage 1 capable of sailing between Bremerton and Seattle in 30 minutes without harming the beaches. Those federal funds have been exhausted, Clauson said Tuesday. Erickson earlier questioned the legality of a sole-source contract with Golder Associates, which has performed the monitoring since 2007. Agency attorney Ron Templeton said it's OK because Golder is the only firm with the history to continue the monitoring in an economical and timely manner. Erickson said she'd still like to get fresh eyes on the research. The contract extension runs through the end of the year. Should the ballot measure pass, the contract would need to be renewed again. Service between Bremerton and Seattle would begin in the summer. Golder scientists monitored the beaches in fall 2012 when Rich Passage 1 carried passengers for four months as part of the wake research. The ferry made five round trips six days a week. Golder published a report afterward stating that beach response to the ferry's wake was within seasonal variations. The lead scientist recommended not starting with more than 30 round trips a week, the same as during testing, and watch for effects as sailings are gradually added. Tibetan Buddhist monks Lobsang Tsundu (left) and Konchuk Jampa work on the Medicine Buddha sand mandala Tuesday at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. The monks are visiting from Gaden Shartse Phukhang Monastery in India and will be creating the mandala throughout the week. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN SHARE Tibetan monk Lobsang Tsundu works on the intricate detail of the Medicine Buddha sand mandala Tuesday at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN Tibetan monk Lobsang Tsundu works on the intricate detail of the Medicine Buddha sand mandala Tuesday at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN Geshe Phuntsho clasps his hands together as he and his fellow Tibetan Buddhist monks from Gaden Shartse Phukhang Monastery in India hold a blessing ceremony before starting their Medicine Buddha sand mandala Tuesday at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN Museum patrons look on as Tibetan Buddhist monks Konchuk Jampa (left) and Lobsang Tsundu work on the Medicine Buddha on Tuesday at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. MEEGAN M. REID / KITSAP SUN By Terri Gleich, Special to the Kitsap Sun BAINBRIDGE ISLAND Working silently and with intense concentration, two Buddhist monks began creating an intricate sand mandala Tuesday at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art in an exhibition that is both art and a sacred meditation on healing. Also known as lamas, the monks from the Gaden Shartse Phukhang Monastery in Southern India are expected to work until noon Saturday creating the Medicine Buddha design a few grains of colored sand at a time. Once completed, museum visitors will have only a few hours to appreciate the finished work before it is swept away in a reminder of life's impermanence. The exhibition is part of a two-year Sacred Arts of Tibet Tour that is aimed at cultural outreach as well as fundraising for the monastery, which provides refuge and education for exiles from Tibet and other parts of the world. Geshe Phuntsho, one of six monks visiting Bainbridge on the tour, said that about 80 percent of the lamas in his overcrowded monastery are fleeing China's repressive rule of Tibet and most are between 10 and 25 years old. Money raised on the tour will be used for building improvements, medical needs, teachers' salaries and day-to-day operations. The college at the monastery has more than 1,600 resident students, teachers and spiritual practitioners and is considered a leader in the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies, according to the tour website. A documentary about the monastic college is playing this week in the museum auditorium. Sand mandalas are a specialized art form, and it takes monks who choose to learn the practice up to six years to become masters. Only two of the six lamas visiting Bainbridge are creating the symmetrical sand design. After a blessing ceremony Tuesday morning with all of the monks chanting and praying to purify the space, the two artists deftly began placing the sand along lines drawn Monday on a blue cloth-covered platform. They rubbed pointed foot-long silver pipes against each other, creating a gentle hum. The resulting vibrations released almost imperceptible streams of yellow, pink, green, black, periwinkle and burnt sienna sand. The specific design is of the Buddha of Healing and is considered a manifestation of the healing energy of all enlightened beings. Channing Peters, a Bainbridge Buddhist who planned a private Tuesday night fundraiser for the monks, was enthralled by the display and plans to be at the museum every day this week to watch the mandala develop. "This is an absolute thrill for me. I never thought in my lifetime I would get to experience a sand mandala creation live," she said. Bob Ruch, who sponsored the monks' visit, said he hopes to raise $5,000 for the monastery this week. In addition to the Peters' event, the lamas are raising money by offering house-blessing ceremonies for $350. This is the fourth time Ruch has brought the monks to Bainbridge, and the second time they've created a mandala. The last visit was in 2008. A student of Buddhism, Ruch said he wanted to expose Bainbridge Island residents to the ritual of the mandala, which is considered a container for blessings, power and well-being. One of the most striking things about the spiritual practice is that the monks quickly erase their hours of work. Phuntsho said the lamas will perform a sweeping ceremony at the museum at 3 p.m. Saturday. Everyone who attends will receive a few grains of sand as a blessing. The rest will be poured into Eagle Harbor to send healing energy out into the world. The destruction of the mandala underscores both the impermanence of life and its importance, said Phuntsho, who is available during the mandala creation to answer questions about Buddhism, meditation and the Medicine Buddha. "You have a precious opportunity to make proper use of this life to create peace or happiness or harmony or prosperity and to make the world more beautiful," he said. "The more we try to make use of our own life, the more there's a beauty to our life." Sacred Arts of Tibet Where: Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, 550 Winslow Way E. Cost: Free Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; noon to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday Sweeping ceremony: 3 p.m. Saturday followed by a walk to Eagle Harbor to pour the sand into the water. Info: To contribute to the Gaden Shartse Phukhang Monastery or schedule a house blessing by the monks, contact Bob Ruch at 206-842-7845 or 206-795-9556. SHARE Erik Nervik, Grapeview Lose the supermajority on bonds Now twice in a season voters have rejected a bond to build a much-needed second high school in South Kitsap. The first measure had more than 59 percent in support, and the current looks to be about 59 percent as well. However, bond require 60 percent in order to pass. I believe the Legislature should revisit this philosophy and revise this to a simple majority. We have a system set up where 41 percent can veto a measure that is widely supported. I graduated from South Kitsap High School and personally observed the overcrowding, but it goes beyond that one issue. Education is essential to society, and maintaining adequate schools should not be an issue where a minority can log jam the majority. After all, this bond received more "yes" votes that most elected officials in Kitsap County get! I will be writing my legislators to ask that they 60 percent majority for bond be revisited. home World American senator calls for U.S. to open its doors to more Syrian Christian refugees American senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas calls for the United States to open its doors to Syrian Christian refugees who have fled their homes due to religious persecutions. Cotton told the senate back in March that "Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world." He shared the story of a Syrian Christian minister and his 12-year-old son who were executed six months ago for not renouncing their faith. The terrorists cut off the boy's fingers and challenged his father to renounce his faith as a Christian and go back to Islam to save the boy from further suffering. They were both murdered, however, by means of crucifixion. The cross is a symbol of salvation to Christians because it was on the cross that Jesus Christ suffered and died for the sins of many. Today, the terrorists use the cross to strike fear among Christians. Prior to Cotton's statement, John Kerry, Secretary of State, had already testified in House subcommittee that there is a need to reevaluate the Islamic State's (IS) practice of genocide. Kerry later on declared that the IS was actually practicing genocide. He made this declaration the same day that Cotton made his statement. However, despite the fact that Syrian Christians are facing massive genocide, these Christians have very slim chance of being admitted into the United States as well as other Western countries as refugees, as pointed out by The Guardian. In his speech before the senate, Cotton pointed out that according to the State Department, no more than one percent of Syrian refugees admitted into the United States are members of religious minorities, according to the State Department. The senator added that this underrepresentation, however, is not because of discrimination. The members of these religious minorities reportedly chose not to register under their organization because of fear. Consequently, Cotton introduced "Religious Persecution Relief Act." This act proposes to allow the entry of around 10,000 Christian refugees and members of other religious minorities from Syria into the United States each year for the next five years. To ensure security, they will still go through the same scrutiny as other refugees from Syria. Amy Adams has announced: Communications Minister Amy Adams has welcomed todays signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between InternetNZ and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) on the management of the .nz domain name. The agreement will help ensure this important resource continues to be managed in a transparent way that supports the interests of the local internet community and end users of digital services, says Ms Adams. The Memorandum of Understanding sets expectations for how InternetNZ will operate the domain name in the interests of New Zealand internet users, and sets out a process for dealing with any concerns between parties. It provides a clear statement of how the relationship between InternetNZ and MBIE should operate. A stable, reliable, and responsive domain name system is a key part of a modern communications infrastructure. The success of the .nz domain name lies in consulting with, and being accountable to, New Zealand internet users, says Ms Adams. That accountability is key, and I think it is great to have this agreement. In many countries Governments run the country code top level domain or have passed laws dictating how it should be run. In New Zealand, we have an open multi stakeholder approach to Internet policy. The MOU is here. It is almost unique in the world to have a Government sign an agreement recognising that the country code top level domain should be run in accordance with RFC1591. They have also recognised the seven principles for top level domains that InternetNZ is guided by: Domain name markets should be competitive. Choice for registrants should be maintained and expanded. Domain registrations should be first come, first served. Parties to domain registrations should be on a level playing field. Registrant data should be public. Registry / Registrar operations within a TLD should be split. TLD policy should be determined by open multi-stakeholder processes The agreement also increases accountability for InternetNZ by setting out a process any complaints can be heard, and also requiring InternetNZ to regularly test the views of the Internet community on key issues. Its really pleasing to be in a country where the Government has such good policies towards the Internet. NB I am Chair of the .nz Domain Name Commission but wasnt involved in negotiating the MOU however I was one of those consulted on its details Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Jeff Bohanan SHARE By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel OAK RIDGE The U.S. Department of Energy has declared as excess property 19.5 acres off Bethel Valley Road, and that's the key first step in a proposal to make the land available to a nearby, landlocked company in an expansion mode. Whether the move will lock in the Protomet Corp.'s plans to grow in place remains uncertain, and a spokesman for the company was noncommittal. "Protomet made its desire to remain in Oak Ridge clear from the beginning of this process," company spokesman Rick Laney said in an email. "We view this as a good first step, and as responsible business owners, we continue to explore all options and opportunities that could be advantageous to Protomet moving forward through this expansion and beyond." The company in February announced plans for a $30 million expansion to include a 100,000 square-foot addition and 200 new jobs over five years. The company is in Bethel Valley Industrial Park, next to the DOE property. Company CEO and founder Jeff Bohanan said in February that his company is on a tight timetable, needs to expand to meet customer demand, and that contracts are involved. Bohanan said then other locations for the expansion have been eyed. With the DOE decision, its excess property sought by Protomet can be conveyed to the Government Services Administration, which can then sell it to the industrial development board. That maneuver can shave several weeks off the ultimate plan for the board to sell the property to Protomet. An initial step, to have the property surveyed, would be undertaken by the Economic Development Initiative, a branch of the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce that's underwritten by the city. The survey costs would be repaid through the land sale. Protomet doubled its Oak Ridge operation in 2013 by opening a $7 million, 40,000 square-foot expansion. The company specializes in high-precision production manufacturing and finishing and has in recent years expanded its presence in the boating industry. SUBMITTED An artist's conception of a $5 million expansion underway at Brookdale Sandy Springs Senior Living Facility in Maryville. SHARE By Ed Marcum of the Knoxville News Sentinel Alcoa-based Hickory Construction Inc. is nearing its 40th year in business and well into a $5 million expansion of the Brookdale Sandy Springs Senior Living Facility. in Maryville. "We should be out of there by December," John McMillan, vice president of marketing for the construction firm said Wednesday. "We actually have two jobs going there," he said. "One is a new building, the other is a renovation." Kyle David, project manager for PDC Midwest Inc., construction manager on the project, did not want to speculate on when Brookdale Sandy Springs would be able to start moving people into the additions. Two months of rain has delayed the project, he said. The project, which Hickory Construction began in September, will add a 14,848 square-foot addition with 14 bedrooms, an updated dining room, and nurse call stations to the 511 Pearson Springs Road facility. The 24,772 square-foot memory center will have 32 units, a courtyard, dining room and administrative office space, and will be used for the center's Clare Bridge program for Alzheimer's and dementia-related care. Hickory Construction hopes the project will mark a trend. The company has done residential, commercial, industrial and medical facility projects, mostly offices and clinics for doctors and dentists. As the population ages, assisted-living construction will be a growing opportunity for Hickory Construction, McMillan said. "There is a big demand right now," he said. "There are probably two or three at least in Blount County alone." Aside from doing more such projects, a main goal for the company in the coming years is to expand its geographic footprint, McMillan said. Most of the company's projects are within an hour's drive of its headquarters at 124 Kent Place. The company wants to do more work in the Tri-Cities area, Crossville, Chattanooga and elsewhere in East Tennessee, McMillan said. The company was founded in August 1977 by Chuck Alexander and Rick Foden. It now employs about 65 people. Time to make room in your coupon binder for all those inserts you got Sunday! If you have not thinned your coupon binder since the last time we talked about this, you can throw away all your 2015 inserts. I looked through all the January and February 2016 inserts and found only 13 valid coupons. So, take a few minutes and clip those and you can recycle those inserts too. If your expired coupons are less than six months past their expiration date, then U.S. military families who are stationed overseas can use them. Organizations like Coupons To Troops (www.couponstotroops.com) or Troopons (www.supportourtroops.org) provide information on how to donate. Ingles 5/4/16-5/10/16 General Mills Cheerios (8-12 oz.) are on sale for $1.88. The 50 cents off 1 coupon from the April 24 SmartSource will double to make these 88 cents. If you need to stock up, the $1 off 2 coupons from the May 1 SmartSource would make these $1.38 when you buy two. Pillsbury Grands Biscuits (8 count) cinnamon or crescent rolls (4-5 count) are on sale for 98 cents. Buy three, and the $1 off 3 coupon from the March 20 SmartSource will make these 65 cents each. Eight O'Clock Coffee (11-12 oz.) is on sale for $4.48. The $1 off 1 coupon from the May 1 SmartSource will make this $3.48. Tide Laundry Detergent (42-50 oz.), regularly $7.98, is on sale for $5.98. The $2 off 1 coupon from the May 1 Procter & Gamble will make this $3.98. Publix 5/5/16-5/11/16 Dove Promises Chocolate (7-8.87 oz. bags), regularly $3.39, are on Buy One Get One Free sale for $1.69. The $1 off 1 coupon from the May 1 RedPlum will make these just 69 cents. I'm thinking this is a definite Mother's Day buy. Kraft Barbecue Sauce (17.5-18 oz.), regularly $1.79, is on Buy One Get One Free sale for 89 cents. Buy two, and the $1 off 2 coupon from the May 1 SmartSource will make these 39 cents each. Crystal Light Drink Mix (7-10 count), regularly $2.99, are on Buy One Get One Free sale for $1.49. The $1 off 2 coupon from the April 1 SmartSource will make these 99 cents when you buy two. Duncan Hines Perfect Size cake mix, regularly $3.19, is on Buy One Get One Free sale for $1.59. The 55 cents off 1 coupon from the May 1 SmartSource will make this $1.04. Arnonld Dutch Country Bread, regularly $3.49, is on sale for $1.74. The 55 cents off 1 coupon from the March 6 or May 1 SmartSource will make this $1.19. Ken's Steakhouse Dressing (24 oz.), regularly $4.79, is on Buy One Get One Free sale for $2.39. Look in your May 8 SmartSource for a $1 off 2 coupon that will make these $1.89 each when you buy two. Purina Fancy Feast Cat Food (3 lbs), regularly $7.39, is on Buy One Get One Free sale for $3.69. The $1 off 1 coupon from the May 1 SmartSource will make this $2.69. Tide Laundry Detergent (42-50 oz.) is on sale for $5.99. The $2 off 1 coupon from the May 1 Procter & Gamble will make this $3.99. Food City 5/4/16-5/10/16 Ken's Salad Dressing (16 oz.) is on sale for $1.99. Buy two, and the $1 off 2 coupon from the May 8 SmartSource will make these $1.49 each. Old El Paso refried beans (16 oz.), flour tortillas or taco shells are on sale for 99 cents. Buy three and the $1 off 3 coupon from the April 17 SmartSouce will make these 66 cents each. Old El Paso Dinner Kits are on sale for $2. Buy three, and the $1 off 3 coupon from the April 17 SmartSouce will make these $1.66 each. Land O Frost Simply Delicious Lunchmeat (13 oz.) is on sale for $4.49. The 75 cents off 1 coupon from the April 17 Smartsource will make this $3.79. Kroger 5/4/16-5/10/16 Angel Soft bath tissue (4 rolls) is on sale for $1. The 45 cents off 1 coupon from the May 1 RedPlum will double to make this 10 cents. Seattle's Best coffee (12oz bag) is on sale for $4.99. The $1 off 1 coupon from your May 8 SmartSource will make this $3.99. Kroger continues a Buy 4, Save $4 sale. You can add these deals to the ones listed last week. Prices assume you are mixing and matching participating items in multiples of four. Duncan Hines Decadent Cake Mix or Perfect Size Cake Mix are part of the sale for $1.99. The 55 cents off 1 coupon from the May 1 SmartSource will make this $1.44. Kraft Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip (22-30 oz.) is part of the sale for $2.49. The 50 cents off 1 coupon from the March 20 or May 1 SmartSource will double to make this $1.49. Glucerna Snack Bars (6 count) are part of the sale for $2.99. The $1.50 off 1 coupon from the April 3 SmartSource will make these $1.49, just 24 cents a bar. Katie Van Dyke is the mother of five and writes the Coupon Katie blog (www.couponkatie.com). SHARE OYSTERFEST Oysterfest May 7 at Concord Marina The 21st annual Oysterfest will be 6-10 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at Concord Marina, 10903 South Northshore Drive. The Childhelp Tennessee fundraiser will feature a select menu of oysters as well as shrimp n' grits, barbecue chicken, jambalaya, fried okra, steamed mussels with crusty bread, a french fry bar, mac n' cheese, gourmet Popsicles and plenty of beer, wine margaritas, water and soft drinks. Cost is $95 per ticket and can be ordered online at www.childhelp.org/2016-childhelp-tennessee-oysterfest/ . SUMMER BIRDS Join Ijams Nature Center naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 7, for a lighthearted look at the birds that can only be found in the summer in our area, including the wood thrush, indigo bunting, great-crested flycatcher and common yellowthroat. A light brunch will be servedduring the program. The fee is $5 for Ijams members and $8 for non-members. Call 865-577-4717, ext. 110 to register. INSIDE/OUTSIDE A Woman's Willpower Adventure will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 7, at Ijams. Willpower guru Angelique Medow and Sierra Club leader Mac Post will lead programs geared to women on the first two Saturdays in May to tap into the power of nature. Learn about native plants and ways to feel safe and comfortable in nature while enjoying the great outdoors on Ijams' nature trails. A jewelry craft also will be included. Cost is $40 for two friends or $40 for one mother and up to 4 daughters. Call 865-577-4717, ext. 110 to register. GET FIT The Fit Family Challenge launches from 1-2 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at the CVS Pharmacy at 6005 Kingston Pike. It is a free 8-week online healthy lifestyle program that helps participants track healthy habits, and offers expert advice and free fitness classes in communities throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. The program runs until June 26 with weekly prize giveaways, free online tools, fitness classes and special events. A live leaderboard tracks each region's progress, making the Challenge a fun competition among twelve regions in five states. Learn more about the Challenge at myfitfamilychallenge.com. Like us at www.facebook.com/knoxvillefamily and www.facebook.com/knoxvilledotcom. Knox County Health Department is the first in the state to receive national accreditation from the Public Health Accreditation Board. SHARE Restaurant scores for May 2 The following restaurants were recently evaluated by the Knox County Health Department. Restaurant scores may change with follow-up visits. For more information on health scores visit http://health.state.tn.us/EHinspections Perfect score Hana Sushi and hibachi, 11145 Kingston Pike: 100 New Full House, 3507 W. Emory Road: 100 Shoney's, 315 E. Emory Road: 100 Archer's BBQ Commissary, 311 S. Weisgarber Drive: 100 Gosh Ethiopian Restaurant, 3609 Sutherland Ave.: 100 Five Guys, 7531 Barnett Way: 100 Salsarita's, 105 Moss Grove Blvd.: 100 The Casual Pint, 2045 Thunderhead Road: 100 Five Guys, 3023 Town Center Blvd.: 100 McDonald's, 7030 Kingston Pike: 100 Taco Bell, 11217 Kingston Pike: 100 Full Service BBQ, 104 Cedar Lane: 100 10535 Kingston Pike: 100 Coffee and Chocolates, 327 Union Ave.: 100 Pedal Java (Mobile), 6018 Warren Park Lane: 100 D'Vine Delights, 7780 Oak Ridge Highway: 100 Priority item violations The Egg & I, 5018 Kingston Pike. Violation: Improper cold holding temperatures: 95 Arby's, 6903 Kingston Pike. Violation: Toxic substances improperly stored and identified: 95 Burger King, 127 N. Northshore Drive. Violation: Food-contact surfaces improperly cleaned and sanitized: 95 Sonic, 5722 Kingston Pike. Violation: Improper date marking and disposition: 95 Yassin's Falafel House, 706 Walnut Street. Violation: Improper cooling time and temperature: 95 Wendy's, 11136 Kingston Pike. Violation: Improper cleansing of hands: 94 Burger King, 1605 Schaeffer Road. Violation: Improper date marking and disposition: 94 Stock and Barrell, 35 Market Square. Violations: Improper hot holding temperatures; improper cold holding temperatures: 94 Calhoun's, 400 Neyland Drive. Violation: Improper cold holding temperatures: 94 Shoney's, 4020 Rutledge Pike. Violation: Improper cold holding temperatures: 94 Colonel's Cafe, 4809 Newcomb Ave. Violation: Improper cold holding temperatures: 93 The Coop Cafe, 3701 Sutherland Ave. Violation: Improper cold holding temperatures; improper hot holding temperatures: 93 Rollin' Smoke Catering (Mobile), 7103 South Road. Violation: Food-contact surfaces improperly cleansed and sanitized: 93 Lakeside Tavern, 10911 Concord Park Drive. Violation: Toxic substances improperly stored and identified: 92 El Charro, 10240 Kingston Pike. Violation: Toxic substances improperly stored and identified: 92 Cracker Barrel, 2920 S. Mall Road. Violation: Food products in poor or unsafe condition: 92 We're Cooking, 7664 Oak Ridge Highway. Violation: Improperly cleansed and sanitized food-contact surfaces: 92 Pepper's Grill and Pizzeria, 7501 Tazewell Pike. Violation: Toxic substances improperly stored and identified: 92 Burger Stop, 3001 Knoxville Center Drive. Violation: Noncompliant with consumer advisory for raw and undercooked food: 92 Ruth's Chris Steak House Banquet and Catering, 950 Volunteer Landing. Violation: Noncompliant with consumer advisory for raw and undercooked food: 91 The Egg & I, 111 Lovell Road. Violation: Noncompliant with procedures and record keeping for time as a public health control: 90 McDonald's, 327 Lovell Road. Violations: Noncompliant with procedures and record keeping for time as a public health control; improper cleansing of hands and contact with ready-to-eat foods: 90 Cazzy's Corner Grill, 2099 Thunderhead Road. Violation: Noncompliant with in-charge personnel being knowledgeable of duties: 90 Brown Bag, 800 S. Gay St. Violation: Food-contact surfaces improperly cleansed and sanitized: 89 Jimmy John's, 6718 Papermill Road Violation: Improper cold holding temperatures; toxic substances improperly stored and identified: 88 Waffle House, 5416 Asheville Highway. Violation: Improper cold holding temperatures; improperly cleansed and sanitized food-contact surfaces: 88 Rice King, 12564 Kingston Pike. Violation: Improper date marking and disposition; noncompliant with in-charge personnel being knowledgeable of duties: 87 Tracy's Restaurant, 3913 Western Ave. Violation: Improper cooling time and temperature procedures; improper cold holding temperatures; improper date marking and disposition; noncompliant with employee health criteria; noncompliant with consumer advisory for raw and undercooked foods: 83 McDonald's, 11205 Kingston Pike. Violation: Noncompliant with procedures and record keeping for time as a public health control; Toxic substances improperly stored and identified; improperly cleansed hands and violation of bar hand contact with ready-to-eat foods: 83 China Pearl, 115 Brooklawn St. Violation: Improper date marking and disposition; toxic substances improperly stored and identified; food-contact surfaces improperly cleansed and sanitized: 80 Blackhorse Pub & Brewery, 4429 Kingston Pike. Violation: Improper cold holding temperatures; noncompliant with consumer advisory for raw and undercooked food; noncompliant with in-charge personnel being knowledgeable of duties; food-contact surfaces improperly cleansed and sanitized: 76 The Sushi Spot, 7535 Barnett way. Violation: Noncompliant with in-charge personnel being knowledgeable of duties; improper bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods; improper cold holding temperatures: 74 SHARE This dress, the bodice of which is made of recycled plastic bottle caps, won second place in an exhibit at the Knoxville Museum of Art. West Knoxville artist and fashion designer Angel Blanco says Knoxville is his home now. The bodice of this dress, from Angel Blanco's "One World" 2014 collection, is also made of recycled plastic bottle caps. West Knoxville artist Angel Blanco isn't afraid of change, and his life and work illustrate the point with both his creativity and his travels. "If you can't change, nothing can change around you," he said recently. "Let's change together; we can all make it." His enthusiasm for all things creative, from art and fashion to life and travel, is contagious. Blanco was born in the small coastal town of Higuerote, Venezuela (population: about 32,000). He knew he wanted to leave, but he also wanted to be prepared to succeed, so he studied business administration. However, he said he knew that, ultimately, his vocational calling would have to be more artistically oriented. He began modeling, and that career took him to Hong Kong and, later, to New York City. While in Hong Kong, he began exploring his creative side with painting and designing women's clothing. He also writes music and poetry, mostly in Spanish. "I like to mix everything I know," Blanco said. His modeling career didn't take off in the Big Apple as it had elsewhere, so he migrated to Knoxville and began working with friends who own Casa Don Gallo on Northshore in Rocky Hill. He said he's adopted Knoxville as his hometown. "The people are all so nice, and it's beautiful here. I love it. So many beautiful people," he said. Blanco's been in Knoxville for almost four years and hasn't been back to Venezuela to see his two brothers, two sisters and parents in the five years since he left. "It's very dangerous there," he said, explaining that poverty has resulted in rampant crime. "People will kill you just for your shoes." While he does hope to be able to visit his family next year, Knoxville is just about perfect as far as Blanco is concerned. "It's not expensive here, it's growing. If you work hard, you can save money and travel. How wonderful is that?" And he does work hard. In addition to his artwork, some of which is displayed in the mayor's office at the City-County Building, he is also hard at work on his third fashion collection. He designed his first collection, titled One World, in the fall of 2014. In 2015, a white dress from that collection, which had a bodice made from recycled bottle caps, won second place at the Frutos Latinos exhibit at the Knoxville Museum of Art. His 2016 collection, Me Myself & I, featured 12 garments and attracted the eye of talent scouts who recruited him to feature his next collection, Hello, New York! at Fashion Week in Asheville in August, and Chattanooga in October. All of his work is couture, so if you're interested in purchasing, you must visit AngelBlancoArtwork.com to inquire. Meanwhile, here at home, his art will be on display May 6-27 in the International Latino Art Exhibition at the Emporium Center on Gay Street. Blanco said he wants to be famous one day to have a platform to speak for those who can't. The 29-year-old artist said: "I am young I know what I want and I'm fighting for this. People support me, and I support others who need me. The feeling is wonderful." The Atomic Elks Lodge 1301 of Oak Ridge sponsored the winning contestant in the Oratorical Contest and is represented by Local Education Director Mabrey Duff with Daughter Ruler of Roberta Bohanon Temple #1381 Oak Ridge, Amie Henderson, and contest winner Darryl Bonner with his parents Darryl Sr., and Jeanne Bonner. SHARE Darryl Bonner, a junior at Oak Ridge High School, added $1,500 to his college fund by winning first place in the annual Elks Oratorical Contest at Crown Plaza in downtown Knoxville recently. The competition was part of the 71st Convention of the Tennessee State Association of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World that was hosted by the local James Derrick Lodge #1152, at 3919 Holston Drive in East Knoxville, and the daughter Amarse/Della Love Allen Temple 810. Bonner earned the judges' support with his delivery, presentation and content on a nationally assigned topic: "Is racism the underlying cause of police brutality or the results of hereditary, learned behavior or societal constructs?" "No one is born with hate, discrimination or prejudice in their heart," was Bonner's summation. He supported his 10-minute, memorized narrative on the topic with statistical data from the Centers for Disease Control, The Huffington Post, and documented past and present social activities. He also used the following quote from Nelson Mandela: "No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, for if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." Bonner said he enjoys math and science and intends to pursue a career in chemical engineering. His parents, Darryl Sr. and Jeanne Bonner of Oak Ridge, expressed the pride and confidence they have in their son and his accomplishments thus far. "There are not many competitions for them (youth) to speak publicly and get comfortable with it. It's important that they learn how to express and present themselves, said Bonner's mother Jeanne. In addition to the $1,500 college scholarship, Bonner will represent the Tennessee State Association of Elks at the regional competition in Austin, Texas, for a chance to earn a $5,000 scholarship. If he prevails, he will compete for a $10,000 college scholarship in the National Oratorical Contest at the 117th Grand Lodge Convention in New Orleans later this year. Over $130,000 will be given to winners across the country, according to local Present Grand Exalted Ruler John Goss. The education department was started 89 years ago and continues to be an important component of the organization, which says it's among the largest and oldest organizations in the world. Additional programs recognized during the convention included a Beauty and Talent Contest, Encourage the Blind Program, Special (Needs) People and Breast Cancer Support Fund. For more information, visit www.ibpoew.org. SHARE Pete McCarroll By News Sentinel Staff COALFIELD, Tenn. The family and friends of Jerry "Pete" McCarroll are offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever fatally beat, shot and robbed the elderly man early on April 18. McCarroll, 71, was killed outside Allied Metal Recovery and Refining, Gouge Hollow Road, in Morgan County. He had worked there and was known to carry around cash, according to the 9th Judicial District Attorney General's Office. Authorities suspect the killing was carried out by someone with knowledge or access to knowledge about McCarroll's schedule and habits. Authorities asked that anyone with information in the case call the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation hotline at 1-800-TBI-FIND or Morgan County Sheriff's Office Investigator Mike Wren at 423-346-0911. SHARE Donald E. Taylor (Knox County Detention Facility) Natalie Taylor Alleah Taylor By Hayes Hickman of the Knoxville News Sentinel KNOXVILLE An 8-year-old girl critically injured in a crash Monday that killed her younger sister and left their father charged with DUI was sitting in a metal lawn chair between the two front seats of the family van at the time of impact, according to a police report. Natalie Taylor remained in critical condition at East Tennessee Children's Hospital on Wednesday night following the single-vehicle crash, reported about 5:30 p.m. Monday in the 4900 block of Millertown Pike. The girl was thrown into the dashboard and the windshield when the Chevrolet van veered off the roadway and struck a mailbox attached to a steel pole, Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. The van then sideswiped a wooden utility pole, breaking apart the mailbox pole and forcing that pole into the passenger side of the vehicle, according to the report. Four-year-old Alleah Taylor, who was sitting in a forward-facing car seat in the front passenger seat, was struck by the pole and suffered "major head trauma," DeBusk said. Alleah died from her injuries Tuesday at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. DeBusk said investigators are still working to determine whether Alleah and the child restraint seat were properly secured. A witness told police the van left the scene at high speed, the report states. The girls' father, Donald E. Taylor, 40, of Knoxville, pulled the van over about two-tenths of a mile away at the intersection of South Mall Road, near Knoxville Center Mall. He later admitted to police to drinking a six-pack of beer before getting behind the wheel, according to a KPD news release. Taylor remained jailed Wednesday in lieu of $62,000 total bond on charges of DUI, aggravated assault, leaving the scene of an accident and driving without insurance. Police have said other charges are pending, but charges against Taylor had not been amended as of Wednesday afternoon. A family member has created a fundraising page, through gofundme.com, for funeral expenses for Alleah on behalf of her mother. On Wednesday, the girl's uncle, Shannon Keener, and the fundraising page's creator, said on the page that Natalie had been taken off life support and was breathing on her own. "Please keep praying for her, my sister, and my family as we mourn for 1 but have hope and faith for the other," he wrote. SHARE Until May 15, Facebook users can enter to win $200 worth of local meats from a nearby farm as part of the annual "Fill Your Grill" contest from Pick Tennessee. To enter, visit the Pick Tennessee Facebook page and click on the "Fill Your Grill" posting. Contestants must choose which farm they would visit to collect their meats and then submit that choice with their contact information. Winners can choose what kinds of meats they want to purchase. Contestants simply need to be sure to choose the farm that offers what they want, whether it's beef, pork, lamb, goat, poultryor some of everything. There is no cash prize. Entrants win the opportunity to go to a farm or local meat business and choose up to $200 of Tennessee meats. All funds will go directly to the farmer or business to reimburse them for their products. A total of 12 winners will be randomly chosen at noon on May 16 and notified by Pick Tennessee Products. This year's contest is funded by the Tennessee "Ag Tag." All proceeds from the Ag Tag go back to Tennessee's farm community, supporting programs for local farmers, farmers' markets, and youth organizations like 4-H and FFA. The Tennessee Ag Tag celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Last year's "Fill Your Grill" garnered a total of 4,504 entries completed from each of Tennessee's 95 counties with more than 700 towns represented. More information about the contest is available on the "Fill Your Grill" contest pages. Follow Pick Tennessee on Facebook, Twitter, and on the web. The Pick Tennessee Products website, www.PickTnProducts.org, also has a link to the contest on the home page. SHARE Trey Hollingsworth on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, won the Republican nomination to fill Indiana's 9th District congressional seat. (David Snodgress/The Herald-Times via AP) By Tim Evans, USA TODAY NETWORK, The Indianapolis Star Joseph Albert "Trey" Hollingsworth III, the young multimillionaire who ruffled feathers when he filed to run for Congress shortly after moving to Indiana last fall, then spent $2 million of his own money to woo voters, won the Republican nomination to fill the 9th District congressional seat. Trey Hollingsworth, 32, who grew up in Clinton and attended Webb School of Knoxville, won the nomination by portraying himself as a political outsider and knocking off three seasoned Republican politicians: Attorney General Greg Zoeller and state Sens. Erin Houchin and Brent Waltz. Hollingsworth picked up the win with 34 percent, with 520 of 571 precincts reporting. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. Houchin received 25 percent of the vote; and Zoeller had 22 percent. See also: Trey Hollingsworth rich carpetbagger or breath of fresh air? He will square off in November against Indiana University professor Shelli Yoder, who won the Democrat primary with 70 percent of the vote. Todd Young, the Republican who held the 9th District seat since 2011, won the GOP nomination to run for U.S. senator. Young's decision to vacate his congressional seat led to a rush to replace him in the strongly Republican district that stretches from Johnson County to the Ohio River. The primary attracted five Republicans and four Democrats. Hollingsworth, who moved to Indiana from Tennessee last year, out-spent his competitors by a wide margin and got a boost from a super PAC funded primarily by his father, who spent about $500,000 on ads attacking Zoeller as a political insider. It was an approach, political observers said, that played perfectly to a Republican electorate fed up with Washington politics the same voters who propelled Donald Trump to a decisive Indiana win that knocked Ted Cruz out of the race. In the final weeks of the campaign, Houchin and a new super PAC, funded primarily by Indianapolis businessman Bill Oesterle, struck back at Hollingsworth. The one-two punch included mailings and radio commercials labeling Hollingsworth as "Tennessee Trey," a rich carpetbagger who moved to Indiana to buy a seat in Congress. Hollingsworth won't necessarily have the same "outsider" advantage over Yoder, who was the party's candidate in 2014 and lost to Young. A statement from her campaign indicates Hollingsworth is likely to face more questions about his motives and credentials in the race with Yoder. "Our opponent thinks he can buy a seat in Congress. He moved to Indiana less than a year ago, and has spent over a million dollars of his own money to get elected, said Alex Rosselli, campaign manager for Yoder. Shelli was born and raised in Indiana, and she understands the challenges facing middle-class Hoosier families. She knows how difficult it is to start and run a small business because she saw her parents struggle to make ends meet while running their family business when she was young. She has a proven record of sound fiscal leadership on the Monroe County Council, where she has worked towards a balanced budget every year, as well as in her position as a non-profit executive director responsible for keeping the organizations fiscal house in order. John Zody, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, also released a statement critical of Hollingsworth. Tonight, Trey Hollingsworth tried to pull one over on the 9th Congressional District by clinching the Republican nomination for Congress. Hes convinced that being an absentee candidate supported by dark money will get him over the line in November," Zody said. "Well, Tennessee Trey needs to think again. Hoosiers in Southern Indiana admire hard workers, not someone who relies on handouts to slide by. Yoder added she was "thrilled and humbled" by the support of district voters. And while she may challenge Hollingsworth's background, she said her campaign is about something more important. This campaign is about our shared vision for bringing commonsense solutions to Congress to solve the challenges facing our country," she said. "In too many communities across Central and Southern Indiana, families are working hard but struggling to make ends meet, while living paycheck-to-paycheck. College graduates are desperately trying to find a job that will allow them to pay off their student loans. Small businesses and entrepreneurs need the red tape cut and the tax burdens eased. In the GOP race, Zoeller and Waltz both conceded around 10 p.m. "I've called all of the candidates who sought the Republican nomination in Indiana's 9th Congressional District to congratulate them on their efforts. In my conversation with Trey Hollingsworth I offered both congratulations and also my full support for the fall election," Zoeller said in a statement. "Over the next few days I plan on thanking all those who supported my campaign and focus my full energy on continuing to work each and every day as Attorney General to serve Hoosiers to the best of my skill and ability." Waltz posted a concession statement on his Facebook page and said that would be his only comment Tuesday night. In it, he congratulated Hollingsworth and thanks his family and supporters. "We fought hard and we did our best," Waltz said. "We did everything in our power to win." Houchin could not be reached for comment late Tuesday. SHARE U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann U.S. Rep. Phil Roe Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by his wife Melania, right, daughter Ivanka, left, and son Eric, background left, as he speaks during a primary night news conference, Tuesday, May 3, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) Donald Trump waves to the crowd on stage at the Knoxville Convention Center on Monday, November 16, 2015. (SAUL YOUNG/NEWS SENTINEL) By Michael Collins of the Knoxville News Sentinel WASHINGTON Tennessee Republicans in Congress began falling in line behind Donald Trump Wednesday, now that the New York real-estate mogul has effectively clinched the GOP presidential nomination. "It looks like the presumptive nominee of the party is going to be Donald Trump, and I think Republicans need to unify and get behind the Republican nominee," U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Ooltewah said. Fleischmann, who initially backed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, had declined to endorse another candidate after Huckabee dropped out of the race. That changed after Trump decisively won Indiana's primary on Tuesday and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ended his campaign. "I will back the Republican nominee for president 100 percent," Fleischmann said. "If that is going to be Donald Trump, I will certainly get out and campaign for him and support him 100 percent." U.S. Reps. Phil Roe of Johnson City and Diane Black of Gallatin also pledged to support Trump. "As I've said from the beginning, I will support our nominee," said Roe, who initially backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. "It's time for the Republicans to unite, and I am enthusiastically supporting Donald Trump. I look forward to helping him in any way that I can to take back the White House in November." Black said "the three scariest words in the English language today are 'President Hillary Clinton.'" "I will support our presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump, in the general election and call on Republicans across Tennessee to do the same," she said. "After eight years of failed liberal policies, this is a time for our party to unite and put a conservative in the White House." Speaking to reporters in Kingsport, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Maryville suggested he also would back Trump. "My focus will be on keeping a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate so we can do more things like the law we passed fixing No Child Left Behind, which was the largest transfer of power from Washington to the states in the last 25 years," he said. Alexander stressed that Trump was not his first choice for president. For months, the senator had resisted getting involved in Tennessee's GOP primary, but threw his support to Florida Sen. Marco Rubio two days before voters went to the polls on March 1. After Rubio dropped his bid, Alexander announced he would back Ohio Gov. John Kasich. But with Kasich on the verge of ending his campaign on Wednesday, Alexander said, "The people have a right to their choice. I will support the Republican nominee for president when we have one." U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Brentwood didn't mention Trump by name, but said, "I will support the Republican nominee, and I look forward to seeing a Republican in the White House." Two other Tennessee congressmen Scott DesJarlais of South Pittsburg and John J. Duncan Jr. of Knoxville endorsed Trump prior to the Indiana primary. In February, DesJarlais became the first Tennessean in Congress to endorse Trump, saying he's the candidate best poised to make America great again. Duncan threw his support behind Trump last week, citing his views on trade, immigration and conflict in the Middle East. In an emailed statement, U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. said, "My plan always has been to support the Republican nominee. It is my hope that the national conversation will shift to what the candidates will do to solve the problems our nation faces. I do believe Donald Trump's foreign policy speech last week was an important step in that direction." Meanwhile, the head of the Tennessee Democratic Party slammed Republicans on Wednesday for getting behind Trump, whom she called "the most dangerous nominee in history." "Donald Trump has built his campaign on fear, stoking the embers of racism, sexism and xenophobia that still remain in this country, but that hasn't stopped the Tennessee Republicans from endorsing and actively campaigning for him," Democratic chairwoman Mary Mancini said. The GOP congressional lawmakers' endorsement of Trump "reveals their true priorities, which have nothing to do with solving problems or governing Tennessee effectively and everything to do with the politics of pleasing the extremists in their own party," Mancini said. "It is beyond sad that our state's Republicans are standing behind someone who continues to do so much harm to our country," she said. Ina Hughs So let's think this over. Laws passed in North Carolina and Mississippi make it so transgender people (look up the definition) have to use the restroom of the sex indicated on their birth certificate. Why? Because they are or might be predators getting their jollies out of watching other people of the gender from which they have "trans-gendered" go to the bathroom. Meanwhile, some 49 million people across Africa are starving. Hundreds of thousands of refugees are loose in the world with no place to go. The Islamic State continues its death grip in the Middle East. China is getting away with selling expired and unrefrigerated vaccines. North Korea now has the ability to mount nuclear warheads on long-range missiles. Another war broke out between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh. And the Ebola virus has made a comeback in Guinea and Sierra Leone. Here at home, classes are canceled for some 400,000 students in Chicago after a teacher walk-out over school funding. The Supreme Court is divided over whether or not religiously affiliated institutions can be exempt from the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate. We remain the only civilized nation that doesn't require maternity leave. Our House of Representatives kills a bill allowing students to borrow at .75 percent and advances a bill that gives a multi-billion dollar tax cut to the rich. According to figures from the U.S. Department of Labor, since 1978 the cost of college tuition has increased by 1,120 percent, medical care by 601 percent, food by 244 percent and housing by 380 percent. In that same period of time, the pay of a typical worker rose by just 10 percent and minimum-wage workers' fell by 5.5 percent but the average CEO's income rose by 937 percent. Just recently Congress said it needs a raise because members cannot afford to live "decently" on $174,000 a year. And yet North Carolina calls an emergency meeting to deal with a problem that doesn't exist. What restroom do they think trans people have been using all these years? How many little girls or boys have been raped or sexually abused by transgender people in these bathrooms? None. Zero. Wrapping bigotry in such bogus fear is sophomoric, unkind, self-serving and a brand of idiocy that flies in the face of democracy and in this case is ungrounded in any kind of reality. How can Republicans justify disallowing transgender people to use their appropriate bathroom as a matter of public safety while allowing even encouraging people to carry assault weapons into grocery stores, bars and parks? (But not their own convention.) A police officer in Texas just last week posted on Facebook: "I'd beat a trans woman unconscious if she tried to share a bathroom with my daughter." It takes only a teaspoon of sensitivity and compassion to imagine the emotional suffering of people who know themselves to be different than they appear physically, soft targets for bullying and the brunt of jokes from the cruel-minded. "Republicans who fear going to the bathroom with transgender people certainly realize, at least in their saner moments, that they do it all the time and just don't know it. If Caitlyn Jenner walked into a men's bathroom, there would be bedlam. Chaz Bono in a ladies' room would cause a ruckus. Emergency meetings to "fix" potty problems born out of bigotry and fear make a mockery of civility and political responsibility. People who are so threatened by the idea of transgender people using their rightful bathroom can pee at home, just in case. We should get our minds out of the toilet and tackle the real problems. SHARE Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slattery III has decided to appeal a federal judge's ruling ordering a recount of the 2014 vote on a state constitutional amendment that excludes a right to abortion. The appeal is the right reaction, regardless of the fate of the amendment. The case shows the need to clarify how Tennesseans can change their governing charter. The amendment, Amendment 1 on the 2014 ballot, stated that no right to abortion exists in the Tennessee Constitution. Despite its language, the amendment would not allow the Legislature to outlaw abortion because of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. The amendment, however, does make it easier for new state abortion restrictions to withstand legal challenges. The amendment passed with 53 percent of the vote. Eight opponents quickly filed a legal challenge over the state's method of counting votes. Under the state constitution as revised in the Constitutional Convention of 1953, amendments must be ratified by a "majority of all citizens of the state voting for governor." Officials traditionally have interpreted the passage to mean that to be ratified, an amendment would have to receive votes equal to a majority of votes in the governor's race. In other words, if 1 million people vote in the governor's race, then at least 500,001 would be needed for passage. U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp ruled last month that the historically used method is "fundamentally unfair." The plain language of the passage, he determined, requires that only the ballots cast in the governor's race be counted toward the amendment. Election officials first would have to pull the ballots with votes cast for governor and then count the votes on those ballots for or against an amendment. He ordered a recount on Amendment 1 using that method. Amendment 1 showed the significance of the tabulation method. Several anti-abortion groups urged supporters to forego voting in the gubernatorial race, in which Republican Gov. Bill Haslam had token opposition, to lower the number of votes needed for the amendment's passage. The strategy apparently worked. More people voted on Amendment 1 than in the gubernatorial race the first time that has happened since the language was adopted in 1953 by a margin of 32,627. While it is mathematically possible a recount could result in the failure of the amendment, the chances are slim. A total of 76,389 people voted in the 2014 election but not in the governor's race. Under the method ordered by Sharp, none of their votes for or against the amendment would be counted. If 52,299 of them nearly seven of 10 voted "yes" on Amendment 1 but bypassed the governor's race, the amendment would fail. Complicating matters is a 2015 fire in Van Buren County that destroyed that county's election records. The Secretary of State recorded that 1,512 Van Buren County residents voted in the governor's race. According to Sharp, the traditional tabulation method violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. Slattery's appeal should result in an answer to this vital constitutional question for future amendments. More than $300K grants awarded to Tennessee universities Grants totaling $308,700 will be awarded this year to 12 universities across Tennessee from the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurances (TDCI) Board of Architectural and Engineering Examiners. The Boards annual grant awards help support and foster greater interest in the fields of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and interior design among Tennessee students. Since the programs inception in 2002, the Board has awarded over $3.2 million that may be used by universities to purchase computers for students, laboratory or instructional equipment, library resources, or to pay intern development program fees or examination fees for students in accredited programs. Funding is provided from the Boards revenues or reserve funds. Education is the foundation for developing the knowledge and skills needed to practice the design professions and to protect the publics health, safety, and welfare, said Board Executive Director John Cothron. The Board welcomes the opportunity to assist in the education of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and interior design students across all of Tennessee. The following universities will receive funding: Christian Brothers University $14,738 to the School of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to purchase triaxial testing equipment for soils, electronics laboratory hardware, and a computer with software. Lipscomb University $13,691 to the College of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to pay Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination fees for students and to purchase a bench top hole saw tube and pipe notcher, a circuit board printer, and a shop hydraulic press. The FE exam is typically the first step in the process leading to licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE), and may be taken by students in the senior year of an engineering curriculum. Middle Tennessee State University $3,000 to the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences for the interior design program. Funds will be utilized to purchase a student computer for the resource library, reference materials, and computer-related items. OMore College of Design $3,000 to the School of Interior Design. Funds will be utilized to purchase a 3D laser printer. Tennessee State University $19,915 to the College of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to purchase equipment for the Architectural Engineering laboratory for structural and materials testing, including laboratory mixers, a curing box, molds, a compressometer/extensometer, a digital strain gauge set, and a concrete corrosion mapping system. Tennessee Technological University $37,322 to the College of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to purchase video teleconferencing equipment to facilitate distance education partnerships with other higher-education institutions in Union University$12,161 to the Department of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to pay FE examination fees for students and to purchase a vertical mill and accessories. University of Memphis $22,136 to the College of Engineering; $24,476 to the College of Communication and Fine Arts for the architecture and interior design programs. Funds will be utilized to purchase laser traffic sensors for the College of Engineering, and computer workstations for the architecture and interior design programs. University of Tennessee, Chattanooga $26,761 to the College of Engineering and Computer Science; $3,000 to the College of Health, Education and Professional Studies for the interior design program. Funds will be utilized to purchase Chemical Engineering laboratory equipment for a new biology-related lab station and a new materials synthesis lab station, and student workstations, computer monitors, and design studio supplies for the interior design program. University of Tennessee, Knoxville $45,124 to the College of Architecture and Design; $43,512 to the College of Engineering. Funds will be utilized pay FE examination fees for students and to purchase a gas chromatograph system and SMART podium interactive displays for the College of Engineering, and computer software, a plotter, and large LCD displays for the College of Architecture and Design. University of Tennessee, Martin $14,749 to the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences. Funds will be utilized to purchase a traffic monitor and multifunction data acquisition devices. Vanderbilt University $25,115 to the School of Engineering. Funds will be utilized to pay FE examination fees for students and to purchase a printed circuit board (PCB) prototyping system. Published May 4, 2016 Department of Defense chooses Environmental Award recipients The West Walker River is rated as one of the worlds top fly-fishing spots and runs through the 60,000 acres of land that is home to the training areas of the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif. The training center makes great efforts to ensure the land and wildlife is preserved and protected from contaminants and hazardous waste as part of the Defense Departments environmental protection policy. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ali Azimi. WASHINGTON Nine individuals, teams or installations have been selected to receive the 2016 Secretary of Defense Environmental Award in recognition of their exceptional achievements and innovative, cost-effective environmental practices, according to a DoD news release issued yesterday. Our men and women work hard to keep environmental stewardship a top priority, while simultaneously advancing our national defense mission, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall said in the release. "The awardees efforts 'foster a special type of innovation worthy of national recognition'". For more than 50 years, DoD has recognized the work that the men and women within the department do each day to protect the environment and the nations resources, the release said. Military services and defense agencies submit nominations for each of the nine award categories, the release said. A diverse panel of judges representing federal and state agencies, academia, and the private sector select the winners, according to the release. The nine award recipients chosen from a total of 30 nominations are: -- Natural Resources Conservation, Small Installation: Camp Dawson Army Training Site, West Virginia Army National Guard -- achieved key natural resources conservation goals through strategic local partnerships and efficient resource management. -- Natural Resources Conservation, Individual/Team: Fort McCoy Natural Resources Branch, Wisconsin -- demonstrated sound natural resources stewardship while supporting and sustaining a military training environment, biological diversity, and commercial and recreational opportunities. -- Environmental Quality, Non-Industrial Installation: Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California -- implemented a collaborative and innovative environmental management program to reduce water usage, minimize waste, and positively impact the community. -- Environmental Quality, Individual/Team: Eglin Air Force Base Environmental Quality Team, Florida -- demonstrated a holistic environmental management approach to exceed waste diversion and renewable energy goals, maintain compliance, and minimize impacts to the mission. -- Sustainability, Industrial Installation: Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island, Florida -- displayed environmental leadership by exceeding DoD goals in energy intensity reduction, e-waste disposal, and high performance and sustainable buildings. -- Environmental Restoration, Installation: Beale Air Force Base, California -- used an objective-focused restoration approach and collaborative partnerships to protect human health and the environment, and make significant progress in cleaning up contamination from past defense activities. -- Environmental Restoration, Individual/Team: Vieques Environmental Restoration Program Team, Puerto Rico -- addressed unique restoration challenges through accelerated and innovative cleanup activities, groundbreaking technologies, and strategic partnerships. -- Cultural Resources Management, Large Installation: White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico -- collaborated with local stakeholders to ensure preservation of White Sands Missile Range cultural history and streamlined cultural resources management. -- Environmental Excellence in Weapon System Acquisition, Large Program: KC-46 Program Environment, Safety and Occupational Health Team, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio -- employed a cross-functional team to integrate cost-effective environment, safety, and occupational health measures into the full system design lifecycle of the replacement aircraft for the Air Forces aging tanker fleet. In fiscal year 2015, DoD invested approximately $3.8 billion for its environmental programs: $1.8 billion to cleanup contamination from past DoD activities; $1.3 billion to comply with environmental laws; $377 million to protect natural and cultural resources; and $184 million for research and development to reduce environmental impacts of DoD activities and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of environmental solutions, the release said. These investments help DoD to continue ensuring the protection of human health and the environment, and to sustain the resources required to support the readiness of the nations armed forces, according to the release. Published May 4, 2016 9:14 a.m. May 4, 2016 Gerdau funds 5,695 meals for preschools kids Steel recycler Gerdau celebrates its school year-long sponsorship of the Food for Kids program at Sam E. Hill Preschool on April 20, 2016, coordinated by Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. During the school year, children are provided backpacks of healthful, kid-friendly fare to take home each weekend. Pictured from left: Gerdau representatives Gwen Reichel, Damien Rose, Ron Fritz, Steve Nash and Vice President and General Manager Johnny Miller; Second Harvest Food Bank donor relations coordinator Rachael Ellis; and Sam E. Hill Principal Wendy Laman and social worker Deanna Gnage. KNOXVILLE Steel recycler Gerdau recently contributed funds to sponsor Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessees Food for Kids program at Sam E. Hill Preschool in Lonsdale. Because of Gerdau, we can provide 5,695 meals to children in need by giving them backpacks filled with kid-friendly foods for an entire school year, said Elaine Streno, executive director of Second Harvest. In so many cases, our Food for Kids program is the only food some children will have over an entire weekend, while for others it provides a meal that would otherwise have been skipped. Backpacks come filled with healthful, kid-friendly fare for all three daily meals as well as snacks. Among the items included are instant breakfast, granola bars, cereal bars, oatmeal, peanut butter crackers, beef ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, mixed veggie cups, macaroni and cheese, sunflower seeds, raisins, pudding cups, mandarin oranges, and even toothbrushes. Gerdau Vice President and General Manager Johnny Miller said the company welcomes the opportunity to support the children of Lonsdale. This contribution covers the current school year. We are so excited for the opportunity to sponsor the Food for Kids program at Sam E. Hill Preschool, Miller said. In addition to providing much-needed food, the program offers children in difficult situations the comfort that comes from knowing there are people out there that truly care about them something most kids take for granted, but something not all children get to experience. Schools participating in Food for Kids say that the program leads to improved self-esteem, behavior and concentration among the children. The donation supports Gerdaus robust social responsibility program that focuses on providing community support in the locations where it operates. For more information about Gerdau, visit www.gerdau.com/northamerica. Published May 4, 2016 10:00 a.m. May 4, 2016 Young-Williams Animal Center selects development coordinator and marketing coordinator Sophie Nguyen, new development coordinator at Young-Williams Animal Center.. Courtney Kliman, marketing coordinator at Young-Williams. Sophie Nguyen has been named as development coordinator at Young-Williams Animal Center and Courtney Kliman has been promoted to marketing coordinator. Nguyen has volunteered with the shelter since 2013. Kliman previously served as development coordinator. Because of the unique nature of our business, it is important that we have employees who are not only well-qualified but also passionate about the work that we do, said Jeff Ashin, CEO for Young-Williams Animal Center. Courtney and Sophie have the commitment and experience needed to serve our organization well, and we are fortunate to have them on our team. Nguyen has a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee. She also spent a semester studying in the University of Dublins Animal Science program. Her broad background includes work with the Catholic Charities of East Tennessee childrens emergency shelter, University of Tennessee reptile laboratory and, most recently, the Wesley House Community Center. Kliman earned her Bachelor of Science degree in communication from the University of Tennessee and embarked on a career in journalism. She served as overnight and morning anchor for WVLT Local 8 News before joining Young-Williams Animal Center. Klimans communications background is beneficial in delivering the message about the important work of Young-Williams Animal Center. To learn more about Young-Williams Animal Center, visit www.young-williams.org. Published May 4, 2016 By Choi Sung-jin "There are no institutions in Korea that can carry out industrial restructuring better than the Korea Development Bank," said Financial Services Commission Chairman Lim Jong-ryong Friday. The top regulator was referring to KDB's long involvement in the troubled shipping and shipbuilding companies as the state-run lender. Not many experts seem to agree with Lim, however. On the contrary, some private analysts say the government-run bank has neither the ability nor moral justification to reform the troubled industries and companies, given KDB's history smeared by government-dictated lending and rampant cronyism and nepotism in personnel management. "Unless Korea starts by reforming these state-run banks, it would end up filling a bottomless vessel," a commentator said. There is no dearth of examples. In February 2013, a regional branch head of KDB moved to the position of vice president of Gangnam Beltway, in which KDB had equity. The bank invested 200 million won ($173,500) into this company the following month, immediately followed by a 3.8 billion-won loan. Ssangyong Cement Industrial ushered in another KDB official as its vice president in April 2015, and was allowed to roll over its 100 billion-won loan. A KDB manager transferred to vice president of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in March last year. DSME received investment funds of 50 billion won from KDB at that time. The state-run bank has many affiliated companies through debt-to-equity swaps. There are 377 firms in which KDB has equity of 5 percent or more. Retired KDB officials and politicians have taken positions in many of these, hampering their restructuring. Between 2008 and the first half of last year, 102 former KDB officials transferred to affiliated firms, most of which received additional loans or extensions of payment deadlines for existing borrowings. It has been nearly a decade since experts raised the need for the shipbuilding industry's restructure because of the global business slump and rapid chase of Chinese shipyards. The government and state-run banks, however, have kept providing funds for marginal companies without trying to restructure them. In 2014, officials discussed the proposal to merge two ailing companies STX Ocean & Shipbuilding and Sungdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and increase its company value by trimming surplus manpower and equipment before selling it. But their main creditor banks, KDB and the Export and Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), failed to narrow their differences over sharing losses from consolidation. When the industry fell into a deeper slump, Eximbank extended an additional 300 billion won to Sungdong to extend its life. KDB's ratio of non-performing loans soared to a record-high 5.68 percent at the end of last year, nearly five times the average 1.14 percent for commercial banks. According to a report by the Korea Development Institute, state-run banks entered into the restructuring of marginal businesses about 2.5 years later than commercial banks, on average. When talking about KDB's lax management and shaky financial structure, it is impossible not to mention the government's control in lending and personnel appointment. KDB's top managers, including its former and incumbent governors, are the political allies of President Park Geun-hye. Regulators are not free from blame. The Financial Supervisory Service attempted to discipline 12 former and present KDB officials in August 2014 for causing bad debts of 300 billion won related to STX, but ended up slapping the wrist of just one official. "KDB should have put STX into court receivership years ago but its former governor did not want to take the responsibility for the loss of trillions of won to be caused by such a move," said a former KDB official. "He and other bank officials just kept dragging their feet, hoping a boom would return to the industry, which never happened." The KDI report said: "State-run banks just continued to pour money into ailing businesses and industries, just watching the faces of bureaucrats and politicians instead of positively dealing with crises." The bigger problem is the vicious circle, in which leaders regard state-run banks as little more than political trophies and send unqualified people to run them, and these banks dispatch their officials to companies receiving policy loans, a critic said, adding this practice needs the most urgent restructuring. Hanjin Shipping's debt repayment deferred for 3 months By Yoon Ja-young The government and Bank of Korea (BOK) agreed Wednesday to recapitalize state-run banks to support restructuring of ailing shipbuilders and shipping companies. At the same time, creditors of Hanjin Shipping accepted the company's self-rescue plan and agreed on a debt rescheduling program to keep the firm afloat. The seven creditors including Korea Development Bank (KDB) held a meeting where they agreed to defer repayments of loans owed by Hanjin for three months on top of preparing a debt restructuring plan. The self-rescue plan by Hanjin includes restructuring the debt of private lenders and negotiating cuts in charter fees paid to ship owners overseas, as well as remaining in the global alliance of shippers. Due to contracts signed years ago, the shipper has been paying up to five times higher charter fees than the current rates. The company will start negotiation with ship owners overseas next week. Creditors have been demanding that private lenders and ship owners also should shoulder the burden before they restructure the debt for Hanjin. In the meantime, the government and BOK have agreed to draw up concrete measures on how to increase the lending resources for state banks by the end of next month. A special task force on recapitalization of the banks held its first meeting Wednesday to discuss how to fund KDB and the Export-Import (Exim) Bank that will lead restructuring of troubled shipyards and shippers as their main creditors. The country's top three shipbuilders including Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) had a combined 7.7 trillion won in losses last year amid oversupply and falling demand following the global recession. Top shipping firms Hyundai Merchant Marine and Hanjin are also sitting on trillions of won in debts. As their main creditors, the state banks are scheduled to lead corporate restructuring, but they don't have enough money. Representatives of the BOK, Financial Services Commission, Financial Supervisory Service, KDB and Exim Bank participated in a meeting presided over by Vice Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok,. "The participants agreed that the state-run banks need more capital as a contingency for uncertainties that may arise during corporate restructuring," the finance ministry said in a press release afterwards. "After considering both the government's fiscal measures and the central bank's diverse policy measures, we will seek the most effective means," it added. The government has been suggesting that the BOK print more money to supply liquidity to the state-run banks in support of the debt restructuring of shipyards and shippers, including purchasing bonds to be issued by the banks. The central bank was negative about the plan, insisting that it required a public consensus, but BOK Governor Lee Ju-yeol recently seemed to back off from this stance, saying he was ready to play an active role. The government added that since recapitalizing the banks requires some taxpayers' money, they will aim to minimize this. "We will prepare a concrete measure within the first half of the year, through meetings of the task force," it added. Analysts estimate between 5 and 10 trillion won will be needed for the state-run banks. Cargo loading is underway at the Hyundai Merchant Marine Terminal in Pusan Port in this photo taken on May 1. / Yonhap By Nam Hyun-woo Hyundai Merchant Marine's (HMM) talks with shipowners over cutting charter fees are picking up momentum, with the company saying it is making "last pitches" to meet a May 20 deadline set by the government. Reducing the rental costs for the company's 83 chartered vessels is the top priority in salvaging the debt-riddled shipping giant. The government, which runs HMM's main creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB), announced that the shipper must get a 30 to 35 percent cut in its charter fees or it would fall into court receivership. "We cannot tell when we can wrap up negotiations with shipowners, but what we can say is we are pushing the owners as hard as we can," a ranking official at the company said. According to him, the company has sent its due diligence documents to shipowners to show them it is paying for self-rescue efforts and needs charter fees cut to avoid being placed in receivership. Receivership is one of the worst-case scenarios not just for HMM but also the ship owners, who may lose out on their charter fees entirely. The charter fee talks have picked up speed under the government's and creditors' brinkmanship. Since Feb. 22, HMM's negotiation teams have been visiting 22 shipowners, mostly based in Europe, to negotiate. According to the company, it initially sought to wrap up deals by April, but it continued to fail in narrowing the differences with shipowners, some of whom refused to reduce charter fees, citing Hyundai Group, which controls HMM, having sold its securities unit for a substantial price. The group has agreed with KB Financial Group to hand over Hyundai Securities for 1.25 trillion won. As the government adheres to a hard-line approach, some shipowners reportedly withdrew their demands for a payment guarantee from creditors, which Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Yim Jong-yong said last month was "absolutely unacceptable." Though the company cannot tell the exact date, the HMM official said the company will likely wrap up talks near May 20. "We do hope so," an official at the FSC said, adding that the government has set May 20 as the deadline for HMM to give a "concrete answer" about the possibility of reducing charter fees. "The deadline does not necessarily mean that the company should finish the negotiations by then. But we want the company to give an answer about the negotiations by that date," the government official said. Should the charter fee talks conclude in HMM's favor, then the company should engage in debt rescheduling talks with creditors. After leveraging charter fee cuts, the company will ask creditors to allow debt-equity swaps and extend the deadlines for urgent loans. That meeting is expected to be held as early as the end of this month. By Kim Jae-kyoung SINGAPORE The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is gaining attention, following the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the end of last year. The region has not only rich natural resources and a high population but also huge development opportunities. With a combined GDP of $2.6 trillion, the ASEAN economy is the seventh-largest in the world and its population is the third-largest in the world with 622 million people. According to a report by auditing company KPMG, an estimated $60 billion is needed per year until 2022 to fulfill all the infrastructure needs of the region. The energy and transport sectors are expected to make up the biggest proportion of this investment. However, South Korea looks to be getting left behind in the global race to get the upper hand in this promising market. It is not because the country lacks global brands or powerful culture but because it has a weak political presence there. ASEAN experts say that Korea's economic and cultural visibility is improving a lot on the back of hallyu, or the Korean wave. But they are hesitant to say that Korea's diplomatic and political relations with ASEAN are solid. "Korea has seen robust growth in its economic and cultural presence in Singapore and other ASEAN nations but the country is lacking in political presence," a Singapore-based political analyst said on condition of anonymity. "I don't think ASEAN leaders get the feeling that Korea has as solid a relationship with them as Japan and China do." This should be taken as a serious problem because such a perception could culminate in Korea losing out opportunities in the region, such as multibillion-dollar infrastructure deals. A country's political influence and lobbying ability play a critical role in winning such deals. Many argue that President Park Geun-hye's foreign policy may be held accountable. She has not shown commitment to building relations with ASEAN, while placing greater emphasis on four great powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula the U.S., Japan, China and Russia. Japan and China have pursued an ASEAN-centered strategy for a long time. Japan has already been a massive player in the region and China is expanding its efforts to build relationships there. Even the U.S. is paying close attention to ASEAN countries. Compared to her counterparts from Japan and China as well as the United States, Park's foreign policy has created the impression that she has less interest in ASEAN than in other areas. For example, Japanese Prime Minister Shinjo Abe visited nearly all ASEAN countries since taking office, but Park has visited only a few of them and even some of her trips were not state visits but for special events, such as the funeral of Singapore's late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew. Also, Park and her administration are not making use of ASEAN media to improve its political presence in the region. "Singapore-based Channel NewsAsia, one of the most influential television networks in Southeast Asia, has asked for an interview with Park a couple of times but she rejected it every time," said a source in Singapore, asking not to be named. "Then they asked for an interview with a foreign minister but it was also rejected. ASEAN media is seeking to broadcast more voices from Korean leaders but they are discarding opportunities." In February, U.S. President Barack Obama granted an interview to Channel NewsAsia to share his views on ASEAN and stress the importance of the market. Japan's ministerial-level officials often appear on media here to express their voices. President Park and her ministers have no obligation to sit down with ASEAN media but this kind of effort is very conducive to solidifying relationships and strengthening a political presence in the region. Once Japan and China become more entrenched in the region, it would be more challenging for Korea to make forays into the 10-member bloc. The Korean government should acknowledge its role to lay the foundation to help Korean companies win mega deals coming from the AEC by building relationships and improving Korea's image there. With the growing presence of Korean brands and culture, ASEAN leaders want to see a more sincere commitment from the Korean President and leaders and to expand exchanges beyond business and culture. The AEC is a single market, with a free flow of goods, capital and skilled labor across borders in ASEAN, which consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Park Shin-hye and Lee Jong-suk / Courtesy of Park Shin-hye's Instagram By Kim Da-hee Hallyu actors Lee Jong-suk and Park Shin-hye have made special appearances in Korean-Chinese collaboration web drama "Gogh, The Starry Night," showing loyalty to their former director, Jo Soo-won, who directed "Pinocchio" in 2014. Park finished shooting last month and Lee filmed Sunday. The romantic comedy-drama is Jo's first web drama, starring K-pop band Girls' Generation's Yuri and actor Kim Young-kwang, who played Seo Beom-jo in "Pinocchio." The drama will first air in China in June via website Sohu.com. Meanwhile, Park is scheduled to return to the small screen with SBS's new Monday-Tuesday drama "Doctors" in June. Lee will star in MBC's new Wednesday-Thursday drama "W" in July. By Jun Ji-hye North Korea has begun a massive crackdown on its people and has tightened security along its border with China with just a week before the start of the seventh congress of the ruling Workers' Party, sources said, Friday. The Kim Jong-un regime also has been restricting entry into the capital Pyongyang and has ordered residents not to hold ceremonial occasions such as weddings or funerals. The party is scheduled to hold the congress on May 6 the first time in 36 years, since the four-day congress in 1980 under the rule of Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of Kim Jong-un. Sources say complaints from North Korean people are increasing because the regime's "special surveillance" is causing enormous trouble to their work and livelihoods. The measures appear to be aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear before the event, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is apparently seeking to reaffirm his tight grip on power and build the foundations for a prolonged one-man rule. The regime also apparently believes that such measures can reduce crime before the national event. "The North has completely blocked its capital and the border area after declaring a special surveillance period," a source told the Yonhap News Agency. "The regime is conducting random inspections of houses in Pyongyang and ordering visitors, including relatives, to immediately return to their own homes." The source said those who refuse to comply will be treated as "rebellious elements" and face severe punishment, including forced labor. Another source said authorities from the security department are inspecting factories and institutes, checking when workers come to and leave work. Those who are absent or late, or leave early, are asked to write down their reasons, the source said, adding the regime also has been strengthening traffic controls in the capital. Unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said in a regular briefing: "North Korea seems to have increased its vigilance in areas, including Pyongyang." He said the move appears to be aimed at raising security to allow smooth preparations for the party congress. Pyongyang has been forcibly mobilizing residents to prepare for the event, during which the regime wants to continue promoting idolization of Kim Jong-un and eulogize his achievements, such as improving nuclear capabilities, according to the ministry. The communist state is forcing people to pay money and work night and day to build facilities designed to display Kim's achievements, it said. However, the people hold out little hope for better economic conditions, which have been deteriorating since the United Nations Security Council imposed harsher sanctions in early March for the regime's nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch in February, the ministry said. According to the National Intelligence Service, many North Koreans are expressing skepticism about the nuclear program, asking questions such as, "What is the use of nuclear weapons when people are not able to put food on the table?" By Kang Seung-woo Defense Minister Han Min-koo Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Wednesday that the military will strengthen its capabilities for countering North Korea's asymmetric threats such as nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. His remark means a shift in Seoul's military buildup from the current conventional warfare-focused armament amid intensifying nuclear threats from Pyongyang. "The military will put top priority on securing countermeasures against North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles," Han said during a defense forum in the capital. "We will continue to build up the indigenous Kill Chain pre-emptive missile, and Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system." The two air shield systems are scheduled to be deployed by the mid-2020s, according to the defense ministry. "South Korean people say that the military seeks a buildup only after North Korea has come up with new threats and relies on the U.S. military due to a lack of its proper countermeasures," Han said. "In addition, they complain that although the South spends more on its defense budget than the North, the former cannot satisfactorily respond to the threats, which triggers security concerns among South Koreans." In relation to this, the defense minister outlined a plan to change the paradigm for strengthening military power. While developing counter-responses to the asymmetric threats, the military plans to counter the North's small-scale provocations and boost its latent capabilities against the rogue state's potential threats. "We also plan to develop our own asymmetric military power as the nation seeks to develop a significant military buildup in the run-up to the planned transfer of the U.S.-held wartime operational control (OPCON) of South Korean forces back to Seoul in the mid-2020s," he said. In October 2014, the allies agreed to postpone the OPCON transition until South Korea is more able to counter threats from the North. The mid-2020s has been identified as the new target for transition. The minister said the North's defense spending reached $10 billion in 2013, accounting for 30 percent of the South's defense budget. "Under the guidance of the government, North Korea has beefed up its military capabilities, depending on offensive weapons such as multiple rocket launchers and submarines as well as the nuclear and missile capabilities," he said. North Korea has deployed some 300 new multiple rocket launchers along its border with South Korea, which can hit Seoul and the surrounding areas, according to military sources, while it has repeated test-firings of submarine-launched ballistic missiles, posing a new threat to the United States as well as the South. In addition, the North is expected to conduct a fifth nuclear test in the lead-up to its planned Seventh Workers' Party Congress starting Friday. By Choi Sung-jin The number of experts who view North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's regime as unstable has doubled, a survey shows. Hyundai Research Institute, which recently surveyed 100 experts, said 32 percent of them regarded the North under the young leader as unstable. The negative views more than doubled the 14.4 percent in a similar opinion poll last year, the institute said. Expectations for reform and openness declined. Six out of 10 experts believed the Kim Jong-un regime's will for reform and opening up the communist state is similar to that of his father's. Those who said the regime's intention is stronger than the previous one accounted for 28 percent of respondents, sharply lower than the 49.6 percent in a 2014 survey. Those who thought the trend toward reform and openness would expand stood at 29 percent, compared with 42.7 percent in the 2014 survey. The experts predicted the seventh congress of the Workers' Party will likely emphasize the military (41 percent) and economy (38 percent). Congress participants are expected to stress Kim Jong-un's military accomplishments, as shown by recent nuclear and missile provocations, and reaffirm the country's status as a nuclear power, they said. They will also likely try to present a new economic vision. Nearly nine out of 10 experts also believed the concentration of political power on Kim Jong-un will deepen through the congress. On the inter-Korean relationship, the experts predicted the North would not extend an olive branch to the South during the event. Nearly 60 percent said it would be difficult to find a breakthrough in the relationship between the two Koreas this year. Some 65 percent said there would be little change in the relationship between North Korea and the United States, too, in the near future far outweighing the 27 percent who expected an improvement. By Kim Bo-eun City officials said Wednesday they will enforce a scaling down of the sit-in protest by relatives of the Sewol ferry disaster victims at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul. Under the plan, they will gradually remove city-owned tents used with permission by the protesters, a move anticipated by the city to generate a backlash. The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) outlined its plan after City Councilor Sung Joong-gi asked about the city's stance on the tents at the square. "We will discuss the issue with the protesters and gradually reduce the area they are occupying," a city official said. The protesters first occupied the square a few months after the ferry disaster occurred in April 2014, upon being refused an audience with President Park Geun-hye. The city government started supporting them in July that year. "We assisted the sit-in by installing 11 tents in order to protect the protesters in the summer heat," the official said. However, the protesters have set up three additional tents and a sculpture without city approval. The SMG has been fining the protesters for the extra tents, collecting 3.12 million won from July 2014 to July 2015, and another 1.82 million won from August to December 2015. The Sewol disaster sit-in has been taking place for 22 months, but voices have been growing over the need to create a separate space for the protests and commemoration of the victims. Additionally, the bereaved family members are no longer camping out there they come and go daily leaving the tents empty when they are away. "Gwanghwamun Square's purpose is to serve as an area for citizens as well as various rallies and events, and Sewol protesters have been occupying the space for too long," Sung said. The city agreed, citing that the 11 tents are city property which it has the right to remove. But a struggle with bereaved family members is expected. They are refusing to leave, demanding that the national government reveal the full truth behind the accident and take responsibility for botched rescue operations. The Coalition 4.16 on the Sewol Ferry Disaster, a civic group, continues to collect signatures from citizens there to revise a special act related to the official investigation. "We will continue to come out here until we learn the truth about the disaster," said a mother who lost her high school daughter. The Sewol ferry disaster killed 304 passengers, sinking off the coast of the South Jeolla Province island of Jindo, en route to Jeju Island from Incheon. Most of the passengers were students from Danwon High School in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, who were on a school trip. By Kang Seung-woo President Park Geun-hye descends from her airplane after arriving at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Wednesday. / Joint press corps President Park Geun-hye expressed hope, Wednesday, that improved ties with Iran will create growth momentum for the South Korean economy. Park returned home from her historic trip to Tehran she was the first South Korean leader to visit the Middle East country since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1962. "I believe Iran can become a land of opportunity for many South Korean firms," Park told reporters on a plane back to Seoul. "I will make efforts to create the second Middle East boom.'" She referred to extensive construction orders won by Korean companies in the 1970s and 1980s, which laid the foundation for the country's rapid rise to economic prosperity. Her trip was initiated to upgrade the ties between Korean and Iran as the latter is emerging as a land of opportunity for foreign investment after the lifting of international sanctions in January. During her visit, the two countries signed 66 memoranda of understanding that could lead to contracts worth $37.1 billion to revitalize Iran's economy, stunted by the sanctions. "Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani expressed a strong desire for Iran to improve the strategic cooperative ties with Korea in a variety of areas," Park said. "We have agreed to expand cooperation in fresh sectors including health care, medicine and energy as well as in large-scale infrastructure development projects." Also, the President said her meetings with Khamenei and Rouhani have created wiggle room for the two nations to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. The Iranian president voiced his country's opposition to nuclear development on the Korean Peninsula in a joint press conference after his summit with Park, Monday. Pyongyang and Tehran have maintained close relations especially in the development of nuclear materials but Rouhani's comment supporting a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula may be a bitter blow to the North, according to diplomatic experts. "I think his statement is very rare and significant in resolving the issue given their close relations," Park said. Although Khamenei did not mention North Korea and its nuclear program in a meeting with Park, his call for the settlement on terrorism and insecurity around the world was translated as him standing in agreement with Rouhani. President Park has urged the Kim Jong-un regime to follow in Iran's footsteps in curbing its nuclear activities and joining the international community. In July last year, Iran reached a landmark deal with world powers to rein in its nuclear program and sanctions were lifted in January. However, the repressive state has rejected the call, saying the North Korean and Iranian situations are "quite different." Migrant workers and their Korean sympathizers call on the government not to crack down on undocumented laborers during a protest rally in front of Seoul City Hall last month. / The Korea Times photo By Choi Sung-jin Sherpa Lha Dorje Rai Udaya Madhusdan Ojha Sherpa Lha Dorje studied business management at Kathmandu Valley College in Nepal's capital city. In Korea, he has been making aluminum packaging foil at a company in Uijeongbu, north of Seoul, for the past year and a half. Dorje, 24, receives about 1 million won ($870) a month, way below than the 1.2 million won which is the monthly equivalent of the legal minimum wage here. Still his biggest problem is not the salary. "There is no fixed time," he said. "My boss forces me and two other Nepalese workers to do work regardless of the time, until 9 p.m., 11 p.m. or even midnight sometimes, with no extra pay." Protests or complaints bring forth the same reply, "Go back to your country if you don't like it." Dorje said he sends 800,000 won a month to his family, whose home was ravaged by an earthquake last April, and who now lives in a cottage. He holds out with the remaining 200,000 won. "Yet what I cannot stand is not the salary," he said. "What makes life really difficult for me and my colleagues are demands made on us to work at all hours and bad behavior' of the boss." Dorje said the president of his company always pays salaries a month late for God knows why, he is always angry, and has never said "thank you" to his foreign employees. Asked what he wants most now, the young college graduate said, "Let me go (to other workplaces)." However, this is a wish that's hard to make a reality. The rules of the employment permit system call for allowing migrant workers to change their workplaces up to three times in three years, but few Korean employers abide by that rule by writing a letter of consent, as they hate workers moving to other companies as soon as they acquire relevant skills. Nor do they want to keep other provisions in the system, such as those that oblige them to treat foreign workers fairly. "These employers think alien workers should not complain as long as they can earn several times more money than in their countries," said Rai Udaya, president of the Migrants Trade Union. "The migrant laborers are doing work that Koreans would rather not do, especially at the wage levels foreigners get. Contrary to some Koreans' complaints that foreigners take away their jobs, few would choose to work in these dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs if foreigners leave. Why discriminate against immigrant workers that fill a void in the workforce?" Going back to their homelands cannot be an option given the considerable time and money these guest workers spent on coming to Korea. Each guest worker spends at least a couple of million won on visas, brokerage fees and airfare. The whole process may take a year but applicants spend another year preparing for it, learning the Korean language and receiving job training. They often have to stop all other work or activities to focus on preparations. The "opportunity cost" is too high for them to pack up and leave, as economists put it. The situation facing Madhusdan Ojah was little better if not worse. Last October, Ojah injured his back while lifting heavy materials at a metal-processing company on the outskirts of Incheon. Since then, he has not been assigned normal work and consequently not been paid normal wages. When he reported to work each morning, his boss asked whether or not his back bothered him. When Ojah said yes, the boss told him to go back to his lodge. "I could do 95 percent of the work but was afraid the boss would make me lift heavy things again if I had told him I was completely healed to return to normal work and be paid full wages," he said. The company had a forklift to carry heavy materials and equipment but the manager made immigrant workers do most of the lifting, saying that was faster and more efficient. Since he injured his back, Ojah has received little pay and even had to pay for his lodging and part of his medical fees because he could not work even if he desperately wanted to. The 34-year-old Nepalese with a wife and two children in his country has slips of paper written by his boss to specify these costs, which will later be deducted from his severance pay. Korean employers do not usually pay a retirement allowance until one year passes after migrant workers return to their country. These employers say if they give severance pay within two weeks as they do for Koreans, migrant laborers do not leave Korea and continue to work elsewhere as illegal aliens. From the standpoint of foreign workers, however, that is a lame excuse for overdue payments. "As we see it, however, what turns a number of immigrant workers into illegal aliens and undocumented laborers are the inhumane system and employers who make the most of it," said Udaya, the union leader. At the center of all these abuses of basic rights and rampant discrimination is the "employment permit system," which some civic activists say is little different from "modern-day slave labor," by allowing long work hours in poor conditions and disallowing in principle the right of foreign workers to freely change their place of employment. The system went into effect in 2004 to improve the previous "industrial trainee system," a different name for labor exploitation as it introduced foreign workers under the pretext of teaching them skills but forced them to do simple labor at very low almost no wages. Although the current system guarantees labor rights and equal treatment in principle, these provisions are not being observed in reality because the system restricts free changes of workplaces. Employers can silence protesting workers by disallowing them to move to other workplaces and threatening to expel them. This explains why the migrant workers' union, which began its work a decade ago but was legalized only last year, has persistently called for replacing the employment permit system with a "work permit system." The two systems do not seem to be vastly different from each other, in that they both call for basic labor rights and nondiscrimination. As their names indicate, however, the focus of each system is different: the employment permit system gives business owners the right to employ immigrant workers while the work permit system gives foreigners the right to work. Unlike the former, the latter stipulates the freedom to change workplaces and equal pay for work of equal value, which makes a world of difference between the two. Some Koreans say the work permit system, if introduced, will make their country a paradise or a lawless world as they see it for foreigners, while pointing out the high youth unemployment rate. But Udaya asks back, saying, "How many Koreans will endure 12- or 16-hour-long workdays without extra pay and job-related injuries with no medical insurance?" There is an old Korean saying, "An old frog never thinks it was a tadpole." In the 1960s-70s when Korea's per capita income was a fraction of what it is now, young Korean men and women worked as miners and nurses in Germany, sending hard cash to help revive the economies of their families and country, as described in the 2014 mega-hit film "Ode to My Father." Unfortunately, these foreign workers' "Korean Dream" will likely remain a story of the distant future. The responses from the employers of the two Nepalese workers to fact-checking calls were as cold as ice. An official responsible for migrant labor policy at the Ministry of Employment and Labor, when asked to answer to a set of questions by e-mail, repeatedly asked the purpose of the reporting but never answered our questions. Ojah, the worker with a back injury, was finally allowed to leave his workplace last week but only after the union uncovered other problems with the company and threatened to hold a protest rally in front of it. How many more such threats and protests should they make to bring the same "luck" to Dorje and tens of thousands of other struggling migrant workers? By Kim Se-jeong Reckitt Benckiser (RB) in the United Kingdom, the parent company of Oxy Reckitt Benckiser, accused of causing the deaths of more than 100 Koreans through a toxic humidifier disinfectant, issued an apology to the victims and their families Monday (local time). "Oxy RB and RB express our sincere apologies to all the victims of the humidifier sterilizer tragedy in Korea and state absolutely our determination to do the right thing for the victims and their families," it said in a statement posted on the company's website. The statement was posted on the same day that its Korean unit director, Ataur Rashid Safdar, apologized to the victims in a televised news conference. The headquarters in London said that it "accepted full responsibility for the role that this product played in these health issues, including the deaths in Korea" and will provide "full resolution to these cases." Previously, the victims and bereaved families called for RB headquarters to take responsibility directly, demanding RB CEO, Rakesh Kapoor, fly to Korea to apologize. Despite the apology, families of victims pledged to carry on with a campaign against the company, including a boycott. Kim Deok-jong, the father of a child victim, and Choi Ye-yong, director of the Asian Citizen's Center for Environment and Health, left for the U.K. Wednesday to protest against RB. The company will have a shareholders' meeting in Slough, Thursday. "We are going to tell them (shareholders) what the company has done," the two said in a press briefing at Incheon International Airport. The Korean prosecution raided the office of professors of Seoul National (SNU) and Hoseo universities who allegedly falsified test results to help Oxy's claim that its product was not toxic. The prosecution detained the SNU professor on suspicions of accepting a bribe from Oxy in exchange for falsifying the results. Oxy used the results to make its case in court that the chemical PHMG it used in its product was not harmful. Prosecutors also said they obtained testimony from Oxy officials that Shin Hyun-woo, former Oxy head in Korea, was involved in the company's advertisements about the disinfectant, which included the statement: "This product carries no health risks and is safe when used around children." The company did not conduct safety studies on the effects of inhaling the chemical used in the product. The nation's worst biocide scandal has killed at least 146 people, among whom 103 used the Oxy brand. While it was first brought to light in 2011, it took prosecutors until January this year to start an investigation. Under pressure, Oxy, Lotte and Home plus, disinfectant manufacturers, apologized to surviving victims and family members of the deceased, with an offer of compensation. The victims refused to accept the apologies and compensation, saying they came too late, and that they don't look sincere. They began a boycott of Oxy products, which has spread quickly across the country. By Lee Kyung-min The Incheon District Court sentenced a woman to three years in prison, Wednesday, for buying a newborn baby for 950,000 won. The 42-year-old woman, whose name was withheld, was indicted for buying the baby boy from his mother at a Daejeon hospital last May 18. She came into contact with the mother, aged 28, who had posted online about adoption procedures, hoping to sell the baby to a sterile couple. The mother, who was separated from her husband, had a relationship with another man and the baby was his, according to the court. "The woman bought the three-day-old newborn that had no choice but to remain dependent upon the caretaker," the court said. "There is no excuse to condone such behavior." But the court showed leniency to the mother giving her a 10-month prison term suspended for two years as well as 80 hours of community service. "Although her act deserved condemnation for failing to show a minimal level of responsibility, we considered that she admitted to the crime and showed remorse," it said. Another female college student, 21, was also indicted for attempting to sell her baby to the woman. She was also sentenced to 10 months in jail suspended for two years. By Lee Kyung-min A large-scale shopping and tourism district will be built by 2018 in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, authorities said Wednesday. The project is partially funded by Chinese capital. Officials at the Yellow Sea Free Economic Zone Authority said they will set up the Chinese-friendly city on 2.32 square kilometers of land in Hyeondeok Township, a coastal area on Asan Bay slightly smaller than Seoul's Yeouido. "Korea China Castle Development, a special purpose company jointly set up by Chinese and Korean investors, submitted the business plan last July," an official at the authority said. "We will soon approve the project as we have finished our on-site inspection and discussions with 79 related bodies over the last nine months." The company is 50 percent owned by Legions Group, 20 percent by Chinese individuals and 30 percent by Korean private investors. It plans to build luxury hotels with 4,000 rooms, business hotels with 6,000 rooms, conference venues, shopping malls, duty free shops and large-scale multipurpose cultural performance halls. Apartments as well as other facilities, including medical institutions, international schools, shopping centers for mid-sized companies and warehouses are also planned. "Facilities and businesses related to China, such as tourism, services and logistics, will be gathered here, so that the district can become a one-stop venue for China-related business," the official said. Upon the authority's approval, Korea China Castle Development, valued at 50 billion won ($43 million), plans to attract more investors to secure 750 billion won for the project. Construction will be completed by 2018, and tenants will move in by the end of 2022. The district is expected to attract 30,000 residents and create more than 40,000 jobs, the official said. "By 2025, we expect the district to attract more than 20 million tourists from both Korea and abroad, and by 2035, it will become as much of a tourism attraction as Hong Kong or Macau," he said. When it comes to policy on South Korea, Donald Trump has long made several points that, when put together, could reduce the Asian nation to an erstwhile ally that hosts no American troops, develops its own nuclear weapons and struggles to save a free trade deal with the U.S. Previously shrugged off as something warranting no serious thought, these arguments appear to have slowly been unnerving experts -- and presumably policymakers as well -- as Trump looks headed toward the Republican nomination and some polls even suggest he could beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and win the White House. Trump has so far won 996 delegates, about 80 percent of the magic number of 1,237 necessary to win the nomination. He is expected to further solidify the lead should he win 57 delegates up for grabs in the state of Indiana on Tuesday. "Trump's treatment of America's alliance relationships in the speech is deeply troubling," Evans Revere, a former senior State Department diplomat, said, referring to last week's foreign policy speech in which Trump said allies should pay more for U.S. defense support or defend themselves. Defense cost-sharing with allies has been one of the highest foreign policy priorities for Trump. In last week's address, Trump renewed accusations that allies are not paying their fair share, saying the U.S. "must be prepared to let these countries defend themselves" unless they pay more. "We have no choice," he said. The real-estate tycoon has long made the case for having allies pay more, but the address was seen as carrying more weight than before because it was the first time Trump has outlined his foreign policy priorities in such a formal and refined manner. Though he made no mention of South Korea, the remark suggested that, if elected, he could pursue U.S. troop withdrawal from the Asian ally unless Seoul agrees to pay more. About 28,500 American troops are stationed in South Korea to deter North Korean aggression, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. As a way to reduce American security burdens, Trump has even suggested allowing South Korea and Japan to develop their own nuclear weapons for self-defense in the face of growing nuclear and missile threats from the North. "He regards these alliances as mere transactional 'deals,' ignoring the fact that they are time-tested partnerships that serve the security interests of both America and its partners," said Revere, who currently serves as senior adviser for the Albright Stonebridge Group. Trump has turned a blind eye to the fact that South Korea has long shared the cost of stationing U.S. forces. Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, said recently that Seoul is shouldering a "significant load" of the cost and it would cost more to keep those troops stationed in the U.S. than it does in Korea. "In repeating his erroneous arguments in his speech, he has ignored the facts and sent the wrong message to our allies," Revere said. "His implicit threat to end America's alliances contains within it the seed of a policy approach that would end America's leadership and predominance in the international security arena." A Trump presidency could also upset economic ties between the two countries. Trump has said he would seek to break or renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other trade deals. The Korea-U.S. free trade agreement is not expected to be any exception, though he didn't directly mention it. Moreover, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), considered a key foreign policy adviser for Trump, has expressed deeply negative views of the agreement, saying it brought no benefits to the U.S. and ended up increasing South Korea's exports to the country. "We didn't get any increase at all -- virtually none. They had a huge increase to us, and our trade deficit with our allies and friends in South Korea increased 280 percent. This is a serious matter," Sessions said during a Senate plenary meeting last week. South Korea's Foreign Ministry said it believes the U.S. support for the alliance with Seoul is firm, adding that it is trying to strengthen communication with the Trump camp and other candidates to convey Seoul's position on key foreign policy issues. Some experts say that despite all such talk, Trump's policy on alliances won't be much different. "I'm not at all sure that in the end, if Trump is elected, it would mean all that much of a change. The issue of host nation support is hardly new, and it doesn't surprise me that Trump (and others) will continue to advocate greater support from allies," said Alan Romberg, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington. "But the realities of the security challenges in Asia will, I believe, cause any president to stay with our alliance relationships in the region, not move away from them," he said. David Straub, associate director for the Korean Studies Program at Stanford University, said it is "understandable that Koreans are concerned about even the slightest possibility of a Trump victory in the presidential election." "Most Americans are far more concerned about the possibility," he said. Any effort by Trump to renegotiate the Korea-U.S. FTA or threaten to end the alliance unless the ROK provides more financial support for USFK "would be fiercely opposed by the ROK and by most of the American establishment," he said. "His notion of supporting the acquisition of nuclear weapons by the ROK and Japan is simply lunatic and has zero support among American leaders," Straub said. "Given the extreme unlikelihood of Trump becoming president, the best path for Korea is mostly to 'lie low' during the presidential campaign, that is, say as little as possible about Trump and his candidacy and let the American people defeat him," he said. (Yonhap) South Korea and the United States plan to hold an annual high-level defense meeting in Washington next week to build up their deterrence plan against North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, the Ministry of National Defense here said Wednesday. The two-day Korea-U.S. Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) will kick off on Monday and bring together South Korea's Defense Deputy Minister for policy Yoo Jeh-seung and U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense David Shear, along with Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, and Elaine Bunn, deputy assistant secretary for nuclear and missile defense policy. The South Korean foreign ministry's director-general for North America Yeo Seung-bae and U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Sung Kim will also join the bilateral talks. The focus of the forthcoming dialogue will be on building up the allies' joint policies to deter North Korea's nuclear and missile intimidation and provocations, the ministry said. As part of the efforts, the officials will further develop their so-called 4D Operational Concept and relevant implementation guidelines. The alliance plan encompasses joint operations to detect, disrupt, destroy and defend against North Korea's potential nuclear and missile attacks, including the option to launch a preemptive attack on key military facilities in the communist country. Also high on the agenda are ways to prepare for the smooth transfer of Washington-held wartime operational control of South Korean forces back to Seoul. The allies have previously agreed to conduct the transfer in the mid-2020s. The partners will also draw up how to manage their Deterrence Strategy Committee, a joint consultative body on deterrence against North Korea's evolving missile capabilities, which the allies launched in April last year, the defense ministry said. (Yonhap) South Korea and Australia agreed Wednesday to enhance bilateral collaboration in military supplies and armament maintenance during talks in Canberra, the defense ministry here said. The agreement was reached during annual bilateral talks in the Australian capital earlier in the day, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The two sides also concurred on the need to establish a joint working group to share results of their innovation measures on the defense supply sector and to expand cooperation in the fields of military logistics and armament maintenance, the ministry said. The bilateral defense supply talks have been held every year since the two countries forged a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on military supply exchanges in 2010. The MOU calls for the countries to provide military supplies and services to each other for the purposes of peacekeeping and humanitarian operations, as well as disaster relief. (Yonhap) Iran's plan to invest a total of $2 billion in a major biotech complex in South Korea has received boosts from eased foreign currency transaction rules here and President Park Geun-hye's trip to Tehran, officials said Wednesday. Last year, a consortium led by the Iranian government signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the government of North Chungcheong Province to pour $2 million in initial investment into Osong Biovalley inside the province's free economic zone. Located some 130 km south of Seoul, Osong aims to become a global biotech and medical industry hub. Under the MOU, Iran plans to build a joint research center, drug production lines and a clinical trial hospital in Osong over the next decade. The long-term project, however, seems to have made little progress, although local officials said the related paperwork and other preparations are still underway. They held out expectations that it will gain speed as it has become easier for Iranian firms to set up entities here and vice versa thanks to the revised foreign exchange transaction regulations. The new rules, effective on Monday, allow South Korean and Iranian companies to carry out capital transactions through won-dominated accounts. Previously only current transactions stemming from exports or imports were permitted. "As the financial conditions have been improved to enable the remittance of investment money, we will actively help the Iranian side implement remaining procedures so that the investment plan can be carried out at an early date," said an official of the North Chungcheong provincial government. Gov. Lee Si-jong is scheduled to visit Iran and Turkey from May 14-20 as part of efforts to draw investment and help companies based in the province to launch businesses there. Lee is seeking to forge sisterhood ties between his province and Iran's Mazandaran Province during his trip. On a landmark visit to the Middle Eastern country earlier this week, Park also produced a set of summit deals to promote economic cooperation between the two sides. (Yonhap) Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump speaks to supporters and the media following his victory in the Indiana primary at Trump Tower in Manhattan, New York, Tuesday. Ted Cruz dropped out of the White House race after suffering a crushing defeat, leaving the road wide open for Trump to seize the Republican nomination. / AFP-Yonhap Concerns growing over 'America 1st,' 'free ride' rhetoric By Yi Whan-woo The likelihood of "Trump risks" becoming a significant problem for Korea is increasing after the billionaire property tycoon became the de-facto Republican presidential nominee Tuesday. Unlike President Barack Obama and Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump has said that he is unhappy with the status of the military alliance and economic cooperation with Seoul and called for these to be overhauled. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday that the two nations will continue to develop their alliance based on "democracy and the market economy" regardless of the results of the U.S. presidential election in November. However, many analysts say that if elected president, Trump, would demand the renegotiation of the terms for the U.S. "protection" of South Korea from North Korea and their trade deal. He is expected to ask Seoul to shoulder more costs for maintaining the 28,000 U.S. troops here. "It's possible that he can order the pull out of U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula if South Korea fails to meet his demands," said Park Won-gon, a professor of international relations at Handong University. Kim Hyun-wook, a Korea-U.S. relations expert at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said, "Trump may try to resize, restructure and alter the posture of the American military here even if he learns later that withdrawing all the troops is unrealistic." "One possible way could be downsizing the ground forces," he said. Trump, the Republican front-runner, is only 190 delegates away from securing the presidential nomination after a landslide victory in Indiana and the withdrawal of his party rival Ted Cruz. He has won 1,047 of the 1,237 delegates required so far. On his campaign trail, the entrepreneur-turned politician has accused South Korea of getting a "free ride" on U.S help to defend it from North Korea while increasing American security burdens. In line with his "America First" rhetoric, he said in a January interview with CNN that Seoul should pay "very substantially" to keep the U.S. forces. Although Seoul agreed to pay 920 billion won ($886 million) in 2014 to maintain the U.S. troops here, the billionaire real estate mogul said this was "peanuts." Citing criticism of his business-oriented diplomacy policy, Park speculated that Trump may let Korea go for nuclear armament despite concerns that it could trigger a nuclear arms race in East Asia. "Trump is all about profit first and everything else second, including diplomacy, and he is unlikely to care about a nuclear arms race in the region as long he thinks it can save money for the U.S." Trump hinted that there could be a withdrawal of the U.S. military from South Korea and Japan and that the two Asian allies should develop their own nuclear weapons as deterrents against North Korea's growing nuclear threats. "We can't be the policeman to the world and have $19 trillion in debt, going up to $21 trillion," Trump said. Defying the U.S. government's view on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, he also said, "We are better off frankly if South Korea is going to start protecting itself." Meanwhile, former Foreign Minister Kim Sung-han said that Trump will face opposition within his country if he pushes for the approval of nuclear armament in the East Asia. "Such an approval would mean a collapse of the U.S.-led treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. I'd say that Trump will coordinate his nuclear policies if he becomes a presidential candidate." Park also claimed that Trump may attempt to revise the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement , which has been effective since 2012, to safeguard American manufacturers. Trump apparently has supported the idea of U.S. isolationism in a range of fields, including trade. In his Indiana campaign, he said the U.S. cannot continue to allow China, the world's second largest economy, to "rape" the country with trade deficits. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), who is regarded as a key foreign policy adviser to Trump, said the Korea-U.S. trade deal "came nowhere close to being beneficial to the U.S." He claimed U.S. imports from South Korea rose by $12 billion as of last year while U.S exports were "less than a couple of hundred million dollars more than in 2011." "In this climate, we can't rule out the possibility that Trump will target South Korea first over China to test his anti-free trade policies," Park said. "Our government needs to contact and build close relations with Trump's aides to convince them that our military and economic policies are in alignment." By Lee Han-soo North Korea recently invited foreign news agencies to cover the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party, but correspondents are seeing what the North does not want them to see. BBC reporter Rupert Wingfield-Hayes has released a documentary exposing what really is happening before Friday's congress. As Hayes arrives in Pyongyang, he is greeted by guides that he explains as minders. During the bus ride to his guesthouse, the minders do not reply to Hayes' questions about changes in Pyongyang. When he visits an amusement park, Hayes describes what he says are exaggerated expressions on the faces of the people. When Hayes asks a North Korean citizen if he has ever seen a foreigner, the citizen replies that it is his first time, although speaking fluent English. When Hayes follows the International Peace Foundation (IPF) to a children's hospital, the North Korean doctors are unable to answer questions about childhood cancer. "I think these are not doctors," the Chairman of the IPF, Prince Alfred of Liechtenstein, says, after having doubts about the hospital. Hayes said every interview he had was closely monitored by "men in suits" and people tended to flee when approached. "This country appears obsessed with portraying an image of strength and perfection," Hayes said. "But the level of control and nervousness we experienced portrays the weakness and insecurity that lies beneath." /Courtesy of Twitter By Lee Jin-a North Korea is extending surveillance of its people to cyberspace. According to sources, the reclusive state recently upgraded the state-developed operating system "Red Star OS" to track computers using it. The program is installed in all computers available in the country. This reflects the North's increasing anxiety that information smuggled in through the Internet could "spoil" its people. "The state seems like it wants to watch every bit of the lives of North Koreans," Florian Grunow, a researcher at ERNW, a German security consultancy, said in a report Tuesday. "The computer system will allow the government to fulfill this goal." Red Star OS is a Linux-based system developed by the Korea Computer Center, North Korea's leading information technology research center. Grunow said he could download the 3.0 version of the program from the Internet after a Russian student who visited Pyongyang last year made it public. "When I turn on the computer (with the Red Star OS), the system automatically searches for files that have errors,'" Grunow said. "If I try to change the basic programs or download documents that include negative information about the North Korean government, it reboots endlessly." He said the North Korean government is also collecting the private information of users through an anti-virus program that automatically adds watermarks to documents, videos and pictures. The state can track information about the dates and users who create, edit and distribute the files through the program, he said. /Courtesy of Twitter By Lee Jin-a A total of 197 North Korean defectors have arrived in the U.S. as refugees in the past 10 years, the Voice of America (VOA) reported, citing government data Wednesday. Nearly 60 percent, or 118, were female and 79 male, according to U.S. State Department data. Many have settled in California and Kentucky, while others are now calling New York and Colorado home. Of them, 56 were in their 30s, the largest group by age, followed by those in their 20s (49) and 40s (33). More than 70 percent had a qualification equivalent to a secondary school diploma or higher. "I'm really grateful (for living in the U.S.) and I feel responsible to return the favor through helping those in need," a North Korean defector who arrived in the U.S. in 2008 told the VOA. The U.S. started granting refugee status to North Korean defectors after its Congress approved the North Korean Human Rights Act in 2004. By Moshaddique Al Ameen In 2008, when my friends first learned about my intention to go to Korea, almost all of them asked the same question, "Why Korea?" A few relatives from smaller towns inquired another dreaded question, "Where is Korea?" The hallyu wave might have given Korea a sense of brand pride to its people, but in reality, it is only limited to a few of the countries in the eastern part of Asia. The rest of the world is still hearing more news on North Korea's theatrics than South Korea's glorious achievements although it was labeled as an Asian economic tiger. "Made in Korea" was nowhere near the brand of its neighbor "Made in Japan." I remember a TV ad showing the ignorance of the fellow classmates of a Korean boy on the whereabouts of Korea on the world map. It was another reality check. A nation with such great advancements in social and cultural fields along with science and technologies is falling far behind in brand visibility among its peers. It felt to me that this country is not as serious about the value of its brand as its western counterparts are. People are content with knowing that Japan and China and a few Southeast Asian countries value them. How about the rest of the world, Africa, North and South America, Europe and the rest of western Asia? LG may be a Korean company, but a few years back, I met many people who thought it was a North American corporation. I remember repeating to several guests in conferences that Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Daewoo, Doosan and Lotte are great South Korean corporations. Country brand value in today's world is very important. It shows the trueness of an advanced society. I am happy to see that finally Korea is trying to be serious in making itself a great nation brand. I witnessed in the same ad of the children, the hope to make Korea a better brand in the future. In 2009, the Presidential Council on National Branding was established to increase Korea's global brand value. Unfortunately, the program was discontinued once statistics showed improvements in. In the new smart age, smartphones from Samsung and LG, and even the famous K-pop song "Gangnam Style" are greatly contributing to the country's brand value. Korean beauty and digital products are helping to make people aware of it. Korea's brand value is visible in many places that had not heard of it just 10 years ago. However, to increase and maintain its image and brand, the following points are necessary. Efforts from the government: This is an obvious fact. A concerted, sustained and well-focused effort from the government to promote Korea as a brand is necessary. Instead of doing what others do, without any "wow" factor it cannot bring the desired results. A permanent office to handle this task is required. The efforts should be multilevel and multidirectional to sustain the growth of Korea's brand name. Efforts from the private sector: Korea has some of the top corporations in the world along with thousands of entrepreneurs. These companies should strongly attach the name Korea to their brand. For example, LG while promoting its products can insert a tagline, "a Korean company" in its ads, similar to what Volkswagen does. Efforts from individual Koreans: Individuals are the best representative of a country's culture. Through the use of new age technologies and personal interactions, they can contribute to its brand. Travelling abroad, social media are great tools for this. I have seen Koreans mostly confined to regional and local blogs and social media. However, the use of international sites and social media can improve it. Efforts from foreigners who visit Korea: This is very simple. Foreigners who visit Korea are ready to be brand ambassadors. If their experience is satisfactory, word of mouth advertisements that they bring to their own countries, friends and social media can greatly contribute to the brand value of Korea. Concerted efforts can ultimately bring the desired results. Believe it or not, some of my friends still ask me, "North or South?" I wish for a time and place where I never hear that again. The writer is a Ph.D. scholar at Kyung Hee University. Write to ameen@khu.ac.kr. By Shim Jae-yun Will Iran be an El Dorado for the ailing Korean economy? Spurred by President Park Geun-hye's visit there, expectations have been growing over Tehran's possible role as savior of an economy suffering from multiple problems. The answer may be yes, given the $45.6 billion in business deals signed between the two countries. But the recent performance does not necessarily mean that the nation is poised to completely overcome its economic debacle. It faces tough tasks in carrying through corporate restructuring. The good news is that many memoranda of understanding (MOUs) are concerned with infrastructure such as in the construction, petroleum and electricity sectors where national enterprises have relatively high competitiveness, and the need to advance into overseas markets more briskly. Cultural familiarity seems to have contributed to the results. It is noteworthy that the Korean drama "Daejanggeum" (Jewel in the Palace) recorded a 90 percent viewing rate in Iran in 2007, followed by "Jumong" with 85 percent. The dress code for women is similar coupled with the dedication toward the king in making a royal dish. The legendary love story between a Persian prince and Shilla princess some 1,400 years ago symbolizes the bilateral kinship. A book entitled "Kush Nama" preserved in the British Museum refers to the marriage of the two. Seoul has Tehran Road in the most prosperous Gangnam district in southern Seoul while Iran has Seoul Road in downtown Tehran. Park's recent visit to Iran will surely boost bilateral economic cooperation and exchange, and help struggling companies find a breakthrough. But that is not the omnipotent pill that can cure the chronic disease Korea is suffering from. Further, the materialization of the MOUs, which are not legally binding, is not certain and depends on the situation. The Iranian side could possibly shift to other business partners for better conditions. Despite the urgent need to speed up corporate restructuring, the relevant parties have failed to come up with a proper contingency plan. The government has yet to show a strong leadership to push for restructuring. The discrepancy between the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Korea (BOK) over the possible implementation of Korean-style quantitative easing has fueled the conflict. Though the central bank succumbed to government pressure to join efforts toward restructuring, many question have yet to be resolved over the properness of spending money for ailing shipbuilders and shipping companies. The trade union of the BOK went all out in condemning the concession. It says it is rare and inappropriate for the central bank to print money to bail out certain companies. Experts point out the possibility of trade conflicts with other countries which are competing with the nation in shipbuilding and shipping. Hyundai Merchant and Marine and Hanjin Shipping are now desperate to cut leasing fees for the ships. But if the government decides to inject funds into them, it would mean failure in the crucial negotiations to lower the fees. Massive layoffs are expected in the course of carrying out restructuring. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering announced a plan to dismiss 2,000 to decrease its number of employees by 15.4 percent by 2018. But the number of dismissed workers will likely increase further to reach even 50,000 in the shipbuilding sector, including those from subcontracting companies, according to Bae Gyu-shik, a researcher at the Korea Labor Institute. Unless there are appropriate measures to tackle possible layoffs, there could be another disaster as seen in the case of Ssangyong Motor, which led to the suicides of 25 workers and their family members. The government's steps are relying on pensions and the creation of a special law to bolster hiring. There is a need to learn from many European countries which have adopted the "transfer company" system to educate the workers to find a new job. By any means, the restructuring should be done in a fair and just manner to prevent only the workers from taking all responsibilities. Regulators should strictly find and punish major shareholders and managerial executives for any mismanagement and dominating role in crumbling companies. In this vein, Hanjin Shipping's former CEO Choi Eun-young should be held responsible for selling stock allegedly using undisclosed information about the company's application for bank receivership. Responsible CEOs and conglomerates including Hanjin Shipping Chairman Cho Yang-ho should donate their personal property in a sign of their efforts toward sharing the pain. As the U.S. Department of Defense goes in quest of a larger piece of the overall budget, its claims of threats to America's security grow in amplitude and volume. Its latest ambitions are for 40 percent more submarines than it and some of the American media claim Russia has, as opposed to the 25 percent more the U.S. Navy has now. The other is a desire by the U.S. Africa Command for money to use larger numbers of U.S. forces to fight Boko Haram, a group of terrorists in northeastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The claim is that these African states are U.S. allies. In reality they are African states that have the resources and should have sufficient motivation to fight off Boko Haram themselves. What occurs in that landlocked region of Africa is the responsibility of the people located there and poses no threat to the United States. They are countries; they are not U.S. allies, as even some U.S. media profess to believe. Cameroon has had the same president, Paul Biya, for 33 years; Chad's president, Idriss Deby, has been in office for 25 years. Niger is somewhat democratic. Nigeria, an oil state, is noted for corruption. The United States doesn't need the new submarines. The Navy wants them because it feels it has not had a big enough role in recent wars (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen) to have put enough money into its pockets. Overstating the Russian threat, it hopes, will remedy that shortfall. It is worth noting that the new ships and the tanks, missile batteries, artillery and other hardware being sought by President Barack Obama for use in Eastern Europe against Russia also represent important purchases from the U.S. defense industries, large donors to current political campaigns. The budget will be in imbalance already, without the new military expenditures, and the U.S. national debt currently stands at $19 trillion and rising steadily, with $6 trillion about a third of it owed to China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and other foreign countries. Wouldn't it make more sense to reduce our financial vulnerability to them, as opposed to increasing our military exposure in Africa and buying more hardware that we don't need? This editorial appeared on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Choice for Kim Jong-un: embrace change or else North Korea has had one of its last remaining friends turn their back on it. Iran is a long-term ally of the North, having helped each other in their respective pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. The two were so close that Pyongyang gave Tehran missile technology in return for help in making nuclear weapons. The two were grouped in what U.S. President George W. Bush called an "axis of evil" together with Iraq. Now, their statuses can't be more divergent. Iran has cut a deal with the United States and other big powers in which it decided to freeze its nuclear program in return for the lifting of international sanctions, gaining access to tens of billions of dollars in frozen assets around the world and selling oil for billions more. In this new era of opportunity, Iran welcomed President Park Geun-hye, offering her and her business entourage a chance to cash in on up to $45.6 billion in business deals. Being determined to push for openness and prosperity, its leaders reformist President Hassan Rouhani and the theocracy's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised to be more friendly with Seoul, giving their support to its efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula in what appeared to be nothing less than a repudiation of Pyongyang's nuclear program. Of course, Rouhani's remarks targeted Israel's nuclear weapons as well. Ahead of the Seventh Workers' Party Congress, the first in 36 years, Kim Jong-un, the 33-year-old leader of the international pariah nation, should wonder why his country's friends are leaving it. . Above all, it's the change of zeitgeist. In the time of his father and grandfather, it was the confrontation of ideology: capitalism vs. communism. Communism lost. China has adopted the "black-cat-white-cat" pragmatism, which is a form of capitalism at its core. Now, the new game lies about how to prosper for individuals and the nation. Iran has been engrossed in it, while China is so good that it is now rivaling the United State in the latter's own game of becoming wealthy. Remaining friends with the North is getting in their way. Now, the North should think carefully about what options it has, and stop being hysterical about President Park's successful Iran tour. First, it can continue to press ahead on its nuclear and missile programs at the risk of alienating its "remaining friends," if there are any, and bringing itself to the brink of financial and existential collapse. Already the signs are unmistakable as a virtual global blockade is in place, threatening to bring the country to a complete halt. The other option is to follow Iran's model. The international community has promised the North the start of negotiations about security guarantees as it has demanded, and a massive rescue plan to transform its economy. It is true that the North is different from Iran, being rich in oil and quite open to the outside. It is possible for Kim to get deposed and end up like Saddam of Iraq or Gaddafi of Libya but it is worth remembering that in either way, he doesn't have time on his side. Unless he commits to the first option and soon, he will end up with no options at all. If he is not sure, he can ask his former Iranian friends about it. LINE Chief Globalization Officer Shin Jung-ho speaks during a press meeting at the Banyan Tree Hotel in central Bangkok, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Naver By Yoon Sung-won BANGKOK, Thailand "A software service provider seeking to enter a foreign market needs to localize its services to blend into the native culture," said LINE Chief Globalization Officer (CGO) Shin Jung-ho. He further explained that service providers should try to see a market from the perspective of the native culture and seek out what is best for the customers in their target markets. "At LINE we use the term acculturation instead of localization because we believe that it can be arrogant to define the local and central cultures," Shin said during a press meeting in Bangkok, Tuesday. "The concept is based on the view that all cultures should be equally respected. We should see the Thai market from the perspective of Thai culture when we provide our services in Thailand." Shin said Lee Hae-jin, the chairman of LINE and its parent company Naver, has long emphasized the importance of remaining unbiased in doing business in an overseas market. "When I was leaving for Japan to begin the LINE business there in 2008, Lee wanted me to start from scratch and heed what people said in the Japanese market," he said. The CGO said service providers should focus on what they can do best and try to make it attractive to consumers. "The basic protocols of Internet services have been made by U.S. businesses, but under their order and values, neither Naver nor LINE would survive the competition in terms of the economies of scale," he said. "So we have thought hard about localization and reached the present point in LINE's global business. I think we will have a chance once we complete LINE's business shift from that of a mobile messenger service to an integrated smart portal." Shin said a smart portal refers to an intelligent integrated platform service that recommends what users may want at the moment, freeing them from actively making search inquiries. In line with such ideas on cultural localization and the smart portal, the CGO said the company is pushing to establish separate systems in each target market in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Thailand for planning, development and design. "We have already set the systems in Korea, Japan and Taiwan and are working to do so in Thailand," he said. "We are hiring more developers even if this will take more time." The CGO said the LINE Man service, a mobile delivery agent service, and mobile game Cookie Run, developed by Korean game studio Devsisters, are successful examples that benefited from independent operation by a Thai subsidiary and its efforts for cultural localization. Shin underlined the significance of the Thai market, which has recently replaced Taiwan to become Korea's second-largest strategic overseas market after Japan. "We decide on the priority of each market in terms of the number of daily active users," he said. "Thailand has recorded rapid growth in the smartphone penetration rate recently which has made us look more into this market." Ryan Serhant, the American real estate salesperson and reality television star gained popularity when he was featured on Bravo's ''Million Dollar Listing New York'' as a real estate agent. The first season was aired on Mar. 7, 2012. Houston Chronicle did a story on this dynamic actor. And the popularity of the show pulled it to season 5 which was aired on Apr. 21, 2016. This was the 48th episode in the series and first one for this season. This episode was named as "50 Shades of Greystone" and as per TV by the numbers, 0.99 million US viewers watched this episode. In 2014 E news reported that Serhant proposed to his lawyer girlfriend Emilia Bechrakis. "No one has ever done something like this. But I'm only going to propose once in my life, so I wanted to make sure that I did something special," Ryan told E news about his proposal. Grapevine is abuzz with the news of Serhant planning to tie the knot to his long-term girlfriend Bechrakis. "[Emilia's] dad and his dad are named Leonidas, and he's from Sparta, which is a real thing. Her mom is Despina and her brother is Stratos. They're very, very Greek. It'll be this summer," Serhant told the Daily Dish. The wedding will happen in Greece. So can we think about ''A big Fat Greek Wedding?'' "We're doing it in Greece. We're doing it on an island, off an island, off an island. So we're not having a lot of people there - it's kind of a pain to get to. It's going to be very, very pretty, and elaborate," Serhant added. "It took us a year and a half to put it together. But like I told her after the proposal, 'Listen, I'm only ever doing this once in my life. So we're gonna do this once. It's going to be awesome and you're just gonna have to kill me 'cause I can't afford to do this ever again.' Same thing for the wedding. So it'll be cool, it'll be good." So what's next for this popular TV actor? Where are they planning to take a honeymoon? All the hoteliers will surely be glad to give a great discount to the newly wedded couple. Lancaster, Depew natives awarded RIT scholarship funding A School of Performing Arts that opened this year at the Rochester Institute of Technology is offering nonmajors in that field more opportunities to continue their performing passions in college.... LHS students receiving scholarships from Baldwin Wallace University Three students from the Lancaster area were among over 700 students who earned scholarships at Baldwin Wallace University this fall. The school has a long history of scholarship support from alumni,... The price of LITRO gas cylinders would be further reduced in the first week of November in accordance with the Read more The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary Read more PRESS RELEASE Joint Estonia-NATO Military Exercise Begins on Russias Border May 2, 2016 (EIRNS)In yet another provocation against Russia, today Estonian troops will join with military personnel from ten NATO nations to begin the Spring Storm exercises in the southeastern part of Estonia, right on the border with Russia. The exercise will continue until May 20, Sputnik reported today. Of the 6,000 soldiers participating, 1,500 of them will come from NATO members Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany. According to RT, Finish staff officers and Canadian "teams of specialists" will also participate. NATO countries will also provide military hardware for the exercise, which is the largest to take place this year in Estonia. In a statement quoted by Sputnik, Lt. Gen. Riho Terras, Commander-in-Chief of the Estonian Defense Forces, said that Spring Storm will provide military units with important training, "preparing them for war-time." PRESS RELEASE Puerto Rican Governor Announces: Human Beings Come Before Debt Payment May 2, 2016 (EIRNS)In a nationally-televised speech last night, Puerto Ricos Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla announced that the Government Development Bank (GDB) would not pay $370 million of the $422 million debt payment that came due May 1. "This has been a very difficult decision," the Governor said, "one that, frankly, I would have preferred not to make." But in the absence of any solution from Washington, and the continued suffering of the Puerto Rican people, "I had to choose, and I chose," he said. The island government can barely fund crucial public serviceseducation, medical care, police and firemen. When the choice came down to providing these desperately-needed services or paying the debt, the choice was clear, Garcia explained. "You," the Puerto Rican people, "are and will continue to be my priority." He underscored that he had been very clear last June when he publicly announced that Puerto Rico could not pay its debt. All we ask for is the legal toolsrestructuringwith which to deal with this crisis, he added. "We need the House to act. We need [Speaker] Paul Ryan to keep his word. We cant wait any longer. We need restructuring now." "We know that Puerto Ricos enemies are powerful," Garcia stated, and that with brutal racist attacks, they have convinced "members of Congress that what Puerto Rico needs is collective punishment. Some of the so-called vulture funds and their lobbyists want to deny Puerto Rico access to the legal tools" it needs. "This is an act of pure greed." As for the proposed control board, he admonished, if some form of federal oversight can help Puerto Rico in balancing its budget or improving its fiscal discipline, thats fine. But, he warned, "we are firmly opposed" to having Federal officials make financial decisions or have the right to "overturn our laws at whim, with no accountability" to the Puerto Rican people. "We are committed to the principles of democracy and freedom and justice for all," Garcia concluded, but "if Congress acts differently, that would reestablish a colonial power over Puerto Rico." And this, he warned, "would open a Pandoras box of very dangerous consequences." Puerto Rico and its institutions must be respected. Garcia Padilla also recalled that over the decades, Puerto Ricans serving in the U.S. military have "shed their blood" for the United States." Its now time for the United States to demonstrated that the shedding of that blood wasnt in vain. PRESS RELEASE Backlash Builds Against Obama-Brennan 9/11 Coverup May 3, 2016 (EIRNS)Following Sundays blatant public admission by CIA Director John Brennan that President Obama has no intention of declassifying the 28 pages from the Joint Congressional Inquiry, and his lying misrepresentations of the 28 pages as unsubstantiated leads that were dismissed by the 9/11 Commission, there is a groundswell of opposition to the continuing cover-up of the Anglo-Saudi terror apparatus. Paul Sperry, writing in todays New York Post was blunt, in an article headlined The Establishment is Lying about 9/11 Report. Sperry not only debunked Brennans lies. He produced a CIA document dated Aug. 2, 2002, which he said is quoted on the first page of the sealed 28-page chapter, which declared there is incontrovertible evidence there is support for these terrorists from the Saudi government. Sperry, who has been obviously leaked at least segments of the 28 pages, reminded Brennan that he was Deputy Director of the CIA at the time that report was produced. Sperry went on to attack Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton, the two co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission, for reversing their earlier stance that the 28 pages and all the files from the Commission that are still classified, to their recent claim that the Commission exonerated the Saudis and the release of the 28 pages would muddy the waters. Sperry picked apart one egregious lie by Brennan and the commissioners, that there was not even evidence against the Saudi cleric Al-Thumairy, who was based in Los Angeles and had contact with Saudi intelligence operative al-Bayoumi and the two San Diego terrorists al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar. Dan Christensen, whose lawsuit against the FBI to release the 80,000 pages of documents on the Sarasota, Florida, 9/11 cell is still pending before a Federal Judge, posted a story in his Florida Bulldog web publication today, quoting from an interview he had conducted May 2 with former CIA Director and Joint Inquiry co-chair Porter Goss, in which Goss continued to demand the release of the 28 pages, in stark contrast to Brennan. Christensen titled the article Its spy versus spy as CIA directors differ on making public 28 hidden pages of 9-11 report. In his interview with the Bulldog, Goss described a meeting he and Sen. Bob Graham had with then-FBI director Robert Mueller, who shocked them both by insisting that the 28-page chapter had to be suppressedwithout any further explanation. Kristen Breitweiser, the widow of one of the 9/11 victims, penned yet another article for Huffington Post, in which she meticulously picked apart the statements by Kean and Hamilton, under the headline Uproar Over the 28 Pages: The Saudi/CIA Connection? referring to none other than John Brennan, who was CIA Station Chief in Saudi Arabia, after serving there earlier in his career as well. A slew of other publications picked up on the same theme: Obama and Brennan are covering up for the Saudis. This included a townhall.com article by Larry Provost and new articles in Breitbart News and other conservative outlets. If Obama and Brennan thought they could bully their way through their cover-up of the crimes of 9/11, they were dead wrong. As Lyndon LaRouche has been warning for weeks, Obama is nothing but a British agent who will do what he is told by the British Monarchyand will never do anything to jeopardize the Anglo-Saudi empire. Until Obama is removed, this battle is likely to continue, and Obamas refusal to release the 28 pages is more than sufficient cause for his impeachment now! When it was announced this week that Oprah Winfrey will star in the film adaptation of Rebecca Skloots The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, much of the Internet could barely contain its glee. The news, first reported by Deadline, was particularly sweet to fans of Skloots 2010 book about Lacks, an African American woman whose cells were taken without her knowledge while she was being treated for cervical cancer at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951; she died shortly thereafter. Lacks cell line, known to scientists and biology students everywhere as HeLa, was the first -- and for decades the only -- set of human cells that could reproduce over and over in a lab environment, like a petri dish. Advertisement HeLa cells became a vital tool for scientists and doctors, who used them to research diseases such as polio, cancer and AIDS. As Skloot explained in her book, despite the many scientific advances made because of her cells, Lacks family wasnt notified of their use, nor were they compensated for it. Part of this was due to scientific assumptions at the time, and later, when the family did hear from scientists and journalists, they were alarmed and concerned. It was in this environment that Skloot endeavored to reach the family and understand their story, and became friends with Lacks adult daughter Deborah. Winfrey will play Deborah in the HBO film, and two of Henrietta Lacks sons, and one of her granddaughters, will consult on the movie. But who will play Skloot? When the author solicited unofficial suggestions on Twitter, and received quite a few. Skloots followers nominated Tatiana Maslany, Anna Kendrick, Emma Stone, Aubrey Plaza, Rachel McAdams and Skloot herself (No chance, responded Skloot). The filmmakers could look to other films that have featured actresses playing the writers their movies were based on. Most recently, Reese Witherspoon starred as Cheryl Strayed in the 2014 film adaptation of Strayeds memoir Wild. Witherspoon was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal. Director Michael Winterbottom looked to Angelina Jolie to play Mariane Pearl in the 2007 film version of A Mighty Heart, based on Pearls memoir about the kidnapping and murder of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Jolie received widespread praise and a Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Winona Ryder was given good reviews for her role as Susanna Kaysen in Girl, Interrupted, the 1999 film based on Kaysens memoir about her 18-month stay in a psychiatric hospital. It was Jolie, however, who stole the movie with her Academy Award-winning role as another patient in the hospital. Similarly themed, but much less successful with critics, was the 2001 adaptation of Elizabeth Wurtzels Prozac Nation, which featured Christina Ricci as the author. Riccis performance was praised by some critics, but the movie received generally negative reviews. Perhaps the oddest performance of a writer in a film based on her book was Meryl Streep in Adaptation, the 2002 movie (kind of) based on Susan Orleans The Orchid Thief. The film is about screenwriter Charlie Kaufmans attempt to write a screenplay based on Orleans book; Meryl Streep plays a fictionalized version of Orlean as a drug-using borderline sociopath who sleeps with the subject of her book and tries (unsuccessfully) to murder Kaufman. Theres still time to cast Rebecca Skloot. The film, which will be written and directed by George C. Wolfe, is scheduled to begin shooting this summer. ALSO Singalongs and shenanigans with the authors at the young adult reading festival Yallwest Walt Whitman discovered to be Americas first paleo poet A rare interview with Don DeLillo, one of the titans of American fiction A hyperloop, the super-fast transit system dreamed up by Elon Musk, was envisioned as a way to get passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in minutes instead of hours. But it could also transport tens of thousands of cargo containers from L.A.s ports to inland distribution centers and rail yards. That would dramatically cut the number of trucks on Southern Californias freeways and potentially slash pollution. You can make [a port] a lot easier on the local community, said Brogan BamBrogan, a co-founder of Hyperloop Technologies, one of two local companies working to realize and commercialize Musks concept. Advertisement BamBrogan was among the speakers Tuesday on a panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference exploring how new technologies could reshape Los Angeles and other cities. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti speculated that the advent of self-driving cars could cut down on the amount of space needed for roads and parking lots, freeing up more land for development and possible cutting down on the cost of housing. What the panel didnt touch on is what those changes might mean for the workers who will inhabit these cities of the future. Thats been a focus of other panels at the Beverly Hills conference, where technologists, hedge fund managers and other experts have talked at length about the potential perils of a world where technology continues to make human workers obsolete. Though self-driving cars and ports that need fewer trucks have benefits, they also represent huge numbers of job losses. Technological innovation has always changed the labor market, but usually in ways that create more jobs than are destroyed. Some still think the same will ultimately be true this time around. Is this any different than the same shifts we saw during the Industrial Revolution? asked Shivon Zilis, a partner at Bloomberg-backed venture capital firm Bloomberg Beta, speaking at a Monday panel about the promise and potential pitfalls of artificial intelligence. But others worry the current wave of tech-driven automation is different, destroying jobs without creating more. I need to hope well come up with high-value things [for people] to do. But I dont think we can assume itll happen, said David Siegel, co-chairman of hedge fund Two Sigma Investments, who was among the artificial intelligence experts. Before the internal-combustion engine, horses were needed by the workforce. No one ever came up with anything more economical for horses to do. After Tuesdays panel, Garcetti said the question of how technology is changing employment keeps him up at night. Many workers, he said, will help build new rail lines, Hyperloops and other infrastructure, but its less clear what will happen to others. Theres no question automation displaces some workers, he said. But he added that whatever changes are coming, its the job of a city or any government to adapt to them. The question isnt change or not, he said. The question is how you manage it. Twitter: @jrkoren Thousands of SunEdison Inc. employees and customers packed the House of Blues at Disneyland on a Wednesday night last September. The big developer of renewable energy projects had set aside the last night of the largest solar trade show in North America to unveil a new brand campaign and colorful logo. Special T-shirts and lanyards were ordered up for the occasion. But that night, the new logo went unmentioned. Also conspicuously absent: SunEdisons top brass, including CEO Ahmad Chatila. Advertisement It quickly became clear that SunEdison executives had more important things to worry about. A onetime Wall Street star and growth champion, SunEdison would soon lay off more than 1,000 workers. Contracts to buy several power projects and developers would be canceled. By March 22, when Debtwire broke the news that the company was in talks to restructure its debt, shares had plunged 95% from their 52-week high. Today, SunEdison is in bankruptcy. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice are investigating its financial activities. The company faces a slew of lawsuits, including one from its own subsidiary claiming that SunEdison misappropriated $231 million, using it to pay off a loan instead of solar developments, as it had said it would. Interviews with the companys founder and former CEO, and with former employees, give a sense of SunEdisons mad scramble for growth, which required a nonstop supply of acquisitions and debt. Early on, banks were more than happy to provide the necessary financial fuel. But when the company pushed the limits of its new financial structure and tried to grow too large, too fast, investors turned on it and the money hose was shut off. In the end, SunEdison had drifted far from the relatively simple idea that its founder, Jigar Shah, first envisioned in a paper he wrote as a University of Maryland MBA student. SunEdison at its core is a boring construction company, that earns the trust of its institutional investors by being boring and managing risks, Shah, now 41, said in an interview. But the companys senior executives didnt want to be boring, they wanted to be a technology company. Spokespeople for SunEdison and its subsidiaries declined to comment. Life has been anything but boring for SunEdison and its investors. For more than a decade, the company dominated the business of developing, financing, building and operating renewable energy projects for companies, institutions and utilities. For instance, SunEdison owns the 82-megawatt Regulus solar facility in Kern County, which supplies Southern California Edison. And in January it agreed to supply 25 California elementary, middle and high schools with solar parking canopies. Last year MIT Technology Review voted SunEdison the sixth smartest company in the U.S., on the basis of aggressively expanding its renewable energy products and building a business to provide electricity to the developing world. Since 2012 the company has developed more than 4.3 gigawatts of renewable projects, enough energy to power more than 700,000 homes. The company said last year it had a further 2.9 gigawatts under construction and another 7.9 gigawatts in its development pipeline. Shahs original idea was that there was a gap in the nascent solar-energy market that could be filled by a company that sold the energy without shouldering the cost of building a solar farm. The two parties would sign a contract called a power-purchase agreement. That would enable the customer to buy solar power generation at a fixed cost with no money down. Construction would be paid for by investors, whose return would be guaranteed by the cash flow from the project. Shah kept the idea in the back of his head until 2003, when he left a job at BP Solar to start his own firm. His first customer was Whole Foods. SunEdison arranged the financing to build a solar system on the roof of an Edgewater, N.J., store. The supermarket chain agreed to buy the power on a long-term contract. We were off to the races, Shah said. The company suffered a setback when the financial crisis forced it to table a planned initial public stock offering. Disagreeing with the board over its plans to raise money and dilute his ownership, Shah left soon after. He now is president of Generate Capital, which invests in renewable energy. SunEdison was bought by MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. of St. Peters, Mo., which sought to grow its production of silicon wafers used both in semiconductors and solar panels while generating revenue from solar developments. CEO Chatila moved his office and the companys board meetings to Belmont, Calif., in the heart of Silicon Valley. The company spent heavily on its materials business, including building factories in Italy and Malaysia. But when the price of silicon crashed in 2011 its revenues fell off. In 2013, MEMC changed its name to SunEdison and the company kept developing solar projects. We were the driving engine of the company, recalled one person who had worked on the companys project development side. He and other former SunEdison employees spoke on the condition of not being named, in some cases because they still work in the industry and fear repercussions. The final transformation of SunEdison began the following year when it created the first of two publicly traded subsidiaries called yield companies, or yieldcos. Rather than sell operational projects to third parties, SunEdison would develop and sell them to its subsidiaries TerraForm Power Inc. and TerraForm Global Inc.. In theory, the yieldcos would raise cash from public shareholders to buy operational power projects from SunEdison. The cash flows generated by the projects would pay a dividend to the subsidiarys shareholders. SunEdison would be paid for the assets it sold to the yieldco. A competitor, NRG Energy Inc., had already shown how lucrative the strategy could be, raising nearly $450 million from the IPO of its own yieldco. But to keep the cash dividends high, the yieldcos had to keep acquiring projects. SunEdison went on a spending spree, announcing the purchase of billions of dollars of renewable projects and companies in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin and North America. It also expanded beyond solar to wind, hydro and storage facilities. TerraForm Power was the first of SunEdisons yieldcos to go public, in July 2014. In a low-interest-rate environment, investors flocked to the offering. The company, which has bought up 2.75 gigawatts of power projects, saw its share price soar more than 21% over the next nine months. But as growth exploded, so did debt. By September 2015, SunEdison owed $16.1 billion. SunEdisons bid for more assets helped drive up renewable valuations, according to market participants. SunEdison and TerraForm Power announced in November 2014 they would buy First Wind Holdings, a wind and solar project developer, for $2.4 billion. It was the companys largest acquisition and marked its expansion into wind power. SunEdison and TerraForm Powers share prices immediately rose following the news. However, First Winds owners are listed in SunEdisons bankruptcy as some of its biggest creditors, claiming $231 million in disputed contractual payments. SunEdison went bonkers on the acquisition front, said one former SunEdison employee. There was no management around the table to say this does or doesnt make sense financially. No one ever touched the brakes. God forbid you hit the brakes. But investors were backing away from energy, and solar wasnt spared. SunEdisons shares began to slide in July, soon after the company announced it was acquiring the residential solar rooftop company Vivint Solar for $2.2 billion. That was more than a 40% premium to the companys market capitalization. Confirmation that shareholders were souring on yieldcos came two weeks after the Vivint deal was announced, when the second yieldco, TerraForm Global, went public. Its shares were priced below their original range, and kept falling. They now trade at about a fifth of their IPO price. The Vivint deal hinged on TerraForm Power buying Vivints portfolio of rooftop solar systems from SunEdison for about $922 million. But the hedge fund Appaloosa, which held 9.5% of TerraForm Powers shares, tried to block the deal with a court injunction. SunEdison, scrambling to make the deal work as its share price crumbled, said it would cut the price paid for Vivint and reduce the asset sale to TerraForm Power. But SunEdisons share price continued to nosedive, and the company announced in its third-quarter earnings call in November 2015 that it would go back to selling assets to third parties, instead of its yieldcos. Around the same time, SunEdison quietly approached potential buyers to offload a 400-megawatt portfolio of late-stage development projects, said several sources who asked to remain anonymous. Several previously announced deals fell through as partners terminated agreements because, they said, SunEdison failed to deliver financing. In November the company said it had access to approximately $1.4 billion in cash or cash equivalents. But three senior executives at TerraForm Global who doubted the accuracy of SunEdisons financial statements had already raised their concerns with the board, according to a lawsuit filed on April 4 by TerraForm Global against SunEdison. The suit contained a more explosive allegation: that more than $231 million allocated for project development in India had been misappropriated and used instead to repay a loan. As a result, SunEdison abandoned construction of the projects, the lawsuit claims, even though TerraForm Global had paid for them. Vivint terminated its acquisition agreement with SunEdison on March 8 and is suing SunEdison for breach of contract. SunEdison contends that an internal investigation has cleared the company management of fraud or willful misconduct. It has secured a $300-million loan to continue operations and pay its employees, and it has appointed a chief restructuring officer. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> The yieldcos, which are not part of the bankruptcy, say they have plenty of liquidity. Competitors, meanwhile, are watching closely to see what valuable renewable projects get sold off as SunEdison works its way through Bankruptcy Court. The company has already started to offload assets in the United Kingdom and Latin America. Shah, the founder, says its gives him great pain to see a company that revolutionized the industry and had so much value squandered away. SunEdison overextended itself. Its a pity, he said. But the company has a track record that nobody else has done before. Olivia Feld is a freelance writer who specializes in covering the energy industry. @oliviafeld business@latimes.com MORE BUSINESS NEWS Tesla Motors expected to post wider quarterly loss amid Model X delays Pom Wonderful case not wonderful enough, Supreme Court says United Airlines pays $37 million to ex-CEO who quit amid a corruption investigation Tesla Motors Inc. is a proven standout at generating hype for cars it plans to build. But the electric-car makers current production will be the focus of Teslas first-quarter financial results, due to be announced after the stock market closes Wednesday. UPDATE: Tesla Motors posts a bigger loss, and two key executives plan to leave Advertisement The Palo Alto company is expected to post a much larger quarterly loss than it did a year earlier, in good part because of delays in building its new Model X sport utility vehicle. Tesla has said most of those problems have been fixed and Model X production has accelerated. The companys other vehicle is its mainstay Model S sedan. Both vehicles cost $70,000 or more. Teslas quarterly results will come out one month after the ballyhooed unveiling of its Model 3, a mass-market sedan thats scheduled to arrive in late 2017 with a base price of $35,000. As the unveiling approached, thousands of would-be buyers lined up outside Tesla dealerships to deposit $1,000 and reserve the four-door Model 3 even before they saw what it looked like. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said a month ago that those reservations exceeded 325,000, and he is likely to provide an updated number Wednesday. At the same time, Tesla is expected to report another quarterly loss using both standard generally accepted accounting rules and on a non-GAAP basis, which factors out costs such as employee stock-based compensation. Tesla is forecast to report an adjusted non-GAAP loss of 60 cents a share, compared with a loss of 36 cents a share a year earlier, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research Systems Inc. Teslas first-quarter sales are forecast to jump 45%, to $1.6 billion from $1.1 billion. In February, when the company last reported its quarterly results, Tesla posted an adjusted loss of 87 cents a share, much larger than analysts had expected. But analysts also see Tesla turning profitable on an adjusted basis starting in this years second quarter, according to FactSet. A key factor behind the fourth-quarter loss was delays in shipments of the Model X, which Tesla blamed on shortages of a few parts and its own hubris in adding far too much new technology to the SUV, which is known for its stylish falcon-wing doors and race-car like acceleration. The Model X problems also resulted in Teslas overall first-quarter deliveries of 14,820 vehicles (12,420 Model S cars and 2,400 Model X vehicles) falling well short of expectations. Tesla said it resolved the Model X problems and that Model X shipments improved dramatically to 750 vehicles per week by late-March, which would equal roughly 9,000 to 10,000 a quarter. As a result, Tesla said it remained on track to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 new vehicles overall this year. But analysts will be listening closely to Musk on Wednesday for reassurance about that production schedule. Efraim Levy, an analyst with S&P Global Market Intelligence, said the Model X snags are one reason Ive become less confident of their achieving objectives that theyve set out. Analyst Colin Rusch of Oppenheimer & Co. said in a note to clients Monday that investors will be looking for [second-quarter] shipment guidance to reflect some amount of acceleration to support Teslas full-year production forecast. Theyll also be listening for anything Tesla says about whether the Model 3 launch has affected orders for the Model S, Rusch wrote. The outlook is crucial to investors because Teslas volatile stock is so richly priced. When Tesla reported its 2015 results Feb. 10, its shares had slumped to $143.67. But the stock then soared more than 80% in the following weeks it reached $265.42 on April 6 amid the buzz surrounding the Model 3. The stock has since pulled back, and it closed Tuesday at $232.32, down $9.48, or 3.9%. That still gives Tesla a market valuation of nearly $32 billion. james.peltz@latimes.com Twitter: @PeltzLATimes See more of our top stories on Facebook >> MORE BUSINESS NEWS Behind the collapse of SunEdison, a solar supernova Pom Wonderful case not wonderful enough, Supreme Court says United Airlines pays $37 million to ex-CEO who quit amid a corruption investigation A choreographer known for improvisational dance, a playwright with a darkly comic streak and an artist whose work straddles social practice and installation are among the winners of the 2016 Herb Alpert Award in the Arts. The five recipients, announced Tuesday, are musician Dohee Lee, playwright Anne Washburn, artist Simone Leigh, choreographer Ishmael Houston-Jones and filmmaker Cauleen Smith, each of whom will receive a $75,000 prize as part of the honor. ------------ FOR THE RECORD Advertisement May 4, 4:46 p.m.: An earlier version of this article said that filmmaker Cauleen Smith was affiliated with UC San Diego. That is no longer the case. This fall, she will serve as a visiting professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. ------------ Since 1994, the award, a collaboration between the Herb Alpert Foundation and the California Institute of the Arts, has honored five exceptional mid-career artists on an annual basis. Last year, the winners included controversial Cuban-born artist Tania Bruguera, composer Julia Wolfe and Los Angeles visual artist Sharon Lockhart. We are proud to support their creative energy, freedom of thought and hard work, foundation President Rona Sebastian said. These unique, often unconventional artists, have proven to have powerful impact. All five recipients will be honored with a luncheon at the Herb Alpert Foundation offices in Santa Monica on Friday. For more information on the recipients and the Herb Alpert Award, go to herbalpertawards.com. Find me on Twitter @cmonstah For a significant proportion of its 174-year history, Americas oldest orchestra has been its most important. That includes such obvious years as those when Mahler and Toscanini and Bernstein and Boulez were music director. But there has never been a time when the New York Philharmonic hasnt mattered. Brahms, say, premieres his Second Symphony in Vienna in 1877 and less than a year later, the New York Philharmonic plays it in New York. That was, even back then, business as usual. Tuesday night the orchestra began a short West Coast tour at the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa with its music director, Alan Gilbert, and a program that included Brahms Second. Surprisingly, the program notes made no note of the orchestras bragging rights for the Seconds U.S. premiere. Advertisement The program which also featured the orchestras principal cellist, Carter Brey, in Schumanns Cello Concerto was a repeat of what the orchestra played at home last week, with one exception. The original program opened with the world premiere of a commissioned score, Frank Krawczyks Apres. For the tour more Brahms, the Tragic Overture, replaced little-known Krawczyk (reportedly at the insistence of one of the other tour presenters, not Costa Mesas Philharmonic Society). Sure, ticket-wise, its a tough world out there. But this is the New York Philharmonic! Since when is that not reason enough to go? There is worry in orchestra-land that the New York Philharmonic has, for the historical moment, lost its way. Now in his penultimate season as music director, Gilbert has not fully managed to instill a sense of purpose in the orchestra, although not for want of trying. He has significantly revitalized the repertory and given a meaningful prominence to new music that had been lacking in the last two music directors, Kurt Masur and Lorin Maazel. On May 23, the orchestra begins a three-week biennial, a Gilbert initiative, with a massive amount of relevant new work played all over New York City. Gilberts latest recording with the New York Philharmonic documents vivid performances of four intense orchestral pieces by its previous composer in residence, Christopher Rouse. The current composer in residence and consultant on the biennial is Esa-Pekka Salonen. Enough said. The question on many critics lips is how much of Gilberts progressive spirit will incoming music director Jaap van Zweden be able to, or even care to, sustain? From the evidence of the Brahms performances Tuesday, the New York Philharmonic remains a top-flight ensemble, strong in every section. Equally heartening is the fact that Gilbert, who had seemed too green for the job when he began in 2009 at age 42, has grown considerably as a conductor. He brought expressive muscle to both Brahms scores, emphasizing rich low string sonorities and spectacular brassiness. Despite having no business being on the program, the overture was particularly compelling. But that is not enough said. There was little about the evening that said New York Philharmonic. The ensemble may display an identifiable American brashness, but this concert was not all that different from what any number of American, European or Japanese orchestras might have produced. The Brahms-Schumann program was shockingly conventional. (It has a barely more imaginative companion program that will be played in San Diego and San Francisco, pairing the seventh symphonies of Beethoven and Sibelius.) The fearless thing to have done would have been for Gilbert to show us the New York accent he and his orchestra give Salonens LA Variations, which they performed earlier this season. Another obvious choice might have been a Rouse symphony as an excellent New York companion to Brahms. Instead we were left with German music written within a less than 30-year span in the second half of the 19th century and a disappointing Schumann concerto. Hiring Brey as principal cellist in 1996 was a coup for the orchestra. At the time he was a rising young soloist, especially eloquent in recital and chamber music. But he seemed curiously out of place as soloist in the Schumann. His careful tone and understated phrasing hardly suited the orchestra when it entered into bruising mode. Gilberts effectively forthright and often quite loud Brahms had no problem wowing its audience. And in that, Brays cello section proved a Brahmsians dream, deep amber in tone and never mushy. The horns let you know they were there, most of the time in a good way. But Gilbert also puts himself in contention with history with Brahms Second, which the orchestra has recorded many times. Fritz Reiners in 1960 and Bernsteins two years later are ones that burst with personality. On the New York Philharmonic website you can find a copy of Bernsteins annotated score, showing the way he created his luscious lilt and irresistible panache. There is no expectation that Gilbert might or need to live up to this. His perfectly satisfying Brahms is good enough for the needs of modern audiences and orchestras for a routine night at the symphony. The New York Philharmonic is not, however, an ordinary orchestra and must never, as it is doing on this humdrum tour, act like it is. mark.swed@latimes.com The next time you sit down to watch Star Wars (and, with this being May the Fourth, that could well be tonight), try this little experiment. Instead of focusing on Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and the rest of the films marquee stars, shift your attention to the movies peripheral players. All those extras dressed up as Jawas and Tusken Raiders and other alien creatures. All those Stormtroopers. All those nameless X-wing fighter pilots. Whats their story? With his documentary Elstree 1976, which opens in 25 theaters nationwide on Friday, director Jon Spira set out to put a face to some of the faceless denizens of that galaxy far, far away. Actor Angus MacInnes, who played Gold Leader a.k.a. Dutch in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, and Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) discuss the Star Wars fame hierarchy. Advertisement From the ill-fated bounty hunter Greedo (played by Paul Blake) to the Stormtrooper (played by Anthony Forrest) who was persuaded that these werent, in fact, the droids they were looking for, Spira turns the spotlight on the supporting players and extras of the Star Wars universe and explores the unexpected, and sometimes awkward, ways in which their brief involvement in George Lucas space opera has altered their lives. For most of these people, this was a moment in their lives, a job they did for a couple of days, Spira said by phone from his native England. That this thing that was seemingly insignificant to them in their younger days is the thing that everyone lauds them for and gives them endless kudos for I think that sits uncomfortably with some of them. That internal conflict is really what interested me and why I wanted to make this film. At the best-known end of the films spectrum are the actors David Prowse, who physically embodied Darth Vader but whose voice was dubbed by James Earl Jones, and Jeremy Bulloch, who played the bounty hunter Boba Fett in both The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. At the other, virtually anonymous end are the extras, such as Laurie Goode, known to fans as that one Stormtrooper who bumps his head walking through a door, and Derek Lyons, who is seen for a fleeting moment standing beside Princess Leia as she hangs a medal around Han Solos neck in the final scene of Star Wars. Spira was drawn into the world of Star Wars by happenstance a few years ago when a student in a screenwriting class he was teaching named John Chapman mentioned by chance that he had been a nameless X-wing pilot in Star Wars. Though his role had been utterly minuscule and he had never acted in anything of note afterward, Chapman told Spira he had, nevertheless, attended numerous Star Wars conventions over the years, signing autographs for die-hard fans, something about which he felt a great deal of ambivalence. I went out to Johns car, and he had all these cardboard boxes full of stacks of 8-by-10 glossy photos of him, Spira recalled. I went home that night and stuck Star Wars on, and I realized that all you could see was the back of his head, and for two frames you can kind of see the side of his face. I just thought that was fascinating. As revealed in Elstree 1976" (named for the production studio outside London where much of Star Wars was filmed), even among the less well-known figures in the films, there are subtle hierarchies at play. Extras and supporting players of varying degrees of recognizability in the universe jockey with one another for fans attention and cash on the convention circuit. For an actor like Angus MacInnes, who played the X-wing fighter known as Gold Leader, finding himself spurned by autograph-seekers in favor of an actor like Bulloch, whose face was never shown on screen, can sting. For his part, Bulloch, 71, initially felt reluctant to participate in Spiras film and be placed on the same level as extras. After all, his fearsome bounty-hunter character is a longtime fan favorite a Boba Fett spinoff film is rumored to be in the works and he himself has had a distinguished acting career dating to the late 1950s. I was against it, straightaway, he said. Having acted for 50 years, you start getting proud about the work youve done in theater 30 different plays. But then I thought, Well, these people are going to show that this amazing thing happened to them, that they were a part of Star Wars. 'That part of it is terrific. Spira funded the film through Kickstarter and never approached Lucasfilm at any point for its input. This isnt a film about Star Wars, he said. Its a film about these people and Lucasfilm doesnt own these people. He admits that he isnt sure how the universe of Star Wars fandom will receive Elstree 1976, which approaches the beloved franchise from a far different angle than the typical adoring making-of documentary. Star Wars meant a huge amount to me growing up, but I didnt come to this film as a fan at all, he said. Part of what were struggling with at the moment is people misunderstanding it and I think some people being disappointed because they think its going to be a fan film and it ends up being this bizarre, melancholy, bittersweet look at peoples lives. Indeed, the film doesnt shy away from some less-than-rosy aspects of life as a relative small-timer in the world of Star Wars. Actor Garrick Hagon admits his wounded feelings at seeing nearly his entire performance as Luke Skywalkers close friend Biggs Darklighter left on the cutting room floor. And Prowse speaks of being persona non grata at official Star Wars events such as Star Wars Celebration. (Ask Mr. Lucas, he says. Ive obviously upset him at some stage or another.) Blake bemusedly reflects on the fact that a single turn in a rubber alien mask nearly 40 years ago has somehow overshadowed the entire rest of his acting career: Im a serious actor. Ive played Macbeth. And on my tombstone, it will say, Here Lies Greedo! That said, all those interviewed express their love and respect for the Star Wars franchise that has had such an enduring impact on their lives. Were all very lucky, Bulloch said. My youngest granddaughter was watching Star Wars and she said, Can I watch the bit with you in it? Im like, Well, I wasnt in it much ... there, thats me. She said, Well, now youve gone you went in a ship somewhere! He laughed. Its lovely to get that kind of reaction from the grandchildren. josh.rottenberg@latimes.com ALSO: Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens reveals what happened before Episode VII Oscar Isaac on Star Wars: Episode VIII: It feels like were making an independent film Original Star Wars trilogy will be rereleased in theaters in a rare movie roadshow In his final weeks, Prince hid signs of trouble from his fans, stonewalling reports of an overdose that required an emergency plane landing and making a brief public appearance to reassure them. But privately, the superstar was in crisis, seeking help from a prominent addiction expert that ultimately came too late. The day before he died, Princes representatives reached out to a prominent California doctor who specializes in treating addiction and set up an initial meeting between the two, the doctors Minneapolis attorney, William Mauzy, said Wednesday. He said the doctor, Howard Kornfeld, couldnt leave right away so he sent his son, Andrew, who flew out that night. It was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911 the next morning after he and two staffers found Prince unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park studio complex, the lawyer said. Prince was declared dead shortly thereafter on April 21. He was 57. Advertisement The details about Princes death that emerged Wednesday raise questions about whether he received appropriate care and whether those who sought to provide it could face legal consequences for their actions. Although autopsy results havent been released, Mauzys revelations, which were first reported by the Star Tribune, buttress reports that Prince had been fighting and ultimately lost a battle with prescription painkillers. Mauzy confirmed that Andrew Kornfeld, whom he also is representing, flew to Minnesota on behalf of his father in the hopes of connecting Prince with a local physician the morning he was found dead. He said Dr. Kornfeld hoped to get Prince stabilized in Minnesota and convince him to come to Recovery Without Walls in Mill Valley. That was the plan, referring to Howard Kornfelds California treatment center. SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter >> Mauzy said Andrew Kornfeld was carrying a small amount of buprenorphine, which Howard Kornfeld says on his website is a treatment option for patients with addiction issues that offers pain relief with less possibility of overdose and addiction. But he said Andrew Kornfeld never intended to give the medication to Prince, and instead planned to give it to the Minnesota doctor who was scheduled to see the musician. Mauzy said Andrew Kornfeld was taken into custody and interviewed and told it was a criminal investigation. When asked by reporters about the legality of his carrying buprenorphine, Mauzy declined to answer. But he said he believes Minnesota law would protect Andrew Kornfeld from any potential charges related to Princes death. He said Kornfeld was released the same day and returned to San Francisco. Under the law, a person who seeks medical assistance for someone who is overdosing on drugs may not be prosecuted for possessing or sharing controlled substances, under certain circumstances. Andrew Kornfeld is listed on his fathers centers website as a consultant, and Mauzy said it wasnt uncommon for Howard Kornfeld to send Andrew on his behalf. He said Andrew Kornfeld is a pre-med student and that convincing people to seek treatment at the center is something he has done for years. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. attorneys office are joining local officials in investigating Princes death, the U.S. attorneys office said Wednesday in a written statement. A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation has told the Associated Press that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to talk about the investigation. The same official also said investigators are looking at whether Prince had suffered an overdose when his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Ill., less than a week before he died. Mauzy said Princes representatives told Howard Kornfeld that the singer was dealing with a grave medical emergency. He declined Wednesday to detail the emergency, and also declined to identify the Minnesota doctor who was supposed to see Prince on April 21. Stuart Gitlow, an addiction medicine expert speaking without direct knowledge of Princes case, questioned whether Howard Kornfeld and his son acted appropriately. If a physician feels that a patient is having an emergency, his obligation is to call an ambulance and get the patient to emergency personnel who can assess the situation not to fly to the patient, Gitlow said. Its not routine for doctors to fly across the country to start people on buprenorphine, said Gitlow, a former president of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and a faculty member of the University of Florida. Thats something that can be handled locally. Authorities havent released a cause of death. An autopsy was done the day after Princes death, but its findings, including the toxicology results, werent expected for as many as four weeks. Prince had a reputation for clean living, and some friends said they never saw any sign of drug use. But longtime friend and collaborator Sheila E. has told the Associated Press that Prince had physical issues from performing, citing hip and knee problems that she said came from years of jumping off risers and stage speakers in heels. MORE: 911 call reveals concern that Prince was using drugs in 2011 9 hits that had the Prince touch -- but werent done by Prince Investigators look at overdose in Prince death Princes estate to be temporarily managed by trust company Inside Paisley Park: Purple everything and lengthy talks with Prince No less than his ravishing 2009 melodrama I Am Love, Luca Guadagninos A Bigger Splash is a swooning cinematic appeal to the senses two hours of al fresco lovemaking, gorgeous scenery and simmering erotic warfare. Which is not to suggest that the movie short-circuits rational thought or inquiry; on the contrary, its teasing, sun-drenched surfaces are likely to prompt a series of questions. When was the last time you sampled a freshly made ricotta? Whats the going rate for a villa rental in Pantelleria? When exactly did Ralph Fiennes become one of the greatest actors working today? Those inclined to measure a movie stars worth in Oscar nominations might point to Fiennes mid-'90s breakthrough with Schindlers List and The English Patient. But if a truer measure of an actors greatness is the ability to surprise over the long haul, Id set the date about a decade later, around the time he quietly walked away with the Keira Knightley vehicle The Duchess, and well into his galvanizing five-film run as Lord Voldemort. By the time he stepped into The Grand Budapest Hotel, brilliantly skewering and deepening his own costume-drama repertoire, it was clear that he was just beginning to explore the full measure of his protean gift. That gift is on glorious, supremely uninhibited display in A Bigger Splash, a moody Mediterranean-noir cocktail that would be worth imbibing if for no other reason than to witness Fiennes show of pure, untrammeled id. Whether strutting about in the nude with a magnificent lack of embarrassment, seducing a crowd with a karaoke cover of Deep Fishs Direction NYC, or cheerfully antagonizing everyone in sight, he is an impudent, insistent life force in a movie that slowly and meticulously charts a course for death. Advertisement That grim outcome wont surprise anyone who has seen Jacques Derays 1969 film La Piscine, whose tale of a romantic quadrangle on the French Riviera (starring Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet and Jane Birkin) furnishes the movie with a loose narrative template. The title of A Bigger Splash, though inspired by a 1967 David Hockney painting, might just as well describe Guadagninos desire to one-up his source material. Availing himself of a starry cast featuring Tilda Swinton, Matthias Schoenaerts and Dakota Johnson, and sampling a range of cinematic influences that includes Michelangelo Antonioni, Claude Chabrol and early Roman Polanski, this Italian auteur has made one messy but satisfying cannonball plunge into the Hollywood deep end. In a nod to her oft-noted resemblance to David Bowie, Swinton plays a world-famous rock star, Marianne Lane, who is recuperating on the Sicilian island of Pantelleria after a recent throat operation. Shes under strict orders not to use her voice, which is just fine for her and her documentary-filmmaker boyfriend, Paul (Schoenaerts), a sensitive hunk who easily matches Mariannes reticence. Silence is golden and life is bliss, at least until a snake appears in this private Eden first literally, and then in the form of an old friend named Harry (Fiennes). Overstaying his welcome the moment he arrives, Harry is a record producer and Mariannes ex-lover; as it turns out, hes also the guy who introduced her to his friend Paul. The affection that once united the three of them still flickers in the present, though too weakly to dispel the clouds of lust, jealousy and thinly veiled hostility that begin to gather. Making matters worse and further complicating the sexual geometry, Harry has brought along Penelope (Johnson), the sultry-sullen young daughter hes only just met for the first time. The fact that people keep mistaking her for his girlfriend delights him no end, and is clearly meant to keep us similarly guessing. The trappings of musical stardom as seen in brief flashbacks to Mariannes concerts and recording sessions, and heard intermittently on the soundtrack do more than isolate the characters in a cocoon of luxury. As they lounge around poolside or make occasional visits to a nearby village, their every word and gesture seems to reflect an entire history of drunken nights, sexual conquests, paralyzing addictions and unspoken tragedies, all of which make Marianne and Pauls contentment seem all the more hard-won. Harry, operating with a take-no-prisoners abrasiveness that is inseparable from his charm, has every intention of disrupting the lovers idyll. When he lip-syncs to the Rolling Stones Emotional Rescue (Is there nothing I can say, nothing I can do to change your mind?), his entire body vibrating with ecstasy, there can be no mistaking what he means. Penelope, whose hobbies include disrobing, diving and oozing a general air of femme-fatale menace, is quieter but no less threatening. Almost unrecognizable as the shy virginal heroine of Fifty Shades of Grey, Johnson seems to carry the older characters grudges and resentments in a dangerously concentrated form. Schoenaerts, no stranger to playing bruised, brooding slabs in films such as Rust and Bone and Bullhead, makes an equally compelling screen presence here, matching Fiennes libidinous excess with his own sexy restraint. And Swinton, even when robbed of one of an actors most expressive tools, somehow turns that deprivation to her advantage: Her hoarse, watchful silence sets her apart in more ways than one, and Marianne becomes both an object of desire and a figure of unexpected depth and compassion. Swinton was also the radiant center of Guadagninos I Am Love, in which she played a woman slowly awakening to her deepest longings and shedding the pretenses of her rigid upper-class existence. A Bigger Splash, which approaches the pursuit of pleasure from a more jaundiced angle, doesnt have that earlier films neo-Viscontian sweep or its delirious formal ecstasy. (It does, however, reveal a similar distrust for swimming pools.) Yorick Le Sauxs camera is duly magnetized by the lovely faces and bodies that cross its path, but Guadagninos visual construction feels more prosaic this time, in thrall to a busy narrative machinery that occasionally creaks as it pushes the characters toward their respective fates. The final act, though anticlimactic in its tying up of loose ends, also delivers an unexpected shift in perspective, possibly forcing a reassessment of who the real victims of the story might be. Does A Bigger Splash end with a cathartic affirmation of its characters happiness, or a cynical indictment of their privilege? Guadagnino isnt telling. But hes made the rare movie that, for all its delight in its own beautiful surface, turns out to be altogether less shallow than it appears. justin.chang@latimes.com ------------ A Bigger Splash MPAA rating: R for graphic nudity, some strong sexual content, language and brief drug use Running time: 2 hours, 4 minutes Now playing: In limited release A fast-moving wildfire forced tens of thousands of residents to flee the Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray on Tuesday as flames threatened to destroy the city. Roads were jammed with people as officials ordered the evacuation of the entire population, which has grown rapidly in recent years and is estimated at nearly 80,000. The isolated city, about 400 miles north of Calgary, sits near some of Canada's largest tar sand oil operations. Officials are calling it the largest wildfire evacuation in Alberta province's history. Photos from residents and local media showed flames igniting the hills around the city, and Alberta emergency officials said an unknown number of buildings had been destroyed. https://twitter.com/jstuffcocrimlaw/status/727626031318753280 https://twitter.com/TerryReithCBC/status/727631638385975297 https://twitter.com/RMWoodBuffalo/status/727633673189793792 https://twitter.com/CullenBird/status/727632450617122817 https://twitter.com/ReidFiest/status/727614038872449025 No casualties have been reported. About 100 firefighters were ordered to pull back Tuesday afternoon as temperatures rose too high to safely fight the fire. Officials said they were worried that fire conditions could worsen Wednesday. "Our focus is completely and entirely right now on ensuring the safety of people, of getting them out of the city and ensuring they are safe and secure," Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Tuesday afternoon in a televised news conference. "All Abertans are watching this; all Albertans are with the people of Fort McMurray," Notley said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted his sympathies. https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/727626433443594241 "Please please please stay calm and share the road," Fort McMurray Mayor Melissa Blake tweeted after the city was ordered evacuated. Fort McMurray is located along the Athabasca River in northeastern Alberta, which is the heart of Canada's tar sand country and a large source of American oil. The town had rapidly grown in recent years to support oil workers. The fire began Sunday afternoon but changed direction late Monday evening. Officials said trees and brush in the area were dry -- a bad combination along with low humidity and temperatures nearing 90 degrees. It was not immediately clear whether the fire was threatening any oil operations in the region. https://twitter.com/NovaCanuck/status/727629942385606656 https://twitter.com/JSJamato/status/727606795309457408 ALSO Navy SEAL killed in combat in Iraq, U.S. officials say You can buy Cognac at North Korea's airport, but a SIM card? Not so much. 100 million Brazilians lose WhatsApp after a judge orders a 72-hour shutdown How many North Koreans does it take to sell a SIM card? It sounds like a bad joke, but the answer Tuesday afternoon at the Pyongyang airport seemed to be four, or maybe five. A dozen or so foreign journalists were queued at a window marked Currency, having landed on a flight from Beijing about 3:30 p.m. Kim Jong Uns government has invited 130 overseas reporters to the North Korean capital this week for the biggest political gathering the country has seen in 36 years: a Korean Workers Party Congress. https://twitter.com/JulieMakLAT/status/727511790867853313 Since my last visit in 2008 when I traveled to North Korea as a tourist the capital appears to be better off financially, with much more capitalist-style amenities than before. Traffic is much heavier, though any L.A. driver would still describe the roads as blissfully empty. Taxis ply the streets. Dozens of snack stands line main streets in the city center. And the new Pyongyang airport, opened by Kim last summer with great fanfare, offers services previously unavailable to air passengers arriving in the city. Sanctions notwithstanding, theres not one but two duty-free shops, offering a fairly wide selection of Cognacs, whiskeys and vodka including brand names like Courvoisier, Chivas Regal and Hennessy (a liter of VSOP was going for about $140 at the official exchange rate). Smokers can select from cartons of Swiss-made Chesterfields and other brands, including Marlboros and Phillip Morris. The duty free shop at the international airport in Pyongyong, North Korea (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) (Test) Fortunately, the duty-free shops are located before passengers clear customs, where the intensive screening process might drive one to toss back a shot or three. It took dozens of customs workers in blue-and-brown military-style uniforms more than two hours to process the 40 or so foreign reporters who arrived from Beijing carrying all manner of electronic devices equipment that Kims government still deems an existential threat. Portable Wi-Fi routers, GPS devices and satellite phones are a definite no-no; they had to be handed over to authorities, with a promise that theyd be returned when we depart the country. Cellphones were inventoried, along with laptops, cameras, external hard drives, English-to-Korean tourist phrase books, iPads, Kindles and portable battery banks. I typically carry two portable battery chargers, including one whimsical one in the shape of a blue-and-yellow Minion from the Universal Pictures cartoon films. The item stumped the inspectors. See the most-read stories this hour >> What is this? a tall, burly supervisor asked me, trying to screw off the Minions lone protruding eyeball which is not removable. I had to plug my phone into the battery to demonstrate to him that it was not something capable of bringing down a government though Gru, the supervillain of Despicable Me, might beg to disagree. After clearing my Minion, the agents demanded to look at my Kindle. They apparently were not happy with some of my recent downloads, including 2012 Complete Guide to North Korea published by the CIA. One male agent expertly navigated through the pages, swiping through the history and statistics sections, while a female agent translated some lines for him. After about five minutes, he declared that I had illegal materials on the device and would have to deposit the item with him until I returned to the airport for my departing flight. Although I was impressed to some degree with the agents familiarity with foreign electronic gadgetry, the concept of the cloud may still be a bit murky in North Korea. It seemingly did not occur to my inquisitors that once I arrived at the hotel media center and could connect to the Internet, I could easily and merrily re-download my forbidden 600-page CIA tome to my laptop from Amazons website if I so chose. Or maybe they just wanted to make a point. And so I quickly agreed and moved on to the next task: procuring a SIM card to have some connection to the outside world over the next 10 daysas our minders schlep us around the capital by bus, working double time to keep our eyes focused on what they want us to see. Apparently North Koreans havent figured out what all parents know: that if were all glued to our devices, we wont have much time to look out the window, let alone complain or ask pesky questions like, why isnt that giant, pyramid-shaped Ryugyong hotel in downtown Pyongyang complete yet, nearly three decades after construction began? Many North Koreans have cellphones these days, but they are intended to work only within North Korea and dont connect to the global Internet. A limited apparently very limited number of SIM cards that connect to the real Internet are available for foreigners willing to part with substantial sums: $200 for a card and then $200 for a few hundred megabytes of data. See more of our top stories on Facebook >> Off I went to be gouged for a SIM card. About 10 journalists were already ahead of me. Five minutes turned into 10, then 15, then 20. We amused ourselves by discussing the apparently brand-new, but out-of-service, Ryugong Commercial Bank ATM such machines are still a rare sight anywhere in the country. I looked over the offerings at the two snack stands, the coffee shop and the closed gift shop. We took note of a small notice posted behind the currency clerks window: All the users of the DPRK Internet system cannot access to the anti-republic false propaganda websites. Sex and Adult websites.For example, access to South Korean Websites including South Korean Newspaper websites ... such as chosun.com, donga.com, kbs.co.kr, and anti-republic false propaganda websites such as rfa.org, voanews.com, Adult websites, Gambling websites and websites being used for distribution of malwares is blocked. In addition, access to Social Network Service such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter is blocked for a certain period of time. A sign at the airport in Pyongyong, North Korea (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) (Test) Surely North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who was educated in Switzerland, knows that most of the foreign media here to chronicle his big coming-out party plan to cover the event in large measure via such networks. But hey, Kims got some face to maintain, so whats a little firewall-leaping VPN software between friends? The SIM card line wasnt budging. Two women and two men huddled behind the counter, staring at phones and paperwork. One of the women occasionally spoke into a Bluetooth headset on her right ear. A fifth man walked back and forth from the clerks room to a side office. As the clock ticked past 6:20 p.m., a Bloomberg correspondent near the window said, Theyre down to the last one! At first, I thought it was a typical reporters prank. Good one! I said. But it was true: sold out. Perhaps 20 people had gotten cards, if that. The SIM card counter, Pyongyong airport, North Korea (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) (Test) From counterfeiting to narcotics-making and coal-mining, North Korea works hard for its foreign cash. So I was a bit surprised that given such an easy opportunity to earn scarce greenbacks, Euros and Chinese renminbi, the North Korean machine had fallen down on the job. After all, Kim has been inviting foreign journalists to North Korea with some regularity, including scores for Octobers massive military parade, and other events like missile tests or when he wants to parade a foreign detainee in front of TV cameras. Im a bit surprised, I said to my government-assigned minder-interpreter. Officials clearly knew how many of us were coming and surely expected all of us would want SIM cards. It is likely to be one of the many slightly awkward exchanges we have over the course of the week: I will ask about something that doesnt quite add up, and she armed with no real information will do her best to try to say something that sounds like an explanation but isnt. https://twitter.com/JulieMakLAT/status/727388497057820672 Maybe they knew how many passengers, but not how many foreigners or foreign journalists, she said, though somehow they dispatched precisely the right number of minders and buses. Maybe you can buy one tomorrow at the hotel, she said. Lets go to the bus. Follow @JulieMakLAT for news from Asia MORE ON NORTH KOREA A North Korean farm may not be what it appears At a North Korean nursery school, tots get an early education in weaponry North Korean capital in throes of '70-Day Speed Battle' to prepare for political confab The 2016 Met Gala was filled with plenty of armor-like, heavy metallic creations worn by Taylor Swift, Alicia Vikander, Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian West, Jourdan Dunn, Cindy Crawford, Ciara and Julie Macklowe as well as a few actual high-tech designer creations such as Zac Posens illuminating high-tech gown worn by Claire Danes. All of these fashion looks were occasion appropriate (with a few misses) considering this years gala theme, Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology, which brought fashion-forward, almost robot-like embellishments to Mondays red carpet in New York. However, wearing a gown with sparkle wasnt the only way to make a bold statement. Beauty trends on the red carpet had an equally standout moment thanks to the use of silver and shimmer. See Ciaras silver hair and Rita Oras chignon with mirrored appliques. Advertisement And speaking of added shimmer, Dunn and Hailey Baldwin used high-wattage cheek highlighter for their Met Gala looks. If you can get your hands on the fast-selling Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish 003 ($72, patmcgrath.com), you can achieve similar red carpet glamour for special occasions. Hailey Baldwin arrives at the Met Gala on Monday in New York. (Charles Sykes / Invision / Associated Press ) Silver eye shadow Take a Met Gala lesson from Jessica Hart, Rita Ora, Elle Fanning, Lara Stone, Olivia Wilde and Kristen Stewart all of whom had silver sparkle around their eyes, and opt for eye drama with silver eye shadow. To get started, dab the inner corner of your eye or your eyelid with a silver eye shadow using products such as MAC Eye Shadows in Silver Ring or Knight Divine ($16 each, maccosmetics.com); NYX Cosmetics Baked Shadow in Silver Haze ($6, nyxcosmetics.com); or Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Glitter in Mirrorball ($15, occmakeup.com). Silver nail art If having professionally colored silver hair is too much for you, then go with a touch of silver via your silver nail art, and follow the Met Gala nail looks of Kate Hudson or Selena Gomez. Hudsons manicurist, Alicia Torello, said she used OPI Infinite Shine in the color Were in the Black, OPI Infinite Shine in Silver on Ice and OPI Nail Lacquer in Samoan Sand to help create Hudsons nail look (Infinite Shine, $12.50 each and Nail Lacquer, $10 each, ulta.com). Metallic nail polish is a growing trend that I incorporated into her look for the Met Gala theme Fashion in an Age of Technology, Torello said Tuesday. "[Kate Hudson] is terrific. If youre looking for a do-it-yourself beauty project, here are the step-by-step instructions on how to achieve a nail look similar to Hudsons: Step 1: Prime the nails with one coat of OPI Infinite Shine Base Coat. Step 2: Then coat the nail in OPI Infinite Shine in Samoan Sand, and at the base of nail, make a moon shape with Infinite Shine in Were In The Black. Then leave negative space and create a deeper moon shape in black toward the tip of the nail. Step 3: Using OPIs Silver on Ice, create the shape of the moon at the base of the nail with a striping brush and trace the silver color along the outside of the moon. Step 4: At the tip of the nail, follow the same deep moon shape and trace the silver along the outside edges of the tip. Step 5: Finish the look with one coat of OPI Infinite Shine Gloss Top Coat. image@latimes.com Bob Hope Airport officials voted 8 to 1 on Monday to change the airfields branding name to Hollywood Burbank Airport in an effort to increase recognition with passengers outside of Southern California, especially those east of the Colorado Rockies. The airfield has been named after the famous comedian since 2003. Bob Hope isnt doing it, Commissioner Don Brown said. The name of the airport Bob Hope is just not. Weve been told by our travel agencies here and been told by the airlines that weve got to do something, and the name Bob Hope just doesnt identify with this airport. Advertisement Although the airfield will take on a new branding name, its legal name will remain Bob Hope Airport. See the most-read stories this hour >> The authority contracted with South Pasadena-based branding firm Anyone Collective to come up with the name and to implement the marketing of the airfields new identity to the masses. Were happy the commission made a decision to move forward, and were happy to get ready to rebrand and market this airport, said Michael Fiore, co-founder of Anyone Collective. Step One is brand development and logo identity. Weve already done a lot of work on how were going to create awareness for the airport. Well work diligently to make a difference. Authority commissioners agreed that the airport needed a geographical identifier to attract more passengers to fly into the local airfield instead other airports in Southern California. However, Commissioner Steve Madison did not agree with adding Hollywood to the branding name because he said passengers would not know where Hollywood is and that having Los Angeles in the name would attract the most number of passengers. The problem this is all trying to solve is that many people in the country and beyond dont know that Burbank is so [close] to L.A., he said. If we want to cure that, adding a name like Hollywood is just going to be more confusing. I think we have to bite the bullet and use Los Angeles and Burbank to get people to see how close we are [to each other]. Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >> Many Burbank residents, including Brown, have said that they do not want to see Los Angeles in the airports name. Los Angeles does not belong in Burbank, Brown said, adding that his experience working with L.A. officials has been less than satisfactory. Ive been here too long to all of a sudden put the name Los Angeles with Burbank, Brown said. We have our own water and power, and we dont have to rely on Los Angeles for that. We have our own airport and we dont have to rely on Los Angeles for that. I dont think we need Los Angeles. Brown added that he understands that the name Los Angeles draws people to the region, but the Los Angeles name doesnt have to be branded all over Southern California to find out a location. Anthony Clark Carpio writes for Times Community News. ALSO Biker who hopped farm fences, popped wheelies on 101 will not be cited, CHP says Four arrested in killing of father, two sons in South Sacramento Bill Clinton to deliver Loyola Marymount commencement speech The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to allow construction of a long-stalled Target shopping center in Hollywood to resume, nearly two years after a judge ordered work halted at the site. On a 13-0 vote, the council revised the planning and zoning rules that govern the Sunset Boulevard site, ensuring that Targets 74-foot-tall retail center would be permitted on the property. Superior Court Judge Richard L. Fruin Jr. struck down the councils approval of the project in 2014, leaving the three-story structure an empty and partly finished husk. In his decision, Fruin said the council had failed to show Target would suffer an unnecessary hardship if it was forced to comply with the citys height rules, which limited shopping centers to no more than 35 feet at that location. Advertisement Councilman Mitch OFarrell, who represents part of Hollywood, welcomed Wednesdays vote, saying construction should resume within weeks. But foes of the project, who have been challenging the development since 2008, said they will file another lawsuit this time arguing that an environmental impact report should have been prepared on the changes to city planning rules. Its just going to go back to court, said Hollywood resident Doug Haines, who belongs to the La Mirada Avenue Neighborhood Assn., the entity that sued over the Target project. Rather than change the project to comply with the judges orders, he added, they just decided to change the law. See the most-read stories this hour >> OFarrell said the city has lost out on much-needed tax revenues as a result of the long-running Target fight. After the vote, he voiced confidence that the latest council decision will withstand another challenge. This process underwent such scrutiny that Im sure we will be on firm legal ground next time around, he said. The saga has upset business leaders and a number of residents, who say the shopping center has widespread support. Everyone who lives in the community needs this Target and wants it, said Hollywood businessman Brian Folb, appearing before council members earlier this week. And its just a shame that these technicalities had to keep this important amenity for the community from the residents. Targets partly finished shopping center has served as a glaring reminder of the citys struggle to ensure that its development decisions can withstand court challenges. Last year, city officials ordered a 22-story apartment building to be vacated after a judge struck down the councils approval of the project. A judge also invalidated the citys approval of the Millennium skyscraper project, saying the city had failed to properly assess the projects effects on nearby neighborhoods. Both are in Hollywood. In recent weeks, Target also had become enmeshed in a debate over a city requirement that a child care facility be included as part of the project. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Critics said the facility should be located at the Target site. OFarrell said Target will pay a fee to pay for child care services near its store. The exact amount will be determined by the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners, he said. Target officials said the project will provide the area with 250 full- and part-time permanent jobs. The councils decision should allow the project to be finished sometime next year, said John Dewes, the companys regional development manager. We look forward to resuming construction and opening the store, he said. Follow @DavidZahniser for whats happening at Los Angeles City Hall. ALSO Man takes selfie, then steals iPhone at Huntington Beach AT&T store, police say Police shooting in Hollywood leaves LAPD on tactical alert while suspect is sought Cooler temperatures and possible thunderstorms sweeping across Southern California this week A Long Beach teenager was shot and killed Tuesday night in what police say may have been a gang-related attack. The victim, identified only as a 16-year-old male, suffered a gunshot wound to the torso around 6:50 p.m. in the 3300 block of East 65th Street near Ramona Park, Long Beach Police said in a news release. The teen died at the scene. MORE: Get our best stories in your Facebook feed >> Advertisement He may have been involved in a physical altercation with the shooter or shooters earlier in the night, according to the release. Police said the suspect or suspects left the area, then returned and shot the boy. The shooting is being investigated as possibly gang related, police said in a statement. Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in Southern California. ALSO San Andreas fault locked, loaded and ready to roll with big earthquake, expert says UCLA wide receiver Ishmael Adams gets probation in plea deal over attack on Uber driver Man takes selfie, then steals iPhone at Huntington Beach AT&T store, police say Officials investigating a car crash that occurred about a block from Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center on Tuesday morning discovered a mysterious scene: a man stabbed behind the wheel. The crash was reported about 11:15 a.m. at Valley Boulevard and Soto Street, LAPD officials said. A black Honda sedan smashed into a tree, uprooting it, then came to a stop, KABC reported. LAPD traffic investigators found the driver fatally stabbed, authorities said. Advertisement Paramedics rushed the man to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police provided no further information about the circumstances of the death. For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna. Seven women are suing Urth Caffe in Laguna Beach for discrimination, alleging they were targeted last month for being visibly Muslim while wearing head scarves and ordered to leave the restaurant before they finished eating. The April 22 ouster left us shaken, disrespected and shocked, said Soondus Ahmed, a software engineer. Ahmed said her group was ushered out by two police officers after a manager said they had violated the eaterys policy allowing just a 45-minute stay during peak times. We committed no crime, and it felt surreal that we were escorted out. Another plaintiff, Sara Farsakh, said the manager came up to us and said it was rush hour, but around us, there were at least 20 empty tables. Farsakh, a college student, said she had gone to the cafe once before with her husband without a problem. Advertisement All the plaintiffs live in Orange County or were born there. Six of the seven regularly wear a head scarf or hijab as an expression of their religion, said Mohammad Tajsar, their attorney. He cited a pattern of neighborhood hate crimes against Muslims, including egg-throwing, tire slashings and racial taunts during March and April this year, even though the restaurant is popular with the large Muslim American population in Orange County as well as tourists and students visiting from the Middle East. These women were singled out and targeted because Urth Caffe chose not to make this location a welcome space, he said. His clients seek to end alleged discriminatory practices and to hold those responsible accountable, so these incidents do not happen again. They are also seeking compensation for loss of dignity. Restaurant managers on Tuesday declined to comment, and calls to Urth Caffe headquarters in Los Angeles did not receive a response. Muslims women from the Los Angeles area share what its like to wear hijabs. Laguna Beach police officers who arrived at the scene that evening did see empty tables, but there was no survey done of how many people were in the restaurant, department spokesman Jason Kravetz said. The manager called police complaining that the women did not respond to requests to leave. Accompanied by the officers, they very respectfully left, having paid their bill, Kravetz said. According to the lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court, the women had gathered on a Friday night to meet old and new friends over pizza, pecan pie and coffee when a manager interrupted them about 8 p.m. to ask if they were waiting for more orders. The same manager returned before 8:15 p.m., saying he expected a busy evening and needed to clear tables of patrons who had been seated for longer than 45 minutes, according to the lawsuit. I felt so embarrassed because we were just talking among ourselves, not doing any harm, yet he demanded that we leave, Farsakh recalled. Other customers expressed support for her group, but management wouldnt budge, she said. I am doing this for Muslim American women who did not have courage or means to speak up when this happens to them, Ahmed added. Local residents said they were surprised at allegations of discrimination in their town. Goff Stepian, a surfing instructor who has called Laguna Beach home for more than 30 years, said: Im bitter and sorry that happened to them. Everybody wants the right to express their culture. Courtney Burleigh, lunching with her parents, said she and her family meet at Urth Caffe weekly. Were just an open community, Burleigh said. I hope this doesnt reflect badly of the place that we all love. Carol Duquesnel, her mother, said she has dined at the cafe so many times when there are people wearing burkas and no one gives them another look. We are welcoming. anh.do@latimes.com Twitter: @newsterrier ALSO Help wanted: Volunteers needed to gather L.A. coyotes scat Bob Hope Airport will be branded Hollywood Burbank Airport Biker who hopped farm fences, popped wheelies on 101 will not be cited, CHP says The radio as I drive is tuned to KUSC, so I can enter his world even before I arrive. The music of the masters softens Los Angeles, bringing order to chaos. Lampposts are treble clefs; birds sit on power lines like the notes of an unfinished symphony. I park on 17th Street in Santa Monica and push through the lobby of the assisted living center. I stroll the length of a long hall. Advertisement The last door on the left bears a gold nameplate. Maestro. I knock, and the maestro is in. It is a pleasure to meet you, he says. The pleasure is mine. Alvin Mills is 94. Two conductors batons rest on the tray of his walker, within arms reach. He might drop or misplace one you never know and its good to have a backup. Mills has a round, kind face, with patient eyes. Teach music to public school children for 30 years, and patience finds a way into your being. That job, performed primarily in Glendale schools, was not Mills only contribution to the world of music in Los Angeles. The other began the year Dwight Eisenhower took up residence in the White House. Mills wanted to start a community orchestra. He and a musician friend, Robert Turner, settled on the Westside. And so began the Brentwood Symphony Orchestra, which soon became the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony Orchestra. The United States has had 10 presidents since 1953. The orchestra has had but one conductor in its entire 63-year existence. May 15 will be that conductors final concert. Ill be very sorry its over, Maestro Mills tells me. Its as simple as that. Health is an issue now for the man who had three wives and has five children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He has conducted from a sitting position in recent years, and hes shared more duties with associate conductor Diego Miralles, to whom he will pass the baton. Music was a matter of destiny for Mills, who grew up west of downtown L.A. with a father who was a drummer and a mother who was a pianist. He played a pretty good violin, but at 13, he attended his first concert at the old Philharmonic Auditorium on Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles and it wasnt a violinist who caught his eye. It was Pierre Monteux, the conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. A new idea became open to me, Mills says, eyes shining, as if it were last week. I didnt realize somebody could stand up there with a hundred musicians and do such marvelous things. Mills went home and dashed off a letter to Monteux, who promptly replied on Hollywood Hotel letterhead. The typewritten note was dated Dec. 11, 1935. I am sure, loving music like you do, that you will be a very good conductor one day, wrote Monteux. Mills studied music at USC, and as a violinist, he played with Leopold Stokowski and the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra. But he set down his violin when he got a chance to study conducting with the man who had been his inspiration. Under Monteux, he learned how to draw out the warmth of his musicians, to unite them in a shared mission, and to use humor when things did not go well. Mills occasionally wondered in later years what it might have been like to conduct a major orchestra. But he found joy in working on a smaller stage public school auditoriums, usually shaping an orchestra made up of local talent. That might be your son or daughter in the orchestra, or your mother or father. And theres the fact that its the community orchestra. It belongs to the people, Mills says. Concerts staged by the nonprofit, which relies on donations, have always been free, and over the years, Mills brought his orchestra to audiences on the Westside and beyond. He also held an annual youth competition, with winning musicians landing scholarships and seats in the BWSO orchestra alongside adult professionals. Hes been a father-type person to me, says flautist David Shostac, 74, who first performed in Mills orchestra at 13 and is now about to retire from the L.A. Chamber Orchestra. In 1992, Shostac and other musicians came to Mills defense during a coup attempt. The musicians marched outside the home of an orchestra board member who thought it was time to dump the aging founder and bring in fresh leadership. The reason I play with the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony is out of love and respect for Alvin, Shostac told a Times reporter back then. Mills and his loyal supporters prevailed, several board members resigned, and the band played on. Not that its easy to keep a community orchestra alive. Janise White, director of the Afro-American Chamber Music Society, tells me each month is a challenge, even after 28 years of commitment. And I know of youth orchestras that struggle to survive. I feel that in the world today, classical music is dying unless people fight for it, says Bob Engelman, the current BWSO board chair. His father served in the same role for decades and helped Mills keep the nonprofit alive. Mills, he says, has been loved by his musicians and audiences. Hes kind of spiritual, says Engelman, and he believes that if you do good things and create good energy and good music, everything will work out. Its worked out pretty well for him. Mills last concert will be at University Synagogue in Brentwood, and details are available at BWSO.org. He still has some prep work to do, the maestro tells me as we sit together, his cat Harley at our feet. Mills asks about the musician friend Ive written about. I tell him that when I hear Tchaikovskys Serenade for Strings, I think of my friend practicing that piece when he was a student at Juilliard, looking through the windows of his New York City apartment at falling snow. I play Serenade on my phone and Mills swoons. He tells me Brahms is probably his favorite composer, and we watch Leonard Bernstein conduct his First Symphony. Maestro Mills holds one of his batons. A smile takes form. He raises the baton, as he has a million times, and says: Its like a magic wand. steve.lopez@latimes.com Twitter: @LATstevelopez See more of our top stories on Facebook >> ALSO A Santa Barbara safe parking program for homeless people may be coming to L.A. Seven Muslim women sue Laguna Beach cafe for discrimination after they were ordered to leave California voters getting chance to fully legalize marijuana The Philippines presidential elections are on Monday, and the country is in the grip of election fever. In Manila, campaign posters flutter from overpasses, newspapers carry breathless headlines about polls, and coffee shops are abuzz with conversations about the countrys future. On a recent scorching-hot morning, about 30 blue-and-white-clad campaigners for presidential candidate Grace Poe blazed through the New Pritil Public Market a sprawling bazaar in an impoverished quarter of the Philippines capital city distributing T-shirts, rubber bracelets, aprons and handheld fans bearing the candidates smiling visage. Were optimists, were very hopeful, said Malu Gamboa, the 47-year-old head of the group, as vendors and shoppers swarmed the volunteers, grasping for merchandise. Its been the most positive campaign. Were just really, really hopeful. Advertisement Yet the two front-runners in the race could not be more different, and the flurry of colorful, kinetic campaigns belies darker political divides. Poe, a first-term senator and former U.S. citizen, has made compassion and inclusive growth pillars of her campaign; her campaign slogan is Government with a Heart. Meanwhile, her main opponent Rodrigo Duterte, the famously foul-mouthed mayor of Davao City in the countrys south has made jokes about rape, disabled people and infidelity. According to local media, he has boasted of overseeing hundreds of extrajudicial killings during his 22-year mayoral tenure. His campaign posters bear the image of a giant fist. So far, the fist is winning. Malu Gamboa, the head of a small team of Grace Poe supporters, gives out free pro-Poe merchandise to store vendors at the New Pritil Public Market in an impoverished area of Manila. (Sunshine de Leon / Los Angeles Times ) Im going to vote for Duterte, said Linda Abalos, a 53-year-old T-shirt vendor at the Pritil market, as Poe volunteers distributed merchandise nearby. Duterte, as president, [would be] very aggressive about corruption and drugs. Poe is a good leader, she continued, but she has very feminine actions. The Philippines needs a man, because the Bible says follow your husband. Duterte is leading polls with 33%, followed by Poe with 24%, according to a late April survey by the polling organization Social Weather Station. In the Philippines, a candidate needs only the highest percentage of votes not a majority to win the race. The details of how we intend to achieve inclusive growth sometimes get lost in the sea of messages from the various camps, but I suppose that is to be expected, Poe said in an email. Sensational, dramatic and shocking statements get more airtime. Campaign posters for presidential front-runner Rodrigo Duterte, the famously tough and foul-mouthed city mayor. (Sunshine de Leon / Los Angeles Times ) Poe has vowed to address the ripple effects of widespread poverty through social programs, such as providing free school lunch. Dropout rates are high in the Philippines, where many parents cant afford even basic meal costs and many dropouts spend more time on the streets, where theyre more vulnerable to drugs and crime. Duterte, according to local media, has vowed to execute suspected criminals. Yet its Poes powerful personal story one of abandonment, loss, and rising to defy the odds that has attracted the most attention in her campaign. Poe was orphaned at birth. She was left outside of the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral in Iloilo City, a major urban center on the island of Panay. A priest named her Grace, believing she had arrived by the grace of God. Before long, she was adopted by an A-list movie star couple: Susan Roces and Fernando Poe Jr., who is often considered a Filipino John Wayne. Poe studied political science at Boston College, married a Filipino American and, after graduating, lived in Fairfax, Va., for 12 years, working for much of that time as an officer at the U.S. Geological Survey. In 2004, her father ran for the Philippine presidency and lost. Soon afterwards, he suffered a stroke and died. Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe shakes hands with supporters. (Bullit Marquez / Associated Press ) Poe returned to the Philippines in 2005 and later reclaimed her citizenship. In 2013, she ran for the Senate and won with the highest number of votes among more than 30 candidates. Although Poes story has inspired her followers, it has also bred controversy. Critics have attacked her legal qualifications to run for president, because as an abandoned child she lacks proof of being a natural born citizen. They also questioned whether she met a 10-year residency requirement for presidential candidates. The thing that has really damaged her otherwise I think she would probably be the front-runner has been the citizenship controversy, said Mark Thompson, a professor and director of the Southeast Asia Research Center at City University of Hong Kong. In March, the Supreme Court of the Philippines deemed her a natural-born Filipino citizen and declared that she met the residency requirements, ending a long, complicated legal battle over her eligibility for the office. Even though she won the case, it damaged her because of her opponents ability to describe her as out of touch, Thompson continued. Not so much because [shes lived abroad] many Filipinos live abroad but because shes cast as somebody who doesnt understand normal Filipinos plight. This is one of the problems, because her father was widely seen as somebody who understood the poor, because he played an action hero who stood up for poorer people. Many Poe supporters deny the characterization, casting their candidate as someone who has beat the odds to become a champion of the poor. She is very inspiring, said Mia Padilla, another Poe supporter. The circumstances of her birth [were] not ideal [I] find it heartbreaking it was used against her. Its not really her fault. I think she can help us, she continued. She really has compassion for the people. De Leon is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Julie Makinen contributed to this report from Beijing. Four dozen members of the violent Gangster Disciples gang, including a leader in California and a police officer in Georgia who acted as a hit man, have been charged with running a ruthless nationwide enterprise responsible for at least 10 homicides, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. The Justice Department unsealed two indictments, one in Memphis, Tenn., and the other in Atlanta, that allege that the gang members reaped large profits from crimes including drug dealing and credit card fraud. The gang protected its turf and operations through intimidation and violence, prosecutors said. The indictments were significant because at least half of those arrested were considered gang leaders, top Justice Department officials said. Advertisement There are a lot of people out there willing to join gangs, and eager to get easy money from criminal activity, said Assistant Atty. Gen. Leslie Caldwell, who leads the departments criminal division. But there are far fewer people with the wherewithal to lead organizations like the Gangster Disciples. These are the people who keep gangs like the Gangster Disciples alive, year in and year out, generation after generation. The Gangster Disciples, which started in Chicago in the 1970s and is now active in 24 states, is known for its discipline and rigid leadership structure. The gangs top member, known as the chairman and identified in court papers as L.H., is incarcerated but still communicates with his leadership team, prosecutors allege. His description in the indictments matches that of Larry Hoover, 65, who was convicted in 1997 of running the Gangster Disciples and is serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Colorado. The gang is ruled by board members who oversee state and regional leaders known as governors and governor-of-governors, federal prosecutors said. See the most-read stories this hour >> One board member was indicted Shauntay Craig, 37, of Birmingham, Ala. and several other top members were charged in the indictments unsealed Wednesday. Alonzo Walton, 47, was accused of overseeing operations in Georgia, Florida, Texas, Indiana and South Carolina. Adrian Jackson, 37 of San Jose, ran the gangs network in western states and served as national treasurer, federal prosecutors said. Among the most shocking allegations involved a police officer in Georgia. Vancito Gumbs, 25, of Stone Mountain, who admitted that he had killed people as a hit man for the gang while serving as a DeKalb County police officer, the indictment says. ALSO Underage Mexican drug mules are in for a shock in one Arizona county U.S. government: North Carolina LGBT law violates civil rights Man takes selfie, then steals iPhone at Huntington Beach AT&T store, police say Twitter: @delwilber On Wednesday afternoon, President Obama put a glass of filtered Flint, Mich., drinking water to his lips and took a sip. His message was clear. Ive got your back, Obama told residents in a televised address, drawing cheers from the audience. I want all of you to know that Im confident Flint will come back, Obama said, jabbing the air with his finger as his voice rose. I will not rest, and Im going to make sure that the leaders at every level of government dont rest, until every drop of water that flows to your homes is safe to drink, and safe to cook with, and safe to bathe in, because thats part of the basic responsibilities of a government in the United States of America. Advertisement Obamas visit to Michigan this week was a gesture of support for Flint residents, after government regulators allowed the citys drinking water to be poisoned with toxic lead after improper treatment. But his arrival also underscored a painful truth: Michigan is still lurching from crisis to crisis years after the decline of manufacturing jobs in the state first began sending local governments into a tailspin. This week, Detroit public schools shut down for two days, when teachers protesting a funding crisis that has left the states largest school district almost $500 million in debt took their sick days en masse. They were concerned the district might not have enough money to pay their salaries for the next two months. Its astonishing that teachers and other school employees have been working diligently to educate our kids in under-resourced schools with deplorable conditions, yet they had to fight to get what theyre due, Ivy Bailey, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement. Michigans House of Representatives is considering a Republican-backed package that would send $500 million in state aid to the school district. But state Democrats are concerned the funding isnt substantial enough, according to the Detroit News, and would impose too many restrictions on collective bargaining. The school systems funding crisis comes three years after the city of Detroit -- which operates separately from the school district -- filed for Americas largest-ever municipal bankruptcy. Once one of Americas mightiest cities, Detroit had accumulated $18 billion in debt. What happened in Detroit must never happen again, Judge Steven Rhodes said when the city emerged from bankruptcy in 2014. Though each crisis has been distinct in its particulars, there are recurring themes: fleeing residents and budget shortfalls following the decline of Michigans once-mighty manufacturing industry. The urban decay, the abandonment of Detroit and Flint is the common denominator, said Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a nonpartisan think tank. Between the 2000 and 2010 censuses, Michigan was the only state to lose population. Detroit has fewer than half of the 1.8 million residents who lived there during its heyday. Flint had more than 200,000 residents in the 1960s; now it has fewer than 100,000. The cities tax bases shrank as residents fled to the suburbs, leaving government officials holding the bag on retirement obligations and other pricey services, with fewer people to pay for them. Republican Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, a venture capitalist first elected in 2010, has called Michigan the comeback state in recent years, pointing to declines in unemployment, a return of some manufacturing jobs and a more stable state budget. But the crisis in Flint in particular has threatened the final term of Snyders administration. The water switch-over plan was approved by a state emergency manager appointed by Snyder to help stabilize the citys precarious financial situation. The move was meant to save money and cut down on rate increases for Flints impoverished residents. See the most-read stories this hour >> An investigation led by Michigan Atty. Gen. Bill Schuette, a Republican, brought felony conspiracy charges against two state environmental employees accused of falsifying lead tests as Flint River water corroded old pipes and released toxins. Investigators did not identify a motive for the alleged coverup. But a Flint city employee who was also charged, Michael Glasgow, said previously that they were under pressure from state officials to quickly complete the switch to Flint River water. Glasgow pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of neglect of duty Wednesday, as part of a plea agreement with the state attorneys office in which he agreed to cooperate in the ongoing investigation that will probably focus on the states role. In a state budget proposed in February, Snyder identified Flint and the Detroit school crisis as two of the biggest challenges facing the state. Detroits public schools have been near bankruptcy after nearly half its students fled the district since 2002 -- either to follow their parents out of town, or to go to charter schools. That posed a particularly painful budget problem for the district, since the state ties funding to student enrollment. It sounds good in theory, Lupher of the model. But when the funding plan was implemented more than two decades ago, I dont think they had in mind the sort of economic decline that the state would go through the first decade of the century, and the effect of charter schools on the whole thing. ALSO Michigan charges three officials with felonies in Flint water crisis Op-Ed: Flints toxic water crisis was 50 years in the making A man-made disaster unfolded in Flint, within plain sight of water regulators matt.pearce@latimes.com Follow @mattdpearce Suddenly, Republicans are confronting a reality that seemed fantastically implausible not long ago: Donald Trump as their all-but-official presidential nominee. The response Wednesday in some quarters was a combination of denial and resistance that was unlike anything seen in recent history. Republican leaders, including some who sparred with Trump, pleaded for unity. Prominent GOP lawmakers announced their support. So did some tea party activists. Advertisement But many Trump detractors were unmoved. Talk of finding a third-party alternative continued unabated. Big-money donors, including the Koch brothers and casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, were notably silent, as was Mitt Romney, Republicans last presidential nominee and a fierce Trump critic. The overwhelming sentiment at least within the party establishment, which Trump vilified but now must work alongside to win in November seemed to be resignation mixed with a determination to make the best of things. The final stage is acceptance, which I think a lot of people will get to, said Josh Holmes, a Republican strategist unaligned with any candidate. But, he added, I dont think were going to see a seismic shift in people supporting Trump. The prospect of a primary fight extending all the way to a contested July convention instantly vanished Tuesday night after Trump roared to victory in Indiana and his closest contestant, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, unexpectedly stepped aside. Trumps sole remaining rival, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, followed suit on Wednesday, becoming the last to abandon a field that once comprised 17 hopefuls including many of the partys most acclaimed leaders. Pointedly, Kasich made no mention of the presumptive nominee. Trump must still collect the 1,237 delegates he needs to officially clinch the nomination, which will take him until the end of the primary season on June 7, when California and four other states vote. His critics werent yielding, despite the lack of any Republican opponent. Ample time remains for Trump to disqualify himself, said Katie Packer, a GOP consultant and head of Our Principles PAC, which has spent millions on advertisements across the country attacking Trump. We continue to give voice to the belief of so many Republicans that Trump is not a conservative, does not represent the values of the Republican Party, cannot beat Hillary Clinton, and is simply unfit to be president of the United States, she said in a statement that defied party efforts to rally behind the nominee-in-waiting. Trump will enter the general election, presumably against Clinton, as a decided underdog. There are a few Democratic-leaning states he might make more competitive, such as Pennsylvania, with its large population of disaffected working-class whites. But there are others that have been reliably Republican, like Arizona and Georgia, that could come into play if Latinos and other minorities, antagonized by Trumps insults, turn out in high numbers. In Nevada, a major battleground in the last few elections, the state Democratic Party sent a taunting letter Wednesday urging Trump Dear Dangerous Donald to campaign there, figuring it would hurt his candidacy and other Republicans as well. General election, wrote Nevada Democratic Party Chairwoman Roberta Lange, here we go! Trump spent much of Wednesday looking ahead to the November election, including how he might finance a campaign costing up to $1 billion. Do I want to sell a couple of buildings and self-fund? the Manhattan real estate developer mused on MSNBC. I dont know that I want to do that necessarily. Later, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Trump said he would not self-fund his general election campaign but rather create a world-class finance organization. The move carries some risk. After spending months accusing rivals of trading government favors for donations and claiming, inaccurately, that he alone was paying for his candidacy, Trump faces the danger of undermining his outsider image by accepting big campaign contributions. He has raised more than $12 million, mostly in small sums. Trump also said he was searching for a seasoned politician with expertise in navigating Congress to be his vice presidential running mate. I have the business lets call it talents, Trump said on MSNBC. And I think Ill probably go the political route. First, Trump must pull his party together, which will not be easy. Some, more or less grudgingly, said they were coming around to the idea of supporting the businessman and reality TV star, even if he was not their first, second or third choice. Donald Trump has struck a chord with a lot of people, said Jonathan Barnett, a member of the Republican National Committee from Arkansas and a longtime supporter of the states former governor, Mike Huckabee, who quit the presidential race in February. Even though they may not care for him and may not like him personally, and he may not represent their values ... they want to give him a chance to try to work these issues out. But others insisted, in the words of Rory Cooper, a spokesman for the Never Trump political action committee, that never means never. In a highly unusual snub, the partys last two presidents, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, have both ruled out a Trump endorsement, the Texas Tribune reported Wednesday. Trump was relentless in mocking Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor, during his unsuccessful attempt to follow his father and brother into the White House. Social media were filled Wednesday with images of voters burning their Republican registration cards, professing their abandonment of the party or vowing to cross party lines to support Clinton. Among them was Mark Salter, a former top aide and confidant to Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee. The GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks its on the level, Salter wrote on Twitter, referring to Trumps embrace of an unsubstantiated report that linked Cruzs father to President Kennedys assassination. Im with her, Salter said of Clinton. The resistance to Trump extends beyond party elites. Even as he rolled to victory in Indiana, more than 4 in 10 of those who voted in Tuesdays Republican primary said they were scared or concerned about the prospect of a Trump presidency, a finding consistent with previous exit polls. Curt Anderson, who worked for another of the unsuccessful 2016 GOP candidates, former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, said some in the professional political class will never support Trump. The question is ... will it just be a couple hundred of these folks? Anderson said. Or will it be millions of normally reliable Republican voters who refuse to come over to Trump? mark.barabak @latimes.com Twitter: @markzbarabak lisa.mascaro@latimes.com Twitter: @LisaMascaro Barabak reported from San Francisco and Mascaro from Washington. Times staff writers Melanie Mason in Indianapolis and Michael Finnegan and Seema Mehta in Los Angeles contributed to this report. ALSO: Analysis: GOP voters wanted an outsider who could fix the economy, and Trump fit their bill Ted Cruz was right: GOP voters wanted an anti-establishment candidate, just not him Trump ties Cruzs father to JFK assassination. His source? The National Enquirer UPDATES: 6:21 p.m.: This story has been revised throughout for additional details and for clarity. This story was originally posted at 10:12 a.m. The White House announced President Obama's decision to visit Flint, Michigan by posting a letter he wrote to 8-year-old Flint resident Mari Copeny, known locally as Little Miss Flint, who had asked to meet the president. I want to make sure people like you and your family are receiving the help you need and deserve, Obama told her. Copeny's letter to President Obama Mr. President, Hello my name is Mari Copeny and Im 8 years old, I live in Flint, Michigan and Im more commonly known around town as Little Miss Flint. I am one of the children that is effected by this water, and Ive been doing my best to march in protest and to speak out for all the kids that live here in Flint. This Thursday I will be riding a bus to Washington, D.C. to watch the congressional hearings of our Governor Rick Snyder. I know this is probably an odd request but I would love for a chance to meet you or your wife. My mom said chances are you will be too busy with more important things, but there is a lot of people coming on these buses and even just a meeting from you or your wife would really lift peoples spirits. Thank you for all that do for our country. I look forward to being able to come to Washington and to be able to see Gov. Snyder in person and to be able to be in the city where you live. Thank You Mari Copeny President Obama's reply Bushes to Trump: Low energy? Well give you NO energy! Blood, it seems, is thicker than party loyalty. Donald Trump was merciless in his attacks on rival Jeb Bush, tagging the former Florida governor as low energy and hectoring him each time they shared a debate stage. In the Bush family, where there is no greater virtue than faith to ones own, the taunting did not go unnoticed. On Wednesday the Texas Tribune reported the two Presidents Bush have ruled out endorsing Trump, the presumptive nominee of their lifelong political party. At age 91, President Bush is retired from politics, said Jim McGrath, a spokesman for the nations 41st president. Similarly, George W. Bush does not plan to participate in or comment on the presidential campaign, his aide, Freddy Ford, told the publication. Jeb Bush tried and failed to become the third family member to win the White House, quitting the contest in February. In making their sentiments (subtly) known, the two former presidents were more forthright -- or at least less confusing- - than many in the party, who insisted their vote for Trump should not be construed as an endorsement. The verbal loop-de-loop has become all the rage this election season. No word on what former First Lady Barbara Bush intends to do. But with a nickname of The Enforcer, its not hard to guess what direction she is leaning. 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 Cruz Is Out as the Trump Train Rolls On Advertisement This cake is baked. Thats how one consultant summed up the prospects of Donald Trump securing the GOP nomination, and that was before Ted Cruz had officially dropped out. Though John Kasich vowed to fight on, party chairman Reince Priebus declared Trump the presumptive nominee. Can the GOP unite behind a man who tried to tie Cruzs father to the JFK assassination? Sanders Digs Deep for a Victory Much like the Energizer Bunny, Bernie Sanders just keeps going and going and going. His victory in Indiana over Hillary Clinton is keeping his agenda front and center as she tries to sew up the Democratic nomination. Given the way delegates are doled out, Sanders would need overwhelming victories in the remaining primaries to overtake Clinton. But dont tell those odds to his supporters. More From the Campaign Trail -- Poor California: The competitive June 7 primary that suddenly isnt anymore. -- County-by-county results from Indiana. -- What do you think of the latest developments? Join the conversation on Facebook. L.A. Limits Solitary Confinement for Juveniles Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have banned it; so have the federal prisons. Now, L.A. County has restricted the use of solitary confinement for juvenile detainees, ending the practice except as a temporary response to behavior that poses a serious and immediate risk of physical harm to any person. Read on to see how widespread it had become. Led by Hamilton, Its #TonysSoDiverse With its blend of hip-hop and history, the musical Hamilton has won a Pulitzer Prize, helped keep the first secretary of the Treasury on the $10 bill and racked up the most Tony Award nominations ever. But as Times theater critic Charles McNulty writes, its the most prominent contender in a field that is packed with the kind of diversity the Oscars have only dreamed of till now. In Search of the Perfect Wave, 110 Miles Inland Surfers around the globe daydream about catching the perfectly shaped wave. But would they go for it if it was created by a machine in the desert? A recent video of Kelly Slater carving across a wave at his secret spot 110 miles from the California coast has made artificial waves a hot topic among those who like to hang 10 and stirred a debate over the soul of surfing. CALIFORNIA -- A group says it has 600,000 signatures to qualify a recreational pot initiative for the state ballot. -- Take a closer look at Santa Barbaras safe parking initiative, a homelessness program that L.A. is studying. -- Claustrophobic? Dont even think of joining the Border Patrols tunnel rats. -- Alvin Mills has conducted the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony Orchestra since it began 63 years ago. Hes retiring this month. NATION-WORLD -- An Islamic State offensive has killed a Navy SEAL in Iraq, U.S. officials say. -- How the U.S. government got BP to pay the biggest environmental penalty in history. -- Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says the Puerto Rico crisis is immediate and real. -- You can buy cognac at North Koreas airport, but a SIM card? Not so much. -- A study says medical errors are the No. 3 cause of death in the U.S., after heart disease and cancer. HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS -- Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, the Who, Neil Young and Pink Floyds Roger Waters will play at a mega-concert in Indio. -- Stories referencing Prince and drugs continue to surface, as the results of an autopsy are still pending. -- May the Fourth Be With You: The documentary Elstree 1976" shines a spotlight on the forgotten members of the Star Wars franchise. -- Movie review: With A Bigger Splash, an Italian director makes a messy but satisfying cannonball plunge into the Hollywood deep end. -- Video: Anna Faris and Allison Janney discuss the TV show Mom and more. BUSINESS -- How SunEdison got away from its founders original idea and eventually went into bankruptcy. -- Tesla Motors is expected to post a large quarterly loss amid delays in building the new Model X SUV. -- Adult coloring books face a threat from app rivals such as Colorfy, Recolor and more. SPORTS -- Former Kentucky Derby contender Uncle Mo has an unheard-of legacy in this years race. -- The L.A. Galaxys academy mixes high school studies with elite soccer training. OPINION -- A triumph for Donald Trump, a disaster for the GOP. -- Californians deserve more transparency on bullet train finances. -- Is racial bias to blame for the high number of Asian Americans charged with espionage? WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING -- Edward Snowden writes an essay about whistle-blowing. (The Intercept) -- Heres how Wall Street makes big money off German dividends but avoids taxes in Germany. (ProPublica) -- Is the Klingon language copyrightable? A legal brief uses Klingon to argue that it is not. (The Hollywood Reporter) ONLY IN L.A. Skateboarding is not a crime except where its prohibited by law. And that would certainly include the freeway. The California Highway Patrol has launched an investigation after videos of people skateboarding on freeways have emerged in recent weeks. These are not safe places and werent designed for that kind of thing, said one officer who added that last year there was a spate of bicyclists doing the same thing. Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj. Tuesday was a triumph for Donald J. Trump and a disaster for the Republican Party, which faces grim general-election prospects if the blowhard businessman is its presidential nominee. Trumps lopsided victory in the Indiana primary, which moved Sen. Ted Cruz to suspend his campaign, is also ominous for the country. Armed with a major-party nomination, even a woefully unqualified underdog could squeak into the Oval Office if the breaks go his way. We shed no tears for Cruz, a demagogue, obstructionist and conservative culture warrior who would have been a disaster as president. But his withdrawal from the race makes it easier for Trump to argue that his nomination is inevitable. We arent ready to accept that proposition. Quixotic as it may seem, Republicans who have been saying never Trump shouldnt abandon the effort to deny Trump a first-ballot victory at the national convention in Cleveland. Republican voters in Californias primary on June 7 have a special role to play in that rescue operation by supporting Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Trumps remaining rival for the nomination. His hair-trigger temper, personal pettiness and bigoted comments about women and minorities are the antithesis of the qualities America ... has a right to expect in a president We concede that arresting Trump at this point is the longest of long shots. Tuesdays victory was the latest installment of a spectacular winning streak in which he has eliminated one opponent after another. The casualty list includes Jeb Bush, a former governor from a political dynasty with ample financial resources, and two senators who were regarded as rising stars in the party: Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Moreover, whatever the party rules say, the expectation for decades in both parties has been that the candidate with the most delegates heading into the convention would be the nominee. But if there is ever a candidate who should be the exception to that rule, it is Trump. Not only is he devoid of experience in government, his hair-trigger temper, personal pettiness and bigoted comments about women and minorities are the antithesis of the qualities America and the world have a right to expect in a president. We understand that Trump has an outsiders appeal at a time of deep dissatisfaction with the political establishment (as does Sen. Bernie Sanders, who kept his campaigns flickering hopes alive by defeating Hillary Clinton in Indiana). We recognize too that Trump has channeled anxieties about cultural change, a long-stagnant economy, globalization and a series of failed military interventions. Even so, it is profoundly disheartening that so many voters would support a candidate whose signature issues include building a wall on the Mexican border and temporarily banning the entry into the United States of every member of a single religion. Advertisement The Republican Party can do better. The question is whether the leaders and rank and file of that party are willing to make the effort at this point against odds that may be impossible. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Rick Scott, Floridas Republican governor, is in California this week as part of a trade mission to lure away companies that want to avoid Californias scheduled minimum-wage hike. Gov. Jerry Brown welcomed Scott in his typically tart way, pointing out that Californias economy is booming right now and creating jobs faster than other states can steal them, thank you very much. California is the 7th largest economic power in the world. Were competing with nations like Brazil and France, not states like Florida, Brown wrote in a letter to Scott. Rather than traipsing around California seeking to take away other peoples jobs, Brown suggested that Scott should be concerning himself with the significant economic effects of climate change on his low-lying, swampy state. Floridians might be better served if their governor used his taxpayer-funded trip west as an educational opportunity. Advertisement What Brown didnt say to Scott and should have is that although California is used to periodic interstate poaching, the premise of this particular trip is especially offensive. Scott should be at home in Florida (where the minimum wage is $8.05 an hour) trying to create well-paying jobs, instead of trolling for low-wage ones that he can steal in California, undermining this states efforts to pay a living wage to more of its low-skilled workers. That doesnt seem to concern Scott, who said: By raising the minimum wage in California, 700,000 people are going to lose their jobs, there are a lot of opportunities for companies to prosper in Florida and compete here, and thats what Im going after. Thats a message that is also being pushed in radio spots in Los Angeles and San Francisco paid for by Enterprise Florida, a public-private economic development agency. Thats some big talk for someone whose past fishing trips to the Golden State have not paid off. Scotts claims are dubious as well. The 700,000 figure comes from a quick and dirty calculation by a deregulation-minded Washington, D.C.-based think tank, American Action Forum. Yes, there will likely be some negative effects of hiking the minimum wage to $15 by 2022. But many experts argue that such costs will be offset by other gains in the economy. A study by UC Berkeleys Labor Center, for example, concludes that the wage hike will result in no net job loss in L.A. Floridians might be better served if their governor used his taxpayer-funded trip west as a learning opportunity. Surely theres a lesson for him in why despite having the highest state income tax rates in the U.S., despite its famously progressive labor policies, despite having the toughest pollution laws in the nation California continues to create so many jobs that governors of other states cant help but try to spirit them away. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook We thought America was the best in the world. This cant be happening. Thats how Saw Marvellous Soe and Eh Wah described their astonishment after police seized more than $53,000 in cash from Eh Wahs car in Muskogee, Okla., in February. Eh Wah is tour manager for a Christian rock band led by Marvellous that played in 19 U.S. cities, raising money from concerts to support an orphanage in Thailand and a Christian college in Burma. Worthy causes, no doubt. But when law enforcement found the cash during a routine traffic stop, a little-known legal process known as civil asset forfeiture allowed police officers to seize it, and whatever other property they wanted, without having to prove that Eh Wah was guilty of a crime. Drug proceeds, the officer wrote on the property receipt, even though no weapons, no drugs or even drug paraphernalia were found. Advertisement Stories such as this one happen all the time. Civil asset forfeiture allows police to seize property as long as they believe that the assets in question were somehow connected to criminal activity. As long as they believe thats the key part. Authorities dont have to actually prove the person was guilty of a crime. They dont have to even file charges. The presumption of innocence is thrown to the wayside. Its an egregious violation of the 4th Amendment, but thats not even the most glaring problem with the system. Under current law, most states allow police departments to absorb up to 100% of the value of the confiscated property whether its cash, cars, houses or guns and use the proceeds to pad their budgets. Its an obvious conflict of interest and boy, is it profitable for law enforcement agencies. Authorities dont have to actually prove the person was guilty of a crime. They dont have to even file charges. In 2014, the latest year for which data is available, police officers took more property from American citizens under civil asset forfeiture ($5 billion) than criminals took in burglaries ($3.5 billion), according to research from the Institute for Justice. Granted, theres a lot of nuance to these statistics. The numbers dont include state seizures just federal seizures and they exclude other types of theft, such as larceny. But the central point here remains: Civil asset forfeiture is dangerously profitable, prompting civic leaders, lawmakers and state legislatures to consider significant reform. In 1994, California attempted to rein in civil asset forfeiture abuse, passing a bill that requires a criminal conviction before police can seize assets worth up to $25,000, and that caps the amount of money authorities can keep at no more than 65% of the total. But unless Congress takes action, state efforts to stop civil forfeiture abuse mean very little. A program run by the Department of Justice known as equitable sharing in effect allows state and local police to circumvent state restrictions on civil forfeiture. Through equitable sharing, local police departments can seize assets under federal, rather than state, law and keep 80% of the proceeds. (The Justice Department gets the rest.) It should come as no surprise that in states that have implemented caps and limits, law enforcement simply relies on the federal program instead. In 2015, the Drug Policy Alliance found that whereas revenue collected under Californias forfeiture laws had remained constant over the previous 10 years, revenue under the federal program had more than tripled. As more and more states reconsider their civil forfeiture systems, the federal government needs to set a framework for smart reform. That starts with closing the equitable-sharing loophole, and requiring police to satisfy a higher burden of proof to a judge before seizing property under federal law. Police of course need the ability to seize and protect property as evidence for trial. But the current system which allows police to go treasure hunting, beefing up their budgets on the backs of innocent Americans stands in stark contrast to constitutional principles of due process and property rights. Darrell Issa is a Senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee and the U.S. Representative for Californias 49th Congressional District. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook. MORE FROM OPINION Never give up, #NeverTrump Even if the name Redskins is hateful, it deserves 1st Amendment protection Is racial bias to blame for the high number of Asian Americans charged with espionage? In recent years, federal prosecutors have brought a number of high-profile criminal cases against Asian Americans accused of economic espionage or theft of trade secrets. Announced with great fanfare, many of these cases later collapsed. Is it possible that these prosecutions were driven at least in part by racial profiling rather than solid evidence? Last year, more than 40 members of Congress sent a letter to Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch asking that question. The Justice Department has not yet responded, but last month it adopted a new policy requiring experienced national security prosecutors in Washington, instead of local U.S. attorneys, to oversee all espionage-related cases. Its of course too early to know whether this change will reduce the number of problematic cases brought against Asian Americans. Although theft of trade secrets by foreign countries certainly occurs, the government has focused overwhelmingly on China. Of the 55 trade secret and economic espionage cases involving a foreign country brought since 1997, more than 70% targeted China. The government, however, seems to have a hard time bringing these cases to a successful conclusion, suggesting that such disproportionate attention is misplaced. Advertisement From 1997 to 2015, federal prosecutors had an average conviction rate of about 91% for all criminal cases. In federal white-collar cases, the conviction rate was more than 90%. But of the 39 trade secret and economic espionage cases involving China since 1997, federal prosecutors won convictions in only 66.7% of cases. In contrast, for cases involving other countries, prosecutors had a conviction rate much closer to its other cases about 87%. Is it possible that these prosecutions were driven at least in part by racial profiling, rather than solid evidence? Under pressure to stop Chinese spying, prosecutors seem to file espionage-related charges without fully understanding the facts. Last May, Xiaoxing Xi, former head of the physics department at Temple University, was arrested by FBI agents, who burst into his suburban Philadelphia home with guns drawn. Xi was handcuffed in front of his family and charged with sharing schematics for a piece of secret laboratory equipment, which it later turned out was not secret at all. Four months later, prosecutors dropped the case, saying additional information came to the attention of the government. In the very first economic espionage case to go to trial, in San Jose in 2009, prosecutors accused two Chinese American engineers of seeking to benefit the Chinese government, simply because the engineers had applied for research funding from Chinese agencies to help their startup. The jury rejected the prosecutors argument and concluded that this was just normal business activity. One recurring issue in Chinese trade secret cases is that local U.S. attorneys, many of whom know little about the major role that state institutions play in the Chinese economy, misinterpret normal contacts with government banks or research institutes as evidence of spying. To many observers, the governments unjustified suspicion of Asian Americans became apparent in 1999, when Wen Ho Lee, a Taiwanese American nuclear physicist employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, was accused of sharing nuclear secrets with China. Lee, who was included on a shortlist of suspects because of his frequent trips to Asia and his access to classified information and, critics claim, his ethnicity consistently denied he had given sensitive information to China. The case fell apart, and seven years later, Lee won a civil judgment against the prosecutors and media organizations that had tarnished his reputation. In case after case, the governments allegations of improper motives perhaps fed by suspicions of China have failed to withstand scrutiny. In 2014, a jury found former Texas Instruments engineer Ellen Chen Yeh not guilty of all charges in a trade secret case. Yeh, who had left Texas Instruments to work at a company in China, was accused of wrongfully downloading computer chip designs and taking them to China with the intent to steal them. Yeh explained that she kept the designs which she had developed herself because she hoped to resume working with Texas Instruments someday. The jury believed her. The way prosecutors bring China-related trade secret cases causes immense damage to those accused. By publicizing these cases before they can prove them, prosecutors destroy reputations. In October 2014, Sherry Chen, a 60-year-old Chinese American water scientist, was arrested by FBI agents at a National Weather Service office in Ohio. Chen, who had been a U.S. citizen for more than 15 years, was accused of downloading data on U.S. dams and passing it to a Chinese government official. The charges against her carried 25 years in prison and a $1-million fine. Prosecutors dropped the charges against Chen shortly before her trial was set to start because they realized they had misinterpreted the evidence, but that did not undo damage to her good name. Undeterred by the collapse of its case, the government says it still intends to bar Chen from her job, a decision she is fighting. There is also growing evidence that prejudice may affect the sentencing process for those found guilty of trade secret theft. An analysis of cases over the last two decades shows that, for individuals convicted of trade secret theft, the average sentence for people with Chinese surnames is more than twice that for those with non-Chinese surnames. This translates to an average of an extra 17 months in prison for Chinese Americans. The strength of the U.S. economy is based largely on innovation and competition. A more careful approach to these prosecutions can protect the rights of Asian Americans, minimize wrongful prosecutions and help ensure an economic environment that continues to foster innovation. George Koo is a global business advisor. Daniel Olmos is a criminal defense attorney who has successfully defended several trade secret cases at trial. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Rarely in modern history has a party appeared as divided over its nominee as Republicans are over Donald Trump. But will his GOP critics really keep their backs turned through November, or will they come around? Some leaders of the conservative movement claim they will never vote for him not only think-tank intellectuals, but also members of Congress, such as Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska. Columnist George F. Will, once a backstairs advisor to Ronald Reagan, says good Republicans shouldnt merely withhold their votes, but work to make sure Trump loses all 50 states to make sure Trumpism is discredited forever. And yet, as Trumps nomination becomes more certain, more Republicans are finding nice things to say about the businessman. Advertisement Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Trump had done an impressive job attracting new voters to GOP primaries. Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Trumps centrist positions might have bipartisan appeal. Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Trump was showing promise as a foreign policy thinker. Rep. Duncan Hunter, one of Trumps earliest backers in Congress, offered a more practical assessment: People like to be with the winner. And that is whats really going on here. Republicans arent falling in love with Trump; they just figure that, since the real estate promoter is about to become the leader of their party, its better to grit their teeth and hope for the best than to fight a losing battle. Even Jeb Bush, whose presidential hopes were demolished by Trump, now says he will support the nominee. He just wont say his name. But the never-say-#NeverTrump Republicans have a problem: In private, many of them perhaps most of them dont think Trump can win the general election. The structural problem of the Trump candidacy is his unfavorable numbers, GOP pollster David Winston told me. Among women, who did I mention? are the majority of the electorate, his unfavorables are in the 70s. Those arent easy numbers to turn around, particularly when a candidate has had as much exposure as Trump. Thats why even if, in the end, few Republican politicians will actively oppose Trump, many wont actively support him either. One bellwether to watch: how many Senate candidates in tough races decide to skip the Republican National Convention, which is likely to be a weeklong celebration of everything Trump. Youre going to see a lot of Senate candidates staying home and doing their own knitting that week, GOP strategist Scott Reed told me. Instead of focusing on the presidential campaign, many in the GOP not just candidates, but also activists and donors will focus on congressional races. Republicans arent falling in love with Trump; they just figure that ... its better to grit their teeth and hope for the best than to fight a losing battle. Republicans are terrified that a Trump defeat would lose the GOP its majority in the Senate, which they gained only two years ago. Some even worry that a Democratic landslide could endanger the GOPs majority in the House of Representatives. In some states, candidates are going to depend on people who are voting for [Democrat Hillary] Clinton to switch sides and vote for the other party when it comes to Congress, Winston noted. Thats hard to do. One answer: the program House Speaker Paul D. Ryan plans to unveil next month, aimed at giving GOP congressional candidates a list of conservative policies they can campaign on, whether they correspond to Trumps positions or not. In effect, the GOP could enter the fall campaign with two different platforms: one espoused by its mercurial presidential candidate, the other by the more orthodox conservatives around Ryan. House candidates are going to need a sense of direction, and they dont necessarily want to rely on Trump to provide it, Winston said. If Trump appears headed for defeat, the Ryan program could give them a lifeline. Political parties can of course recover from bad elections even from campaigns that divide them internally. Four years after the 1964 election, which Republican candidate Barry Goldwater lost in a landslide, the GOP won the White House. And four years after Democrat George McGovern lost in the landslide of 1972, the Democrats came back too. Everybody writes off a party after it has a bad election, Winston said. After 2008, when Obama won, people said it was the end of the Republican Party. But two years later we had 2010 and won a majority in the House. To many Republicans, the prospect of a loss to Clintons Democrats looks painful, but it also presents a familiar, even comfortable problem: At that point, their mission will be to make Clinton a one-term president. The greater dilemma the fear they wont acknowledge, at least in public is that Trump might actually win. If that happens, conservatives who dont love their candidate will face four years of having to defend his policies and trying to tame his excesses. Thats when their real troubles would begin. doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com Twitter: @DoyleMcManus Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook The announcement, on a Sunday night five years ago, from President Obama: Tonight, I can report to American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda, and the terrorist responsible for the murders of thousands of innocent men, women and children. Terrorism is as old as humankind, and as new as Twitter, and keeping up with its faces and changes has occupied Brian Michael Jenkins for four decades. Hes a senior adviser to the president of the RAND Corporation, and one of the worlds foremost analysts and experts on terrorism, as his body of writings and his work consulting for national and international agencies attest. Here, he sizes up the new direction and demands of terrorists, and how this country is coping with them. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THIS INTERVIEW ON THE PATT MORRISON ASKS PODCAST>> What, for your purposes and ours, is terrorism? Advertisement Terrorism is violence or the threat of violence thats calculated to create an atmosphere of fear and alarm that will cause people to exaggerate the threat posed by the terrorists and the importance of their cause. In the 40 years youve been studying this, whats the arc of how terrorism has changed? In terms of the basic tactics there have been incremental changes, but this is still about killing people, its about taking hostages. The basic arsenal of the terrorists has remained pretty much the same, with striking exception: and that is when we think about arsenals, we tend to think only about weapons, when in fact communications are very much part of the struggle. Because terrorism itself is about the manipulation of perceptions, its about communication. When we were, back in the late 1970s, trying to figure out what would be the weapons of the future that terrorists might incorporate into their tactics, one we missed of course was the Internet. That has had a tremendous impact on the trajectory of terrorism. Indeed, if this is violence aimed at the people watching, then the ability to reach an audience of global proportions through the news media enhances the utility of terrorist tactics. But the Internet took it further, because that enabled these groups to reach audiences unmediated by an editor, and with social media, to go even a step further and to have terrorists talking directly to their supporters and others they want to recruit into their cause. Have the goals of terrorists, and who they are, substantially changed? In some cases, yes. Certainly terrorist activities associated with the anti-colonial struggles of the 1950s and 1960s; it was associated with ideological conflicts, and separatist movements in the 1970s and 80s, the Basque separatists in Spain, the Irish Republican Army, other groups like that. There was a shift, however, in that in the 80s we began to see increasingly ideologies drawn from religion become the driving force of much of the terrorism. If the violence was carried out on behalf of either an ideology or a specific set of political goals, then that meant there was a constituency. The existence of a constituency imposed constraints on the terrorists themselves. Terrorists worried, If we go too far, we will alienate our supporters -- and they imagine themselves to have legions of supporters. But if you move it into the realm of ideologies drawn from religion, then your constituency is God. That reduces the constraints. And what we saw beginning in the 1980s was an escalation in terrorism, not just an increase in the volume. You know, the worst incidents of terrorism measured in terms of lives lost in the 1970s were in the scores of individuals: 70 people, 80 people, 90 people. In the 1980s, this ascended into the hundreds of people and it kept creeping upward. Of course on September 11, it went into the thousands. How well have understandings of this threat evolved? There has been a great deal of resistance in this country to even using the word understanding, and where theyre coming from, which is necessary of course to combat it. People dont want to understand -- they say, We just want to get em. The word understanding is slippery and therefore dangerous in this territory. If you say we need to understand our terrorist adversaries -- how do they view the world? On the one hand, of course, thats something obviously you would do in any type of an armed struggle. We paid a great deal of attention during the Second World War to understanding the strategy and tactics of the German generals. I mean, General Patton said of his foe General Rommel, when he defeated him in North Africa, Rommel, I read your book! During the Cold War, we devoted a great deal of scholarship to trying not simply to count the number of Soviet nuclear armed missiles that were pointed at the United States, but to understanding how the Soviets thought about the world. In fact, our strategies were based upon that understanding. But when it comes to terrorists, theres a tendency to say, Terrorists are evil, witches are wicked, why are we wasting our time understanding them? And indeed, that slides into the perception that one is being understanding OF terrorists, which is completely unacceptable. Much of what we do in terms of our own counter-terrorism measures are based upon an understanding of our adversaries. Now we do face a dilemma in this country. We agree that we will use military force against terrorism. And Im a former soldier. Im not squeamish about the use of military force when its absolutely necessary, and appropriate. Its one component of the things we do. But at the same time we now find ourselves in a state of perpetual war. I remember testifying before the Senate only months after 9/11. I was asked by one of the senators, Mr. Jenkins, its been three months since 9/11, nothing has happened are we through it yet? And I responded that this wasnt some episode of The West Wing. That was a question you could ask me in ten years. Well, were coming up to the 15-year mark now and its still ongoing. Perpetual warfare is new territory for Americans. Its not just a matter of patience; its what does this begin to do to our institutions? You know, if we were in a finite battle, we would say, Okay there are certain specific measures we have to take, security measures, measures to enhance our ability to collect intelligence. At the end of the war we would then say, alright, the threat is over, we can now dismantle this. As we did in the Second World War declare victory and go home. Thats the kind of war that we like. But if its open-ended, an involves not only threats from abroad but the possibility of radicalization and recruitment of people in this country into terrorist activity, then these measures that we put into place become a permanent feature of the landscape. And we really have to take care that we dont incrementally walk ourselves into a tyranny. So were not doing very well, then, in being realistic about whats out there? In some cases we dont have a realistic view of it. And by the way, I am ferociously nonpartisan in terms of politics. But understanding terrorism and how to combat terrorism is very difficult in an election year, because it s popular to pound the podium and to use very tough-sounding language about what were going to do. When people actually arrive in office they find out that its not that easy. If it was easy, we would have solved this one decades ago. We have done, actually, in many respects, remarkably well. It would be erroneous to say that we have savaged civil liberties since 9/11. We Americans fortunately are a cantankerous bunch. We push back when we think our privacy is being invaded too much, or when security gets too heavy-handed. Our intelligence has been remarkably successful in terms of uncovering and thwarting terrorist plots since 9/11. Our FBI and police departments are batting about 900; about 90% of the plots are being uncovered and thwarted. Only a handful are slipping through. The United States has liked to position itself as morally superior, that we have civil liberties in this country, that we have due process, versus people who will as soon kill you as look at you. How much does that factor into the larger war on terrorism? There is a moral issue in terrorism. Even in warfare, nations have agree that there will be certain rules which will for example try to limit violence against civilian non-combatants, that they will not harm hostages, that there be certain kinds of targets that will not be attacked. And over the centuries, we have agreed upon these rules. Terrorist tactics deliberately violate those rules. And so therefore there is a moral quotient when we look at combating terrorism. It is important that we maintain the moral high ground. First of all, in part, the terrorists hope to create this atmosphere of fear and alarm which will provoke us into taking extreme measures which then will attract recruits to their cause, and say, Theyre no different than we are. How good have we been at not taking the bait? It clearly is a mixed record. I dont want to set the bar so high; the idea that one can apply surgical military force is not realistic. We do, in the United States armed forces, really go out of our way to try avoid or minimize the risk of civilian casualties. Can I say therefore that all U.S. military operations are absolutely clear of any civilian casualties? No. you cannot say that. Thats simply not realistic. But we do make an effort in doing so; we dont always succeed. As to broader values -- and I would say here American values, things that we value in our society, courage, self-reliance, tolerance it is extremely important that we hold on to those. Its not a matter that those are some sort of luxuries that were going to toss overboard when we get into stormy waters. It is those values that motivate our own soldiers and sailors and marines. It is those values that, despite the mistakes we have made in the world, that still have many of the people in the world desperate to come to the United States. It is those values that prevent us from alienating populations that could otherwise provide support to our adversaries. So these arent luxuries; they are weapons. And we want to be very careful about not giving those up. As a student of the humanities and a historian, you would know to some extent whether this century becomes the critical century the way, say, the 14th century was. There are several directions we could go. The hopeful one is that we will keep this in perspective, we will effectively deal with it. At times its going to be scary, its going to be tough, were not always going to get it right. But ultimately, we will contain this threat and our society as we understand it will prevail. Other, darker futures include sort of the re-creation of a neo-medieval society in which we are surrounded by walls. They may be modern electronic forms of walls, but we are surrounded by walls, live behind moats, dash from inner perimeter to inner perimeter. Another dark vision is that ultimately we will decide that our freedom is a luxury, that we will impose upon or own society whatever surveillance is necessary to maintain our everyday security. This has been something we have been struggling with now in its contemporary form for 40, 50 years. Its the admonition from Ben Franklin that those who would sacrifice essential liberty in exchange for a little security deserve neither liberty nor security. I think ultimately, one, we are a tough nation; that ultimately we will prevail not because of how many bollards we plant in front of public buildings or how many procedures we install at airports or how many cameras we put up. We will prevail because of our essential values. You fly tens of thousands of miles year. Do you ever get exasperated with TSA? You know, not really. I understand it, and therefore you adopt the position that I know why these procedures are here. I can take you through a security checkpoint like an archaeological dig: I can point to every machine and every procedure and say, That came about because of that incident in 1988, that came about because of that incident in 2001. We take off our shoes because there was a shoe bomber, we have restrictions on liquids because there was a plot involving liquid explosives. Now, having said that, on a busy day when youre waiting in line, yes its annoying. I think we are becoming smarter about this with some of these new programs like Precheck, that basically says, Look, everyones not an equal threat. We know more about some people than others. So we can distribute our limited resources in a way thats going to be more effective in getting people through this. Some day, we may have an x-ray for a mans soul and we wont need all of this elaborate stuff. But until we have that, were going to face these more burdensome requirements. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook To the editor: I agree that the Japanese people deserve an apology for the devastation wrought during World War II, and not just for the horrendous atomic bombings, but also for the many fire bombings that were also horrible. (Japan doesnt want the U.S. to apologize for bombing Hiroshima. Heres why, April 29) But the apology should come from their own emperor and military leaders, whose predecessors instigated the horror by refusing to surrender when their cause was already hopeless. Estimates of Allied casualties for an invasion were upward of 1 million, leaving little choice whether to drop the bomb. My oldest brother was an infantry first lieutenant who was in the first wave landing after Japans surrender and would almost certainly been one of those casualties. Instead, he and his comrades were greeted peaceably and welcomed by the people. Advertisement The atomic attacks provided Japanese leaders a face-saving excuse that they were defeated by a magical force and not by a superior military. Only when the Soviet Union belatedly declared war did Japan realize it was hopeless. Larry Mason, Santa Barbara Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook The Republican race for president will go on through the mighty contests of early June, but it ended Tuesday. Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee for president because of two imperatives that GOP voters clung to all through the primary season. They were desperately concerned about the economy. And they wanted an outsider to fix it. All the other things Trumps disdainful and insulting treatment of varied voter groups, his huge levels of unpopularity, his last-minute attack against Ted Cruzs father, alleging, with no evidence, a tie to a presidential assassination was just background noise to Republican voters unleashing a communal scream at establishment politics. Advertisement Californias June primary, which was to be the first momentous Republican presidential balloting here in a half century, may serve to get Trump officially over the line of 1,237 delegates he needs for the nomination. But at this point that is not much more than a formality. TRAIL GUIDE: All the latest news on the 2016 presidential campaign >> Trumps victory in Indiana was just as sweeping as his five northeastern victories last week and his giant New York win two weeks ago, delivering a sense that GOP voters have decided that they would not brook any more delays in awarding him the nomination. Cruz got the message and dropped out of the race Tuesday night, saying that his chance of winning the nomination has been foreclosed. The last official Trump opponent, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, planned to drop out of the race Wednesday, according to a senior advisor. The New York businessmans strength rested on the two linked voter concerns, according to exit polls of Tuesday voters. Two-thirds of Indiana GOP voters said they were very worried about the economy, and another quarter said they were somewhat concerned. Trump won both groups easily. (Overall, voters cited the economy as the most pressing issue.) Asked whether the next president should be an experienced politician or an outsider, about 6 in 10 went for an outsider and Trump won nearly 8 in 10 of those voters. Among the 17 major Republican candidates who began the race, only Trump could plausibly fulfill both demands, and he pressed that message daily. Every Trump speech has included a broadside against trade deals that hurt American workers and specifically the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was negotiated by President George H.W. Bush, but signed into law by President Bill Clinton and supported by Trumps likely general election opponent, Hillary Clinton. Trump also targeted American companies like Carrier, the Indiana air conditioning firm, for planning to move to Mexico. He said he would impose huge tariffs on companies that tried to leave the country during his administration. Cruz, his last major competitor, had a much more diffused appeal in the last few weeks. He launched a big assault on Trumps shrugging acceptance of the right of transgender Americans to use the bathroom of their choice a last grab by Cruz for the votes of evangelical voters. He cut a short-lived deal with the candidate in distant third place, Kasich, that drove Kasich out of the Indiana race. He named a vice presidential running mate, former candidate Carly Fiorina, in a bid to add some pizazz. None of it worked. Trump, in somewhat subdued remarks from New York on Tuesday, went after Clinton almost immediately in a preview of what will be a highly contentious fight to November. She will not be a great president; she will not be a good president; she will be a poor president, he said. He called NAFTA the single worst trade deal ever done. Ive witnessed what its done, really firsthand, and it has been indeed carnage, and were gonna change it around. While that issue may prove potent, Trumps downsides as the nominee were glaringly evident Tuesday. On Tuesday night, he lauded the retiring Cruz as one hell of a competitor; he is a tough smart guy and he has got an amazing future. Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Indiana primary election results | Track the delegate race | Sign up for the newsletter But earlier in the day in an interview on Fox News, he had repeated unsubstantiated accusations made in the National Enquirer that Cruzs father Rafael had been pictured with Lee Harvey Oswald at a pro-Cuba demonstration shortly before Oswald assassinated President Kennedy. The younger Cruz responded in an epic, angry news conference in which he called Trump a pathological liar, a serial philanderer and other insults that probably will resurface in Democratic ads. Cruz, who had defended Trump until very recently in hopes of attracting Trumps voters if he stumbled, would not say whether he would support him as the partys nominee. Trump used Cruzs angry riposte to insult him further, saying that the comments proved Cruz does not have the temperament to be president of the United States. The presumptive nominees decision to level an unsupported accusation against an opponents family member underscored the volatility at the core of Trumps candidacy. His brazen behavior hasnt hurt him in the primary season, when it was offset by his assets and the greater shortcomings of his opponents. But even as his support among Republican primary voters has increased, his unpopularity keeps plumbing new depths in the much larger general election voter pool. More clearly than the primary season, the general election carries with it a test of whether voters can see each candidate as president and commander in chief. Clintons campaign chairman, John Podesta, made precisely that point in a brief statement issued Tuesday night. Donald Trump has demonstrated that hes too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world, Podesta said. With so much at stake, Donald Trump is simply too big of a risk. That argument has some heft even among Republican voters, exit polls showed Tuesday. More than 4 in 10 Republican voters said they would be concerned or scared if Trump was elected president. A quarter of GOP voters said they would not vote for him in the general election. Clinton has already started to go after those voters, particularly women. Her campaign reported raising more than $2 million immediately after Trump accused her last week of playing the womans card. She has made pitches to Republican women who may be put off by Trumps gibes at her and others, including Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and former candidate Fiorina. That sort of early poaching into another candidates base is unusual in todays polarized politics, when the fight is usually to turn out loyal party members and persuade the ever shrinking number of swing voters to take a look. Clinton may be unpopular with a broad general election audience, but she is popular within her party, and Democratic voters by huge margins are prepared to rally around her candidacy once she officially wins the nomination. Trump has an entirely different challenge. The general election audience is out there, and hes making efforts, as with the trade conversation, at appealing to Democrats. But first he has to convince voters starting with the Republicans who have been wary of him -- that he has the goods to serve as president. cathleen.decker@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter: @cathleendecker For more on politics, go to latimes.com/decker ALSO As Republicans pitch to California GOP, Trumps message: Im a winner A Trump-Clinton general election poses the question: Which one does America hate less? Donald Trump and the womans card: Not the way the GOP wanted to attract women Live coverage from the campaign trail Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who tried to position himself as the adult in the room of presidential contenders, dropped out Wednesday, becoming the final casualty in Donald Trumps takeover of the Republican Party. Trump became the presumptive nominee after his big win in the Indiana primary Tuesday night and the subsequent withdrawal of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, but Kasichs exit eliminated the 16th and final hurdle to Trumps coronation as the partys new standard-bearer. The spirit, the essence of America lies in the hearts and souls of us, Kasich said during a 20-minute speech in Columbus, Ohio, announcing his withdrawal. Some missed this message. It wasnt sexy. It wasnt a great sound bite. Advertisement Kasich did not name Trump or any of his former rivals. But the tone and message a call for lifting one another up, searching for Gods purpose, and slowing down our lives served as an implicit rebuke of Trumps combative style. Kasich praised the country as he recalled his months on the trail, even pronouncing himself lucky to sit in traffic in Los Angeles over the course of the campaign. Kasichs chances of gaining the nomination never really materialized. Many politicos had joked that he was the only candidate who had managed to come in fourth in a two-man race. Trump, Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio who dropped out more than six weeks ago all have more delegates than Kasich. His only primary victory came in his home state of Ohio. Election 2016 | Live coverage on Trail Guide | Track the delegate race | Sign up for the newsletter Still, Kasich has long been convinced, despite the electoral math, that he could win, if only voters would take the time to get to know him. He emphasized his broad experience as both the governor of a swing state and an influential member of Congress who crossed party lines during the Clinton administration to forge a balanced budget deal. Kasichs campaign events were generally intimate affairs. He liked town halls where he could talk to small groups of voters about policy and finding meaning in their lives, and occasionally give them hugs. It was a contrast to Kasichs prior reputation as a prickly politician, but an even bigger contrast to Trumps rowdy rallies in large arenas. The people of our country changed me, Kasich said Wednesday, recalling a man whose son had cancer and other poignant encounters. They changed me with the stories of their lives. Many inside the rooms came away moved and impressed, but there were not enough of them to make much of a dent in Trumps campaign. Exit polls showed Republican voters valued outsiders who could take on Washington over establishment figures like Kasich who had worked the inside game. Kasich spent most of the campaign ignoring Trump, declining to criticize or engage him in most debates and public speeches. That allowed him to stick around longer than his rivals, drawing him closer to the two-person race he was seeking. But the risk in that strategy that Trump would keep building strength was apparent from the outset. And even as other candidates dropped out, Kasich gained little while Cruz won endorsements and donations from many leading Republicans bent on stopping Trump. It was only in the final days of the campaign that Kasich attempted to halt Trumps path to the nomination, agreeing to a last-ditch pact with Cruz to divide their assets among a few remaining states. The candidates both believed that if they could deny Trump from getting a majority of the partys delegates, they could win the nomination at a contested convention this summer. Now, however, there is little doubt that Trump will claim the partys nomination. Kasichs cheerful campaign style made him few enemies on the campaign trail. I like John. Ive had a good relationship with John, Trump said on CNN on Wednesday, raising the specter he might choose him as a running mate. But Democrats in his home state feasted, accusing him of pursuing his presidential ambitions and ignoring the needs of the people of Ohio and demanding that his campaign tally its cost to state taxpayers so they could be reimbursed. Times staff writer Seema Mehta in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Twitter: @noahbierman ALSO: Analysis: GOP voters wanted an outsider who could fix the economy, and Trump fit their bill Ted Cruz was right: GOP voters wanted an anti-establishment candidate, just not him Trump ties Cruzs father to JFK assassination. His source? The National Enquirer UPDATES: 3:05 p.m.: This story was updated with Kasich announcing his campaigns end. This story was originally published at 9:36 a.m. Conspiracy theories and baseless charges are nothing new for Donald Trump. His latest claim made hours before he won the Republican presidential primary in Indiana and Ted Cruz dropped out of the race is that Ted Cruzs father had something to do with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Trump cited unsubstantiated allegations in a National Enquirer article last month tying the Texas senators father, Rafael Cruz, to Lee Harvey Oswald. Advertisement The supermarket tabloid quoted top D.C. insiders as saying Rafael Cruz was photographed with Oswald in New Orleans three months before the 1963 assassination. What was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death before the shooting? Trump said in an interview on Fox & Friends. Its horrible. That was reported, and nobody talks about it, he said. His comments came after Fox News aired a video clip of Rafael Cruz, a Cuban-born pastor, saying Indiana voters should cast their ballots according to the word of God and that not voting for his son would ensure the destruction of America. The National Enquirer has endorsed Trump. David Pecker, chairman and chief executive of its parent company, American Media, is a friend of the candidate. Campaigning in Indiana, Cruz told reporters that Trump was a pathological liar spreading falsehoods printed in a tabloid that lets the New York developer use it to smear adversaries. I guess I should go ahead and admit yes, my dad killed JFK, he is secretly Elvis, and Jimmy Hoffa is buried in his backyard, Cruz said. Donald was dismayed that the folks in the media werent repeating this latest idiocy, so he figured hed have to do it himself, he added. In March, the National Enquirer ran a story with uncorroborated accusations that Cruz had extramarital affairs. Trump said at the time that while the tabloid was right about O.J. Simpson, John Edwards, and many others, I certainly hope they are not right about Lyin Ted Cruz. The adultery story quoted longtime Trump political advisor Roger Stone, who wrote on Twitter Tuesday that the Oswald story was 100% correct. Mark Salter, a longtime political advisor to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), cited the incident in announcing he would cross party lines to back Democrat Hillary Clinton for president. Republicans, Salter wrote on Twitter, are going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks its on the level. Im with her. Radio host Rush Limbaugh condemned the accusation against Cruzs father and defended the mainstream media for ignoring the National Enquirer report. Its absurd, he told listeners. Trump has routinely launched attacks that would normally be deemed out of bounds even in the most contentious campaigns. He has displayed little concern about spreading falsehoods. When Trump was mulling a presidential run in 2011, he fueled the conspiracy theory that President Obama was born in Kenya and thus ineligible to serve as president. Trump dispatched private eyes to investigate the matter in Hawaii, where Obamas birth certificate shows he was born. Trump has also implied the Christian president is secretly a Muslim. He tweeted in February: I wonder if President Obama would have attended the funeral of Justice [Antonin] Scalia if it were held in a Mosque? Trump questioned authorities conclusion that the Supreme Court justice died in his sleep of natural causes. He also has suggested vaccines cause autism, a theory debunked by scientists. And he has spread a story discredited by historians about U.S. Army Gen. John Joseph Pershing using bullets dipped in pig blood to execute 49 Muslim terrorists around the time of the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902. In March, after a man tried to rush the stage at a Trump rally in Ohio, Trump accused him of having ties to the Islamic State terrorist group. But Trump had no evidence apart from a doctored video of the man in a student protest that had nothing to do with the Middle East. The latest dust-up underscored Trumps unpredictability in a potential general election contest against Clinton. Lynn Vavreck, a UCLA political science professor, said Trumps willingness to use anything he can find to defeat his rivals would keep [her] up at night if she were a Clinton advisor. I think it makes it harder to anticipate what is going to come your way in the general election campaign, she said. michael.finnegan@latimes.com Twitter: @finneganLAT Today, 10 people were honored by the White House as Champions of Change for Asian American and Pacific Islander Art and Storytelling. Among them are three Angelenos Tanzila Taz Ahmed, an activist and co-host of the #GoodMuslimBadMuslim podcast, Jenny Yang, a writer and stand-up comedian, and Jason Fong, a high school student and creator of the #MyAsianAmericanStory hashtag. Theyre all from fairly different backgrounds, and I wanted to know what drove them to do work in their communities. So, I got them on a conference call. We had a conversation about comedy, working with other communities, why they care about whitewashing in Hollywood, being woke, and the Peter Liang trial. Below is our conversation, lightly edited for clarity. DEXTER: Jenny, were you surprised to get the invitation to come to the White House to be honored? JENNY: I was! I definitely didnt grow up thinking that one day, Id be a champion of change. Im just doing what I always do. Im a good friend of Taz, though, so I can see why she is worthy. She and I were part of a delegation for solidarity with Black Lives Matter. We went to Ferguson to work with Hands Up United. Taz was part of that. Shes always involved with things, across the community. DEXTER: Taz, you also met Jason early on, right? TAZ: Yeah. So here's why Jason is cool. I was working for an organization, helping get people to vote, and Jason came in to help with the phone banks. He was just 12 then. JENNY: Wait, what? TAZ: Yeah, he came in at 12, and remember, he cant even vote until hes 18. People would hear his cute young voice and of course they couldnt hang up on him. Hes still only 16 now. And seeing him grow into a young leader, its amazing. DEXTER: Jason, youve got a little more bass in your voice now. Have people started hanging up on you yet? JASON: [laughs] Yeah, they have a little more excuse to, because Im older now. But I would say I was really surprised to be called up by the White House. What Im doing isnt really traditional activism. People say, Thats nice what you did on Twitter, but they dont consider it to be hardcore grass-roots activism, even though the #MyAsianAmericanStory tag did galvanize a lot of people. I guess that would be my question to Taz and Jenny, because youve actually been organizers how do you all define activism? TAZ: I think one of the things I had to understand growing up was that when I was trying to get people engaged in politics, they wouldnt engage with me until I made it fun. One of the biggest tools for getting people woke is art. You can move people with art, and once you move them, you can create consciousness, and change. You can't just tell people to register to vote and be done with it. JENNY: Yeah, I think political activism operates from your heart, your hands, your mind. Most people dont change because you give them a rational argument. We know this. They change because they are personally touched. And the only way we can do that, without being their friend or relative, is through communication and art. Thats what is so powerful. Once you know my story, you know me. And if you have an opportunity to speak out, or vote, your relationship with me might affect that in a positive way. TAZ: Thats what Jenny is doing with her comedy. Comedy is great because its disarming. It catches you unaware. I think theres something special about moving people through comedy. People may be guarded in their beliefs, but you can get around that wall, and before you know it, their minds are more open. JENNY: Thats the goal. DEXTER: All three of you have done a lot with social media. I think when we talk about movements and social media, we have to talk about Black Lives Matter. Jason, youve been pretty open about your taking inspiration from Black Lives Matter. JASON: Yeah, seeing how people used #BlackLivesMatter and how hashtags can give different things in the movement a signal boost has been eye opening. I thought maybe I could do something similar with a hashtag for my community. After a few weeks, #MyAsianAmericanStory kinda died down, but the Black Lives Matter movement hasnt gone anywhere. The fact that the hashtag is still being continually used to talk about inequality or police brutality, the fact that it was able to have permanence, Im trying to learn from that. I think its awesome to see hashtags like #WhiteWashedOUT and #MyYellowFaceStory. But we have a lot of work to do. The Peter Liang trial DEXTER: Youve also been writing a lot about anti-black racism within the Asian American community, specifically with the death of Akai Gurley, and the Peter Liang trial. JASON: Actually, I was pretty surprised about the pro-Peter Liang response among some Asian Americans, because that section of our community is usually not very politically engaged. I didnt think it would resonate with so many people. Thats part of the reason I try to write a lot about it. I want to show that theres a side of the Asian American community that does not support police brutality. To a lot of people outside of the community, who arent as familiar with us, it might appear that we as a people all support Peter Liang. I wanted to disprove that. DEXTER: So your writing is also faced toward the outside, not just inside the community? JASON: Maybe, but not just outside. The pro-Peter Liang protests also revealed something about us that was disturbing to me. It showed that a lot of Asian Americans want to raise themselves to white privilege, instead of everyone coming down to an equitable level. It was pretty disheartening. But thats why storytelling is so important. It puts a human face on it. My parents are pretty woke, but other people, sometimes family members, I have to talk to them. JENNY: The AAPI community is so diverse. Even just within East Asians, its so diverse. Different economic classes, different cultures, everything. I read something about people who were using Weibo [a Chinese language, Twitter-like service] to talk about the Peter Liang trial, to say that he was being scapegoated. And I thought, oh my gosh, of course. Thats part of the problem, that were not even using the same networks to talk to each other! Theres such a splintering of how we communicate within our own community. Theres separate communication channels being used to support something thats the complete opposite of what I believe. Thats one of the challenges we have as Asian Americans, to create a community out of something that isnt a community. DEXTER: What do you mean by that? A community that isnt a community. JENNY: Were so diverse, and were all just lumped in together. A big thing that unites us is our invisibility. But we have to see each other as partners, and develop a place of solidarity. We need a numerical power, a political power. Thats why 18 Million Rising, where Taz works, is so important. We're the fastest growing minority population. But were a drop in the bucket for mainstream media, who doesnt recognize us. Who cares about Ghost in the Shell? DEXTER: That makes me think of the conversations weve been having about whitewashing, with Scarlett Johansson being cast in "Ghost in the Shell," when the original character was Japanese, and things like that. How important is representation to you all? TAZ: Its the tip of the iceberg. Its such a small part of the picture. JASON: Media representation is one issue that brings a lot of people who are quote unquote woke. It does get attention. Thats why what Jenny does is cool, being an Asian American woman in the arts and getting others to participate in different media. JENNY: I think sometimes people dismiss the talk about whitewashing, or yellowface. People wonder why we get so upset about that. They say that at least were not dying, it could be worse. But it does matter. We have a lot of problems in Asian American communities. Mental health, suicide, depression. Its our job as storytellers to raise those issues. Otherwise well fool ourselves into thinking that these things are something to be ashamed of, and be silent about them. TAZ: Im going to speak as a Muslim American. My concern now is Im going to walk down the street and people will attack me because of my brown skin. This is stuff thats been pushed by people like Donald Trump. Hes used his candidacy to fearmonger, painting Muslims as villains. We were already feeling unsafe, and its just gotten worse. We cant even fly anymore. Our lives are being controlled by how media is representing us. Were not able to shape our own narrative, because others are doing it for us. Its horrible to be afraid for your life constantly. Thats what I mean when I say that representation in media, its just the tip of the iceberg. But its visible, so we should focus on it. JENNY: It has real consequences for our lives. A movie casting isnt all we think about, thats not where our activism ends. But movies, TV, everything has an impact, its visible. So we might as well use that as a tool, as a starting point to address everything else. DEXTER: That makes sense. I think a lot of people have been missing that point. But if you think about it within the larger context, making sure that you arent left out of the picture is important. White vs. Other JENNY: Dexter, you write about a lot of different communities. Whats your take on what is happening with Asian American activism right now? DEXTER: This is obviously just my perspective, but I think a big part of what is making things difficult is that when we talk about race, almost always, its white versus other. How black people interact with white people, how Asian people interact with white people, how Latinos interact with white people. Its almost like in the mainstream imagination, people of color cant interact without it being mediated through white people somehow. I think thats part of the reason that there wasnt a lot of good reporting on the Peter Liang trial. There's some good analysis out there, but a lot of people just dont know how to talk about race when it gets complicated. The concept that different people of color talk to one another seems to be completely lost on people. TAZ: Thats true. DEXTER: I blame a lot of things for that. I blame schools, I blame history books, I blame the media in general for that. I think a lot of Asian American kids, especially, have never heard of the history of organizing across Latino, black, Asian American communities. They have no idea. So their first step into wokeness is thinking that I gotta stand up for my people, when that actually might be a little simplistic, or misplaced. JENNY: I agree. People feel like they need to speak up for themselves. That impulse to fight for your own rights is great. Speak up about not being oppressed. But lets take a step further to see how your rights are being stepped on, and how that relates to everyone else who has a similar experience. TAZ: I just learned that there was a Muslim Yemeni man who was working alongside Cesar Chavez. Theres Yuri Kochiyama, Grace Lee Boggs. So many examples of interracial solidarity work. Its important that we understand the legacy of what were doing. Doing solidarity work is building on something that has been happening for a long time. Its part of how we got here. DEXTER: So how do we get further? How do these bridges get built? TAZ: We need more storytellers. More resources. JASON: We need to make connections. If we can do that, we can change attitudes of feeling entitled to white privilege. It will cause people within our own community to step back and ask, what are issues that Im facing, and how are these similar to things other people of color are dealing with? We need to encourage greater self-reflection. JENNY: Heres the thing. Were just ten people who are being honored today. But the only reason I can do what I do is because Im connected to hundreds of people in the comedy world. Im a political Asian, people dont think we exist! But we do. There are a lot of people who care about the community. They may not think of themselves as political, but they are doing important work. We should shine a light on that. Follow me @dexdigi for more on the intersection of culture and the Internet. ALSO Op-Ed: Is racial bias to blame for the high number of Asian Americans charged with espionage? Here is why Hollywood also has an LGBT diversity issue When Prince bended gender, he gave black men permission to be free Im Christina Bellantoni, and it was going to be great. But it wasnt meant to be. California voters readying for their chance to make history are going to need to start getting excited about the Senate race instead. Dont roll your eyes there are plenty of contests on June 7 to be interested in. But for today, Essential Politics is mourning the competitive presidential primary that wasnt. Advertisement It was over swiftly, as Donald Trump captured all of Indianas delegates and won the state by more than 182,000 votes. A day that started with accusations by Trump that Sen. Ted Cruzs father had something to do with the JFK assassination and rounded out with Cruz calling Trump amoral and a pathological liar ended with subdued, thoughtful words. He is a tough, smart guy, and he has got an amazing future, Trump said, calling Cruz one hell of a competitor. For his part, the Texas senator who was the first to enter the race called for healing. We want to bring unity to the Republican party. We have to bring unity, he said. As Lisa Mascaro writes, Cruz was right all along that Republicans were looking for an outsider. It just wasnt him. Cruz was in the race 407 days, winning 10 states and 565 delegates. He had a vice presidential running mate for six days. He said his average donation was $60. In the end, as he told supporters Tuesday, There is no substitute for victory. Ohio Gov. John Kasichs team pledged to keep up the fight until someone has 1,237 delegates, and the Never Trump movement also refused to bow out. As the GOP race winds down, we will continue to track the race on Trail Guide and via @latimespolitics. SANDERS VICTORY Sen. Bernie Sanders remains on track to lose the Democratic nomination race, but he nonetheless managed to keep his agenda at the center of it as he toppled Hillary Clinton in Indiana. The Vermont senator bested his rival by about 32,000 votes, earning six more delegates than Clinton in the process. That was enough for him to soldier forward. Sanders issued a defiant statement: The Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. Theyre wrong. Clintons team ignored Sanders and kept up attacks against Trump, calling him too big of a risk to become president. LEGALIZING POT HEADS TO NOVEMBER BALLOT A measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use in California appears headed for the Nov. 8 ballot. A coalition that includes former Facebook President Sean Parker on Tuesday said it has collected 600,000 signatures, more than enough to qualify the initiative. Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and other supporters plan to kick off a campaign for voter approval of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act on Wednesday in San Francisco. Were tracking all of the initiatives on our Essential Politics news feed. CRUZ DOWN, SANCHEZ UP? With the Republican presidential race now a lot less interesting, that might douse the expected surge in GOP turnout forecast for the June 7 primary. And that, in the twisted world of politics, could help Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchezs bid for the U.S. Senate, Phil Willon reports. TODAYS ESSENTIALS Mark Z. Barabak examined the tortured language Republicans have been using as they endorsed in the presidential race. Basically, no one is all that excited about the candidates this cycle. Lawmakers and advocacy groups on Tuesday debated the merits of a gun control initiative backed by Newsom after 600,000 signatures were turned in last week to qualify the measure for the November ballot. Rep. Tony Cardenas has poured more than $300,000 from his re-election campaign fund into legal services with five Los Angeles law firms in the past year, but his attorney says there is no indication the congressman is the subject of a rumored federal investigation. The amount is 40% of the $780,898 Cardenas has spent on his re-election campaign in a race where the only other candidate to have raised a significant amount of money, Richard Alarcon, is facing legal troubles of his own. Oops! Visitors to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconers page on the citys newly redesigned city website were directed for some time to a Facebook account created to get him re-elected. What do you think of Trump? Readers can weigh in with our quick survey. LOGISTICS Miss yesterdays newsletter? Here you go. Did someone forward you this? Sign up here to get Essential Politics in your inbox daily. And keep an eye on our politics page throughout the day for the latest and greatest. And are you following us on Twitter at @latimespolitics? Please send thoughts, concerns and news tips to politics@latimes.com. Political tension ramps up at legislative hearing on Newsoms gun control initiative Backers of a gun control initiative proposed for the November ballot argued during a legislative forum Tuesday that it is needed to make California safer, while opponents said it will unfairly harm law-abiding gun owners and is primarily aimed at getting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom elected governor. Newsom turned in 600,000 signatures last week for an initiative that would require background checks for ammunition purchasers, ban large-capacity magazines, make gun thefts a felony and require those convicted of serious crimes to give up their firearms within 14 days. The Assembly and Senate Public Safety committees held a joint hearing on the proposal Tuesday in anticipation of the measure qualifying. Craig DeLuz, head of the Firearms Policy Coalition, told lawmakers that most of the provisions in the initiative have been rejected by the Legislature or the governor as too extreme or unworkable. He said the real purpose of the initiative is to get Newsom elected as governor in 2018. Its for one individual to get his name in the paper so he can run for higher office, DeLuz told the lawmakers. That drew a rubuke from state Sen. Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), chair of the Senate panel. I do take offense at the personal attacks on the proponents of the intiative, Hancock said during the hearing. Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) responded, saying the initiative is unnecessary. I am equally offended that the person who came up with this initiative isnt here today to address this body, she said. Thats incredibly disrespectful. Newsom, who has fueded with legislative leaders who are pursuing their own gun control bills, did not attend the hearing, instead participating in a memorial service held for California Highway Patrol officers, a representative said. Attorneys for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which co-wrote the initiative, told lawmakers it will plug serious loopholes in Californias tough gun laws. We believe reasonably that more can and should be done to protect California families and keep lethal weapons out of dangerous hands, added Ari Freilich, a staff attorney at the center. The initiative was criticized by Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Michele Hanisee, president of the Assn. of Deputy District Attorneys of Los Angeles, who predicted many people will not obey the new laws requiring them to get rid of high-capacity magazines. The initiative places additional burdens on an already overburdened court system, she added. None of the lawmakers at the hearing commited to endorsing the initiative. Lawmakers raised questions about the cost of enforcing the initiative, but the Legislative Analysts Office said the bulk of costs may be recovered by fees authorized by the measure. Hancock said she is interested in alternative approaches to addressing gun violence, including a look at improving mental health services. A measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use in California appears headed for the Nov. 8 ballot. A coalition that includes former Facebook President Sean Parker on Tuesday said it has collected 600,000 signatures, more than enough to qualify the initiative. Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and other supporters of the measure plan to kick off a campaign for voter approval of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act on Wednesday in San Francisco. Advertisement The measure would allow adults ages 21 and older to possess, transport and use up to an ounce of marijuana for recreational purposes and would allow individuals to grow as many as six plants. This November, California voters will finally have the opportunity to pass smart marijuana policy that is built on the best practices of other states, includes the strictest child protections in the nation and pays for itself while raising billions for the state, Newsom said in a statement. The coalition, which includes some law enforcement and civil rights leaders, needed to collect 365,880 signatures of registered voters to qualify the initiative, which would also place a 15% tax on retail sales of the drug. The use of marijuana in public and while driving would remain illegal. Parker, a billionaire who also co-founded the file-sharing service Napster, donated more than $1 million to the campaign to collect signatures and qualify the initiative. If elections officials verify that the signatures turned in Wednesday are sufficient and voters approve the initiative, California would join Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon as states that allow recreational use of marijuana. Opposition is already organizing behind groups such as Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana, which formed to defeat a 2010 legalization initiative that was rejected by 53% of voters. Marijuana is a very dangerous drug, said Scott Chipman, a San Diego businessman who is the Southern California chairman of the group. The state has not proven it has the capacity or the will to properly regulate marijuana and so they wont. The measure is also opposed by the California Police Chiefs Assn., in part, because of problems that have arisen in Colorado. Ventura Police Chief Ken Corney, president of the association, said extremely potent marijuana is being sold in Colorado that he fears will lead to high addiction rates and high incidents of psychosis. This is bad for our communities. This is bad for our youth and its a broad commercialization [of drugs], a for-profit, money-making model, Corney said. More than 55% of California voters allowed the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 1996 when they approved Proposition 215. Despite the defeat of a 2010 legalization initiative, a poll last year by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 55% of likely voters in California favor full legalization. Im excited to be a part of one of the largest coalitions of cannabis and non-cannabis organizations to come together to push this initiative forward, said Nate Bradley, executive director of the California Cannabis Industry Assn. Bradley, who backed the failed 2010 initiative, said voters have since seen how well [legalizing recreational use] has worked in other states. Newsom, who is running for governor in 2018, formed a blue ribbon commission on marijuana policy that made recommendations, many of which were incorporated into the initiative. The measure is supported by the Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Policy Project, California Cannabis Industry Assn., California Medical Assn. California NAACP, and the national Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The medical association said in a statement that it supports the measure because the most effective way to protect the public health is to tightly control, track and regulate marijuana and to comprehensively research and educate the public on its health impacts, not through ineffective prohibition. Supporters hope to build on the momentum from the Legislatures action last year to set up regulations for the medical marijuana industry in California. The new initiative would expand on that, renaming the state Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation as the Bureau of Marijuana Control. patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com Follow @mcgreevy99 on Twitter. ALSO Federal prosecutors drop case against Bay Area pot dispensary Only one of Californias pot initiatives has the green that counts Driving while high? Lawmakers want police to be able to check Updates from Sacramento Among the littlest people diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder--ADHD--nearly half get no more help dealing with their distractedness, impulsiveness and hyperactivity than that provided by prescription medication, says a new government report. Thats despite the fact that for these patients--children ages 2 to 5 diagnosed with ADHD--behavior therapy can help children develop self-control, organizational skills and coping mechanisms, tools that would help them over the long run. More than 6 million American kids--about 11%--have been diagnosed with ADHD, and a third of those kids, generally those most severely affected by the disorder, got a diagnosis before they even entered first grade. For kids this young, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that psychological services be tried first before medications are prescribed. Advertisement See the most-read stories in Science this hour >> But 3 in 4 such children receive prescription medication, generally stimulant medication that can disrupt sleep patterns, cause irritability and stomachaches and blunt appetites. And about half do not, in any given year, see a psychologist. That pattern of over-reliance on medication alone has changed little over recent decades, even as rates of pediatric ADHD diagnoses have soared. A 2015 study in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry reported a 43% jump in ADHD diagnoses among American schoolchildren in a recent eight-year stretch alone. Among girls, the hike in diagnoses was even steeper. Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters Tuesday that the benefits of behavior therapy can last for years. At the same time, Schuchat said the effects of long-term ADHD medication use by young children is unknown. The CDC is therefore encouraging pediatricians and other healthcare providers to work with families to make sure children with ADHD are receiving the most appropriate treatment, she said. And that should include a discussion about behavior therapy as a first step, Schuchat added. In addition to psychological services aimed directly at helping the child, services that help train parents to deal with and mold a childs behavior can be highly effective in managing a childs ADHD symptoms. Schuchats comments came against the backdrop of a CDC report that tracked the healthcare claims data of at least 5 million children from the age of 2 to 5. It found that children on Medicaid, the federal healthcare program for low-income families and the disabled, are more likely than children who are privately insured to receive psychological services if they are diagnosed with ADHD. Among young kids on Medicaid with ADHD, 54% received such services. Among those who are privately insured, just 45% did. Schuchat acknowledged that behavioral training is not available everywhere and is not covered by all insurance plans. Some centers base their fees on income or offer group sessions, which are less costly than individual sessions, she said. While states oversee the expansion of services available to children with ADHD, Schuchat added, physicians should stress to parents the desirability of getting such help for their children with ADHD. Follow me on Twitter @LATMelissaHealy and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. Heart disease, cancer ... and medical errors? A new tally of mistakes made in American hospitals suggests that medical errors are the No. 3 cause of death in the U.S. At least 250,000 deaths each year can be attributed to medical care that has gone awry, according to a report published Tuesday in the British Medical Journal. That means deadly mistakes are responsible for more fatalities than chronic respiratory disease, which currently ranks third on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions list of leading causes of death. See the most-read stories in Science this hour >> Advertisement In 2014, 147,101 deaths in the U.S. were caused by chronic lower respiratory diseases, according to the CDC. Heart disease was the top killer that year with 614,348 deaths, and cancer ranked second with 591,699 deaths. Fatal medical errors include cases in which patients received medications they were allergic to and instances in which patients died of preventable infections, among many other possibilities. Doctors and nurses are not necessarily involved, experts said sometimes a faulty computer program may be to blame. Medical care has become really complex, said Dr. David Classen, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Utah who was not involved in the study. Its no longer one single physician taking care of a single person at a hospital. Its these huge groups of people now, and mistakes get made. The authors, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said that while human error is inevitable, medical errors dont have to be. The CDC currently has no good way of tracking deaths that result from medical mistakes, the authors wrote. The agencys statistics are pulled from the International Classification of Diseases codes that appear on death certificates. These codes were instituted in 1949 and do not include any that indicate a death was the result of a mistake in the hospital. At that time it was under-recognized that diagnostic errors, medical mistakes and the absence of safety nets could result in someones death, Dr. Martin Makary, the surgeon who led the study, said in a statement. Because of that, medical errors were unintentionally excluded from national health statistics. The estimate in the new report is based on four previous studies that analyzed death rate data from 2000 to 2008. Makary and coauthor Michael Daniel, a research fellow in the Hopkins department of surgery, extrapolated those findings to the total number of hospital admissions in 2013 to arrive at the 250,000 figure. They note, however, that this estimate is probably low. The studies they relied on considered only errors that could be documented in health records, and included only deaths of patients being cared for in hospitals, they said. One way to get a better picture of the toll of medical errors would be to create death certificates that ask whether a preventable complication in the patients medical care contributed to the death, the authors wrote. That could help experts predict when and where medical errors are most likely to occur and take steps to prevent them. Standardized data collection and reporting processes are needed to build up an accurate national picture of the problem, they wrote. Measuring the consequences of medical care on patient outcomes is an important prerequisite to creating a culture of learning from our mistakes. Do you love science? I do! Follow me @DeborahNetburn and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook. About 400 people, including many members of the Armenian community, filled up the Glendale Hiltons grand ballroom Saturday for the Armenian Relief Societys 29th annual fashion show. This years designer was Kevork Shadoyan, a Syrian-Armenian who traveled from Armenia to bring his Shadoyan Fashion Couture House line to attendees, who sat down for a three-course meal at tables circling a white runway. NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with whats going on in your community>> This year, its very special, said Zharmen Mirzakhanyan, a society member. Each [piece] has meaning behind [it]. The show opened with the 12 models sporting national Armenian costumes, with modern twists added. 1 / 14 Olga Gure (Ms. Russia L.A.) models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 2 / 14 Edgar Rostomyan, left, and Madezhda Hovhannisyan, right, walk the runway at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 3 / 14 Maya Zohrabian models for the crowds at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 4 / 14 Lali Nebier models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 5 / 14 Designer Kevork Shadoyan, center left, with his crew and models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 6 / 14 Designer Kevork Shadoyan, center, talks to his models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 7 / 14 Maya Zohrabian models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 8 / 14 Maya Zohrabian models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 9 / 14 Sheila B. models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 10 / 14 Glendale plastic surgeon Dr. Susan Chobanian, left, and Glendale mayor Paula Devine at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 11 / 14 Attendees wait for the models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 12 / 14 Olga Gure (Ms. Russia L.A.) models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 13 / 14 Roshana Edwards models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) 14 / 14 Adela Amirian at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) A man and woman modeled traditional Artsakh clothing, ethnic styles worn by Armenians living in what is known also as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a separatist region in Azerbaijan. Deadly clashes in the disputed territory last month between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops left a few dozen dead. Mirzakhanyan said some of the proceeds will go directly to the families of Armenian soldiers killed in the fighting. Sheila B. models at the Armenian Relief Society Sepan Chapter Fashion Show at the Hilton in Glendale on Saturday, April 30, 2016. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer) She said additional money raised from tickets and sponsorships will go to fund local community projects, offer financial aid to local students and assist victims of national disasters and war. After showcasing the traditional Armenian garb, models took the runway in stylish evening wear, gowns and even a wedding dress. Many in the audience turned into fashion photographers, whipping out smartphones to snap a few shots of the models in their stylish attire. Burbank resident and first-time attendee Lourdes Thangtamsativ said the designs were gorgeous, especially the wedding dress. I love the fashion, she said. Everything was beautiful. -- Ryan Fonseca, ryan.fonseca@latimes.com Twitter: @RyFons -- ALSO: Bye bye, Bob Hope: Airfield rebrands as Hollywood Burbank Airport County commissioners vote to remove welcome sign from Hindenburg Park Racial slurs by law enforcement are a legacy thats becoming more unacceptable Theyre denied an education, kidnapped, gang-raped and sold in the market. Theyre forced to cart water and theyre married off early to old men. Then one extraordinary girl, Malala Yousafzai, escaped the fate of others and soared to freedom, voicing the pain and terror of adolescent girls across large parts of the world. Malala, who was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday with Indian childrens rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, has become a symbol of hope in her homeland, Pakistan, where girls are sometimes slain by their families in honor killings if they dare to marry for love, or are kept out of school in deeply conservative communities. Advertisement The award comes as girls are under attack by extremists in countries such as Nigeria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and are routinely abused in nations including India, Somalia and South Africa. In Nigeria, hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by the violent Islamist militia Boko Haram are still in captivity, including nearly 219 seized in April, whose fate was highlighted in the #BringBackOurGirls Twitter campaign this year. In Iraq, the militant group Islamic State has kidnapped hundreds of girls of the minority Yazidi sect in recent months, who are raped and sold like cattle or given to commanders as gifts, activists say. In India, where horrific cases of sexual abuse of girls and young women surface regularly, two girls were raped and killed in a village in Uttar Pradesh state in May. Their bodies were found hanging in a mango tree. They had gone outside their home at night to relieve themselves in a field because of a lack of bathrooms. This award is for all the children who are voiceless, whose voices need to be heard, Malala, 17, said after she became the youngest recipient in history of a prize that is infrequently awarded to women. Spotlighting the struggles of boys as well as girls, the Nobel committee announced in Oslo that the award was also being given to Satyarthi, 60, founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or the Save the Childhood Movement, which has campaigned to free thousands of children from forced labor and human trafficking. Both Malala and Satyarthi have made exceptional sacrifices, facing the very real possibility of death for their work as advocates for children. The decision was packed with symbolism: a shared award for a Pakistani and an Indian, each struggling for childrens rights in neighboring rival nuclear nations, whose disputed borders in Kashmir have been racked by intense shelling in recent days. The difference in the two recipients ages illustrated that the struggle for fundamental human rights is everyones concern. The committee announced that the pair would receive the award for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. It said it regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism. Malala, a high school student, was at school in Birmingham, England, when the prize was announced and made the world wait until after school for her comments. This is not the end.... I want to see every child going to school and getting an education, she said. The daughter of a school administrator in the town of Mingora, she had bristled against a Taliban rule against education for girls when she was as young as 11. Despairing at the thought of a life stuck at home, she wrote a blog, campaigning for girls education, and appeared on TV and in an international documentary. In October 2012, she was aboard a school bus in the Swat Valley, in northwestern Pakistan, when Taliban gunmen asked for her by name and opened fire. A bullet to the head nearly killed her. Malala has impressed television audiences with her soft-spoken philosophy of forgiveness and peace, and with the steely strength behind it. Her comments to the United Nations last year voiced her hope for something better for girls, The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same, she said. Shahidullah Jan, a Peshawar-based activist of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent organization, said Friday that Malalas campaign had helped improve girls access to education in Pakistan but had done little to change entrenched practices such as early marriage and honor killings in deeply conservative regions like the Swat Valley. It will take time for the girls inspired by Malala to become educated and start speaking for their rights. It will take time to bring change, but she at least has started the process, Jan said. Liesl Gerntholtz, Human Rights Watch director for womens rights, said the fact that Malala was awarded the prize was indicative of growing global awareness of abuses against girls. She said it was important to be aware that boys were vulnerable to violence, forced labor and other abuses, but added that girls were more vulnerable. The fact that Malala, a 17-year-old Pakistani girl, should win a Nobel Peace Prize is an important indication that the world is recognizing that this is a problem that we need to address, she said. Progress is being made. But a lot more needs to be done. Terrorism, sexual violence and the threat of abduction are the depressing, everyday reality for many adolescent girls. When conflict surges in deeply unequal societies, as it has in Syria, Iraq and Nigeria, girls and women often become plunder of war. In Iraq last month, a 14-year-old Yazidi girl detailed her experience, in an interview widely published, offering a firsthand account of attacks on Yazidi girls in northern Iraq as they tried to flee the war: She was seized as a concubine by an overweight, much older, bearded Islamic State commander in northern Iraq. He kicked and beat her daily when she resisted his advances, until she managed to escape. Twelve-year-old girls, raped. Ten-year-old girls, raped. This girl could be your daughter, she could be your sister, she could be your neighbor, Yazidi lawmaker Vian Dakhil said in a recent interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Some are at prisons here, still in Iraq, and some have been taken to Syria, and some are in Mosul. They are taken to be raped, and they are selling them, $150 for a girl. In Nigeria, hundreds of girls have been abducted in recent years, with the numbers surging as Boko Haram launched an aggressive advance, taking control of villages and towns in the northeast. In the town of Chibok, in eastern Nigeria, 276 girls who were at a school to take final exams were seized in April; 57 escaped in the early days of captivity, but 219 are unaccounted for. Im the one that captured your girls. Ill sell them in the market, by God. Theres a market for selling people. God has commanded me to sell, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said in a chilling video soon after the abduction. In July, Malala met with girls and their families in Nigeria and pressed President Goodluck Jonathan to do more to free those still captive. In March, a Human Rights Watch report said the rape of women and girls in Somalia had become normal, with the large proportion of women displaced by conflict particularly vulnerable. The U.N. reported 800 cases of sexual violence in Mogadishu, the capital, in the first six months of 2013. About a third of Somali rape victims are children, according to the U.N. Theres a correlation between countries that have a high level of inequality between men and women and violence against women, said Gerntholtz. There are countries like Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia where you have conflict-related violence that affects women and girls. There are also countries that have very low levels of equality between men and women and you see violence related to womens subordination, like Saudi Arabia and many parts of the Middle East. Key issues, she said, are ensuring that girls are not married or forced to drop out of school to go to work at a young age and are able to finish high school. But even when countries are not at war, girls are more likely to face violence and rape at school, according to the U.N. Girls Education Initiative, making education a terrifying experience for abuse victims. When a researcher for a study on girls education last year asked girls in rural Uganda what their biggest problem was, the response came back, The biggest problem is these men who disturb us, begging for sex when walking to school, UNGEI director Nora Fyles said in a blog last year. She said U.N. reports indicated that girls at secondary education levels increasingly face sexual violence, including forced marriage, abduction and sexual exploitation, taking advantage of the fact that girls have limited financial and material means. Girls from impoverished families are more likely to drop out of school to earn money for the family, with an estimated 90 million girls in harmful child labor, the U.N. says. Early marriage with the bride often paid for in cows cuts girls education short in countries such as South Sudan and consigns them to lives of drudgery and often domestic violence. In Malawi, where the legal marriage age is 15, more than 51% of girls are married before 18, according to the U.N. In India, the figure is 47% and in both Nigeria and Afghanistan, its 46%. In Chad, the figure is 72%. For Malala, the life she escaped but which millions of others endure represents a prison. I didnt want my future to be just sitting in a room and be imprisoned in my four walls and just cooking and giving birth to children, she said in a BBC interview last year. I didnt want to see my life in that way. Dixon reported from Johannesburg, South Africa. Special correspondents Aoun Abbas Sahi in Islamabad, Pakistan; Zulfiqar Ali in Peshawar, Pakistan; Parth M.N. in Mumbai, India; and Christine Mai-Duc in Los Angeles contributed to this report. For more international news, follow @RobynDixon_LAT on Twitter. Theres a buzz in the air in Pyongyang this week, a certain frisson that seems a combination of anticipation, tension and exhaustion. North Koreans are gearing up for something they havent seen in more than three decades a Workers Party Congress, the highest-level political gathering in the reclusive one-party state. Since January, Kim Jong Uns government has been doing its utmost to set the stage: Hes tested a nuclear weapon, launched a satellite into low-Earth orbit and fired off some missiles. Although many countries are aghast at the moves, even going so far as to pass new sanctions at the United Nations, in North Korea theyre portrayed as feats of strength. See the most-read stories this hour >> Advertisement When the congress opens Friday, theyll be celebrated as great achievements, examples of how Kim has purportedly brought this impoverished country of 24 million into some sort of parity with superpowers such as the United States. But one man cannot a party make, so Kim has been exhorting all citizens to take part in a 70-Day Speed Battle to prepare for the event. The drive kicked off in late February, and since then, across the capital, workers have been painting buildings in bright pastels and otherwise spiffing up their city. New propaganda banners have sprung up across the spartan metropolis of 2.5 million. Let us strengthen our partys might and fighting strength! exhorts one red-and-green billboard. Single-hearted unity! Clusters of red flags with yellow communist sickles have appeared on street corners like bouquets. Brigades of gardeners are hastily planting real flowers at major intersections. The last Workers Party Congress took place in Pyongyang in 1980. (Korea News Service / Associated Press ) The state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun declared Wednesday that the battle had been an absolute success. Join the conversation on Facebook >> Unceasing in the spirit of success, all workers are rushing like a storm to make the Seventh Party Congress the congress of victors and glory, the paper claimed. The article further asserted that the 70-day battle had resulted in the miraculous production of an additional 160 million kilowatts of electricity, 360,000 tons of coal and 49,000 tons of cement. Adults and schoolchildren have been ordered to participate in a variety of performances. On Wednesday afternoon, scores of young men were huddled in a pedestrian underpass near the Arch of Triumph, whittling sticks apparently to be used in some sort of a candlelight procession; when a government minder caught a Western journalist taking photos of the scene, she ordered her away from the area, directing her gaze instead across the street, where teenage girls in white blouses and dark skirts practiced twirling red flags. In front of the Gwangbok department store, creaking streetcars stuffed to the gills disgorged a constant stream of women in traditional Korean dresses and men in suits or military uniforms returning from rehearsals of some sort involving artificial flowers. The party congress will kick off at the April 25 House of Culture, a massive edifice adorned, like all major government buildings, with large portraits of founding father Kim Il Sung and his son and successor, Kim Jong Il. Such a confab has not been held since 1980, when Kim Il Sung was still at the helm. Kim Jong Il did not care much for such gatherings, doing away with many party formalities and instead ruling through a small circle of aides while in power from 1994 to 2011. 1 / 13 Girls practice a flag routine to be performed during celebrations for the Workers Party Congress. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 13 People participating in rehearsals for performances at the upcoming Workers Party Congress head home. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 13 Flowers are being planted at a major intersection in front of a propaganda billboard for the party congress. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 13 The April 25 House of Culture, where the congress is to be held. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 13 A poster for the 7th Workers Party Congress. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 13 People head home after taking part in rehearsals for performances at the political gathering. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 13 A propaganda billboard in Pyongyang. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 13 Schoolgirls heading home from rehearsals. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 13 Some Pyongyang residents check a national flag hanging along a street in the capital. The city is being heavily decorated for the Workers Party Congress and generally spiffed up. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 13 People participating in rehearsals for a candlelight procession wait in an underpass near the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 13 A mural featuring founding father Kim Il Sung near the stadium named after him in Pyongyang. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 13 A worker cleans the street in the run-up to the congress. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 13 People participating in rehearsals before the congress head home. (Julie Makinen / Los Angeles Times) But Kim Jong Un, who took over in December 2011 after the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, appears to be trying to govern more in the relatively ritualized style of his grandfather, outside analysts say. The party congress will gather delegates from across the country, and they are expected to bestow formal titles upon Kim and perhaps consider revisions to the party charter. Some overseas observers say the event may also offer signals as to what economic policy changes the young leader may decide to pursue, including a possible re-introduction of a taxation system as the country adopts more market-style enterprises even as it pursues nuclear weapons and missiles in defiance of U.N. resolutions. Exactly what will transpire when the curtain goes up Friday remains a closely guarded secret. But analysts outside the country expect it to be a formal coronation of sorts for Kim Jong Un, who has been consolidating his rule for the last four years. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> And if Kim has any plans for significant changes in North Korea, the party congress is when he would be expected to announce them. Writing last fall on 38 North, a website of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, one North Korea expert said the congress would be a good time for Kim Jong Un to lead his country on the path of gradual but real reform. He could go down in history as the man who unleashed the vast economic potential of his country and turned it into the next East Asian dragon the man who brought lasting peace to Korea and prosperity to his people, wrote Ruediger Frank, the head of East Asian studies at the University of Vienna. Perhaps thats not what will happen. But as Kim has amply demonstrated, he is a man who likes to keep things interesting. MORE FROM NORTH KOREA A North Korean farm may not be what it appears At a North Korean nursery school, tots get an early education in weaponry You can buy Cognac at North Koreas airport, but a SIM card? Not so much. For more details on the Congress, check out our Q+A with an expert on the North Korean leadership. Follow @JulieMakLAT for news from Asia. The dead started washing up in April: miles and miles of fish, countless clams, the occasional whale. Government researchers eventually concluded that toxic elements were responsible for the die-off, which Vietnamese officials described as unprecedented. Now people are wondering whether the seabirds dying along Vietnams central coast are also victims of industrial pollution. Fears that tainted fish collected off the beaches are entering this fast-developing nations food supply have inspired outrage on social media and a wave of rare public demonstrations, putting pressure on a government that is accused of failing to protect public health in its push for industrial growth. Authorities have acknowledged a slow response as public scrutiny focuses on a massive Taiwanese-owned steel plant accused of pumping untreated wastewater into the sea. Advertisement My family has decided not to buy sea fish at this time, said Le Ngoc Bich, a clothing vendor in a traditional open-air market in Ho Chi Minh City. Fish vendors are the ones who suffer. Everyone is anxious. We dont know what is safe to eat. Vietnamese protesters demonstrate against Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa during a rally in downtown Hanoi on May 1, 2016. (Hoang Dinh Nam / AFP/Getty Images) Thousands of Vietnamese have signed a petition calling for President Obama to raise their concerns during his long-anticipated visit to Vietnam, expected this month. The environmental calamity, observers say, could also complicate the Obama administrations efforts to win final congressional approval for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a 12-nation trade pact that is touted in Vietnam as an economic boon. This is a test for the government to get to the bottom of this and take appropriate action, said attorney Fred Burke, Vietnam managing partner of the international firm Baker & McKenzie. He is also chairman of the TPP Committee of the Hanoi Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce. Vietnam, known as a leading exporter of rice and coffee, attracted $14.5 billion in direct foreign investments in 2015, continuing a trend that is credited with helping lift the country of 90 million people to middle-income status as measured by the World Bank. The steel plant suspected of releasing contaminants, owned by Taiwans Formosa Plastics Group, represents a $10-billion investment. The government, I think, doesnt care very much so we have to do something. Vietnamese protester Vu Quan Vietnams citizenry and foreign investors alike, Burke said, should hope for strong government action against corporate wrongdoers who fail to comply with international environmental standards and laws. If the government is not stringent on this, it tarnishes all foreign investors by association, Burke said. A governmental failure to enforce environmental laws could give Vietnam the reputation of a bad actor in foreign trade and provide another argument for congressional opponents of the TPP. The die-off was first noticed on April 6 as thousands, and later millions, of fish washed ashore along a 125-mile stretch of coastline in north-central Vietnam, including some popular beaches that ordinarily attract Vietnamese tourists. Witness accounts described how many people collected large numbers of dead fish and placed them in refrigerated compartments, presumably to sell. Over ensuing days, the Vietnamese military was ordered to help clean up the beach and bury the dead fish. This picture taken on April 20, 2016 shows a man walking among dead fish lying on a beach in Quang Trach district in Vietnams central coastal province of Quang Binh. (Stringer / AFP/Getty Images) Vietnams communist leadership acknowledged fault in its response, including a public apology from new Environment Minister Tran Hong Ha. The initial handling was passive, the government said in a statement last week, and described environmental monitoring as untimely, inaccurate and infrequent. In addition to penalties imposed by the government, Burke said, wrongdoers would face civil suits from fishermen and others whose businesses have been devastated by the die off. But many Vietnamese have complained that authorities have been slow to follow up on allegations that Formosas steel plant poured untreated wastewater into the ocean. Authorities announced that scientists from the U.S., Germany and Israel are joining in efforts to analyze wastewater from all factories in north-central Ha Tinh province. Environmental consultant Bui Minh Lanh, who has worked with dioxin and wastewaters, suggested that the chemical sleuthing should have been completed within a week and delays will make it harder to trace the original source. Formosa has handled the controversy clumsily. While emphasizing there was no proof of its responsibility, a company public relations official also suggested that Vietnam may have to accept environmental trade-offs for industrial growth perhaps a choice between steel or fish. That prompted a social media backlash and the hashtag #Ichoosefish. Formosa management soon apologized for the comment and said the official who made the statement would be punished. In a statement on April 26, Formosa said it was deeply surprised and sorry about the fish deaths. Formosa said its $10-billion investment in the steel factory included $45 million for a wastewater treatment system. Formosas reaction fueled public demonstrations from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City rare in a communist-run country where protesters who lack permits are often jailed. On Sunday, hundreds of Vietnamese gathered at the landmark Hanoi Opera House holding protest signs. Security forces elected to watch as protesters later marched for three hours around nearby Hoan Kiem Lake. Protester Vu Quan told a wire service that he believed the authorities were complicit in a coverup. The government, I think, doesnt care very much so we have to do something. Some Vietnamese are already stockpiling fish sauce, a culinary staple. My concern is that fish from contaminated areas will be used as raw materials, said Tran Thi Dan, owner of a small fish sauce business. It will cause a huge impact on my business because people are afraid of poisoning. Id love to know the reasons of the mass fish death, she added. Perhaps the results have not been published due to political reasons. Harris is a special correspondent. MORE FROM WORLD At a North Korean nursery school, tots get an early education in weaponry North Korean capital in throes of 70-Day Speed Battle to prepare for political confab In the Philippines, a government with heart versus the rule of the fist To Russian President Vladimir Putin, the mammoth Vostochny cosmodrome in the far eastern Siberian taiga illustrates the nations ongoing role as a space pioneer. The desolate area six time zones from Moscow provides ample space away from most communities to launch rockets carrying small cargo such as satellites and, eventually, larger rockets and manned missions. The facility also is expected to help ease Russias dependence on the historic Baikonur cosmodrome, which is in formerly Soviet Kazakhstan and costs Moscow $115 million a year to lease. The Baikonur complex is where the worlds first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, and the rocket that carried Yuri Gagarin, the first human in orbit, were launched during the Cold War. Advertisement But the road to Vostochny, which means Eastern, has not been smooth since Putin signed a 2007 decree to build the multibillion-dollar spaceport. The construction turned into a public relations nightmare and a symbol of Russias post-Soviet space failures caused in part by brain drain, erosion of scientific and technological standards and corruption. Unpaid construction workers started hunger strikes, held rallies and painted gigantic cries for help on the roofs of their barracks before a Putin inspection visit last year. More than 80 audits identified 1,651 violations of the labor code and triggered 20 investigations into several subcontractors and hundreds of officials. Almost 180 of them were demoted and reprimanded, three were sentenced to jail and four more have been arrested. It symbolizes the degradation of the system of making and implementing decisions, Pavel Luzin, an independent space industry analyst, said in an interview. Although Russia plays a key role in the operation of the International Space Station, which has been continuously occupied since November 2000, Moscow has faced a string of humiliating failures. Since 2010, it has lost dozens of domestically manufactured and foreign-made commercial satellites worth hundreds of millions of dollars and a cargo ship in a series of malfunctions and crashes. Kliper, a reusable spacecraft for up to six cosmonauts, has been grounded. Phobos-Grunt, an automatic research station designed to deliver samples from the Martian moon Phobos, failed to leave Earths orbit in 2011 and burned down a year later. Last month, Yuri Milner, a Russian billionaire who was named after Gagarin, teamed up with theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking to announce a plan to send ultralight spacecraft to Alpha Centauri. He did not say a word about using Russian space expertise although his announcement was made on the 55th anniversary of Gagarins flight. As recently as last week, Russian officials were embarrassed by a glitch that caused a delay in the nations first rocket launch from Vostochny and generated reprimands from Putin, who had traveled to the site for the occasion. A day later, Putin watched the successful launch of an unmanned Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying three satellites that separated and headed to their orbits, the state-run Roscosmos space agency said. Really, like they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and the proof of the cosmodromes readiness for operation is the first launch. And you did it, Putin, who watched from about a mile away, told officials. I want to congratulate you. We should be proud. Its a serious and important contribution to the development of the Russian space industry. As part of his enthusiasm for the project, Putin previously renamed the town closest to Vostochny after Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a czarist-era schoolteacher who postulated the use of rockets for space travel and dreamed of spreading human life across the universe. Moscow wants Tsiolkovskys population to reach 40,000, but so far there are only three dozen apartment buildings and a wooden Orthodox church. The existing launchpad was initially designed for a super-heavy rocket that has yet to be built, then was prepared for Soyuz, an old Soviet workhorse. More launchpads are expected to be constructed, with plans calling for several launches a year. Russia also expects to continue using Baikonur, which is leased until 2050, even as it relies more on Vostochny, officials said. The Baikonur site remains the primary location for civilian and commercial launches for now, while other sites are used for military launches. Even in the twilight years of the U.S.S.R., Moscow managed to launch a space shuttle and for years after the 1991 Soviet collapse and economic crisis kept sending satellite and manned missions from Baikonur, running the worlds only cheap and reliable space taxi after the U.S. docked its space shuttles in 2011. Some analysts said Russias space program remains driven by the obsolete priority of expensive manned flights over cheaper robotic probes. Instead of promoting competing research facilities, Moscow preferred to centralize the industry around state-run corporations. The point of it all is flying to space for the sake of flying. Research objectives that give real and long-term results remain secondary, Luzin said. Thats all because an emphasis on science, on progress will have to change the entire industry, will require rejection of the existing model, where the spending of the budget is a top priority. As for Vostochny, which occupies about 270 square miles near the border with northern China, the future remains unclear. Construction is ongoing at the sprawling complex. Plans call for the first manned mission from the facility to the space station to happen after 2023. Since retiring its space shuttle program, NASA has paid Russia to ferry its astronauts to the space station. But last year, the aerospace firm SpaceX and Boeing Co. won contracts from NASA to transport astronauts, with the first of such launches planned for 2017. SpaceX already carries cargo to the space station via unmanned flights under a separate contract with NASA. Other nations also have space programs. Nevertheless, former Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov, who pioneered spacewalks in 1965, recently sounded optimistic in televised remarks after he visited Vostochny, saying he looked forward to Angara, the yet-to-be-built heavy booster rocket, and upcoming space exploration by Russia. It will all be done from here, Leonov said. Mirovalev is a special correspondent. The U.S. Navy commando who was killed Tuesday in northern Iraq was part of quick reaction force sent to help U.S. military advisors and Kurdish militias during a fierce firefight with Islamic State militants. Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Charles H. Keating IV, 31, was shot and killed during a two-hour battle with about 125 militants who had stormed the Kurdish-held town of Tel Skuf, about 20 miles north of Mosul. Col. Steve Warren, spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition in Baghdad, said Keating was killed in a complicated, complex attack by Islamic State militants more than two miles behind the front lines after the insurgents breached Kurdish defenses. Advertisement It was a big fight, one of the largest weve seen recently, he told reporters by teleconference Wednesday from Baghdad. The Kurds ultimately regained control of the town. Keating is the third member of the U.S. military killed in combat in Iraq since the Obama administration launched its war against Islamic State in mid-2014. Tuesdays battle erupted when Islamic State militants used truck bombs and mortar fire to punch through the Kurds defensive positions at 7:30 a.m. local time near Tel Skuf. Inside the town, U.S. military advisors were assisting Kurdish peshmerga forces that are involved in the long-delayed effort to retake Mosul, the militants self-declared capital in Iraq, Warren said. NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >> The Quick Reaction Force prepared themselves to quickly react should force be required, and in this case it was, he said. As the militants advanced, the U.S. force was sent in to extract the Americans and to help the Kurdish fighters, who have been key allies in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. Keating got hit just in the course of his gun battle. Whether it was a sniper or some fighter with his [rifle] is unclear, Warren said. This was a gunfight so there were bullets everywhere. Keating suffered a gunshot wound at 9:32 a.m. and was airlifted within an hour to an airfield in Irbil, but he died on the way, Warren said. The medevac helicopter was hit by gunfire as well. To help push the militants back, 11 U.S. warplanes were scrambled and delivered 31 airstrikes. The aircraft included B-52 bombers, A-10 attack aircraft, F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, as well as armed drones. Warren said at least 58 Islamic State militants were killed. Keatings death was the latest indication that U.S. troops are moving out of bases and closer to the front lines of the war. President Obama has stressed that U.S. troops are not deployed as ground troops. The Pentagon instead has launched thousands of airstrikes and given training, weapons and financial support to Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Iraq and various proxy forces in Syria. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced last month that the Pentagon would send 217 more advisors to Iraq and allow them to accompany Iraqi troops at the battalion level instead of being confined to Iraqi division headquarters. Keating, who was born and raised in Arizona, was the grandson of the late Arizona financier Charles H. Keating Jr., who was involved in a savings and loan scandal that swept in members of Congress in the late 1980s . Based in Coronado, Calif., Keating was a decorated special operator, according to his military records. He enlisted in the Navy in February 2007 and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition, or SEAL, training in June 2008 Keating deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. He was on his third deployment to Iraq when he was killed. Among the dozen awards he earned was the bronze star in the form of a V for valor. It is awarded to members of the military who are exposed to personal hazard during direct participation in combat operations, according to the Pentagon. ALSO Despite Syrian truce, Aleppo residents live in state of terror Israeli justice minister proposes controversial West Bank settlement legislation The Donald Trump of Asia? Brash, unrepentant mayor leads Philippine presidential race william.hennigan@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter @wjhenn The Indiana presidential primary provided some Latino groups a clearer picture of the general election as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, suspended his campaign, which improves Donald Trump's bid for the White House. GOP Results from the Hoosier State With 98 percent of the precincts reporting, Trump easily won Indiana's Republican presidential primary with 53.3 percent, just over 589,000 votes, and snagging at least 51 of the available 57 pledged delegates available. Cruz, who campaigned hard in the state, placed second with 36.6 percent, or approximately 406,000 votes, but it's unclear if he'll win delegates. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who withdrew substantive campaigning efforts in Indiana, placed third with 7.6 percent, receiving nearly 84,000 votes. Once the results started to pour in on Tuesday evening, the Cruz presidential campaign saw the writing on the wall and the junior Texas senator announced his campaign's suspension. "From the beginning, I've said that I would continue on as long as there was a viable path to victory. Tonight I'm sorry to say it appears that path has been foreclosed. ... We gave it everything we got but the voters chose another path. And so, and with a heavy heart, but with boundless optimism, for the long-term future of our nation, we are suspending our campaign," Cruz said on Tuesday night with his wife, Heidi, by his side. Trump celebrated his Indiana win from Trump Tower in New York City, where he commended Cruz as a tough competitor and called for unity within the Republican Party. The businessman also welcomed the title as the presumptive presidential candidate for the GOP. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted about Trump's status in the GOP and also echoed the call to unite the party for the goal to defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. .@realDonaldTrump will be presumptive @GOP nominee, we all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton #NeverClinton Reince Priebus (@Reince) May 4, 2016 Reaction to Cruz Dropping Out "It's unfortunate that Ted Cruz chose to stand with the extreme wing of the Republican Party instead of supporting policies that would expand opportunities for Latinos, working families, and immigrants," said Cristobal Alex, president of Latino Victory Fund, an organization that supports Latinos to become politically engaged, in a statement on Tuesday night. According to Alex, Cruz, the son of a Cuban immigrant, turned his back on the Latino community by following Trump's lead and support anti-Latino and anti-immigrant policies. "Now that Donald Trump is the presumed Republican nominee, the Latino community must stand together against hate and make our voices heard -- let's send a message to the GOP that we won't stand for their bigotry, and throw our support behind Hillary Clinton, who has proven that she has our back and that she will do right by our community," added Alex, who has endorsed Clinton for president last February. Ben Monterroso, executive director of Mi Familia Vota, a Latino civic engagement group with operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Texas, acknowledged that while Cruz followed a similar policy path as Trump, the New York businessman is now leading a political party based on "hateful rhetoric and attacks on immigrant, Muslim, Latino and minority communities." "Our community has paid close attention to the proposals, values, and words that Mr. Trump has used to try to secure the GOP nomination, and our community will not forget," Monterroso shared on Tuesday night. "We are organizing, mobilizing and getting ready to hold accountable at the ballot box those candidates and elected officials who have supported the attacks presented during the campaign trail against our families." Sanders Building a Comeback? Democrats also had a presidential primary in Indiana on Tuesday. With 83 pledged delegates at stake, it was a narrow finish that favored Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Sanders won with 52.7 percent, or nearly 331,500 votes, to Clinton's 47.3 percent, or approximately 297,000 votes. The delegate count, however, was also narrow. Sanders is expected to win 43 delegates, while Clinton will have 38 delegates. Clinton does have additional support from seven superdelegates from Indiana. "The Clinton campaign thinks this campaign is over. They're wrong," said Sanders, thanking Indiana voters for his 18th primary election victory. "Maybe it's over for the insiders and the party establishment, but the voters in Indiana had a different idea. The campaign wasn't over for them. It isn't over for the voters in West Virginia. It isn't over for Democrats in Oregon, New Jersey and Kentucky. It isn't over for voters in California and all the other states with contests still to come." Sander said he will campaign until the last vote is cast and would like to defeat Trump, adding the businessman is "someone who must never become president of this country." The Clinton campaign was quiet on primary night, but a statement from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta took aim to Trump and November's general election. "Fundamentally, our next president will need to do two things: keep our nation safe in a dangerous world and help working families get ahead here at home. Donald Trump is not prepared to do either," said Podesta. "Throughout this campaign, Donald Trump has demonstrated that he's too divisive and lacks the temperament to lead our nation and the free world. With so much at stake, Donald Trump is simply too big of a risk." He continued, "Hillary Clinton has proven that she has the strength to keep us safe in an uncertain world and a lifelong record of fighting to break down the barriers--economic and social--that hold working families back. While Donald Trump seeks to bully and divide Americans, Hillary Clinton will unite us to create an economy that works for everyone." The next Republican primary is May 10 in Nebraska and West Virginia. Democrats will also have a contest in West Virginia on May 10, but a caucus is scheduled in Guam on May 7. __ For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com. This week is National Small Business Week, and in celebration, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched the third annual round of its Growth Accelerator Fund competition to award accelerators and startup ecosystems that empower aspiring startups. "As we celebrate National Small Business Week this week, it is only fitting that we launch our third annual Growth Accelerator Fund competition to empower more of America's small businesses," said Mark Walsh, associate administrator for the Office of Investment and Innovation. "Accelerators provide valuable resources to potential startups: a physical infrastructure to work in their infancy, mentoring, business-plan assistance, networking, opportunities to obtain venture capital, and introductions to potential customers, partners and suppliers," Walsh added. "All critical elements to ensuring that small businesses flourish and succeed." Seeking Women & Underrepresented Accelerators Through the competition, the SBA supports successful models of startup and small business development throughout the country, especially those that work in underrepresented or underserved sectors of the economy. The SBA, for example, is calling out for accelerators that are headed by women or other underrepresented groups. For last year's competition 44 percent of the winners were run by women and 41 percent were classified as underrepresented groups, such as Latino-run accelerators. Special consideration is also given to startup accelerators that fill geographic gaps, so if your accelerator, incubator, or startup community is working outside of the usual hotbeds of economic activity, it's definitely worth applying. Qualifications That said, the competition is open to any organizations that provide networking, mentorship, and a working environment (online or physical) for startups. It's not limited to the technology industry, nor is it restricted to the standard accelerator or startup incubator model. Providing equity to startups is optional for qualification, but winners must demonstrate plans, or the ability, to raise a 4 to 1 match of prizes awarded, either in cash, donations, or sponsorships. Applicants also have to have an entrepreneurial program modeled on a timeline, in which the startups in their program "graduate" and move on to independently operating in the small business economy. Apply: There's a Big Prize Pool Winners are awarded $50,000 in prizes each, out of a total fund of $3.95 million -- so there's plenty of winner spots to go around. A panel of expert judges from both the private and public sectors will select winners. You can read more about qualifications and apply at the SBA's 2016 Growth Accelerator Fund page here. The deadline for this year's applications is June 3. SBA Expanding Partnerships This year is the third year of the Growth Accelerator Fund, and the SBA has expanded to partner with several other federal agencies after the success of the past two years. "Last year's competition was so successful, we've added more federal partners including our very own Office of Native American Affairs and Office of Veterans Business Development to help bring more Native-American-owned, veteran-owned, women-owned and minority-owned small businesses into the fold," said Walsh. Native American-owned accelerators applying only need to demonstrate the ability or plans to match the winning funds on a one to one basis. Other partnering agencies and organizations this year include the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Education and the Department of Agriculture. The SBA's Office of Investment and Innovation is also partnering with the Inter-American Development Bank to provide prizes that assist African descendant startups in Latin America. Cinco de Mayo is fast approaching and there will a number of events that will allow the celebration of this American made holiday. Many restaurants will be hosting parties and some will have some great drink and dinner specials. Best of all, there will be great music. Here is a list of great spots that will be great for the celebration: Horchata This is one of the most popular spots in the West Village of New York City. Horchata will start its festivities at 5 p.m., local time, and the specials will include five menu items or five drink items for just $5. The items include tacos, mini chicken quesadillas and many more. This famous restaurants is a delightful place to celebrate the holiday. Nobu Nobu, also in New York City, will be celebrating this year with its Sushi Tacos. They will be serving the sushi taco special all night long alongside Margaritas. The lounge will be playing incredible music and it will be selling its incredible Japanese-Peruvian menu.This is a wonderful spot that is often visited by celebrities and many business people. Haven Rooftop Party For tourists around the Times Square area, Haven will be having a party all night with some great specials. Located in the famous Sanctuary Hotel, the rooftop will be serving five dollar drinks and will be opened all night. While it's supposed to be somewhat cold, the weather is supposed to hold up and this could be a refreshing area. The Lively What's a better way to celebrate than dancing some salsa? At The Lively, there will be salsa all night with great food and drink specials. It's your chance to learn how dance this famous Latin music and enjoy a cultural experience. Cinco de Mayo Phoenix Festival For those not in New York and close to Arizona, head over to Phoenix where there will be the annual Cinco de Mayo Festival which will be held this weekend. It will feature live music, lucha libre, ballet folklorico, a kid's zone and traditional Mexican food and drinks. There will also be cash prizes and there will also be a celebration of Latin American culture. Hillary Clinton? If you are in Los Angeles, Hillary Clinton will be in the area holding a fundraiser. Tickets are $2,700 but it could be life changing. There could be photo opportunities with the presidential candidate. There is also the option of waiting outside the event to see if you could get a selfie with the candidate. Police arrested the most wanted drug lord in Peru, Gerson Galvez, in a restaurant in Medelllin, western Colombia last Saturday. Colombian authorities deported Galvez the next day to Peru. Galvez is alleged of 101 murders in Peru. Galvez, also nicknamed Caracol which means "snail," received an arrest warrant since last December. He was one of the most feared drug lord in the region, a Latin America equivalent to notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. According to Peru Report, Galvez was arrested with a false Ecuadorean passport. Prior to his arrest, authorities had acknowledged of his arrriving in Ecuador in March. He then stopped in Panama before going to Medellin. He also grew his hair and beard in order to change his appearance. President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos celebrated the captivity of the crime lord, and Colombian Defense Minister Luis Carlos Villegas also applauded the police force. "I congratulate our national police for this important capture. Peruvian Interior Minister Guadalupe Perez contacted me to thank the police for their work in capturing this delinquent," said Minister Villegas. According to Deutsche Welle, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) described Galvez as Latin America's new El Chapo. Peru, on the other hand, is recorded as one of the world largest cocaine producers and cultivator of the coca, as per US State Department report. "Peru remained the world's top producer of cocaine and was the second-largest cultivator of coca, with an estimated 59,500 hectares of coca under cultivation in 2013," the report said. Prior to his arrest, the most wanted Mexican drug lord who went by nickname El Chapo, Joaquin Guzman was arrested in in January this year. Mexican Marine arrested El Chapo Guzman in Sierra Madre mountain in western Mexico after a a heavy gun fight which killed five of Guzman's bodyguard and wounded one Marine. Gerson Galvez's gang is believed to have controlled drugs smuggling operation in the seaport of Callao, the port district of Lima. Police also said that Galvez's organization also used the port to control construction unions, in order to charge extortion payments from real estate developers in Callao. TeleSUR reported that he is also wanted for the attempted murder of a rival in Peru. His rival drug lord, Gerald Oropeza, was attacked by armed men with a gunfire and grenade in the evening on April 1. He survived the attack while he was riding his Porsche SUV in a Pueblo Libre major avenue. Now, Gerson Galvez, the most wanted drug lord in Peru, has been in custody. Last Saturday, Colombian police arrested him in a restaurant in Medellin, Colombia. The authorities immediately deported Galvez to Peru on Sunday. The United Nations has appointed Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett as the global ambassador for the organization's refugee agency. The appointment was announced on Monday as Blanchett returned from a humanitarian mission to Jordan. As a goodwill ambassador, Blanchett will help raise awareness about the plight of refugees, especially amid the ongoing massive global displacement crisis, as noted by The Guardian. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that a record of 60 million people across the world were displaced from their homes. From that number, more than one third of them are living as refugees. Blanchett expressed her delight in taking the role. "I am deeply proud to take on this role," she said. "There has never been a more crucial time to stand with refugees and show solidarity. We are living through an unprecedented crisis, and there must be shared responsibility worldwide. It feels like we're at a fork in the road, do we go down the compassionate path or do we go down the path of intolerance?" she expressed in a video interview following her appointment as ambassador for UNHCR. UNHCR considered Blanchett as a the right figure for the role as she has been working with the agency for over a year now, as reported by ABC News. She has been contributing in raising awareness about the refugees that are forcibly displaced away from their homes. The U.N. high commissioner for the refugees Filippo Grandi said the actress has already demonstrated great commitment to the cause. By the time she was appointed as ambassador, Blanchett has just returned from Jordan where she met Syrian refugees escaping from prolonged the war. "Goodwill ambassadors play a pivotal role in creating better public understanding and support for refugees, and never has there been a greater need to build these bridges," Grandi stated. "We look forward to seeing her inspire many more people in her new role," he added, as quoted by CBS News. The similar role was previously granted to another prominent Hollywood actress, Angelina Jolie. She was a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR for years before being elevated to be a special envoy for the refugee agency in 2012. The U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, has appointed Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett to be its goodwill ambassador for refugees. Blanchett has been working for the cause for more than a year, and the agency hopes that more people will be inspired by the actress in her new role. The Vermont House rejected a marijuana legalization proposal on Tuesday, May 3 turning down the hopes of legalization advocates for major drug reform after promising votes in the State senate earlier this year. According to Boston, the Vermont House voted 121-28 on Tuesday to reject marijuana legalization bill which was passed by the state Senate at the urging of Governor Peter Shumlin in February. The bill would have legalized, regulated, and tax marijuana for those 21 and older. However, it was more restrained than legalization ballot initiatives in many ways such that, it wouldn't have legalized edibles, wouldn't have allowed for home cultivation, and legal sales wouldn't go into effect until 2018. Representative Chip Conquest, a Wells River Democrat, offered an agreement package that the House has debated. Conquest stated, "They could grow for themselves. It's not legal, but a civil penalty. It doesn't put them in the world of committing a crime and avoids the collateral consequences that go with that. We're not in the business of saying a person who grows a plant should have criminal record", The Hemp Street Journal cited. On the other hand Don Turner of Milton, the Vermont House Minority leader, who opposes the legalization introduced an amendment that would put a non-binding referendum before voters to gauge their opinion on marijuana legalization. The said amendment was also voted on Tuesday afternoon, Seven Days reports. Tuesday's vote came with only a few days remaining in the legislative session, meaning there won't be time for the House and Senate to hammer out their differences. Because of the majority's decision, marijuana reform advocates including Governor Peter Shumlin were not happy. If the legalization proposal is passed, Vermont would have been the 1st state to legalize marijuana through the legislature, rather than by referendum. It would also have brought legalization closer to New England, the region considered the next frontier for major marijuana policy reform. 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. Irish Water, working in partnership with Laois County Council, is investing 2.7 million in the construction of a new water treatment plant for Portarlington and the surrounding areas. The water company says this investment is part of the Portarlington Water Supply Scheme and the new treatment plant will be constructed at the existing La Bergerie, Wellfield site. The investment will provide a reliable and sustainable water supply for Portarlington and the surrounding areas. The contract for the project was signed last week by Irish Water and Veolia Water Ireland. Work on the new treatment plant is expected to start in the coming months and it will take about 12 months to complete. Irish Water says the investment will deliver a modern treatment plant and a reliable service to support future growth and development in the area for residential and commercial expansion. Providing a safe and secure water supply for the communities and businesses in Portarlington and the surrounding areas is a key objective for Irish Water. We are pleased to deliver this project that will provide real benefits for the community in terms of security, quality and reliability of supply, said William McKnight of Irish Water. Laois TD and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Charlie Flanagan welcomed the announcement. This is good news for Portarlington and the surrounding areas. The new water treatment plant will ensure that customers in the Portarlington area will receive a high standard of quality drinking water. Providing a safe and secure supply of water is a matter of importance. This upgrade will ensure drinking water in Portarlington is in compliance with National Drinking Water Guidelines, said the Fine Gael Minister. Minister Flanagan added that he has been informed that works are expected to commence in June 2016. Cllr Aidan Mullins welcomed the news. With water quality frequently very poor in the town, hopefully this upgrade will ensure a reliable supply of high quality drinking water, he said. The existing plant has a capacity to supply water to 5,000 people from three wells. A historic site in west Kildare is believed to be 8,000 years old, an exciting new archaeological survey has revealed. Its likely a prehistoric ceremonial site was based at Lullymore monastery prior to 512 AD, the year it was first recorded in the annals. Archaeologist Coilin O Drisceoil said all the evidence, including the existence of wooden trackways, some dating back 8,000 years, suggests the monks reoccupied an existing Neolithic bronze age site. This is internationally significant what has been found here. Its really important to archaeologists. I am really glad to say the results of the survey have been stunning, he said. Speaking at the launch at Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park on Thursday April 21, he pointed out there are only about 50 such sites in Ireland. By using magnetic and resistance techniques, he was also been able to pin point the location of the underground foundations of the stone church, stone huts, the kilns, the metal work area and burial grounds. One of the wooden tracks had previously been identified as one of the oldest in Europe. The monastery was located where Lullymore graveyard is today. The archaeologist also found there were ditches on the inner side of the two enclosure boundaries, which also suggested the settlement was older than previously thought. Coilin paid tribute to the graveyard committee for their upkeep of the site and the Doyle family, custodians of the burial ground, who allowed him unrestricted access. I am just flabbergasted by the community spirit that exists here in Lullymore, he added. A large crowd turned out for the event, which also saw the opening of the parks boardwalk extension and new signage. Drehid grant funding was provided for the survey, and also contributed towards the boardwalk extension. Newly elected TD, Fiona OLoughlin performed the official opening while Fr. Gerard OByrne blessed the site and made special reference to the late Sean Judge who founded the park. OLoughlin also paid tribute to Sean pointing out his wife Geraldine and the staff could take inspiration from his vision and tenacity. Deputy OLoughlin said coming to Lullymore was like coming home, as she had grown up just up the road. Johnny Judge said it was very fitting the park was able to show the results of the graveyard survey. The fact that Sean now rests in this ancient site, which the Lullymore Poet referred to as the Angels seat seems right to me, he said. Geraldine made a presentation to the new TD and thanked Bord na Mona, Kildare County Council, Coilin O Drisceoil from Kilkenny Archaeology and the Doyle family. She said the survey was a joint initiative between the park and Lullymore Graveyard Committee. Today is all about community and what can be achieved by working together, she said. Manager, Ray Stapleton thanked the local retired Bord na Mona employees who helped record the audio-crank up signs including Kevin McCormack, Tom Daniels, Tom Higgins, Pat Gorey, Joe Keogh, Mick Gorey, Dan Walsh, Lar and Mary Costello, John Nooney, John Bardon, and Mattie Considine. He also thanked Dick Warner for his contribution. From very ancient times to a monastery, which provided seclusion and safety to monks for a thousand years, a hiding place and training camp for rebels in 1798, to more recent times when Lullymore was central to an industrial and social revolution for a young Irish Republic with the Turf development board and later with Bord na Mona. This is all of our story and we are the best people to tell it, he said. Sean ODonoghue said he had been involved in the graveyard committee for 30 years and welcomed the results of the survey, which was backed by the committee and the park. He thanked Bord na Mona, KCC, and the Doyle family. He praised Johnny Judge, Geraldine, Ray and Helen for their enthusiasm. New exhibits are currently being installed under the Ancient East initiative and will be launched soon. Newbridge girl and Down Syndrome Ireland (DSI) member, Amy Purcell recently got the chance to rub shoulders with President Michael D Higgins. Amy was joined by fellow DSI member Cathal Griffin from Glenbeigh, Kerry and CEO Pat Clarke at the Irish Association for Contemporary European Studies lecture on the future of European Union. Both Cathal and Amy attended the event following their input in the organisations My Opinion My Vote education programme, which is a two-year course aimed at empowering people with Down syndrome through active citizenship and participation in elections. As part of the course, the pair have studied the EU and visited Brussels. They are also members of Down Syndrome Irelands National Advisory Council, a nationally elected body which represents the voice of people with Down syndrome in Ireland. Amy said: I do the My Opinion My Vote course every Monday in Naas. I really love learning about politics in Ireland and in Europe. Meeting politicians is good and the trips to visit the Dail and the European Parliament in Brussels last year were the best. I understand all about politics now and I definitely say to people it is really important to vote. Ask the questions and make up your own mind. La Commission europeenne a ouvert la voie mercredi a une exemption de visas pour les Turcs dans l'espace Schengen, et devoile une proposition aussitot decriee de sanctions financieres contre les pays refusant un partage de l'accueil des refugies. L'avis favorable sur les visas reste sous reserves de nouvelles mesures du gouvernement turc, alors qu'Ankara a fait de cette exemption une condition pour continuer d'appliquer son accord migratoire controverse avec l'UE. Meme en cas de feu vert complet ulterieur de la Commission, le Parlement europeen, comme les Etats membres, devront encore donner leur aval a cette mesure, dans un contexte de mefiance grandissante vis-a-vis du regime islamo-conservateur turc. Ils auront aussi leur mot a dire sur la reforme proposee du reglement Dublin, qui definit quel pays de l'UE est responsable d'une demande d'asile. La Commission a propose mercredi des retouches plutot qu'une revolution, avec un mecanisme de repartition automatique entre pays europeens, en fonction de leur population et de leur PIB. -"Chantage"- Declenche seulement en cas de pression "disproportionnee" sur un Etat membre, il serait assorti d'une sanction de 250.000 euros par personne non accueillie par un Etat membre ne s'y pliant pas, versee a celui qui prendra cet accueil en charge. En situation normale, la regle principale resterait celle du pays de premiere arrivee. C'est du "chantage", a immediatement reagi le chef de la diplomatie hongroise a propos de la sanction financiere, denoncant un projet "inacceptable" et demandant a la Commission europeenne "de ne pas s'engager dans cette impasse". Le Premier ministre turc Ahmet Davutoglu (g), salue le president de la Commission europeenne Jean-Claude Juncker, a Bruxelles, le 29 novembre 2015 EMMANUEL DUNAND AFP/Archives Le gouvernement turc a lui salue une "nouvelle page" dans les relations avec l'UE apres la proposition de Bruxelles d'integrer la Turquie dans la liste des pays exemptes de visas" pour les courts sejours (90 jours maximum) familiaux, de voyages d'affaires ou touristiques. Ankara en a fait un enjeu de politique interieure et menace, s'il n'obtient pas satisfaction, gain de cause, de remettre en cause son pacte migratoire du 18 mars avec l'UE, prevoyant le renvoi en Turquie de tous les nouveaux migrants arrivant sur les iles grecques. Combine a la fermeture de la route migratoire des Balkans, l'accord a fait baisser la pression sur l'Union, meme si la situation reste inquietante en Grece ou sont bloques des dizaines de milliers de refugies. En 2015, l'UE a ete ebranlee par l'arrivee d'un nombre sans precedent de 1,25 million de demandes d'asile, deposees principalement par des Syriens, Irakiens et Afghans fuyant la guerre et l'insecurite. D'ou la crainte que Bruxelles fasse preuve d'une indulgence interessee vis-a-vis de la Turquie, que l'ONG Amnesty International accuse d'avoir renvoye des dizaines de personnes en Syrie, ravagee depuis 2011 par la guerre. Mais la Commission a assorti son avis favorable de conditions : parmi une serie de 72 criteres pour rendre la mesure possible, Ankara doit encore en respecter cinq "d'ici a la fin juin", a explique le vice-president de la Commission Frans Timmermans. Ils concernent notamment la lutte des autorites turques contre la corruption, ou encore une revision de la legislation du pays sur le terrorisme. "Aucun citoyen turc n'entrera dans l'UE sans visa s'il n'a pas de passeport biometrique", a en outre assure M. Timmermans. Tojours pour rassurer, la Commission a repris la proposition franco-allemande d'une procedure permettant de suspendre rapidement une exemption de visas, notamment face a un eventuel un afflux de migrants venant de pays exemptes. Le chef du principal groupe politique du Parlement europeen, l'Allemand Manfred Weber (PPE, centre-droit) a salue cette mesure. Mais il a aussi prevenu que les eurodeputes ne transigeraient pas sur le respect "de tous les criteres", dans un communique commun avec ses homologues des autres groupes politiques et le president du Parlement. -Controles prolonges aux frontieres- Egalement sur le terrain migratoire, la Commission a donne son aval mercredi a une prolongation exceptionnelle des controles aux frontieres interieures de la zone Schengen de libre-circulation, retablis par plusieurs pays au plus fort de la crise migratoire. L'Autriche, le Danemark, l'Allemagne et la Suede vont aussi pouvoir poursuivre les controles sur certaines zones frontalieres precises, alors que la duree maximale de ces derogations a la libre circulation arrivait a son terme (le 13 mai pour l'Allemagne, le 16 pour l'Autriche). La Commission, tout en louant les "efforts significatifs" de la Grece, a constate que de "graves deficiences" persistaient dans la gestion de la frontiere greco-turque, justifiant le declenchement de cette procedure inedite. Mais l'executif europeen a aussi insiste sur l'objectif de voir cesser ces controles "d'ici la fin de l'annee", et a pris soin de souligner que ces mesures n'etaient pas synonymes d'une exclusion de la Grece de l'espace Schengen. 04/05/2016 18:26:44 - Bruxelles (AFP) - 2016 AFP I live in Rotherham and on May 5th I will vote to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire. Since its inception in 2012 the post of South Yorkshire PCC has been held by Labour. The first incumbent, Shaun Wright did not stay the course and was forced to resign in 2014 following a report into the Rotherham child abuse scandal. His successor, Labours Dr Alan Billings has fared little better and was last week caught up in the aftermath of the Hillsborough inquest verdict. He bungled the suspension and replacement of the South Yorkshire Police chief constable and has subsequently failed to answer questions about the 18m of public money his office authorised to be spent on lawyers who unnecessarily presented false allegations against innocent people throughout the Hillsborough inquest. Incredibly Dr Billings failed to see any of this coming. On the very day of the Hillsborough verdict he was occupied launching his re-election campaign by declaring war on litter. If the ballot papers for the election had not already been printed it seems unlikely that Dr Billings would have survived to fight another day and his ill-timed poor performance has placed Labour in an impossible position. They must back their candidate 100%, but if successful they can hardly be looking forward to the prospect of facing a growing crisis that seems likely to lead to Dr Billings resignation. Win or lose Labour is in trouble. The electorate will decide the good doctors immediate fate, but if a historic turnout for South Yorkshire PCC elections of under 15% is maintained a Billings victory is unlikely to convince the general public that he has a legitimate mandate. With the Hillsborough families blaming Dr Billings for failing to hold the force to account over the way it conducted the inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, even the most ardent Labour supporter must surely now be forced to balance party loyalty against the interests of justice and consider voting for an alternative candidate. Not least, tactical voting would allow Dr Billings to exit gracefully and would spare further embarrassment for Labour. But who to choose? Assuming that most Labour supporters would want to keep out UKIP and the EDL the choice is between the conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates and few people supporting an opposition party would consider voting for a government party candidate in a local election. The Liberal Democrat candidate is Councillor Joe Otten who currently serves on Sheffield City Council and is a member of the panel that holds the police commissioner to account. Joes number one priority is to restore public trust in South Yorkshire Police by holding the force to account for Hillsborough, Orgreave and the Rotherham child exploitation scandal. As Joe puts it, Above all my fight is not against the other candidates or parties my fight is to restore trust in our police force and make our area safer for all of us. No one can doubt Joes suitability for the post. One final thought, if anything worthwhile were to come out of Billingsgate it would be a public realisation that the role of PCC is a vitally important job that requires a tough-minded and exceptional individual who is aware that they are accountable to the people and only the people. Dr Billings is a decent man, but he is clearly unsuited to the mounting challenges of South Yorkshire PCC which is arguably the toughest political policing job outside of the Home Office. * Phil Aisthorpe has been a Lib Dem member since September 2015 having previously been a life-long Labour supporter. In a previous life, Phil worked as an IT planning manager and business strategy manager with a leading UK financial services organisation. Inspired by a post in one of those Lib Dem Facebook groups, I thought it would be a good idea to give a special shout-out for these wonderful new members of the party who have become so involved that they are standing for election this year. This is by no means an exclusive list, so please feel free to add to it. The enthusiasm of our new members has really invigorated the party the length and breadth of the country this year. In Scotland, people like Rebecca Plenderleith, a fantastic campaigner for mental health who has written for us about why she became a Lib Dem, Charity Pierce, Giovanni Caccavello, Bryn Jones, Lauren Jones, Kaitey Blair are flying the Lib Dem flag. Rebecca and colleagues are pictured above campaigning in the worst snow the Scottish Winter had to throw at us. Another of our regular contributors Alex H is standing and co-ordinating campaigns across his town. Greg Webb is running for the Council in Derby and gaining valuable experience for the future. In London, Rachel Waitt is standing in a Council by-election in Figges Marsh ward in Mitcham tomorrow. Julie Ireland is standing for the constituency of Bexley and Bromley. @JulieIreland @bexleylibdem Great to hear a taxi driver state he & his fellow drivers will support @CarolinePidgeon pic.twitter.com/g0Dm9ruSQA Simrey (@SimRey14) April 30, 2016 Georgia Harvey could be a councillor in Maidstone by Friday. Ben Midgley, who wrote for us here is standing in South West Wiltshire. Another LDV contributor, Helen Belcher, who made an amazing speech in the diversity debate in York, is finding the Tory vote softening in her Wokingham ward. Andy Nash is fighting a target ward in Sheffield with a broken wrist. Jim Hodgson is standing in Brislington East. Rebecca Plenderleith told us why shes standing and what the experience has been like for her: Im standing because I would like to represent the Liberal Democrats in parliament first and foremost. We have the strongest manifesto and we have shown time and again that we care about Scotland. Id like to be able to continue to Lib Dem track record of talking about the real issues rather than just hiding behind a politician persona that mandates you can only parrot party line. Im also very honoured that as a new member Ive been not only trusted to do this and was made to feel very at ease in the licensing interview but that Ive been encouraged by many in the party to stand as well. The experience has been really eye opening to the whole process of elections. But speaking with voters has been a mainly very positive experience and Ive loved interacting with voters who had never considered voting for us in the past but told me they really liked what I had to say. Good luck to all our new members standing for election. As I said, this isnt an exhaustive list, so please add any others in the comments. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings You dont often find me quoting from the pro-independnece paper The National, but Im happy to do it today because theyve done a really good profile of our top West of Scotland list candidate, Katy Gordon. She explains the influence Charles Kennedy and Jo Swinson had on her and how they inspired her campaigning spirit. I had always voted Liberal but sometimes you need a push to join, and I wanted to make sure Kennedy was leader, Gordon remembers. I did not join because I wanted to be involved in party politics but because of the Liberal ideas Charles Kennedy articulated. However, her abilities were soon recognised and she was asked to be a candidate in 2005 in Glasgow South West against Ian Davidson. While her chances of winning were minimal, she discovered through campaigning with Jo Swinson in East Dunbartonshire that she loved hearing about what people were thinking, what their concerns were and what they needed. My professional life is all about helping people to aspire to look at what is possible, help them to overcome obstacles and give them confidence to achieve what they are aiming for. It is often about giving hope to young people that they can change their lives. In political campaigning that is what we are doing too, and that is what I would do as an MSP. A key point in her political career came in 2007, when post offices were being closed all over the country. There were two in particular that Gordon thought could be saved Hyndland and Kelvindale so, although she had never run a campaign before, she knocked on doors, started a petition and involved the community council and the media. To her delight, both post offices were saved. Tomorrows vote is your chance to make a difference for your community. Before you cast it, I want you to ask yourself: who has delivered the most for you and your family? More often than not, the people I talk to across Wales arent interested in the cheap party-political point-scoring. What they always ask me is, What have you done to make my life better? As a Welsh Liberal Democrat, I always have a long list of things to tell them about. When Labour wanted to cut the numbers of apprenticeships in Wales, we used our influence to stop them. When rural councils were getting a raw funding deal, it was us who secured more money. When our poorest pupils were consistently underachieving in our schools, it was us who stepped in and gave them that extra support. Unlike the other parties, were not content with whinging from the sidelines. Welsh Liberal Democrats always roll up our sleeves and get things done for our communities, and for the people of Wales. If our record over the last five years shows anything, its that a vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats is a vote for our policies being put into action. Tomorrow will be no different your vote could help make our ideas a reality. If you support smaller class sizes, if you want more nurses on hospital wards, if you want an Opportunity Economy that enables people to get on life, then you have to vote for it you have to vote Welsh Liberal Democrat. Only then can we begin to deliver a Wales that works for you. Peter Skinner, the former Labour MEP for South East England has now been sentenced. He was given 4 years by Mrs Justice McGowan, sitting at Southwark. He was found to have misused 100,000 of public funds. There will be a further hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act. If the Crown apply the lifestyle assumptions in that Act, the burden of proof will be on Skinner to show that any money he received for any source in the last 6 years was legitimate. If he cant show that it was then the court can assume it to represent criminal gain and confiscate any assets he has to an equivalent value. Corrupt public officials, whether elected or unelected, should always be dealt with severely. Their status gives them a certain protection against being caught. When they are convicted deterrent sentences are needed as a warning to others. I notice in this and many other parliamentary expenses cases is that the defendants are typically people who have either: a) Not had a substantial professional career outside of politics, and/or b) Served in parliament for a long time. On the first point, most professions in the UK have high standards of ethics. Proper behaviour towards clients money or public funds is drilled into you that is certainly my experience in the legal world. I suspect that a risk of long service in Parliament, for some individuals, is that they lose touch with reality, get a sense of entitlement, to the point that their moral compass no longer works. * Antony Hook was #2 on the South East European list in 2014, is the English Party's representative on the Federal Executive and produces this sites EU Referendum Roundup. In October 2015 I used my first PMQ as leader to urge David Cameron to give a home to 3,000 vulnerable unaccompanied children who had fled war and persecution and were now in Europe. Save the Children, who launched the campaign, had calculated that 3,000 was the UKs fair share of the 26,000 unaccompanied children estimated to have arrived in Europe since the start of the refugee crisis. Six months on and with the numbers of unaccompanied children in Europe having skyrocketed to 90,000 the Government has finally capitulated in principle to take some children from Europe.What started as a Liberal Democrat led campaign in Parliament has drawn cross party support including from the Governments own backbenches and today we should rightly congratulate all of those who have worked tirelessly on this campaign. But I am clear that whilst this is a victory it certainly isnt the end of the story. The Government has a long history of announcing things and then failing to deliver. For example, in January of this year it announced that the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner would visit the hotspots in Greece and Italy to assess the conditions there; today we discover that he hasnt yet made that trip. So you will understand when I say that, given the very broad brushstrokes of the Governments announcement today, I wont be holding my breath. If the Government ultimately only offers tens or hundreds of places rather than the thousands we have all campaigned for it will be a betrayal of the public and Parliament. They will argue that they are taking the lead from local authorities, but I am clear that it is the Government that should offer leadership. David Cameron must make it clear that he will fully fund local authorities who step up to the plate and offer sanctuary to these vulnerable kids. When I hosted the roundtable with experts, including those from local government, it was clear to me that councils didnt feel confident stepping forward when there was no clear outline from central government about funding arrangements. David Cameron must also clarify what status he will offer these children. It would not be right to take them and then leave them in limbo with a huge cloud of uncertainty hanging over their heads that they might be deported when they reach 18. They have been through enough already. Of course, many will want to return to their country of origin when the situation allows, but we must offer them a home for as long as they need it. In the Blueprint I launched last month I was clear that indefinite leave to remain was the gold standard but at the very minimum these kids must be offered humanitarian protection. Finally, it is yet to be determined how the Government will select these children. I have always been clear that those children who are unaccompanied in Europe but have family relations in the UK should be offered sanctuary quickly. However, there are plenty of children who are unaccompanied, vulnerable and at risk and the Government should set out how they will support them. The saying better late than never comes to mind today, but in this case it is a bittersweet victory. In the six months it has taken the Government to act many vulnerable unaccompanied children will have fallen into the hands of traffickers, sold into sex work or forced labour. Some of the children I met on my visits to Calais, Lesbos and Northern Greece may have already vanished. The Government must now act quickly to make up for lost time. * Tim Farron is Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Agriculture and MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale. The best way to help Ecuador is to visit Ecuador, pleads Quito mayor Mauricio Rodas in the aftermath of an earthquake on the countrys eastern shore. International tourism always takes a hit when a natural disaster strikes, which is why the mayor of the countrys capital city took the podium this week asking the world, Please visit us. He confirmed that the city of Quito is safe to visit. The capital only suffered minor damage to some buildings on its south side but the historic Old Quito is untouched. The city is operating normally, with all hotels, restaurants open and flights to Quito Airport operating normally. Rodas also called for Ecuadorians to welcome international visitors with friendship, saying Now, more than ever, we need to open our doors, lay out a welcome mat, and enthusiastically promote all Ecuador has to offer. As the gateway to Ecuador, we welcome you with open arms. The best way to help Ecuador is to visit Ecuador. Img: Quito by doridelsarto / Flickr cc. A YOUNG man has received a lengthy prison sentence for his role in a violent robbery in the city centre last year. Christopher Higgins, aged 20, who has an address at Parnell Place in the city centre pleaded guilty to robbing a wifi dongle and around 80 in cash from a man at Pery Square in the early hours of March 17, 2016. During a sentencing hearing, Limerick Circuit Court was told that shortly before 1am Higgins and another man sat into a car which was parked near Limerick City Gallery of Art. A knife was held against the throat of the owner who was then ordered to hand over whatever money and valuables he had. It was accepted that Higgins did not use the knife but Detective Garda John Keane said he did threaten him before taking a substantial quantity of coinage from the car as well as the dongle. In a victim impact statement, the injured party said he was outgoing and trusting prior to the incident but that his confidence in people has been shattered as a result his his ordeal. He revealed he still suffers from nightmares and was only recently able to put the incident behind him after Higgins co-accused also pleaded guilty. Imposing sentence yesterday, Judge Tom ODonnell noted that Higgins is a contrite young man who has a good work history and that he has had a difficult upbringing. He noted the previous evidence of Moyross Parish Priest, Fr Tony ORiordan, who indicated his support for the defendant and his willingness to assist in whatever way he can. The judge said there was an element of pre-meditation to the offence and he added it was an aggravating factor that Higgins had changed his clothes a short time after the incident. He commented that while the victim was not physically injured, it was an extremely frightening experience for him. He said the appropriate sentence was one of six years imprisonment but given the circumstances he was willing to suspend the final two years for six years. The sentence was backdated to May 21, 2015. Higgins co-accused is due to be sentenced for his role in the incident next week. Apr 29, 2021, 3 AM Editor's note: The following is a sponsored article brought to you by Vidiforms. As the official publication of World Stamp Show-NY 2016, Linns Stamp News is putting together a series of posts profiling some of the stamp dealers who will be on hand at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Centerlocated on 11th Avenue between 34th and 40th streets in Manhattanfrom May 28 to June 4. Lets learn a little bit about Vidiforms Company, a stamp-collecting supplies seller that was founded more than 55 years ago. Company: Vidiforms Company World Stamp Show Booth: 764 Address: 115 N. Route 9W; Congers, NY 10920-1722 Phone Number: 877-507-5758 Email Address: showgard@optimum.net Website: www.showgard.com Owner: James Michalek Company History: Most business success stories begin with a tale of invention and innovation and Vidiforms Company of Congers, NY, is no exception. Now located in the rolling hills of Rockland County on the west bank of the Hudson River 25 miles north of New York City, Vidiforms was founded in 1958 in Brooklyn by Dr. Robert Weisberg, an optometrist by profession who enjoyed stamp collecting. He had purchased a Schaubek album for a collection of German stamps he had started with his daughter and had discovered a sample of a mount. Having tried many of the different mounts on the market and being unsatisfied with the results, he tried the sample of the twin seam, split back clear mount and was immediately won over. He set out to buy some but was unable to find them anywhere. He finally wrote directly to Schaubek who referred him to Hans Widmaier of Hawid mounts, their supplier. Hawid was producing this mount only for Schaubek for use in their hinge-less album. Widmaier supplied the requested mounts and Dr. Weisberg was so pleased with the results that he decided to promote and sell them to collectors. The initial reaction from collectors was favorable. The mounts were a higher quality and safer product than others on the market in the U.S. One collector wrote and suggested it be supplied with a black background. Dr. Weisberg liked the idea but Widmaier needed a sizable order commitment to proceed. In exchange for a large order, Dr. Weisberg requested and received an exclusive agency for sales to the United States and English-speaking countries. The first shipment of Showgard mounts with a black background arrived in America in January 1960. Collector reception was favorable, so favorable that production was barely able to keep up with demand. Since then, Showgard mounts have been the most popular, most widely used, and most respected stamp mounts in the U.S. market. The Showgard product line has expanded to include first-day cover albums, stamp tongs, and other philatelic accessories. The close association with Hawid continues to this day. Vidiforms also distributes Hawid mounts in the U.S. These Days: A new generation now runs the enterprise. James Michalek, Dr. Weisbergs son-in-law, bought Vidiforms in 1986. In 1994, Vidiforms Company purchased the product lines of La Mor Corporation with stamp and coin products under the Supersafe banner and the U.S. distributorship for Hagner Pages. Showgard mounts are still the companys best selling products and the line is constantly updated to keep up with the latest stamp issues. The Supersafe line has expanded offerings of stamp, coin, and currency collecting supplies and accessories. With the wider range of products the company offers, the name Vidiforms has become synonymous with archival quality protection for paper collectibles. Are you a World Stamp Show-NY 2016 dealer who would like to be featured? Email associate publisher Stephanie Campana. Apr 30, 2021, 12 AM David Pitts in front of part of the display of Bermuda postal history he showed at a recent meeting of the Royal Philatelic Society London. The following is a press release from the Royal Philatelic Society London: The display and presentation given to The Royal Philatelic Society London on April 28 focused on the postal history of Bermuda, from the forerunners up to the time Bermuda entered the UPU in April, 1877. Giving the presentation was David Pitts, who acknowledged the help he had received from Arthur Groten with the research and acquisition of material. Heading the display was the earliest known cover from Bermuda in private hands, sent to England in 1617 (the earliest known cover, sent in 1615, is held by the National Trust of Bermuda). Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter To close David showed an equally impressive cover, the so-called Moncrieff cover, sent from Bermuda on 26 May 1875 addressed to H. Moncrieff in London. It is the only recorded cover with all three of the 1875 One Penny provisionals, namely four of the One Penny on 4d, and singles of the One Penny on 2d and One Penny on One Shilling. Congratulating David on the beautiful material shown, Chris Harman commented that Bermudas strategic position made it a centre for business. Those wishing to visit The Royal Philatelic Society London at 41 Devonshire Place, London W1G 6JY, or be a guest at one of its meetings, are asked to contact the Administrative Office (020-7486-1044). Related Articles: Apr 29, 2021, 10 PM The philatelic library built by the earl of Crawford will be made available online beginning May 30 on the Global Philatelic Library. The library, which covers the period between 1861 and 1913, has been conserved by the British Library in London. The major philatelic library built up by the 26th Earl of Crawford will be made available online at the Global Philatelic Library from May 30 (subject to some copyright constraints), according to a press release from the Royal Philatelic Society London. This digitization program will be launched Monday, May 30, during World Stamp Show 2016-NY at the Javits Center 655 W. 34th St., New York. A presentation by Frank Walton, president of the Royal Philatelic Society London, will be given at 2 p.m. in Room 1E07. All are welcome. The Crawford philatelic library comprises more than 1.3 million pages and represents approximately 95 percent of the worlds published philatelic knowledge at the time it was created. James Ludovic Lindsay, the 26th Earl of Crawford, was born July 28, 1847. In addition to collecting stamps and books, he was interested in astronomy and other sciences. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter When he died in 1913, the Earl of Crawford left his magnificent philatelic library to the British nation. It has been conserved ever since by the British Library in London, where it is available for researchers in the Reading Room. The British Library said that it is probably the most complete collection of philatelic literature covering the period 1861 to 1913, comprising approximately 4,500 volumes. Thanks to creative thinking and information technology development by staff at the British Library and volunteers from the Royal Philatelic Society London, a project to digitize every page of every volume is now well advanced. The work has been aided by funding from the British Library, the former British Philatelic Trust, the Philatelic Fund, and the Royal Philatelic Society London. More details of this project were given by David Beech, in a supplement published with the March edition of The London Philatelist, journal of the Royal Philatelic Society London. The text can be downloaded from the Global Philatelic Library website. The Global Philatelic Library is an initiative to provide a consolidated listing of philatelic publications, archives, museum items, etc. held by libraries. Began as a project by the Royal Philatelic Society London, the online library is now a collaboration between the Royal, the American Philatelic Research Library, and the Smithsonian. So far, 25 libraries have contributed their listings. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. This artist's illustration depicts an imagined view from the surface of one of the three newfound TRAPPIST-1 alien planets. The planets have sizes and temperatures similar to those of Venus and Earth, making them the best targets yet for life beyond our solar system, scientists say. Three potentially habitable Earth-size planets have been discovered orbiting a dim, cold nearby star that is barely larger than Jupiter, researchers say. "These kinds of tiny, cold stars may be the places we should first look for life elsewhere in the universe, because they may be the only places where we can detect life on distant Earth-sized planets with our current technology," study lead author Michael Gillon, an astronomer at the University of Liege in Belgium, told Space.com. Astronomers focused on a star originally named 2MASS J23062928-0502285 that was discovered using TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope), a telescope in Chile. This dim cold red star, now known as TRAPPIST-1, is located in the constellation of Aquarius about 39 light-years from Earth. In comparison, Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system, is about 4.3 light-years from Earth. [Watch: See how the 3 TRAPPIST-1 Planets Might Support Life] TRAPPIST-1 is 2,000 times less bright than the sun, a bit less than half as warm as the sun, about one-twelfth the sun's mass, and less than one-eighth the sun's width, making it only slightly larger in diameter than Jupiter. TRAPPIST-1 is a type of star known as an ultracool dwarf that is very common in the Milky Way, making up about 15 percent of the stars near the sun. Scientists spotted the three planets by observing TRAPPIST-1 dimming at regular intervals as the worlds crossed in front of it. This is the first time that distant planets, called exoplanets, have been found around an ultracool dwarf, the researchers said. Scientists have found three alien planets orbiting an ultra-cool dwarf star about 40 light-years from Earth and they might have the potential to support life. This artist's illustration depicts a view of the three TRAPPIST-1 system planets, with one of the worlds crossing the face of its sun (Image credit: ESO) "So far, the existence of such 'red worlds' orbiting ultracool dwarf stars was purely theoretical, but now we have not just one lonely planet around such a faint red star, but a complete system of three planets," study co-author Emmanuel Jehin, an astronomer at the University of Liege, said in a statement. These three planets are each only about 10 percent larger in diameter than Earth. "The kind of planets we've found are very exciting from the perspective of searching for life in the universe beyond Earth," study co-author Adam Burgasser at the University of California, San Diego, said in a statement. The two innermost planets are about 60 to 90 times closer to their star than the Earth to the sun, with orbits only 1.5 and 2.4 days long, respectively. The orbit of the third planet is currently less certain, ranging between 4.5 and 73 days long. The small size of the star and its planets' orbits means "the structure of this planetary system is much more similar in scale to the system of Jupiter's moons than to that of the solar system," Gillon said in the statement. Although all three planets orbit very near their star, the inner two planets receive only four times and two times, respectively, the amount of radiation that Earth receives, since their star is much fainter than the sun. The third outer planet probably receives less radiation than Earth does, the researchers said. Given how close TRAPPIST-1's trio of planets are to its star, the researchers suggest TRAPPIST-1's gravitational pull likely forced these worlds to become "tidally locked" to it. When a planet is tidally locked to its star, it will always show the same side to its star, just as the moon always shows the same face to Earth. This causes those worlds to each have one permanent dayside and one permanent nightside. The third of TRAPPIST-1's planets, the one farthest from the star, may lie within the star's habitable zone the area around a star where planets have surfaces warm enough to have liquid water, a key ingredient to life as it is known on Earth. The two planets closest to TRAPPIST-1 may have daysides that are too hot and nightsides that are too cold to host any kind of life as it is known on Earth, but the researchers suggest that the borders of the planets' day- and nightsides may be sweet spots temperate enough for life. For the most part, exoplanet-hunting missions have focused on finding systems around sun-like stars emitting visible light, but these stars can be so bright, they can drown out key features of their planets, the researchers said. In contrast, cold dwarf stars emit mostly infrared light, and are so faint they would not overwhelm details of their planets. TRAPPIST was designed to look for planets around 60 nearby ultracool dwarfs. [7 Ways to Discover Alien Planets] "The detection of these planets [around TRAPPIST-1] should intensify the search for more systems around ultracool dwarfs," Gillon said. "Exciting scientific adventures are now beginning." Since the planets around TRAPPIST-1 are relatively nearby, scientists can in principle analyze the compositions of their atmospheres, "and further down the road, which is within our generation, assess if they are actually inhabited," study co-author Julien de Wit, a planetary scientist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in a statement. "All of these things are achievable, and within reach now. This is a jackpot for the field." The masses of these worlds remain unknown, but future research can pinpoint how much each of these planets gravitationally pulls at its siblings when they get close to each other, Gillon said. The strength of each planet's gravitational pull will help scientists deduce its mass, which in turn will help them estimate the planets' densities and, thus, compositions, he added. "We can tell if the planets are probably rocky, or rich in ice like the moons of Jupiter, or rich in metal like Mercury," Gillon said. The researchers noted that the Hubble Space Telescope and the forthcoming James Webb Space Telescope could help analyze the atmospheres of those planets for molecules linked with life, such as water, carbon dioxide and ozone. "Now we have to investigate if they're habitable," de Wit said in the statement. The scientists detailed their findings online today (May 2) in the journal Nature. Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com. Spring is in the air for this pair of red foxes. The subject of numerous fables and folklore, red foxes are synonymous with sly and cunning behavior. But just how cunning are these canids when it comes to chasing tail? Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere and Australia. Despite this huge range, the mating behaviors of different red fox populations may be the same, according to Graziella Iossa, a zoologist at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom. However, the social system of these carnivores varies depending on the environment. That is, red foxes often live in mating pairs that share a territory but forage alone. If key resources such as food, shelter and den sites are just right, they may live in small social groups with a dominant mating pair the group shares a territory and hunts alone, but the subordinate members help the mating pair raise their cubs. [See Photos of the World's Cutest Baby Animals] Mating among red foxes typically takes place in the spring, and adults locate one another through different communicative cues. "Foxes find mates via vocalizations, and also utilize scent marking to communicate," Iossa told Live Science. "Although, we are unsure of any role of scent marking with regards to mate searching." If two male red foxes, called dog foxes, incidentally meet up while searching for mates, fights can be violent and dangerous. But red foxes are territorial animals, so encounters between dog foxes aren't likely to happen very often. "Territories are there to signal to other foxes, 'Move out, that's my space!'" Iossa said. It's unclear how, exactly, red foxes choose their mates or what's involved in sexual selection. The animals don't engage in any courtship dances or displays, Iossa said. Research suggests that large dominant dog foxes copulate more than smaller males, but scientists don't know whether females, called vixens, have a choice in their mates, she added. Like other canids, copulation occurs when the dog fox mounts the vixen from behind. The penis only becomes erect after the dog fox penetrates the vixen; an erectile tissue called the bulbus glandis expands while the vixen's vagina contracts, locking the penis in place. [The 7 Weirdest Animal Penises] The dog fox will then lift a leg and swing it over the vixen's back so that the pair's hind ends are touching. This copulatory lock, or copulatory tie, can last for quite a while, sometimes up to half an hour or more, and ends when the dog fox ejaculates and his erectile tissue no longer swells. During copulation, and throughout the two-week mating season in general, vixens may give off human-like high-pitched vocalizations called "screams." Dominant mating pairs tend to stay together for life, and the dog fox guards his partner throughout the mating season to try to prevent any other males from mating with her. But this doesn't mean the "monogamous" animals have any code of fidelity. In fact, dog foxes are known to frequently seek out other nearby sexual partners, who are generally already paired, Iossa said. But research suggests that large males are more likely to seek out extra partners, possibly because this unfaithfulness is energetically costly. Follow Joseph Castroon Twitter. Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. After being confined in shoes and socks or sometimes heavy boots for months, your feet probably welcome warmer weather. Come summer, people like to kick off their shoes and feel the soft grass or warm sand beneath their feet. And although many of us go barefoot in short stints while at the beach or the pool, for example some make it a more regular occurrence. Take Daniel Howell, for instance. Howell, a biology professor at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, likes to walk, hike or run in his bare feet as much as possible, and has been doing this for about 10 years. An advocate for barefoot living, Howell grew up on a farm and often went barefoot all summer long. After taking his first professional job, he found he couldn't stand wearing socks and shoes because his feet got too hot. In his opinion, the risks of wearing shoes all the time are greater than the risks of going barefoot. He is not "anti-shoe," he just believes that going barefoot is "a more natural state of being" and "better for the body," he told Live Science. "The shoe is useful for a particular set of circumstances," Howell said. For example, he puts on shoes when they are required, and wears them in extremely cold temperatures, or in areas where there are known hazards, such as sharp rocks or broken glass. But Howell, who has written a book and maintains a website about going barefoot, said he has traveled to a number of places, such as London, New York City and Seattle, without taking his shoes along. [5 Wacky Things That Are Good for Your Health] During his decade-long experience of going barefoot, Howell said he's never had a serious injury. In fact, he argues that the vast majority of foot problems can be traced to wearing shoes. (Image credit: Sukpaiboonwat/Shutterstock.com) When a person regularly goes barefoot, paying attention to where and how you walk becomes second nature, Howell told Live Science. Stubbed toes, blisters and burns from hot, black pavement are some common injuries at first, but in a few weeks, tender feet toughen up and adapt, and you learn to be more careful, he said. However, other experts disagree. Although some people like the freedom or feel of being barefoot, there are not too many upsides to going without shoes in public because there are a lot of hazards out there, said Dr. Andrew Shapiro, a podiatrist in private practice in Valley Stream, New York, and spokesman for the American Podiatric Medical Association. Going barefoot not only potentially exposes feet to rusty nails, glass, thorns and bacteria, but it also causes the foot to lose some stability, support and grip, making it easier to slip, Shapiro said. A proper shoe with good support provides shock absorption for the rest of the body and reduces stress on bones and ligaments, he said. And for people with an underlying disease such as diabetes or vascular disease, which can both cause poor circulation, going barefoot is even more of a hazard, Shapiro said. These individuals may be at greater risk of infection even if they get a small injury because healing in the foot is slowed, he said. And people who have diabetes may lack sensation in the foot, making them unable to feel something sharp if they step on it, he said. Shapiro also said he recommends that parents not let their kids go barefoot at the park because they may step on glass or accidentally kick playground equipment. He even advised people against going barefoot in their own yards because of not knowing what's hidden in the grass. Although it is easier to see what's on the sidewalk, it can still be so hot that it burns skin on the soles of the feet. Pool decks can have slightly rough surfaces that are designed to preventing slipping, but can be rough on the feet, he said. [7 Common Summer Health Concerns] Padding around a locker room or public shower in bare feet could lead someone to contract athlete's foot, a fungus that is easily transmitted in moist environments, Shapiro told Live Science. Going barefoot on a sandy beach may be generally safe, he said, because sand can be somewhat forgiving on feet. But still, wearing some protection like a water shoe is a good idea when the sand is cluttered with shells or strewn with glass bottles, he suggested. Thick skin (Image credit: iravgustin/Shutterstock.com) The skin on the feet is thicker than almost anywhere else on the body, said Dr. Lauren Ploch, a dermatologist in Augusta, Georgia. So, in theory, the skin on the feet should be a great protective barrier, she said. But without shoes, anything and everything could get into skin on the feet, especially skin that is dry or cracked, Ploch said. In addition, the feet are difficult to treat for infections, and injuries to the feet and legs can take longer to heal than injuries on other parts of the body, she said. Ploch recommends that people don't go barefoot outside. "It's too risky and there's too much out there that people can step on," she said. Ploch thinks that it's safe for kids and adults to go barefoot in their own homes if the flooring is suitable and no one in the household has athlete's foot. People with athlete's foot should wear flip-flops indoors, she said. There are other infections that feet can pick up, too. For example, the same fungus that causes athlete's foot is also responsible for toenail fungus, Ploch said. Toenails that are dry, cracked and brittle can give the fungus an easy entry into the nailbed, and once there, it's hard to get rid of, Ploch said. Plantar warts are caused by a very hardy virus that people can catch from going barefoot in public areas, Ploch told Live Science. These warts can grow inward and become painful, and can hide from the immune system's usual defenses, making them difficult to treat, she said. [Tiny & Nasty: Images of Things That Make Us Sick] Pseudomonas bacteria can also be contracted by people going barefoot, and this infection is common in people exposed to a lot of water, such as soldiers on patrol in wet areas, Ploch said. Hookworm is a parasitic infection that can be picked up when people go barefoot in developing countries and walk on soil contaminated with feces from animals or people, although Ploch noted she has never treated any cases of it in the United States. Howell, the barefoot enthusiast, said he is not too worried about picking up some of these infections. He figures that spending less time in close-toed shoes and socks, conditions where his feet would be in a hot, moist and dark environment conducive to fungal growth, and enjoying more time with his dry feet exposed to the sun and air is better for him. "Going barefoot feels good," Howell said. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. The Australian government recently announced an unusual initiative to eradicate a long-standing animal pest problem. To rid their streams and rivers of invasive European carp crowding out native freshwater species, officials plan to begin introducing a strain of the herpes virus Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3), or "carp herpes" into fish populations. In a statement released May 1, Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) officials described their National Carp Control Plan, which will be developed over the next two and a half years at a cost of approximately AU$15 million (about US$11.2 million) and potentially deployed by 2018. [Alien Invaders: Photos of Destructive Invasive Species] Research by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has already determined that the virus kills European carp quickly, and that it does not develop in native fish, in other introduced fish species or in other animals including humans. Also known as Koi herpes virus (KHV), this viral infection has only ever been observed as naturally occurring in carp, according to a diagnostic manual published online by the European Union Reference Laboratory for Fish Diseases (EURLFD). The virus progresses quickly, with the rate of mortality in carp increasing during an outbreak, the EURLFD explained. Inflammation of the organs and gills, and secondary bacterial infection are the primary causes of death in infected fish. European carp (Cyprinus carpio) are also called common carp or koi. They originated in central Asia but have been introduced in other countries so successfully that they are currently the most widely distributed freshwater fish species on Earth. Carp have been known to reach lengths of 3.9 feet (1.2 meters) and can weigh up to 132 lbs. (60 kilograms). However, on average, they're much smaller and lighter 1 to 3 feet (0.3 to 0.9 m) and 9 to 11 lbs. (4 to 5 kg). Carp were first brought to Australia over a century ago, and were designated as a notable aquatic pest species in the 1960s, the DAWR said in a statement. Under the right conditions, carp can breed very rapidly, and their ability to tolerate a range of freshwater conditions including rivers that are briny or low in oxygen allowed them to increase dramatically in Australian waters, outcompeting native fish and gaining a presence in every Australian state except the Northern Territory. In fact, the DAWR estimated that in one freshwater region the Murray-Darling Basin carp make up approximately 80 to 90 percent of the resident fish. But carp herpes could provide an effective means to target the invasive species, according to the DAWR. "Under optimal conditions, carp herpes virus will kill up to 95 percent of individual carp," DAWR officials said in a statement. The Australian government considered using carp herpes to combat the invasive fish over a decade ago; years of testing went into determining whether this could be done safely. But before launching the initiative, much more research will be required to test how the virus would be managed, the level of risk involved to amphibians and other animal species, and other possible ecological impacts. To that end, government officials will collaborate with representatives from environmental groups and the local industry, as well as residential communities that might be affected, DAWR officials said. Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science. In a highly unusual move, NAMA has responded to remarks made by councillors at a recent meeting of Longford County Council. The National Assets Management Agency issued a terse response this week to comments made by Cllr Mae Sexton and Cllr Micheal Carrigy at the meeting. At that meeting, Cllr Sexton claimed agreements were being reached with certain high profile debtors to the detriment of others. The Independent councillor said she decided to raise the issue after learning how one local constituent had unsuccessfully tried to purchase a premises in Longford. What is happening is that some people are going into NAMA and are getting a third party to purchase back their property at a phenomenally low rate, she said. Responding, NAMA roundly dismissed Cllr Sexton's remarks and said the non-party local politician was mistaken. In a statement to the Longford Leader, NAMA said it was not in the business of conducting shady or underhand deals. All NAMA assets are openly marketed and sold to the highest bidder to ensure that the highest achievable price is obtained for the taxpayer, read the statement. The agency said Section 172 of the NAMA Act precluded debtors or parties associated with them from buying back properties. The agency also said that it was precluded from disclosing information about borrowers. For more on this story, see this week's Longford Leader. Family & Parenting, School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Health & Wellness, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: May 04 2016 In conjunction with The Green Vale Schools Annual Blood Drive, the New York Blood Center visited the schools fifth grade to discuss the importance of donating blood. Old Brookville, NY - April 25, 2016 - In conjunction with The Green Vale Schools Annual Blood Drive, the New York Blood Center visited the schools fifth grade to discuss the importance of donating blood. The Blood Centers Little Doctors program sends a representative to the school to give students information on how blood drives work and who is eligible to donate. This opportunity also affords the students to make an academic connection back to their science coursework. "Little Doctors" program in conjunction with the NY Blood Center at the Green Vale School. The kids really enjoyed the speaker, Science Teacher Aisha Daley said. This was a great introduction as we move towards talking about the circulatory system in science. The presentation reinforced the fifth grade science curriculum on the circulatory system as well as helping the students to understand the life-saving importance of donating blood, Technology Teacher Julie Rooney said. Mrs. Rooney and Aimee Adamo, a nurse and Green Vale parent, organized this years blood drive on campus, which collected 46 pints of blood. The Green Vale School, located in Old Brookville, Long Island, is an independent school specializing in Early Childhood through Middle School situated on a 40-acre campus on the doorstep of New York City. Green Vale has been providing students with an uncommon core of academic excellence and character development since 1923 inspiring students to excel, to lead and to care. Nature & Weather, Local News, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: May 04 2016 As part of I Love My Park Day on Saturday, May 7, approximately one hundred volunteers will begin tree restoration efforts at Connetquot River State Park Preserve on Long Island, New York State Department of ... Volunteers for I Love My Park Day will plant 600 native trees to reforest Connetquot River State Park in the wake of trees lost to the southern pine beetle. Oakdale, NY - May 3, 2016 - As part of I Love My Park Day on Saturday, May 7, approximately one hundred volunteers will begin tree restoration efforts at Connetquot River State Park Preserve on Long Island, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced today. Under this restoration effort, volunteers will plant 600 native trees to reforest the park in the wake of those trees lost to the southern pine beetle with DEC Forest Health, Trees for Tribs, and State Parks staff. Southern pine beetle is a bark beetle that infests and kills pine trees. "Since southern pine beetle arrived on Long Island in 2014, DEC, along with help from the Excelsior Conservation Corps, has removed more than 8,000 trees to suppress the beetle population," said Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos. "This tree suppression effort has left sections of Long Island needing tree restoration. As tree canopies open, and sunlight hits the ground, seeds from the parent trees will begin sprouting new trees for future generations." To accelerate this regrowth, two year-old seedling pitch pine and white pine trees will be planted. The new trees are provided by DEC's Saratoga Tree Nursery, which has been reforesting New York since 1911. Planting these seedlings will ensure trees will close the canopy in future years, should natural regeneration be delayed due to drought or other weather conditions. These trees are an insurance that trees will replace those lost by this forest pest. Restoration efforts to reforest this area are important as Connetquot River State Park Preserve is home to some of New York's most treasured species, including trout. Trout rely on trees to shade and cool waters as well as to drop leaves, which feed the aquatic insects that the fish eat. By restoring trees to the Park, DEC is working to ensure the future of this fish and the important habitat it needs to survive. Connetquot is also pine barren habitat, which is rare in New York State. Replanting pine barren species such as white pine and pitch pine ensure that these open areas are filled with native species. Native trees also provide water quality benefits, reducing runoff of harmful pollutants into nearby streams. Native trees will also provide important wildlife habitat for birds and mammals, which rely on these species for nesting habitat and food. Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey said, "Our partners at DEC and the ECC have done a fantastic job in halting the spread of the Southern Pine Beetle, and now I encourage park visitors to join us Saturday in this important work to reverse the damage at Connetquot River State Park." Additional volunteers are still needed to help restore this important place for the future. DEC encourages those available to help restore Connetquot River State Park Preserve to volunteer in this important effort. Those interested should arrive at 9 a.m. at Connetquote River State Park Preserve on May 7. To register for I Love My Park Day, please click here. The New York State ECC is a New York State AmeriCorps program run by the Student Conservation Association, created under the vision of Governor Cuomo to address the environmental and stewardship needs of New York State while inspiring the next generation of conservation leaders through environmental education programing. ECC members help State parks organize and implement I Love My Park Day projects. Local News, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: May 04 2016 Senator Todd Kaminsky released a statement after being sworn in as New Yorks newest State Senator. Albany, NY - May 3, 2016 - Senator Todd Kaminsky released the following statement after being sworn in as New Yorks newest State Senator. I am honored by the confidence my community has placed in me, and I will work day and night to restore honor and trust to our State Government. Today, I pledge to continue my fight in the State Senate to ban outside income, close the LLC loophole, reform our campaign finance system, and end pay-to-play politics. My priorities are my constituents priorities: cleaning up Albany, helping the South Shore recover from superstorm Sandy, increasing school aid for Long Island districts, fixing Common Core, and holding the line on taxes. Working together, we can achieve tremendous results for South Shore taxpayers and I look forward to getting to work right away. 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 Pure Radio Kaos looks at new releases from the Fatherland, Motherland and just about Anyland. Bobby Marquis has a website on Facebook called Frank Zappa on Pure Radio Kaos - Canada , where fans can join in and enjoy the music and legacy of Frank Zappa. Interviews with FZ Alumni , plus rare musical finds from the Zappa Archives. PRK can also be heard online at www.ckcufm.com Click "LISTEN LIVE" for streaming. ON DEMAND is a new feature which allows the listener to go back and listen to a program that he or she , or it missed. Time Zones : Every Wednesday UK: 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm Europe: 9:30 pm - 10:30 pm Canada / USA EST 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Canada / USA PST 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Frank Zappa is featured during the months of November and December every year. Pure Radio Kaos explores various artists who performed with Zappa with interviews from musicians , fans , rare concerts and new releases from the archives! Podcast: Frank Zappa Alumni Interviews: Pauline Butcher [Listen Here] Arthur Barrow [Listen Here] Bob Harris [Listen Here] Patrice Zappa-Porter [Listen Here] Ike Willis [Listen Here] Tom Fowler [Listen Here] Robert Martin [Listen Here] Ed Mann [Listen Here] Don Preston [Listen Here] Nick Didkovsky (Doctor Nerve) [Listen Here] Man to be on veterans flight Lt. Al Crook and his men were making their way through a dense jungle in Vietnam when they were ambushed. Under heavy machine gun fire, Crook ordered his men to fall back. About eight moved with him to set up a line of defense. Within minutes, men were being killed by gunfire. Crook was hit in the leg and had a heavily bleeding wound. He put a compression bandage on it knowing one of two things would happen: Either the bleeding would stop after a while or if the femoral artery had been hit hed bleed to death in 10 to 15 minutes. More than 50 years after that ambush near the Michelin Rubber Plantation, Crook and his wife, Lois, sat in the kitchen of their Fremont home. He paged through a photograph album with snapshots of him as a young soldier. Nearby, caps with the label Veteran hung on a coat rack. Some of his medals could be seen in a shadow box. Like many Vietnam veterans, Crook didnt talk about the unpopular war for years. He never thought he could handle seeing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. But on June 6, he will be on the first Nebraska Vietnam Combat Veterans Flight by Patriotic Productions to see memorial monuments and Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. He looks forward to seeing the wall and meeting other veterans, who served their country so many miles away from home. Crook, who grew up on a farm near Rising City, was about 10 years old when he decided to serve his country. I saw the Korean War veterans returning and I felt theyd helped civilians in other countries to stay free and thats what I wanted to do, he said. Crook was in the ROTC program and commissioned as a second lieutenant when he graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He and Lois had married in 1964. In September 1965, he was headed to Vietnam. At that time, troops were transported by ship. There were nine lieutenants in a 12- by 12-foot room on the ship. The men took bets on who would get seasick first. I lost, Crook said. Crook weighed about 145 pounds when he and other soldiers, each carrying about 90 pounds of gear, entered Vietnam via a naval landing craft and walked onto a beach. They boarded army trucks which convoyed to the rubber plantation, where they set up a permanent base camp. There were approximately 1,500 men. Each unit was responsible for a sector of the perimeter that surrounded the plantation. They put up concertina wire, dug trenches and foxholes and constructed bunkers. From there, they went on missions, many lasting five to 10 days. Crook was the third platoon leader of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, U.S. Army. His platoon had 43 men at the start. That was before the ambush and major battle on Dec. 5, 1965. It happened in the early afternoon. Thats when about 350 men of three infantry companies would face approximately 1,200 enemy soldiers. Crooks platoon was the point unit (the leading platoon). The enemy opened fire with multiple heavy machine gun fire. It was evident that wed been ambushed, he said. Crook gave the fall back order and men around him moved back about 20 yards to a slight depression in the terrain. In those first moments of setting up our small perimeter, three to four of those men were killed by gunfire, he said. Crook had a radio telephone operator next to him so he could communicate with his company commander. In another 10 minutes, my RTO was shot, said Crook, who pulled open the mans shirt and saw massive bleeding. He died several minutes later in my arms. More death followed. In the next 30 minutes, all nine men of my three machine gun teams were killed by heavy machine gun fire, he said. During this time, the enemy was releasing trip wires, hooked to grenades, in the trees above us. We did luck out in one sense that only about half of (the grenades) exploded around us. The men were pinned down and as Crook crawled around the area, directing fire, he was shot in the thigh. The bullet went through the inner side of his leg. It actually rolled me head over heels, he said. Crook ripped open his pant leg and saw heavy bleeding. After putting on the compression bandage, he wrapped it with tie-down tape, knowing he might bleed to death. The platoon medic was hit in the next half hour. The man wasnt killed, but could no longer treat the wounded. In another hour or so, Crook was hit again this time with shrapnel in his right upper back and shoulder area. As the battle continued, enemy soldiers yelled at the top of their lungs. Their leaders gave commands with a series of whistles. Thick smoke filled the air. Concussions from the exploding grenades were almost unbearable. In the heat, the smell of decomposing flesh produced a stench unlike anything Crook had ever known. The slightest movement from American soldiers was met with accurate gunfire. Just as we were close to being overrun, I was asked to throw smoke to mark the area so the Air Force could strafe it with napalm, Crook recalled. Crook said hed throw a smoke grenade as best he could. Minutes after Crook threw the only red smoke grenade he had, the Air Force dropped the napalm. It was mighty hot, but we were glad they showed up, he said. It was a deciding factor in the battle. By nightfall, the enemy finally broke off their engagement after six hours of pure hell. Replacements arrived to gather the wounded, who were taken back to their base camp. Approximately 15 of Crooks men had been killed and another 15, including him, were wounded and evacuated. Crook, the last to be treated, went to a naval hospital in Saigon and recuperated for 10 days before being sent back to his unit. Other firefights followed, producing casualties so that only seven of the original 43 survived and four of those were wounded twice. Crook would spend 10 more months in Vietnam, chasing Charlie (the enemy), getting shot at, losing more men, before finally heading home in late September 66. He would be awarded four Bronze stars. I would gladly give all those back and everything I own to have those young men alive today, he said. War is hell. Too bad it is wasted on the young. The man known as Abu Ubaydah Al Lubnani (the Lebanese) is one of the most senior al Qaeda leaders to defect to the Islamic State since the two jihadist organizations split in early 2014. Lubnani was once a top security official for al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But after being demoted from his sensitive post, he joined Abu Bakr al Baghdadis organization. Lubnani quickly became a thorn in al Qaedas side, revealing details about his former employers inner workings. Earlier this year, Lubnanis story was featured in several editions of the Islamic States Al Naba newsletter. The contents of his testimony are so explosive that an al Qaeda operative known as Abu Karima al Khorasani was forced to respond. One issue, more than any other, loomed large in their debate: Al Qaedas relationship with Iran. In the 19th edition of Al Naba, an interviewer asked Lubnani how he managed to travel from the Khorasan (an area that encompasses Afghanistan and Pakistan) to the caliphates home in Syria after his falling out with al Qaedas leadership. The matter was relatively easy, Lubnani responded. Coordinators from al Qaeda oversaw the entry of members to Iran and the [t]ravelers remained there in guest houses for some time until the completion of their travel arrangements to Sham [Syria]. This was with the knowledge of the Rafidi [Shiite] government in Iran, even under the eye of its intelligence services, Lubnani stressed. Simply put, once a traveler entered one of the guest houses, intelligence services knew of his arrival through those in charge of these guest houses. The safe house operators would meet with the Iranian intelligence services weekly and the phones of the guest houses were tapped and under their [the Iranians] control. Lubnani told Al Naba that he emigrated this way and his stay in Iran was prolonged, until the al Qaeda coordinators confirmed that he was not going to travel to the lands of the Islamic State. (Although he did just that.) He claimed that he escaped from the fist of Iranian intelligence, which learned of his presence through the coordinators of al Qaedas guest houses. Al Qaedas response Abu Karima al Khorasani penned a blistering critique of Lubnani that was published online by a jihadist media outfit in late February. The piece was promoted with the banner seen on the right. Lubnani served as al Qaedas security official in South Asia for only several months before he was completely dismissed for deceiving al Qaeda commanders, according to Khorasani. An al Qaeda sharia court even ruled that Lubnani should be harshly punished for his alleged crimes. Al Qaedas defender took exception to Lubnanis accusation that al Qaeda works with Pakistani intelligence, arguing that al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinents first attack targeted the Pakistani Navy. Khorasani did not deny that al Qaeda has safe houses in Iran. Instead, Khorasani threw the allegation back in Lubnanis face. If you live in a glass house, do not throw stones at people, Khorasani wrote. Khorasani then asked a series of rhetorical questions. Lubnani mentions the story about Iranian intelligence, and if this [is] true as he claims, then why did he go to the Islamic State via the same route of Iranian intelligence? The al Qaeda loyalist continued: Why was he able tofreely walk the streets of Tehran? Give us a fatwa, O religious scholars of the [Islamic State], on the judgment regarding your fellow who came to you via the help of the Iranian Intelligence, knowingly and willingly? Continuing to address the Islamic States scholars, Khorasani added: Then give us a fatwa regarding the judgment of [Lubnani], who met with Iranian intelligence at the same table before fleeing to you? Khorasanis questions are intended as a dig at the Islamic State. Given its unrelenting demonization of Shiites, it is embarrassing for one of the so-called caliphates own leaders to have benefitted from al Qaedas deal with the Iranians during his travels. According to Khorasani, there is something even more problematic in Lubnanis background. Khorasani claimed that Lubnani is a former member of a movement supported by Iran. Lubnani also allegedly concealed the identity of the group to which he [Lubnani] belonged before he entered al Qaeda. This same group, Khorasani insisted, does not hide its relationship with Iran! Khorasani does not name the organization Lubnani belonged to, but it is possible he was once a member of Hezbollah or an affiliated group. As a native of Lebanon, Lubnani could have belonged to an Iranian proxy in his home country before converting to Sunni Islam, joining al Qaeda and eventually defecting to the Islamic State. Khorasani also wrote that Lubnani had left the Islamic State since he was interviewed by Al Naba, implying that he had problems with Baghdadis men as well. US terror designations have targeted al Qaedas network inside Iran Lubnanis testimony regarding al Qaedas hub inside Iran has been corroborated by an independent source: the US government. Since July 2011, the US Treasury and State Departments have repeatedly targeted al Qaedas facilitation network inside Iran by sanctioning its key leaders. On July 28, 2011, Treasury designated six members of the network, including the jihadist who was overseeing it at the time: Yasin al Suri. Treasury described Suri as a prominent Iran-based al Qaeda facilitator, operating under an agreement between al Qaeda and the Iranian government. Treasury and State have exposed various aspects of the network on multiple occasions in the years that followed. [For more, see LWJs reports on al Qaedas network inside Iran.] The most curious aspect of the Iran-al Qaeda deal is that the two are at odds in Syria and elsewhere. Yet, according to the US government, al Qaedas leaders have used the Iranian pipeline to shuttle cash and fighters from various destinations through Turkey and into Syria. The jihadists then join Al Nusrah Front, which is al Qaedas official branch in Syria. Al Nusrah seeks to topple Bashar al Assads regime. Al Qaedas men also regularly fight Iranian forces and Irans proxies. This raises a key question: Why has Iran allowed al Qaeda to continue operating its network even as the two are at war in Syria? Lubnani provided an answer. Although it might seem odd coming from me to say that Iran permitted the passage of fighters to Sham, despite the fact that they are going to fight its army, its militias, and its allies there, this is the reality, for Irans biggest concern is that no operations happen on its soil, Lubnani told Al Naba. Lubnani said that Iran has secured the loyalty of al Qaeda by hosting the majority of al Qaedas leaders in its lands. Some of them, like Atiyah Abd al Rahman, have been allowed to travel freely. Rahman, who served as Osama bin Ladens chief of staff, was killed in a US drone strike in August 2011. The Treasury Department noted weeks before Rahmans death that he had previously served as al Qaedas emissary in Iran, a position which allowed him to travel in and out of Iran with the permission of Iranian officials. Lubnani also mentioned the presence of Saif al Adel and Abu Mohammed al Masri inside Iran. In 2015, both Adel and Masri were reportedly freed in exchange for an Iranian diplomat who had been kidnapped by al Qaeda operatives inside Yemen. These [al Qaeda] leaders have not acknowledged the Rafidah [Shiites] as infidels and they even eat their slaughtered meat, Lubnani told Al Naba. Moreover, some of them consider [the Iranians] friends or allies in the war against America, and Iran further expects to benefit from al Qaeda by putting pressure on America and its allies, the tyrants of the Gulf States. Lubnani pointed to the Abdullah Azzam Brigades (AAB), which he said Iran has supported. The AAB supposedly split from al Qaeda after executing an operation that targeted an oil tanker in the Arab Gulf a few years back. Lubnani was likely referring to the AABs July 2010 attack on a Japanese oil tanker, the M. Star, in the Strait of Hormuz. More than three years later, in November 2013, the AAB launched twin suicide attacks outside the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. As The Long War Journal reported at the time, this may have been a form of blowback. Multiple reports indicated that the AAB had its own network inside Iran in the years beforehand. Al Qaedas two lines of operation in Syria There are additional interesting nuggets in Lubnanis testimony. He confirmed that al Qaedas senior leadership rejected the Islamic States manhaj, or methodology, for waging jihad. It is well known that al Qaedas leadership criticized Abu Musab al Zarqawi and his successors, who founded the Islamic State, for their indiscriminate attacks on Shiites. Lubnani noted that al Qaedas leaders were rejecting the manhaj of the mujahidin in Iraq even before the establishment of the State. He also said that al Qaedas senior leadership privately believed it was premature to declare an Islamic nation in Iraq, given that the whole country was in a state of war at the time. The Islamic State of Iraq was formally declared in 2006. Lubnanis version of events actually cuts against the Islamic States anti-al Qaeda arguments in important ways. Abu Bakr al Baghdadis men often claim that they represent the true legacy of Osama bin Laden and that al Qaeda, under Ayman al Zawahiris leadership, has supposedly deviated from its original manhaj. As Lubnani explained, however, the disagreements began during bin Ladens time, even though the Islamic State of Iraq remained a part of al Qaedas network. According to Lubnani, al Qaeda did not want to repeat the Islamic State of Iraqs experience in Syria, meaning they didnt want to declare an emirate in Syria or follow the same manhaj that was employed there. Lubnani said that al Qaeda followed two lines of operation to build up its own cadres in Syria and thwart the Islamic States plans early on in the war. The first was with Ahrar al Sham, through which Abu Khalid al Suri was working with them [al Qaeda], communicating with Zawahiri and informing him of the situation, Lubnani told Al Naba. Al Qaeda also named Abu Maryam al-Azdi to act as al Qaedas representative to Ahrar al Sham, but he was arrested, preventing them from carrying out this part of the plan. The leadership in South Asia counted on Abu Khalid al Suri to groom factions to work with al Qaeda. Suri was in touch with al Qaeda leadership in Khurasan and he was conveying to them the news of what was happening in Sham, Lubnani explained. Suri incited against the Islamic States fighters, demanding that al Qaedas leadership work on expelling them from Sham, so that they would return to Iraq. This is, in fact, the course Ayman al Zawahiri pursued. Zawahiri was hoping that the work of Abu Khalid al Suri in leading Ahrar al Sham would bring al Qaeda closer to the factions, Lubnani said. Zawahiri asked Suri in one of his letters to gather the factions and seek their promise to cooperate with al Qaeda. But Suri refused, claiming that the situation did not permit it or that the time was not suitable. Nevertheless, Suri was still doing al Qaedas bidding. While Suri was working within Ahrar al Sham, al Qaeda was simultaneously pursuing another lane, infiltrating the Islamic States effective group in Sham, meaning Al Nusrah Front. Abdullah al Adam, the organizations intelligence chief (who was killed in April 2013), also began sending cadres from al Qaeda in Khorasan to Sham, preparing for the movement of first tier al Qaeda leaders to Sham. Zawahiris plan, according to Lubnani, was to take control of Al Nusrah, which began as the Islamic States Syrian wing, and then merge it into Ahrar al Shams model. Lubnani likely means that Zawahiri wanted to create a single jihadist entity focused on the Syrian war. This did not take place because of the killing of Abu Khalid al Suri, who was the leader of the project of bringing both al Qaeda and Ahrar al Sham together, Lubnani said. Indeed, Suri was killed by the Islamic State in February 2014, just weeks after al Qaedas general command disowned Baghdadis organization. The Long War Journal first reported that Suri was embedded in Ahrar al Sham in Dec. 2013. The deaths of other senior al Qaeda leaders also helped prevent Zawahiris scheme from becoming successful, Lubnani told Al Naba. Some al Qaeda members in Syria joined Jund al Aqsa, an al Qaeda front group, because of personality conflicts. While parts of Lubnanis story are influenced by the Islamic States spin, much of it rings true and can be verified by other sources. It remains to be seen if Lubnani surfaces again in the Islamic States media, or if he has already left the caliphate, as Khorasani alleged. Note: The Long War Journal translated Lubnanis interview in Al Naba magazine earlier this year. Subsequently, the Islamic State released its own English-language version of part of the interview. The Long War Journal also translated Abu Karima al Khorasanis response, which was disseminated on the @hedayh_femto Twitter feed prior to it being taken down. 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. Luton is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 258,000. Luton is home to Championship team Luton Town Football Club, London Luton Airport and The University of Bedfordshire. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. For all the latest news from Luton sign up to our newsletter here. Bureau Veritas has acquired international consultancy TMC Marine Ltd. TMC has provided pre- and post-casualty advice and support to the marine industry since 1979. The business focuses on marine claims and accident investigations, salvage and wreck removal consultancy and marine expert witness services for a client base that spans P&I clubs, law firms, marine insurers, salvage companies and ship owners. Headquartered in London, TMC has a network of offices in the U.S., China, Singapore and Australia. It employs more than 50 people and generated revenues of 8.5 million in 2015. Didier Michaud-Daniel, CEO of Bureau Veritas, said, Our Marine & Offshore business, the historical activity of Bureau Veritas, is one of our eight key growth initiatives to 2020. As such, it is evolving rapidly. We are diversifying our service portfolio and developing our technological leadership in order to meet all our clients expectations in risk management. TMC is a recognized brand that enables the Group to enhance its offering to the marine insurance consultancy market, thereby expanding the services that we already provide in offshore to the maritime market. We are very happy to be joining the expanding Marine & Offshore division of Bureau Veritas, a leading service provider to the international marine industry, said Tony Bowman, Chairman of TMC. This is a strategic alliance that will provide TMC with technical synergies and greatly enhance the services we can offer to new and existing clients while at the same time continuing our plan of further geographic expansion. Fragmented sector chasing alliances to cut costs; Maersk has plenty of cash for deals - CEO. A.P. Moller-Maersk returned to profit at its main container shipping business in the first quarter, putting the cash rich company in a strong position as the struggling industry consolidates. The group's shares were up by 5.6 percent at 1127 GMT on Wednesday after Maersk Line confounded expectations of a loss at the container shipping business as the sector grapples with a downturn brought on by overcapacity. Rates for shipping containers transporting anything from flat-screen TVs to sportswear have been at a loss-making level for more than a year, denting profits and opening the highly fragmented sector to consolidation in an effort to cut costs and build scale. With more than 600 vessels, Maersk Line is the global market leader with a market share around 15 percent and has previously played down its ambitions, but the Copenhagen-based company acknowledged on Wednesday that recent acquisitions and vessel-sharing alliances bring new opportunities. "We still have a very strong balance sheet and have plenty of liquidity reserves for unexpected and expected investments," CEO Nils Smedegaard Andersen said. The group's cash reserves stand at about $12 billion. Recent high-profile mergers and acquisitions in the industry include the creation of China COSCO Shipping through a state-led merger and French shipping group CMA CGM SA's deal to acquire Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NOL). Container lines have also been restructuring debt and forming vessel-sharing alliances to counter the downturn. "Consolidation ... is positive when viable, stable alliances are formed, because it enables everyone to concentrate on the customer and not fight exclusively on rates," Andersen said, adding that smaller players would be vulnerable. "The small and mid-sized companies will need to consider their strategies very radically, in my opinion, if they're not in an alliance that has a future." COSTS DOWN In the first quarter Maersk reduced costs for moving a 40 ft container to $2,060, down 16 percent from a year earlier and about a third lower than four years ago. Group net profit dropped 86 percent to $224 million in the quarter, beating analysts' average forecast of $55.6 million, with the company's oil division also faring better than expected in weak energy markets. Low freight rates and weak oil prices brought revenue down by 19 percent, though this was partly offset by a 7 percent rise in container volumes and a 15 percent increase in oil production, Maersk said. "Results were better than feared," ship brokerage firm Fearnleys wrote in a note. Maersk Line made a profit of $37 million in the first three months of 2016, compared with an average forecast for a loss of $121 million in a Reuters poll of analysts. That was still down from a $714 million profit in the same quarter last year, however. Maersk reiterated its forecast for the container business to achieve full-year underlying profit significantly below last year's due to lower rates, but it forecast global demand for seaborne container transportation to rise between 1 percent and 3 percent from growth of less than 1 percent last year. The oil division made a loss of $29 million, against a consensus analyts' forecast for a $59.5 million loss. Maersk said its breakeven price for oil production had been lowered to $40-$45 a barrel from a previous range of $45-$55. Benchmark Brent crude was steady at around $45 on Wednesday morning. By Ole Mikkelsen The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, continued to dip on Wednesday due to sluggish demand across vessel segments. The overall index, which factors in rates for capesize, panamax, supramax and handysize shipping vessels, fell 30 points, or 4.4 percent at 652 points. Shipping activity is expected to remain thin for the week due to the upcoming holidays in Japan and Korea, ship brokerage firm Clarksons Platou Securities said in a note on Tuesday. The capesize index fell 101 points, or 9.57 percent to 954 points. Average daily earnings for capesizes, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, decreased $891 to $7,418. The panamax index was down 19 points or about 3 percent at 621 points. Average daily earnings for panamaxes, which usually carry coal or grain cargoes of about 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes, fell $146 at $4,963 on Wednesday. Among smaller vessels, the handysize index slipped three points to 365 points, while the supramax index remained flat at 583 points. Reporting by Apeksha Nair 1917 - Destroyer Division 8, commanded by Cmdr. Joseph K. Taussig, arrive at Queenstown, Ireland, to protect convoy escorts against German U-Boats. 1942 - Battle of the Coral Sea begins when TF 17 attacks the Japanese Tulagi Invasion Force at Tulagi, Solomons. 1945 - Marine Sgt. Elbert L. Kinser throws himself upon a grenade during the Okinawa Campaign and saves his fellow Marines. He is posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. 1945 - During the Okinawa Campaign, the Japanese attempt to land on Okinawa but are repulsed by the Allied naval forces. Kamikazes attack and sink: USS Luce (DD 522), USS Morrison (DD 560), USS LSM 190, USS LSM 194. Damaged by the suicide bombers are USS Birmingham (CL 62) and USS Sangamon (CVE 26). 1961 - Cmdr. Malcolm D. Ross, pilot, and medical observer Lt. Cmdr. Victor A. Prather, Jr, ascend in two hours to more than 110,000 feet in Strato-Lab 5, setting altitude record for manned open gondola. 2013 - USS Anchorage (LPD 23) is commissioned in her namesake city. The San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock is the second ship to be named after the Alaskan city. She is homeported in San Diego, Calif. (Source: Naval History and Heritage Command, Communication and Outreach Division) The global company ESI Group, a virtual prototyping and testing software developer, has joined efforts with SENER, a company in marine engineering and the development of CAD/CAM system for the shipbuilding industry, with the aim of marketing and integrating their respective solutions, IC.IDO and FORAN. Nowadays shipbuilding is dominated by vessels with highly complex and sophisticated designs. There is also a growing trend of distributing the engineering tasks between multiple remote agents, and a need to produce integrated designs for effective ships with no margin of error. In this global environment, where the engineering work is ever more frequently divided among different companies, ships need to be designed in a way that helps to integrate their engineering. FORAN, by SENER, is the only system that brings together all the design disciplines in a single solution, within a single work environment. Thanks to the agreement with ESI Group, SENER and ESI will begin a partnership to develop IC.IDO in the global marine market and will begin working to integrate this leading virtual reality product into FORAN. This will allow physical simulation in real time and guarantee realistic behavior, as well as an immersive user interface. The ability of the product to simulate movements, collisions and human models makes it possible to verify the entire assembly line and all the manufacturing and maintenance processes. As regards the partnership, Emilio Mencia de Miguel, COO of ESI Group, Hispania & South America, commented that: The agreement reached between ESI Group and SENER for the shipbuilding is a strategic alliance that will exploit the synergies of both companies across the world, both on a commercial level and in terms of product development. FORAN is the most complete, advanced shipbuilding system on the market and its integration with the IC.IDO virtual reality system will create unique opportunities for collaboration and process integration in an immersive 3D environment that will further assist the decision-making processes of the different teams in the shipyard, or decision-making between these teams and the different design offices. Meanwhile, Rafael de Gongora, General Manager of SENER Marine, stated that: SENER is aware that the CAD/CAM system has become another standard tool in the ship production process and operational life cycle and therefore, to continue offering the best service to the marine industry, it seeks agreements with companies that have state-of-the-art technology solutions that complement FORAN and can be integrated into the system. And this is the case of IC.IDO. The Liebherr offshore crane division installed a board offshore crane, type BOS 35000 on the heavy lift barge Giant 7. The state of the art offshore crane will be used for wind plant installation in the Baltic Sea region. The entire project starting from design through manufacturing to final assembly and testing has been conducted in the companys production site in Rostock, northern Germany. The crane was especially developed for the use on the Giant 7, a heavy lift barge. On arrival at the Liebherr Rostock facility in January, the crane installation started immediately. The biggest challenge when assembling heavy lift giants like the BOS 35000 is the handling of oversized parts. The lattice boom is 78 meters long. Its weight amounts more than 250 tonnes. With 390 tonnes, the machinery house is even heavier. Because of these dimensions two Liebherr mobile harbour cranes, type LHM 600 were necessary to assemble the components. Installation of steel ropes, hydraulics, electronics as well as the main hook completed the crane. The dimensions both in weight and size are also for us, far away from being usual. For this reason we attach the greatest importance to safety during assembly. We had 25 experienced engineers and technicians constantly occupied with the project. Including work preparation, their task took around 5000 working hours, comments Gordon Clark, Liebherr Sales Director Offshore Cranes. The assembly of the BOS 35000 on the Giant 7 took 412 weeks. After this period the final phase started. Before delivery, every product goes through an extensive testing process. Testing includes measurements of luffing and hoisting speeds, boom movements as well as the static and dynamic behaviour of the crane structure. The stability and reliability is tested by lifting weights up to 660 tonnes 10 percent more than the regularly working load. The tests are fulfilled in accordance to all relevant offshore regulations. Assembling and testing the BOS 35000 on the Giant 7 could be finished after just 6 weeks. The barge is currently on the way to its new operation site in the Baltic Sea. The BOS 35000 will be used for installing offshore wind parks. Experiencing continued success and growing demand for the supply of marine lubricants, LUKOIL Marine has launched an additional supply barge named LUKOIL Marine. With a length of 45m and a capacity of 800 dwt divided into several compartments, the barge LUKOIL Marine will supply a variety of products including Navigo TPEO 30/40, Navigo TPEO 40/40, Navigo 40 MCL, Navigo 100 MCL, Navigo 70 MCL and Navigo 6 SO. The barge is the companys third in a fleet delivering lubricants in Singapore, including the 100 dwt capacity Transwift and 350 dwt capacity Marine Success. The launch ceremony for LUKOIL Marine was held on January 20, 2016 at 1-Altitude Gallery & Bar in Singapore, where an audience of more than 120 industry guests were welcomed by LUKOIL Marines CEO Victor Zhuravskiy to celebrate the launch. During the evening, Otsuki Noriyoshi, CEO of LUKOIL Marines transport partner Lee Huat Yap Kee Pte Ltd, was invited onto the stage and presented with a plaque to commemorate the partnership between both companies. After equipping more than 20 purpose supply vessels (PSV)/multipurpose supply vessels (MPSV) for Eastern Shipbuilding, GE has once again been chosen by the builder to equip Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS) next generation of U.S. flag, Jones Act-qualified MPSVs, constructed at Eastern Shipbuilding. The scope of GE technology onboard these two vessels include the first MKII MV3000 Active Front End (AFE) drive. Manufactured in Kidsgrove U.K., these drives have one of the highest power density of any drive ever produced by GEs Marine Solutions, providing performance comparable to a much larger solution while occupying far less space onboard. In addition to the drives, GE has also provided its latest generation dynamic positioning (DP) system. With the help of HOS input, the SeaStream DP system has a completely redesigned and improved user control interface. The new interface puts the control of the ship back into the hands of the mariner with simpler, intuitive controls allowing critical information to be delivered in an easy to comprehend manner for the user, which results in more efficient DP operations. GE will provide its solutions for two of HOS MPSVs, both of which were delivered by the yard in January and April of this year, respectively. GE will also provide training to enable operators to use the new technology efficiently. A tanker that an oil company set up by Libya's eastern government prevented from loading has left the eastern port of Marsa el-Hariga, a port official said on Wednesday. The Seachance, which had been due to load 600,000 barrels of oil for the National Oil Corporation (NOC) in Tripoli, left the port of its own accord, the official said. The stand-off at Hariga, part of a broader political struggle between factions in eastern and western Libya, threatens to further diminish Libya's oil output. An NOC Tripoli official said production could drop by 120,000 barrels per day if it is unable to load at Hariga. The parallel Benghazi-based NOC ordered port workers not to load the Seachance after seeing a its first attempted oil export shipment blacklisted by the United Nations, and returned to be unloaded in western Libya. The Tripoli NOC and its Western backers warn that efforts by the eastern NOC to sell oil independently risk dragging the country further into crisis. But eastern politicians, who have not formally endorsed a U.N.-backed unity government trying to establish itself from the capital, insist that the Benghazi company is the country's legitimate NOC. On Wednesday the head of the Benghazi NOC, Nagi al-Maghrabi, said there was no plan to close Hariga, and suggested the refusal to load the Seachance was made for bureaucratic reasons. There is "no plan to shut down the port, the revenue is for all Libyans," Maghrabi told Reuters. "We just ask to have for the document for any shipment in advance ... otherwise it will not be allowed to load. We still respect all contracts." Seachance had been initially due to load on April 26-28. No-one at the Tripoli NOC could immediately be reached for comment. Libya's oil output is currently less than a quarter of the 1.6 million barrels per day it was producing before the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi five years ago. Reporting by Ayman al-Warfalli and Ahmad Ghaddar The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) completed its review of the draft final rule entitled Inspection of Towing Vessels, also known as "Subchapter M." The document has been returned to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Coast Guard for final preparation prior to promulgation in the Federal Register. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, this rulemaking would implement a program of inspection for certification of towing vessels, which were previously uninspected. It would prescribe standards for safety management systems and third-party auditors and surveyors, along with standards for construction, operation, vessel systems, safety equipment, and recordkeeping. In a nutshell, it also represents some of the most sweeping changes in this sector in decades, as well as being one of most siginificant rulemaking efforts in recent memory. The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 requires that a proposed rule be issued within 90 days after enactment and that a final rule be issued within 1 year of enactment. Statement of Need: This rulemaking would implement section 415 of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2004. The intent of the proposed rule is to promote safer work practices and reduce casualties on towing vessels by ensuring that towing vessels adhere to prescribed safety standards. This proposed rule was developed in cooperation with the Towing Vessel Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC). It would establish a new subchapter dedicated to towing vessels, covering vessel equipment, systems, operational standards, and inspection requirements. The federal government has estimated the anticipated costs and benefits of the rulemaking. As a result of this rulemaking, owners and operators of towing vessels would incur additional annualized costs, discounted at 7 percent, in the range of $14.3 million to $17.1 million. According to the Coast Guard, the cost of this rulemaking would involve provisions for safety management systems, standards for construction, operation, vessel systems, safety equipment, and recordkeeping. Our cost assessment includes existing and new vessels. The Coast Guard developed the requirements in the proposed rule by researching both the human factors and equipment failures that caused towing vessel accidents. We believe that the proposed rule would address a wide range of causes of towing vessel accidents and supports the main goal of improving safety in the towing industry. The primary benefit of the proposed rule is an increase in vessel safety and a resulting decrease in the risk of towing vessel accidents and their consequences. Beyond this, the government estimates an annualized benefit of $28.5 million from this rule. The exact date of the final rule is not yet known, but yesterday's OMB announcement brings the subchapter M drama closer to its final resolution. The American Waterways Operators (AWO) have long pushed for the rule's enactment on behalf of its considerable membership. The German navigation system manufacturer Raytheon Anschutz was awarded a retrofit contract of steering gear control systems for two luxury cruise ships chartered by Noble Caledonia Ltd. The cruise ships will be retrofitted with the Anschutz NautoSteer AS advanced steering gear control system. Salen Ship Management, as the technical manager of the cruise ships Island Sky and Hebridean Sky, has decided to replace the manual steering gear control systems with a redundant NautoSteer AS steering gear control system from Raytheon Anschutz. In addition to providing follow-up and non-follow-up control, NautoSteer AS also integrates the existing autopilot systems onboard. Raytheon Anschutz received the contracts via their Norwegian distributor Syberg AS. Systems will be replaced during Spring 2016. Olav Denker, product manager at Raytheon Anschutz, states: Safety was the main aspect for the development of the NautoSteer AS, making the system ideally suited for safety sensitive cruise ships. In addition, we focused on a user-oriented operating concept, which supports the crew in their fast and safe decision making in critical situations. A key feature supporting increased safety is the simplified selector switch for two independent steering modes. A Direct NFU tiller controls the steering gear directly without the use of electronics and a Main steering position for all other controls based on redundant CAN-bus technology. In the main steering mode, NautoSteer AS allows taking-over control from any steering position. The supplied system includes advanced features, such as integrated steering failure monitoring, wire-break monitoring and data integrity monitoring standard features of NautoSteer AS. NautoSteer AS can be adapted to and integrated into the most varied ship system environments. It is further optimized for simplified installation by providing easier wiring of standard power and bus connections, less cabling as well as quicker PC-based commissioning and system set-up - a perfect solution for new and retrofit installations. Raytheon Anschutz received the contracts via their Norwegian distributor Syberg AS, who sold the systems to the ships service provider, Triton Marine Services of Norway. NORTH BEND After nearly three decades, a comprehensive study and a myriad of factors ranging from wetlands to farmland to traffic, the proposed route for the expansion of U.S. Highway 30 finally hit the limelight. Taking into account all the other factors ... this is it, this is the alignment were going with, said Tim Weander, a Nebraska Department of Roads engineer. Tuesday night in the North Bend City Auditorium, highway designers, engineering interns, biologists, traffic analysts, hydraulic engineers and various other Nebraska Department of Roads officials assembled for a public information open house regarding the North Bend-to-Fremont section of the highway. It is part of a larger 21-mile segment of road between Rogers and Fremont slated for relocation 1.5 to 2 miles north of the existing Highway 30, with an additional upgrade to a four-lane expressway. Establishment of the Nebraska Expressway system in 1988 set in motion the long process of creating an expressway between Columbus and Fremont. Since then, only the section between Columbus and Schuyler has reached completion. Through the years the project suffered setbacks in funding and disputes over the route. In 2011, with the passage of the Build Nebraska Act, funding became available and the project picked up momentum. It will all be done in about 4 1/2 years, said Pat Sward, a biologist with the NDOR who monitors preservation of wetlands along the new route. Cecilia Harry, executive director of the Greater Fremont Development Council, was among the upwards of 200 people who showed up Tuesday night to learn about the project. Improvement to infrastructure provides opportunities for communities, Harry said. However, she added, with a project of this magnitude its difficult to address everyones concerns. One issue involves what will become of the new intersection of Highway 79 and Highway 30. North Bend residents are concerned about the heavy school traffic in that part of their city and many would like to see a stoplight or overpass. However, Weander explained that traffic counts on both roads do not yet warrant lights; and currently the NDOR does not have the budget to construct an approximately $12 million overpass. At the Fremont end, Dodge County Supervisor Terry Synovec has some concern over access to parts of the Fremont area from the new highway. He explained that because the new road would run about 1.5 miles farther north, vehicle access to and from the Fremont lakes and other areas might become a bit more cumbersome. County Roads 18 and 20, which are mainly gravel, would be the only access routes to the lakes, and he would like to see the state cover the cost of paving those roads to facilitate improved traffic patterns. Dodge County has a lot of things on our plate to budget for ... and it would help if the state would pave 18 and 20, Synovec said. Maynard Flamme, a farmer in the North Bend area, holds other concerns. The new highway would bisect part of his land, creating a division in some of his fields and requiring an awkward traverse of the expressway with heavy, slow-moving farm equipment. The open house served as a public information session, allowing people to express their questions and concerns. We want the publics input ... were excited to listen, Weander said. Were trying to get all the issues resolved. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2018 with completion by the fall of 2020. Singapore has launched an initiative to attract more locals to take up a career as a marine engineer. The joint venture between unions, government and industry aims to address an acute shortage. A new S$1.2 million Tripartite Engineering Training Award (TETA) Programme was launched by Lim Swee Say, the Minister for Manpower. According to a press release, TETA is a joint initiative by Singapore Maritime Officers Union (SMOU), Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA), National Trades Union Congress Employment and Employability Institute (e2i). Speaking at the Devan Nair Institute, Lim said: "Seafarers form a key segment of our maritime workforce... With an increasing use of technology, we must equip our seafarers with a higher level of knowledge and skills, and attract more to join this sector." TETA is targeted at Singaporean citizens and permanent residents with at least Higher National Institute of Technical Education Certificate qualifications, though there were also cadets with diplomas, said organisers. The programme's first intake of nine cadets have already started the first phase of classroom-based training last year. This phase will last nine months, following which the cadets will spend 15 months at sea. The final phase of the programme is a seven-month preparatory course and examinations, before cadets who pass the course graduate to become officers. This programme, which is part of the Continuous Education and Training (CET) route, is targeted at those who have completed their National Service with an engineering background from ITE Higher Nitec and for those who are looking for a career switch. Over the years, we have noticed the manpower issues, in particular the dwindling number of Singaporean seafaring officers and marine engineers willing to embark on this career, SMOU General Secretary, Mary Liew said. Kalmar, part of Cargotec, is to deliver nine diesel-electric straddle carriers to EUROGATE, Europe's leading shipping line-independent container terminal operator, for use in their Hamburg Container Terminal. The order was booked in Cargotec's 2016 first quarter order intake, with delivery taking place during quarter four in 2016. Peter Zielinski, Managing Director, EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg, says: "Protecting the environment is a high priority at EUROGATE, and investing in Kalmar diesel-electric straddle carriers contributes to our goal of continuously reducing the company's ecological footprint by cutting fuel usage and exhaust emissions." Mikko Mononen, Director, Sales and Project Management, Intelligent Horizontal Transportation Solutions at Kalmar, says: "As a long-standing customer, we highly value the relationship with EUROGATE and it is a privilege to be involved in their development activities. We're delighted that they have once again chosen Kalmar equipment to support their business operations." EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg is a modern facility that operates state-of-the-art container gantries and straddle carriers. The AR5 Life Ray UAS, developed by TEKEVER, has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) to demonstrate the first European maritime surveillance system where drones are integral to operations. The first demonstration will be performed this summer over the Maltese waters of the Mediterranean sea, said Pedro Sinogas, TEKEVER CEO, at the AUVSI Xponential show in New Orleans, La. Maritime operations have been brought into focus in Europe by the unprecedented migrant crisis. As part of the response to this crisis the EU border patrol agency FRONTEX has recently announced that it is in the planning phase of adding remotely piloted aircraft to its existing portfolio of satellite and sensor technologies for monitoring vessel traffic and migrant flows. During the demonstration in Malta, TEKEVERs systems will be deployed from land and will perform operations across a range of maritime scenarios during the four to six weeks of testing, Sinogas said. This project is demonstrating the benefits of deploying unmanned aircraft in the dual roles of pollution monitoring and search and rescue, according to TEKEVER, who said the project has developed the business case to deploy unmanned aircraft to augment, or even replace, existing assets such as satellites, manned aircraft and ships. TEKEVER said it is working with maritime authorities from across the EU, coordinated with EMSA and will demonstrate operations in the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea across a wide range of environmental conditions. Crowley Maritime Corp.s Seattle-based naval architecture and engineering firm, Jensen Maritime, reports it has designed a new tractor tug for Vessel Chartering LLC that features some of the first Tier IV engines meeting higher federal air emissions standards among U.S. tugboats. The multipurpose tractor tug, engineered to support ship escorts, assists and towing, was jointly developed by Vessel Chartering LLC and Jensen and is being built by JT Marine of Vancouver, Wash. The tug is planned for delivery in the second quarter of 2017 to Vessel Chartering LLC., a wholly owned division of Baydelta Navigation Ltd. According to the designer, the new 110-foot-long, 40-foot-wide vessel will feature the ship assist and escort capabilities of smaller harbor tugs, while delivering the improved towing performance and increased range of larger oceangoing tugs. Escort capability is enhanced to provide support for assisting large, 18,000 TEU containerships due to an increased future demand in West Coast ports of call. The vessels engines meet the federal Tier IV standard, which incorporate the emissions-reducing performance requirements by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To meet the requirements, the two engines on this vessel use systems that clean exhaust gases after they have left the engines. Jensen Maritime said this tug is the third it has designed with engines meeting the Tier IV requirement. The development of the Tier IV engines for this tug demonstrates our commitment to innovative, environmentally friendly design while continuing to deliver powerful, high-quality performance, said Johan Sperling, vice president, Jensen Maritime. This tug will meet our industrys demands for strong, yet nimble vessels with the quality design people expect from us. The vessel will be powered by a pair of 3,385-horsepower Caterpillar 3516 Tier IV engines. With an electrically powered, double drum tow winch aft by Rapp USA and an electrically powered hawser winch forward by Markey Machinery as deck machinery, the vessel will be capable of a 93-to-95 short-ton bollard pull. Both winches electrical power will remove any chance of a hydraulic oil spill on deck. The tug was designed without any ballast tanks, thereby eliminating the need for ballast water discharge and the potential transfer of invasive species. In lieu of ballast tanks, the tug will transfer fuel, as necessary, in order to maintain proper trim. The tug is designed to carry up to 123,000 gallons of fuel, 4,300 gallons of fresh water, and up to 4,500 gallons of urea, which is used for treatment of the main engine exhausts in order to meet Tier IV emissions requirements. A water maker is being installed for potable water when out at sea. A large pilot house will provide all-around visibility, and the deckhouse has an open feel with a large mess and lounge area along with accommodations for a 10-person crew. A manufacturer of two-stroke engines has agreed to validation tests of an Alfa Laval hydraulic control oil (HCO) filter . The approval to test the final HCO filter design comes after concept testing on the crude oil tanker Stena Suede. Alfa Laval describes its HCO filter as a high-performance solution for the new generation of two-stroke engines where traditional camshafts have been replaced by hydraulic control systems. The hydraulic control system core components are dedicated valves fed with oil from the main system flow, which must be finely filtered with minimal pressure drop. Due to the sensitivity of the large centrifugal main pumps used to move the oil, additional pressure drop across the HCO filter would ultimately risk engine damage. The Alfa Laval HCO filter, now set to begin validation testing, easily achieves this balance of fine filtration and excellent flow passage, the manufacturer said. Between its high performance and its compact nature, the Alfa Laval HCO filter will remove much of the cost and installation complexity associated with hydraulic control system protection, said Herve Gourdon, Business Manager, Filters at Alfa Laval. Extensive filter area is critical for filtration at 6 m, the very fine grade required for hydraulic control oil. Using new Alfa Laval Atrium technology, the Alfa Lava HCO filter provides an increase in filtering surface with virtually no impact on pressure drop. This is possible through the special patented shape of the Atrium filter elements, as well as their smaller and highly optimized flow distribution system. With Alfa Laval Atrium technology, the Alfa Laval HCO filter reliably achieves the 6 m filtering needed to protect hydraulic control valves, Gourdon said. Yet the flow and pressure through the filter remain practically unaffected, which ensures a safe margin for the engine. A further advantage of the ample flow through the Alfa Laval HCO filter is the ability to backflush continuously. Unlike sequential backflushing, continuous backflushing prevents even temporary accumulation of pollutants. This, too, ensures there is no increase in pressure drop. Because the backflushing is treated in a diversion chamber in the filter, it also contributes to a compact and easily installed solution. No additional tank or separator is required, nor is any air or electrical connection needed, since backflushing is driven by the hydraulic motor. With approval from a major manufacturer of two-stroke engines, the Alfa Laval HCO filter will now undergo validation tests. The final design will be evaluated in three installations, each to be put through 3,000 hours of testing. This follows 14,000 hours of concept testing aboard the tanker Stena Suede, whose chief engineer Paul Ash confirms, The filter is basically maintenance-free, the backflush cleaning works well and the operating pressure is steady. The effectiveness of the Alfa Laval HCO filter and its Atrium filter technology are already clear, Gourdon said. In fact, we see potential for the Atrium technology across multiple filter applications. Hydraulic control oil is only the beginning. Todd Coleman, CEO of Port of Vancouver USA, step down from his position May 19, after 15 years with the port. Coleman, a Professional Engineer, began his career with the port in 2001, when he was hired as Facilities Manager. After three promotions, he earned the position of Deputy Executive Director in 2005. The ports Board of Commissioners appointed him CEO in 2012. Coleman plans to spend some time with his family this summer before seeking a new opportunity. The Board of Commissioners will appoint an interim CEO while the port moves through the hiring process. Venezuelan crude sales to the United States declined 8.3 percent in April to 734,700 barrels per day (bpd) compared with the same month of 2015, amid delays at PDVSA's main ports, according to Thomson Reuters trade flows and vessel tracking data. State-run oil firm PDVSA and its joint ventures sent a total of 45 crude cargoes to customers in the United States last month versus 54 cargoes in April of 2015 and 52 in March. Equipment malfunctioning at Jose port has been occurring since March, causing delays to load and discharge tankers. This has also resulted in a backlog of vessels around PDVSA's Bullenbay terminal in the Caribbean island of Curacao. PDVSA this week said it is installing three new loading arms to speed up operations at Jose. PDVSA's refining unit in the United States, Citgo Petroleum, was the main receiver of Venezuelan crude in April with 13 cargoes, followed by Valero Energy with 11 cargoes and Phillips 66 with 7 cargoes. Delays at Curacao to discharge imports of U.S. light crude that is being used as diluent for Venezuela's extra heavy oil caused a decline in sales of blend crudes such as Merey, one of PDVSA's main grades for exports. Exports of traditional crudes to the United States such as Boscan, Corocoro, Morichal and Hamaca also fell, according to the data, made with preliminary figures. As of May 4, more than 30 dirty tankers were waiting to load and discharge oil at Jose and Bullenbay terminals, including five U.S. crude cargoes sold to PDVSA by British BP and China Oil. Wait times have shortened in Jose in recent days, but loading or discharging at Bullenbay is taking more than five days, the data say. (Reporting by Marianna Parraga; Editing by Diane Craft) Sailors from across Marine Forces Reserve and the U.S. Navy Reserve participated in a Fleet Marine Force reconnaissance corpsman screening hosted by 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve in San Antonio, April 19-22, 2016. The screening identified potential reserve corpsmen for selection in the FMF reconnaissance corpsman training pipeline through a series of challenges designed to replicate the stress of reconnaissance training. The purpose of the training is to challenge the Sailors both physically and mentally, said Chief Petty Officer Eric S. Gilmet, the chief instructor for the screening and a FMF reconnaissance corpsman with Inspector-Instructor medical staff, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. "They are exposed to a little bit of what the pipeline has to offer, to determine if this is really something they want to do." To complete the screening, the Sailors spent multiple days in the training, which included a physical screening test, a physical fitness test, water confidence training, an open-water fin swim, land navigation, patrolling, and a tactical combat casualty care practical application at various training sites in the San Antonio area. However, the four-day training only scratched the surface of what the actual pipeline consists of. For corpsmen who have already been through the field medical training battalion, the pipeline can take up to two years, said Gilmet. To complete the pipeline, corpsmen must attend the Marine Corps basic reconnaissance primer course, the basic reconnaissance course, Marine combatant dive school, the amphibious reconnaissance corpsman course, U.S Army airborne school and special operations combat medic course. Critical Shortfalls With the pipeline as grueling as it is, there is a shortage of qualified corpsmen, especially on the Reserve side. The reconnaissance corpsman Navy enlisted classification is critically undermanned right now. said Gilmet. In order for a reconnaissance battalion to even leave the wire and conduct missions, they need a reconnaissance corpsman with them or someone who has been through the special operations combat medic course. To remedy this shortage, Gilmet created this screening to help identify reserve candidates for the pipeline. I started this in April 2015, but it only consisted of the physical screening test, some classroom work, and a final training exercise, said Gilmet. After receiving more funding for this program, the screening has evolved into the four-day training it is today. This screening is unique because a lot of these guys are being exposed to training they have never experienced, said Gilmet. They are being pushed harder than they have been pushed in their naval careers. The reason why we push them is because if they attend the basic reconnaissance primer course, the instructors look at everyone the same as active duty. We need to make sure that the Reserve sailors who attend this understand the expectation and are prepared to meet it. To expand the course, Gilmet recruited other active duty and Reserve FMF reconnaissance corpsmen to serve as instructors and help assess the Sailors attending the screening. We are trying to select individuals we believe have the drive to make it through the pipeline, said Petty Officer 1st Class Austen C. Hubbard, a FMF reconnaissance corpsman with 4th Reconnaissance Battalion and the lead instructor for the screening. For a lot of people who dont finish the pipeline, its because of a lack of preparation or because they didnt have it in their heart to do it in the first place. Among the ranks of students, there are several individuals determined to make the most out of this training. Coming here, I really wanted to see what the basic reconnaissance course was going to be like, so I could better prepare myself and see what I need to work on, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Bruce C. Stephen, a hospital corpsman with 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve. With the intensity of this screening, the students receive valuable insight into the FMF reconnaissance corpsman pipeline. "Everything here has been hard, Stephen said. You are constantly getting your body thrashed to the max, then being told to push even further. You'd be surprised how much you can push if you really put your mind to it." For those few Sailors who are able to push themselves past the pain and hardship of this training, a coveted endorsement to the pipeline awaits them. For the even fewer Sailors who eventually make it through the pipeline and receive the title of FMF reconnaissance corpsman, an elusive membership into an elite brotherhood awaits them. "This is a brotherhood that I am fortunate enough to be a part of for the rest of my life," said Hubbard. "When you leave this community, the only thing you take with you is a lifetime membership to this brotherhood, and a paddle that your fellow Marines and corpsmen make for you. More Media Marines with Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Tank Battalion honed their firepower capabilities during a machine gun range at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 29. The company divided its sections into three groups that, over the course of two weeks, would utilize the vast training area of SR-10 to become more proficient with using the M240B medium machine gun and .50-caliber machine gun. The first day, we shot with our tripods both day and night, and then more recently mounted them on top of our Humvees, said Lance Cpl. Casey Hall, a motor transport vehicle operator with the company. The previous sessions with the weapon systems left Marines feeling prepared to conduct several run-throughs of navigating the range and its targets from within a Humvee on the move. The range demanded more than just marksmanship skills, with the responsibilities of the driver and radio operators accompanying him being an integral part of the range as well. This is the type of training to help us know what to do if we ever find ourselves facing any enemy in the future, Hall said. Other Marines in the company regarded the exercise as necessary following the previous deactivation of the battalions Charlie Company, and something that will allow the Marines of the battalion to maintain readiness despite the shrink in size. For me as a tanker, driving the Humvee is different, along with using tracer rounds to spot your targets and not the tools in the tank, said Lance Cpl. Cody Nagy, a tank crewman with the company. But with the loss of one of our tank companies, we need more of our Marines better prepared to accurately engage targets. More Media Mays upon us, and so are numerous articles debating the benefits of sell in May. In the earliest form we can find, the saying went, Sell in May, and go away; come again on St. Legers Day. It originated in Londonthen the economic center of the worldat a time when markets would virtually shut down in the summer, while brokers and other financial professionals vacationed. Supposedly, the end was tied to a mid-September horse race (the St. Legers Stakes). As a result, trading volumes were much thinner. Thinner volumes can mean less liquidity, and less liquidity can mean tougher price discoveryhence, more volatility. But nowadays, liquidity isnt much a problem at any time of the year, thanks to new technologies and growing markets. Yet sell in May continues to garner headlines. The old adage that may have started with May as an exit and St. Legers Day as a reentry point has evolved to mean ... well ... we dont exactly know what. You see, adherents seem to have many different ideas of the timing. And sell in May itself doesnt lay out when the actual selling should occurMay Day? May 31? Or sometime in between? Even if an investor figures out when to sell, theres conflicting advice about when to buy back in. Some advocate September, others October, some a strict six months and still others November. Ultimately, this debate stems from claims summer(ish) average returns are worse than winter(ish) returns. And theres a grain of truth to that: returns from May to October have been slightly lower than returns the rest of the year ... but, even with big down years dragging down the averages for some months, cumulative returns in each half of the year were positive. Taken on a monthly basis, only average returns for September are negative, and not by much. (And that fact is skewed by a few big bad Septembers dragging down the average. A function of math, not calendar causation.) Exhibit 1: Monthly Average Returns Source: Global Financial Data, Inc.; S&P 500 Total Returns 12/31/1925 - 3/31/13, as of 5/8/13. Yet some may argue corrections in the last three years around the summer months are fine evidence sell in May works. Wed argue otherwise. Had you sold in May 2010 and returned to markets in, say, October, not only would you have still been in the market for the beginning of that years correction (04/15/2010), youd have been out of the market for the three months of a sharp snap higher after the corrections bottom (07/05/2010). 2011s correction may fit the adage best. Its pre-correction high was hit in April and selling ran until early October. 2012s correction, however, didnt, lasting only from 04/02/2012 to 06/04/2012. Weve never heard anyone argue re-entry should be in early June. And just three years earlier2009had huge positive returns during the summer months. So in reality, during this bull market, you could say summers been weak in one of four years. In two of the others, corrections began before May and the troughtheoretically, the best reentry pointwas during the period the adage says to be out. If you exited stocks attempting to time this, you needed to reenter at some point before St. Legers Day (in mid-September). If not, the market had topped earlier highs and youd missed successive months of 7.5%, 1.35% and 2.5% positive returns.i Selling in May is little more than playing a game of short-term market timinga difficult thing to do, especially when trying to time the right exit and entry points. Were not aware of anyone who has a track record of repeatedly timing corrections. Especially when theres really no discernible piece of unique knowledge you have to guide those choices. The bottom line is no matter how tempting or rhymey a seasonal saying seems, selling based on a calendarinformation known to nearly anyone in the western worldjust isnt a good investment strategy. Rather, investors should look to fundamentals to make investing decisionslike a strong US private sector, healthy corporations, a more stable eurozone and overall global growth. Those are much more influential to market returns than a fuzzy, old, calendar-based adage with a nifty rhyme. Hello readers, it's May, and you know what that means-pundits across the financial internets are bombarding the world with reasons they should or shouldn't follow that tired seasonal adage, "Sell in May and Go Away." Our take is the same as ever: Don't do it. Seasonal tropes like Sell in May, the January Effect, the Santa Claus Rally and Financial Hurricane Season are hogwash. Their occasional hits are coincidence without causality. The turn of a calendar page is never reason to buy or sell. We've spilled many pixels on Sell in May over the years-see here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Here are some more pixels and pictures-pictures that show just how much investors can miss by sitting out the summer. "Sell in May" has many iterations, but most involve selling sometime in May and returning sometime in autumn. The original saying, "Sell in May and go away, and come back at St. Leger Day," refers to brokers' tendency to take the summer off back in the old days, returning around the time of Britain's St. Leger Day horse race in September. Courtesy of the Stock Trader's Almanac, that morphed into selling on April 30 and getting back in on October 31, after Financial Hurricane Season (September and October). Regardless of the timeframe, the underlying belief is this: Stocks are a bummer in the summer, so best to just get out, go on vacation, and laugh maniacally at everyone else when markets inevitably slide. The very scant supposed evidence for this is the fact returns from April 30 - October 31, on average, trail returns from October 31 - April 30. Add in some cherry-picked years where selling in May would have worked-most recently, 2011 and 2008-and the adherents consider the case closed. But it isn't. For instance: Some say Sell in May worked last year, citing the correction's May 21 start date and the S&P 500's -9.1% decline from Memorial Day through Labor Day.[i] But that's cherry picking dates, friends, and using the benefit of hindsight. Follow the increasingly standardized April 30 - October 31 blueprint, and you'd have missed a 0.8% S&P 500 total return. And lost out on transaction costs and potentially taxes, depending on account type. May is just a month. So are the other 11. The May through October window is an arbitrary six-month stretch, no more special than any other six-month stretch. All rolling six-month stretches have positive average long-terms. So does May. So does every month but September, which is skewed by four data points (1930, 1931, 1937 and 2008). The May-October period happens to be the weakest six-month stretch, but that's a statistical quirk, nothing more. And it misses the point, because a 4.12% return is still up and nothing an equity investor should aim to avoid. Exhibit 1: Average Monthly Returns, 1926 - 2015 Source: Global Financial Data, Inc., as of 4/28/2016. S&P 500 Total Return Index. Exhibit 2: Average Rolling Six-Month Returns, 1926 - 2015 Source: Global Financial Data, Inc., as of 4/28/2016. S&P 500 Total Return Index. 1926 isn't an arbitrary start date-it's when verified market data begin, thanks to the dedicated folks on the Cowles Commission. But for kicks and grins, if we go back all the way to 1800, using the less-reliable-less-liquid-but-still-entertaining-and-sorta-useful-for-illustrative-purposes dataset of antique returns, May is still positive, and there still ain't no such thing as the summertime blues.[ii] Exhibit 3: Average Monthly Returns, 1801 - 2015 Source: Global Financial Data, Inc., as of 4/28/2016. S&P 500 Total Return Index. Exhibit 4: Average Rolling Six-Month Returns, 1801 - 2015 Source: Global Financial Data, Inc., as of 4/28/2016. S&P 500 Total Return Index. One chart we encountered claimed to show owning the S&P 500 in only the May - October window of each year since 1950 would have lost you money, taking $10,000 down to $8,071, while investing in only the other six months would have caused that $10,000 to soar to $626,764. But we crunched the numbers, again using S&P 500 total returns, and we got wildly different results. Exhibit 5: Growth of $10,000 Two Ways Source: Global Financial Data, Inc., as of 4/28/2016. S&P 500 Total Return Index. Yes, sitting out the Sell-in-May window would have generated far higher returns than investing only from 4/30 - 10/31, but again, the summer stretch isn't negative. Investing in summer only still more than quintupled your hypothetical money. That is a moneymaker, not a money-loser. Which, of course, means you miss big returns over time if you follow Sell in May to the letter. Those missed returns are far, far greater than the $44,308.74 implied by Exhibit 5, because you also miss the potential for those gains to compound over time. That adds up. A lot. Exhibit 6 shows just how much. Exhibit 6: Selling in May Hurts Source: Global Financial Data, Inc., as of 4/28/2016. S&P 500 Total Return Index. Yes, if you invested $10,000 on 12/31/1949, the opportunity cost of being a "Sell in May" devotee since then is $8,853,120.63. Or, if you prefer, 46.9 median US homes. Or 32.8 Ferrari 458 Italia convertibles. Or 7,370.72 round-trip tickets from San Francisco to Paris. Or 10,943.3 Vail season passes. Or 273.2 years of room and board at the average US private university. Or 170.45 years' worth of the US median household income. Ouch. Some say this is the year to sell in May because it's an election year, citing May's not-so-great average return in election years since 1952. But the average 0.07% S&P 500 total return in election-year Mays from 1952 on means election-year Mays are quite variable, not uniformly weak. Returns were positive 11 of 16 times. The spectrum ranges from -6.3% (1956) to 2.79% (1952), with a median of 1.3%. But last we checked, "Sell in May and come back in June" isn't a thing. Using the traditional May - October window, election years average 3.31%. Toss out 2008, when "Sell in May" would have avoided a -29.28% decline that had much more to do with an accounting rule-driven financial crisis than with anyone running for office, and the average rises to 5.48%.[iii] Now, maybe Sell in May does work this year. Broken clocks and all. But short-term moves are impossible to predict, and selling now because short-term volatility might strike at some point in the next six months is not a recipe for success. That astronomical growth of $10,000 in Exhibit 6 includes all manner of pullbacks, corrections and even bear markets. We aren't fanatical buy-and-holders, as it does make sense to take cover if you are darned sure-based on strong fundamental evidence-a bear market is forming. But other than that, if your long-term goals require market-like returns over time, then you should own stocks no matter what month it is. That's how you get market-like returns. Chris Vermeulen is an experienced and successful trader, educator and author. Involved in the markets since 1997, he is the author of several financial trading and educational newsletters. He is also the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. As an active trader and investor, Chris soon recognized the huge potential that online investing and algorithmic trading systems held for individual investors. The development of Chris Technical Trading Mastery resulted from his obsession with the market. Through years of research and testing, he created the AlgoTrades Investing system. Chris has been described as a gifted technical analyst who can navigate the financial markets in any market condition. His list of personal and professional relationships approaches 25,000 people with whom he connects and nourishes out of his passion for trading. Chris has been interviewed, published or written about in Futures Magazine, The Street, Trader Interview, Kitco, Financial Sense, Dick Davis Investment Digest and hundreds of online sites. Chris Vermeulen Join my email list FREE and get my next article which I will show you about a major opportunity in bonds and a rate spike www.GoldAndOilGuy.com Chris Vermeulen is Founder of the popular trading site TheGoldAndOilGuy.com. There he shares his highly successful, low-risk trading method. For 7 years Chris has been a leader in teaching others to skillfully trade in gold, oil, and silver in both bull and bear markets. Subscribers to his service depend on Chris' uniquely consistent investment opportunities that carry exceptionally low risk and high return. Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. What thieves go through to steal art can rival the plot of any Hollywood thriller, according to stories Anne Kenny-Urban told Tuesday night at Piedmont Arts. Kenny-Urban, the Executive Director of Richmonds Agecroft Hall, gave the program Stranger Than Fiction: Great Art Heists in History to an audience of about 50. She gave dozens of examples of art heists. Art theft is usually very serious business, she said. It happens much more often than you would expect. About 6 to 8 billion dollars worth of art is stolen each year, she said. That makes art theft the third or fourth most lucrative crime in the world, behind only drugs, money laundering and gun running. Art often is used as collateral in drug deals, she said. Only 15 percent of art stolen is removed from museums, she said. Most is taken from homes, churches and small organizations with less security than in major museums. Art theft often is linked to other criminal activities, she said. An example she gave of someone who stole art simply to build a personal collection was of Frenchman Stephane Breitwieser, now 44. His looting started in 1995 with the theft of a portrait from a castle in Switzerland; he had his girlfriend keep guard while he cut a portrait from a frame. By the time authorities caught up with him, they discovered 239 items from 172 museums stored in his bedroom in his mothers house. Eventually, he was sentenced to three years in prison for the thefts; his mother was sentenced to three years for destroying the art (as evidence); and his girlfriend served 18 months for receiving stolen goods. In 2006, he published an autobiography, Confessions of an Art Thief. In April 2011, he and his mother were arrested again, and now he is serving his second three-year prison term. Much art is stolen as plunders of war, such as the four Horses of San Marco. Originally, they were in the Hippodrome in Constantinople, Kenny-Urban said. They were taken to St. Marks Basilica in Venice after Constantinople was pillaged by invaders in 1204, and there they remained for 800 years. Then they were taken to Paris. In 1815, they were returned where they belonged Venice, with no thought that perhaps they really belonged in Constantinople. Wartime looting continues today, she said, showing pictures of a museum recently gutted after the fall of Baghdad. She talked about cultural colonialism by academics in America or England who take art from its native regions. Yale University and Peru have been in long conflict over artifacts taken a century ago from Machu Picchu by Yale professor Richard Burger. They were supposed to be on loan in the United States for only one year, but only now have they been returned to Peru. A small (easy to hide) Rembrandt painting from 1632 was stolen four times since 1966, she said. It has been recovered each time. Even a large item is not immune to theft. An 11-foot, 2-ton Henry Moore sculpture was stolen in December 2005 by three men in a Mini-Cooper and a stolen truck. Three years later, the 4 million dollar metal sculpture was sold as melted down scrap metal for $2,500. Insurance companies are likely to pay ransom for a museum to get a painting back, because that can be considerably cheaper than paying out the value of a painting. Three Van Goghs stolen in Holland were worth $90 million. The insurance company paid the ransom of $2.2 million to get them back, she said, and they were recovered by the next year. Insufficient security gives opportunity for theft, she said. She gave a few examples of museums where the security alarm system was not working, and thieves were able to trick security guards who were watching on video or on foot. In one case, one of the security guards offered to watch the security cameras while his tired co-workers took naps. In another, a security guard just didnt notice the video footage. The thieves left a note which read, Thanks for the poor security. In a third, the security systems were working fine, but the museum staff believed a fake phone call in which the caller stated he was from the security company, and that parts of the system would be shut down that night for maintenance. The two critical components of security, technological and human, need to work in tandem for effective security, she said. Many art thefts take place during holidays, because the best security staff are not scheduled, and people are distracted one happened while guards threw a Christmas Eve party Kenny-Urban said. Some take quite a lot of effort and planning. In 2002, a major art exhibit was set to open in Paraguay. Thieves rented a shop building across the road from the museum and dug a tunnel to the museum. The stolen art never was recovered. Sometimes when art is found it can be very difficult to determine to whom it belongs. That is the case in 1,200 works found which were claimed to have been destroyed in World War II but recently found in an apartment. Then again, there are some funny twists. In 2002, thieves, including one known as The Monkey, made a simple theft in Holland by climbing a ladder left outside a museum by a workman. They broke windows with their arms, which had towels around them, and scampered down the ladders and away with their loot. They were arrested two years later, and convicted because of DNA matches, but the art never was found. Perhaps an old Dutch law will help them in the future, she said: An art thief can claim ownership 30 years after the crime as long as he can claim hes the thief. The citys planned $119,500 reduction in its annual allocation to the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. (EDC) is the largest change in funding to organizations outside city government included in Martinsvilles proposed fiscal 2017 budget. The new fiscal year will start July 1. A total of $1,755,393 is budgeted for 25 organizations for the new fiscal year. That is 5.5 percent less than the $1,856,585 budgeted for outside agencies as city officials call them for the current year. Each year, the city provides funding to area organizations that provide services to the community that it likely would have to totally fund itself if the organizations did not provide the services. The city aims to reduce its contribution to the EDC, the lead local business and industry recruiting organization, by 54.4 percent, from $219,500 to $100,000. The reduction comes as part of the citys efforts to trim expenses in what officials anticipate will be an extremely tight budget year. As part of the reduction, the city is to see its representation on the EDCs board drop from two seats to one. But officials maintain that the organization will not see its services from the organization suffer as a result of the drop. Nineteen of the organizations are set to receive level funding or a slight decrease for fiscal 2017. The Piedmont Virginia Dental Health Foundation, which runs a dental clinic in uptown Martinsville for indigent people, requested $13,711 from the city for the coming fiscal year. But the citys proposed budget includes $4,832 for the foundation. That is the sum that it received for fiscal 2015. The foundation did not request any city money for the current fiscal year, so it did not get any, said city Finance Director Linda Conover. When it requested funds for fiscal 2017, officials determined that the foundation is worthy of funding but $4,832 is a sufficient amount, she said. The Martinsville-Henry County 911 Centers allocation is to jump by 4.9 percent, from $438,992 to $460,383. City Manager Leon Towarnicki said the extra $21,391 is to help the center replace an outdated electronic console. Henry-Martinsville Social Services allocation is to rise by 3 percent, from $322,193 to $331,812, which is what the agency requested. Conner said the $9,619 increase stems from an employee pay raise that the state mandated. Under state requirements, were obligated to fund our fair share of the agencys expenses, she said. The city-county magistrates offices allocation is to increase by 16.7 percent, from $3,000 to $3,500, which is what the office requested. Conover said the city helps the office pay miscellaneous expenses such as supplies. Theyve been requesting $3,000 from us (per year) since 2009, so when the request increased modestly, city officials took notice and believe the office needs the extra money, Conover said, noting that it spent all city funds that it received in the past fiscal year. They do a lot of work for us, she said. Eight organizations are not set to receive as much money from Martinsville as they requested. Two requested less money from the city. The Blue Ridge Regional Library originally asked for $295,695 but reduced its request to $292,197, which is level funding, after realizing some savings in employee health insurance costs, the proposed budget shows. The Henry-Martinsville Health Department asked for and is to receive $198,401. That is $4,609, or 2.3 percent, less than the $203,010 it received for the current fiscal year. Martinsville City Council has adopted the proposed fiscal 2017 budget on first reading. When the council meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, adoption on second reading which will make the budget official will be considered. They say Virginia is for lovers and now you can document that in pictures, if youre so inclined. Just bring your camera and your loved one(s) to the corner of Mulberry Road and Starling Avenue, near Piedmont Arts, and pose with the 16-foot wide and 7-foot tall letters which spell out LOVE. The letters, called the LOVEwork, will be on display on the corner lot for one week, ending May 11. They were set up on Tuesday. Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival brought in the letters, at a cost of $500, with funding from a recent marketing grant, said Jason Lagesse, Rooster Walks Director of Administration. Theyre neat to take pictures at, Lagesse said. We want to raise awareness and promote Rooster Walk and Piedmont Arts at the same time. Rooster Walk is holding a photo contest with the LOVE letters, said Johnny Buck of Rooster Walk. Contestants will have their pictures taken at the letters, then post those pictures on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, tagging both Piedmont Arts and Rooster Walk, and write a reason why they love Rooster Walk or Piedmont Arts. (In order to be able to tag an organization, Facebook users first have to like that organizations page.) A winner will be chosen randomly among all the entries on May 20. The prize will be two single-day tickets to Rooster Walk and a certificate for any two Piedmont Arts On Stage performances. Tim Oliver and Lydia Mayes work for the Virginia Tourism Corporation delivering, setting up and then taking down the LOVEworks. There are four large ones such as in Martinsville now, and two smaller ones, they said. We carry it all over the state for any organization or special events, Oliver said. It gets a lot of attention. People love it. Localities generally display the letters for about a week, he said. On Tuesday, the pair picked up the LOVEwork from where it last was displayed at the Harvester Performing Arts Center in Rocky Mount for that towns Moonshine Festival, then drove the letters to Martinsville, where they set them up on the corner lot. The letters have been traveling Virginia since June 2011, Oliver said: From Virginia Beach to Bristol, we do it all, and everywhere in between. Moseley Architects on Tuesday presented several revised options for a new Henry County Jail to county officials. The Henry County Board of Supervisors, members of the sheriffs office and other county staff met with representatives from the Richmond-based building design firm at Henry County Public Safety. Cary Gill and Mike Jones from Moseley Architects presented options for a 250, 300, 350, and 400-bed facility. Their presentation covered both operational and construction costs. Gill told the board that their next steps in the process, should they choose to construct a new jail, are to acquire the land it would be built on and decide the level of occupancy. Once the board has decided whether it wants to build a jail that can accommodate 250, 300, 350 or 400 inmates, Moseley can move forward with a more detailed proposal. One topic of conversation hinged on the idea of implementing an emergency bed management plan commonly known as double bunking if the need should arise in the future. While some of the eighty square foot rooms could legally house two inmates, adding more than one bed in a room is not an ideal situation, Gill said. Also, reverting to an emergency bed management setting would not change the rating of the facility. For example, he said, if a jail rated as a 300-bed facility with one bed per cell decided to add a second bed to fifty percent of the rooms, the jail would still be rated as a 300-bed facility as opposed to a 450-bed facility. The state provides reimbursements based on a facilitys rating, not its number of occupants. Cary Gill said, Jails double bunk out of necessity because they have no choice; it is never desirable. With some inmates forced to sleep on mattresses on the floor due to overcrowding in the current Henry County Jail, Sheriff Lane Perry expressed his opinion on the matter. You dont want to have two hot tempered individuals in one room, Perry said. Perry, county staff and representatives from Moseley Architects recently visited jails in Virginia to see a variety of layouts. One thing that Perry noticed was that many jails are based on a 40-20-40 plan. Roughly forty percent of inmates are minimum security; twenty percent are maximum security, and forty percent are medium security. Speaking to the board about the condition of Henry Countys current jail, Gill said, Classification is very important. Unfortunately, these guys dont have the facility to do it. Moseley Architects presented three jail styles for the consideration of the board. The jail in Warren County had what Gill called an ideal shape and configuration, being nearly square. Like the jails in Augusta County and Amherst County, the jail in Warren County had an outdoor recreation area in the center of the facility with the walls of the jail surrounding the space. This enclosed style not only cuts down on noise, but it also eliminates the possibility of the public throwing contraband over the fence to inmates. Gill said that one positive feature about the jail in Warren County was that the facility had separate parking lots and entrances for visitors and staff, as well as additional loading docks and entrances for work-release inmates. The adult detention center in Amherst County has visitation by video instead of face to face interactions between inmates and the public; this practice limits security issues. Gill said that another important feature to have in a jail was direct supervision. Henry Countys jail has what Gill called old style linear indirect supervision. The only way staff can see things in your jail is literally to walk down the hall, open the door, and see in, Gill said. Additionally, the officer manning the control room needs a clear line of sight. The construction costs of the new facility that Moseley Architects presented to the board were ninety percent bricks and mortar, Gill said. Given Virginias current state reimbursement rate of twenty-five percent, Gill encouraged the board to move quickly with their decision, as the state may not offer as much reimbursement in 2017. Therefore, if Henry County spent the proposed $44,266,752 on a 300-bed facility, the state would offset the costs by twenty-five percent, bringing Henry Countys total cost to $33,200,064. This total is based on costs estimated by the book, R.S. Means 2016 Square Foot Costs for Jails, Gill said. With no site yet chosen for the proposed jail, Gill encouraged members of the board to tour facilities to get ideas of what they would like to implement in Henry County. Please try to schedule a trip, Gill said. Its worth it. Additionally, the Board of Supervisors approved a transfer appropriation in the amount of $9,600 to cover the cost of installation of new overhead bay doors at the Summerlin Station. In their closed session, the Board of Supervisors exercised the option to evaluate approximately fifty acres of land beyond the runway at the Blue Ridge Airport. If purchased, the airport could expand in the future. Beginning at one minute to midnight on the 3rd May, the 1926 General Strike shook the ruling class of Britain to its foundations. Lasting for nine days, the strike showed the enormous power and solidarity of the working class. 4 million trade unionists - out of a total of 5.5 million - responded to the TUCs call to halt work. Despite no real preparation by the TUC leadership, workers organised - through their own initiative - strike committees up and down the country. Nothing moved without the workers permission. However, despite the strike growing stronger and stronger, the TUC leadership did everything they could to bring the strike to an end, resulting in a crushing defeat. The Communist Party failed to play the revolutionary role required by it, and sowed confusion amongst the advanced workers. The betrayal of the TUC Lefts came like a bolt from the blue, and set the movement back for years. As the crisis of capitalism deepens, we will see the return of general strikes across the world. In Britain, with workers facing austerity and attacks across the board, the demand for a general strike is clearly a necessary one. It is therefore vital that we study the lessons of the 1926 General Strike, in preparing ourselves for such titanic events in the future. Showdown looming The explosive situation that gave rise to the strike had been prepared for years in advance. British capitalism had emerged from the First World War considerably weaker with respect to that of the USA. By the mid 1920s, the German coal industry was also outstripping that of Britain, which relied on antiquated machinery and techniques. Rather than investing to raise productivity, the British ruling class responded by attacking wages and conditions. In 1925, the Tory Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, announced at a meeting with the Miners Union: All the workers in this country have got to take reductions in wages to help put industry on its feet". The miners in particular were expected to accept a 13% reduction in their wages to starvation levels, and to work an extra hour each day. Feeling the pressure from below, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) responded by threatening a general strike. Unprepared for such a showdown, the government retreated temporarily, in order to prepare for an all out struggle. A subsidy was given to the coal barons for nine months, whilst the Samuel Commission was established to examine the industry. During this time, the government prepared a scab army by the name of the Organisation for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS). This included Special Constables and fascists, organised with its sole purpose to confront the working class. After nine months of preparations, the Samuel Commission recommended the same policy that the miners and trade unionists generally had rejected that of increased hours and reduced wages. With the labour movement swinging to the left after the coming to power of the Tories in 1924, the General Council of the TUC was under enormous pressure to act. Workers in all industries correctly saw the miners struggle as their struggle. If the miners were defeated, others would be soon to follow. On May 1st 1926, the decision to strike was carried by 3,653,527 votes to 49,911 votes at the TUC. However, behind the scenes, the General Council, desperate to avoid a struggle, appointed a committee to try to negotiate with the government. The General Council were even prepared to accept a reduction in the miners wages, in order to reach a negotiated settlement. However, the right wing government was determined for a showdown, and used various pretexts in order to call off negotiations. Their aim was to defeat the workers, in order to restore profitability for the ruling class and hold onto their share of the world market. All Out! On the morning of 4th May, millions of workers responded to the call to strike. The first sections to be called out were the miners, dockers, seamen, plus workers in construction (except housing and hospitals), transport, heavy chemicals, and the production of electric light and gas for industry. Although the leaders of the Seamens union refused to join the strike, the rank and file joined in, and thus the strike was solid. The TUC leaders, believing that they would reach a settlement with the government, had made no preparations for the strike. To their surprise, and to the shock of the ruling class, the workers showed their magnificent capacity to improvise and organise from below. Trades Councils in every area formed Councils of Action and strike committees. Nothing could happen without the permission of the working class. The Councils organised picketing, communications, permits for the supply of basic goods, and even workers defence corps to protect against the violence of the state. As the strike developed further into a struggle against the government, the Councils of Action developed increasingly into organs of self-government. In reality they were the embryos of workers power. Unstoppable power Militant demonstrations took place in all the main towns and cities. Clashes with the police were commonplace, and thousands of workers were arrested and imprisoned. Alarmed at the power of the working class, the government sent battleships to the Mersey, the Clyde, and off the coast at Swansea and Cardiff. Two battalions of the army were dispatched to Liverpool, and Hyde Park in London was turned into an armed camp. Despite these attempts to intimidate workers, the strike was unstoppable, with more and more workers coming out each day, including even unorganised workers. On the eighth day of the strike, the engineers and other sections of the working class were called to join the action. In many cases, workers were already out on strike before being called, such was the mood for solidarity across the working class. TUC betrayal Rather than fearing the resistance of the ruling class, who proved impotent in the face of millions of organised workers, the General Council of the TUC were more terrified of the revolutionary implications of the strike. The government spared no time in declaring the strike a challenge to the constitution. The right wing members of the General Council such as Jimmy Thomas, however, rejected this claim, falling over themselves to downplay the militancy of the strike and deny that it was political. They insisted, instead, that it was merely a dispute over wages, terms and conditions. Thomas even went so far as to declare that if the strike was a challenge to the constitution, then God help us, unless the government won. The leadership of the Labour Party, right-wingers such as Ramsay MacDonald, shared the same view. A general strike inevitably poses the question of power. Either it will lead to the conquest of power by the working class, or a severe defeat for the workers. Since even the Lefts on the General Council lacked any perspective of taking power and overthrowing capitalism, they too rejected the political nature of the strike. They did everything they could to compromise with the government, i.e. restore order for the capitalists. It is examples such as this that led Leon Trotsky to assert that betrayal is inherent in reformism. Behind the scenes, the General Council completely capitulated to the government, accepting a reduction in the miners wages, with no guarantees against victimisation. Baldwin announced on the radio that there were no conditions, and that the TUC had accepted this unconditional surrender. This news came as a complete shock to the workers, who could feel the enormous power they wielded during the strike. In response to the sell out, the railmen, dockers, engineers, and other sections renewed the strike, in order to prevent it from ending as a complete rout. Thus two days after the strike had been officially called off, over 100,000 more workers had joined the strike! Faced with this growing anger, Baldwin announced that the employers must take back the workers without victimisation. With the back of the strike broken by its own leadership, workers returned to work in one section after another. The miners held out for another few months, but eventually were starved back to work. Communist Party mistakes Although the most conscious workers expected the betrayal from right wing leaders such as Thomas - and MacDonald - the betrayal of the Lefts on the General Council such as Purcell, Hicks, and Cooke came as a complete surprise. Responsibility for this lies with the mistaken tactics of the Communist Party, who, under orders from Moscow, failed to offer any criticism of such leaders. Instead, they gave revolutionary illusions in such leaders by maintaining the Anglo-Russian Committee: a united front between the revolutionary trade unions in Russia, and the so called left trade union leaders in Britain. They failed to provide any perspective for a struggle beyond the limits of the strike. Had the Communist Party prepared the rank and file for such a betrayal, they could have significantly increased their influence in the trade unions, even in the event of the defeat. Instead, the CPGB could not escape their share of the blame for the sell-out, and therefore suffered as part of the general demoralisation that followed. Lessons for today With capitalism in crisis on a world scale, huge anger is building up against the ruling class everywhere, including in Britain. Workers and youth are being forced to pay for the crisis through attacks to their jobs, wages, terms and conditions, and pensions. This is a finished recipe for class struggle everywhere. Feeling the pressure from below, the TUC passed a resolution in 2012 to look into the practicalities of organising a 24-hour general strike. Yet despite years of considering the practicalities, nothing came of this, since the TUC leaders are terrified of unleashing a real struggle. This was confirmed in 2013, when Len McCluskey led a complete capitulation over the lock-out at the Grangemouth oil refinery, rather than mobilise workers to confront the bosses. Despite this lack of leadership, pressure for a general strike will not go away, as has been evidenced by the junior doctors struggle. Already the teachers union, the NUT, has expressed its desire for joint action against the government. At a recent rally in support of the junior doctors, Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of PCS (the civil servants union), also called for a national day of action in support of the striking medics and in defence of the NHS. With workers everywhere under attack, pressure will build to link up separate struggles with coordinated action. In contrast to 1926, a general strike today would be immeasurably more powerful. In 1926, formerly middle class layers such as teachers, civil servants, doctors, and students attempted to scab the strike. Decades later, these sections of the workforce have been proletarianised and are now organised in some of the most left wing unions. Even if Britains largest union, Unite, called out all its members, it would bring the country to a standstill, given that Unite organises key power, transport, and logistics workers. Added to that, with the power of the rest of the trade union movement, such a strike would be unstoppable, if led by resolute leaders. Given the numerous strikes by many unions over the past period, we support the demand to take such action to the next level with a 24-hour general strike against the Tory government. Such a strike would galvanise the mood of the working class, and give it confidence to go forward in struggle. It is on the basis of big events such as these that workers feel their own strength, and that their consciousness as a class in conflict with the bosses develops. As the class struggle heats up in the future, the question of an indefinite general strike may well emerge. As the 1926 General Strike showed, it must be prepared for with a leadership that is determined and willing to take power. Despite all the magnificent capacity for organisation; despite creating the embryos of workers control: unless the working class has a leadership that is prepared to break with the bankers, capitalists, and landlords, a general strike that does not go all the way will end up with a defeat. The best way that we can commemorate the 1926 General Strike is by taking these lessons on board. 1926 may represent the first General Strike in Britain, but it is unlikely to be the last. Only by struggling to build the Marxist Tendency within the labour movement will we develop a leadership capable of taking future struggles to victory. Captain-America-and-Iron-Man-in-Captain-America-Civil-War.jpg Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), left, and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) star in "Captain America: Civil War." (Marvel Studios) FAMILY FOCUS "The Jungle Book" (PG) "Miracles From Heaven" (PG) "Ratchet and Clank" (PG) "Zootopia" (PG) 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE - THREE STARS - (PG-13) Directed by first-timer Dan Trachtenberg, "10 Cloverfield Lane"is not a full-blooded sequel to 2008's "Cloverfield," though it evokes plenty of chills. John Goodman and Mary Elizabeth Winstead star. (106 min.) BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE - TWO STARS - (PG-13) All this gloom and doom is just the pits. Ben Affleck and Hery Cavill are just stiffin' around, significantly immobilized by costumes and the screenplay, which overflows with the ham-handed psychosomatic muck that defines them, poorly. Later, both their eyes will glow as they glower at each other, Batman's acting as headlights in his helmet, Superman's burning red with his heat vision, and the imagery is, like, symbolic of things and stuff lurking somewhere in all this unfocused thematic slop. (151 min.) CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR - THREE STAR - (PG-13) In the ashes of "Avengers: Age of Ultron," the brain trust behind Marvel Studios and directors Joe and Anthony Russo have built what is easily one of the strongest films of their so-called cinematic universe with "Captain America: Civil War," an engaging, lively and just flat out fun use of the characters we've gotten to know across the last eight years and 12 films. (147 min.) DEADPOOL - ONE AND A HALF STARS - (R) Nothing is sacred to either "Deadpool" or this character (played with "I'm so naughty" abandon by Ryan Reynolds), which pokes fun at superhero movie culture, Hollywood itself, Reynolds, director Tim Miller, love and human decency -- and that's just in the opening credits. On the page, it sounds like a lot of fun, and it starts out strong with a cheeky, self-awareness, but that wears thin very quickly. (108 min.) THE DIVERGENT SERIES: ALLEGIAN - TWO STARS - (PG-13) The first two films were all Faction-this and Divergent-that, and now that Tris has helped topple the fascist authority lording over her post-apocalyptic home of Chicago, the lingo is different, all Fringe-this and Council-that, a smidgen less cumbersome and pervasive, but just as dull. (121 min.) EYE IN THE SKY - THREE AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) Helen Mirren and the late Alan Rickman in military thrillers about a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. (102 min.) HELLO MY NAME IS DORIS - THREE AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) Doris is an aging eccentric who's one trash-pile treasure away from being a hoarder, one Harlequin fantasy away from being a table-for-one lonelyheart, one trip to the shelter away from being a crazy cat lady. She's also the type of movie character who's one mistimed joke away from being the subject of a nasty, point-and-laugh trainwreck. But that doesn't happen. As the title character in "Hello, My Name is Doris," Sally Field finds the sweet spot between mooshy cliche and mean-spirited caricature. (95 min.) THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR - TWO STARS - (PG-13) A fairy-tale action adventure, and a sequel to 2012's "Snow White and the Huntsman," in which the titular huntsman leads a mission to stop two warring queens bent on conquering the land. (113 min.) THE JUNGLE BOOK - THREE STARS - (PG) An engaging live-action remake of Disney's animated favorite, though it lacks the charm of the original at times and may be too intense in spots for small children. Vocal talents of Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken are a plus. (105 min.) KEANU - THREE STARS - (R) "Keanu" is about the kitten, and how easy it is to love something so sweet and innocent. You'd think a ridiculous comedy written by and starring Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key - the first cinematic effort from the TV sketch-comedy duo - might be all about the laughs. And although there are many to be had, you'd be wrong. It's about the human inability to resist irrepressible cuteness. (98 min.) LOUDER THAN BOMBS - THREE AND A HALF STARS - (R) On the eve of an exhibition celebrating the career of a deceased war photographer, a New York Times writer plans to publish an article that will reveal what many do not yet know about her death: that the car crash that killed her was a suicide. At the center of the story is the woman's now-teenage son, who still accepts what he was led to believe at age 12, that her death was accidental. (109 min.) MOTHER'S DAY - ONE AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) Director Garry Marshall continues his insipid travels through the calendar, celebrating holidays with cliche parades and sugary feasts of treacle and contrivance. Like 2010's "Valentine's Day" and 2011's "New Year's Day," the film is ostensibly a comedy, and features a large ensemble of actors gamely trudging through the screenplay equivalent of knee-deep maple syrup. (118 min.) MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2 - ONE AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) Recycled jokes and characters from the first movie and the short-lived TV series "My Big Fat Greek Life." (94 min.) ZOOTOPIA - FOUR STARS - (PG) Disney's animated cop buddy movie set in the metropolis of Zootopia. Fung gags mixed with social commentary and an underlying message of tolerance. (100 min.) The Portland Pirates will leave Maine and move to Springfield, replacing the Springfield Falcons, according to a report from Portland-based WCSH. The Pirates are the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers. The Portland Press Herald also reported the news on Wednesday, with Mitch Berkowitz, chair of the board of trustees for the team's arena - Cross Insurance Arena - confirming the report that the team would be moving to Springfield. The team had been based in Portland since 1993. The Falcons have been sold to their parent club, the Arizona Coyotes, and are expected to move to Tucson, Ariz. to be closer to the Coyotes this coming season. For the 2015-16 season, the Falcons ranked 30th in the league in attendance, with an average of 3,108 per game. The Pirates ranked 29th, averaging 3,363 per game. Generic school bus A recent study showed that students are more likely to encounter a security guard than a counselor in four of the 10 largest school districts nationwide. Columnist Robert Bardwell discusses the issue of school safety in his latest column. (FILE PHOTO / THE REPUBLICAN) By ROBERT BARDWELL Special to The Republican When I saw the headline, "Miami-Dade Schools Have Twice as Many Security Guards As Counselors," I thought how can that be? Have our schools become so unsafe that we need that many security guards? Or, could it be that counselors are not important enough to have more of them than safety officers? I thought it had to be just a fluke, an outlier, just a random school somewhere out there. But other news outlets also reported that a recent study showed that students are more likely to encounter a security guard than a counselor in four of the 10 largest school districts nationwide. It makes you think and wonder why. Can that really be true? Does this mean that in these four districts (Miami-Dade, Houston, New York and Chicago) schools are that unsafe that the personnel hired to protect students outnumber the very people who are trained to help students successfully navigate the school environment, support academic achievement, provide crisis counseling services and reduce bullying incidents? Granted these are urban districts and more likely to deal with a vast array of issues such as assaults, weapons, illegal contraband and arrests but big doesn't automatically mean unsafe. Conversely, does it mean that counselors are not thought of enough to warrant a greater number? Perhaps a person in a position of authority doesn't feel that they are making a difference or they get paid too much and we can get by without more of them. There is plenty of research to show that appropriately trained and the right number of students to counselor can have highly positive impact on student achievement, career and college opportunities and social emotional development. By the way, the American School Counselor Association recommended student-to-school counselor ratio is 250-to-1. In 2013-2014 the national average was one counselor for every 471 students. A discussion about the ridiculousness about of that statistic will have to wait until a future column however. Either way, the data doesn't make me feel that these are school districts where I would want my children enrolled. Yet, they are some of the biggest districts in the country. Do the majority of families have a choice in where they live? No wonder why so many families seek alternative options such as charter schools. Who wouldn't want a smaller, more secure learning environment where students are safe and have access to high quality and the appropriate ratio of students-to-counselors? Now don't get me wrong; I am all about making sure that our schools are safe and whether it be a trained police officer or security guard, I think they are absolutely critical to maintaining a healthy, positive and secure school environment. I'm not suggesting we eliminate security personnel as we are all in this together and have to work collaboratively to ensure students have all of the resources needed for success. Kids today are much more complex than they were in the past. Just think about the creation of social media, the increase in domestic violence and the number of parents incarcerated or the increase in mental health and ADHD diagnoses. The daily issues that they face and the baggage they bring to school often significantly inhibits learning. Counselors can help address such issues, and security officers provide a sense of safety which is critical to positive student development. But, who is more important? That's an unfair question, and only pits the two groups against each other. Obviously, if money grew on trees, then we could just hire the necessary number of counselors and cops, but we know that is not likely to happen. We have to figure out a solution with few-to-no additional resources since they simply do not exist in most places. If they did, the problem would already be solved. Like many challenges in education there are no easy answers, and it takes visionary leadership to find ways to get more done with fewer resources. Here's to hoping that such leaders exist in all school districts, but especially in those large urban districts where it is obvious the right number of support staff are not in place to ensure safety and success for all students. Robert Bardwell is school counselor and director of guidance and student support services at Monson High School. You can learn more about him and his work online at bobbardwell.com. CHICOPEE -- Police said they arrested a woman, a man and a teenager and seized more than 1,000 packets of heroin in a raid on a home in the Willimansett section of the city Tuesday night. The raid at 131 Crescent Drive was executed after a long investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies into suspected drug dealing, said Michael Wilk, public information officer for the Chicopee Police Department. Police armed with a warrant searched the home at about 8:35 p.m. and uncovered the heroin and drug paraphernalia, he said. Luz Martinez and Ramon Vega, both 35, of 131 Crescent St., were charged with trafficking in heroin and conspiracy to violate drug laws. Both were arraigned in Chicopee District Court on Wednesday, but details of their arraignments were not immediately available, Wilk said. Police also arrested a 17-year-old juvenile on three counts of distribution of heroin, trafficking in heroin and conspiracy to violate drug laws. The teenager, whose name was not released, was held at an alternative lockup overnight before appearing in Hampden County Juvenile Court in Springfield on Wednesday morning, Wilk said. Another resident who was also at home at the time of the raid of the home will be summoned to court, Wilk said. The Department of Children and Families was also contacted to alert officials that a 3-month-old child was living in the apartment, he said. The joint investigation included Chicopee narcotics officers and members of the Holyoke Police Department, the Massachusetts State Police and the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, all working together with Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni's Narcotics Task Force, Wilk said. "Great work by all of the officers involved in getting this junk off the streets before it can hurt anyone. Also, remember, if you see something, please say something. Your assistance in this war on heroin is appreciated," Wilk said. The heroin epidemic has hit Chicopee hard. Statistics released Monday by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health show 18 people died of opioid overdoses in the city in 2015, which is more than double the six who died of overdoses in 2014. Nine people died of overdoses in Chicopee 2012 as well as in 2013. Le Stewards Report de la HRD de la 11e journee hippique est public et le Stewards Panel compose de R. M. Khan (Chairperson), D. Moodley (Boardroom), T.s. Mahendher (Main Tower) et S. Thakan, a mis a lamende K Teetan. Ce dernier aurait enfreint la regle 208(d) et aura a payer Rs 5000.00, reprimande pour R. Boutanive pour avoir mis les mauvaises couleurs. A noter que Soul Connection a ete euthanasiee apres avoir cassee son fore fetlock Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation into whether changes should be introduced to the chilling requirements of Qurbani meat and offal supplied from slaughterhouses in England and Wales during the period of Eid al-Adha. TORs of Natural Resource Management Specialist for DR Congo Job Title: Natural Resource Management Specialist Network: GENDR (Environment and Natural Resources) Hiring Manager: Benoit Bosquet Department / Division: GEN07 Grade: GF Location Kinshasa, Congo Democratic Republic Appointment Type: Term (2 years, Local Hire) HR Contact: Dorcas Lasme Adou Language Preferences: English [Essential], French [Essential] * If the selected candidate is a current Bank Group staff member with a regular or Open-Ended appointment, s/he will retain his/her Regular or Open-Ended appointment. All others will be offered a 2 year renewable term appointment. 1. Background / General description Sustainable environment and natural resources management (ENRM) is at the heart of the World Bank Groups (WBG) poverty agenda. Biodiversity and natural resources constitute the social safety net of the poor, representing a food bank and often their only source of livelihood. Sustainable ENRM promotes a green clean, and resilient world where natural resources - from forests to fisheries, freshwater, oceans, coastal zones and ecosystems - are managed to support livelihoods and strong economies. Sustainable ENRM builds a world better prepared for shocks and global challenges, helping countries limit their exposure to resource scarcity, more-volatile weather patterns, and the long-term consequences of climate change. Forests play a key role in the national development of African countries and are central to poverty reduction efforts and economic development. Forest products provide a significant share of the livelihoods of the poorest people. They create employment and have the potential of creating more and better jobs. If managed well, the share of the forestry sector in GDP and tax revenues could increase considerably. This would require improved governance, stricter law enforcement, but also more investments in the forestry sector. In addition, key economic sectors such as agriculture, mining and transport can become more forest-friendly so that forests can occupy a more secure place in the landscape and national development plans. The Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Global Practice has been set up to deliver on the opportunities, benefits and outcomes offered by enhanced management of the environment and natural resources. The ENR GP has close to 300 operations under management, representing $7 billion, and a growing pipeline of new investments under active development. ENRM activities in Sub-Saharan Africa represent a substantial part of the ENR GP Portfolio. Sub-Saharan Africa, with a population of around 875 million people in 47 countries, is home to 36 of the worlds poorest countries. Making headway against poverty in sub-Saharan Africa continues to present the world with its most formidable development challenge. The World Banks Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice for Africa (GEN07) covers the following business lines: GREEN: Forests, Watersheds & Sustainable Landscapes - managing renewable natural capital across landscapes; BLUE: Marine, Coastal & Aquatic Resources - unlocking the wealth of marine, coastal and fresh water economies; BROWN: Pollution Management & Environmental Health - reducing pollution to improve environmental conditions; Clean and Resilient Growth: - fostering economics and institutions for sustainable and sustained growth; and Environmental Risk Management & Sustainability: Managing risks and creating opportunity to advice sustainable development. Within the ENR Global Practice, the GEN07 unit covers West and Central Africa and Indian Ocean islands). This unit develops and manages operations in a variety of areas such as natural resources management, coastal zone management, forestry, pollution, landscape and terrestrial and marine natural resources. More specifically the mission of GEN07 is to work with national and local governments and with communities to improve sustainable management of natural resources and improve preparedness to natural disasters in 26 countries, including the Democratic of Republic of Congo. In this country, GEN07 is in charge of cross-cutting themes such as carbon finance and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, forest carbon stock conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). To this end, the Bank manages a growing portfolio of projects from a variety of funding sources, such as the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), the Forest Investment Program (FIP) and its Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (DGM), the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). These projects address cross-cutting themes such as carbon finance and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, forest carbon stock conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). The Bank task team is blending funding from these various sources to provide programmatic support to the Democratic Republic of Congo. 2. Duties and Accountabilities The Bank is recruiting an Environmental Specialist to: 1. Support the GEN07 in the preparation and implementation of lending operations in coordination with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo, donors and other stakeholders particularly in the areas of forests, natural resource management, and biodiversity conservation. More specifically the staff to be hired will be expected to: Support and/or lead operational and analytical work on REDD+, forests and the links to poverty reduction and development in the context of economic development and rational land use across sectors. Support the Democratic Republic of Congo in finalizing its Emission Reductions Program Document in accordance with the FCPF Carbon Fund Participants expectations. Support the preparation of projects or programs up to contract signing (Emission Reductions Payment Agreement under the FCPF, Grant Agreements under the CAFI and the GEF). Support the task team leaders in project supervision (FCPF, FIP, DGM, and GEF projects) Facilitate and maintain effective communication with local partners, NGOs, civil society, the private sector, as well as specialized international organizations. Contribute to GENDR and corporate tasks related to forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond. Contribute to country team discussions (SCDs, CPFs, etc.). Support engagement around environmental issues with focus on environmental management and forests and contribute towards translating these dialogues into proposals for IDA, GEF or international climate financing opportunities. Contribute at the corporate level to knowledge sharing, particularly in the area of forests and natural resources and share experience through participation to BBLs, thematic groups meetings, etc. 2. Provide environmental safeguards support to investment operations under preparation and supervision by other Global Practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which may involve: During project preparation: identify which of the Banks safeguards policies will be triggered; assist the borrower/project implementation agency in preparing these instruments and review them for quality; contribute well-written summaries of key safeguards instruments for inclusion in project documentation. During project implementation: supervise compliance with the Banks safeguards policies by building effective working relationships with the borrower/project implementation agency to ensure proper understanding of the policies; help the borrower/implementing agency apply the safeguards policies effectively. During both preparation and implementation: go beyond narrow policy compliance to look for opportunities to improve the environmental outcomes of the project he/she is supporting; work closely with the Social Safeguards Specialist assigned to each operation and provide back up support as required. The proportion of time spent on 1) and 2) could be 75-25%, but it would depend on business needs and may vary over time. 3. Selection Criteria Competencies Knowledge and Experience in Development Arena - Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients. - Understands policy making process; distills operationally relevant recommendations/lessons for clients. Policy Dialogue Skills - Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders. - Identifies and assesses policy issues and plays an active role in the dialogue with the government and/or other stakeholders. Integrative Skills - Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of current sector. - Working to develop an integrated view across all facets of current sector. Environmental Policy, Strategy and Institutions - Familiarity with environmental policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations. - Familiarity with environmental policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations. Environmental Sciences - Depth in at least one area: water; ecosystems; forests; conservation; agriculture concerns, etc. - Depth in at least one area: water; ecosystems; forests; conservation; agriculture concerns, etc. Lead and innovate - Develops innovative solutions. - Develops innovative solutions. Deliver Results for Clients - Proactively addresses clients stated and unstated needs. - Proactively addresses clients stated and unstated needs. Collaborate within Teams and Across Boundaries - Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives. - Collaborates across boundaries, gives own perspective and willingly receives diverse perspectives. Create, Apply and Share Knowledge - Applies knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients. - Applies knowledge across WBG to strengthen solutions for internal and/or external clients. Make Smart Decisions- Interprets a wide range of information and pushes to move forward. Other Selection Criteria In addition to the above the above core competencies the following criteria will have to be satisfied for the position of Environmental Specialist: Masters degree or equivalent academic qualification in a relevant discipline with a preference given to forestry, and as alternatives environmental science, environmental economics, biology, public policy, or equivalent; Minimum of 5 years of professional experience in the environmental sector, including proven experience in forest landscape projects; Good knowledge of environmental legislation and institutions in Central African countries; Familiarity with the application of the World Banks environmental safeguards policies; Familiarity with social safeguards issues and particularly an understanding of social issues related to forests. In addition the following skills will be particularly considered during the selection process: Understanding of the programmatic approach to forests; Understanding of the Banks assistance to the forest sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo, including of the various funding instruments that make up the Banks support to the government; Strong understanding of REDD+ as a policy instrument, including of the use and design of jurisdictional REDD+ emission reductions programs; Field experience in the forest sector; Capacity to articulate the role of forests in economic development and to position forests in national development plans, in relation to other development priorities; Strong client orientation with the ability to build an understanding with implementing agency counterparts on the value-added of Bank operations; Ability to work in multidisciplinary teams on diverse and complex tasks; Drive for results while working with limited supervision and under tight timelines; Ability to solve problems rather than merely identify them; Ability to think innovatively and negotiate effectively; Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and French; Willingness to travel internationally as necessary. Electronic Applications For the full position description and complete selection criteria and required competencies, qualified candidates are requested to submit an on-line application at www.worldbank.org/careers. Click on > Current job openings >job # 161091. The World Bank is committed to achieving diversity of gender, nationality, culture and educational background. Individuals with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. Closing date for receipt of applications is May 31, 2016. Only selected candidates will be contacted. Anybody all misty about the traditions of televisions Upfronts abandoned by digitals NewFronts would have been cheered by Defy Medias advertiser presentation on Tuesday. It started with a big screen run down of the the daily schedule---dozens of shows that with new episodes that arrive at the same time, every time, like TVs schedule board. We are committed to all of these shows, said Defy President Keith Richman, about the titles behind him. Most of the similarities between TV and Devy end there because Defys content is edgier and totally focused on millennials (and, of course, usually shorter). At NewFronts, Defy said it would introduce 30 new programs over its seven brands, and tweaked other NewFronts presenters by repeatedly pointing out that unlike some of the others, Defy actually produces the content it announces. Matt Diamond, the CEO, asked buyers in the audience to sit back at other NewFronts and ask whether theyre at a programming presentation or are you literally sitting in green-lighting conference hoping to use NewFronts to find backers. Defy, which claims 100 million social followers and 800 million video viewers across all of its channels, thinks the discipline in its operation, including the scheduling, creates and builds viewer loyalty. Diamond said after the session that Defy shows always get their biggest swell of viewers on their original release days. (Those schedules are relentless, too. Afterward, SMOSH star Ian Hecox said he and his partner Anthony Padilla, have not skipped a week from their Friday schedule and that show is celebrating 10 years on YouTube.) The brand announced new packages for advertisers in which it can buy advertising in all four of Defys main platforms and know exactly when and what content it will appear with, or work directly with Defy program creators to craft specific brand campaigns. Another ad avenue, called badging, allows advertiser to essentially buy a brought to you by ID, similar, once again, to televisions ages-old sponsorship ad buys. Among the new shows announced was These 5 People, a sketch series from Defys best known brand, SMOSH, in which five people will play out five normal but opposed reactions to a situation, as in a romantic break-up where reactions range from vengeful to catatonic to elation. (An improvised episode videotaped from the actors New York hotel rooms Monday night quickly gathered in a quarter-million viewers when it was posted on Facebook, Defy said.) On its Clevver channel, Defy will debut Beauty Trippin in which hosts Joslyn Davis and Lily Marston are taken to experience bizarre beauty and fitness treatments, the hook being they dont know what it is until they get there. Another show Diss-Track, lets comedians and lyricists seemingly from the ]Weird Al Yankovic School of Music, and actors impersonating famously feuding stars, sing nasty songs to each other, in a kind of musical version of the poisonous tweets celebs tend to aim at other celebs these days. by Larissa Faw , May 3, 2016 MDC Partners today downplayed Gotham City Research's 40-page report that questions its worth equating the advertising holding company to Valeant Pharmaceuticals, but with understated debts. On a call with analysts to discuss its first quarter financial results, MDC CEO Scott Kauffman called the Gotham report "misleading and inaccurate." "We take strong issue with every single element of this report," said Kauffman. The report "raises issues that have long been addressed" in a way that is designed to "destroy shareholder value." Still, the company's revenue growth missed analyst expectations for the first quarter, with a gain of 2.3% to $309 million. Wall Streets consensus estimate was between $320 million-$323 million. Organic revenue increased 2.2% and net new business wins totaled $19.8 million (on a revenue basis). The company added clients including Campbell's, Jose Cuervo, and Four Seasons. It expects to make two to three acquisitions this year. advertisement advertisement We remain on track to achieve our annual financial guidance despite uneven organic revenue growth in the first quarter," said Kauffman. "Adjusted [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] grew 5.3% and the underlying business fundamentals and our prospects remain as solid as ever. While investors have become concerned about MDCs balance sheet, the company says it is in a "competitive and enviable position." The company's net loss attributable to shareholders was $23.3 million compared to $32.1 million in Q1 2015. MDC addressed specific issues raised by Gotham City's report saying the research "cherry-picked" numbers and that it represented a "fundamental lack of understanding of our industry." Kauffman added that the SEC investigation remains on-going without any expectations of when it will officially be resolved. Although Gotham City Research continues to stand by its findings, other Wall Street analysts are lining up behind MDC. BMO's Dan Salmon issued an equity report that advises "putting aside the Homer Simpson quotes, typos, and flamboyant comparisons to Valeant and others, we found miscalculations and mostly old news." Although "we may examine the report in more detail, an early read provides no materially new or compelling arguments." Responding to a query late Tuesday, Gotham issued this response via email: After listening to the call, we are more confident that we are (at least) approximately right. It's better to be approximately right, than precisely wrong." Gotham added, "You will note that [in response to] every single article we published [the target company has] reacted in the same manner. The fraudsters always behave the same way. They never admit to their deceptions." Albert Fried's Richard Tullo says that since MDC added cash to the balance sheet and a recent debt offering was well received in the market, "we think the credit rating agencies will view the move as modestly positive to positive and may even upgrade MDCA sometime in late 2016 or early 2017." However, Tullo's bounty on uncovering the identity of Gotham City's founder continues to remain unclaimed. Tullo notes "no one in the media has been able to or willing to vet Gotham City - a blog site with no SEC registrations, address, or telephone number," he says. "Right or wrong, Gotham City, if it actually exists needs to be transparent." Each year, more than 250,000 deaths in the United States occur as a result of medical error, making it the third leading cause of death in the country. This is the conclusion of a new study published in The BMJ. Share on Pinterest Researchers say medical error is the third leading cause of death in America, after heart disease and cancer. Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compile a list of the leading causes of death in the U.S., based on information recorded on death certificates. However, medical error does not currently feature on death certificates. This is because there is no International Classification of Disease (ICD) code a tool used to classify causes of death, adopted in the U.S. in 1949 assigned to medical error. At that time, it was under-recognized that diagnostic errors, medical mistakes and the absence of safety nets could result in someones death, and because of that, medical errors were unintentionally excluded from national health statistics, explains study co-author Martin Makary, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. Since the ICD system is used to inform mortality statistics for 117 countries including the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Canada there is limited data on the number of deaths attributable to medical error. Medical error kills more people than chronic respiratory illness With the aim of addressing this data gap, Makary and his colleague Michael Daniel also of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine analyzed the results of four studies that assessed the rate of medical death in the U.S. between 2000-2008. Share on Pinterest This infographic highlights medical error as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Image credit: The BMJ 2016 One of these studies, the authors note, was from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Combining that data with the number of hospital admission rates that occurred in the U.S. in 2013, the researchers estimated that 251,454 deaths occur as a result of medical error each year. They point out that the CDC list of the leading causes of death in the U.S. puts heart disease at the top (responsible for 611,105 deaths), cancer as the second leading cause (548,881 deaths), and chronic respiratory disease as the third leading cause of death (149,205 deaths). Therefore, the annual rate of medical error deaths of 251,454 estimated in this study suggests medical error is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Based on their results, the authors call for medical errors to be classified as a separate cause of death on medical certificates a move that would enable researchers and public health organizations to better understand the scale of the problem. Top-ranked causes of death as reported by the CDC inform our countrys research funding and public health priorities, notes Makary. Right now, cancer and heart disease get a ton of attention, but since medical errors dont appear on the list, the problem doesnt get the funding and attention it deserves. Aedes mosquitoes carrying the bacterium Wolbachia - found inside the cells of 60 percent of all insect species -are drastically less able to transmit Zika virus, say researchers at Brazil's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in a study published in Cell Host & Microbe. This is the first report on the effect of Wolbachia bacteria on Zika virus. Originally inserted into Aedes eggs as part of the Eliminate Dengue Program, the bacterium is passed on from mother mosquitoes to offspring, so it is a sustainable control agent. The approach is already being piloted to control Dengue virus transmission and, with the proper resources and approvals, there's infrastructure in place to increase the scale of current trials to also help tackle the Zika epidemic. Wolbachia bacteria were first identified in 2005 as a way to combat mosquito-borne infections. After four years, researchers were successful in their attempts to isolate the bacterium from fruit flies and get it inside Aedes mosquitoes' eggs, without using any genetic alteration. They expected Wolbachia to shorten mosquitoes' lifespans, but the bacterium provided an added bonus, in that it heavily reduced the Dengue virus replication in the mosquito. The bacterium, it seems, has the same effect on Zika transmission. The same effect was previously seen on Chikungunya virus, also transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. "The idea has been to release Aedes mosquitoes with Wolbachia in the field over a period of a few months, so they mate with Aedes mosquitoes without Wolbachia living in the place and, over time, replace the mosquito population," says senior author Luciano Moreira of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. He is also actively involved in the Eliminate Dengue Program, a non-profit that is testing the approach in 40 locations around the world. "Zika and Dengue belong in the same family of viruses, so with the outbreak in Brazil, the logical idea was to test the mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia by challenging them with Zika virus and see what would happen" he says. Moreira's team gave Brazilian field mosquitoes and Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes Zika virus by feeding them human blood infected by two recent strains of the virus that is circulating in Brazil. After two weeks, the researchers saw that mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia had fewer viral particles in their bodies and saliva. The tests showed that the virus present in the mosquito saliva was not active - meaning that, after biting, the mosquito would not be able to transmit Zika virus. The reason for this drop in viral reproduction is unknown, but one theory is that because Wolbachia lives inside of the mosquito's cells, if the virus goes inside the cell to replicate, then there is an internal competition for resources. Surprisingly, this drop held true no matter how many Wolbachia the mosquito carried. "Wolbachia showed to be as effective on Zika as the most important Dengue experiments we did," Moreira says. He cautions that the strategy is not 100 percent effective nor will it eliminate the virus. "We know that there will not be only one solution for Zika - we have to do this alongside different approaches, like vaccines or insecticides, besides the public measures to control Aedes breeding sites." He is currently discussing the Wolbachia approach with the Brazilian Ministry of Health, hoping to raise the resources and public support to test its effect on Zika in the field. This work was supported by FAPEMIG, CNPq, CAPES, the Brazilian Ministry of Health (DECIT/SVS), and a grant to Monash University from the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health through the Vector-Based Transmission of Control: Discovery Research (VCTR) program of the Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiatives of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Millions of people around the world use herbal health remedies, following a tradition that began millennia ago. Many believe that herbs are safe because they have been used for many years, but researchers from Baylor College of Medicine and Stony Brook University are raising awareness that long-term use of herbal remedies is no guarantee of their safety. The invited commentary appears in EMBO reports. Dr. Donald M. Marcus, professor emeritus of medicine and immunology at Baylor, and Dr. Arthur P. Grollman, distinguished professor of pharmacological sciences at Stony Brook University, discuss the scientific evidence showing that the plant Aristolochia can cause aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). People with this condition experience interstitial nephritis, renal failure and cancers of the urinary track. The authors remark that in Taiwan, according to the national prescription database, between 1997 and 2003, 8 million people were exposed to herbals containing Aristolochia. Studies of patients with renal failure and cancer in Taiwan and China show that tens of millions of people in those countries are at risk of AAN. In genetically susceptible people, consuming Aristolochia can lead to the formation of complexes between aristolactam, a compound in Aristolachia, and DNA in renal tissues. These complexes lead to mutations in the TP53 tumor suppressor gene, which in turn initiate the process toward kidney cancer. Additional studies have shown that this process may also lead to the development of cancer in the liver and the bladder. Marcus and Grollman indicate that other herbals and traditional medicines are responsible for severe adverse events in Africa and Asia, but in these cases epidemiological data are lacking. Although Aristolochia has been used as a herbal remedy for more than 2000 years, "the intrinsic toxicities were not recognized, owing, in large part, to the latency period between exposure and the onset of symptomatic disease, and, in part, to genetic determinants that confer susceptibility to only approximately 5 percent of those exposed to this herb," said the authors. The long-term scientific study of AAN revealed the association of the disease with Aristolochia. Almost all carcinogens and many toxins require a long period of time before symptoms appear. This makes it very difficult for a layman or a professional to identify a particular compound as the cause of an illness when it was taken months or years earlier. "The history of Aristolachia indicates that other herbs that have been used for a long time may also have toxic and/or carcinogenic compounds," said the authors. "It is prudent to assume that many herbs may contain toxic or carcinogenic substances that can cause subsequent health problems for humans." Marcus and Grollman disagree with the World Health Organization's endorsement of the use of traditional herbal remedies on the premise that traditional medicine is of proven quality, without mentioning the lack of scientific evidence supporting the efficacy of herbal remedies or their demonstrated hazards, as in the case of Aristolochia. The authors emphasize that their primary concern is "the prevention of toxicities associated with herbal medicine and not a categorical rejection of traditional healing practices. Herbal remedies pose a global hazard. We encourage the global health community to take actions that will evaluate both long- and short-term safety, as well as the efficacy of botanical products in widespread use." Global hazards of herbal remedies: lessons from Aristolochia. Arthur P Grollman, Donald M Marcus. EMBO reports. DOI:10.15252/embr.201642375. Published online April 25, 2016. A large cross-sectional study focused on women with migraines with aura and compared their brain MRI images with those of women not suffering from migraine. No differences between these two groups of women were found with regard to number of silent infarcts and white matter hyperintensities (WMH). The findings were published in Brain. More than 10% of the female population suffers from migraines. Migraines with aura is seen in one out of three of these patients, who experience transitory neurological symptoms in connection with their migraine attacks. Previous studies raised concern with regard to a possible connection between migraines and an increased risk of silent brain infarcts and white matter hyperintensities, particularly in women suffering from migraine with aura. Silent brain infarcts and WMHs have been reported to increase the risk of dementia. "This prompted us to evaluate whether women with migraine with aura might be more likely to have evidence of silent brain infarcts and an increased load of white matter hyperintensities on their brain scans," says research team leader Dr David Gaist of the Odense University Hospital and University of Southern Denmark. The researchers identified women between 30 and 60 years of age through the Danish Twin Registry. This nationwide registry enabled them to identify 172 women with migraine with aura (cases), and 139 unrelated women with no migraine (controls) who underwent MRI brain imaging at a single centre. Thirty four co-twins who, unlike their participating twin sisters, did not suffer from migraine with aura, were also scanned. "We found no evidence of an association between migraine with aura and silent brain infarcts or white matter hyperintensities," says Dr Gaist. "This held true for the main analyses comparing cases with unrelated controls, and for analyses focusing on twin pairs where one twin suffered from migraine with aura, and the other did not." "We believe patients suffering from migraines with aura and their physicians should find these results re-assuring," says Dr Gaist. This study was conducted in collaboration with the Danish Research Centre for Magnetic Resonance and the Danish Headache Center. The study received support from the Lundbeck Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation & Fabrikant Vilhelm Pedersen & Hustrus legat, Fonden til Lgevidenskabens Fremme A.P.Mller og Hustru Chastina Mc-Kinney Mllers Fond til Almene Formaal, and Odense University Hospital. Migraine with aura and risk of silent brain infarcts and white matter hyperintensities: an MRI study. David Gaist, Ellen Garde, Morten Blaabjerg, Helle H. Nielsen, Thomas Krigard, Kamilla Ostergaard, Harald S. Mller, Jacob Hjelmborg, Camilla G. Madsen, Pernille Iversen, Kirsten O. Kyvik, Hartwig R. Siebner, Messoud Ashina Brain. DOI:10.1093/brain/aww099. Published online 2 May 2016. Researchers have found that a variety of conditions are more common in women before and after sexual assault. Compared with women without a known assault experience, those who experienced sexual assault were more likely to have diseases of the circulatory and respiratory systems, epilepsy, and liver disease, both before and after the assault. They were also more likely to develop cervical cancer after the assault. The investigators also found that the number of visits to a general practitioner was significantly higher in exposed women both before and after the assault. Complications associated with childbirth were not statistically different between the groups. "The susceptibility of women exposed to a sexual assault is demonstrated by an increased somatic morbidity before as well as after the assault," said Dr. Mie-Louise Larsen, lead author of the Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica study, which included 2,501 women who attended the Centre for Victims of Sexual Assault in Copenhagen and 10,004 women without a known assault experience. In a cross-national study of what European schools are doing to support student mental health and well-being, 47% of surveyed schools indicated that mental health provision is a high/essential priority, but more than half did not implement a school policy regarding mental health. Half the 1346 surveyed schools - which were located in France, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, UK, and Ukraine - reported not providing sufficient support, with barriers including limited staff capacity, funding, and access to specialists and local mental health services, as well as a lack of national policy. Responses varied by country with 8% to 19% between-country variation across the study outcomes. For example, just over a third of Serbian and French schools indicated having sufficient support in school for their students' mental health compared with more than four-fifths of responding Dutch schools. "With the increasing focus on schools as the setting for early identification and support for children's mental health, our findings highlight the need for greater resources, training, and access to specialists and services in schools," said Dr. Praveetha Patalay, lead author of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health study. Clinical equivalence of partial breast irradiation (PBI) and whole breast irradiation (WBI) has been demonstrated in two key phase III randomized trials: the Groupe Europeen de Curietherapie European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (GEC-ESTRO) trial administering PBI in five days with multicatheter interstitial brachytherapy ( published in the Lancet ), and the IMPORT-Low trial administering PBI in three weeks with IMRT (presented at the 10th European Breast Cancer Conference). Additional results from the GEC-ESTRO trial (abstract #OC-0481), a multicenter phase III study comparing APBI with interstitial multicatheter brachytherapy to WBI were presented by Prof. Csaba Polgar MD, PhD, MSc, Professor and Head of the Radiotherapy Center at the National Institute of Oncology in Budapest, Hungary and co-lead study author, at ESTRO. The primary objective of the GEC-ESTRO trial was to assess the role of APBI brachytherapy alone compared to WBI with boost in a defined group of patients with invasive (stage I-IIA) breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS; stage 0) who underwent breast-conserving surgery. Researchers evaluated a total of 1,184 patients aged 40 years and above who were randomized to a standardized treatment arm (WBI, n=551) or an investigational treatment arm (APBI, n=633). The median follow up in the study was 6.6 years. "My colleagues and I are pleased to share the data from the GEC-ESTRO trial which further validate the established and growing body of clinical evidence supporting APBI with multicatheter interstitial brachytherapy as a safe and effective alternative to WBI," says Prof. Polgar. "The convenience of this five-day treatment coupled with excellent cosmetic outcomes make this a very attractive treatment option for women with early breast cancer." Previous findings from the multicenter study conducted by GEC-ESTRO, already published in the Lancet, demonstrate that APBI with multicatheter interstitial brachytherapy has an equivalent rate of overall survival, disease-free survival and local and regional cancer control as compared to traditional WBI with boost after breast conserving surgery for selected patients with stage 0-II breast cancer. At five-year follow-up, cumulative recurrence rates for WBI and APBI were 1.44% and 0.92% (p=0.42) respectively. Five-year overall survival was 95.55% with WBI versus 97.27% for APBI and a low incidence of all serious late side effects (around 3% in both arms) was noted. The new data presented provide additional insights into the late side effect and cosmetic results. Among the 1,184 original study patients, five-year follow-up records on late toxicities and cosmetic results were available for 969 patients (82%). The five-year toxicity profile was similar for patients treated with breast conserving surgery followed by either APBI using interstitial multicatheter brachytherapy or conventional WBI with tumor bed boost. However, a trend towards fewer late skin side effects and better cosmetic results was observed in the APBI arm. There were no grade 4 toxicities reported. The cumulative incidence of grade 2-3 late skin toxicity at five years was 5.7% with WBI vs 3.2% with APBI (p=0.08). The cumulative risk of grade 2-3 late subcutaneous tissue effects at 5 years was 6.3% with WBI vs 7.6% with APBI (p=0.53). The cumulative incidence of severe (grade 3) fibrosis at five years was 0.2% with WBI and 0% with APBI (p=0.46). The cumulative incidence of grade 2-3 breast pain was low in both the WBI and APBI arms (3.2% vs 1.4%;p=0.04). The rate of excellent/good cosmetic results judged by patients was 87.2% with WBI vs 90.4% with APBI ,and 86.7% with WBI vs 88.2% with APBI (p=0.07) when scored by physicians. However, significantly more patients (43.6% vs 30.9%; p=00002) experienced excellent cosmetic results after APBI. "APBI with interstitial multicatheter brachytherapy offers a significantly shorter treatment course with equivalent local tumor control, less late skin side effects, and better cosmetic results compared to conventional WBI," concludes Prof. Polgar. "Early stage breast cancer has high unmet medical needs and places an enormous physical, emotional and economic burden on women, families and health care systems," notes Prof. Vratislav Strnad, MD, PhD, chair of the GEC-ESTRO Breast Cancer Working Group and radiation oncologist at the Department of Radiation Oncology of University Hospital in Erlangen, Germany. "We anticipate these data will drive significant changes in how clinicians approach early stage breast cancer treatment in patients 50 years and older and place APBI multicatheter brachytherapy as an accepted standard alternative to whole breast irradiation." About APBI with Brachytherapy Accelerated partial breast irradiation with brachytherapy (APBI brachytherapy) is a shortened course of high-dose radiation therapy for early-stage breast cancer patients where radiation is delivered directly into the tumor bed. APBI brachytherapy is delivered as part of breast conservation therapy (BCT), which consists of lumpectomy surgery followed by radiation. The traditional approach for radiation therapy as part of BCT has been whole breast irradiation (WBI). A full course of WBI exposes the entire breast and surrounding critical structures to radiation and requires daily treatments for three to seven weeks where radiation is delivered from outside the breast. APBI brachytherapy delivers radiation only to the lumpectomy cavity and immediate surrounding tissue. APBI brachytherapy offers three significant advantages over WBI: a reduction in total radiation exposure, particularly to the heart, lungs and skin, a reduced treatment time and the preservation of future organ sparing treatment options. Researchers at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital report the results of a double-blinded randomized controlled trial of the "Xiao procedure" in children with spina bifida. The multidisciplinary research group studied children and adolescents with myelomeningocele or lipomyelomeningocele who underwent spinal cord detethering with or without addition of the Xiao procedure to assess the procedure's effectiveness in achieving bladder control. Children with these types of congenital spinal cord defects frequently suffer from neurogenic bladder dysfunction, which may lead to lifelong urinary incontinence. The Xiao procedure was touted for many years in China as being more than 80 percent effective in such patients. In the present study population, the researchers found the procedure to be ineffective in all patients at producing bladder control. Full details of this study can be found in the article "Lack of efficacy of an intradural somatic-to-autonomic nerve anastomosis (Xiao procedure) for bladder control in children with myelomeningocele and lipomyelomeningocele: results of a prospective, randomized, double-blind study," by Gerald F. Tuite, MD, and colleagues, published today online, ahead of print, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. Background Myelomeningocele and lipomyelomeningocele are two forms of spina bifida, a neural tube defect in which spine components fail to develop normally during the first few weeks of gestation. In most cases of spina bifida, the lower portion of the spinal cord becomes tethered to inelastic structures, limiting its movement within the spinal canal. This can cause pain, muscle weakness, foot and spine deformities, and bladder and bowel incontinence. Although surgery is regularly performed to detether the spinal cord, some patients continue to have limitations in their walking ability and/or bladder and bowel function. The inability to control bladder and bowel functions hugely diminishes a person's quality of life. The potential of normalizing bladder function would be extremely valuable to patients affected by spina bifida, and this is what the Xiao procedure offered when first proposed. The Xiao procedure, developed by Dr. Chuan-Guo Xiao, is designed to achieve bladder control in patients who suffer bladder incontinence due to spinal cord injury or spina bifida. During the procedure, a motor nerve leading from the spinal cord to the leg is rerouted and attached to a nerve leading to the bladder, creating a new reflex arc. If formation of the new reflex arc is successful, patients reportedly have been able to initiate urination by scratching their skin, which initiates the new spinal cord reflex. According to reports by Xiao and coworkers, the results of this procedure were excellent in 85 percent of patients with spina bifida after one year. Other surgical teams have had varied results, but the present study is the first in which a control group was used for a comparison. Present Study Tuite and colleagues studied the effectiveness of the Xiao procedure in pediatric patients (younger than 21 years of age) with neurogenic bladder dysfunction who required detethering of the spinal cord related to a myelomeningocele or lipomyelomeningocele. The researchers enrolled 20 patients into the study between 2009 and 2012, randomly assigning them to one of two surgical groups: 1) patients undergoing detethering of the spinal cord alone (DT, the control group) or 2) patients undergoing detethering of the spinal cord plus the Xiao procedure (DT+X, the experimental group). The study was double blinded because neither the patients, their families, nor research personnel who performed follow-up evaluations knew whether a particular patient had undergone spinal cord detethering alone or with the Xiao procedure. Before the study commenced, members of the research team traveled to China to observe Dr. Xiao perform the procedure, and Dr. Xiao supervised the first seven operations at the study center, Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital, in Florida. The primary outcome of the study was the patient's ability to urinate voluntarily and/or in response to skin scratching. Before surgery, all of the patients were bladder incontinent and none could void urine voluntarily or in response to a stimulus. During the three-year follow-up period, six patients--four in the DT group and two in the DT+X group--were able to urinate in response to skin scratching; however, this effect was sporadic and seemingly not directly attributable to the Xiao procedure. The authors state, "no patient in either group was able to void normally, reproducibly, or consistently during urodynamic testing at any point during the study period." In fact, the authors tell us that all patients required diapers or Pull-Ups throughout the 3-year period. The negative finding of this study "raises doubts about the clinical applicability of [the Xiao] procedure." The authors believe that a return to basic science and animal studies should occur before future human trials of the procedure are performed. They emphasize the importance of further research to study the Xiao procedure and other nerve reinnervation techniques because of the major impact that bladder incontinence has on quality of life in patients with spina bifida, spinal cord injury, or other forms of neurogenic urinary incontinence. Lack of efficacy of an intradural somatic-to-autonomic nerve anastomosis (Xiao procedure) for bladder control in children with myelomeningocele and lipomyelomeningocele: results of a prospective, randomized, double-blind study. Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. Gerald F. Tuite, MD, Ethan G. Polsky, MD, Yves Homsy, MD, Margaret A. Reilly, PT, Carolyn M. Carey, MD, MBA, S. Parrish Winesett, MD, Luis F. Rodriguez, MD, Bruce B. Storrs, MD, Sarah J. Gaskill, MD, Lisa L. Tetreault, RN, CCRP, Denise G. Martinez, MPH, and Ernest K. Amankwah, PhD. DOI:10.3171/2015.10.PEDS15271. Published online May 3, 2016. Implementation of a guideline-based telephone cardiopulmonary resuscitation (TCPR) program was associated with improvements in the timeliness of TCPR, survival to hospital discharge, and survival with favorable functional outcome for patients who experienced an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, according to a study published online by JAMA Cardiology. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major public health problem in the United States. Bystander CPR (BCPR) has been shown to double or even triple survival from OHCA. Despite decades of public CPR training, in most communities fewer than half of all individuals with cardiac arrest receive any BCPR, and bleak survival rates persist. In response, both the American Heart Association and the Institute of Medicine have emphasized the importance of telecommunicators (9-1-1 call takers and dispatchers) identifying cardiac arrest and assisting lay rescuers in providing BCPR to improve survival. Bentley J. Bobrow, M.D., of the Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix, and colleagues examined the effect of implementing a bundle of care, including a guideline-based telephone CPR protocol, interactive telecommunicator training, detailed data collection with 9-1-1 call auditing, and telecommunicator feedback for OHCA in 2 regional dispatch centers serving metropolitan Phoenix. Audio recordings of OHCA calls were audited and linked with emergency medical services and hospital outcome data. The study was a before-after, observational analysis of patients with OHCA between October 2010 and September 2013. There were 2,334 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the study group. The researchers found that the TCPR program was associated with significant improvements in several important aspects of resuscitation care, including increased TCPR rates (from 44 percent to 53 percent), a reduction in the time to first bystander chest compression (from 256 to 212 seconds), an increase in survival (from 9 percent to 12 percent); and an increase in favorable functional outcome (from 5.6 percent to 8.3 percent). "These results suggest that the TCPR bundle, deliberately implemented and measured as part of a system-wide public health intervention, was an effective method to increase BCPR rates and survival on a large scale. This observation is a key finding because most previous work evaluating the effect of TCPR has been done in high-performance systems in the setting of strict research randomization protocols, where the investigators were closely linked to the functioning of the local systems. Therefore, our findings add momentum to the current literature by being implemented in the real world across a large number of emergency medical services (EMS) agencies and communities and thus may carry optimism that successful implementation is possible in typical EMS systems," the authors write. Autistic children are capable of following someone's eyes as they name an object. A new study has found that children with autism are capable of learning new words the same way any child would - by following someone's gaze as they name an object. They just take longer to pick up the skill. The study, which appears in the International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, showed that autistic children scored almost exactly the same as neurotypical children (those who don't have autism) in tests of learning new words, and were able to follow their teachers' eye movements 75 percent of the time, compared to neurotypical children's 78 percent. Researchers have long known that neurotypical children as young as 18 months old look at a person's eyes and follow their gaze in order to associate a spoken word with the object the person is looking at. Though autism spectrum disorder isn't easily explained in generalities, most children with the disorder have some kind of difficulty making eye contact with other people under certain conditions. For this reason, therapists have been taught to actively encourage a child to make eye contact - for instance, by repeatedly telling the child to "look at me" while teaching. "A lot of good work has gone into targeting this skill in kids with autism. It's considered a pivotal skill - looking at other people and monitoring eye movement. Our findings are really exciting, because they suggest that maybe we don't need to directly target whether kids follow their partner's gaze," said Allison Bean Ellawadi, assistant professor of speech and hearing and director of the Autism & Child Language Learning Laboratory at The Ohio State University. "We found that if we use eye gaze in a meaningful way, and in a consistent pattern, kids with autism will pick it up on their own, and they'll learn new words." The pattern is key, she said. The idea may sound simple, but it's rooted in some of the most advanced theories of how humans learn. The brain works in nonlinear ways that are extremely difficult to model mathematically, so over the last 20 years, researchers have tried to use statistical methods with nonlinear equations to create models of how children learn - neurotypical children, that is. To Bean Ellawadi's knowledge, this study is the first to use an advanced statistical model of learning to teach children with autism, and shows that these methods could lead to helpful new teaching strategies. Statistical analysis is useful for modeling natural systems, because it allows for complex behavior and so-called "tipping points," when a number of factors that may seem at first unrelated come together in just the right way to cause a dramatic shift in behavior. It helps researchers explain natural systems that seem unpredictable, from quantum mechanics to climate change. Bean Ellawadi says she's an advocate for applying statistical learning theory to children with autism, "because it explains a lot of the instability we see in their skills." "Sometimes they'll develop a great behavior in a specific context, but not in other contexts," she explained. "If we think of the behavior as being a combination of factors in just that one particular moment, we can begin to ask how we might use those factors to create more learning success across different environments." She and study co-author Karla McGregor, professor of communication sciences and disorders at the University of Iowa, compared the learning skills of 15 children with autism to those of 15 neurotypical children. The children's ages ranged from 18 months to 7 years old. The researchers placed a tray of toys and a bucket in front of each child. Then they looked at a particular toy - say, a stuffed duck - and asked the child to put that toy in the bucket. The researchers chose this format because it's similar to a study done by another research group in 2009. But that study consisted of only one trial; children had only one chance to put the right toy in the bucket. Children with autism made eye contact less often, and failed at the task more often than neurotypical children, so much research since has assumed that autistic children needed instruction to make eye contact before they could learn objects. In contrast, Bean Ellawadi and McGregor gave the children in their study five "warm-up" trials followed by up to 20 more trials that counted for the study. When the child put the right toy in the bucket, the researchers praised him or her. When the child put the wrong toy in the bucket or just didn't respond, the researchers didn't give any negative feedback. They just pointed to the right toy or demonstrated the task for him or her, and asked again. Then they moved on to a new toy. As in the 2009 study, neurotypical children out-performed the autistic children on the first trial. But by the end of the experiment, the autistic children had caught up. Children with autism looked at the researchers' eyes 75 percent of the time, and neurotypical children looked 78 percent of the time. Both groups were able to choose the right toy more than half the time, with an overall performance of 50-60 percent, depending on how many toys were on the tray. Bean Ellawadi and McGregor had bet that the autistic children would pick up on patterns in their teachers' behavior to learn the names of new objects, and it worked. "Little kids are amazing statisticians," Bean Ellawadi said. "They do a really good job of tracking the statistics of regularity in their environment." Bean Ellawadi completed this study to earn her doctoral degree at the University of Iowa. She'll continue the work at Ohio State. Next, she wants to examine whether autistic children can recognize patterns with a less structured learning task, and whether they would come to follow a teacher's gaze spontaneously. Online information on pancreatic cancer overestimates the reading ability of the overall population and lacks accurate information about alternative therapy, according to a study published online by JAMA Surgery. The degree to which patients are empowered by written educational materials depends on the text's readability level and the accuracy of the information provided. A patient's health literacy or ability to comprehend written health information can impact clinical outcomes. Reading materials are rarely written at the recommended sixth-grade reading level. Tara S. Kent, M.D., of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, and colleagues compared the readability and accuracy of patient-oriented online resources for pancreatic cancer by treatment method and website affiliation. The researchers conducted an online search of 50 websites discussing 5 pancreatic cancer treatment methods (alternative therapy, chemotherapy, clinical trials, radiation therapy, and surgery). The website's affiliation was identified. Readability was measured by 9 standardized tests, and accuracy was assessed by an expert panel. The researchers found that within the sample, the median readability level of all website categories was higher than recommended, requiring at least 13 years of education to be comprehended (only 58 percent of the adult U.S. population has attained this level of education). "These data indicate that online information on pancreatic cancer is geared to more educated groups. The general population and vulnerable groups with particularly low health literacy will likely struggle to understand this information." The authors also found appreciable differences among website affiliations and among websites discussing treatment methods. Websites discussing surgery were easier to read than those discussing radiotherapy and clinical trials. Websites of nonprofit organizations were easier to read than media and academic websites. Nonprofit, academic, and government websites had the highest accuracy, particularly websites relating to clinical trials and radiotherapy. Alternative therapy websites exhibited the lowest accuracy scores. Websites with higher accuracy were more difficult to read than websites with lower accuracy. "This illustrates one of the challenges incurred in the creation of accurate, yet understandable online information about a complex disease and its treatment options." "In the absence of an Internet librarian, health care professionals should acknowledge that online information on aggressive diseases such as pancreatic cancer could be misleading and potentially harmful, and, thus, they should assume an active role in the evaluation and recommendation of online resources, selecting readable and accurate online resources for their patients, as an instrument to empower patients in the shared decision-making process," the authors write. Advertisement The team behind the research, from the Universities of Birmingham, Edinburgh and Sheffield, believe that the study demonstrates a need to improve patient safety in low income countries, and revisit the use of the surgical safety checklists - the standard global marker of hospital safety.Dr Aneel Bhangu, from the University of Birmingham, explained, "The association between increasingly mortality and lower income countries might be explained by differences in prognosis, in treatment, or maybe both. What we can say is that our study highlights the significant disparity between countries, and an urgent need to address it."It is believed that less than a third of the world's population have access to safe, timely and affordable surgery. Only 6% of the 300 million surgical procedures performed each year take place in low or middle income countries, despite a third of the world's population living there.Surgical death rates are routinely collected in high income countries, such as the United Kingdom and United States, but there is little to no surveillance in as many as 70% of low and middle income countries.Mr Ewen Harrison, from the University of Edinburgh, described the importance of collecting this data in order to understand what influences surgical outcomes; "Improving surgical access and safety can only be achieved if we really understand what influences surgical outcomes on a global scale".The team behind the research have developed a novel model of data collection, forming an international collaboration of doctors known as 'GlobalSurg'. This network was created largely using social media, and data capture during the study was improved by use of a novel platform accessible from mobile internet devices.Dr Edward Fitzgerald, from the GlobalSurg committee, added, "By creating an international network of surgeons it has been possible to collect data on real patients, at the bedside. To measure surgical outcomes we reversed the traditional research model and recruited study collaborators via social media and other avenues. This established a data-sharing platform that is accessible from smartphones."The team also analysed the types of surgery being conducted. Regardless of income setting, the most commonly performed emergency abdominal operation was removal of appendix.Source: Newswise Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends. Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice. On April 21, 2016, the pro-Kremlin daily Izvestia published an article by Russian political analyst Sergey Karaganov;[1] in it, Karaganov states that the disintegration of the Soviet Union created the illusion that the era of "ideologies and ideological struggle was over." However, he adds, the end of the Cold War marked a further deterioration of relations between Russia and the West. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Karaganov writes, Russians were attracted by Western ideals: "Most of the Soviet elite and people, weary of the scarcity and lack of freedom of the era of real socialism, yearned to be in Europe." He adds that Russians were eager to join Europe, its thinkers, Christianity, and traditional values, from which they had been separated for 70 years under the Soviet regime. However, the post-Cold War Europe gradually lost its attraction for the Russian political class, as it started to support NATO's expansion eastwards and European Union policies that did not involve Moscow as an equal partner; additionally, the EU never seriously considered Russia's project to create a common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok.[2] On Europe's part, there was a definite fear that Russia was too big an entity to be truly integrated - a fear supported by the belief that integrating Russia into Europe would lead to the disintegration of Europe. However, according to Karaganov, the idea that eventually prevailed was that "the West was using Russia's weakness to eradicate its centuries-old gains and make it even weaker." Karaganov explains that at this stage, Russia wants to "reclaim its own self" and adds that it could offer the world more attractive values than the West can. He notes that in the Lisbon Treaty, on reform in European integration and cooperation, which came into force on December 1, 2009, the EU included "only" the values of pragmatism, consumerism, democracy, human rights, and law, and added: "Essentially, these values are quite attractive, but may provoke a degradation of both humans and their values if detached from a person's customary devotion to some higher purpose." In contrast, Russia, he says, emphasizes as main values "national dignity" and "courage" - which, he adds, are no longer part of Europe's ideals because they are "perceived as part of [Europe's] dangerous past - from the wars [it] unleashed and lost." Thus, he says, fear of its own past has attracted Europe to concepts such as "nonviolence" and "pacifism," which he considers completely inadequate for facing the challenges of the modern world. Pursing ideals such as pacifism will lead Europe into trouble, he says, as one result of it, mass migration, can deeply damage the West. Therefore, Karaganov suggests, Europe must, in order to survive, begin to pursue "a harsher and more right-wing policy" and "give up some of its democratic freedoms for the sake of order and security." Russia is different from Europe and proud of it, Karaganov explains. He notes, for example, that Russia is ready to use force to protect its sovereignty and values, while Europe is not. Russia supports Christianity and is ready to defend Christians around the world, while the EU has lost its faith and failed to even mention its Christian roots in the Lisbon Treaty. This is ironic, because the Soviet Union was criticized by the West for its "godless and amoral communism," he says, and asks, "Can one trust those [i.e. the West] who espouse godless 'democratism' and liberalism?" Russia does not need to "export" its ideology, he notes, since this is already "happening de facto" as the Russian approach to the world is becoming more attractive to public opinion. The West, he says, has tried to export "democratism" in an "aggressive manner," so there is now a need for the "non-Western" Russian policy, in order to stop the West's geopolitical expansion. This view of Europe and the West is shared by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who, during his annual live Q&A session on the Direct Line program on April 14, 2016, criticized European liberalism and freedom of movement in the 26-nation border-free European Schengen Area.[3] He said: "Europe is facing serious challenges, and you probably feel safer in Siberia than, say, in Paris or Brussels. I say this without any irony, on the contrary, I am totally serious, giving due credit to our colleagues, who are making attempts to effectively tackle terrorism amidst the complicated conditions of European liberalism. The freedom of movement, the Schengen Area, and many other things related to today's freedoms are used effectively by terrorists, and it is quite difficult to combat this under [European] present laws."[4] The following are excerpts from an English translation of Karaganov's article published on the website of the Russian foreign affairs journal Russia in Global Affairs:[5] Image source: Globalaffairs.ru, March 1, 2016 "The Disintegration Of The Soviet Union Created A[n]... Illusion That The Era Of... Ideological Struggle Was Over" "The disintegration of the Soviet Union created a decade-long illusion that the era of ideologies and ideological struggle was over and that the world was moving towards a single system of values based on Western liberal democracy and capitalism. Europe and America fascinated the world with their freedom and [their] winning political system. The perception of the final victory of Western values was backed up by America's massive military supremacy, but, most importantly, by the Western countries' affluence that everyone, including the Soviet and Russian people, desired. This desire was sustained by a widely spread and [widely] cultivated view that wealth and prosperity were a result of democracy, not vice versa. Western ideology prevailed in international relations as well. But new realities came into view in the 2000s. Russian President Vladimir Putin with Russian political analyst Sergey Karaganov (Source: Karaganov.ru) "Flush with victory, the West started to impose its political positions and values even with the use of military force (in Afghanistan, Iran, and Libya) and lost. Its support for the Arab Spring further destabilized the Middle East and made democracy less attractive. The success of a new (actually very old) model of capitalism, which leaned in politics on authoritarian and non-liberal leader's democracy regime regimes of varying degrees, became obvious. The economic model based on the Washington Consensus lost its appeal after the crisis of 2008-2009, while the Chinese-style model profited.[6] It also turned out that most of the new successful countries had not followed the Washington Consensus recipes. "Europe, and to a lesser extent the United States, began to drift away from the values they had always offered to the world, at least the Christian world, and started imposing values that were unacceptable for the majority of countries - multiculturalism, excessive tolerance, and unusual sexual and family relations. The ages-long drift [away] from Christianity and Christian values in Europe accelerated dramatically over the past 25 years, and was codified when the European Union did not mention its Christian roots in the draft EU Constitution that was never adopted, and in the Lisbon Treaty, which replaced it. It only left pragmatism, consumerism, democracy, human rights, and law. Essentially, these values are quite attractive but may provoke a degradation of both humans and their values if detached from a person's customary devotion to some higher purpose. When the Soviet Union was criticized for godless and amoral communism, it was offen[sive] but essentially true, and many people in the country knew it. The communist practice rejected traditional moral values. Now, ironically, it is the other way round: Can one trust those who espouse godless 'democratism' and liberalism? [Russian author Fyodor] Dostoevsky's well-known... [statement by] Ivan Karamazov [in The Brothers Karamazov],'If there is no God, everything is permitted,' still sounds relevant. "The approach towards international relations, proposed by the Europeans quite sincerely... and more duplicitously by the Americans - i.e. the rejection of the use of force and spheres of influence and the appeal to the supremacy of international law - began to falter, too. It first failed when Germany and eventually the EU unlawfully recognized Croatia's and Slovenia's secession from Yugoslavia, triggering a civil war in that country, followed by barbaric bombings by NATO of what remained of it in 1999. Then there were acts of aggression against Iraq and Libya. Besides, the new emerging countries had no intention to follow the EU's example and give up their sovereignty. "There is yet another core value in Western Europe that is rendered inadequate in a new, harsher, and less predictable world: non-violence and pacifism. The Europeans, who had over[reached] in two horrible world wars, not only eagerly and successfully cultivated this value among themselves, but also tried to offer it to the rest of the world. But the world chose another path, and, worse still, began to intrude into the European world through the mass migration of people belonging to other cultures, which started quite a few years ago. Europe will have to adapt and pursue a harsher and more right-wing policy, and give up some of its democratic freedoms for the sake of order and security. This process is extremely painful, and, predictably, provokes a defensive ideological reaction..." "Most Of The Soviet Elite And People, Weary Of The Scarcity And Lack Of Freedom Of The Era Of Real Socialism, Yearned To Be In Europe" "The Russian alternative appeared particularly remarkable and challenging against this Western background. Most of the Soviet elite and people, weary of the scarcity and lack of freedom of the era of real socialism, yearned to be in Europe, while being quite unaware of what democracy and capitalism were really like. Private ownership was promptly introduced, without protection by law. This led to the emergence of oligarchic capitalism and large private holdings, morally illegitimate and not defended and legitimized by law - which [in turn] became the main cause of systemic corruption. Democracy was introduced from above, slowing down reforms and precipitating the near disintegration of the country by the end of 1990s. And yet, even unsuccessful economic and political reforms gave the majority of Russian people what they generally associated with 'Europe'- an abundance of goods in shops, and personal freedom. "But things did not go any further. Deep-rooted values and habits of Russian society came into play: almost unconditional striving for independence and security, consolidated by Vladimir Putin as 'patriotism,' and the aspiration for justice with disrespect for formal rules and laws; as well as the sense of belonging to a great power that followed the reforms and military successes of the 18th and 19th centuries. Add to this the drive for centralization of power, induced by centuries of fierce struggle for survival. This fear was amplified immensely by the 1990,s which became a time of losses for everyone except the new bourgeoisie and a small part of the intelligentsia. Most groups of Russia's population and elites, including the meritocrats- scientists, engineers, teachers, military officers - lost everything. And yet, further movement towards European democracy and some of its values would still have been possible, had it not been for two major circumstances. "Patriotism in Russia is...responsibility for our country and our people" Sharzhipero.ru, undated. "First, the West saw itself as a victor and started...pushing Russia off the political, security and economic stage. The enlargement of the Schengen Area even reduced visa-free travel opportunities for Russians. The interests and objections of the temporarily enfeebled great power [i.e. Russia] were ignored. NATO's expansion was a symbol of that policy. But eventually it became clear that the EU's enlargement did not benefit Russia either, as it was not, as had been promised and expected, accompanied by efforts to create a common and equal human and economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok. The Western geopolitical expansion reduced the possibility of gains for the Russian people from relations with Europe, and weakened pro-European sentiment in the [Russian] political class. The idea that eventually prevailed was that the West was using Russia's weakness to eradicate its centuries-old gains and make it even weaker. The defense reflex prevailed. "The second circumstance was even more unexpected. Russians were eager to join the Europe of nation states, Christianity, and traditional values, from which they had been separated for 70years - the Europe of [UK prime minister Winston] Churchill and [French president Charles] de Gaulle, of [GFR chancellor Konrad] Adenauer, of knights and of great persons and ideas. The Russian people were arduously reclaiming the religious values and faith that had been eradicated for decades. But Europe had changed. Most importantly, since the 1980s and 1990s, it had taken one more giant leap from old values to new values, and had stubbornly imposed them. "The majority of Russian society and elite and most of the European elites simply diverged in their cultural development, and until recently they did not even want to discuss their differences; they only began to trade recriminations when these differences came to the surface. In addition, unsuccessful reforms in Russia required an external enemy. From the start of the multidimensional crisis of the European project in the early 2010s, European elites, too, began to look for an enemy, in a bid to consolidate member countries and turn their energy inwards. Judging from the intensity of anti-Russia propaganda [in the West] - that had not been seen since the 1950s - it seems that Europe needed an enemy even more than Russia does. Before long, it went further and nearly demonized Putin. "At first, Russia's ruling elite did not retaliate geopolitically, and responded with counterpropaganda against Western values being imposed. But then used its muscle." Anti-Europe cartoon. Sharzhipero.ru, undated. "The Conspicuous 'Non-Western' Russian Policy May Be Temporary - Necessary To Stop The West's Geopolitical Expansion" "What makes the Russian challenge so strong for European elites is probably that Russia, which is currently seeking its identity and desiring to reclaim its own self, might be offering an attractive model of behavior and set of values to the rest of the world. In international relations, this means all-round support for state sovereignty, cultural identity and political pluralism, which objectively comes into conflict with the policy of Western universalism and single ideology that has been imposed over the last couple of decades. "Russia emphasizes such notions as national dignity and courage. To many Europeans, these values seem obsolete, as they are perceived as part of their dangerous past - from the wars they unleashed and lost. But Russia won them at an enormous cost, and is ready to use force to protect its sovereignty and values. In 'the Putin world,' it would be unthinkable for most men not to defend women, as was the case in Cologne during the assaults by migrants.[7] But Europeans are apparently afraid of this harsh new world, which is largely represented by today's Russia. "Tolerance in Europe is...when migrants can do everything." Sharzhipero.ru, undated. "Russia's second ideological message to the world, which is at odds with many Russian realities but which is becoming increasingly obvious, is that consumption is not a goal in itself. Human and national dignity and a commitment to fulfilling some purpose higher than one's own are more important. Internal, not external, success matters. Hence the broad support for religions, especially Orthodoxy, and readiness to defend Christians. "The third message is readiness to follow traditional foreign-policy principles, including protection of national interests by force, especially if it is morally justified. This set of messages and values provides Russia with potentially strong 'soft power' even though the country is relatively poor and 'unfree.' "Information war is... when 'barbaric' Russia refuses to preach the values of the 'civilized' West." Sharzhipero.ru, undated. "The current ideological clash may become even fiercer. It involves the West, which won at first but is now beginning to lose, and Russia, which has taken on the burden of symbolizing non-Western policy and which appeals to the majority of people, including perhaps those in the West. This fight is raging not only between countries, but inside them as well. Russia also has a minority that shares new European values. "The intensity of this confrontation is implicitly but strongly amplified by the mounting feeling that the current model of development based on growing consumption, inequality, and declining morals is pernicious for the planet. There is a moral vacuum and it is expanding. The purpose of the fight is to either fill this vacuum or to prevent others from doing so. "The conspicuous 'non-Western' Russian policy and ideology may be temporary - necessary to stop the West's geopolitical expansion and its attempt to export 'democratism' in such an aggressive manner. (Remarkably, such policy was practiced by the Soviet Union which exported its model to the controlled and subsidized socialist camp, countries of 'socialist orientation' and other states through communist parties.) "Russia does not seem to be making plans for the purposeful export of its ideology. But it is happening de facto. Meanwhile, messianism is strong in some Western countries, and they feel defeated after their victory and want to take revenge. Russia's alternative, that I have outlined, is not final. It clearly comes out of the past, out of modernity, and out of the Westphalian or Vienna inter-state systems. Yet it appeals to the majority, while the European and Western post-modernity, though it appears to be more humane and progressive, is losing. This is probably because its model leads nowhere, or because the majority of countries are not prepared to accept it. "Following Russia's forceful actions against Western expansion in Ukraine, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was said to have accused the Russian leader of living in an unreal world. It seems, however, that the German chancellor is the one living in such a world, and that she has now received a harsh wakeup call. It would probably be better for everyone to live in a world of post-modernist, humane, nonviolent, and tolerant unreality. But it seems that it has failed to materialize. "History does not go along linear paths; it twists and turns. It will, at any rate, keep moving, barring thermonuclear catastrophe. Values evolve and change, and there are many more turns ahead. With regard to relations between Russia and Europe, this means that we have unfortunately but predictably missed each other. "We have missed the chance to create a common space from Vladivostok to Lisbon. Mutual resentment is quite strong right now, but we must keep it at bay and build good neighborly relations while understanding that we are different. And we should certainly try hard to avoid the new systemic military-political confrontation that is desired by many forces that are possessed either by the demons of the past or by the old geopolitical fears of the emergence of a truly united and peaceful Europe or Eurasia. "Our societies may change again a decade from now, with Europeans becoming more nationalistic and realistic, and Russians more tolerant. And if we try to learn more about each other in a respectful way, we may get a chance for a new rapprochement." Endnotes: Introduction The controversial French comedian Dieudonne M'bala M'bala has been prosecuted several times for antisemitic statements and incitement; in 2009 in Paris he was fined 10,000 for making such statements, and, most recently, in 2015, he was sentenced in Belgium to two months' imprisonment and fined 9,000 for inciting to hatred in a 2012 show he gave in that country.[1] In other shows, and in videos, Dieudonne depicted Jews as "Zionists" in black religious garb, and mocked the Nazi gas chambers as fake.[2] Despite the trials and condemnation, Dieudonne remains very popular among a growing number of French young people, many of whom follow French conspiracy theorist Alain Soral and are affiliated with either the extreme-right Front National or the extreme left in France. Dieudonne's followers have created "Quenelle" pages on Facebook, with variations in spelling, named for the "f*ck-you" gesture that Dieudonne invented and popularized and that has sparked protests because of its resemblance to the Nazi salute.[3] One of the "Quenelle" Facebook pages that post incitement content is the "Quenelle+" page; as it states on its "About" page, its name is aimed against France's Canal+ television channel, which it attacks for "acting like the whore" of the French "oligarchy," that is, the wealthy and powerful in the country. The Quenelle+ Facebook page is very active; it posts daily, gets plenty of comments, and has more than 23,400 "likes" as of this writing. The many antisemitic and conspiracy-theory posts on this page originate from sources such as the conspiracy-theory Panamza website, Alain Soral's anti-U.S. conspiracy-theory Egalite et Reconciliation website, and others. Quenelle+ attacks a wide range of politicians and public figures, but focuses particularly on Jewish figures such as French philosophers Bernard-Henri Levy and Alain Finkielkraut; the latter invariably prompt antisemitic comments, which are allowed to remain on the page. For example, French Jewish philosopher Alain Finkielkraut was invited to "leave and go to Israel," and Levy was ordered "to shut up physically and forever." Any mention of Israel is followed by antisemitic statements and furious commentary. Following are examples of antisemitic posts and comments from April 18 to May 1, 2016 on the Quenelle+ Facebook page: On French Jewish Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy French Jewish philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy is a favorite target of Quenelle+. A post with photos of Levy and dog excrement got over 100 "likes." Commenter "Mehdy Le Juste" wrote "Beautiful! I can smell his [Bernard-Henri Levy's] shit even in my home." "Joel Cois" responded with a cartoon of a stereotypical antisemitic depiction of a hook-nosed Jew rubbing his hands in glee with the text "Never Forget, I am THE VICTIM." The previous day, a video of Levy titled "Shabbathurbate" was posted on Quenelle+ with the text "The shitty finger of a masterful Zio-Jewish millionaire..." The video, which was first posted on the Facebook page "Cidre Vicious," shows Bernard-Henri Levy animatedly gesturing with his hand and speaking, with no words heard and a soundtrack of flatulence sounds and music added for comic effect. In the comments, "Laurent Guillouet" posted a graphic of Dieudonne and the statement "Shut up - physically and forever." "Sylvain Caro" wrote: "May the bastard [i.e. BHL] die out!!!!" "Wahid WaAyari" wrote: "A video that hurts one's ass! On French Jewish Philosopher Alain Finkielkraut The page posted a photo of the renowned French philosopher Alain Finkielkraut in a pose reminiscent of typical antisemitic depictions of Jews, along with the text: "This country (France) deserves our hatred: what it did to my parents is far more violent than what it did to Africans. What did this country (France) do - only good." "Fabrice Haro" commented on the post: "'France, love it or leave it,' one 'major' politician [i.e. former French president Nicolas Sarkozy] used to say... so just leave - why not go to Israel!" "Moktar Benhamid" wrote: "[You] dung, your hatred of France is inside [you]! You know how to pretend, you big hypocrite, like your ilk!!!!!!" On French Jewish Journalist Patrick Cohen A post of a quote from the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur praising the well-known French journalist Patrick Cohen and calling him "the best interviewer in Paris" and a very hard worker triggered hostile commentary. "Joel Cois" wrote: "ahahahaha, I chitted a shoananas [when I read this]!!" -"shoananas," or "Holocaust Pineapple," is a derisive term coined by Dieudonne that first appeared in a song he wrote mocking the Holocaust.[4] On The Stereotype Of Freemason Jews A cartoon posted by Quenelle+, that was originally published in July 2013 by the French extreme right-wing newspaper Rivarol, which is openly antisemitic, shows a speaker identified as a Freemason Jew saying different things to the world and to the Jews. To the world, he says: "Peoples of the world, in order to establish peace, you need to fight nationalism, defend secularism, and mix with other races"; to the Jews, he says in an aside: "People of Israel, in order to dominate the world, you need to do the opposite." On Israel, In Antisemitic Language A YouTube video alleging a "connection" between 9/11 and Israel was posted on the page under the title "Israel and September 11 - The Great Taboo." Quenelle+ also shared an April 28 article reporting on a suggestion by British Labour MP Naz Shah on her Facebook page that Israel be relocated to the U.S. Following a controversy about her post, she was suspended from the Labour Party and apologized before the House of Commons.[5] The Quenelle+ post triggered openly antisemitic comments: "Jack Dupont" wrote: "No need to move. They are at home everywhere in the world. As [the Jewish economist Jacques] Attali clearly put it, France, for instance, is a hotel." "Henri Lebo" wrote: "Not a bad idea! They will be able to use Hollywood full blast to make the goyim cry." "PinoNuzzaci" wrote: "Israel controls the media of our allegedly free country." "Alain Detreloin" re-shared the antisemitic cartoon posted by "Joel Cois" above, of the hook-nosed Jew with the caption "Never forget, I am the victim." In mid-April, Charlie Hebdo cofounder Philippe Val visited Israel and gave a lecture, titled "Jerusalem and Athens: Sources of Democracy" at a French-language conference on Jerusalem; in a subsequent interview with the Tel Aviv-based French-language radio station TAF he expressed friendship towards Israel. An April 18, 2016 post on Quenelle+ with quotes from the interview prompted the following comments: "Olifrugi Vore" wrote, "A big lick on the masters' ass"; "Gamenga Losso" wrote, "[That] son of a bitch, it should have been him who was shot [i.e. in the January 2015 terror attack on the magazine's Paris headquarters]." *Nathalie Szerman is Director of MEMRI French. Endnotes: The Foreign Ministry, via the competent Directorate General for International Economic Relations, is promoting the innovative actions and efforts of Greek agencies and enterprises aimed at increasing the countrys exports. Export-oriented agencies and enterprises will be called upon to submit their proposals and ideas to the Foreign Ministrys B8 Directorate, in an effort towards comprehensive promotion of Greek exports. The proposals submitted will be assessed by the Ministrys competent departments, with the aim of their being announced to the countrys exporters on the AGORA web portal. The detailed process to be followed has already been posted on the AGORA site. We remind you that the this action is part of the Foreign Ministrys plan for supporting the extroversion of Greek enterprises and the attraction of foreign investments to Greece. It should be noted that the Foreign Ministry actions that have been carried out or are in the process of implementation also include the following: Restructuring of the Commercial Affairs Sections and opening of new CASs in new markets (Far East, Gulf countries, etc.). Competition for the entry of 15 CAS employees into the National School of Public Administration (the first since 2007). 13 Joint Interministerial Committees (JICs) and 17 business missions (October 2015-December 2016). Strengthening of cooperation with chambers of commerce, bilateral chambers of commerce, and the Commercial Affairs Sections of embassies in Athens. Upgrading of the AGORA web portal, drawing up of Entrepreneurship Guides and completion of the CASs ISO certification system. Posting on the AGORA portal of the contact information for delicatessens in 70 countries. Posting on the AGORA portal of contact information for importers in 24 sectors in 40 countries. Talks and presentations at investment funds and think tanks, as well as with individual investors (Over 100 such meetings have already taken place, since December 2015). Co-hosting with TIF-HELXPO, SEV, FING, PEA, SEVE and chambers of commerce of three symposia, by geographical zone (Balkans, Black Sea, Mediterranean countries). 1st Symposium to be held on 7-8 July 2016, in Thessaloniki, with Balkan countries. Activation of the Erasmus+ programme for university students, with the aim of their completing internships at the Foreign Ministrys CASs (pilot implementation with 60 students). Submission of report to the Governmental Council on Economic Policy regarding tax measures that favour exporters but do not conflict with state assistance regulations. Mapping of the course of 18 major foreign investments and the licensing obstacles they met with. Programme for attracting patients from Arab countries and Russia, within the framework of cooperation with rehabilitation clinics in Greece. Strategic plan for the development of thermal springs in Greece, in collaboration with the Tourism Ministry. (The relevant plan has already been submitted to the Tourism Ministry.) Presentation of the project for creating the Island of Art and Culture, in which there is already lively investment interest. WindowtoGreece: hosting of extroversion actions abroad by the COSs, with the first effort held in London, on 20 April 2016 being a wine exhibition attended by 300 connoisseurs, importers, and reporters from trade magazines. Market twinning programme (Monastiraki-Plaka, Istanbuls Grand Bazaar, Isfahan, Cairo and Marrakesh). The relevant invitations have been presented to the Ambassadors to Athens of the countries of the markets in question, with a positive response already having been received from the Turkish side. Asked about the laws at the Education Writers Association national conference in Boston, King called them hateful and said gender identity should be protected. He said the laws send a problematic message to students and he is calling on state legislatures to repeal them. "My hope is legislators will realize they've made a terrible mistake," he said. The North Carolina law requires transgender people to use bathrooms in state government buildings and public schools and universities that correspond to the gender on their birth certificates. It also established statewide anti-discrimination protections that exclude LGBT people, and it bans communities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances that go further. Last month, President Barack Obama called for the law to be overturned. Transgender advocates and the Obama administration have argued federal anti-discrimination law requires that transgender students be able to use the restroom and locker room that correspond with their gender identity. A federal appeals court ruled last month in a Virginia case that a high school discriminated against a transgender teen by forbidding him from using the boys' restroom. The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to a lower court for trial rather than issuing a definitive decision. In a court filing in that case, the U.S. Education Department and the Justice Department argued that preventing students from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identity violates Title IX of federal law. "Treating a student differently from other students because his birth-assigned sex diverges from his gender identity constitutes differential treatment on the basis of sex under Title IX," the departments said in a friend-of-the-court brief. The Mississippi law allows religious groups and some private businesses to deny services to same-sex couples and transgender people. It takes effect July 1. Any employer or school could refuse to allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice. Bathrooms have been a focal point as schools around the country grapple with how to balance the rights of transgender students with privacy issues. Students at Santee Education Complex worked to establish the first multi-stall, gender-neutral restroom at the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation's second-largest. Adults protested the move. In Ocala, Florida, the Marion County School Board voted to limit restrooms to students based on their birth sex. Ospina has spent almost half his life in the U.S. after emigrating from his native Colombia, becoming eligible for citizenship in 1990. But with Donald Trump becoming a more likely presidential nominee by the day, Ospina decided to wait no more, rushing the paperwork required to become a citizen. "Trump is dividing us as a country," said Ospina, owner of a small flooring and kitchen remodeling company. "He's so negative about immigrants. We've got to speak up." Nationwide, immigrants like Ospina are among tens of thousands applying for naturalization in a year when immigration has taken center stage in the presidential campaign, especially in the race for the Republican nomination. Trump, the GOP front-runner, has pledged to deport the estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally. He's also vowed to bar Muslims from entering the country and threatened to cut off remittances that Mexican immigrants in the U.S. send back home. And he's called for building a border wall among other proposals to deal with unlawful immigration, saying the federal government has failed to protect the border from people and drugs illegally entering the country. That rhetoric, immigrant advocates and lawmakers say, is driving many foreign-born residents to seek citizenship. "There is fear of a Trump presidency," said Maria Ponce of iAmerica Action, a Washington-based immigrant rights group that is teaming up with other organizations to help those seeking citizenship part of a national campaign called "Stand Up To Hate." They've sponsored naturalization workshops from Washington state to Nebraska and Massachusetts. Nationwide, naturalization applications are up 14 percent in the last six months of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014, according to the government. And the pool of future U.S. citizens is large. Nearly 9 million legal permanent residents, or green-card holders, are eligible to become Americans. Of those, about 4 million are Hispanic. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., was featured in a public service announcement encouraging immigrants to become citizens so they can vote in November. He mocked Trump's slogan, suggesting it was really: "Make America Hate Again." "We've seen it in the past and we are seeing it again many times over this year," he said. "When immigrant communities feel they are under attack they react with a large number of eligible immigrants becoming citizens and a large number of eligible citizens becoming voters." Erica Bernal of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials said the tenor of the presidential campaign is galvanizing Latino immigrants. She said today's movement is reminiscent of the 1990s when Latinos in California rose up against Proposition 187, which sought to deny government services to those in the state illegally. The courts overturned it. Her group and several local ones in Los Angeles recently launched a regional campaign to encourage Latino immigrants to become citizens. About 775,000 legal immigrants in the L.A. area are eligible for citizenship. To qualify, immigrants must have been in the country five years, complete a 21-page application, get fingerprinted, pass a civics and English exam and pay almost $700 in fees. Ivan Parra, citizenship coordinator with the Florida Immigrant Coalition said immigrants laugh when he asks why they want to become Americans. "'You know why,' they say, 'I want to vote against racism and hate,'" said Parra. He says immigrants this year are "desperate to be part of the political process." Maria Cristina Giraldo, originally from Colombia and already a U.S. citizen, said she is so fearful of Trump becoming president that she brought five relatives to a naturalization workshop in South Florida. "Trump is anti-immigrant," said Giraldo, who works cleaning houses. "I don't know if it's because he's such a brute in his speeches or that he isn't careful in what he's saying, but he's very nasty toward Hispanics." Her sister, Gladys Ceballos of Hollywood, Florida, agreed. She's trying for the second time to become a citizen after failing to pass the English exam. She says she's not fearful of Trump, but she doesn't trust him. John Haughton, 66, a Jamaican immigrant, said: "Trump is a man who would say one thing today and may modify his views tomorrow." "I want my voice heard," said Haughton, a legal permanent resident since 2008. Seung Baik, 43, who was born in South Korea and brought to the U.S. as a teenager, said he too believes Trump is too divisive. "It took me a little longer to become a citizen because I didn't want to apply and treat this as a membership to something, like joining a club," said Baik, a church pastor. "The world and this nation are changing, and my vote matters." Baik said he won't be registering as a Democrat or Republican but remains independent. He's undecided about whom he will vote for in his first presidential election as a U.S. citizen, but "it won't be Donald Trump." The poll by Transparency International also found that courts have the worst bribery rate out of six services that were surveyed. The watchdog interviewed nearly 11,000 people or about 1,200 people in each of the nine countries and found that bribery was especially rampant in Yemen. In the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, 77 percent of respondents said they had to pay a bribe to access public services. The interviews in Yemen were carried out before the start of March 2015 Saudi-led airstrikes targeting Yemen's Shiite rebels, after which the country's crisis descended into war. Around 50 percent of people surveyed in Egypt, Sudan and Morocco said they paid bribes for public services. Transparency International also surveyed people in Lebanon, Algeria, Tunisia, Jordan and the Palestinian territories. The poll was carried out in direct interviews at various times in 2014 and 2015, and gave a 3 percent margin of error. Public anger over corruption among government officials, social inequality and the lack of justice and transparency were catalysts of the 2011 Arab Spring movements that ousted longtime leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Libya. Transparency International's chief Jose Ugaz said that failing to stop bribery also affects people's human rights. "It's as if the Arab Spring never happened," he said in a statement accompanying the report. The poll results show that on average, almost one in three people surveyed paid bribes in dealings with courts, while one in four paid bribes to police and around half or more of those who paid bribes to the courts and police had to pay multiple times. About one in five people surveyed said they had to pay a bribe for public medical services. In Morocco, that figure was 38 percent. Transparency International noted the case of a man who called the watchdog's local anti-corruption hotline after he was told by a nurse to pay $60 in addition to the hospital fee for his partially blind daughter to get an urgent brain scan. He was advised to call the attorney general's office and two undercover officers returned with him to the hospital, where the nurse was arrested and imprisoned for two months. Around 30 percent of people polled in Lebanon said they paid a bribe for public services, while a staggering 92 percent said they thought corruption had increased. The Lebanon part of the survey was conducted before an eight-month-long trash collection crisis erupted in July 2015. Thousands protested and campaigners blamed corruption and government paralysis for the delay in solving the problem. Speaking to The Associated Press over the telephone, Middle East regional coordinator for Transparency International Kinda Hattar said the institutions of justice and law enforcement should be the least corrupt because they should be the ones prosecuting corruption. "Unless the government and the state work for the independence of the judiciary ... then we will not be able to have a system that builds trust with the people," she said. Though only nine percent in Tunisia and four percent of respondents in Jordan said they paid a bribe in the year preceding the survey, Hattar said there are often other problems that exist in Mideast countries that cannot be quantified and measured in surveys. One such issue, she said, is nepotism, or what is known as a "wasta" in Arabic. Getting a job or gaining access to public services can depend on a person's "wasta," or relationship with someone who is well-connected. ANN ARBOR The state wont enforce a law that blocks local government officials from talking about a ballot question before an election, under a deal approved by a federal judge, the Associated Press reported. Im very pleased, Huron County Board of Commissioners Chair John Bodis told the Tribune. Government and school officials lined up last December urging the governor to veto a bill they say would impose a gag order due to a section prohibiting a public body from airing details of ballot questions to voters on radio, TV, phone or mail 60 days before a vote. Huron County commissioners also sent a resolution to request the governors veto. Come January, the governor signed into law SB 571, introduced by Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kowall, R-White Lake. Gov. Rick Snyder said he would work with the Legislature to clarify the section that irked many critics. U.S. District Judge John Corbett OMeara stopped the law in February with a preliminary injunction, saying the so-called gag order was vague and violated free speech rights. Tuscola County Commissioner Matthew Bierlein joined 17 other plaintiffs in a suit filed in January against defendants Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and the State of Michigan. The complaint filed Jan. 26 in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan said the 60-day cutoff violates the First Amendment because it prohibits the free flow of objectively neutral, core political speech. This law keeps voters from getting the information they need to make informed decisions, Bierlein said. Now, the Secretary of States office says it wont fight the lawsuit any further, the Associated Press reported. Sometimes state legislators forget we are the voters who sent them to Lansing to represent our point of view, not Lansings point of view, Bodis said, adding this hasnt been a problem with Hurons senator and representative. Sometimes there seems to be a disconnect there, he said. Rep. Ed Canfield, R-Sebewaing, and Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair, voted in favor of SB 571. Pavlov said past abuses around the state allowed taxpayer money to fund advocacy efforts for local millages. I wouldnt categorize it as a gag order, Pavlov previously said. Its not designed to stop information from flowing to voters. We want informed voters. However, commissioners echoed the bills opponents, who dubbed it a gag order. The section drawing criticism was buried in the last page of the bill, Commissioner David Peruski previously said, adding he really couldnt believe that they did that. Bodis, viewing the bill as whittling away at the First Amendment, said he found it really repulsive. We are the ones who are out and around and get asked a lot of questions (from voters), Bodis said. They were, in essence, saying we couldnt talk about it. Commissioner Clark Elftman, realizing Hurons opposition may not hold much weight, said last December it will at least let (Snyder) know we think hes doing something stupid. A dozen veterans groups and support organizations are rallying behind legislation that would enable the Veterans Affairs Department to offer in vitro fertilization services to veterans with wounds and injuries prevent them from fathering children. The measure, which has been championed for years by Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee last month and is now part of the omnibus veterans and military construction bill working its way through the full Senate. Backers want to make sure the legislation sepasses. "Much is said about honoring the sacrifice that veterans make for our families," the groups wrote. "With your vote, you can demonstrate that commitment, making a real and fundamental difference in the lives of veterans and their families." The coalition includes the Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, Blue Star Families, Military Officers Association of America, National Military Family Association, Paralyzed Veterans of America, The Veterans Health Council, Vietnam Veterans of America, Wounded Warrior Project, Bob Woodruff Foundation, Elizabeth Dole Foundation and the Quality of Life Foundation. In their letter, members note that numerous veterans have experienced pelvic, abdominal, urogenital and spinal cord injuries that left them unable to have children after being attacked by roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Between 2005 and 2010, the Joint Theatre Trauma Registry recorded 1,525 genitourinary injuries, which can impair the physical, reproductive and mental health of the wounded. In 2010, the letter states, 12.7 percent of all battlefield injuries were recorded as relating to the GU system. "This is tragic for many reasons, but especially because, for so many wounded warriors, families are what drives reintegration into civilian life," the groups say. Murray's amendment to the massive Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill would provide for $88 million -- $18 in fiscal 2017 and $70 million in 2018 -- for fertility treatments for veterans and their spouses if the veteran has a service-connected condition making it impossible to have children without the use of the treatment. Murray, who has been advocating for IVF and other family services for veterans since at least 2012, said last month she was proud that her amendment came out of the committee with strong bipartisan support. The vote was 23-7 in favor of the amendment. "This amendment is about fulfilling our promise to the military families who we ask to sacrifice and serve our country on our behalf," Murray said afterward. "I know this is just the first hurdle. I will be fighting to see this through to the end so this country can keep up its commitment to care for our veterans and their spouses who dream of having a family." In previous bills, including one from February 2015 that remains in committee, Murray also pushed for authorization and funding for veterans and families to be assisted with adoption services, third-party donor and surrogacy as options. Murray pulled it from the floor after some Republican lawmakers threatened to insert into it several so-called poison-pill amendments that would doom the entire package when it came to a vote. An official with one veterans group backing the current legislation said the pared down amendment offered by Murray last month is the kind of assistance that most lawmakers can agree on. The veteran's advocate, who spoke on background, said there is always a concern that the other types of assistance would catch strong opposition from more conservative lawmakers, not only in the Senate but in the House when the bill reached there. Some of these same groups that sent the recent letter to senators previously announced support for Murray's provision last month, along with other organizations. These include the Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion, AMVETS, the Service Women's Action Network, American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and RESOLVE -- The National Infertility Association. In testimony last year on Murray's original bill, VFW Senior Legislative Associate Carlos Fuentes said the group supported the broad range of options available to veterans and service members in creating their families after a trauma that makes natural conception not possible. Both the Defense Department and the VA, he said, "must have the authority to provide veterans the fertility treatment options that are best suited for their particular circumstances." -- Bryant Jordan can be reached at Bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at@BryantJordan. Despite Flipping in Surf 4 Times in a Year, Marines Say New ACV Is the Future of Amphibious Warfare Some Marine veterans familiar with the vehicle and its operations have worried about the reliability of the ACV. Navy SEAL Charles Humphrey Keating IV was fatally wounded in a "gunfight" with ISIS attackers while coming to the rescue of other Americans who were trapped behind enemy lines in the assault. "This was a gunfight, a dynamic gunfight. He got hit in the course of this battle," Army Col. Steve Warren said Wednesday of the close-up firefight with ISIS attackers north of Mosul. "It was a bad day for us here yesterday," Warren said on behalf of the more than 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraqi, but the attack was eventually beaten back by furious U.S. airstrikes including B-52 bombers and A-10 ground attack aircraft, killing an estimated 58 enemy fighters. However, fighting continued Wednesday where Keating fell in the small town called Tel Skuf by the Kurds, and Teleskof by the Iraqis, according to the Kurdish news agency Rudaw. At least 12 fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, remained in the town 14 miles north of Mosul when the main insurgent force, estimated at about 135, fled toward Mosul under the U.S. air attack. "Their cell was broken up today, but one of them detonated his explosives, killing a Peshmerga officer," Muzafar Derki, a Peshmerga commander, told Rudaw. "Two other militants surrendered and the rest were killed in gun battles," he said. In a video briefing from Baghdad to the Pentagon, Warren, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, gave the following timeline and description of the battle for Tel Skuf: A small team of U.S. military advisers -- Warren wouldn't say how many -- was in Tel Skuf for meetings with Kurdish Peshmerga commanders on the ongoing operations to seal off northern routes into Mosul as part of the long-term plan to retake the ISIS stronghold. Keating was part of a Quick Reaction Force, or QRF, of fewer than 12 special operators who were not in the town but were on standby in case the advise and assist team needed help. Their primary mission then would be to evacuate the advisers and not to aid the Kurds in repelling the attack. At about 5:30 a.m. local time , according to the Kurds, a force of more than 400 ISIS fighters, led by suicide truck bombers and bulldozers, broke through Peshmerga front lines, which Warren described as a series of lightly-armed checkpoints and observation posts. Their main objective appeared to be to take Tel Skuf, about 3.5 kilometers, or a little over two miles, behind the front lines. At about 7:30 a.m. local time, ISIS fighters swarmed into Tel Skuf and twenty minutes later, the U.S. advise and assist team joined the Kurds in fighting back while calling on the QRF for help. Warren wouldn't say how or when the QRF arrived, but a commander of a Christian militia allied with the Kurds told The Washington Post that they came in four vehicles. The ISIS fighters did not appear to know that Americans were in the town and they were not the target of the attack -- "there was no indication of that, no," Warren said. At about 9:32 a.m., Keating was shot and mortally wounded in the firefight. Warren said it was unclear whether Keating was hit by a sniper or by fire from a close-up enemy since "there were bullets everywhere. It was a big fight, one of the largest we've seen recently," he said. Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were called in for a medical evacuation and, in a sign of the intensity of the firefight, both were shot up as they lifted off but managed to reach a field hospital about 50 miles east in Irbil, the capital of the Kurdish Regional Government, where Keating died. The medevac was carried out "within the golden hour' but his wound was not survivable," Warren said. As the firefight continued, the U.S. Joint Operations Center in Irbil mounted a major air assault, using aircraft on station and others that took off to join the attacks. Warren said the air assets included drones, F-15s, B-52s and A-10s. Joint tactical air controllers in the operations center coordinated the airstrikes using video feeds from surveillance drones and guidance from Peshmerga fighters at the scene, Warren said. In all, the U.S. aircraft carried out a total of 31 strikes, destroying a mortar system and a bulldozer and killing an estimated 58 enemy fighters, he said. "He is an American hero," Warren said of the 31-year-old Keating, the grandson of the late Charles Keating, Jr., who served time in prison as a result of the 1980s savings and loan scandals. The Pentagon has yet release the younger Keating's name officially, but he was identified Tuesday night by Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and Keating's relatives who live in Arizona, where Keating was a star distance runner at a Phoenix high school. Keating had been an instructor at the SEAL base in Coronado, California, before deploying to Iraq earlier this year but he "felt called" to return to do what he could to stop the ISIS' atrocities, said another grandfather, Bill Holmes. Holmes told The Wall Street Journal that his grandson, who was to be married this fall, joined the SEALS "because it was the hardest thing to do," and "he decided he wanted to go back" to Iraq. Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, was one of five senators known as the "Keating Five" who were alleged to have intervened on behalf of Charles Keating Jr., in the savings and loans scandals. McCain was cleared of acting improperly but the Senate Ethics Committee said he had exercised "poor judgment" in his relations with Charles Keating, Jr. In a statement, McCain mourned the death of Charles Keating IV. "Like so many brave Americans who came before him, Charlie sacrificed his life in honorable service to our nation for a cause greater than self-interest, which we can never truly repay," McCain said in a statement. "It is a combat death," Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday of Keating's fatality, and it was the third in combat action for U.S. forces in Iraq. The first U.S. combat death was that of Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler, 39, of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, who was killed last October while coming to the aid of Kurdish forces in a raid on an ISIS prison in northern Iraq that freed about 70 hostages. In March, Staff Sgt. Louis F. Cardin, 27, of Temecula, California, and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, was killed by ISIS rocket fire at a Marine fire base near Makhmour that was set up to support a staging area for Iraqi Security Forces gathering for a Mosul offensive. The combat deaths have again called into question the Obama administration's strategy for Iraq and Syria in the campaign against ISIS which is intended to avoid "boots on the ground" combat while training, advising and assisting local forces and backing them up with airstrikes. At his daily press briefing Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest defended the strategy while stressing that Keating' death was "a vivid reminder of the risks that our service members are taking." "But the President has been clear, time and time again, exactly what their mission is," Earnest said. "That mission is to support Iraqi forces on the ground who are taking the fight to ISIL on the frontlines," he said, using another acronym for ISIS. "Iraqi forces must fight for their own country," Earnest said. "United States forces cannot be a substitute for those Iraqi forces" to meet the overall goal of inflicting a lasting defeat upon ISIS, he said. In Iraq, "our mission remains to advise, assist, train and equip our partner forces," and the U.S. has trained about 22,000 Iraqis since ISIS invaded in 2014 and backed them up with "devastating airpower," Warren said. Of the more than 4,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, about several hundred are involved in the advise and assist teams that gr forward with local forces, Warren said. "It's a handful of teams that go in and advise and assist," he said. "Our intent is that they do not encounter the enemy. As we learned Tuesday, no plan is perfect." -- Richard Sisk can Be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. GRAND RAPIDS, MI- Now in it's third year, Beer City Spring Fest will feature mostly new breweries this time around. So, if you haven't been able to get out to visit these places personally, you have the opportunity to experience them all in one place. That place being Hudsonville, a rural suburb of Grand Rapids. The location of Spring Fest was at first greeted with disbelief, as Hudsonville was the last place in Michigan to remain a dry city. Dating back to Prohibition, you were unable to purchase alcohol in the city until 2007. Yes, you read that right. Prohibition was alive and well in West Michigan until just 9 years ago. Times have indeed changed. Hudsonville is now home to two breweries, Pike 51 and White Flame Brewing. They also have a winery, Hudsonville Winery, as well as a cidery, Farmhouse Cider. All will be in attendance at Spring Fest. Each year, Spring Fest has tried to offer something new and different. Event organizer Joe Boyer is looking forward to the beer education events they have planned for this year. "We've got Ben Darcie from Experience Beer West Michigan, Jason Lummen from The People's Cider, as well as a wine expert, providing casual educational experiences this year for fest goers. And there is no extra charge, it's all included in your ticket." I attended the event last year for the first time, and appreciated the ease of a small festival such as this one. Not really any lines for beers, the opportunity to chat with the brewers or owners, and lots of fun fest goers (plus a fantastic sunny day) made this a great festival in my book. This year, the focus on new or up and coming breweries is an interesting twist. I haven't been able to visit every new brewery that's opened in the last year or two, so the chance to get to try their beers all in one place is appealing. You can try beers from such places as: This year, tickets are available online at Beer City Festivals, and are $35 for a regular ticket which includes 8 samples, or a VIP ticket for $45, which gets you in the fest an hour early and 12 tasting tickets. There will be a special "enthusiast" class at 12:30 with Ben Darcie that only VIP's will be able to attend. Food will be available as well, from Slow and Low BBQ. A chance to check out a bunch of newer breweries in a relaxed setting? The Spring Fest is a good choice. Amy Sherman is on the Life + Culture Team for MLive. She covers food, beer, travel and Michigan's Best along with John Gonzalez. Email her at asherma2@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or Periscope. Arbor Hills.JPG Lole is scheduled to open in the Arbor Hills mall soon. (Melanie Maxwell | The Ann Arbor News) ANN ARBOR, MI -- A new tenant is expected to open later this month at the Arbor Hills mall in the 3000 block of Washtenaw Avenue in Ann Arbor. "Lole is a women's fitness and fashion apparel line that's based out of Montreal," said Christina Gaskins, the store owner. "This will be the third location in Michigan." With a variety of apparel options, Gaskins says the brand is popular with women because it offers comfortable clothing that serves several uses. The store carries fitness wear, dresses, casual clothing, sweaters, shoes and even bathing suits, Gaskins said. "We sell stuff that women can wear every day, whether it's out on a date or running errands," Gaskins said. "We have everything. The concept is a one-stop shop for women." Gaskins owns another Lole location in Rochester and is in the process of opening a store in Royal Oak as well. There is a Lole store in Grand Rapids as well, but Gaskins does not own that location. She is hopeful the store will open later this month. The build out of the 3,000-square-foot space is now complete and once the fixtures are delivered, staff can begin setting the store and preparing to open. Included in the space is a 600-square-foot meeting space that will be used for free classes available to customers, meetings and other event, Gaskins said. Hiring is still ongoing for the store and Gaskins said she is still looking to hire a store manager and key holders for the location. "The majority of our staff will likely be part time. We're looking for anyone who loves fitness and fashion," Gaskins said. "Lole is all about promoting a healthy lifestyle and getting out there and meeting people." Bringing the brand to Ann Arbor makes sense for Gaskins, because she says the lifestyle of the community matches the philosophy behind Lole. "When we looked at the demographics of our customers, we felt that Ann Arbor fit that very well," Gaskins said. "It's a very active community and very family oriented as well. We just felt all the signs were pointing in the right direction." The brand was briefly marketed last year as a tenant in the Washtenaw Commons development just a bit further down Washtenaw Avenue. However, Gaskins said once she saw space was available in Arbor Hills, she though it was a perfect fit for the brand. In particular, Gaskins said the types of shops and stores in the mall attract a lot of the same clientele as Lole. Lole first opened in 2002 in Montreal and has since expanded across Canada and into the U.S. and Europe. A more aggressive expansion into the U.S. is ongoing as the brand becomes more popular across the country. Matt Durr is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mattdurr@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter. IMG_0820.jpg This AT&T store, operated by an authorized dealer, opened in Plainfield Township, at 5300 Northland Dr. Suite., in March 2016. (Courtesy photo) GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- AT&T is expanding its retail presence across Michigan. The second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, based in Dallas, has opened 21 stores across the state in the last 15 months. But most are not corporate-owned locations. Nearly two-thirds of the 152 stores are authorized retailers, which operate similar to franchises. Over the weekend, Billy Reffitt had a grand opening for his new AT&T store located in Plainfield Township, at 5300 Northland Drive. The nearly 1,300-square-foot store is owned under his company, Great Lakes Mobile. He has opened four stores in Michigan in the past five months. The others are located in Marshall, Battle Creek and Traverse City. He previously owned 11 AT&T stores in Indiana before selling them to GameStop. Reffitt says he has been in the cell phone industry since 2003 when he went to work for Centennial Wireless, which was acquired by AT&T in 2008. He eventually rose to a district manager for AT&T before leaving to open his own stores in Indiana in 2011. Reffitt sees potential in the Michigan market. "There is a lot of areas that the customer base is a little bit underserved," Reffitt said. Customers won't be able to tell the difference between a corporate-owned and authorized dealer other than the sign on the door, he adds. "There used to be a big difference. Now employees have the same training," Reffitt said. He is counting on customers to pick AT&T stores like his for the expertise, over going to national retailers like Costco, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Sam's Club that carry AT&T phones and products. "The biggest benefit is you are talking to someone who is really an expert for the carrier," Reffitt said. "It's hard enough to just keep up on AT&T than to master all the carriers. You are getting the best advice (on AT&T products) when you come to an AT&T store." Recent new store openings across counties such as Oakland, Wayne, Kent and Calhoun coincide with AT&T's upgrades in the local wireless network infrastructure in those geographies, the carrier said. The improvements include new cell sites, greater wireless capacity and increased data speeds. "AT&T continues to invest in Michigan," said Jim Murray, president of A&T Michigan. "This new store for Grand Rapids, and ones like it in neighboring communities, help better connect residents with devices and services they are asking for." Stores hours are usually 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Where AT&T has opened stores in the past 15 months: 550 N. Beacon Blvd., Suite D, Grand Haven, 49417 2160 Anderson Rd. Suite 160, Petoskey, 49770 5457 Gull Road, Suite B, Kalamazoo, 49048 2970 Center Avenue, Essexville, 48732 5570 28th St. SE., Grand Rapids, 49512 8671 W. Grand River Ave., Brighton, 48116 1931 W. Grand River Ave, Okemos, 48864 2140 Metropolitan Parkway, Sterling Heights, 48310 35354 East Michigan Ave., Wayne, 48184 4501 Woodward Ave., Detroit, 48201 1347 W. 8 Mile Rd., Detroit, 48203 6325 Sashabaw Rd Suite I, Clarkson, 48346 1359 Mall Dr., Benton Harbor, 49022 23328 Farmington Rd., Farmington, 48336 3157 Ann Arbor Saline Rd., Ann Arbor, 48103 18845 Traditions Dr., Northville, 48168 3985 Beitner Rd., Traverse City, 49685 615 S Clinton St., Grand Ledge, 48337 15869 W. Michigan Ave., Marshall, 49068 589 Columbia Ave. W. Suite B, Battle Creek, 49015 2323 S I-75 Business Loop, Grayling, 49738 Shandra Martinez covers business and other topics for MLive. Email her or follow her on Twitter @shandramartinez. GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Kansas City-based Commerce Bank announced it will open a commercial banking office at 99 Monroe Ave. NW in downtown Grand Rapids. The new office will be led by West Michigan native Michael Hollander, senior vice president of Commerce Bank, according to a news release issued by Commerce Bank on Tuesday, May 3. The office will not have any retail functions. "We are eager to join the Grand Rapids community and bring our sound legacy and values to an area of like-minded businesses," said Robert Holmes, president and CEO of Commerce Bank's St. Louis market. Hollander, a former executive with Fifth Third Bank in St. Louis, will be joined by Mike Pratt, who will focus on the healthcare industry throughout Michigan and the upper Midwest, and Rob Cutler, senior account executive for Commerce Bank's commercial card portfolio. "Hollander will be responsible for overseeing all commercial banking activities in the region including, but not limited to, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Holland and Traverse City," according to the news release. "The success of Commerce, which continues today under fifth and sixth generation family leadership, has been dependent on this relationship-focused approach to doing business and we look forward to serving the Western Michigan business community in this way," Holmes said. Commerce Bank, a subsidiary of Commerce Bancshares, Inc., is a regional bank holding company serving customers in 191 branch locations in Missouri, Kansas and central Illinois as well as Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Okla. and Denver. The $24.5 billion bank holding company also has commercial banking offices in Dallas, Nashville, Cincinnati and Des Moines. Its two largest markets are St. Louis and Kansas City, which serve as the central hubs for the company. Jim Harger covers business for Mlive Media Group. Email him at jharger@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook or Google+. One day after firing two scouts, the Detroit Lions added former New England Patriots college scouting director Jay Muraco as an area scout. A 19-year scouting veteran, Muraco most recently served as the East Coast scout for the Chicago Bears. He was dismissed from that role last May, as part of the shakeup following the hiring of general manager Ryan Pace. Prior to a two-year stint wit the Bears, Muraco worked four years in Kansas City and nine in New England, where he served as the team's college scouting coordinator from 2000-08. During that period, he would have managed current Lions general manager Bob Quinn, who held various college scouting roles in New England 2004-08. On Monday, the Lions dismissed a pair of regional scouts, Darren Anderson and Chad Henry. Henry, who had been with the Lions for 20 years, most recently served as the teams East Coast scout. Muraco, given his familiarity with the region, would be an obvious fit as a replacement. -- Download the Detroit Lions MLive app for iPhone and Android -- Follow Justin Rogers on Twitter -- Follow MLive Sports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram UPDATE: 7:33 a.m. May 5: Target says there was no contamination at its Ann Arbor store. ANN ARBOR, MI -- Ann Arbor-area grocery stores are investigating potential mouse poisoning contamination after the FBI alleges a man sprayed a liquid on food in three stores. A man is in FBI custody after pouring a a mixture of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, water and Tomcat mouse poison on fresh and prepared food and produce at Whole Foods Market, 990 W. Eisenhower Parkway; Meijer, 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road; and Plum Market; 375 North Maple Road. Now, the FBI is looking at other stores in Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township, Flint, Birch Run and Midland to see if the man had done the same at several grocery stores (see the full list below). The Michigan Department of Agriculture say the man may have poured liquids on food in stores during the past two weeks. Paul Tsai, manager of Tsai Grocery at 3115 Oak Valley Dr. in Ann Arbor, said FBI and Michigan Department of Agriculture officials were at his store Wednesday morning checking over surveillance footage to see if the man had been in the store. "It's going to take a while," Tsai said. "They are doing their due diligence." At Tsai Grocery, he said, 95 percent of food is wrapped and packaged. The only food items unwrapped include roots such as ginger and potatoes, which customers typically wash and/or peel before using, he said. The store doesn't have any prepared foods. Busch's Fresh Food Market at 2240 S. Main St. in Ann Arbor, is conducting an internal investigation and working with state and local officials, said Mort Meisner, a spokesman for Busch's. Plum Market, 375 North Maple Road in Ann Arbor, removed all exposed produce and prepared food including produce, bulk and prepared food bars from both its Ann Arbor locations as a precaution, the company said in a statement. Employees also are cleaning and sanitizing the potentially-affected areas. The store is working with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to investigate the situation. The Michigan Department of Agriculture also named Walmart, 7000 E. Michigan Ave. in Pittsfield Township as a potentially affected store. "We take the safety of our fresh produce and other merchandise very seriously, and are investigating this matter further to help ensure the safety of our produce," said Erica Jones, senior manager of communications for Walmart. "If a customer is unsure about produce purchased from the two stores in question, they may return it for a full refund." Target spokeswoman Erika Winkels stated the company has no confirmation the man contaminated any food at the store at 2000 Waters Road in Ann Arbor. The company is working with law enforcement and other agencies that are investigating the incidents. Whole Foods Market on Eisenhower threw out all food in the salad and hot bars and sanitized the stations after seeing the man in the store, a spokeswoman previously told The Ann Arbor News. The other potentially-impacted stores have not responded to the Ann Arbor News' request for for comment. Health department officials say the liquid is unlikely to cause any health problems, and poison control hasn't seen an increase in illnesses. Anyone who has heath concerns regarding the contamination can contact their healthcare provider or call Michigan Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. See the full list of potentially-affected stores: Whole Foods Market - 990 W. Eisenhower Parkway - Ann Arbor Meijer - 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road - Ann Arbor Plum Market - 375 North Maple Road - Ann Arbor Busch's - 2240 S Main Street - Ann Arbor Cupcake Station - 116 E Liberty - Ann Arbor Family Fare - 2026 North Saginaw - Midland Kroger- 3838 Richfield Road - Flint Meijer, #108 - 7300 Eastman Ave - Midland Meijer, #213 - 9515 Birch Run Rd - Birch Run Millers Mini Mart - 3001 Bay City Rd - Midland Target - 2000 Waters Road - Ann Arbor Tsai Grocery - 3115 Oak Valley Drive - Ann Arbor Walmart - 910 Joe Mann Blvd - Midland Walmart - 7000 E Michigan Ave - Saline Whole Foods - 3135 Washtenaw Ave - Ann Arbor Business reporter Matt Durr contributed to this report. Lindsay Knake is a cops and courts reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Follow her on twitter or contact her at 989-372-2498 or lknake@mlive.com. busch's Busch's representatives say there are no signs from their investigation that show any of their stores were impacted by the suspect accused of spraying mouse poison on food in Michigan grocery stores. (The Ann Arbor News File Photo) ANN ARBOR, MI - As law enforcement continues to investigate the possible contamination of food at several Michigan grocery stores, one local grocer says their stores are safe. John Hunter, the director of marketing for Busch's, said there is no evidence that their stores were affected by the suspect, despite one of the locations being named as a possible target by law enforcement. "We reviewed video very carefully and I can assure you that we were not impacted," Hunter said. Hunter confirmed the suspect was in the Busch's located at 2240 S. Main St. in Ann Arbor on April 2, but there was nothing on surveillance tapes that suggested he contaminated any foods in the store. Thus far, the investigation has shown no signs any other Busch's were impacted by the suspect either. "He was in our store on April 2, but it looks like he was just in there shopping. Never did anything (to products) or poured anything like that (on products)," Hunter said. The company has been working with local and state agencies to determine if the suspect poisoned any products in their stores, Hunter said. "We take food safety and the safety of our guests very seriously and never is that taken lightly," Hunter said. The suspect, who was taken into custody Tuesday, is accused of spraying a mixture of an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, water and Tomcat mouse poison on produce and fresh and prepared food at three Ann Arbor grocery stores. The FBI confirmed the suspect sprayed the mixture at Whole Foods Market, 990 W. Eisenhower Parkway; Meijer, 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road; and Plum Market; 375 North Maple Road. Hunter said Busch's rotates all products used in their fresh and prepared foods areas daily along with performing nightly cleanings and sanitation of the food bars. In a statement sent to The Ann Arbor News, Plum Market confirmed it threw away product at both Ann Arbor stores as a precaution. "Plum Market has proactively removed all exposed produce and prepared foods from its Ann Arbor locations due the investigation involving a suspect using a potentially hazardous material to contaminate food in Ann Arbor area grocery stores," the statement reads. Among the items discarded are: exposed produce, bulk foods, and prepared food items from the Plum Market located at 375 N. Maple Road in Ann Arbor. Similar items were destroyed at the store located at 3601 Plymouth Road as well. "In addition to exposed produce and prepared foods bar products being destroyed, produce, bulk, and prepared food bar areas have been sanitized against potential contaminants," the statement continues. Plum Market is encouraging customers to dispose of any produce, salad bars, olive bars, ready-to-eat hot and cold food items they may have purchased from both Ann Arbor locations areas between mid-March and the end of April. The full list of potentially-affected stores: Whole Foods Market - 990 W. Eisenhower Parkway - Ann Arbor Meijer - 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road - Ann Arbor Plum Market - 375 North Maple Road - Ann Arbor Busch's - 2240 S Main Street - Ann Arbor Cupcake Station - 116 E Liberty - Ann Arbor Family Fare - 2026 North Saginaw - Midland Kroger- 3838 Richfield Road - Flint Meijer, #108 - 7300 Eastman Ave - Midland Meijer, #213 - 9515 Birch Run Rd - Birch Run Millers Mini Mart - 3001 Bay City Rd - Midland Target - 2000 Waters Road - Ann Arbor Tsai Grocery - 3115 Oak Valley Drive - Ann Arbor Walmart - 910 Joe Mann Blvd - Midland Walmart - 7000 E Michigan Ave - Saline Whole Foods - 3135 Washtenaw Ave - Ann Arbor Whole Foods Market on Eisenhower threw out all food in the salad and hot bars and sanitized the stations after seeing the man in the store, a spokeswoman previously told The Ann Arbor News. Representatives of Tsai Grocery and Walmart have also issued statements regarding the possible contamination. Calls placed by The Ann Arbor News to Meijer seeking comment have not been returned. Matt Durr is a business reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mattdurr@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter. DEXTER, MI -- Dexter Community Schools alumnus Ryan Bruder will return to the district as principal of Bates Elementary School, effective July 1. Ryan Bruder Bruder is currently the project-based learning coordinator and lead teacher at Ann Arbor STEAM School at Northside. He spent several years as an elementary teacher and is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University. Dexter's board of education voted Monday to hire Bruder. "Ryan Bruder will be an incredible addition to DCS," said Superintendent Christopher Timmis, in a press release. "His extensive experience, energy, passion for education and dedication to Dexter is evident in every interaction. ... We are fortunate to have Mr. Bruder joining DCS and returning to lead the elementary school that once provided him a high-quality education, Bates Elementary." Bruder will begin on a one-year probationary contract, as is customary for the district, with an annual salary of $88,977. He was selected from a pool of 147 applicants. For the 2015-16 school year, Jess Stevenson acted as interim principal of the elementary school, following the August 2015 resignation of previous principal Tim Authier. "It's great to be back home," Bruder said in a press release. "I look forward to collaborating with staff, students and families to develop, educate and inspire the Bates and DCS community. ... The opportunity to serve as leader of Bates is truly a dream come true." Lauren Slagter covers K-12 education for The Ann Arbor News. Contact her at 734-255-1419, lslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter @LaurenSlagter. YPSILANTI, MI -- The local health department doesn't know of anyone sickened by the mouse poison mixture a man has sprayed on foods at Ann Arbor-area grocery stores. Susan Cerniglia, Washtenaw County Public Health Department spokeswoman, said the department is actively working with state officials and the FBI on the investigation into the incident. The FBI says a man sprayed a mixture of an alcohol-based hand-sanitizer, water and Tomcat mouse poison and contaminated produce in three Ann Arbor grocery stores in the last two weeks. The stores are Whole Foods Market, 990 W. Eisenhower Parkway; Meijer, 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road; and Plum Market; 375 North Maple Road. On Tuesday, May 3, the FBI took the man into custody after receiving tips from the public about his identity. Officials have not yet released his identity. State officials believe he may have sprayed the mixture also at stores in Saginaw and Midland. Cerniglia and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services officials say they don't believe people will become ill. "We're not aware at this point of any illnesses associated with the incident," Cerniglia said. Jennifer Eisner, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services a public information officer, said the department has not seen an increase in its syndromic surveillance system or any increase in reports from poison control in the area. The chemicals are a form of anti-coagulant, similar to those in medicines that have an anti-clotting function, according to state officials. Cerniglia advised anyone who may have eaten salad bar or hot food from those stores to watch for any indication of illness. "Because they were fresh foods impacted, they've probably passed useful consumption time," Cerniglia said. "Hopefully there is no ongoing threat in any way." Anyone who has heath concerns regarding the contamination can contact their healthcare provider or call Michigan Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. See the list of stores potentially-impacted stores: Whole Foods Market - 990 W. Eisenhower Parkway - Ann Arbor Meijer - 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road - Ann Arbor Plum Market - 375 North Maple Road - Ann Arbor Busch's - 2240 S Main Street - Ann Arbor Cupcake Station - 116 E Liberty - Ann Arbor Family Fare - 2026 North Saginaw - Midland Kroger- 3838 Richfield Road - Flint Meijer, #108 - 7300 Eastman Ave - Midland Meijer, #213 - 9515 Birch Run Rd - Birch Run Millers Mini Mart - 3001 Bay City Rd - Midland Target - 2000 Waters Road - Ann Arbor Tsai Grocery - 3115 Oak Valley Drive - Ann Arbor Walmart - 910 Joe Mann Blvd - Midland Walmart - 7000 E Michigan Ave - Saline Whole Foods - 3135 Washtenaw Ave - Ann Arbor Lindsay Knake is a cops and courts reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Follow her on twitter or contact her at 989-372-2498 or lknake@mlive.com. WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- The Washtenaw Intermediate School District special education millage passed Tuesday with support centered in Ann Arbor Public Schools and Dexter Community Schools districts. Precincts in Ann Arbor and Salem townships, the City of Chelsea, parts of the City of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, the City of Saline and the City of Milan also supported the millage, which will raise property taxes by 1.5 mills for the next 10 years. "I'm so proud to be a member of the community where quality education is valued for all students," said Jeanice Swift, superintendent of Ann Arbor Public Schools. "We're just thrilled that this is going to benefit children across the system." Countywide, voter turnout for the special election was 12.1 percent. Ballots tallied at 113 precincts showed 19,180 voters (59.1 percent) supported the millage proposal, and 13,273 voters (40.9 percent) opposed it. Also on Tuesday's ballot, Chelsea School District's sinking fund renewal request passed with 61.7 percent voter support. Live election results: Voters consider school proposals in special election Whether people voted yes or no on the proposal, all Washtenaw County students will benefit from the additional revenue coming in for special education services, said WISD Superintendent Scott Menzel. "That's how the system is set up. The students in every school district are the beneficiaries," Menzel said. "The information was communicated. People had the opportunity to consider whether or not they wanted to support it. We're so grateful for the support of the residents in Washtenaw County." Menzel said he plans to complete a district-by-district review of the election results. A preliminary look at the results shows overall voter turnout was slightly higher (13 percent) when the WISD asked for a simple renewal of the millage in 2011, Menzel said, and the participation rates in each district are similar. The special education millage increase will generate about $22 million a year that has to be spent on special education services. The revenue will compensate local school districts for the combined $24 million they spend annually from their general funds to cover the cost of special education. In all, Washtenaw County schools spend about $121 million a year educating nearly 6,500 students who qualify for special education services. The state and federal government provides $40 million, and the WISD's previous special education millage generated another $57 million. The millage increase lessens the burden on local school districts to cover the cost of special education services at the expense of general education programs. For Dexter Public Schools, that means avoiding a $1.5 million deficit going into the 2016-17 school year. The district expects to receive about $1.3 million from the additional special education levy. Superintendent Chris Timmis said Dexter educators consistently look at the individual needs of special education students and provide services based on that. The millage increase gives them more flexibility in those efforts. "What it means is we're not going to have to cut from our general education programs to do that," Timmis said. "It's just a sign [that] living and raising kids in Washtenaw County is a good place to be. As a county, and our parents, they really do value good education and they know it doesn't happen for free." The special education millage increase will cost the owner of a $300,000 market value house another $225 a year. AAPS will receive about $9.4 million from the special education millage increase, which Swift said will be incorporated into the district's typical budget process this spring. The board of education has established general priorities for spending: programs, employee compensation, building up the district's fund balance and infrastructure upgrades. Ypsilanti Community Schools Superintendent Ben Edmondson also saw the millage's approval as a "decisive indication" of residents' support for the school district, he wrote in a letter to parents. Ypsilanti is slated to receive $2.4 million for special education services from the new millage. "As good stewards of YCS, we will be certain to honor the trust you have in us to operate the district in a sound, fiscally responsible manner," he wrote. Lauren Slagter covers K-12 education for The Ann Arbor News. Contact her at 734-255-1419, lslagter@mlive.com or on Twitter @LaurenSlagter. BAY CITY, MI -- A group that aims to bring a food cooperative to Bay City took an important step forward last month by securing more than 30 members, allowing them to hire a company to develop a market study and business plan for the venture. To date, 35 households have paid a $200 fee to become member-owners of the Bay City Cooperative Market. The co-op board advertised a goal of 30 members by the end of April. It has since put a down payment for a market study Cooperative Development Services (CDS), a Minnesota- and Wisconsin-based consulting company with experience helping communities start new co-ops, said Jessica McQuarter, secretary for the Bay City co-op's board. "CDS is going to help us research properties, obtain all the information on demographics and figure out what kind of co-op our community can support," McQuarter said. "They're going to work with us all the way until the doors open." That includes writing the business plan that the co-op could use to secure a loan from a bank or credit union, and for other fundraising efforts. The challenge going forward, McQuarter said, is convincing people to pay $200 before a brick-and-mortar location has even been selected. Board members have said they understand the reluctance to sign up, but said a base of local support is needed. Those interested can sign up at www.baycityfood.org. The board's next goal is to secure 61 members -- or 26 more to date -- by June 1. "We're committed to this and we're not going to give up," McQuarter said. While a location hasn't been determined, the co-op board wants to see the store located in downtown Bay City. A food co-op is a grocery store owned and controlled by its members. Those members, who pay a fee to join, have a say in what shows up on the shelves and receive benefits, such as discounts on food. The public can purchase groceries from the co-op, just as they would at Kroger or Meijer, but the goal would be to get them to join, to contribute to the growth of the business. As much of the food as possible would come from local farms within an hour of Bay City. Products not grown in Michigan, or not grown during certain seasons, could come from National Coop Grocers, a national, independent distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods that has a strong history of doing business with food co-ops. Members of the Bay City co-op board attended a conference in March to learn about other ways of raising funds for their venture. McQuarter said it could be as traditional as securing loans through a bank, but is more likely going to be a combination of alternative funding methods, including grants and owner loans. "Some co-ops have used the owner loan route, where an owner could invest $1,000 or $2,000, and then get paid back with some interest," McQuarter said. "We plan to secure funding from many different sources." In the coming weeks, the co-op board hopes to form subcommittees focused on accounting, real estate and other aspects of the venture. Those interested in volunteering can email info@baycityfood.org. Food co-ops have exploded across the country in the past decade. Officials estimate 350 to 375 across the country, according to the Food Co-op Initiative. More than 120 communities, including Bay City, are working toward increasing that number. This Account has been suspended. The president of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank plans to visit Myanmar this year to start identifying potential projects, he told The Myanmar Times. The AIIB has not yet begun talks with the new government, but Jin Liqun intends to travel to Myanmar to start investigating initiatives for the bank to work on before the year is out, he said on the sidelines of the annual Asian Development Bank meeting in Frankfurt. Mr Jin said the new development bank, which started operations earlier this year, would identify a batch of potential projects across its member states at its third board meeting in June, but had not yet considered how to balance operations across different countries, regions or sectors. We will process the projects that are ready and bankable, so countries that have those [types of] projects would be the best candidates, he said. But as Myanmar is an AIIB member country the bank also has a duty to help finance infrastructure in Myanmar, Mr Jin said. Even in low-income countries [like Myanmar] I believe we can have profitable, productive infrastructure projects, he said, identifying power and transport as the two most likely sectors for early AIIB involvement in Myanmar. The AIIB signed an MoU with the Asian Development Bank this week, which sets the stage for jointly financing projects, and has already signed a similar agreement with the World Bank. Mr Jin told delegates in Frankfurt this week that the AIIB plans to sign an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development later this month. These agreements will facilitate joint-financing projects in Myanmar, although the AIIB is also searching for solo projects, Mr Jin told The Myanmar Times. If the existing development institutions like the World Bank or ADB have identified a good project and if they want us to be involved we are happy to co-finance, he said. Meanwhile, we are identifying projects on our own, so we hope the government institutions will propose some bankable projects for us to work on. In furthering its economic development Myanmar could also develop a close relationship with China to take advantage of that countrys economic growth, Mr Jin said. China is already Myanmars largest trading partner and one of its biggest investors. But Chinese-led projects, like the Letpadaung copper mine in Sagaing Region and the multi-billion-dollar Myitsone hydropower dam in Kachin State, often attract criticism. On March 29, the last full day in office for the previous government, the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) approved a Chinese-led US$3 billion oil refinery project. Local groups have already voiced resistance. China holds just over 26 percent of the AIIBs shares giving it far more voting power than any other member state. This has led to concerns that the development bank could be a vehicle for furthering Chinese influence across Asia. When asked if existing concerns about Chinese firms and Chinese influence could be an issue for the AIIBs operations in Myanmar, Mr Jin pointed to the banks standards on awarding tenders. We practise internationally competitive bidding [for project tenders], he said. For any AIIB-financed project in Myanmar or any other country Chinese firms can participate but only through an international-standard competitive bidding [process]. Thats the key. The AIIB is still developing some of its policies, including its energy strategy, he said. That strategy will determine whether the bank can fund coal-fired power plants, and if so under what conditions, Mr Jin said. Because of concerns around global warming there are some issues we need to discuss as we move forward, he said. Myanmar only has one coal-fired power plant, located in southern Shan State. This has been out of use for several years, although Chinese firm Wuxi Huagaung Electric Power Engineering plans to restart operations later this month, officials from the Ministry of Electricity and Energy said recently. ADB and World Bank officials told The Myanmar Times earlier this year that they would not fund coal-fired power plants in Myanmar. Unlike the ADB and the World Bank, the AIIB will not offer concessional funding aimed at poverty reduction. But it is building a separate fund that will help improve local institutions, Mr Jin said. Well have a special fund [provided by] China, and maybe some other countries, he said. This can be used to help prepare projects and for institutional capacity building. Im sure it will materalise soon, and of course Myanmar will be eligible. Bakeries will soon be on the rise in Myanmar, as real estate giant Shwe Taung Group has signed a deal to set up and run local outposts of Singapores BreadTalk chain. The agreement between BreadTalk and Shwe Taung Groups Myanmar Bakery Co marks the international firms first foray into the Myanmar market and Shwe Taungs first try at the food and beverage business. BreadTalks first bakery will open in early 2017 in one of Shwe Taungs shopping centres, according to a press release. The local construction-focused conglomerate runs the Junction Centre malls in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw. BreadTalk is far from the only franchise to notice Myanmars blossoming food and beverage sector. The bakery follows pasta, pizza and fried chicken chains that have opened in Yangon in the belief its middle class is blooming. With a growing middle class and rising retail consumption, there are immense growth opportunities for BreadTalk in Myanmar, said Bakery Division CEO Tan Aik Peng in a statement. We are confident that BreadTalk will introduce a new lifestyle of bread appreciation. For now, however, rice wins out as the most popular grain in Myanmar. BreadTalk has spread to nearly 800 locations in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries. Meanwhile, Shwe Taung Group sees a bright future ahead for its food and beverage sector ambitions. We envision ourselves [becoming] a premier food and beverage operator in Myanmar by introducing exciting and trendy concepts in new cafes and restaurants, fast food chains and modern food courts, said deputy managing director Daw Sandar Htun. Factory owners tired of electricity cuts say they will build their own power station in Yangons Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone. Owners say they will cover the construction cost if the government agrees to sell them the gas needed to power the plant. The owners had complained in an April 25 meeting with Yangon Regions new chief minister, U Phyo Min Thein, that an inadequate and unreliable electricity supply was one of the factors holding back further development in the countrys largest industrial zone. Another constraint was bridge tolls, with container companies spending almost as much on getting their containers across the Bayintnaung Bridge as transporting them to Singapore. On April 25, the chief minister announced that he would work with the Union government and the owners of the bridge to lower the toll rates. U Myat Thin Aung, chair of the Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone Administration Committee and of the AA Group of Companies, told The Myanmar Times on April 29 that companies in the zone are paying far too much for electricity, even when it is working. Although there are 663 transformers in the zone, which require about 270 megawatts of power, only about 50MW is available, he said. Most companies have to run their own diesel-powered generators. Every factory has from one to three generators. They are paying about K250-K300 per unit of electricity, he said. Companies in the zone are willing to pay K1 million each to contribute to the construction of a power plant in Hlaing Tharyar that would produce electricity for K120 per unit, and could sell power to the public as well, as soon as the government agrees to sell the natural gas to us. U Myat Thin Aung said the 50MW plant could be built with an investment of US$50 million for the land and the international-standard equipment required. The funds would be put up by local companies, who are also prepared to invest in the power company formed to run the station. If the pilot project is a success, the companies may consider building another plant to meet the energy gap, he said. During the April 25 meeting, U Phyo Min Thein said, A reliable electricity supply is vital for industry. But [our existing supply of] energy from hydropower and natural gas is not enough, and it will be difficult to raise electricity charges. Noting that factories in industrial zones are unable to run efficiently, he said he would negotiate with the countries that buy natural gas from Myanmar, inviting them to invest in industries that produce finished goods, enabling the country to evolve from being just an exporter of raw materials. I welcome all businesspeople to report each and every difficulty to me. We will coordinate and work together transparently, he said. According to the Hlaing Tharyar industrial Zone Administration Committee the zone includes 250 beans and pulses factories, 74 garment factories, 18 fisheries products factories and 14 timber-related factories, together employing more than 200,000 workers. U Phyo Min Thein said, Electricity should be provided by private companies in a competitive market. If they can provide regular, adequate electricity at a low price, we will buy it. This will enable the government not only to collect the tax, but also to help factories increase productivity. He said the 15 gas-powered power plants serving Yangon Region produced electricity at K57 a unit, but were not running at full efficiency because of the quality of the machinery. The public is being charged K35 a unit and factories are paying K75 a unit. Translation by Mee Mee Myint Thu After a Facebook photo essay raised an outcry, the Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda trustee board has come up with a new trash collection plan to replace the old method of simply tossing debris down the mountain. The famous Golden Rock Pagoda in Mon State draws roughly 2 million visitors each year, many of them Buddhist pilgrims from in-country and abroad. The volume of visitors, however, has led to a river of trash flowing down the hillside. Photos of the debris went viral on social media in mid-April, with more than 4500 people sharing the images and blaming the Mon State government and pagoda trustee board for failing to implement a trash collection strategy. In the April 28 Weekend issue, The Myanmar Times ran a story on the conditions, noting that no garbage removal system appeared to be in place. In a recent statement, the Kyaik-htiyo Pagoda trustee board has announced that they are now collecting trash and trucking it down the mountain. Now we are sending all trash to the foot of the hill each day by cooperating with the climbing trucks organisation, said U Saw Hla, general secretary of the Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda trustee board. The state government instructed us to handle the trash more systematically. He said two climbing trucks are dumping the debris near the Kamon Chaung Village at the base of the hill, with plans for implementing a system to burn the trash in the near future. Environmental sustainability is a driving factor in the changes. Nowe we are trying to make the right decisions for our pagoda to be in a stable, long-term situation, he said. We are also drawing up more ideas to solve our trash problem. We will report that project to the state government. See more In Pictures: The trashing of Kyaik Htee Yoe Pagoda Aung Myint Maw is the assistant chief engineer of the population control and cleaning department of YCDC. He told The Myanmar Times yesterday that he has drawn up a first draft for a trash-burning system. His plans would enable the burning of 5 tonnes of garbage per day at the base of the Kyaikhtiyo hillside. He noted that the debris can produce a mineral liquid that destroys soil quality, tree roots and water sanitation. This trash also produces carbon dioxide and methane gas, which can be air pollution that destroys the beauty of the mountain, he said. It is very dangerous from an environmental standpoint. Aung Myint Maw, who holds a PhD in environmental studies, said the most suitable way to handle the issue, for the time being, is to burn the trash in dug-out holes. Mon Halsey, originally Myat Thiri Kyaw, sees art and creative opportunity where others see debris and a trash heap. And in her second-ever solo exhibition, entitled Our Beloved World, Halsey hopes to show that greener living is a moral duty. The main purpose of this exhibition is to spread the message that the earth is what we all have in common, she said. Things we use and throw away daily are harmful to the earth its like we are destroying our own home. The exhibit, which opens May 7 at The Yangon Gallery, will feature five months worth of her work, all of which relates to environmental conservation. She said that recyclable materials are a mainstay in the collection. No surprise there Halsey is also the host of The Green Corner, an MITV program that educates viewers on uses for recycled material. Naturally, arts and crafts are a big part of the programming. But Halsey wasnt always an eco-friendly artist. The art designer and Myanmar Studies teacher at Yangon Academy International School started out as a mere art fan. For years, she said, she has admired artists and enjoyed watching them transform raw materials into shapes and decorations. I used to watch what other people make and then try to make the same thing, she said. Im just applying the concept of what other people have done to decorate around my own home. My friends say that its like a small art museum. After they encouraged her to take the art a step further, she established her own studio in 2012. Mons Arts & Crafts, in 9 Mile, is her art sanctuary, a studio filled with papier mache, art books and an assortment of bottles, card boxes, stones, fabrics and beads. I make things like flowers, vines and trees with paper, for decorating shops or events, she said. Her arts and crafts have been featured at weddings, birthdays and opening ceremonies. All of the products are posted to her Facebook page, a simple advertising scheme that has paid dividends as her work generates more popularity. Most of the customers come to me wanting something different, something new, she said. Ive also done a lot of seasonal decorations for many shops. In her first solo exhibition, last November, she showed some varieties of this type of work, including mixed media art on canvas and a few installations. Looking forward, she said she wants to continue demonstrating the power and value of recyclables, and mentioned visiting orphanages and monastic schools as one avenue for teaching. In her mind, anyone could do what she does. Arts and crafts that I make are not that difficult to create, she said. You just need serious focus, attention and joy. Ignoring the denials and rising tempers of Tatmadaw MPs, the Arakan National Party has proposed bringing victims of the armys forced porter scheme into parliament. During a debate in the upper house yesterday on the ongoing skirmishes in Rakhine State, MP U Khin Maung Latt said he would invite former porters to speak to the hluttaw. What people displaced by the war fear most is being forced to work as porters, U Khin Maung Latt said. Porters have to carry heavy loads of provisions, patients and weapons. The exact number of people being forced to work as porters for the Tatmadaw in the current clashes with the Arakan Army is 20. He added that he has video and audio footage of Rakhine State villagers testifying that they have been forced to work for the Tatmadaw. Those who have been forced to work as porters are now in refugee camps. You can directly ask them there. If parliament wants to hear from them, I can invite them to come here, he said. The latest round of fighting between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw erupted on April 16. The renewed clashes have pushed over 1100 civilians into eight temporary camps, according to figures from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. An Arakan National Party MP initially proposed addressing the clashes in parliament, saying that since the fighting was about the right to self-determination, the clashes would have to be handled on the political floor. Yesterday, five MPs discussed the need to bring the fighting to a halt, and the demand that the Arakan Army be invited in to the peace process. The Arakan Army was excluded from the nationwide ceasefire signed last October, and in January the Tatmadaw pledged it would eliminate the ethnic force. U Khin Maung Latt told parliament that peace can only be achieved in the state when federal rights are obtained and a ceasefire brokered. He pressed for immediate action given that since the beginning of Thingyan the number of IDPs has continued to grow. The numbers keeps getting higher. The civilians lose their cattle, poultry and cultivated farmland, he said, adding that some of the displaced civilians have not been able to reach temporary shelters. The refugees left hiding in the jungle are in trouble as they cannot get foods, medicines and required commodities. The bombings reach near villages. People have to take shelter in schools in safe villages, he said. Rainy season will arrive soon, so they need provisions. Though donors and charities are providing aid, it is not enough for the refugees. The MPs, including military representatives, are slated to continue discussing the clashes today. Translation by Thiri Min Htun Bowing to nationalist pressure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday requested the US embassy in Yangon refrain from using the term Rohingya, according to an official. The move follows increasing dissent from nationalist protesters after the US embassy released a statement expressing condolences for victims of a boat sinking accident who were reported to be Rohingya. Nationalists swarmed the US embassy in an unauthorised march along University Avenue Road on April 28. The nationalist activists and monks, backed by Ma Ba Tha or the Committee to Protect Race and Religion as it is formally called in English demanded the embassy retract the statement and accused the US of interfering with Myanmar affairs. Rohingya are not recognised as among the 135 official ethnic groups and are referred to as Bengalis by those who do not support their right to self-identification. In a statement released on May 2, Ma Ba Tha encouraged people to ignore the US embassy statement, and treat the country as if it had broken diplomatic ties with Myanmar. The term Rohingya is fake and those who use it violate the sovereignty of the state, the statement said. The nationalists planned to stage another, much larger rally outside the embassy on May 5, with a protest column marching in from Ayeyarwady Region. But the organisers said if the Myanmar government denounced the embassy for meddling in identity politics beforehand, the protest could be called off. U Soe Lynn Han, deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday that the US embassy was advised to avoid using the term Rohingya in the future. We told them that the use of the term by the US embassy is not supportive of national reconciliation in Myanmar. They said they have noted the request, he said. The US embassy was not able to confirm the request or provide a statement in response by press time yesterday. Spokesperson for the Presidents Office and the State Counsellor U Zaw Htaw previously told The Myanmar Times that the dispute over the terminology would be handled behind closed doors through diplomatic channels. U Soe Lynn Han said high-level talks were held over the issue, but he did not go into detail about what was said or who was present. He said only that the discussion had clearly produced positive results. When asked whether the new government had an official policy on the use of the word Rohingya and if the official terminology would be distributed to all the embassies, the ministrys deputy director general said he could not comment. I can say only that this [request to the US] was the policy of the minister, U Soe Lynn Han said. The US has repeatedly defended its use of the word Rohingya. In a press conference on the same day as the nationalist protest at the gates of the embassy, the new US ambassador Scot Marciel said it was not a political decision but normal practice to call people what they wish to be called. Asked if he would continue using the term Rohingya, Mr Marciel said, We have used that term before, President Obama has used that term before, but throughout the interview with the press he did not himself use the word Rohingya. US President Barack Obama has repeatedly called on Myanmar to end discrimination against Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine State where many are confined to temporary IDP camps built four years ago. Mr Obama repeatedly used the term Rohingya when he came to Myanmar in 2014, on his second visit to the country. Mr Obama was the first US president to visit Myanmar while in office, and his administration counts the rapprochement of relations with Myanmar as a major foreign policy success. The National League for Democracy has disciplined one of its MPs for making an unauthorised mission to the Wa stronghold of Panghsang where he discussed the peace process with Myanmars most powerful ethnic armed group. Former Tatmadaw officer U Soe Htay who served as a deputy commander in Panghsang led a delegation to meet the United Wa State Army (UWSA) last week. He said he had hoped to use his friendly relations with the groups commander-in-chief for the benefit of the peace process. But the NLD MP had failed to inform the partys central committee about his trip and was reprimanded upon returning. The NLD stripped him of any important duties for a year, including his place on parliaments peace and ethnic affairs committee. U Soe Htay said he accepted the punishment but dismissed rumours that the party had expelled him. I am not dismissed from the party. They will not assign important duties to me for one year. I can appeal, but I wont, U Soe Htay told reporters in parliament yesterday. Lower house Speaker U Win Myint announced that the partys MP U Saw Victor Kalite would replace U Soe Htay, who represents Kawkareik township in Kayin State, on the peace and ethnic affairs committee. Though dismissed from the committee, U Soe Htay said he had travelled to the remote rebel-held area on a fact-finding mission for the peace process and he was still able to report his findings and suggestions to the committee. I have no separate duties for the peace [and ethnic affairs] committee. But I can make suggestions and submit my findings, he said. As U Soe Htay visited the UWSA headquarters, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called for a second Panglong Conference in the spirit of her fathers legacy during a meeting with the Joint Monitoring Committee of the nationwide ceasefire accord. The conference would include groups, such as the UWSA that had refused to sign the controversial agreement. U Than Soe Naing, a political commentator, criticised the disciplining of U Soe Htay. I dont think it is a good decision, he said. As far as I know, the purpose of the trip was based on good sense. They discussed the peace process and building unity in the country. The trip could bring good things for better negotiations between the NLD and the UWSA. So Im wondering why the NLD made the wrong decision. Are they afraid of someone? Im not sure, said U Than Soe Naing. Another political commentator, U Yan Myo Thein, said the NLD trumpeted national reconciliation and efforts to build a federal union but this was belied by the partys actions. He said it appeared the party was talking more about reconciliation with the military rather than with ethnic groups. It is unnecessary to take serious action [against the MP], U Yan Myo Thein said. I think the NLD and parliament are worried about relations with the Tatmadaw. So they dont allow any member to get the Tatmadaw angry. The UWSA, which maintains close ties to China, used the occasion of U Soe Htays visit last week to press its own demands. In an eight-point statement carried by Chinese media, senior Wa official Xiao Ming-liang called on the government to hold a peace conference in which the United Nations and China would participate as witnesses. He also urged the government to set up liaison mechanisms with ethnic armed groups and to amend the constitution. Translation by Khine Thazin Han Information Minister U Pe Myint has pledged to reform the controversial broadcasting law passed by the previous government, according to the Myanmar Media Council. Council secretary U Thiha Saw told The Myanmar Times yesterday that the new minister had promised to hold workshops throughout the year to decide how the law should be changed, suggesting that reform would be a lengthy process. A meeting between the minister and the council on May 2 also discussed how to build a better relationship between the Ministry of Information and media organisations, and how the complaints mechanism between the media and the public should be handled. We should have a better relationship than before with the Ministry of Information, said U Thiha Saw, a former chief editor of The Myanmar Times. Myanmars Broadcasting Media Law was approved by parliament on August 28 last year but accompanying legislation to activate the law has not been implemented. A Broadcasting Council, the focus of criticism of the law, should have been formed within six months. Editors and journalists have complained that the Broadcasting Council lacks independent members as they are to be selected by the president and the two parliamentary speakers. The Council is also answerable to the industry regulator in the shape of the minister for information who has to work with the deputy minister for home affairs and the directors of psychological warfare and public relations under the Ministry of Defence. The law was also criticised for favouring state broadcasters in providing public services, and for limiting cross-media ownership. Under the law a print media organisation cannot hold more than a 30 percent share in a broadcaster. Members of the ruling National League for Democracy have previously pledged that the new government would give all media organisations an equal chance in the industry. Private shipping companies have been profiting from the governments failure to resume ferry operations off southern Rakhine State since the Aung Takon 3 disaster of March 2015, a local MP has charged. Pyithu Hluttaw representative for the Arakan National Party U Ba Shein, an ethnic Rakhine, told parliament yesterday that local residents were being forced to use private vessels at great expense since all three government-operated routes had been closed after the sinking, which killed at least 72 people. Eyewitnesses say the real toll was far larger, as the boat was seriously overcrowded far beyond the official. Despite an outcry at the time, no proper investigation has yet been carried out into the disaster. U Ba Shein said the government ferry had charged fares of K3000 along the Sittwe-Myebon-Kyaukphyu route, but the going rate for a private speedboat was K16,000. As The Myanmar Times recently found while trying to cross on a speedboat from Sittwe to Buthidaung, the journeys are also lengthy, overcrowded and lacking in a safety measures. Again the official manifest was sorely short of the official number of passengers crowded, without tickets, through the only door to the lower deck. U Ba Shein asked whether the delay to restarting the states ferry network was intentional, so that the private companies could make a bigger profit. Responding, Transport Minister U Thant Sin Maung said he could not set a date for the resumption of the government ferry service. Youll just have to be patient, he said. The minister told parliament the government was trying to build new coastal ferries, with 200 million yen (US$1.88 million) worth of Japanese assistance. All our existing fleet is about 20 or 30 years old. We are responsible in the event of an accident, so we want the highest standards of safety, he said, adding that local engineers were working on ship designs. All three lines running coastal ferries off southern Rakhine State, Aung Takon, Alin Yaung and Along Phayar, have been suspended since the sinking of the Aung Takon 3. Other parliamentary questions raised today were from Daw Cho Cho Win, who asked for repairs to be made to the Chindwin River route, and U Pike Ko, who requested information on the public health impact of communications towers. Translation by Khine Thazin Han A bill banning by-elections in the first and last year of a governments term was submitted to parliament by the National League for Democracy yesterday. The NLD is proposing the changes for elections to both houses, as well as the state and regional parliaments. Election laws currently rule that by-elections be held within six months of a seat becoming vacant, but the NLD proposes to change this to a year from when a new government takes office. Seats that become vacant in the last year of the five-year term would not be filled until the next general election, according to the proposal. Seats fall vacant when MPs are appointed to ministerial and other executive positions after a government takes office, as well as when incumbents die or are removed. U Hla Tint, a member of the Union Election Commission, said that holding by-elections in the first and fifth years would be difficult, because the committee would be busy reviewing objections resulting from the general election or preparing the next election in those years. Political commentator U Than Soe Naing said he supported the changes to the law. I am in favour of the decision. The first of the five years is a very busy time. It is better not to have the by-elections in the fifth year, because that would be a waste of time, energy and money, he said. Other observers have criticised the law, saying it would leave possibly hundreds of thousands of voters including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis own constituents without representation in parliament for at least a year. The Bill Committee said it discussed the proposed changes with the Pyidaungsu Hluttaws Legal Affairs and Special Issues Commission, the Pyithu Hluttaw Legal Support Team and the Union Election Commission. Sai Mauk Kham, the former vice- president who now represents Lashio township in parliament, refused to say whether he would support the bill. On the day when MPs debate the bills you will see what our opinion is, he said. MPs who want to submit amendments to the proposal need to register by May 6, after which the bill will be discussed. Additional reporting by Lun Min Mang, translation by Thiri Min Htun Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida pledged his ongoing support for Myanmars development as his government continues its large-scale assistance to the country. Mr Kishida vowed to help with the peace process and national reconciliation during a joint press conference with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who he met for an hour at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday morning. He also pledged Japans aid for the employment, education, agriculture, infrastructure and financial sectors. He said he would further discuss Myanmars needs with the government before taking action. I am very happy about Japans help for Myanmar. I appreciate the kindness of Japans citizens on behalf of Myanmars citizens, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said during the press conference. As the foreign minister arrived in Nay Pyi Taw, the United Nations issued a statement thanking Japan for its US$31.7 million donation to their operations in Myanmar. The funding will be used predominantly to help vulnerable communities in Myanmars Rakhine and Chin states. The donations are going to the Food and Agricultural Organization, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also foreign minister, reportedly requested aid from Japan in February this year. The Japanese government has put aside more than 100 billion yen (US$910 million) in loans and grants as development assistance which it hopes to finalise in June according to the Japan Times. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi visited Japan in 2013 as the chair of the NLD. Yangon City Development Committee is breathing new life into the proposed new city project, a massive extension of Yangon that would create seven satellite cities over the next quarter-century. A city planning official told The Myanmar Times that the committee wants to revamp the project and reorient its priorities to the Northeast sector. Until now, attention has focused on the proposed Southwest New City, across the Hlaing River opposite Ahlone and Kyeemyindaing townships. Though the three companies selected to build the new city were ready to proceed on the basis of approval from the outgoing government, the incoming National League for Democracy government made it clear that it was prepared to cancel the project if it found that residents would not benefit sufficiently. The three companies have been asked to submit detailed plans and the chief minister has suspended the order to confiscate land because compensation details are unclear. Speaking to The Myanmar Times, U Toe Aung, deputy head of the City Planning and Land Administration Department of Yangon City Development Committee, said Northeast New City would be located between the future Hantharwaddy International Airport near Bago city and the Thilawa Special Economic Zone. U Toe Aung said YCDC wanted the regional government to prioritise the Northeastern development, in Hlegu township, over Southwest New City, which had been favoured by the previous administration amid criticisms over lack of transparency. The project priorities were initially outlined in the 2040 Greater Yangon development plan, which foresees the citys population doubling to 10 million by then. The 2040 plan drawn up by the Japan International Cooperation Agency [JICA] calls for Northeastern New City to be developed first. The last government changed that priority, but we will ask the government to change it back, he said. U Toe Aung added that the Northeast project would require no new bridges and had better existing road access than the proposed Southwest New City zone. At his April 25 meeting with industrialists, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein had reiterated that his administration intended to take another look at the city development projects to ensure that they were in line with the 2040 plan. Many projects not related to the JICA plan have been found, so were going to review the project systematically, he told journalists. Northeast new city would cover 17,375 acres of land valued at K491.13 billion and would accommodate about 1 million people. But the previous government allowed some private companies to build factories in the area near No 7 Road in East Dagon township and in Hlegu township near the Yangon-Mandalay road that were not envisaged in the JICA plan. U Toe Aung said YCDC objected to those zones, but without success. They did what they want, he said, referring to the outgoing government. He added that the farmers who owned land in the project area would receive K10 million an acre compensation, in addition to the K5 million he said was paid when the land was confiscated by the military government in 1996. YCDC had already identified possible sites for roads and housing in the proposed new city area. Ma Lit village resident Ko Win Naing said on April 29, We heard three years ago there would be a new city built here, but nobody confirmed it. Were looking forward to it. Translation by Emoon and San Lay Media organisations urged the government to implement a Freedom of Information Act during a World Press Freedom Day ceremony in Yangon. Media representatives emphasised the importance of access to information in a democratic country in an address to Information Minister U Pe Myint yesterday. The new government was soundly criticised for its lack of communication with the media during its first month in office. For not the first time, the National League for Democracy issued a ban preventing MPs from speaking to the media and also closed off parts of the parliament from reporters. U Thiha Saw, chair of the Journalists Association, said that media organisations are still hoping that new government will introduce the Freedom of Information Act which would give any person the right to access government information to develop the media industry. I hope the government will introduce it so that our media will become strong and independent, he said. He added that would be good for the governments image. Media organisations denounced the current media law, which they say they should have been consulted on together with civil society groups. U Zaw Thet Htwe of the Myanmar Journalists Union said that the minister for information needs to address the need for spokespersons from all ministries to fulfil the right to information. The information minister pledged to improve press freedom in his term and said he will work together with the media to develop Myanmars media industry. Every ministry will appoint a spokesperson to make information public. Also, the ministers will hold a press conference if they have something special to announce, he said. I want press freedom because I have also worked in the media industry. Therefore, I will work with my colleagues to develop the media, he added. Reporters Without Borderss 2016 Press Freedom Index ranked Myanmar 143 out of 180 countries, revealing the limits of the reforms and measures taken to improve media freedom and safety. Kenya is about to destroy its entire stockpile of elephant ivory. More than 100 metric tonnes of white gold both illegally harvested (confiscated from poachers or traders) and naturally accruing (from natural mortality) will go up in smoke this weekend. In China where the majority of the worlds ivory is consumed or stockpiled - the recently reported price is US$1100 per kilogram, putting the total value of the material to be burned at roughly $110 million. To most economists, the idea of destroying something with so much value is anathema. But there are good reasons for a country even one as poor as Kenya to surrender its ivory wealth to the flames. For starters, stockpile destruction fortifies the credibility of demand-reduction campaigns in East Asia, without which the poaching problem will never be solved. Demand reduction aims to weaken the market for the product by changing consumer tastes. As prices drop, so does the incentive for poachers to kill elephants. When countries keep their stockpiles, however, they signal that they anticipate being able to sell ivory in the future. This undermines the credibility of demand-reduction efforts. If the trade is likely to be legalised one day, any stigma associated with ivory consumption will be eroded. Proponents of a regulated, legal international ivory trade argue that demand-reduction efforts can co-exist with a limited legitimate supply. But this line of reasoning has a dangerous weakness: It assumes that a legal cartel one proposed model for regulating supply would crowd out illegal suppliers by providing ivory to the market at a lower cost. This assumption is dubious at best. The quantities traded through a legal mechanism would be insufficient to flood the market and suppress the price. Indeed, with legalised trade undermining demand-reduction efforts, the price of ivory is likely to remain high, ensuring that poaching continues. Some southern African countries argue that they should be allowed to sell their ivory in CITES-permitted, one-off sales to fund conservation efforts aimed at maintaining healthy elephant populations. But, aside from the low probability in some countries that the revenue would be directed to that end, it is not clear that much money would be made. Under CITES regulations, governments are permitted to sell only to other governments. But what other governments are willing to pay may be as low as one-tenth of the illicit value. And even then, governments can sell only naturally accrued ivory, not what was confiscated from poachers or illicit dealers. China and the United States are in the process of formulating bans on domestic ivory trade, so it is not clear which governments would be interested in purchasing African stockpiles. Vietnam and Laos are likely candidates, but they are also part of the infamous golden triangle, where illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products continues to thrive. The possibility of the legal ivory trade shifting to poorly regulated markets calls for a concerted international response, spearheaded by African governments through coalitions like the Elephant Protection Initiative, together with countries such as China. Preserving rather than burning stockpiles is the inefficient choice. Maintaining a stockpile is administratively and operationally expensive, and often pointless. Inventory management is labour-intensive and technologically demanding. The ivory also must be air-conditioned to prevent the tusks from cracking or becoming brittle (important factors for attracting higher prices). Given the low probability of being able to sell ivory in the future, the cost of storing and protecting it is unlikely to be recouped. Meanwhile, criminal syndicates need only corrupt a handful of local officials to make off with the goods. Then there are the high opportunity costs of investment in maintaining stockpiles. The scarce human and financial resources allocated toward stockpile management could be more efficiently directed toward landscape preservation efforts, which can become self-sustaining over time through payment for ecosystem service. Finally, burning ivory worth millions of dollars has an undeniable symbolic impact. It sends a clear message: Ivory belongs to elephants and to no one else. And it makes clear that elephants are worth more alive than dead. Indeed, elephants value is anything but symbolic. Elephants are a keystone species for preserving important ecosystems. And yet rampant poaching is destroying elephant populations across Africa, killing, on average, 30,000 a year. Poaching also has a negative impact on communities, benefiting a few at the expense of the many. Recent research has shown that community conservancies (areas set aside for wildlife conservation) in northern Kenya are highly effective forms of landscape and therefore elephant preservation, provided the right incentives are in place. This is important because in countries like Kenya and Tanzania, the majority of wildlife exists outside formally protected areas. Kenya should be commended for making a wise and efficient decision. Its neighbours, as well as countries farther south, should follow its example. Ideally, all range-state countries should destroy their stockpiles to overcome the regional collective action problem. Doing so would send an unmistakable signal to the global market: Ivory is not for sale, not now and not in the future. Project Syndicate Chris Alden is a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a senior researcher with the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA). Ross Harvey is a senior researcher with SAIIA and a PhD student at University of Cape Towns School of Economics. Say the word leader and most people think of confident, take-charge and charismatic individuals or icons such as Nelson Mandela, John F Kennedy and Margaret Thatcher among others. So many books have been written on leadership, but what really makes a leader? Is a leader considered someone with seniority, someone with a position in the hierarchy of a group or someone who carries a title? Can you not be a leader in your workplace, in the community and in your family all without having a title or seniority? Do you need to be charismatic or popular to lead? Do leaders need followers? A true leader in my opinion is someone who does not use power, force or authority to manipulate others, someone who uses social influence for the greater good, someone with integrity, someone who has the natural ability to inspire. Leaders say Do as I do rather than Do as I say because they lead by example. Leaders are willing to hear what others have to say and they are open to feedback and criticism. A leader communicates often that the team is important to him or her. A leader does not control people but inspires them to do great things by delegating, then encourages them to make their own choices, to try things and, yes, allows them to make a few mistakes. Otherwise how else could they improve? I have worked in different Myanmar-related organisations over the years, attended numerous meetings and noticed that there are always people ready to obey, bystanders who will not rock the boat, but very few who would challenge or question the leader. Because of this general behaviour of the majority accommodating, oftentimes the so-called leader of the group or the manager of an organisation gets comfortable being served. This is where trouble begins. During my two years at a diplomatic mission many of my Burmese colleagues would literally drop what they were doing to immediately accommodate the ambassador, fearing that he would be vexed if they refused. A polite suggestion would suffice if you were in the middle of doing something. Additionally during meetings, when given the chance to express matters that concern everyone, many wouldnt. And a few who wished to speak up were often dissuaded by others. As a result, the ambassador and many in his team became comfortable receiving immediate attention while many Burmese, although dissatisfied, continued to tolerate the situation. This scenario also takes place in many government institutions. But, on one occasion during a discussion with a few Western consultants, a deputy minister chided his personnel for not asking questions when he had repeatedly requested them to speak up and warned openly that he would not tolerate receiving queries for clarification later on. The atmosphere changed immediately. Sometimes it is the entourage of a leader who creates the unwarranted behaviour. In 2010, I had escorted a high-ranking German official on his first visit to Myanmar. Every Western official to Myanmar had to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. I had already expected that a translator would not be needed but I was requested by the official to be by his side. Despite my explanation, her entourage sternly and abruptly dismissed me at the doorstep while, with all smiles, they ushered away the German official. She was standing there, just a few steps from the entrance. Unfortunately that was not the only time that I encountered such treatment. It is disappointing to be treated as a second-class citizen in front of your own leader. This double standard is still prevalent in Myanmar despite the so-called time for change. But to be fair, this also takes place in other countries. Sadly it is still the norm in Myanmar that if you are no one, you are often forced or expected to obey and do things without questioning. It is my hope that leaders of our country do not expect us to constantly obey them. We have been asked to cooperate but I hope we will be treated as equals. We would welcome the opportunity to challenge without being reprimanded. Help us become better citizens, promote us to be leaders, because every one of us, I believe is a leader in our own right. Whatever the cause, we should motivate and inspire others around us to achieve their full potential. Khaing Tun is an independent consultant and interpreter in Nay Pyi Taw. Today UNICEF and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) of the Government of South Korea donated a Newborn Care Unit and 75 new motorcycles to support Ghana Health Services. The donation will provide critical newborn care for babies within their first 30 days of life and enable the transportation of health workers during outreach missions in the Northern and Upper East Regions of Ghana. KOICA has partnered with UNICEF and the Government of Ghana for three years to support newborn care, pre-school education, teacher training and HIV awareness in the Upper East Region and Northern Region under the human development lifecycle approach project. Neonatal mortality continues to be a challenge here in Ghana where one new-born dies every fifteen minutes. That means ninety babies every day die within their first month of life and this cannot be acceptable said Susan Namondo Ngongi. Districts in the Upper East and Northern regions are among the most deprived in terms of quality education and the survival of newborns. The program focuses on improving new-born care for babies in their first month of life and improving the quality of education in these districts. The South Korean Ambassador, H.E. Ambassador Lyeo, Woon-Ki, KOICA Country Director, Mr. Woochan Chang and UNICEF Representative Susan Namondo Ngongi met with the Regional Minister of the Upper East Region, Hon. Albert Abongo and Regional Minister of the Northern Region, Hon. Abdallah Abubakari as part of the visit. The delegation also handed over a total of 75 motorcycles to the Ghana Health Services department, 45 for the Northern region and 30 for the Upper East Region. The newborn care unit and motorcycles are part of a $4.5 million package from the Government of South Korea to reduce newborn deaths in the Northern and Upper East Regions. In his remarks, H.E. Ambassador reiterated that through KOICA, the Government of Korea pledges its commitment to strengthen the cooperative ties particularly in the Northern Ghana and to create a platform for a dynamic partnership with other Development Partners. We are happy for the people and mothers in Builsa and beyond for the chances of survival of neonates are improved and they will grow into healthy adolescents and adults. Who knows, one of these neonates benefiting from this new born care unit will one day be the President of Ghana said Dr. Kofi Issah, Regional Health Director- Ghana Health Service, Upper East Region. This donation will strengthen efforts by the Government of Ghana to ensure more children are saved at birth and more communities are reached with vital health services in these regions. We are confident that new-born lives will be saved, thanks to this program, and thanks to the Government of South Korea. Ensuring that Ghana's youngest citizens can survive and thrive is fundamental for a greater future Ghana said Susan Namondo Ngongi, UNICEF Ghana Representative. The elections in Equatorial Guinea, while held in a generally orderly manner and calm atmosphere, were a missed opportunity for the democratisation of the country. The campaign was held without any debate on national issues. There was an inequitable access of candidates to public media and financial resources as well as incidents of harassment against opposition candidates, including an attack carried out by security forces against the headquarters of an opposition party. This environment challenges the conclusions of the national dialogue process held in 2014, notably regarding the aim to facilitate the establishment and work of political parties and to open political space. The confirmation of presidential election results opens the way for President Obiang to serve another term. We note the President's public undertaking that this would be his last term. The Preliminary declaration issued by the African Union Election Observation Mission, which the EU acknowledges, contains important recommendations. They include the need to reinforce political dialogue and consensus building among all stakeholders in the electoral process and the reform of the National Electoral Commission with the objective of making it a permanent, more inclusive, impartial and independent body in accordance with the Constitution. Equatorial Guinea's ratification of the revised Cotonou Agreement would allow comprehensive political relations and full co-operation to match those which the EU enjoys with other African, Caribbean and Pacific states. The Dubai-based airline, Emirates has been adjudged the Best Airline-Foreign Company of the Year at the Business Executive Excellence Awards held at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, Friday. Emirates was selected for the accolade by a committee of experienced entrepreneurs, economists, accomplished corporate strategists and seasoned journalists. We are extremely pleased that Emirates has been honoured with this award. The aviation industry in Ghana has grown competitively over the last few years, and it is, therefore, a source of great pride that Emirates has been recognised in this manner said Hendrik Du Preez, Country Manager of Emirates in Ghana. For the past 12 years, Emirates has been committed to enhancing the travel experience of our valuable customers in Ghana. We look forward to many more years of affording customers the opportunity to explore the world for less and experience Emirates award-winning products and services, he continued. Under the theme Recognizing Resilience and Creativity in Business Operations, the airline has adjudged the award based on amongst others, their managerial ability to drive the business forward in the current challenging operating environment, tangible evidence of commercial success as well as their strong corporate reputation and public image. Emirates, a global connector of people and places, has received more than 600 international awards and accolades for excellence. Emirates flies to 150 destinations in 81 countries across six continents and is the worlds largest airline in available seat kilometres. Operating 250 wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft, including the industry leading aircraft A380. Emirates currently flies daily from Accra to Dubai utilizing the Boeing 777-300ER which offers 8 luxurious First Class seats, 42 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 310 generously-sized Economy Class seats. Derala (Ethiopia) (AFP) - Stuck on a track in eastern Ethiopia, trucks carrying food for the starving are forced to turn back. After one of the worst droughts for decades, the rains have finally arrived, but now only add to the complication of the delivery of food aid. Flash floods have effectively transformed dry dirt tracks into impassable quagmires, adding to the woes of the victims in remote areas, some of whom have received no help for weeks. A year of drought has pushed 10.2 million Ethiopians into dire conditions needing food aid to survive, according to the United Nations. Here in Sitti province, in the far east of the Horn of African nation, times were tough even before the drought. The region is classified as "emergency", according to UN monitors, one step short of famine. In the small village of Derela, cattle herders come from far for aid. Dozens of carcasses of goats and cattle testify to the magnitude of the drought. "All my animals died," said Ali Boor, installed in a makeshift camp with his wife and their seven children. From his 200 cows, only six survived. "Without any help, there was no hope," he said. "We heard that here we could have food and water." Floods and failed rains caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon have sparked a dramatic rise in the number of people going hungry in large parts of Africa, with southern Ethiopia an area of especial concern. - Food and funding gaps - Food insecurity is a sensitive issue in Ethiopia, which enjoys near-double-digit economic growth, but which has struggled to change its image following the famine of 1984-85 which followed an extreme drought. "A drought like this is unheard of," added Mohamed Aden, the leader of the community, a few huts away. In two years, three consecutive seasons of rains were abnormally low, a situation attributed to El Nino. "At the beginning, we sold the livestock to buy food. Without help, we would have only the skin of animals to eat," said Aden. Children receive a bowl of porridge a day at school, and their families get wheat rations distributed by the UN, often irregularly. Despite these efforts, malnutrition has reached grim levels: 350,000 children under five years were treated for severe malnutrition in Ethiopia in 2015, a figure expected to reach 450,000 in 2016, according to the UN children's agency UNICEF. In Malkashek, amidst a vast expanse of desert, the mobile clinic set up by Save the Children is always busy. Aid worker Abd Rahman Adan measures the children to identify the most malnourished. Last month, 136 cases of severe malnutrition were registered in this district alone. "Since the beginning of the drought, we have seen many more cases of malnutrition," said Adan, who hands out packets of super-sweet and specially fortified peanut paste. "Some children regain a normal weight, but others must be sent to a stabilisation centre," he added. - 'Last hope' - Aisha Nour, the mother of a malnourished two-year-old girl leaves with a few packs of food supplements and bags of wheat loaded onto a donkey. "We eat pancakes from sorghum and wheat, that's all, no milk or oil," she said. The rains are making things worse. "Roads are turning into raging rivers and our trucks carrying food assistance are unable to reach many communities," warned the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) aid agency. Weakened without water and food, the lashing cold rains are now killing the livestock that provides for many people their last lifeline. "The rain has led to livestock deaths that in their weakened state are more susceptible to illnesses. For many this was the last hope they had," said Mohamed Hassan, NRC operations chief in the eastern Jigjiga district. Faced with the food crisis, the Ethiopian government has allocated $766 million in emergency aid. Donor countries have also promised aid, but there is still a worrying $600 million shortfall from the $1.4 billion needed. "The Middle East and the migrant crisis has diverted attention from our partners," said Minister for Food Security Mitiku Kassa. Aid agencies are worried too. "Last year, many farmers had little or no harvest," said Save the Children's chief in Ethiopia, John Graham. "There are millions of people who will be increasingly hungry until the next harvest, September at the earliest." Troofe Festival, an event which showcases traditional African cuisine will host some of Africas best chefs at the 5th soup fair slated for Friday 1st July to Saturday 2nd July,2016, at Mmofra park Foundation located at Dzorwulu in Accra. The festival has been remarkably successful over the years in attracting over 1,000 festival goers of different nationalities. For four consecutive years, The Troofe Soup Fair has brought together African and European community in Accra to an exciting African food bazaar. In 2015, Troofe Festival had the participation of the following countries through its culinary contest: Cote dIvoire; Benin; Gabon; Ghana, Togo and Nigeria. In her Address, Edwige Eppromo, Troofe Project Manager, the brain behind the initiative said: We have always been witnessing all kinds of promotions of the African wealth, but there is no platform designed for the real African gastronomy. This is therefore the opportunity for us to value the gastronomic culture mainly based on soups and which is the pride of Africa. This culinary value will make our young girls the women of tomorrow. Africa abounds in a multitude of flavors, our last motivation is the desire to bring together all Africans and all other foreign nationals, longing to meet with brothers in a traditional and friendly musical ambience. The Fair also offers young women from the African continent the opportunity to exhibit their culinary skills in a cooking contest. The Culinary Contests between girls from 19 to 25 years of different nationalities is organized. At the last fair, the Ghanaian candidate Jamilatu Issa emerged top at the contest winning. As her prize took-away, she won a return ticket to Cote dIvoire which was sponsored by Air Ivoire The Troofe village, an exciting attraction of the fair offers the platform for African artists to perform and make participants enjoy the depths of African traditions. Participants are invited to play traditional games such as Oware, Ludo, and Draughts. The fair also creates opportunities for the private and public sectors to get visibility on their brands and achieve their strategic communication goals. Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia 04.05.2016 LISTEN Dear Manasseh Azure Awuni: Re: A Letter to Suicidal Bawumia I will keep it shorter. I will neither call you names nor describe you with adjectives. I want to know what you think is the reason why political parties lately (in the Fourth Republic Ghana) choose Southern-Northern tickets. I think it's for FAIR REPRESENTATION, because Ghana is mainly divided into South and North. Another common and visible demographics however are Youth and Aged, Christianity and Islam, and Male and Female. It is noteworthy to state that political parties must consider these demographics when selecting a Presidential ticket that will be balanced and represent fairly the entire country. Again, imperative to mention is the fact that Dr. Bawumia's comment is rather advocating for the all-inclusive government we have so been yearning for as a people of Ghana. All-inclusiveness should not be confused to mean that all the political divides are considered for the formulation of governments. It stretches further to imply that the government should picture the demography of Ghana. Every sector of this country must feel well represented! Interestingly, government and NDC communicators have both written and spoken against Dr. Bawumia; some claiming his statement is not factual. Take Kofi Adams and Dr. Clement Apaak as examples. They either did not understand the line, intent and context of the admonition; or deliberately twisted and shed the facts for propaganda expediency. The intent and context of the statement was limited and restricted to the Presidency (President and Vice-President) and not the government apparatus in its entirety. It is improper and unfair to compare the statement of Dr. Bawumia with any of those espoused by Dzifa Attivor, Fiifi Kwetey or President Mahama, separately and jointly. The one made by Dr. Bawumia sought to advocate for all-inclusiveness or integration. In contrast, the rest made by the NDC bigwigs were divisive or advocated exclusion. Unfortunately, I noted in your article on Dzifa Attivor's ethnocentric comment loads of facts according to you that sought to justify the NDC's view of NPP as Akan party. But it remains your opinion and forever your entitlement. Unless we are going to conclude that any statement by a politician that makes mention of religion or ethnicity must be condemned to ethnocentrism or divisive, Dr. Bawumia said nothing out of order. I pray that you open your heart and mind to the facts of the matter. It is my fervent prayer, again, that you understand my letter in the same context of my best intentions to shed more light and enlighten the discussion. I implore you and other discussants to limit the matter to the merits and demerits. Thank you in advance. Best regards, Mohammed A. Razak Wumpini (NPP Activist and Citizen of Ghana) Like all market economies, the Ghanaian economy needs competition law and policy to ensure a proper functioning of the market in the interest of consumers and producers. It is thus of legitimate public policy interest to ascertain the health of competition law and policy in Ghana and West Africa, at both the national and sub-regional levels including the interactions between the national and regional policy process on this issue, said Justice Samuel Kofi Date-Bah, Board Chair of CUTS. Justice Samuel Kofi Date-Bah was speaking at a Capacity Building Workshop for High Court and Appeal Court Judges in Accra, Ghana. He emphasised the importance of a Competition law and Policy in Ghanas development agenda. He added that the Protection against Unfair Competition Act 2000 (Act 589) does not regulate anti-competitive behaviour that generate a significant social cost, including loss of efficiency and innovation in the economy as well as higher prices passed onto consumers, hence the urgent need for a more comprehensive competition law. The facilitator for the workshop Pradeep S. Mehta, the Secretary General for CUTS International said as a key ingredient for an inclusive growth, Ghana requires a robust competition law to regulate the market to ensure a win-win for both consumers and producers in the country. Competition in the market would result in easing market entry and exit, promote innovation and increased investment possibilities for the Ghanaian economy. Mr. Pradeep Mehta said competition is not an automatic process and it needs to be nurtured. It is essential for government to put in place a functional competition policy and law. Competition policy, refers to governments commitment to promote competition across all the sectors of the economy, while Competition Law seeks to curb anti-competitive practices and enforce the competition in the market. In illustrating the benefits of competition, Mr. Mehta said the consumers and producers benefit from when competition is present in a sector. He praised the competitive nature of the telecommunication sector. He illustrated how competition and liberalization in the telecom sector has reduced the cost of making phone calls in the country and created jobs for many people. He said though Ghana is yet to have a Competition Law in place, but it was important for judges and justices to be abreast with an emerging discipline in Law. He emphasized the important role that the judiciary plays in the promotion of competition in developing countries. Justice Dennis Adjei, the Director, Judicial Training Centre and an Appeal Court Judge on his part said competition law is an important dimension to Ghanas socio-economic development agenda, and the fact that policy makers have realized this gap in itself is an indicative of the innumerable benefits that such a regime would bring to both consumers and producers. Mr. Vincent Emmanuel, Partner at [email protected] in his closing remarks lauded CUTS for taking the initiative to organize the workshop for the members of the judiciary. He reiterated the need for a competition law in the country and most importantly, the need to adequately train judges who would ultimately be interpreting the Law when it becomes operational. Mr. Appiah Kusi Adomako, the Centre Coordinator for CUTS in his closing remarks stated that an enactment of a National Competition Law will infuse a level playing field in key markets and enhance the predictability and certainty in markets, thereby stimulating entrepreneurship and economic growth. He added that CUTS would be interested in becoming a knowledge partner with the Judiciary when it comes to Competition Law. The workshop which took place at the Judicial Training Institute was well attended by judges from High Court and Appeal Courts from Ghanas judicial service. The event took place under the aegis of the CREW Project with support from the DFID and GIZ. The CREW Project is being implemented in four countries namely, Ghana, Zambia, India and the Philippines with the focal research sectors being the staple food and the bus transport sector. The CREW Project aims to develop an approach, which will help in assessing the benefits of competition reforms on consumers and producers in these two sectors. 04.05.2016 LISTEN I must applaud the management of AdomTV for the nice, interactive as well as edutainment programmes shown on their platform, most especially Kumkum Bhagya which has caught the attention of many Ghanaians as they are glued to their seats between the hours of 7:30pm to 9:00pm every working day, which seeks to straighten the relationship lives of people, marriage couples and those planning to marry as well as bringing family together. It's a good innitiative, which I know most people will agree with me. However, Kumkum Bhagya seems to cause more harm than good, I must confess. As mentioned earlier, the primary aim of Kumkum Bhagya is shown on T.V. to help married and would-be couples. But "kids" are now attratcted and committed to this programme more than their books, and I wonder if these "kids" are "Marriage Counsellors". A week ago, I asked a primary three student what she studied in school. This young girl fumbled and couldn't tell me exactly, what she learnt in school. Amazingly, this young girl narrated to me what happened previously on Kumkum Bhagya from A-Z and I was shocked. Majority of school "kids" are now lazy to read their books and it's affecting their academic performance in school all because of Kumkum Bhagya. 7:00pm - 9:30pm is a good time for "kids" to watch evening news and educative programmes, get to know what is happening in and around the world, and remain updated. But the introduction of Kumkum Bhagya on TV is making "our future" leaders lose interest reading, watching educational programmes and news bulletin(s) on TV is now a taboo for them. They are now committed to Kumkum Bhagya than their books, ignore their assignments and later sleep during classes hour(s) the next following day. Interestingly, some students in this country don't know the names of our Ministers of States, not even the name of the name of our current Education Minister nor the President of Ghana but they can easily identify the names of all the Characters in Kukum Bhagya. Moreover, some scenes in Kumkum Bhagya which are not meant for children will be shown in full glare for them. And the possibility of them adopting these bad lifestyles such as excessive drinking, insults, etc from this programme is very high. Are they learning the right thing on Television? It's awful and also surpising to see boarding students in some of our various senior high schools in this country, most especially the female students scaling the fence and dodging to town just to catch a glimpse of Kumkum Bhagya. Yes! You have the absolute right to say "Its their life" but let's not forget that, the introduction of Kumkum Bhagya has caused this canker. In addition, most vibrant Christians have stopped going to church and evening prayers all because of Kumkum Bhagya. They've stopped attending evening prayers because, the time in which Kumkum Bhagya starts isn't favoring them to go and listen to the word of God or to pray. Some Pastors are also lazy to engage and teach their members because they won't come for them to leave in the middle of the service to watch Kumkum Bhagya. Lots of churhes are collapsing these days and Pastors are afraid to complain, for fear of losing members. Others now resort to changing meeting days and time just to enable church members and prayer "warriors" watch Kumkum to their satisfaction. Kindly conduct an "inquisitive checks" to Churches and prayer grounds between the hours of 7:30pm - 9:30pm (Mon - Fri), 12:30pm - 4:00pm on Sundays and you'll only find "Old men and women" worshipping and praising God, whiles those who are active with "strong bones" won't be found. It's either they won't go to church or they'll "vanish" immediately 7:30pm clocks. You will quiz "How does it concern me?" Well, people are going wayward and you don't care? Come On! This development isn't the best and should be curbed. The youth will murmur when they're being asked to sing church hymns or tasked to give bible quotations during service. But, these same people won't find it difficult singing the theme song of Kumkum Bhagya neither will it be difficult for them to form Love quotes from the Telenovela. Wow! Sadly, some parents encourage and even call their children to come and sit when Kumkum Bhagya starts. Others will turn their wards into narrators incase they are not readily available to watch Kumkum Bhagya. As a parent, do you expect your brilliant kid(s) to study after school or complete and submit his/her assignment the next day when Kumkum Bhagya is ongoing? Certainly No! You are rather destroying the future. These parents will blame the devil when their children fail. Why blame the devil? When your actions and inactions caused it? I will also urge Parents to discourage their wards from watching Kumkum Bhagya and encourage them to read their books. Alternatively, channels can be passworded to discourage "kids" from watching programmes which are meant for the adults. "Kumkum" has also compelled some workers to be extra lazy at work. Do you doubt me? Ok! Find time, visit any office or work place and you'll see majority of workers, especially the young ladies wasting their precious time disscussing "Kumkum Bhagya", ignoring tasks' assigned to them. And when they lose their job or being fired from their post, "the old men and women in their family are always in trouble." Some Teachers are fond of disscussing the episodes of Kumkum Bhagya wiith their students during classes hours. Teachers doing that should please put a stop to it. It won't help but "kill" the zeal and spirit of our future leaders to sit and read. In summation, I'm not saying the management of AdomTV to stop showing Kumkum Bhagya neither should it be banned from the screens since it has helped a lot of people especially those who are married . However, "we" will be glad should there be a change of time in showing this popular T.V. series. This will prevent christians from dodging church activities and also help students to find ample time and learn, so as to perform well in Class and during Exams. There is always time for everything. Thank You. Nambe Patrick - Sunyani B/A. File Photo 04.05.2016 LISTEN We leaders and members of the 13th parliament of the University of Ghana Parliament House (UGPH) are flabbergasted and highly astonished to learn of the unfortunate actions of some students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology who publicly screened a sex video of an alleged level 100 student at the "Independence Hall" of KNUST. We want to condemn in no uncertain terms this shameful act. Such awful actions are objectionably disgraceful and must not be given solace at any level of human existence. It is disgusting and ignominious to our educational system and we must fiercely object to such irresponsible acts of the notorious few, who are bent on bringing down the hard carved reputation of our educational system. We entreat the University's authorities to as a matter of urgency liaise with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service to probe into the matter and let the perpetrators of such uncouth behaviour face the full rigours of the laws to bring sanity, respect and also serve as deterrence to others with similar intents. We want to use this opportunity to also admonish the youth of this country especially students in the tertiary institutions to stay away from deeds that bring shame to themselves, their family and the nation at large. If Ghana will succeed it depends on the actions or inactions of its youth. If we chose the right actions, we will not only hoist high the flag of Ghana our motherland but also cause a renaissance that we will be proud of in our old age. Signed: Rt. Hon. Manuel Annobil Speaker - 0279411471 Hon. Richard Anim Kwasi Majority Leader - 0244893767 Hon. Elijah Bonsu Turkson Minority Leader - 0243343596 UGPH - DEMOCRACY FROM BELOW! Guwahati: Senior journalist of northeast India and a member of Guwahati Press Club, Naba Sarma (79) passed away on 3 May 2016. Sarma, who worked both in regional and national media outlets, breathed his last at Gauhati Medical College Hospital on Tuesday morning after a massive heart attack. He left behind his wife Anima Sarma, only daughter Karishma Sarma and a granddaughter. A resident of Guwahati, Sarma hailed from Dibrugarh of eastern Assam. He started his journalistic career from Dainik Asom of Assam Tribune group of publications and later worked with Janambhoomi group, Economic Times, Hindu Business Line with few others. He was also involved with All India Radio as a news reader theatre artiste in radio dramas. Soon after his demise, Sarma was taken to his residence for necessary rituals. His body was also taken to All India Radio Guwahati, The Assam Tribune and Guwahati Press Club, where his former colleagues, fellow journalists and Assam students union leaders paid last tributes before his cremation in the city. Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi also expressed his profound grief at Sarmas sudden demise. 04.05.2016 LISTEN Recent reports from both local and international media have highlighted strains between a small atheist group, Atheists in Kenya (AIK) and mainly christian religious organisations in the country. These reports have focused mainly on the controversies surrounding the efforts of the group to gain local recognition and be registered under the Kenyan law. This move has elicited opposition from religious organisations and state officials. In this piece, I argue that these controversies, though understandable, are completely unnecessary and unhelpful to the nation of Kenya. The hostile reactions that the registration of AIK has generated are clear indicators of intolerance, fear and fanaticism. This is highly unexpected of a democratic Kenya that claims to uphold the rights and freedoms of its citizens. So what then could have been the reason behind the hateful and discriminatory attitudes against atheists in this country? There has been tension in the country after an unsuccessful attempt by the AIK to get the government to cancel a public holiday and a day of prayer which it declared during the papal visit to Kenya in November last year. Harrison Mumia, the leader of the group, argued in court that to observe such a holiday was unfair, contemptuous of the constitution and discriminatory because it violated provisions in article 8, 9 and 32 of the Kenyan constitution. Some segments of the Kenyan press have described the demand as ludicrous, disrespectful (of the Pope) narrow-minded and a publicity stunt. In the suit that was filed at the court, Mumia argued that not all Kenyans were catholic and thus the entire population should not be compelled to observe a public holiday and a day of prayer in honour of the visit of the head of the Catholic Church. What is wrong in filing such an action? Is this not an issue that the Kenyan court and the public should have critically considered without casting aspersions on the atheist group? Considering that the Kenyan constitution guarantees equality of all Kenyans before the law, and the fact that no Kenyans should be discriminated against on grounds of religion or belief. This could be interpreted to mean that Kenya should observe a public holiday when all heads of theistic or non theistic groups are visiting or observe no such public holidays at all. If the government of Kenya does not observe a national holiday and a day of prayer in honour of such visits, does that not amount to discrimination? What is wrong in opposing the observance of such a holiday on grounds of discrimination against atheists and other faith/belief minorities? Does opposing the observance of a public holiday in honour of the Popes visit discriminate only against atheists? Is it not an endorsement of religious privilege? Is privileging a religion not against the nations secular constitution? What is wrong in seeking to address this conflict in the court of law? Well the Pope visited and the public holiday was observed. However, the move that the atheist group made left a bitter taste in the mouths of many 'faithful' Kenyans. Similar hostile reactions were accorded the atheist group when they demanded that the teaching of Christian and Islamic religious education in schools be scrapped. To put it in proper perspective, the group is actually demanding for an end to religious indoctrination in schools because that is what these subjects, as currently taught in schools across Kenya, are about. AIK is not opposed to informing pupils about religion, about the social and historical facts but they are against coercing children to accept religious myths and dogmas as facts under the guise of Christian or Islamic religious education. The nation of Kenya is today suffering as a result of religious indoctrination of youths. Jihadist members of al Shabaab are products of Islamic indoctrination. They pose serious danger to peace, security and development in Kenya. Al Shabaab militants have attacked the country several times and killed many of its citizens. If there is one country in Africa that should seriously consider this proposal to revise religious education in schools, it is Kenya. Thus this proposal is not merely for the good of atheism. It is for the benefit of all Kenyans. The atheist group has also questioned the practice of praying for patients at state hospitals. Lets face it. Prayer has been proven to have no medical value and given the assumed mechanics of prayers, people who conduct them do not really need to be physically present at the premises of state hospitals to let people know that they are really doing something that could enhance the recovery of patients. AIK is demanding that education and religious indoctrination, prayers and evidence-based medicine be kept separate. Are these not legitimate demands? Unfortunately, certain groups of people in Kenya have observed that by making these demands, AIK was overstepping its constitutional boundaries. However, Kenya is a free and democratic society. Isnt it? The constitution guarantees freedom of thought and expression of its citizens. Thus the AIK has not violated the provisions of the constitutions in any way. In fact by making these thoughtful demands, the members of this group are actually exercising their constitutional rights. Furthermore, the atheist groups effort to register the body has attracted heated debates. To operate as a legal entity, AIK has to register with the relevant authorities. However, this did not augur well with the authorities, at first. They refused the application on the ground that incorporating the group would undermine 'peace' and 'good order' in the society. AIK protested the decision and the authorities eventually issued AIK a certificate of incorporation. However, many Christian evangelical groups and religious believers in the country have received this news of the registration with mixed reactions. There have been several calls for de-registration of the AIK. One of the Christian clerics, Bishop Margaret Wanjiru described the registration as unconstitutional. She based her opposition on the notion that the constitution of Kenya acknowledged the existence of the sovereign God and the atheists did not. In the same vein, the Vice Chair of the Kenyan National Congress of Pentecostal Ministries, Stephen Ndichu, described the registration of AIK as abominable. He stated that it was foolhardy to act as if there was no God and worse still to try and 'validate that theory by registering an association'. Also, some Kenyans have equated the registration of the AIK to licensing devils worship . Many religious believers in the country entertain this absurd notion that atheists are Satanists and devil worshippers. They have forgotten that atheists do not see any evidence for the existence of a god or the existence of the devil. For atheists, both god and satan are figments of human imagination. Put simply, there is no devil for atheists to worship. Thus it is evident that the opposition to the registration of the AIK is baseless and misinformed. Hence, it was surprising to read that following the complaints from the religious and theistic public in Kenya, the authorities have suspended the registration of the AIK . The attorney general said that the nations Supreme Court would determine the legality of the registration of AIK. As a religiously plural society it is imperative that the state of Kenya remains secular and not biased for or against those who believe in god and those who do not. The state of Kenya exists for all citizens and should treat all citizens equally and fairly whether they are theists or atheists. Atheists are human beings and the rights of atheists are human rights. One of the hallmarks of a state that is committed to secularism is the recognition and respect of the full human rights of atheists and non-believers and that includes protecting their rights to association, conscience and expression. I therefore urge the government of Kenya not to bow to this campaign of blackmail and pressure from those who endorse the discrimination against atheists because their holy scriptures and traditions say so. Opposition to the registration of AIK is informed by creedal insecurity and fanaticism of those who, for no just cause or reason, are afraid of atheists and atheism. The government should not allow itself to be used to legitimize religious intolerance, fear and hatred of atheists in Kenya. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong 04.05.2016 LISTEN New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament for Assin Central Kennedy Agyapong has endorsed the alleged assault of colleague MP for Manhyia North in Kumasi, Collins Owusu Amankwah by the Regional Chairman of the party Bernard Antwi Boasiako. It is good he [MP] has been beaten, he deserves it, he even deserves more slaps, Mr. Agyapong said in an interview on Asempa FM Tuesday. According to Mr. Agyapong, Owusu Amankwah is working against the flagbearer of the party Nana Akufo-Addo, refusing to contribute financially to the cause of the NPP and therefore deserves more beatings. Mr. Agyapong commended Antwi Boasiako popularly known Chairman Wontumi for disciplining the lawmaker, adding that the party needs people of Wontumis caliber. Chairman Wontumi reportedly attacked the MP and his constituency secretary, whilst monitoring the ongoing limited voter registration exercise. The MP later reported the matter to the police at Tafo Pankrono. Subsequently, the Ashanti Regional Police Command issued a warrant for Wontumis arrest to assist in investigations. Chairman Wontumi on Tuesday reported himself to the police but was later detained forcing party supporters to besiege the Police station demanding the Chairmans release. He is likely to be arraigned before court Wednesday to be charged for assault of a public officer. But according to Mr. Agyapong, Chairman Wontumi is only being detained based on the orders of the President John Dramani Mahama. He alleged that the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) was using some NPP members including the Manhyia North MP to foment trouble within the NPP. 04.05.2016 LISTEN It is time Africans identified the difference between market seeking industries and intrinsic industrialization. When international food, beverage, motor vehicle and information technology companies set foot on African soil, they do so to access domestic markets. Such initiatives do not necessarily lead to industrialization. To industrialize, Africa must invest in growing its own productivity character, a form of African capitalism. Productivity character requires that Africans patiently study what drives Western and Asiatic industrial powerhouses such as Japan and China. What type of individual and societal habits do these industrial centers exhibit? The Japanese are nurtured to focus on personal reflection and how one connects to the entire society. Amongst the Chinese, man is at the center of all things as long as he is balanced with the universe. The West is driven by the notion of the original sin that prompts man to seek to redeem oneself. Sub-Saharan Africa exhibits a strong sense of extractive entitlement to ethnic and extended family networks. The safety or security provided in ethnicity blunts the thirst of individuals to surface innovation and industry. Safety in extractive entitlement is analogous celebrating the ownership of a big piece of family land but waiting for someone else to develop it. Progress is slow for those who merely celebrate ownership of physical, human and intellectual resources and stop at that. Can the attitude of the continents urbanized folks who are always quick to transform challenges to opportunities evolve African capitalism? It is easier to blame thriving industrial centers that thwart the ability of others to surface in order to protect their domestic producers. Africa has no excuse but learn from China, Japan and other Asian Tigers that have successfully navigated Western roadblocks to industrialize. The continent should adopt the urbanized mindset and forge carefully calculated steps that will lead to rapid modernization by studying the systems of successful economies. This quest should urgently replace the political electoral cycle that is driven by short term focus. Long term strategies should exploit the current dominance by Anglo-American industrial initiatives and the USD $ 10 billion China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation Fund. The West and Asiatic characteristics will not by themselves set Africans on the path of industrialization. Africas industrialization dream is held back internally by the lack of a competitive African character. Imagine if the continents 1.2 billion people reversed their sense of extractive entitlement to the over 2,000 ethnic groups and encouraged individual productive obligation to the numerous challenges facing thousands of ethnic groups! The continent would become a bubble chamber of innovations that address ethnic and by extension global challenges. Intrinsic industrialization requires deliberate and proactive steps to put the African at the center of problem solving. It entails getting rid of the prevalent notion of externalizing all African problems. Collaboration with successful industrialized centers has to be about borrowing tools that will enable Africans fix their problems but not about transfer of industrial units. Transfer of whole industrial units to Africa devoid of growing an African industrial character is likely to breed monuments of failure in the long run. One can transplant industries to Africa but not industrialization. The responsibility is on Africans to build a unique character that can effectively compete globally. Such a character must address the coziness the continent has with benevolence. Individual Africans obligation to society should be to offer solutions to challenges rather than simply seeking security in ethnicity. The continents industrialization remains a mirage as long Africans are suffocated by extractive entitlement to ethnic coalitions and external fixers. The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako has been granted bail after he was detained overnight by the Police. The Asokwa District Magistrate court granted him bail in the sum of 20,000cedis with two sureties. The judge Owusu Korkor adjourned proceedings to June 1, 2016. Egbert Faibille acting as counsel for embattled NPP Ashanti regional chairman, Bernard Antwi Bosiako had asked for two-week period to settle out of court a case of assault. He says the alleged assault by the NPP regional chairman against an MP is a family matter. It can be resolved in the interest of the opposition NPP. Mr. Boasiako popularly referred to as 'Chairman Wontumi' was hailed by party supporters who had camped at the police station after he was detained Tuesday afternoon. Mr Antwi-Boasiako allegedly slapped MP for Manhyia North, Collins Owusu Amankwah, and constituency secretary Felix Ibrahim at a polling center during a during the limited voter registration exercise, Sunday. Mr Boasiako reported at the Central Police Station in Kumasi, Tuesday after being declared wanted. Some supporters of the NPP besieged the Central Police Station to protest his detention hours after he reported. They considered it a simple assault which should be handled by party executives and not the police. But Mr Boasiako who is also known as "Chairman Wuntumi was charged with assaulting a public officer and was set to be arraigned before a court Wednesday. 04.05.2016 LISTEN From the hard work and creativity of a Ghanaian, a powerful Social Media Network - www.kalahsocial.com has been born. A visit to this platform depicts www.kalahsocial.com as the first Social Media Website with a focus on promoting Socialization and Businesses within the Black and Minority groups around the globe. A platform giving individuals the avenue to invite friends, post views and comments, make unlimited video and audio calls, Instant chat and organize events. Individuals and Businesses can also upload their items and products and sell them online for free and much more. A tour to this Social Media Network will make one very happy. Going further, Kalahsocial is designed for everyone. WHY JOIN KALAHSOCIAL? I believe the question above just flashed through your mind. There are loads of reasons to be part of the Biggest Platform. Kindly check it out below FREE UNLIMITED VOICE AND VIDEO CALLS Kalahsocial is a platform to enjoy free Voice calls and also experience quality video calls with friends, family, co workers and more. INSTANT MESSAGING : Kalahsocial provides a quick and easy way to interact with others. No matter the location, one can send and receive messages instantly. Messages are always safe and secured on the platform. UNLIMITED PHOTOS AND UPDATES : Logging on to kalahsocial helps you to share memorable stories with friends. Adding a location, uploading UNLIMITED photos and creating unlimited albums, sharing and posting comments on all updates and more is absolutely perfect. FREE ADVERT AND PROMO I have realized that, Kalahsocial allows Companies, Musicians, Actors/Actresses, Media Platforms, Celebrities and much more an opportunity to connect with their fans and clients, advertise and promote their works online for free. SHARE COLLABORATIVE DOCUMENTS AND FILES: Kalahsocial enables its users to share important documents and PDF files with friends. Once a document is been sent to a receiver on Kalahsocial, the receiver can print it out. Sharing files on Kalahsocial is fast and very simple. A MULTI LANGUAGE PLATFORM : Users can also connect with people in a language they find it much more easier to use and understand. ONLINE SHOPPING : Individuals and Businesses can also upload their items and products and sell them online for free. BROWSE UNLIMITED JOBS : Individuals and businesses can also list their jobs online for free. Kalasocial provides people with an amazing platform to seek companies searching for workers and much more.. Confidently, I confirm that www.kalahsocial.com is one of the powerful Social Media Websites in the world. Dont just read, but Lets tell the World about KALAHSOCIAL introduced by our own Hardworking Ghanaian. IN SUMMATION Connect with Friends, Family, Class mates, CoWorkers, and Business associates on KALAHSOCIAL - The biggest Social Media Network made for everyone. . Chat with friends and Family . Send Instant Messages (IMs) . Make free video and audio calls . Browse unlimited updates . Upload and browse unlimited photos . Upload and send videos and movies . Create chatrooms . Create and join groups and events . Create unlimited photo albums . Create articles and blogs . Send files in any format to friends and family . Share collaborative documents on KALAHSOCIAL . Access and expand your community directory . Advertise and promote business for free. . Advertise and promote products for sale . Advertise properties for sale or rent .... and much more. I urge all DJs, Radio And Tv Presenters, Bloggers, Media Houses, Celebrities, those in High Offices and anyone reading this post to get connected on www.kalahsocial.com , share activities and updates and also invite friends and family as well. www.kalahsocial.com SIGN UP NOW ITS FREE Lets support and use our own innovative and #Kalahful Ghanaian Social Media Network as well Long Live Ghana Nambe Patrick - Sunyani B/A (0508160521/0245875125) The UK Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Rt. Hon Matt Hancock, is visiting South Africa where he attended the British Council Going Global event, an open forum for education world leaders to debate international higher and further education issues and challenges, at which the Minister delivered a keynote speech in conjunction with Dr Blade Nzimande, South African Minister for Higher Education and Training see attached press release on the opening plenary session of Going Global. Mr Hancock will also attend the Open Government Partnership (OGP) steering committee meeting hosted by the South African Government as Chair of the OGP. At Going Global, Mr Hancock highlighted UK contributions to collaboration and innovation in international education, speaking about the UK's commitment to globally enhance the reach and quality of higher education for all. At the OGP meeting, Mr Hancock joined Ministers from other countries to discuss their commitment to making governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. The UK is a world leader on open data, recently being ranked first in the world on the World Wide Web Foundation's Open Data Barometer. The UK government is committed to being the most open and transparent government in history - remaining at the forefront of a global transparency revolution that is changing governments for the better. The UK recently surpassed 27,000 datasets of published data on data.gov.uk. The UK was the first country to commit to a publicly available register of information about the real owners of companies and is a Lead Steward for the International Open Data Charter. This builds on the G8 Open Data Charter, with principles that for the release of open data that all governments can adopt. We are now working with civil society on the UK's third Open Government Action Plan to take our transparency plans even further. The UK will host an international Anti-Corruption Summit on 12 May. As well as agreeing a package of actions to tackle corruption across the board, it will deal with issues including corporate secrecy, government transparency, the enforcement of international anti-corruption laws, and the strengthening of international institutions. This is the first summit of its kind, bringing together world leaders, business and civil society to agree a package of practical steps to expose corruption so there is nowhere to hide, punish the perpetrators and support those affected by corruption and drive out the culture of corruption wherever it exists. Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, Matt Hancock, said: The UK is a leader on transparency. I'm proud to be in South Africa supporting this very important agenda. In the UK we are completely rethinking how we use and open up our data to benefit the citizens we serve. We are the most transparent government ever, using the best data to develop the best services for citizens. By releasing more data, we are also helping our companies prosper by create new services for the public such as apps to reduce travel time and every day we get better at publishing more data for businesses. Increasing openness and tackling corruption are two sides of the same coin. Corruption is a huge challenge. Next week the UK will host our first ever anti corruption summit where we will step up global action to expose, punish and drive out corruption in all walks of life. Notes for editors Going Global Held by the British Council, Going Global, now in its 12th year, is the largest open conference for higher education leaders. After great success in the Middle East (2013), Americas (2014) and London last year, we are bringing this leading forum to Africa for the first time. Going Global is expecting more than 800 VCs, Pro-VCs, Presidents, Rectors, Ministers and Chief Executives from around 75 countries including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, China and Ukraine. Speakers will include Dr Blade Nzimande, Minister for Higher Education and Her Excellency, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Open Government Partnership The Open Government Partnership was launched in 2011 to provide an international platform for domestic reformers committed to making their governments more open, accountable, and responsive to citizens. Since then, OGP has grown from 8 countries to 69 participating countries. In all of these countries, government and civil society are working together to develop and implement ambitious open government reforms. To become a member of OGP, participating countries must endorse a high-level Open Government Declaration, deliver a country action plan developed with public consultation, and commit to independent reporting on their progress going forward. South Africa is currently chairing the OGP, and the Africa Regional Meeting is taking place from 4 to 6 May. London Anti-Corruption Summit The London Summit in May 2016 will be the world's first international Anti-corruption Summit with the aim of stepping up international action to expose, punish and drive out corruption in all walks of life. Over forty countries are expected to attend with fifteen leaders confirmed so far. The 2016 Summit will bring together leaders from across the world, and focus on international action to meet the following key objectives: deterring corruption; ending impunity for those who commit corruption; and supporting and empowering those who have suffered from it. Minister Hancock The Minister for the Cabinet Office has overall responsibility for the policy and work of the department. Responsibilities include: public sector efficiency and reform; digital transformation of government; civil service issues; industrial relations strategy in the public sector; government transparency; civil contingencies; civil society; cyber security; and UK statistics. The DA in the Western Cape supports Metrorails bid for a permanent interdict barring its employees from striking over issues that are being negotiated at national level. Workers engaged in protest action last month despite an interim order preventing them doing so. We call on the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) in the Western Cape to put their own interests aside in favour of that of the many commuters who rely on rail transport to get to work and school. Since the regional labour conflict erupted early last month, 160 employees failed to show up to work, and there has been a flare-up of vandalism and sabotage. These actions have cost our commuters and our local economy dearly. In my capacity as Chairperson of the Standing Committee of Transport and Public Works in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament, I will write to the Regional Manager for Metrorail in the Western Cape, Richard Walker, requesting that he furnishes the committee with a report on the impact of the damages. The report must include: - The extent of the material damage caused by vandalism. - The total cost of all damage caused by the recent vandalism. - Details regarding any plans for replacing the material vandalised beyond repair. - The projected cost for replacing material that has been vandalised beyond repair. - The plans that are in place to deal with the impact on commuters by the vandalism. Strike action is an important tool in pursuing workers interests. It is protected by the constitution, but it must not be abused. SATAWU in the Western Cape is holding commuters hostage with illegal strike action. Employers have affirmed that late-coming due to train delays will not result in loss of employment. Yet the losses that business will suffer as a result of delays will surely be to the detriment of the workers in the province. We must ensure that ours is a democratic and fair society, where everyone can access jobs and education through effective public transport. We cannot allow for an illegal strike to prevent us from making progress in the Western Cape. Kinshasa (AFP) - Attackers armed with machetes and axes hacked at least 16 civilians to death in a nighttime assault on their village in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, UN and local officials said Wednesday. Local administrator Bernard Amisi Kalonda said the brutal attack took place late Tuesday in the Beni region of North Kivu province, an area which has witnessed numerous massacres in the past. "Between 8 pm and 10 pm (1900 GMT and 2100 GMT), the enemy managed to get past army positions and kill peaceful residents in their homes, slashing their throats," he told AFP. "The 16 bodies are in front of me, killed by machete or axe." He was not able to say if the attackers were Ugandan rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), who have long been active in the region. The area has suffered chronic unrest for two decades, fuelled by local armed groups and others committing ethnic-related violence, or disputes over land and the region's mineral wealth. "Around 8 pm, we heard people shouting and the sound of bullets," said Adona Lesse, head of Eringeti village, adding that a search was continuing for more possible victims. General Jean Baillaud, the military chief of the UN mission in the DR Congo known by its French acronym MONUSCO, said there were 17 dead. ADF rebels have been accused of carrying out numerous bloody attacks on civilians in Beni and the neighbouring Ituri region which the United Nations says have cost the lives of more than 500 people since 2014. 04.05.2016 LISTEN Ghana, the land of my birth, is collapsing socio-economically, if not already collapsed, under the weighty blatant official corruption, cluelessness and incompetency spearheaded by President Mahama and a few of his NDC party gurus and government appointees. Do we have elsewhere to go when the country has completely sunk into the financial abyss by the intentional official thievery in perpetration by the current government? No! Even if there were any such places, it should be understood that there is no place like home. The nation and the people therein have been let down by the nations security forces that have become politicized. They have taken sides with the current government to collapse the nation. Instead of standing up to defend the nation, the safety and security of the citizens, they are rather assisting the government in her practice of selective justice to reintroduce the culture of silence in Ghana with the motive of perpetuating harmful corruption without any obstructions from whomever. They have become effective weapons of intimidation to employ by President Mahama and the NDC to oppress the good, but already suffering people of Ghana. Is the ongoing fate of Chairman Wontumi not a perfect example of the outrageous length the security forces can go in aiding the government to implement its ridiculously oppressive policies of the culture of silence? Should we sit on our lap doing nothing, as discerning citizens of Ghana, while rogues drive us into perpetual economic, political and social darkness? No!!! There is no single person who can liberate Ghana alone. It takes concerted efforts by many citizens to salvage Ghana from her current deplorable state. Kennedy Agyapong, Ernest Owusu Bempa, Chairman Wontumi, Rev. Dr Otabil, Rockson Adofo and their likes cannot do the job alone when acting as individuals. They need the collective assistance of many Ghanaians including you the reader, your family and friends. Fellow Ghanaians, now is the time to rise up to save Ghana for ourselves and the yet unborn generations. Posterity and the departed forebears will hold us accountable should we allow the country to collapse as all current signs point to. Do we allow the likes of Kwaku Akosah, a Kumawu Ankaase family member residing in London to dissuade us from doing the right thing through pretences and intimidations? No! We should rather chase him into the forest behind the Kumawu palace, called sofialine (surveyors line) to manifest his animalism with the wild beasts living there. I do not think the monkeys, let alone the chimps, living in the forest, will associate themselves with this person because they may see him to be of lower I.Q. Anyway, we have the obligation to save Ghana from stomach politicians whose vision of governance is clouded by corruption, selfishness and insatiable greediness. When the price of petroleum products go up with the concomitant hike in transportation fares, the ordinary Ghanaian, be you a member of NDC, NPP, PPP, NDP etc., you pay the same rate of fare. There is no tag on your forehead to tell the driver or the drivers mate that you belong to NDC so you have to pay less fare than the NPP, PPP, and NDP etc. member on the same bus. When utility bill goes up, you pay the same rate like any other citizen in the country. You can only benefit from such price hikes only if you are a beneficiary of the ongoing official corruption in Ghana, making easy money like some well-placed NDC members. When the country goes into dumsor, you suffer equally like any other ordinary citizen living in Ghana regardless of you being an NDC member, especially when you are just one of the teeming ordinary poor members. When the dumsor gives rise to armed robberies, regardless of which political party you are affiliated with, you stand the same misfortune of becoming a victim when the armed robbers strike with you happening to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you allow the likes of Dzifa Attivor, Asiedu Nketiah, Kuko Anyidoho, Kofi Adams, etc. to fool you into voting to keep President Mahama in power come 7th November 2016 election for them to continue to live affluent lives through official corruption while you on the other hand live in utter penury? Please, do not be deceived anymore by the NDC propaganda. Let us face reality. Ghana is fast collapsing under President Mahama. Despite our tribal, political and social differences, now is the best time to unite as one people to save Ghana from looming total collapse. I count on you, oh dear fellow Ghanaian, to vote out President Mahama and the NDC party come election 2016. We should not allow Charlotte Osei, that corrupt and biased Chairperson of the Electoral Commission to have a field day on 7th November 2016. Let Ghanaians prove to her on that day that even though she could plan to rig the elections, Ghanaians who know better, have foiled her attempts. Let us vote to get rid of those who have taken, and continue to take, Ghanaians, for big time fools! Please, cogitate about the following self-explanatory quotation from the late Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia; Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph. Let the content of the quotation be the light that guides your brains and feet in joining me to fight to liberate Ghana from the hands of the evil ones. We have to act. We have to speak out now that it matters most and surely, the evil shall vanquish. Rockson Adofo Mr. Nuhu Eliasu 04.05.2016 LISTEN Among your peers, you stand tall in your chosen profession. In recognition of your distinguished performance, your employer, Islamic University College - Ghana (IUCG), has promoted you to the class of seniors in the Faculty. The genesis of the unprecedented promotion has been an unparalleled and accumulated effort at teaching and learning, research and publication, mentorship and service (to community). Indeed, these are the global criteria of academic promotion. Your publications in internationally reputable journals, which were assessed by an external authority at University of Ghana, Legon as part of the requirements for the promotion, attracted a mark of excellence. Certainly, in those publications and many others you never committed academic crimes such as plagiarism and falsification of scientific data to suit your whims and caprices. Undoubtedly, you would continue to produce more scientific papers of exceptional quality to accelerate your journey to professorship and maximize your service to scholarship. African youth are proud of you. Ghanaian youth are proud of you. Northern young intelligentsia are proud of you. The Academic Community are proud of you. Other segments of the Knowledge Industry are proud of you. May Allah continue to bless you. Abubakar Mohammed Marzuq Azindoo Executive Director, Literary Discourse. Airtel Ghana, Best CSR Company for Education and Community Relations has commissioned and handed over a state of the art reconstructed and furnished a 3-unit classroom block to the management of the Dubila Primary School in the Bolgatanga Municipality. The project, funded under Airtel Ghanas flagship CSR initiative, Touching Lives involved a complete reconstruction of the dilapidated school building that posed danger to the pupils and teachers of the school. The commissioning was attended by the Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga East Constituency and Deputy Attorney General, Hon. Dr. Dominic Ayine, the Regional Minister, Hon. Albert Abongo, traditional leaders of Dubila, pupils, parents and teachers from the school. Hannah Agbozo, Legal & Corporate Affairs Director at Airtel Ghana, Kwame Osafo-Amoah, Airtel Zonal Business Manager- Northern Ghana and Hon. Dominic Ayine were joined by the Chief of Dubila and the Regional Minister to commission the befitting edifice that will shelter and groom hundreds of pupils from the Dubila Township and its environs. The State of the art facility comprises a 3 unit classroom block and offices for the teaching staff. . Airtel Ghana committed to fund the project when Hon. Dominic Ayine, MP for the area solicited for the ChangeMaker companys support for the school through the Airtel Touching Lives initiative. The telecom company in addition distributed school uniforms, bags and stationery to over 250 students present at the ceremony to augment the students interests in education. In her address at the ceremony, Hannah Agbozo said: We are delighted that this project has been completed and we have no doubt that it will contribute to shaping the lives and the future of our children in Dubila and its environs. As a company that firmly believes that every individual has an innate ability to fully realise their potential, we have been investing in education adopting schools, building many and creating an enabling environment for effective teaching and learning. We believe education is not only a fundamental human right, it is also an empowerment tool and the best investment we can make in the lives of our children and the future of our country and continent. This is why investing in education is one of the cardinal pillars in our CSR strategy at Airtel Ghana. Hon. Dr. Dominic Ayine, Member of Parliament for the Constituency and Deputy Attorney General remarked, The benefits of this project to the pupils and the community are immeasurable. Airtel Ghana has through this investment created the opportunity that will enhance the development of the children in this community. On behalf of this community, I extend my profound gratitude to Airtel Ghana and its employees for the commitment they have shown in putting up this facility. Education is very important in todays society and these children deserve the same chance as any other child in this country, they deserve to remember their school days with joy and not with relief that they escaped with their lives, he explained. Airtel Ghana has gained recognition for its meritorious role in the promotion and improvement of education and infrastructural developments across the country as the Best CSR Company of the Year for Education by Ghana CR Excellence Awards. The companys flagship CSR programme- Airtel Touching Lives has also won CIMG TV Programme of the Year, IPR Best Community Programme of the Year on three consecutive occasions and Bharti Change Marker Award (Gold Category) in 2014 and 2015. About Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, the company ranks amongst the top 3 mobile service providers globally in terms of subscribers. In India, the company's product offerings include 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services, mobile commerce, fixed line services, high speed DSL broadband, IPTV, DTH, enterprise services including national & international long distance services to carriers. In the rest of the geographies, it offers 2G, 3G and 4G wireless services and mobile commerce. Bharti Airtel had over 353 million customers across its operations at the end of January 2016. To know more please visit, www.airtel.com About Airtel in Africa Airtel is driven by the vision of providing affordable and innovative mobile services to all. Airtel has 17 operations in Africa: Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Airtel International is a Bharti Airtel company. For more information, please visit www.airtel.com , or like the Airtel Ghana Facebook page via www.facebook.com/airtelgh or follow us on Twitter via the handle @airtelghana. The responsible usage of mobile technology and the Internet by users remains a great challenge that many societies face across the globe. Yet, the narrative has been on expanding access to Internet facilities in less advanced communities with little emphasis on advocating for a respectful, kind and responsible use with the greater good of the society in mind. Nonetheless, many organisations have taken up the challenge to stand up and promote a safer internet environment for all especially the youth. In advanced Countries like the United States, President Obama issued the Cyberspace Policy Review, which tasked the Department of Homeland Security with creating an on-going cyber security awareness campaign Stop. Think. Connect. to help Americans understand the risks that come with being online in 2009. Unfortunately, in societies where challenges such as access to affordable health, electricity, water, housing and other essential facilities remain a stumbling block to sustainable development, proactive efforts to campaign for such a worthy cause are more often than not relegated to the background. However, non-profit organisations such as the Ghana Internet Safety Foundation (GISF) in partnership with the National Cyber Security Alliance (NSCA) in the US and the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC) have been working assiduously to ensure that the digital Ghanaian society is built by responsible and alert Internet users with direct ramifications on the physical sociocultural terrain around the country. We have also reached out to the National Communications Authority (NCA), the National Information Technology Agency (NITA) and the Department of Children in a concerted effort to deal categorically with malicious issues on social media across the country. We understand that it is our duty to be more vigilant about practising safe online habits to persuade Ghanaians to view Internet safety as a shared responsibility in the home, workplace and in our communities. No individual is outside the scope of this clear and present phenomenon. Across the globe, there exists several grey areas in the enforcement of legal tools to track and punish perpetrators of malicious online activities which aim to cause physical or emotional damages to victims and their families. The tall list of activities includes but are not limited to cyber bullying, cybercrime, SPAM, identity theft, browser hijacking, pharming, phishing, sexting, online pornography and revenge pornography. It is worrisome to note that daily reports of leaked sex tapes across the country are on the ascendency and it is more horrifying to grapple with the realty that our university campuses have become the hotbed of such demeaning and distasteful behaviour. Revenge Pornography, product of sexting, seems to be leading the trend whereby a disgruntled partner releases a recorded video of a previous private sexual encounter publicly for retributive purposes. Sexting is an act of exchanging explicit sexual material such as naked pictures and short videos between two or more people using a mobile device. Shamefully, this has become a common practice within the confines of many senior secondary and tertiary institutions in Ghana where ironically, the hallmarks of intellectual excellence are meant to be celebrated. This casts a dark cloud on the institutions reputation and its affiliates. It begs the question, what kind of sociocultural and moral education are we as a society subscribing to in recent times? More often than not, we have witnessed many such tapes flaunted on social media and hosted by many websites in total disregard to the code of conduct and ethics in the country. The Ghanaian society has inadvertently turned a blind eye to this social canker with hopes that it would evaporate into thin air. Be that as it may, the potential of the Internet cannot be overemphasized on both sides of the coin and that it is the more reason why all stakeholders from parents to public officials have a critical role to play in curbing these distasteful activities wherever they occur. A case in point which is currently trending on several news outlets both online and offline has to do with reports of the public display of a leaked sex tape on the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi on 2nd May 2016. The alleged video had been in circulation on social media platforms for days during the examinations period prior to the public premiere thereby provoking a public outcry for an immediate end to the online victimisation of the young female student in the video. Thus, on 3rd May 2016, the Ghana Internet Safety Foundation carried out its own investigations to ascertain the veracity of reports from several grapevine sources. It was found out that the video which revealed the identity of only the young female partner was indeed in circulation and hundreds of students had thronged to the Hall of residence of the lady in an attempt to get her to reveal the identity of the male partner in the video. Shocking as it sounded, GISF rushed to the studios of Focus 94.3 FM to alert the student community to desist from disseminating the video on social media platforms as it infringed on a tall list of ethical and legal statutes as well as the dignity of a woman in our society. We did not mince words to totally condemn the public display of indecent content of a sexual nature as well as the public shaming attempts by self-appointed moral police on the campus as well as imploring the authorities to act swiftly to protect and punish those involved as a deterrent to all within the university fraternity. Later in the day, GISF joined the Diary with David on LUV 99.5 FM to signal our legal, technical and moral concerns regarding an issue which has far-reaching ramifications on our daily activities. Throughout these engagements, the highlight was that the societal apparatus has done very little to protect members from the negative tendencies of social media activities whereby education, monitoring and enforcement have been carried out in a laissez-faire manner. We could not but appeal for compassion for every victim of such heinous crimes and proactive efforts to mitigate the inherent consequences. These things take place to the detriment of the aspirations of parents, teachers, leaders and Ghanas future potential. It was therefore conceded that our society needs a complete reorientation towards the current template for tackling issues regarding the use of the Internet and digital technology in general as a step towards finding a lasting solution to the situation. In light of this and more, we use the opportunity to shed light on a few preventive tips relative to online safety for the benefit of the general public: Watch your back whenever you are about to post something online, pause and think about someone in authority or respect reading your post Think twice before you post or say anything online; once it is in cyberspace, it is out there forever Keep personal information about yourself private, including your family members, your school, your telephone number, or your address On social media platforms, check your privacy and security settings to ensure your audience is restricted to your comfort level. If you engage in any sexual activity, especially the ladies, make sure there is no active laptop or digital camera set up in the room. Do a casual scan of the place and demand the man about any recording devices beforehand. Dont just jump into bed! Delete immediately suspicious emails and ignore questionable links and posts Stop any questionable online behaviour; only do and say things online that you would do in real life Keep all software or applications up to date. Speak up. If you see something inappropriate, let the website know and tell an adult you trust. Dont stand for bullyingonline or off. Be a good online citizen! Securing cyberspace begins with YOU! Think Before You Share! Stop.Think.Connect! Get informed and get involved now! Contact the Ghana Internet Safety Foundation to Increase and reinforce awareness of cybersecurity Work with national organisations in educating the public about cybersecurity Engage the Ghanaian public to acknowledge and commit to the shared responsibility of securing our cyberspace Promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education to build the cyber workforce educate the youth, parents and all stakeholders about combatting the evils of social media. Together, can positively influence this and future generations to be informed and responsible users of digital technology. About Ghana Internet Safety Foundation Ghana Internet Safety Foundation (GISF) a non-profit, non-religious organization that is working to ensure a safer and better Internet in Ghana .The Ghana Safer Internet Day Committee is headed by the Ghana Internet Safety Foundation operating the Child Online Protection Initiative (COP) which has become a leader in educational presentations and workshops teaching social media skills, critical thinking and internet safety to over 5,000 students, religious organizations, educators, parents and professionals. Its registered charity number is CG124582014. (https://www.saferinternetday.org/web/ghana/sid). Learn how to engage GISF and connect with us on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/GISFGH , on Twitter at @ teamGISF , and the email at [email protected]. Kwasi Mensah Nyarko Senior Policy Analyst Ghana Internet Safety Foundation +233205763300 04.05.2016 LISTEN This article was first published in the Dangme newspaper and the online version www.dangmenews.com . I write with spiritual conviction and my only misfortune in life is my pen. After the launching of the Dangme Newspaper, everywhere I went to thank those who graced the occasion, we are met with lots of suggestions, some being positive others negative. In fact, one issue that came up was when people started telling me that the name Se (Shai) means that Noko se wo? When I was told this, I felt very sad about this and you may be wondering why I should feel bad about this development. I asked someone that, could this be the reasons why Se state is not developing because the name itself has a negative effect on the people and the community and yet any negative thing that might come our way, the people quickly attribute it to the name Se. Indeed, I am asking our leaders to tell me the meaning of Se? Noko Se wo? If it is so, then I think it is time we started looking at finding a new name and rename the Se state. Indeed. Se state is a failed one as all the various aspects that make up a community or state has failed. The chieftaincy institution is one area that has to be looked at. No paramount chief, the major divisions that have the paramouncy are also struggling to even elect a legitimate divisional chief before eventual paramount chief. Osudoku has a paramount chief, so what did they do right to elect a new paramount chief immediately after the demise of their paramount chief and Se is still struggling to have theirs. Any community or state without a head is a failed one as everyone believes he or she is the King Kong! The major divisions where the paramouncy rotates have no divisional chiefs, Agomeda, Doryumu and Kordiebe. So even if Doryumu or Kordiebe is supposed to take over they have no legitimate chief who will eventually become the paramount chief. As other Dangme tribes are doing everything possible to solve their problem to aid development, Se is practically nowhere to be found. As I tour the Dangme land, I realized that, the Klo people have done immensely well; though there are some lapses, you see massive development going on there. The youth are very vibrant, they are taking their education very serious, in fact, in Klo, I can confidently tell you young men who are doing PhD programs, their associations, the likes of Kloma Hengme and Kloma Gbi are doing great and putting their leaders on their toes, yet what can Se boast of, in terms of education and purposeful organizations? Organizations crop up and they become white elephants because of financial constraints and lack of commitment from the people. Imagine, Dodowa is on government white paper to become the regional capital of greater Accra. Yet we have had Members of parliament who cannot even champion this course and no one is even talking about this. The youth not rising up to fight for their rights to get their due share of the national cake. I dont think this thing can happen in Klo land and the youth will sit down without championing this opportunity to develop their land, let alone the youth in Ashanti or other tribes. We have good tourist destinations-the Tsenku waterfalls, Dodowa Forest and others we can develop to generate funds. Our quarries have been crippled and only few people benefit from the quarry. Meanwhile, these companies export the stones from the quarry. We have lots of things to focus our attention on but today, we are caught in the web with unnecessary augments. Today, Tribalism has taken the center stage in the Se land, even if we dont kill people spiritually; we use our mouths to say certain things which eventually can kill someone. I actually didnt know we have become a laughing stock in the country because our members of parliament have failed to live to expectations. We dont love ourselves; if our chiefs will unite, we shall see development. I also dont blame our members of parliament in anyway because the most significant problem affecting the Se land is the chieftaincy problems, so if you become a member of parliament and you cannot handle or deal with this chieftaincy problems, I bet you, there is no way you can succeed during your tenure. If any Member of Parliament is able to deal with this issue properly then there is hope for the constituency otherwise forget it, mark my words. Pot holes grace motorists and we have bad roads everywhere whilst other Dangme tribes are benefitting from massive road infrastructure. Where do we go from here Seli? I think the first thing to do now is to change the name Se, if indeed the meaning of the name is we dont deserve anything good. For me I deserve something good but I dont know about you? So I have programmed my mind that I am not part of that meaning of the name but however names are very powerful and did it occur to you "Why did God sometimes change a person's name in the Bible?" Okay, you see when God changed a persons name and gave him a new name; it was usually to establish a new identity. Se land needs a new identity. God changed Abrams "high father" name to Abraham, "father of a multitude" ( Genesis 17:5 ) and his wifes name from Sarai, my princess, to Sarah, mother of nations ( Genesis 17:15 ). We know from history that the descendants of Abraham and Sarah formed many nations, including the Jews and Muslims. God changed Jacobs "supplanter" name to Israel, having power with God ( Genesis 32:28 ). He changed Simons "God has heard" name to Peter, "rock" ( John 1:42 ). Why did Jesus occasionally call Peter Simon after He had changed His name to Peter? Probably because Simon sometimes acted like his old self instead of the rock God called him to be. The same is true for Jacob. God continued to call him Jacob to remind him of his past and to remind him to depend on Gods strength. Why did God choose new names for some people? The Bible doesnt give us His reasons, but perhaps it was to let them know they were destined for a new mission in life. The new name was a way to let them in on the divine plan and also to assure them that Gods plan would be fulfilled in them. We need a new name in the Se land, dont you believe it? Along the line some countries change their names. For instance, New Amsterdam to New York (1664). The most populous city in the US and the financial center of the world, this massive port city was first settled by Dutch trappers in 1624 who named it after their capital in Holland (The Netherlands). When the English took it over in 1664, a proper English name was bestowed on it, and the home of the Yankees became New York City. Constantinople to Istanbul (1930). One of the worlds most historic and major cities, Constantinople was the capital of four empires and was fought over numerous times. The name change in 1930 was to reflect the Islamic nature of Turkey, whereas the original name was in honor of Constantine, a Christian. Istanbul has the third largest urban area by population in the world. Prior to being called Constantinople, the city was a Greek colony called Byzantium (660 BCE to 324 CE). Persia to Iran (1935). The name Persia was never really the name the people that lived in that country called it, but was the accepted name the rest of the world called it. In 1935, the reigning Shah changed the name of the country to Iran and requested the world to recognize the change. By 1959, popular sentiment caused many to start referring to their country as Persia again, and both names were used. Siam to Thailand (1939). Another place given a name by outsiders, the name Siam was never historically what the Thai people called their country. Changed in 1939 to reflect the name the native people used, the name actually went back to Siam from 1945 to 1949 when it was changed back once again to Thailand. The King of Thailand has reigned since 1946, the longest time a country has been ruled. Russia to Soviet Union (1922) to Russia (1991). Any time the largest country in the world changed names that mean a lot of new maps are sold! Changed from variations of Russia to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922 shortly after the communist takeover, the collapse of communism and the Soviet Union resulted in a reversal back to Russia. Of course, with the USSR breaking up, many other countries that had previously not been independent countries became their own nation, just ask Borat. Peking to Beijing (1958). The many dialects of the Chinese languages compounded by European mistranslations had resulted in most of the rest of the world calling the capital of China Peiping, Pekin, or Peking, when the natives of the city have consistently called it Beijing. China made the name Beijing official in 1958 and western countries were slow to follow. Beijing has a metropolitan population of over 21 million people and is the longest running political and or cultural capital city in the world, over 3000 years! (Note: Tokyo, changed from Edo in 1868, has a metropolitan population of over 32 million. Do you remember that even Ghana was once called Gold Coast until 1975? So I have made my arguments for renaming of Se land and I leave it to our leaders. Transforming the Se Paramountcy I also think that the Se land paramountcy itself should have a well-laid down succession plan and the major three divisions should all be less than one umbrella. Anyone who becomes a paramount chief should not control any division. In fact a paramount chief should not also be a divisional chief at the same time. You cant be a president of Ghana, and at the same time a member of parliament. So with the chieftaincy issues from these major divisions, something should be done to separate their powers. If we have our paramountcy, they should be noted for only paramountcy. The reason is that these three major divisions must elect a legitimate chief before that chief becomes a paramount chief when it gets to his turn. So if these divisions are also fighting amongst themselves how do we draw the line? Meanwhile it is their turn for the paramountcy, once they have not been able to elect a chief there can be no paramountcy and when this happens that division is punishing the whole state. Meanwhile the community must move on. Tradition can be amended and as early as possible this issue and recommendation should be taken seriously before time runs out. So the paramountcy needs one umbrella, it could be a family or anything and they must be separated from any major division. They should only concentrate on their paramountcy, so suppose we have this and there is a problem in any division concerning electing a chief, once there is a paramount chief, this problem will be dealt with amicably. Now Agomeda as it stands now is the only hope for the entire Se land and yet they are not reaching any consensus. So development has stalled and this is what I want us to avoid in the near future. You cant take the whole community to ransom. Till then I say Nyetsum. Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu: ND,MSc, PhD(A.M) Addis Ababa (AFP) - A ban on smoking at public gatherings has been announced by the mayor of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, according to local media reports on Wednesday. The new law makes smoking illegal in bars, cafes, restaurants, schools, hospitals and stadiums as well as cultural and religious events, but smoking on the streets is still permitted. Tobacco advertising is also banned, according to the state-controlled Fana Radio. "Due to tobacco, people are dying and being exposed to several health hazards," said mayor Diriba Kuma. "For these reasons, the public have the responsibility to fight tobacco smoking in public gatherings. Offenders face a fine of 2,000 Ethiopian biir ($92), rising to 2,500 Birr ($116) for smokers who send children under the age of 18 to buy cigarettes for them. Addis Ababa is applying a law passed by Ethiopia's parliament in 2014 that has so far only been implemented in the northeastern town of Mekelle, where it has been rigorously enforced with local authorities reporting a sharp decline in tobacco consumption. The law will be more difficult to apply in the large and growing capital, home to around four million people. Tobacco use in Africa (excluding South Africa) increased by nearly 70 percent between 1990 and 2010, according to research by the American Cancer Society. With the number of African smokers predicted to increase by 40 percent by 2030 many tobacco companies see Africa as a growing market with fewer restrictions than in parts of Europe and North America. Several countries, including Kenya and Niger, have introduced restrictions on smoking in public places in recent years, but enforcement of the bans is often lax. The former Kenyan Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, told Al Jazeera Englishs Mehdi Hasan that he was very worried that next years general election could turn violent and that he would not participate if the Electoral Commission is not reformed in time. We need to address factors that may lead us to a state of violence that we witnessed in 2008, the opposition leader told Al Jazeeras Head to Head. We will not go into the gallows, Odinga said. If the Electoral Commission is not properly reformed, there would definitely be no reason for us to participate in the coming elections. Next years polls come a decade after a disputed election, which left 1300 people dead and 650,000 people displaced. Odinga ran for President back then, but believed the election was stolen from him. He became Prime Minister in a unity government in 2008 until 2013, when he stood unsuccessfully again for President, losing to Uhuru Kenyatta. During the interview with Head to Heads Mehdi Hasan at the Oxford Union, Odinga also discussed the issue of corruption within the country. He admitted that every Kenyan, including himself, has had to pay a bribe to get things done. The question is when, its not if he quipped. While in government, Odinga was offered bribes but said that he always resisted taking them. He added that he will certainly jail corrupt officials if he is elected President. On the recent collapse of the International Criminal Court (ICC) trial of Deputy Vice President William Ruto (his ally at the time of the disputed 2007 election), for crimes against humanity, Odinga said it would have been better for Ruto to have gone through a full trial and then discharged for lack of evidence rather than a mistrial. Odinga slammed the Kenyan government for an intolerable amount of interference in the ICC case and also criticised the African Union (AU) for having a hypocritical relationship with the ICC, which it has previously threatened to withdraw from. The AU has not been honest with themselves because they are saying that ICC targets African leaders, and Ive said its hogwash Most of the African leaders who were before the ICC have been referred there by Africans themselves. On the issue of Kenyas military involvement in Somalia, Odinga said that if he were to become President he would bring the troops home within one year of taking office. Odinga and Hasan were joined by a panel of three experts: Nic Cheeseman, Professor at the African Studies Centre at Oxford University; Agnes Gitau, commentator and trade and investment advisor; and Parselelo Kantai, editor of The New African. This series of Head to Head also includes interviews with former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Norman Lamont and Martin Indyk, former US Ambassador to Israel, advisor to President Bill Clinton and US Special Envoy for Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations in 2013-2014. In each episode, Hasan goes head to head with a special guest, asking the probing and hard-hitting questions few dare to ask. Kenya: Democracy on Trial? with Raila Odinga will be broadcast on 6 May 2016 at 20:00 GMT and repeated on the 7th of May at 12:00GMT, the 8th of May at 01:00 GMT and 9th of May at 06:00 GMT. This episode will be available online immediately after it first airs on YouTube and http://aje.io/l9tf . Watch . For more information, visit http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/ or follow Head to Head on Twitter: @AJHeadtoHead 04.05.2016 LISTEN By Patience A. Gbeze, GNA Accra, May 3, GNA - Ghana's stable and formidable position on the World Press Freedom Index since the Fourth Republic is an indication that the media climate in the country is highly favourable to free expression and media practice. Mr Affail Monney, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), who made the assertion, said in Africa, Ghana currently occupies the second spot after Namibia and the 26th position in the world, ahead of even some developed democracies. Speaking at this year's celebration of the World Press Freedom Day in Accra on the theme: 'Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms: This is Your Right,' Mr Monney expressed the media's gratitude to the framers of Ghana's 1992 Constitution for guaranteeing freedom and independence of the media. 'We congratulate the various governments under the Fourth Republic for the contributions they have made towards respect for press freedom and above all, salute Ghanaians for their encouragement through their forbearance of even excesses by the media, I believe for the sake of freedom,' he added. Mr Monney said as a country, there is the need to take advantage of press freedom to bring about the necessary qualitative change with regard to issues such as media content, sanitisation of the airwaves, greater transparency in the allocation of frequencies and training of media personnel, among others. He said, failure to do so could lead to stagnation, which would undermine media relevance and encourage media terrorism. This year's celebration was done in conjunction with the European Union, which also launched its European Week: 'Ghana-EU - Partners in Sustainable Change'. UNESCO, the Accra Brewery Limited and Voltic Ghana Limited were the traditional sponsors of the World Press Freedom Day celebration in Ghana. The GJA President said many of the tenets and human rights required under the EU Treaty are very much in unison with those under Ghana's 1992 Constitution. It therefore came as no surprise that EU member state in Ghana have demonstrated their commitment to support programmes that would strengthen the culture of freedom and independence of the media in Ghana. He said as a result of the commitment, various media institutions and organisations in Ghana have in one time or the other been beneficiaries of EU assistance, or exchange programme. In a speech read on her behalf Ms Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, called for strong environment of press freedom and well-functioning systems to ensure the people's right to know. She said, at this time of turbulent and changes across the world, including new challenges that require global cooperation and action, the need for quality information has never been so important. Ms Bokova said the day highlighted the importance of free and independent journalism for advancing the 2030 Agenda, which includes the safety of journalists, at the time when, tragically, a media professional is killed every five days. 'This cannot stand, and guided by the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, UNESCO is working with Governments around the world to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers everywhere. In this spirit, I call on everyone to stand united in defending and encouraging press freedom and the right to access to information. This is essential for human rights and dignity, for our aspirations for sustainable development, for common determination to build lasting peace,' she added. Mr Cyrus DeGraft Johnson, Corporate Affairs Manager, Accra Brewery Limited, called on Parliament to speed up the passage of the Right To Information Bill to pave the way for not only journalists, but other users of public information, to access such without any let or hindrance. He said journalists in the pursuit of truth, facts and realities on the ground, fulfill the well-known crucial role of giving a voice to the voiceless or a face to those invisible. The UN General Assembly in 1991 declared May 3 every year, as a World Press Freedom Day. That day is the anniversary of the declaration of Windhoek, which acknowledges that media pluralism and press freedom are essential to development. GNA By Osei Frempong, GNA Tema, May 4, GNA - The Tema Central seat would be won by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) because constituents want a more dedicated person who appreciates their aspirations. Mr Ben Dzakuma, Tema Central Constituency Chairman of NDC, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that "enough ground" has been covered within four years to dislodge the New Patriotic Party (NPP). "Tema Central is no longer a safe seat for the New Patriotic Party because after four years of its occupancy, constituents are earning for a change that would bring about the kind of leadership they deserve." According to him, Ms Ebi Bright, the NDC parliamentary candidate, has already won the hearts of the constituents due to her humility and maturity. Mr Dzakuma said in 2012, when the constituency was created, the NDC gave itself sometime to prepare the grounds to annex it in 2016. "Although we planned politically to take the seat, it is now clear that we owe the people a moral obligation to rescue them from the poor leadership being offered ny the current Member of Parliament." GNA A retreat of Ambassadors of the African Group on WTO issues, jointly organized by the Permanent Delegation of the African Union in Geneva and the Economic Commission United Nations for Africa (ECA) was held at Chavannes-de-Bogis, Switzerland from 25 to 26 April 2016. This retreat aimed at bringing together the stakeholders of trade negotiations at the WTO, and many experts on trade issues to take stock of the results of the Tenth Ministerial Conference held in Nairobi from 15 to 19 December 2015, with a view to preparing the common position of the African Group as part as the Post Nairobi Programme, and in order to exchange views on the negotiations towards the creation of the Zone of continental free trade Area (CFTA). This retreat was attended by 125 delegates and representatives of intergovernmental organizations and numerous resource personalities, including Representatives of the African Union Commissioner, UNCTAD, ITC, ECA, the WTO, and the Ambassadors to the WTO of the European Union, the United States, Brazil and China and the Chairman of the negotiating Group on agriculture of the WTO. Legal issues set out in Part III of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration, were addressed at length discussed and analyzed by the Ambassadors, Experts of the GA, and lecturers from institutions such as the South Centre, the Graduate Institute, University of Manchester, the Advisory Centre on WTO law (OLAC), and the legal Affairs Division of the WTO. A legal analysis on issues of interest to the African Group in respect of specific elements of the DDA, the legal value of the contents of the Nairobi Declaration and its enforceability was thus conducted. A number of recommendations were made by the Ambassadors at the conclusion of this important retreat. On issues related to public stocks for food security purposes, domestic support and market access, the Ambassadors recommended continuing negotiations and maintaining Rev.4 as a valid basic document for all the pillars of Agriculture. They also recommended that outstanding issues be addressed as a matter of priority in the forthcoming negotiations before embarking on new issues. Ambassadors recognised that Nairobi has helped making significant progress on market access and the gradual elimination of export subsidies. However, the cotton negotiations have not resulted in a binding decision regarding the issue of domestic support. In this regard, the African Group recommended to continue negotiations on the cotton issue to achieve a fair and balanced agreement for all players and to deal with the issue of domestic support as a priority for future negotiations. C4 urged the GA to take on the cotton issue and make it a priority in view of the CM11. The Nairobi Ministerial Conference has not yielded the expected results. In this regard, the ambassadors believe that the Group must set priorities for all areas that have not reached consensus. They stressed the importance of the regional integration agenda as a growth engine and the structural transformation of the continent. In this context, consistency between the agenda of continental integration and multilateral negotiations at the WTO was highlighted. They suggested that a new retreat be devoted to regional integration and reaffirmed their commitment to the establishment of the CFTA by 2017 to better engage African Ambassadors accredited to the WTO in the regional integration agenda. The Nairobi Final Declaration recognizing both that many member states are determined to go to the end of the Doha Round, while other members are not, considering that new approaches are needed to achieve significant results in multilateral negotiations. The ambassadors believe that African countries need to accelerate negotiations within the WTO, form strong alliances, rely on their own achievements, set priorities and propose solutions based on these priorities. To hope to weigh in the balance of power, more coordination and solidarity between African countries is definitely needed. Ambassadors reaffirmed the need to maintain Special and Differential Treatment, whilst stressing that it is important for some African countries to maintain subsidies in such sectors as small-scale fishing where the need for strengthening capacity remains a major challenge. More generally, the Ambassadors reiterated the centrality of the Doha Round objectives, and recommended to work towards the resumption of negotiations for the purpose of obtaining new results acquired outside of Nairobi. They reaffirmed that the DDA remains a reference point as there was no consensus to abandon it. Africa must make its regional integration (CFTA) a top priority for circumventing the detrimental mega agreements. Close cooperation should be established with ECA, ITC, UNCTAD, the Commonwealth, the IMF, World Bank and OECD for the establishment of a statistical database that is essential to any rational study. 04.05.2016 LISTEN The Asokwa Magistrate Court in Kumasi on Wednesday morning granted the Ashanti regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Bernard Antwi Boasiako a GhE20,000 bail. This was after he was charged with assault. He has been accused of assaulting a public officer. Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi, is alleged to have beaten the Member of Parliament for Manhyia North, Mr Collins Owusu Amankwah and the NPP constituency secretary, Mr Felix Ibrahim last Sunday. He is to re-appear in court on June 1, 2016. On Wednesday, lawyers for the two alleged victims, wrote to the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, copied to the Chief State Attorney in Kumasi to serve notice the complainants have opted for settlement. 'Our clients are complainants in the above mentioned case against the Ashanti regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako. Our clients have instructed us to their decision to pursue settlement and have accordingly instructed us to serve you notice of their said intention,' said the letter in part. On Wednesday morning as the security convoy drove out, scores of party supporters were at the Central Police Station where he was kept overnight . Chairman Wontumi, bespectacled and wearing a black shirt over which hanged a large bling and a crucifix, temporarily emerged from the open-top vehicle he was being driven in to acknowledge the cheers of party supporters. 04.05.2016 LISTEN The issue of graduate unemployment, which the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been hammering on, over the last few years, goes beyond political mantra. The subject has now gained socio-economic acceptance as a national problem that ought to be tackled from the roots. The Chronicle published a heart-wrenching story about the problem last week, with the headline: Methodist Church Warns Mahama Ghana on a Time Bomb As Graduate Unemployment Hits Staggering 271,000. According to Right Reverend Bishop Christopher Nyarko Andam, Bishop of the Kumasi Diocese of the Methodist Church, the Mahama-led government is on notice to deal with the alarming rate of unemployment in Ghana, describing it as a ticking time bomb that could threaten the political stability of the country. Rt. Rev Bishop Andam was of the opinion that the general economic slowdown in Ghana has worsened the already unacceptable high unemployment situation, particularly, among the youth. I am aware that some efforts are being made to solve this problem, but it seems the efforts are taking a longer time to yield results, Bishop Andam complained. We have hundreds of young graduates idling around and still depending on their parents to feed, clothe and provide them with shelter, even though they have successfully graduated from various tertiary institutions. According to the Bishop, as at 2015, graduate unemployment in Ghana stood at 271,000 which figure, he said, relates to only tertiary institutions. Those who could not continue with post-secondary education is another matter altogether. It is mandatory for all of us to address this worrying trend before it explodes, the head of the Methodist Church in Kumasi warned. In the first place, we should all appreciate that this is a very serious national problem. It has not been manufactured from the cassock, as some fanatical followers of this administration would want us to believe. In the opinion of The Chronicle, the way forward is to give priority attention towards finding a lasting solution to the problem, if this society is going to be successful in diffusing this 'ticking time bomb' and stop 'increasing social vices' associated with keeping trained hands perpetually idle. In his 14-page submission at the 55th Synod of the Kumasi Diocese of the Methodist Church, Rt. Rev Bishop Andam asserted: Today, we even have a graduate unemployment movement in Ghana, with national executives, adding that: the repercussions of high unemployment have proven to be the cause of a number of social ills and challenges. Like the Bishop, The Chronicle believes the solution to the problem lies with the John Mahama administration, creating the enabling environment for more jobs to be created, to absorb the hundreds of youth currently idling about. We are not unaware of pontifications from official sources alluding to several jobs created in society. Quite recently, government communication officials bandied about the creation of as much as 600,000 jobs in the country within the last three years. Unfortunately, most of these jobs appear to have their genesis in lip-service delivery, rather than being firmly on the ground, which further complicates the issue. The Chronicle has not lost sight of the fact that graduate unemployment in Ghana is not a recent phenomenon. Even in the 1980s, when economic development was said to have been positive, graduate unemployment was high. However, the question that naturally arises from this fact is, why has the country not been able to resolve this problem or why has the situation been so persistent? For some people, successive governments have not done enough, while others blame our universities for using the kind of curriculum that could not be relevant to job creation. Others have also blamed the graduates for failing to make themselves relevant to take advantage of the job market. The Chronicle believes that the panacea to this canker, first and foremost, lies with the private sector, which has been tagged as the engine of growth, to lead the way by creating jobs for the teeming unemployed graduates parading the streets of the country. Of course, that depends on the economic climate. We are also aware that many industry players have questioned the calibre of graduates churned out from our tertiary institutions for the job market. The Chronicle wishes to advise Ghanaian industry to liaise with our tertiary institutions to come out with tailor-made programmes that would mould potential complete graduates for their respective markets. The Chronicle further wishes to advise our graduates to look for opportunities available, and go into self-employment to establish their own businesses and create wealth; for example, turning to the agricultural sector where there are abundant opportunities. It is encouraging to note that high-ranking members of society, including politicians, musicians, bankers and university professors among others have taken to agriculture and are eking out a meaningful living out of it. In all these, the role of the government is paramount. It has to create the enabling environment to encourage the private sector players to thrive and help the job creation endeavour. And former president Kuffour wept for the first time when a sitting president came to Dodowa, because our forefathers fought the Ashantis and won the battle of Katamanso in the Dodowa forest, hence, Most of the Dangme stools have Ashanti names- Nene Addo Ofosu Oblim(II). You cant enter into the Dodowa forest with Sandals if you are not a traditional chief, never try it he warned. He is not a fan of alcohol, but if you asked him his favorite food, his wife will laugh when she is around because she knows her man. His favorite food is fufu and light soup , cocoyam and plantain and above all, he believes in God and also believes in his son Christ Jesus. He has no fears in life at this stage because he speaks the truth, if you dont believe in his son how can you go to the father, you cant bypass the son and go to the old man We both laughed with the white lady, Anna Maria, from the Netherlands. He loves reading, storytelling and volley ball, married with two wives, one given to him as stool wife with six (6) children, three (3) males and three (3) females. According to him, married life is not easy but it is good and anything he realized that it appears abominable he will scream and say NO! A courageous man, probably, I will say because he was once with the Ghana police service, this is the man I bring to Dangme readers today, Nene Addo-Ofosu Oblim(II) an active member of the Shai traditional council and Numerse Djase. Born and bred in Koforidua in the eastern region on the 25th October 1948 to the late Mr. and Mrs Phobi. The father was from Dodowa Numerse and mother from Manya. The young Nene Addo Ofosu (II) who is 68years but yet looks younger than most young men in this current world, started his elementary education at the Anglican school in Asamankese in 1957-1967 and later went to Agona Swedru to obtain his O level in 1972 and after teaching as a pupil teacher joined the Ghana Police service on 1st August 1977. According to Nene Addo -Ofosu Oblim(II), in the olden days the training for police service was between15-18months and they were 100 in number and he placed 6th and was posted to Nima Police station and was appointed as a detective(CID)because of his cleverness. This is evident when one gets closer to him. At Nima police station, he was appointed a Lance Corporal in 1979 and in 1985 a full corporal and later transferred to community one and later worked at Ada , Kasseh junction under the Tema division for six years. He was later transferred to Nsuta Manpongten in the Ashanti region and rose to the rank of inspector. In 2006, he was transferred from Nsuta to Koforidua and became the regional station officer and was promoted as the chief inspector before his retirement from the police service. He served 35years as a detective (CID). From his rich background, we caught up with him at his residence to tell us about the Shai traditional council and the journey forward for the Shai State. So on Tuesday 16th of February, a white lady came to visit us at the Dangme news office, she was a masters degree student in Anthropology at the University of Ghana working on her thesis. She came for assistance, so I told her to wait for me. I picked up my phone and I called Nene Addo-Ofosu Oblim(II). Hello Nene, are you home? Yes am home, I am coming there with a visitor, she is a white lady. Nene said, my son, just wait for a while and let me prepare myself. Eeii these chiefs, he would welcome a white lady. Later, Nene called. My son, am done and well prepared, you can come now. I picked my car keys and drove straight to Nene. Agoo, and they responded and we greeted them traditionally and we were given a seat. I saw Nene and I was amazed to see him in his royal wear. Here is the man, dressed majestically and sitting royally on his throne and enjoying fully the benefits of being Nene. He asked us our mission and we told him about it and we decided to go straight to the point. We are here to learn about the people of Shai and the chieftaincy way forward. The white lady, Anna Maria from the Netherlands picked up her video and we started the interview. The Dangme Tribes According to Nene, Adangme means Krobos with seven (7) tribes namely, Ningo-Prampram, Ada, Kpone, Osudoku, Shai, manya Krobo and Yilo Krobo. According to him, we are few, so the government decided to add the Gas to the Dangmes. Divisions in the Shai area We greeted Nene, led by his wife as tradition demands, and we introduced ourselves. He responded with his nicely dressed royal wear. According to Nene, Osudoku is not part of the Shai traditional council but administratively it is part of the Shai -Osudoku district assembly. According to Nene, Kordiebe, Ayikuma, Doryumu, Agomeda, Dodowa constitutes the Shai state and three major divisions in terms of chieftaincy area exist: namely, Hiowe, Hiome and Lekpeje constitute the major divisions and all chiefs are under one of these divisions. According to Nene who is well versed in the Se traditions said that, Hiome is Agomeda, Doryumu is Hiowe and Lekpeje is Kordiebe. The divisional head of Lekpeje is Nene Nonor Sodje(V) who doubles as the acting president of the Se traditional council. Numerse, Manya is under the Hiome division of Agomeda, Aperko, Ayikuma are under Mla-Lekpeje division at Kordiebe. Every chief controls a division but the actual division is called Mla division, eg. Mla-Hiome, Mla- Hiowe and Mla-Lekpeje, so all others are subdivisions and they come under one of these major divisions Land ownership in Shai state According to Nene, lands are owned by families and there is nothing like traditional lands. However he said all lands are under traditional councils. So if one wants to purchase a land, according to Nene, one has to go to the traditional council to prepare a document to make it genuine. Organogram in the Traditional council Finally, Nene told me about the Organogram in the traditional council. According to Nene, the head is the paramount chief who is the supreme authority of all divisional chiefs. Secondly, are the divisional chiefs who control a division and finally the sub divisional chiefs who include; Asafoatse, Oyeheko Mantse and others in the traditional settings. Job descriptions of the leaders Chief: Is someone who is properly enstooled by his people, community and serves the paramount chief Oyeheko Mantse: According to Nene, Oyeheko Mantse was traditionally not part of the Se state but was created in Agomeda by Nene Nagai Kassah(VII) and nowhere else in the Se state to assist the then acting paramount chief in his work . Dzase: Controls the properties of the chief including his families. Asafoatse: meaning youth leader who leads war whilst the chiefs stay behind Setse: stool father and every stool has its own father. He is amongst the kingmakers. According to Nene, every stool has a black stool signifying his authority. They are kept in the room and securely locked with three locks. According to Nene, as a chief you dont have to see your black stool. Death occurs if you see it. The black stool is your powerhouse as a chief and sitting on the black stool is done in the night and is always covered with a white cloth. According to Nene, there are some avoid list you must do before sitting on your black stool. He mentioned that you must remain chaste. However he said the black stool could be stolen and if this happens a special tradition is performed and the stool is returned. A new one could be created but it comes with huge repercussions Queen mother: He said, a queen mother assists the chief and she is the leader of the women in the community. He said as a chief it is a big taboo to sleep with your queen mother. Death results from doing this he stated. He further warned that many chiefs died because of this. Suapolor: He said traditionally, it was not part of Se state but along the line it was created in Kordiebe as Nene Adamtey Drolor(I) was a native mainly because he started some developmental project. But he said that Manya krobo state has Suapolor as a legitimate position. He said Suapolor means leading and cleaning the way for the chiefs if they are embarking on journeys. In respect of this event I asked: Then it means tradition itself can be amended and he answered in affirmative. According to him, their division in Numerse is considering the position of Simpim and Oyeheko Mantse. Simpim: According to Nene Simpim is the least in the traditional cycle under an Asafoatse and accordingly, in the absence of the subchief Simpim acts. Christianity and Tradition He stated that, most pastors mislead the public and claimed that some pastors send their children for Dipo rite yet they criticise others for doing it. He also said that, they chiefs are not Pagans and they believe in God but they cannot leave their house stool to become vacant and therefore it must be filled. He said for instance previously, it was a taboo for a girl to become pregnant in Krobo land without the Dipo rite and this led most of the girls into hiding in Larteh and married the men there and they became relatives with the Larteh people. Future of Shai- State According to Nene, the future is bright for Shai state and very soon there is going to be a paramount chief. At this juncture the Dangme news team departed. Stay tuned and read Dangme newspaper as I take you to the Yilo traditional council in our next edition. Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu: ND,MSc, PhD(A.M) I dont want to have imaginative vision if today your son refused to go to school, you have seen the future already and you know what your son will be already. If someone gets 68-70years and used his land to exchange cars, and that person dies, what will the future generation feed on, are they now going to leave on someones territories Kwesi Akoto is the name and he is popularly known as Rasta man or Burning Rock at Dodowa-Rhama Town, all you need to do is to go to Rhama Town and ask of the Okada boys to drive you to Rastas residence. Leaving in his own world, Burning Rock is a married man with children and he loves talking and his favorite food is also quality talking. We caught up with Burning rock at his residence at Rhama town in his serene environment. He lamented and especially critized the Dangme leaders for selling their lands in exchange for cars. Dangme leaders should think about their future leaders and develop their land because they are positioned on a good land with good tourist destination yet their people are leaving in abject poverty. He spoke bitterly on the bad roads in the entire Dangme enclaves. According to Kwesi Akoto, he never believed the town and country planners in the Dangme community. He blasted them for their poor planning of the community. He told Dangme news team on how the real estate developers convinced the chiefs to sell all their lands including their farm lands. He was worried about future food shortage in the area. He claimed to have ideas on how the lands in the Dangme community should be sold and developed. He also revealed the tactics and tricks he claimed being used at the various assemblies by some workers to secure permits for the clients. His personal Philosophies in life The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet, Burning Rock dont believe in learning, but he claimed to believe in discovering I think say, going to school is like borrowing someones knowledge and I dont understand why something I know already I have to pay before I acquire he told Dangme news. Burning rock has seven (7) albums and his best track is Too Much Problems in the World. He said Politics is a small boy, we can educate politics to behave well when we are focused, and we have to go beyond politics he stated. His fear in life Burning Rocks great fear in life is religion. He said my greatest fear in life is religion when asked by Dangme news why? He said, Religion is the greatest poison in this world he further stated that, human beings have succeeded in changing the things of God to suit our desire. We have changed our culture, we have changed our environment. He was furious and asked why others critisize the Dipo rites in the Dangme land and other cultures in the world. According to him it is religion that has created divisions amongst the human race in the world Religion has changed everything Burning Rock stated. He gave a typical example that, me being a Rasta man, I dont want you to be a Rasta man so if we all understand this concept we can live happily. We must all live with one accord but the moment religion sets in, a problem arises. All our religion is imported, both Christianity, Muslim et al . Burning Rock was not happy that we live in our country and we speak another mans language or wasting our time studying someones culture. He also became furious with teachers in Ghana who cane their students because they spoke local language, he explained when this happen, we are only changing Gods plan and according to him it is different in Europe. His concerns on Fraud boys According to Burning Rock, today, young boys are happy that they are game or fraud boys. He said, this is sad and he blamed parents for not checking their childrens source of income and further blasted families that accepted any man to marry their daughters without further investigating their source of wealth. Today boys are desperate for anything, all that matters to them is the money and immediately they graduate from the school they look for laptops to start frauding. On my village Touching on his bar at Dodowa, he said, he established the place for the elderly in the town because when he came to Dodowa, he realized that there is no place for the elderly to relax and think of themselves. He is more than happy to see how the elderly have patronized the place. He plans adding food and guinea fowl to the joint very soon but he is looking at pure organic food stuffs and he doesnt want to hear the phrase poultry because it is poison. On the music Burning Rock is concerned about the recent music code named youthful music. According to Burning, music is the food for the soul, hence music is to motivate and not destroy. He was not happy to see the youth of today sing unhealthy soul. He gave example that, when Bob Marley and co were in the olden days, they were in their youthful periods, so it is therefore wrong to say that todays generation are in their youthful age so there music is different. He further said that any country without good music is in crisis and when the soul is hungry, it needs music and when the stomach is also hungry, it needs food Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu: ND,MSc, PhD(A.M) Food heals, food kills! The body is just like a computer and it does exactly what you tell it to do and not what you want it to do, this is what I term compensatory adaptation at work. Our cells need good nutrition and our cells are also like the iron roofing sheet, it can rust because of oxidation, our cells can also rust if it is deprived of the right nutrition and the right water, and this is termed oxidative stress. Oxidative stress accounts for over 70% of degenerating diseases like cancers, high blood pressure, diabetics etc. cancer is not a disease of the genes, it is a disease where cells evolved and are made to behave in abnormal way needing gene alteration to get there. Cancer therefore happens when genes within a cell loses its ability to regulate the cell growth, this disobedient cells dont know how to die but move on to invade other organs. The food we eat accounts for about 80% of cancer growth because we all have cancer cells lying dormant in our system and our lifestyle can awaken them. Doc, Is that your base when you want to eat waakye? I answered yes! Then, I will buy my waakye here. Day in out, I buy my waakye from this joint. Born in Dodowa, Zongo and currently leaving in the Dodowa library area, Alimatu Gariba has made a mark for herself in her waakye business. Situated just at the road side at the heart of Bawaleshi, Alimatu started her basic education at the Presbyterian Primary school and Methodist Junior high school in Dodowa. She later went to OIC catering school to study catering and had her national services at the SSNIT Guest house nears Sankara. Alimatu, a mother of two children, later worked at the Pantang Hospital Kitchen as a casual worker before she later decided to venture into her own waakye business. Her Waakye joint was given the name Onaapo by one Ghanata senior high school student who bought waakye from her and later came with other colleagues to taste her food. According to madam Alimatu, after the food, the students told her that, Eeii this waakye, Wonyampo and the student quickly told her to give them money to enable them design a banner for her, but she told them that, because the community is predominantly a Ga one, they should use the version Onaapo, a Ga one. Onaapo therefore became the name till today. Alimatu Gariba has a future plan to become a famous joint like Aunty Muni in Cantonment and Ali Muntaris mother in Koforidua. According to Madam Gariba, her advice to those in relationship is to exercise patience as patience is the key to success in every relationship, though she is yet to finally tie the knot with her fiancee. She is also using this medium to advise the young girls who want to venture into the Waakye business to first go to school so they can be fluent in the English language. she explained this with a good experience where a police commander came to her joint with his colleague and when she was about to parcel the food, the man told her not to worry in the parceling of the food in the local language but she responded in the English language saying Let me wrap it nicely for you According to Alimatu, the man looked at her and said wow, we will meet again. She further attested that this made the commanders friend to always visit her and buy from her anytime he was in town. Onaapo, is always filled with people of different backgrounds, schools and professionals buying from her mainly because of the way she prepared the food. On Sundays, Onaapo is always packed with cars to eat the Sunday Omotuo special. We at Dangme News salute Onaapo and we urged her to climb higher. For those looking for a good place to purchase their waakye, then Onaapo at Bawaleshie is the place to go. Dr. Raphael Nyarkotey Obu:ND,MSc, PhD(A.M) 04.05.2016 LISTEN From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Kumasi The Ashanti Regional Police Command has arrested the Ashanti Regional Chairman of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako, better known as Wontumi, over an assault charge, the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Kofi Boakye has announced. The Chronicle gathered that at 11: 45am yesterday, the Tafo Pankrono Police apprehended the firebrand NPP Chairman. The NPP regional chair is said to have assaulted the Manhyia North Member of Parliament and his Constituency Secretary. In what looked like a Hollywood movie scene, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP) Bernard Antwi Boasiako, last Sunday, reportedly assaulted the Member of Parliament for the Manhyia North Constituency, Collins Owusu Amankwah, in the full glare of the public at a registration center called Fordwuor House at Krofofrom. Reports had it that the regional chairman, referred to as Wontumi, unleashed a hefty slap to the Manhyia North legislator after accusing the latter of flouting his orders. This was after Chairman Wontumi, accompanied by his private bodyguards, numbering about 15, had pounced on the helpless Constituency Secretary, Felix Ibrahim and beaten him to pulp for assisting the legislator to flout his orders in replacing agents he had assigned to that particular polling station. Last week, based upon an agreement, the regional executives, led by the party chair had reached with the incumbent MP, some persons were recommended to partner others the MP had also suggested to man the polling stations in the Manhyia North for the limited registration exercise by the Electoral Commission. But, ironically, the agents the regional chairman selected from the Manhyia-South Constituency to man the polling stations with Amankwah's men were allegedly demanding monies from NDC party executives who used to come around during the exercise. Finding this occurrence odd for a serious party as the NPP who has its eyes on the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in November, one agent assigned from the MP's camp accosted the regional party assignee and told him that the practice of collecting monies from their opponents camp was bad. However, the agent, who felt he was disgraced by the MP's man, went to tell a different story that he had been assaulted and his material given him to observe the exercise had been destroyed by some agents of the MP. Obviously incensed by this half-truth story and without crosschecking, Wontumi decided to storm the registration ground the following day to inquire why that happened and it was during this inquisition that the Chairman is alleged to have violently accosted both the constituency secretary and the MP, despite the presence of the three armed Policemen at the polling station Lawyer Egbert Faibille Jnr. has explained there is nothing wrong with obtaining an out-of-court settlement for a politician accused of assaulting a Member of Parliament (MP). The lawyer who is counsel for New Patriotic Party (NPP) regional chairman, Mr. Bernard Antwi Bosiako explained that an out-of-court settlement he secured for his client does not mean the law has been stopped from taking its full course. A magistrate court in the Ashanti regional capital, Kumasi, granted Mr. Bosiako bail to the sum of 20,000 with two sureties. Mr. Bosiako allegedly assaulted Manhyia North MP, Collins Owusu Amankwah last Sunday. But the lawyer told the court the incident is a family matter. Sections of the public are calling for Chairman Wontumi to be punished. The NPP regional Chairmans bail and subsequent out-of-court settlement have also been interpreted as preferential treatment for a politician. It has been suggested that the possibility of punishment for Chairman Wontumi has been removed. But Egbert Faibille has dismissed these suggestions. He said the law is also interested in promoting reconciliation and not retribution. The reconciliation option is also part of the rule of law, he explained, noting that the NPPs brand as a promoter of a rule of law has not been damaged by the out-of-court settlement. There are no double standards. There is a single standard, which is the law of Ghana and the law of Ghana promotes reconciliation he said. He said Mr. Bosiakos supposedly gentle treatment by the law was not because he is a politician. The charge sheet does not indicate that Mr. Bernard Antwi Bosiako is a politician, he said. The law only recognizes Wontumi as a private citizen, he noted. He also said the withdrawal of the complaint by the MP is also not an abuse of his rights. A mans rights is not enhanced by exacting punishment, he suggested. We should not reduce peoples rights under the law to an equalization conundrum, the lawyer said. His client was entitled to bail by the nature of his offence stated as a misdemeanor under the law and out of court settlement is an option available to persons if the law so permits. We should not be emotional about some of these things, he dismissed suggestions of double standards. Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com|[email protected] 04.05.2016 LISTEN Wednesday, May 5, 2016 My good friends, if there is anything to reinforce my poor opinion about the tribal cabal called the NPP, it won't take long to emerge. It won't take long to assuage all doubts that the NPP is indeed a party of frustrated and ill-tempered characters at the helm of its shattered affairs. Be it at the local, regional, or national level, the party is being led by those who don't know how to do clean politics to survive in contemporary times. If I am being harsh, it is for a good cause. Having cried wolf all these years on the political scene, these NPP people are abroad again, this time, turning their own internally-generated crisis into an opportunity for intensified rabble-rousing and threats. Their Ashanti regional Chairman Wontumi slapped the Manhyia North NPP MP (Collins Amankwah) and Felix Ibrahim, the Constituency Secretary. They lodged a formal complaint against Wontumi and he was invited by the police to assist investigate the offence; but he played hide-and-seek with the police only to report himself when declared wanted by the police. When official action began against him, supporters of the NPP rushed to the Central Police station to behave as if the offence for which Wontumi was being detained for investigation and prosecution wasnt a criminal one. They followed him to court today, where he was bailed out. Even before the matter got to this point, we heard the NPP people accusing the Ashanti regional Police Commander (DCOP Kofi Boakye) of being dictated to by the government to deal with Wontumi. We also heard some comments that by helping politicize this issue, DCOP Boakye had lost the chance to become the next IGP under an Akufo-Addo government. Tweeeeeaaa! Not to be left out, other NPP Concert Party actors made their voices heard. The Minority Leader, Osei Kyei Mensah is reported to have accused the government of masterminding Wontumis arrest. Then, the real comedian in the person of Fraudie Blay released his thunderbolt of stupidity: anyone who touches the partys Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi touches the party. He contends Chairman Wontumi has the backing of the party and anyone who attempts to wrestle with him should be prepared to deal with the party itself (See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Touch-Chairman-Wontumi-and-you-have-touched-the-NPP-Freddie-Blay-435959). MY COMMENTS Folks, do you see how paranoid these NPP people are? Who is touching Wontumi but Wontumi himself? Or who is stoking the fire if not Kennedy Agyapong, who has been quick to praise Wontumi for slapping the MP and suggesting that Wontumi did a fantastic thing and should have dealt more slaps to the MP and Constituency Secretary? What for? We note that the Manhyia North Constituency is still boiling. Attempts by the NPP leaders to manipulate the primary election of a candidate for Election 2016 have provoked enmity, rancour, and bitterness among the NPP followers. Now that the incumbent MP has been slapped by one of those working hard to get rid of him, I can only imagine the ugly turn of events. Isnt it bewildering that the NPP people cant see anything wrong about what Wontumi did? Slapping an MP and being commended by those thinking and acting as Wontumi does? And for the partys leaders to have the case withdrawn for settlement speaks volumes. Will they do the same for those who brutalized Baah Achamfuor too? What is becoming of this doom-laden party at all? After suspending high-ranking officials opposed to the Gestapo-politics being done by the Akufo-Addo faction, are they now using assault as a weapon to intimidate their own vocal followers? What sort of crude politicking is this? While Dr. Bawumia is leading the campaign of lies, lies, and outright lies or falsification of reality to whip up tribal and religious sentiments, those who think they have the urge to brutalize those with opposing views are up-and-doing. Is this political party really prepared to help us grow our democracy? We wait to see how the matter pans out. But for now, I say a big SHAME unto these NPP people. Politics is about witticism and not hooliganism; it calls for decency, not their kind of impudence and bullying. I shall return By Francis Ameyibor, GNA Accra, May 4, GNA - The Government has applauded the achievement of Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) the foremost indigenous Oil Marketing Company describing it as 'a vibrant downstream operator in the country'. Mr Seth Emmanuel Terkper, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning and Mr Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, Minister of Petroleum jointly lauded the company at the launch of GOIL Rights Issues, in Accra. GOIL intends to raise GH 155 million through a renounceable rights issue through the issuance of 13,639,640 shares of no par value, and at a price of GH 1.24 per share and in a ratio of 0.5536 new shares for one held by a qualified shareholder. The online resource, Investopedia, explains: 'When a company needs new capital, one way they can raise money is to sell more shares to existing shareholders. This is called a share rights issue as only existing shareholders will have the 'right' to buy the new shares. 'Rights issues can be used by companies who are cash strapped and who need to cover debt or by solid companies with clean balance sheets to fund acquisitions and growth. 'Sometimes shareholders can sell the 'right' to buy the new shares on the stock market. This is called a renounceable rights issue'. Mr Buah who launched the Rights Issue commended the company for its leadership role in the downstream oil sector, especially immediately after the deregulation of petroleum product. He said progress made in the downstream sector in a deregulated regime would not have been possible but for the strategic role of GOIL. The Petroleum Minister commended GOIL's Board of Directors, Management and Staff for the prudent managerial skills and commitment to transform GOIL. Mr Patrick Kwame Akpe Akorli, the Managing Director, said the rights issue would begin on May 3 and end on May 18, 2016. He said the price of GH 1.24 represents a discount of 15 per cent on the closing price of GH 1.46 per share as at March 21, 2016, which was the last predictable date before the printing of the offer circular. He said proceeds from the offer would be used to strengthen GOIL's balance sheet, expand its current retail outlets, acquire a lubricant blending plant, and expand facilities at the Takoradi Harbour, among others. Mr Akorli said all the necessary approvals had been received from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ghana Stock Exchange. He said the offer had been fully underwritten by Belstar Capital Limited under the bought deal model. He explained that the forum provided a platform to keep investors up to date on GOIL's share price performance, investor news and the Company's financial communications. Dr Adu Anane Antwi, the Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) noted that the rights issue would increase the capitalisation of GOIL and the market as a whole. He stated: 'We need a lot of such issues to increase the size of our stock market; to enhance investment variety in our capital market and create a competitive and liquid market. 'We should work towards expanding the investment vehicles in the country by creating more financial products on the market.' Dr Antwi said the SEC had proposed amendments to the Securities Industry Act to enable it to introduce Real Estate Investment Funds into the market. 'These funds will link the capital market to the Real Estate Sector by providing the sector with long-term funds to increase housing delivery in the country,' he said. GNA Accra, May 4, GNA - The Peoples National Convention (PNC), has called on workers to reflect on the difficult road they have traversed since the overthrow of the third republic under the administration of Dr Hilla Limann and vote rightly. A statement signed by Mr Emmanuel Wilson Jnr, PNC Communication Director and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra explained that from its very inception as a political party, the PNC has championed the cause of the working people. 'Indeed, the PNC remains the only genuine working class party in the country, having consistently defended the cause of workers, and this was clearly exhibited during the 27 -month rule when it was in government under the PNC and throughout the fourth republic, even as an opposition party. 'As this year is an election year, the PNC takes this opportunity to call on all workers to stand up in defence of their rights and not to allow themselves to be used as political pawns by those who glibly speak of workers' rights,' the statement stated. The statement accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for only speaking about workers welfare, but in actual fact only seek to improve their own political nest. The PNC statement said the meager salary increases that have been seen under the NDC and the NPP government in the fourth republic certainly does not auger well for the working people especially when seen against the background of hefty salary increases for those in the corridors of power. There has been a clear indication of a slowing down of the economy these past three years, which most certainly has impacted adversely on job creation and economic stability. The statement noted that in recent months, hundreds of workers have lost their jobs both in the public and private sector. Youth unemployment is on the ascendency and this is a recipe for disaster. 'The PNC do recognise the plight of Ghanaian workers and cannot ignore the fact that many from the public sector have lost their jobs due to political considerations in this fourth republic. 'We are proud of Ghana's working class credentials and called on Ghanaian workers to remain fully committed to the cause of a strong and united labour movement,' the statement said. GNA IVA Struggling with debt? Compare your debt options and write off up to 80% of your unsecured debts from 80 per month Get Started for free What is an IVA? With an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) you can make affordable monthly payments towards a percentage of your debt for 5 years. At the end of the 5 year plan, your remaining debt will be completely written off. Benefits of an IVA Here is a list of the cost common advantages of an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA): Affordability You will only be asked to pay back what you can afford, with allowances taken into account for food, bills, entertainment, travel, childcare and others. You may be sacrificing certain essential costs at the moment. With an IVA they are budgeted for so they will no longer be neglected No upfront costs When you set up an IVA, there are no upfront costs whatsoever. This means that you can put a debt solution in place today without spending a penny You have a finishing line Do you feel like there will be no end to your debt problems? With high interest costs and charges, the balances of your credit accounts may not reduce as you need them to. With an IVA you will become totally debt free at the completion of the IVA (usually 5 years). You can use this as an opportunity to change your financial life, for good Confidential Your IVA is not advertised in the London Gazette or local newspaper. It is your decision whether you would like to disclose it to other people or not No more contact from creditors When you are in an IVA, your creditors will no longer have the right to contact you or refer the debt on to debt collectors/bailiffs. This is a great benefit for most people as it will take away the stress caused by constant calls/texts/emails and home visits Stay in your house Unlike some debt solutions, an IVA will allow you to stay in your current home. This is even the case if the property has a mortgage or is owned outright Your pension An IVA does not have an impact on your pension. You will not have to surrender your pension or withdraw money from it to pay into your IVA Risks of an IVA Here is a list of the cost common disadvantages of an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA): Equity Release If you own your property and it has value, you may be asked to release the equity in the property Credit Rating If you have a perfect credit rating, this will be damaged and you will not be allowed to take out more debt whilst in an arrangement You must keep up with repayments If you do not keep up with your monthly repayments, there is a risk you will be made bankrupt Who qualifies for an IVA? There is no office guidelines to who qualifies for an IVA. It is a legally binding, Government legislation designed to help all people. Generally speaking, insolvency practitioners (IP) will look at your situation if they think the IVA proposal they submit is beneficial to both yourself (the debtor) and your creditors. This often restricts people to a certain criteria which you will have to meet: Over 5000 worth of unsecured debt You must have 2 or more creditors of 2 or more lines of credit Must live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland Must be insolvent Must be willing to pay at least 70 per month into their IVA Must have some type or types of regular income What debts can I include in an IVA? You can include a wide range of unsecured debts within your IVA. These include: Credit card debt/credit cards Loans/loan debt Payday loans Council tax arrears HMRC debt Overpaid benefits Catalogues Gas and electricity arrears Overdrafts/overdraft debt Water arrears Income tax arrears Debts to friends and family Other unsecured debts Note: If you are a resident of Scotland, you will need to apply for a Scottish Trust Deed (legally binding). Speak to our advisors for Scottish Debt Advice. What debts cant be included in an IVA? Secured loans Your mortgage (if you still live in the house) Car finance (if you still have the car) Rent arrears for your current property Court fines/Police fines Hire purchase arrears (if you still have the product) Log book loans (if you still have the vehicle that the debts are secured on) Student loans Other secured debts What does I.V.A stand for? IVA stands for Individual Voluntary Arrangement. It is a formal way to consolidate your debts into one affordable monthly repayment, resulting in the debtor becoming debt free at the end of their payments. Can I apply for an IVA online? Use the IVA Calculator to check your eligibility Prepare your IVA proposal and apply for your IVA. When your IVA is accepted, your creditors can no longer contact you. Pay 60 low monthly payments. After 5 years, you are out of your IVA and completely debt free. Will an IVA affect my employment? In most occupations, your credit rating or credit scoring is not a factor and it may never have been checked in the past, it may also be likely that it is not checked in the future either. There is no law to tell you that you must advise your employer that you have entered an IVA or that you owe money. They will not be notified by your insolvency practitioner. If you wanted to keep it a private matter, in most cases this would be absolutely fine. With some roles such as financial advisors, solicitors or bank workers it may make up part of your contract to advise them of changes like this. In these situations we would advise to inform your employers of your intentions before you enter into any arrangements. This way there will be no nasty surprises for you later down the line. More often than not, we find that your employer would not be concerned by your IVA and that it would not affect your employment status. An IVA is a formal solution and could affect some employments, such as if you were a solicitor or accountant for example. We would always recommend that you receive approval from your employers that your job isnt affected before you sign up for anything. Will an IVA impact my partner? There are certain situations where you may not want to involve your partner at all in your IVA proposal due to personal reasons. Insolvency Practitioners are very aware of these circumstances and can operate solely via telephone and email and at your convenience, so rest assured that your matters can be kept completely private. If the debts which you are looking to place into your IVA are in joint names, then this would be different. Your IP would look to place all of your debts into an IVA, including joint debts therefore you would have to inform your partner of your plans. If your debts are solely yours, then there would be no negative impact on your partner, their credit score would remain unaffected and they would not be entered onto any registers or be tainted in any way. Will an IVA affect my credit score/credit file? Whilst you are in your arrangement, you will not be able to get any credit. An IVA will stay on your credit file for 6 years, so 12 months after a typical IVA. When this time has passed and your monthly payments have ended, you will be able to rebuild your credit rating. What proof will I need to apply for an IVA? Proof of ID Passport/driving license/birth certificate/utility bills/national insurance identification/credit agreement Bank statements 3 months bank statements with all transactions displayed Proof of income 3 months payslips/P60/proof of benefits How long does it take to set up an IVA? Your initial call will only last around 5-10 minutes. The IVA process will be explained to you and you will be told what further information you will need to provide to proceed with your IVA proposal. Once you have returned the required information, an IVA will usually take between 7-14 days to get into place. You will be protected from creditors within this time, your advisor will provide you with documentation via email. How long does an IVA last? Most IVAs will last for a length of five years. The i v a will remain on your credit file for a period of six years and is placed on the Insolvency Register for that period. You can work out what date it will be removed from your credit file, it will be six years from the start date of the IVA term. So if the IVA started on 1 January 2000, it should be removed from your credit file six years from that date, which would be 1 January 2006. When you apply for an individual voluntary arrangement your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) will tell you if you qualify for an IVA, how long it lasts, how much it costs and provide you with any other debt advice which you may need. How much will debt advice cost for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement? The advice cost for individual voluntary arrangements is free of charge. Your I.V.A company will tell you if you qualify for an IVA. They will talk to you about your different debts, provide you with free debt advice and check if your creditors are likely to approve your proposal for your IVA for debt. How does an IVA affect your life? By taking out an IVA you may affect your overall financial position. You will not be allowed to take out credit for 6 years. You will struggle to get a mortgage or remortgage your existing property. It also may affect any future increase in earnings or windfalls you may receive, as these will need to be paid to your insolvency practitioner. Your insolvency practitioner will take control of your debts for this period, they will deal with all of your creditors and this is legally binding. That means you will not be allowed to take out any more debts whilst in the IVA. Once the plan is completed, any debts which you accrue will be managed by yourself. Your ability to take out further debts in the future will not be impacted once the IVA has completed. What is the IVA protocol? The I.V.A protocol is a voluntary set of guidelines which your Insolvency Practitioner (IP) can sign up for which improves the efficiency of Individual Voluntary Arrangements. When you apply for debt advice, it is important that you understand the steps of the debt solution, so you can decide whether or not the solution is the best one for your circumstances. How do I know if creditors will accept my IVA? Generally speaking, most creditors will approve voluntary arrangements for unsecured debt. But some debts can not be included within one formal debt solution. Your Insolvency Practitioner will tell you how likely it is that your creditors will be willing to accept your proposal, based on the voting creditors. Can I pay in one lump sum? There are occasions when you may be eligible for a debt solution which is payable in a one off lump sum as a final settlement to your creditors. This is usually when the money is being gifted from some one else, or you have received inheritance or a windfall for example. With a one-off lump sum payment, the advice is usually the same as when you normally apply for an IVA. You wouldnt have to make regular payments into the solution, your IP can provide you with more advice on one off lump sum solutions for your debts. Your IP will provide you with more advice on the debt IVA and explain what is IVA to you. Who regulates the debt industry? At present the debt industry is not regulated. Some Insolvency Practitioners offices choose to sign up to the Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) or register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). You can contact the IPA using the contact details or email address on their website. Your creditors do not regulate the debt industry and your creditors will not be able to impact any decisions which the IPA or FCA make. In our experience, the regulators will take assertive action on any advisers or businesses which do not comply with their strict codes of practice. To check if a person is regulated by the FCA, enter their name into the search box in the FCA website. Should I use a debt charity? There are thousands of companies which provide debt help in the UK. You may be looking for an alternative to a private company. You should know that charities usually pass their fee charging products to sister companies which charge fees and disbursements, just like private companies. So what you initially thought was a good option, on further analysis could be different to what you originally thought. Charities do have their part to play though. They can help you if you have a problem with your bank accounts, maintenance arrears, living costs, credit reference agencies, child support arrears, bankruptcy, assets, accountancy issues, mortgages, creditor issues, insurance providers, mobiles, your bank account, rates arrears, PAYE contributions or if you want to work out your expenditure. They can make sure that you speak to an adviser or supervisor and look at proposals to offer your lender. A petition has started with the possibility of a debate in parliament about how charities represent themselves and their services. Which charities help with debt? You can contact Money Advice Service, National Debtline, Step Change, Shelter or a combination of the three. Charities are particular useful for a low debt level under 1,000. If the debt is high (such as a debt value of 10,000 or more) you would usually seek an assessment from a professional adviser. If you do decide to use a charity to guide you, make sure you check their charity number and the registration number on their website to make sure you are content that their team can answer your questions in the right ways. A lot of clients of charities have a minimum debt level which does not meet the basis for an IVA, so you could always chat to a charity that is happy to act on your behalf for low debt levels. Although an I.V.A could be the answer to your debt problem, its important to understand the monthly payment so call us on our free phone number. Anyone customers can receive expert feedback on their rights from debt charities, if they cant help they will usually point you in the director of firms which help with IVAs. We are homeowners, will lenders see my proposal differently? In some cases yes. In the majority of cases, if you are a homeowner you will not need to remortgage or take out any additional finances that will effect your property. You will need to sign a additional restrictions which remove your ability to take out additional credit tied to your property, which is something that is restricted once you are in an i.v.a. There are exceptions to this, such as when you have a lot of equity in your property/properties. If you own half of a property and another party owns the other half, only your equity will be affected. If you are landlord and you are in a position of equity, your IP may review your trading position or business to make sure the figures in question are in order. This is usually the case if you have two or more properties, as sometimes the equity can be used to form a repayment to your creditors. But this usually depends on the amount of value built up in your properties. Banks and building societies will not change the terms of your mortgage as long as a contribution is still being made for the duration of your arrangement. Your mortgage payments will be added to your expenses and accounted for within your budget, as long as you can provide evidence that you can afford to continue to make payments into your mortgage for duration of the plan. LOOKING FOR HELP? 100% Confidential. Thousands Helped. No upfront fees you are here: business Sun Pharma inks pact with ICGEB for dengue drug Cipa Cipa will help in treating about 7.5-34 million people, the number of cases reported for dengue, says Kirti Ganorkar, Senior VP - Business Development & Portfolio Management at Sun Pharma. current-affairs-trends SC asks Delhi govt to submit a plan for phasing out diesel cabs The SC ban order on diesel cabs will affect thousands of operators says the government, and has suggested that the apex court permit gradual phasing out of diesel cabs in Delhi, reports Ashmit Kumar of CNBC-TV18. business Barring catastrophe, market won't retest Feb lows: Nilesh Shah Markets globally had been looking for a reason to correct but any fall only accentuates the appeal of Indian shares, says Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company. Australian Pharmaceuticals are expected to rise even higher. And it will be powered by Chinas growing middle class. One of the biggest industries in the world is pharmaceuticals. Its market size numbers in the trillions of dollars. The pace of its growth doesnt seem to be slowing down. Pharmaceuticals are expected to rise even higher. And it will be powered by Chinas growing middle class. Last year, in October, China overtook the US in terms of the size of each countrys respective middle classes. Chinas middle class population reached 109 million. This was 18.5% above the USs total. Source: Credit Suisse Since the early 2000s, China has added 43.4 million middle class adults to their growing population. The US has only added just over half this number, 22 million, by comparison. By 2022, McKinsey suggests more than 75% of Chinas urban consumer base will earn 60,000229,000 renminbi a year (US$9,000$34,000). It might not seem like much to us. But the average wage in China is around 57,361 renminbi annually. This means that more than 75% of urban consumers will earn at a minimum over and above the average wage today. This growth in Chinas middle class is fuelling growth across various industries. One Australian industry capitalising on this is healthcare. A major health expo is expected to be held in Melbourne mid-2016. The expo will attract more than 400 Chinese pharmacy owners. The goal for Chinese pharma owners will be to strike as many deals as possible. Australian companies involved in vitamins and other healthcare related products believe the expo will be a huge opportunity. They will all be trying to tap into Chinas hugely expansive healthcare market. Chairman of the China Medical Pharmaceutical Material Association, Ma Shoujun, stated: This is not like the way Chinese delegations are traditionally done come here, have a look, talk and then nothing happens. This time something will happen, contracts will be signed business to business. And the business will be ongoing. We want to form partnerships. Mr Mas association represents 240,000 pharmacy outlets. Theyre at the frontline of Chinas healthcare industries. And theyre estimated to be worth $1.6 trillion. Thats right not billion, but trillion. The pharmacy outlets are looking to source vitamins, infant formula, health drinks, lambs wool and allergy resistant bedding. And, in addition to these products, Mr Ma said they may be looking to adopt something else from Australia. The Chemist Warehouse model could be revolutionary in China. Under its model, a majority of products get sold over the counter. But in China, the complete opposite has been used for years now. Around 70% of products in Chinese pharmacies are sold through the dispensary. Mr Ma is seeking to convert these sales to over-the-counter. Why? Its easier for customers to buy. And, by changing pharma models in China, they might not be the only ones benefiting. Aussie pharma would likely share in the profits. How? More sales equal more orders to source Australian-made pharmaceuticals. According to Mr Ma: The health industry is a huge market for China, worth 8000 billion yuan, so the big opportunity for us is to share part of the pie. The Australian products are reliable, good products and they [Chinese pharmacies and customers] feel comfortable with them. A slice of that pie could very well go to Australia. Australia is also a favoured option for China because of the Sino-Australia free trade agreement signed last year. Under the agreement, tariffs of up to 10% on pharmaceuticals will be progressively eliminated by January 2019. One of the key findings from PwCs 2015 report Challenges and Change was that the Australias pharma industry needs future investment. In the report, PwC surveyed various pharmaceutical professionals. Of those surveyed, 66% are anticipating growth in the next few years. And China may just be the driver behind those expectations. IBISWorld estimates annual revenues for Australias health services industry total $116 billion. In the past five years, the industry has been growing at 4.1%. Lets do a quick comparison. Australias mining industry totals annual revenues of $193 billion. Over the past five years, it hasnt been growing. In fact, its average five-year growth is -1%. Therefore, its not that hard to believe health services could be the next big Aussie booming sector. Harje Ronngard, Junior Analyst, Money Morning PS: If youre interested in investing, but not sure where to get started, dont worry. The principles of investing are actually very easy. The only reason people make it complicated is because of greed. It is very difficult to get rich quickand then to stay rich. Especially when investing. Usually, when you hear of people making millions in a short matter of time, its short lived. More often than not, sustainable wealth is created over a long period of time. While this might be frustrating to the impatient, it is also less stressful. Ask yourself why you want to be wealthy? Most people would say its because they want to be stress free. This is why its important to understand that taking on unnecessary amounts of risk isnt a sustainable investing strategy. Sure, you could wake up tomorrow with a million dollars. But you could also wake up with nothing. And, more often than not, very few extreme risk-takers succeed. Thats why you shouldnt be willing to bet the farm. Instead, you should be comfortable with each of your investments. Money Mornings small-cap specialist, Sam Volkering, has written a report all about simple investing. In his report, How to Become a Great Investor in Two Simple Steps, Sam will simplify investing for you. Included in Sams report is a list of big mistakes made by investorsand how you can avoid them to succeed with your investments. Sam also explains why a set and forget strategy might not be the best in todays market. To get your free copy of Sams report, click here. Emerging market pioneer Sir John Templeton set out the case for contrarian investing with one of the most oft quoted truisms of investment: If you want to have a better performance than the crowd, you must do things differently from the crowd. Following Sir Johns logic, emerging market equities appear to be a classic contrarian opportunity. Once a favourite of asset allocators looking to tap into the rapid development and growth of these economies, emerging market equities have more recently fallen out of favour as investors focus on the short-term ills affecting these markets. This has led to capital flight from funds investing in this part of the capital markets, as evidenced by figure 1 below, which shows the global net inflows of capital into emerging market funds as estimated by Morningstar. While acting differently from the crowd is a pre-requisite for long-term investment success, fundamental analysis is equally important, as those wishing to adopt a contrarian approach need to establish a sound rationale for opposing the consensus view. For most contrarian investors, this rationale typically rests upon constructing an accurate assessment of the fair value of the asset, which itself rests on expectations of the future cash flow of an asset and the likely variability of that cash flow. For investors in emerging markets, this latter step is especially challenging due to the breadth of the opportunity set. Heterogeneous Emerging Markets Despite often being represented in portfolios by a single fund or portfolio allocation, the emerging markets are a huge and diverse investment area. In terms of size, emerging economies account for approximately 80% of the global population and 45% of global output when adjusted for purchasing power. From a diversity perspective, the MSCI Emerging Markets index comprises 838 companies from 23 countries with a market capitalisation of $3.4 trillion. It is therefore overly simplistic to consider these markets as a homogenous block and expect to develop a coherent expectation of fair value sufficiently robust to support a contrarian investment case. Evidence for this diversity is abundant and encompasses all aspects of both the emerging markets and the economies in which they reside. Perhaps the most obvious current fault line in emerging markets is between the key resource producers and consumers. While investors in Russia may be rightly concerned about the negative impact of falling oil prices on both the Russian economy and stock market, the reverse is true for India, which is one of the worlds largest importers of oil and a net beneficiary of a falling oil price. Equally, a decline in the economic growth rate in China is having a negative impact on commodity-producing stocks in South America while lowering the input prices and supporting profitability for Chinese manufactures. Consequently, when seeking to adopt a contrarian approach in these markets, we must first acknowledge that opportunities are unlikely to be uniform but rather focused in certain unpopular sectors, markets or regions. Second, we need to recognise that we do not invest in economies but rather in the securities of companies and governments. These must be valued using a consistent framework if we are to identify attractive opportunities within this broad swathe of investment options. Where are the Value Opportunities? When viewed in this way, it is striking that the key value-driven opportunities appear to be concentrated in a small number of markets and sectors. Of the eleven emerging equity markets for which we compile bottom-up valuation models, only five appear sufficiently attractive to deliver positive real returns, in local currency terms, over the next seven years[1]. Of these, the two most attractive markets, Taiwan and Russia, are both highly concentrated with the largest holding in each country accounting for more than 18% of the index. This concentration is also evident at the sector level with the dominant sector technology in Taiwan and Energy in Russia for example accounting for over 50% of the index in each case. There are three clear messages to be drawn from this concentration. The first is that a broadly diversified emerging markets portfolio may not be able to fully capture the current value available in emerging markets. The best value opportunities often stem from economic concentration in key industries at the country level. In order to fully access these opportunities it is necessary to adopt an unconstrained approach. Second, short term investment trends are by their very nature driven by behavioural rather than fundamental factors and, consequently, can become surprisingly extreme. Therefore, contrarian investors wishing to access the value in unpopular markets must adopt a long-term approach and accept shorter periods of underperformance as opportunities to acquire additional holdings more cheaply. Third, we must appreciate that assets are seldom cheap without reason and acknowledge the existence of systemic, geo-political and institutional risks in emerging markets. As a result, the expected returns from companies operating or listed in these markets is subject to greater uncertainty than equivalent companies in developed markets. What Should Investors Do? Investors can address this greater level of uncertainty in several ways. One of the most common is to adjust the discount rate used to determine the value of future cash flows. This approach naturally leads investors towards higher-quality holdings and quality orientated strategies have prospered within these markets. As a result, many of these funds have become extremely popular and large. While we would expect a focus on quality to continue to deliver superior returns as these economies and their institutions continue to mature, it is important to note that quality stocks and defensive industries can become relatively overvalued during periods of market stress and negative investor sentiment. It is therefore important that investors in emerging markets consider lower-quality industries such as energy and basic resources when the implied returns from these investments more than fully compensate for the likely downside risk. This willingness to investigate areas of the market that are deeply unappealing to the majority of investors is the true mark of the contrarian. A version of this article appeared in International Investment magazine One of the nations hottest housing markets just broke a record in April. There were a reported 12,085 home sales in Toronto last month, according to the Toronto real estate board, who argues that figure could have been even higher had there been more supply. While Aprils sales result represented a new record for sales, that number could have been even higher if we had benefitted from more supply, Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark McLean said. In the City of Toronto in particular, some households have chosen not to list their home for sale because of the second substantial Land Transfer Tax and associated administration fee. The lack of available inventory, coupled with record sales, continued to translate into robust annual rates of price growth. Sales increased 7.4% year-over-year in April, according to TREB, which set a monthly sales record. As we move into the busiest time of the year, in terms of sales volume, strong competition between buyers will continue to push home prices higher, Jason Mercer, TREBs Director of Market Analysis, said. A greater supply of listings would certainly be welcome, but we would need to see a number of consecutive months in which listings growth outpaced sales growth before market conditions become more balanced. The lack of supply is likely one reason prices continue to sky-rocket as well. The average price in the City of Toronto increased from $690,058 to $766,472 over the past year. Prices in the GTA also saw an increase, settling in at an average of $739,082 up from $636,094 a year ago. Even pacifists agree that cancer needs its butt kicked. More and more people realize how cancer affects family members, friends, co-workers etc. Its hard to find someone that cancer hasnt touched in one way or another. So we are asking you to help us Pick a Fight with Cancer. This Thursday, May 5th at the Engineers Club of Dayton, Mike Nichols will be hosting the Pick a Fight with Cancer Wine tasting from 6 9 pm. This great event is to celebrate those who have survived cancer, those angels cheering on from heaven and to support the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. Mike Nichols states: Wine tasting event honoring the FIGHTERS. What better venue to lead the charge to support blood cancer research than the historic Engineers Club of Dayton. This historic venue was founded by innovators such as Edward Deeds and Charles Kettering whose inventions changed our world. We ask you to join us for an evening of hope to help render this disease powerless. With every sunrise there is hope and a world of possibilities. Along with food and delicious wines to sample, craft beer will also join the party. Giveaways and auction items will attend as well to help round out this wonderful soiree. Dr. James Budde from the Rahn Dental Group has provided a zoom whitening gift for one of our attendees. Square One Salon has graciously donated an Aveda Gift basket, Elsas South will provide several treats, dance lessons from Arthur Murray, skin creams from Tel Aviv, Israel and gifts from Rodin and Fields have been donated as well. Tickets are available at this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pick-a-fight-with-cancer-tickets-22797351492 or if you would rather pay at the door, tickets are $30 for one person or $50 for couple (couple meaning significant other, family member or bring a friend!) So come out, join us and the FIGHTERS as we celebrate their triumphs and lend our support in picking a fight with cancer! EXCLUSIVE! Drywall is being demolished. New equipment is being installed. Things are just beginning to take shape at Archers Taverns second location, soon to be opened in Kettering. The new restaurant will be where the old Tumbleweed restaurant was located on Dorothy Lane. Food Adventures has the first peek inside the renovations, you wont see anywhere else. And one thing is for sure this restaurant is gonna be big, both in size and excitement. The ownership team of Dan Apolito, Mike Fullenkamp and Scott Dorsten are bringing their winning formula across town, but for now, they have been putting some sweat equity into the project. Most of the work so far has been done in the kitchen area. Hammering and tossing of scrap material can be heard on any given day, and the owners arent shy on grabbing tools themselves, and diving in on the teardown. It isnt hard to imagine the new location being packed with new fans of their burgers, pizza, wings, beer selection and so much more. Being across from Delco Park, Archerss 2 is a perfect place for that after softball game dinner and drinks. Archers Taverns reputation is good food and reasonable prices, from their salads to their chili, the menu is delicious. Want the scoop on the new location? ONLY FOOD ADVENTURES HAS THIS EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK! HERES THE SKINNY: ARCHERS KETTERING will be located at 2030 E Dorothy Lane The new location will bring that same signature menu that the crowds in Centerville have grown to love over the past 5 years. The restaurant will feature 24 draft beer taps, and an eclectic selection of local, familiar and rare beers. Archers will continue to feature Buckeye Vodka in many of its cocktails and special events. The seating area will be much larger than the Centerville restaurant The owners plan to open the eatery in July, given that the permits and construction finish on schedule. MUST EATS: SWEET and SEXY WINGS: You wont hear about these on any other food site, because they arent on the menu it is a special request. Sweet and Sexy Wings are wings with Dry Rub spice, drizzled with Spicy Garlic sauce, then tossed in Sweet BBQ sauce. The result is tangy and slightly hot taste of joy. Probably the best wing sauce we have ever tasted. THE STICKY BURGER: A burger with peanut butter on it? YES! The result is a unique taste, reminiscent of a Thai Peanut Sauce. This burger is the Big Ragus Favorite. It also comes with bacon and smoked pepper jack cheese. This is a curiously good burger that you wont soon forget. THE CHILI They have a chili cookoff each year, and the winner gets their chili on the menu. In other words, it is the best of the best. You gotta get a cup of this chili, great flavor and zing guaranteed ! THE TACO PIZZA: Muey Bueno ...They use enchilada sauce for the pizza sauce. They add taco beef, cheddar and Monterey cheeses, onion, tomatoes, jalapenos and cilantro. Hot, spicy and ooh so nicey! THE MARGHERITA PIZZA: Fresh Mozzarella and a smooth tomato sauce is the key to this pizza. Fresh basil leaves and Roma tomatoes top off this vegetarian pie nicely. We cant believe we ate the whole thing! THE PHILLY CHEESESTEAK: A massive, heaping sandwich filled with meat, peppers and melted provolone cheese. You can also request cheese whiz on this monster. We say, go for it. This is how they do it in Philadelphia. Your choice of shaved ribeye steak or sliced chicken breast for the meat. ARCHERS BREAD PUDDING: Made with Bills Donuts need we say more? Honorable Mention: The Gourmet Grilled Cheese omg the dijon mustard is brilliant and makes the sandwich, as does the buttery bread and chewy cheese combo. Food Adventures is excited for this next chapter in the lives of Archers ownership. They give a lot back to the community, and we wish them continued success. SPEAKING OF HELPING THE COMMUNITY, TOMORROW WE FOLLOW UP THIS STORY WITH A CHARITY EVENT THAT ARCHERS HAS HELPED ORGANIZE THAT NEEDS YOUR HELP !! Do you know the Food Adventures Crew? The Big Ragu, Chef House and Hungry Jax would like to take a minute and invite you to like them on Facebook by clicking HERE. From food photos, to restaurant events around Dayton, our blog is a foodies paradise. Bank of America is limbering up its checkbook to settle legal woes once again. The bank said that its reached a $190 million settlement to resolve claims from Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle over mortgage-backed securities it sold before the financial meltdown. BoA disclosed the settlement in a regulatory filing, according to a Bloomberg report. The bank said it had already set aside funds to cover the settlement. Seattle Bank, which merged last year with Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, was one of a dozen government-sponsored regional lenders that supply financing to member banks and finance companies, Bloomberg reported. The lender accused BoA of omitting information and making misstatements about the quality of the mortgages backing the securities BoA sold. Bank of Americas settlement is just the latest in a string of payments to Seattle Bank, which filed suit against more than 10 lenders in 2009. Goldman Sachs last month reached a $37.5 million settlement with Seattle Banks successor, Des Moines Bank, as part of a $5.1 billion settlement with the Department of Justice, Bloomberg reported. Bank of America has faced numerous legal woes in the last few years. When the bank purchased subprime lender Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2008, Countrywides considerable legal problems became BoAs. Bank of America has paid more than any other U.S. lender to resolve claims over the sale of residential mortgage-backed securities, according to Bloomberg data. Subway Restaurants revenue fell in 2015 for the second straight year, a sign one of the fast-food industry's stalwarts is losing ground to newer chains. Revenue dropped 4.3 percent to $1.11 billion last year, according to the company's Franchise Disclosure Document, which was filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce last week. Subway owner Doctor's Associates Inc. also is slowing its pace of new restaurant openings and shuttering hundreds of underperforming locations. Fast-casual chains such as Panera Bread Co. have been taking share from Subway restaurants in the U.S., bringing its once-torrid growth phase to a halt. Founded in 1965 by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck, the submarine sandwich shop had expanded quickly over the decades by aggressively franchising. It now has more than 44,000 locations worldwide. Lately, though, Subway has struggled to keep pace with more modern rivals, which cater to millennials with items such as quinoa salads and Greek yogurt. While Subway opened 911 new locations in the United States last year, it closed 877. That means it netted just 34 restaurants in 2015, a slowdown from 313 the year before. Subway had a total of 27,129 domestically at the end of 2015, all of them franchised. Net income declined 87 percent to $1.15 million from $9.19 million in 2014. Last year, the company said it was putting new store development on the back burner while it focused on making its restaurants more profitable. "That hasn't changed," Subway said in a statement on Tuesday. "The outlook for 2016 is more optimistic based on the terrific feedback we received from our guests about our culinary improvements and exciting new menu offerings," the company said. Still, Subway is feeling more pressure from traditional fast-food chains. McDonald's is luring back customers with an all-day breakfast push and aggressive discounts, such as offering two sandwiches for $5. To fight back, Subway just started promoting a buy-one-get-one-free sandwich deal in the morning during May. The Milford, Connecticut-based chain had a tumultuous 2015. DeLuca, the co-founder and chief executive officer, died in September, putting the company in the hands of his sister, Suzanne Greco. In November, former spokesman Jared Fogle was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to child-pornography charges, capping a scandal that had rocked the sandwich chain for months. In December, the company named former Coca-Cola Co. veteran Joseph Tripodi as its global chief marketing officer, a sign it's looking to revamp its image. Subway's longtime "Eat Fresh" slogan lost cachet in an industry where most every chain now touts its ingredients. SHARE expands services SHARE -- Sharing Hands A Respite Experience -- will be expanding its respite care program to include families that have children with medical needs, or those considered medically fragile, according to a press release from the nonprofit. To apply for SHAREs services, submit a completed application to Monika Lozano at mlozano@sharewtx.org. The application is at www.sharewtx.org under the documents tab. For more information, call 818-1253. Couplet care Midland Memorial Hospital is in the process of developing a family-centered maternity care program. One of the facets of this is couplet care, according to a press release from the hospital. In couplet care, or mother-baby care, healthy newborns will be cared for in the mothers room and one nurse will care for both mother and baby. MMH began this program on Tuesday. MMH events Advance Care Planning Training (Part I of II), 1:30-3:30 p.m., today, Midland Memorial Hospital main lobby. For more information, contact Collette Underwood at 221-1166 or collette.underwood@midland-memorial.com Weigh to Success Support Group Meeting, 6-7 p.m., Thursday, Midland Memorial Hospital-West Campus, 4214 Andrews Highway. For more information, contact Sundae Adkins at 638-8081 or sundae.adkins@midland-memorial.com Update on Zika and Other Arboviruses, 12:15-1:15 p.m. Monday, Midland Memorial Hospital conference rooms B and C. For more information, contact Rebecca Pontaski at 221-1625 or rebecca.pontaski@midland-memorial.com Joe Tye Presents 12 Core Action Values, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., May 11, Midland Colleges Alison Fine Arts - Wagner & Brown Auditorium, 3600 N. Garfield St. For more information, contact Danielle Doerr at 221-1185 or danielle.doerr@midland-memorial.com Support groups this week -- Coffee Break for Men, 9 a.m. today, HospiceMidland 911 W. Texas Ave., 682-2855. -- New Beginnings cancer support group, 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Texas Oncology - Allison Cancer Center, 400 Rosalind Redfern Grover Parkway, Suite 100, 218-8714, fatima@giftsofhopemidland.org. -- ODESSA Tourettes syndrome support group, 2 p.m. Sunday, Neuroscience Institute, 3610 22nd St.; Pam Weaks, 806-438-6601, pzweaks@yahoo.com, or Rene Howell, 806-549-7788. -- Midland Memorial Hospitals Better Breathing Club, 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Midland Memorial Hospital Scharbauer Tower meeting room. Don at 221-4864 or Joanna at 682-4229. -- The Knot Adoption Support Group, 11:30 a.m. May 11, First Presbyterian Church; Kathy Hagler, Kathy@WTIE.net -- Caregiver support, noon May 11, HospiceMidland 911 W. Texas Ave., 682-2855. Weekly support groups -- TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Christian Church of Midland, 2609 Neely Ave. 694-8643. -- Overeaters Anonymous; 7-8 p.m. Tuesdays and 3-4 p.m. Sundays; B&J Plaza, 206 N. Midkiff Road, Suite 1-D; 553-1031. survivors of sexual abuse; interactive Bible study to help deal with the consequences of sexual abuse meets Tuesdays. Child care available; House of Hope, 570-5935. -- Peer to Peer support group for veterans, active duty, guard, reserves and their families, 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Permian Basin Community Center, 401 E. Illinois Ave., Suite 403; Wil Hoggard, 213-5342, william.hoggard@wtcmhmr.org. * * * Alcoholics Anonymous hotline 580-7868. Serenity Group, 8 p.m. daily, 3101 N. A St., Building C; 685-3100. 710 Group, 7 a.m., noon and 8 p.m. Wednesdays, 710 Ohio Ave.; 682-8162. Alpha Omega, 8 p.m Tuesdays and 11 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 311 S. Pecos St. --12-Step Group of Alcoholics Anonymous, 7:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 10 a.m. Saturdays; 206 N. Midkiff Road; 697-0272. Narcotics Anonymous hotline 582-2926. Laundry Group, 8 p.m. daily and noon Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 104 N. Marshall St. Xodus Group, 5:30 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 7 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 8:30 p.m. Saturdays, 206 N. Midkiff Road. -- CODA Group, 12-step program for relationships, 7 p.m. Thursdays, 206 N. Midkiff Road; 697-0272. -- La Hacienda Alumni, support group for former patients, 7 p.m. Thursdays, 206 N. Midkiff Road; 697-0272. *** MH payment options Midland Memorial Hospital recognizes that our community is facing challenging financial times. Resources are tight and families are having to make important decisions about what to spend money on now and what has to wait. Realizing health care can be expensive and the increasing deductibles make it hard to manage, the hospital has adjusted its payment procedures. We want to make sure you receive the care you need, when you need it. To find out about the new options now offered to better accommodate your payment needs, call 221-4705. Source: Midland Memorial Hospital *** How sick are you? Midland Memorial Hospital offers a a nurse triage program 68-NURSE. The program is designed to help people determine whether their health situation warrants a trip to the emergency room. Midland residents can call the line by dialing 686-8773. The program is free and available 24 hours a day-365 days a year. Local nurses are available to help you determine the best place to receive care for your situation. 68-NURSE can help you save time and money by directing you to the most appropriate healthcare option, whether its a neighborhood clinic, urgent care center, emergency room or just staying home. * * * Contact your Hospital District representative Midland Memorial Hospital 400 Rosalind Redfern Grover Parkway, Midland, TX 79701 Phone: 221-1111 Website: www.midland-memorial.com President Russell Meyers 221-1584 Directors -- District 1: Dwain Tomlin, District 2: Dorothea Logan, District 3: Tommy Lent, District 4: Cressinda Hyatt, District 5: Alison King, District 6: Joe Kiowski, District 7: Jeffrey Beard Street Corner Symphony, the popular a cappella group that was a finalist during the second season of NBCs vocal competition The Sing-Off, is heading to Carlisle. The group will perform at the Carlisle Theatre for a 7:30 p.m. performance on Saturday. The theater is located at 40 W. High St., and tickets can be purchased through the theaters website, carlisletheatre.org, or by calling 717-258-0666. Six years ago Street Corner Symphony blew TV audiences away with its renditions of such favorites as Credence Clearwater Revivals Down on the Corner and Coldplays Fix You. During the The Sing-Off season finale, the groups mesmerizing stage presence and impressive vocal arrangements netted it a second place title. Since then, the group has been making records and bringing its a cappella magic to audiences around the country. Street Corner Symphony has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has toured with The Sing-Off judge, Ben Folds, as well as other popular artists. The group has recorded two albums, UnPractice Makes Perfect and the most recent, Southern Autumn Nostalgia which features all original music. Street Corner Symphony is a six-member, male a cappella group from Nashville, Tennessee, who formed for the sole purpose of auditioning for The Sing-Off. Its members come from several Southern states including Tennessee, Alabama and Florida. After several line-up changes, the group currently features three founding members, Mark McLemore and Jeremy and Jonathan Lister. They are joined by Adam Chance, Kurt Zimmerman and Kaleb Jones as the vocal percussionist. The group performs a wide variety of styles including gospel, barbershop, rock and pop and appeals to a wide range of audiences. In concert, audiences can enjoy exquisite harmony and a good deal of playfulness and humor on stage. Some popular songs that the group sings include Hey, Soul Sister and a medley of Beatles tunes. Shows like The Sing-Off and the movie Pitch Perfect have contributed to the rise of interest in a cappella singing in many high schools, colleges and beyond. The size of a cappella groups vary, but generally touring groups have six or fewer members. Street Corner Symphony is considered one of best a cappella groups touring today. Elizabeth Torres doesnt like the way many doctors jog from one exam room to another, their eyes focused on an electronic tablet where they tick off insurance company checklists and move their patients along as quickly as possible. She chooses to slow things down to let her patients talk about their job, children and home life. She knows thats what a good diagnosis and treatment plan requires. Its medicine, not whack-a-mole. Were not here just to fill in boxes, the 62-year-old said. Youve got to know what environment they are in, what are they eating, do they have stressful jobs, a stressful family situation? Torres job is to keep her patients as healthy as possible, the most important job in American health care. But her industry treats primary care physicians so badly that their numbers are shrinking, and there are consequences for all of us if conditions dont improve. Stress, bureaucracy and case load have left 64 percent of doctors with a negative view of their industry, according to a survey commissioned by the Physicians Foundation, an advocacy group for doctors. Less than 20 percent of physicians say they can accommodate more patients. Primary care physicians are particularly unhappy, facing the heaviest paperwork burden and the lowest pay. Forty-four percent of doctors say they plan to retire early, cut back on patients or seek a job that doesnt involve patients. Were at the bottom of the payment totem pole, for sure, Torres said. The amount of work we have to do is far greater than the specialist. We have to do a lot of tedious work. Torres calculates she works about 70 hours a week, which is typical, according to the survey. More than 80 percent of Texas physicians work more than 40 hours a week, with some averaging 80 hours or more. Torres is also one of the shrinking number of doctors who operate as small businesses. Only 29 percent of Texas doctors still own their practice, and nationwide the number has dropped to 17 percent as physicians join large partnerships or work as employees of hospitals where patients are too often seen as statistics. The key word right now is efficiency. But do you want someone who is going to listen to you and take care of you, or do you want someone who will be efficient? she said when asked why she doesnt work for someone else. I may not be doing financially the best that I can do, but I am able to pay my bills, Im happy with how I take care of the patients, and that to me is the important part. Torres recruited her husband to handle the billing, and they work together to pay her assistant and the other overhead costs. About 20 percent of her time is spent doing paperwork for the 22 patients she sees a day. Not surprisingly, few new doctors want to go into primary care, also known as family medicine. Texas ranks 47th in the nation for primary care doctors per capita, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The federal Department of Health and Human Services anticipates a national shortage of 20,000 primary care physicians by 2020. Thats bad news because routine visits to a primary care doctor who knows you are the single most important factor in preventing chronic health problems. When more Americans have a so-called medical home, the less the country spends on health care, studies show. If we want to keep people out of the hospital, we need more doctors in the community. But weve created a system that discourages doctors from taking the most important jobs of keeping people healthy, and encourages them instead to become specialists who treat people after they get sick. Reversing this problem requires rethinking how we train and compensate doctors, said Dr. Richard Olds, who has taught at many medical schools and is currently president of St. Georges University in Grenada. About 25 percent of U.S. doctors graduated from international medical schools like St. Georges, and two-thirds of them provide primary care. Olds said part of the problem is that professors at American medical schools tell students they are too smart for family medicine. U.S. medical students largely want to become specialists, and we need to start addressing those kinds of issues, he said. Medical students at St. Georges perform their clinical training and residencies in primary care settings rather than in large medical centers in urban areas, Olds said. They go into the fields that society needs, and they are twice as likely to practice in under-served areas, Olds said of St. Georges graduates. Closing the pay gap between primary doctors and specialists is critical. The United Kingdom has plenty of primary care doctors and provides an example, he said. They pay their primary care doctors twice what our doctors are paid, though they also pay their specialists considerably less, Olds said. That sounds good to Torres, who gets paid $75 to $100 per patient visit. For an additional $15, she could hire a physicians assistant to make sure patients follow treatment plans and to help analyze data generated by her electronic health record system, she said. Despite the current working conditions, Torres said she has no plans to retire anytime soon. She simply hasnt made enough money yet, she said. No doubt shell have plenty of patients, because until we treat primary care doctors better, she wont face much competition. KATY, Texas (AP) Authorities say a recently fired employee opened fire at a transportation company near Houston, killing one employee and injuring another before fatally shooting himself. Harris County Sheriff Ron Hickman said during a news conference Wednesday that the gunman was fired earlier in the day, then returned with a gun to the Knight Transportation office in Katy, about 20 miles west of Houston. Hickman says the man opened fire, killing one person and injuring another. Hickman says the man then shot himself. The sheriff didn't release the name of the gunman or the victims. Numerous patrol vehicles are surrounding the facility. A nearby high school is on lockdown as a precaution. A message left with Phoenix-based Knight Transportation also wasn't immediately returned. The company provides truckload transportation services. CIUDAD VICTORIA, Mexico (AP) Mexican authorities say they have rescued three American citizens who were kidnapped in the northern state of Tamaulipas, which borders Texas. The Tamaulipas state government says the victims were freed from captivity Monday from a criminal band's camp along the highway between Ciudad Victoria and Zaragoza. It says the alleged leader of the band was killed in the operation and two suspects were detained. Latin American Launches for comScore and Kantar comScore and media measurement specialist Kantar Media IBOPE have partnered to launch a series of cross-platform solutions in Latin America. Since announcing their partnership in February 2015, comScore and Kantar have launched measurement services in Spain, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. The new LatAm partnership will kick off with the roll-out of TGI Clickstream. This will integrate data from Kantar's TGI product and media usage measure with data from comScore's MMX platform, which provides unduplicated accounting of audience size and demographics across multiple devices. TGI Clickstream is already available in the UK, France and Turkey, and will be launched in Brazil in 2016, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Chile in 2017. Orlando Lopes, CEO of Kantar Media IBOPE, says the partnership will address an increasing need for cross-device measurement solutions in the region. Alejandro Fosk, SVP of comScore Latin America, adds: 'The proliferation of screens has made content consumption easier, but on the other hand, the way we measure this consumption has become more complex, and innovative approaches are needed to understand consumers, advertising and content'. Web sites: www.kantaribopemedia.com and www.comscore.com . The Carlisle Kiwanis Club found out Tuesday where exactly their blueberries for their annual sale come from and how they get from the New Jersey fields to the hands of borough residents. In the last five years under co-chair Steve Martson, the Kiwanis Club has sold approximately 150,000 pounds of the fruit loaded with antioxidants, resulting in a little over $132,000, according to the clubs president Barrie Ann George. But many members of the club didnt know before Tuesday how exactly the berries got to Carlisle; thats why club officials arranged for the grower of the berries they use for the fundraiser each year, Jeffrey Whalen of New Jersey-based Whalen Farms LLC, to speak at the weekly noon meeting and answer any questions those in attendance had. Whalen was accompanied by Chad Puschel, special projects manager of Sunny Valley International, the produce wholesaler Whalen uses to sell his goods. One of the first questions was whether the berries are organic or not. The berries are sprayed, a lot of people ask about being organic. The big thing about organics, is they are sprayed, but they are sprayed with organic compounds, Whalen explained. We have scouts in the field and theyre only sprayed when necessary. We spray them for disease, for insectsonly spray when necessary. Currently, Whalen Farms operates 185 acres of blueberries as well as 194 acres of cranberries. The lifelong farmer dished on how both fruits are raised and picked, even answering a question on whether or not the berries can be washed prior to eating them. You should wash all of your produce before consuming them, but personally, I just pop them right in, he joked. The use of migrant workers After mentioning that the berries are handpicked by about 250 migrant workers, a firestorm of questions erupted, with Kiwanians curious about those who are the driving force behind getting the berries out of the fields and into their hands. Whalen revealed that he provides housing for the 250 migrants each year for six weeks during harvesting season, referring to the setup as a nightmare. We have a lot of state regulations we have to follow, the camps are all inspected, and even though theyre in tip-top shape when the workers get there, they kind of destroy them, he said. Its quite a chore. According to Whalen, state and federal inspectors arrive at his property to ensure the living quarters are adequate, make sure all of the workers are adults and that theyre receiving the correct payment for their work, which he said was minimum wage. The blueberries are sold for $31 for a 10-pound box and can be purchased by contacting any Kiwanian by calling 243-6800 and leaving a message or by emailing carlisleblueberries@yahoo.com. Blueberries can then be picked up at Project SHARE, 5 N. Orange St. in Carlisle, on or about July 6, according to the Kiwanis Clubs website. Police continue to investigate Monday nights shooting in Carlisle that sent one man to the hospital, according to Borough Manager Matthew Candland. One of the real critical things that we need, and we have received in a number of these cases, is we really need the community who are often times the eyes and ears of law enforcement out in the community to help, to provide tips, to provide witnesses, to provide anything information that may help lead to resolving some of these crimes, he said. Around 7:30 p.m. Monday, Carlisle Police responded to the 300 block of North Pitt Street for reports of shots fired. When police officers arrived they found a 22-year old man had been shot in the back of his right shoulder, police said. The man was flown to Hershey Medical Center where he was treated with what are believed to be non-life threatening injuries, according to police. Sgt. Adolfo Heredia said Monday the public was not in any danger because the shooting was not random in nature. Anyone with information is asked to contact the borough police department at 243-5252. Witnesses can be interviewed discreetly to protect their identity. Mondays shooting comes more than three months after two people were shot and sent to the hospital in the 500 block of North Hanover Street in January. The shooter in that incident has not been charged. Carlisle Police also investigated a string of shootings around Thanksgiving last year. While multiple people were charged with weapons violations around the time of those incidents, the majority of the shootings have not directly resulted in charges. As I understand, over the last several years there have been some shootings. Some of them have been resolved. Some of them have not, Candland said. Thats just kind of the nature of police work. Sometimes our officers are able to solve these crimes and sometimes they are not. ... I think our police have done a great job in resolving a number of them. Now, have they resolved them all, no. But thats not atypical for many of the crimes that occur, some of which, unfortunately, go unresolved. Nationally, 57 percent of all aggravated assaults resulted in an arrest in 2011, the most recent data available, according to the FBI. That number is higher for the Middle Atlantic Region, which includes Pennsylvania. Nearly half of all violent crimes and 62 percent of aggravated assaults in the Middle Atlantic Region resulted in an arrest, according to the FBI. Id imagine there is a goal for CPD to clear every crime, especially the violent ones like shootings, Carlisle Mayor Tim Scott said via email. And yes, this is the second one this year and I have every confidence it will be cleared. From my brief time overseeing the Department, I learned how things work and its not like on TV. Investigations take time. Witnesses are interviewed, crime scenes are analyzed and evidence is gathered. All three are important in an investigation. It takes a combination of all three to solve a crime. This is something the public needs to understand and (to a certain degree) the media too. In an attempt to intimidate his nephew, Aemond threatened to take out Lucerys' eye and later went after the young prince on dragon's back. The situation escalated to a bad one when Lucerys' dragon Arrax blew fire on Aemond's dragon Vhagar. Three men, including one from Shippensburg, were indicted in three separate heroin cases by a federal grand jury, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Wednesday. U.S. Attorney Peter Smith said Eddie Viera, 42, of Shippensburg, was charged with distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin. He was arrested by State Police in February on Interstate 81 after a high-speed pursuit that stretched over nearly 20 miles. Police said along the route of that pursuit, troopers found more than 950 individual packets of heroin, which Viera had allegedly thrown out of the window of the car. Viera was already the subject of an arrest warrant after members of the Franklin County Drug Task Force saw him allegedly distributing heroin and found more than 70 packets of heroin in his apartment in December 2014, the attorney's office said. The maximum penalty for Viera's offense is up to 30 years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment and a fine. The two others whose indictments were announced are Curtis Mitchell, 37, of Harrisburg, and Brandon Brooks, 26, of York. Both were arrested in November. These cases were brought as part of a district-wide initiative to combat the use and distribution of heroin. Asked/Answered is a weekly feature for reader-submitted questions. Follow the blog online at www.cumberlink.com: What ever happened with the Bosniak Islamic Cultural Center of Carlisles cemetery that was planned in West Pennsboro Township? In March 2015, the Bosniak Islamic Cultural Center of Carlisle was denied plans to build a plot cemetery in the 300 block of McAllister Church Road in West Pennsboro Township by the township supervisor. In denying the plans the supervisors cited that the group had not assured the township that water supplies of surrounding properties would not be contaminated by the burial process that involves washing the body, wrapping it in cloth and burying it without a casket, according to court records. The supervisors denial came a month after the township zoning board recommended its approval over the objections of residents who raised concerns about possible water contamination. The Bosniak Islamic Cultural Center of Carlisle appealed the townships decision in April 2015. Although the Township previously zoned the property to explicitly allow a cemetery, the Townships craven caving in to public opposition under the pretext that a cemetery apparently could jeopardize the water supplies of surrounding properties, resulted in a denial that is completely unjustified under Pennsylvania law, the appeal stated. The appeal alleged that the denial was not based on evidence and that the supervisors overstepped their authority in reaching the decision. On May 1, 2015, former Cumberland County President Judge Kevin Hess overturned the townships denial and granted approval for the groups land development plan. Bosniaks are an ethnic group primarily from the European nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Send us your questions Need an answer? We can help. The Sentinel wants to know what you have always wanted to know. Whether its politics, crime, history or just something youve always been curious about, if you have questions, The Sentinel will look for the answer and provide it in our online blog and as a weekly feature in the Sentinel print edition. Shoot us an email at frontdoor@cumberlink.com, call 240-7125 or stop by the office to submit your questions. The best questions will be featured in weekly Asked/Answered columns online and in print. Someone should sue the President for ... : , Former judges and top legal officials are calling on the Florida Supreme Court to impose life sentences on nearly 400 people now awaiting execution on death row. The group, which includes three former state Supreme Court justices and two former presidents of the American Bar Association, filed a legal brief Tuesday in a case that could determine the fate of Florida's death penalty. In January, the U.S. Supreme Court declared Florida's death penalty sentencing law unconstitutional, prompting the state Supreme Court to halt two executions. The Florida Legislature responded by overhauling the law. But the Florida Supreme Court still hasn't decided what should happen to those sentenced to death under the previous sentencing scheme. The court will hear arguments from lawyers this week on what should be done. GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here. SunRail is facing yet another delay for the planned expansion to DeLand in Volusia County. SunRail managers pulled a grant application to pay for the DeLand expansion FDOT says a new funding source for the DeLand SunRail expansion is needed Congressman John Mica, R-Winter Park, said the project's planners pulled an application for a federal TIGER Grant that could've been used to help fund the rail extension. SunRail wanted the federal government grant to pay for 50 percent of the project, with the other 50 percent coming from state and local funding. This could mean another big delay for the 12-mile expansion. Riders tonight have mixed reactions. Its still worth it to drive from DeLand to DeBary," said SunRail rider Karen Moss. "Itd be nice in Deland but I think its kind of far out from the central downtown." I take it from DBbary to Church Street so it doesnt affect me," said SunRail rider Ashley Fillmore. "I live two minutes from here. Steve Olson with the Florida Department of Transportation says withdrawing the grant application means they will have to find a new funding source. An Ormond Beach man and current corrections officer in Volusia County was arrested Tuesday after deputies said he molested a young girl several years ago at the day care he and his wife ran out of their home. Corrections Officer David Bugno arrested Accused of molesting a girl at a day care he ran with his wife Investigators are looking for more victims The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said David Darin Bugno, 49, was arrested without incident and charged with lewd or lascivious molestation. Deputies said Bugno and his wife, who ran the day care, have since divorced and the day care is no longer in business. Investigators said they were alerted to the case in April 2015 after a girl told her mother about the abuse. The girl, who is now 9 years old, told deputies Bugno touched her private parts and showed her pornographic videos when she was at Bugno Daycare between 2008 and 2010. At the time, the girl would have been between the ages of 1 and 4. The day care is closed now, but once operated in the Plantation Pines neighborhood off State Road 40 near Ormond Beach. Investigators said the victim's mother told them she thought she could trust Bugno because he was a corrections officer at Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach. He was in a position of authority. He was a corrections officer, she thought that he was trustworthy," explained Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman Andrew Gant. George Wilson lives down the street from Bugno. He cant believe what Bugno is accused of. Im really surprised about Dave. Ive known Dave about 10, 12 years and hes always been that standup guy. Ive helped him do work at his house," said Wilson. I would never picture Dave putting himself in that position, knowing the position hes in, a jail guard and the consequences that would come with that," Wilson added. Investigators want to remind parents that people may seem good but you should always be careful. Parents need to educate their kids about whats a good touch, whats a bad touch and make sure their kids are comfortable coming to them when something bad has happened to them," Gant said. Investigators are asking anyone who believes they have information about this case, or knows of other victims at Bugno Daycare, to call the Volusia County Sheriffs Office at 386-254-1537. A former Brevard County high school drama teacher will spend two decades behind bars for having a long-term sexual relationship with a student. Dennis Turner got 20 years for sexual battery on a child Relationship with 15-year-old lasted for 3 years Turner apologized in court The student now a woman with two daughters took the stand Wednesday and described herself as a lonely teen with a troubled home life who was taken advantage of more than a decade ago by Dennis Turner, a teacher 33 years older than her. She said he promised her security, purpose and a sense of belonging, but it ended up an act to satisfying his own desires. "A man extended his hand and offered his caring support. Later, that same hand would be used against me, and that support would become like payment for my silence and my services," she told the court. Turner listened to that Wednesday after pleading guilty to 10 counts of sexual battery on a child. The relationship began in 2003, when the girl was a freshman at Merritt Island's Edgewood Junior-Senior High School, and lasted for three years. "She was 15. She was so impressionable," prosecutor Julia Lynch said. Some of the acts happened at school, others at the teen's home. In court, Turner was surrounded by family, friends and former colleagues, some of whom testified on his behalf asking the judge for leniency. "He is not truly being seen for the genuine person that he is, the love that he offers," said one of them. "It's not appropriate in our society; however, his actions were sincere and out of love, and not a sense of trying to be a predator," Turner's attorney, Greg Eisenmenger, said. Turner apologized in court, saying he made a mistake and was sorry for the hurt he caused. "I had empty nest syndrome, I had difficulties in my marriage and I had someone who needed me," he said. The judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison and 10 years probation as a registered sex predator. If he violates that probation, he could face life in prison. Turner's family declined to comment. A traffic stop in Ocala on Tuesday afternoon resulted in the seizure of 75 pounds of marijuana valued at $250,000. The Ocala Police Department said drug agents assigned to the Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team conducted a traffic stop on a blue Ford F350 pickup truck at 26 NW 10th Street. Investigators say the bed of the pickup truck contained large pieces of used furniture and multiple cardboard boxes. Ocala Police K9 Rocky conducted a drug sniff of the pickup truck, and police said he quickly alerted on the vehicle, detecting the odor of an illegal substance. Police said agents searched the bed of the pickup truck and discovered four large cardboard boxes packed with marijuana. The driver, 47-year-old Lee Alan Minchew, and his pickup truck were taken to the Ocala Police Department, where agents went through the truck and found the boxes contained 72 vacuum-sealed bags of high-grade marijuana. Minchew was arrested and booked into the Marion County Jail for trafficking marijuana (more than 25 pounds). Minchew posted a $25,000 bond and was released from the Marion County Jail on Wednesday. K9 Rocky with the 75 pounds of marijuana he alerted on. (Ocala Police Department) Investigators say the bed of the pickup truck contained large pieces of used furniture and multiple cardboard boxes. (Ocala Police Department) SpaceX has delayed the launch of a Japanese communication satellite by a day because it anticipates inclement weather. SpaceX to send Japanese communications satellite into orbit Launch pushed back a day due to possible bad weather New launch window opens at 1:21 a.m. Friday The JCSAT-14 satellite was built in California and transported to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was scheduled to launch early Thursday, May 5. The new launch window begins at 1:21 a.m. EDT Friday. The satellite will provide broadcast, data and Internet service for Asia, Russia, Oceania and the Pacific Islands. The Falcon 9 completed a static fire test this past weekend, ensuring the rocket is ready for launch from Space Launch Complex 40. After the satellite is safely on its way to space, the company again will try to land its first-stage booster on a floating remote-controlled ship hundreds of miles off Florida's coast. Last month, SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on the barge about nine minutes after its launch. It was a major step in SpaceX's goal to make its rockets reusable. The company said a successful landing attempt this time is less likely, because the rocket will be traveling faster and sending the payload to a much higher orbit. The government is expanding the recall of vehicles that have Takata airbags -- to over 60 million air bags. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration expanded the recall to include 35-40 million air bags.There are already 28.8 million air bags subjected to the recall. The problem is linked to the Takata air bag inflators. The agency confirmed a combination of time, environmental moisture and fluctuating high temperatures affects the ammonium nitrate propellant in the inflators. If the propellant burns too quickly, it will rupture the inflator module, causing shrapnel to fly through the air bag and into the people in the vehicle. The ruptures have been tied to 10 deaths and more than 100 injuries in the United States. Replacement inflators are being made available to the highest-risk vehicles first. The recall is being done in phases between May 2016 and December 2019. The complete recall schedule was released on the NHTSA website. Schedule for Future Recalls Takata Defect Filing Date Zone A Vehicles Zone B Vehicles Zone C Vehicles May 16, 2016 MY 2011 & Older MY 2008 & Older MY 2004 & Older December 31, 2016 MY 2012 & Older MY 2009 & Older MY 2008 & Older December 31, 2017 MY 2013 & Older MY 2010 & Older MY 2009 & Older December 31, 2018 All remaining vehicles All remaining vehicles All remaining vehicles December 31, 2019 All like-for-like replacement parts All like-for-like replacement parts All like-for-like replacement parts Recall Zones Based on Temperature & Humidity Zone A: Hot & Humid Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands Zone B: Less Hot & Humid Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia Zone C: Least Hot & Humid Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming It's considered the largest and most complex safety recall in U.S. history. To find out if your vehicle is affected, head to the NHTSA website. Four days after a small colony of sugarcane aphids were found to have successfully overwintered near Hale Center within the safe confines of a predator exclusion cage, the problematic pest has been discovered in the wild six miles east of New Deal in Lubbock County. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Entomologist Dr. Pat Porter and Katelyn Kowles spotted several sugarcane aphids Tuesday morning, May 3, amid a stand of Johnsongrass. In a post on the Texas Sugarcane Aphid News blog, Kowles wrote, We found adults, several nymphs and even on alatoid (a nymph that will soon become a winged adult). They confirmed the identification by using a microscope and noting the pests characteristic dark-tipped antennae, cornicles and feet. This finding on May 3 is almost a full eight weeks before the first sighting of Sugarcane Aphids in Lubbock County on July 27 last year, Kowles wrote. What this means is that the whole area can likely expect light populations (of Sugarcane Aphids) moving into sorghum real soon, Blaine Reed, A&M AgriLife Extension IPM Agent for Swisher, Floyd and Hale counties, said Wednesday morning. It also gives us an opportunity to begin our control efforts to hopefully limit their spread into sorghum. Reed said many sorghum growers planted early this year in hopes of having their crops much further along toward maturity when the Sugarcane Aphid made its expected appearance this year. Now, those early-planted acres have for the most part germinated and are now sprouting. With the Sugarcane Aphid arriving so much earlier than we had expected, its that much more important that growers consider planting varieties that have shown some resistance to the pest as well as use seed treatments, which will give them several weeks of protection, Reed said. They also need to begin scouting hard so we can keep on top if these aphids. They particularly need to be on the lookout for Sugarcane Aphids which have developed wings, since the increased mobility vastly improves its ability to spread. A Civil War living history camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site in Pilot Knob. The reenactors will be in Civil War uniforms and attire to portray life in military and refugee camps just prior to the Battle of Pilot Knob. This is an encampment of the 47th Missouri Infantry, Company E, said Christopher Warren, who serves as company commander. They were originally recruited in the Iron County area just prior to the Battle of Pilot Knob. The battle the opening engagement of Price's Missouri Raid during the American Civil War took place Sept. 27, 1864, just outside the town of Pilot Knob in Iron County. Although outnumbered by more than 10 to one, the Union defenders managed to repulse repeated Confederate assaults on their works, and were able to slip away during the night by exploiting a gap in the Southern siege lines. The attacking Rebels took possession of the fort the next day, but Price's recklessly extravagant expenditure of men and ammunition ended his goal of seizing St. Louis for the Confederacy. Since the 47th was raised in August and September 1864 and was mostly made up of local boys and men as well as the location being so near the end of the rail lines women were often seen visiting the encampment, Warren said. The free event will allow visitors to experience a small taste of camp life with cooking demonstrations and the opportunity to observe the daily lives and duties of a Union soldier. For more information about the event, contact the Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site at 573-546-3454. After nearly 38 years with the agency, William Bill Bunch, executive director of East Missouri Action Agency (EMAA) of Park Hills, is retiring July 31. As a young college student in 1971, Bunch joined the U.S. Navy after receiving notice that his draft number was 45. I didnt go to Vietnam, though, he said. In fact, I was in the Navy for four years and never set foot on a ship ... I was a communications technician. After being discharged from military service, Bunch went back to college and began working on a degree in art education at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale before changing his major to political science and transferring to the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he completed his bachelors degree. After missing a deadline to apply for law school, he decided to stay in the Parkland area and look for a job. It wasnt very long before he was hired by EMAA for a position as a community service representative. He was 28 years old at the time. I actually had four job interviews in the same week, said Bunch, and I had one other offer, but that wasnt very appealing to me. So he called me in and said, you know, youre way over-qualified for this job but theres an opportunity for advancement here. Bunch accepted the position with plans for seeking advancement later on. I was an outreach worker, a community service rep, in Washington County and Potosi, he said. I was there for about a year-and-a-half and they transferred me over to St. Francois County and Ive been in St. Francois ever since then. In the early 1980s and until 1989, Bunch worked for the agencys housing program until the position for community services director opened up. He was promoted into that position, where he stayed for about 10 years until the executive director retired. I applied and was promoted to executive director, said Bunch, and Ive been in this position for about 16 years. I was here 37 years this past December, so (it will be) about 37-and-a-half years. But it doesnt seem that long. Bunch said there are many of his staff members who have also been with the agency for many years. Weve all grown up together here, he said. Were just as close as family. And its going to be hard to leave, but its time. Im tired Its very stressful. Every year we have to struggle for funding and are under the constant threat of having programs cut. And Im just tired. Bunch does not intend to completely retire, however, and says he will continue to work part-time, although exactly where is still up in the air. The first thing Im doing though, the very first week Im not working anymore, he said, Im going to go spend a week (in Kansas City) with my grandson. Hell be three years old in June and hes at the age where hes really fun now. Bunch is also planning on spending some of his new-found freedom pursuing his creative interests. People who know him and those who have worked with him are aware of his talent as an artist. Many of his paintings and drawings decorate his office and the hallways of the EMAA facility. Ive done a series of (drawings of) railroad stations in St. Francois County, he said. Ive done about every one in St. Francois County and am only missing a couple. Bunchs artwork, in fact, has helped fund the programs and services of EMAA. As a fundraiser, we sell them on our agency website for a $15 donation plus $5 shipping, he said. Although Bunch graduated from college with a degree in political science, he said he earned enough credits in art education to qualify as his minor. Although I havent contacted anybody there yet, I wouldnt mind teaching some art classes out at MAC (Mineral Area College), he said. (Art education) is what I (originally) set out to do. However he ends up spending his retirement, Bunch said he intends to make himself available to his successor and the EMAA staff for advice and questions for as long as they may need him. Keri McCrorey, currently the EMAA community services director, has been named as Bunchs successor and began her transition into the executive director office on April 1 and will fully take the helm on Aug. 1. I have every confidence in her, said Bunch. Keri has been here for shes been community services director for 16 years and I think she was here for about four years prior to that She was my first hire (as executive director). I replaced myself with her. According to available resources, EMAA recognizes McCrorey as an experienced leader in non-profit administration with a proven track record. She is an accomplished executive with more than 26 years of distinguished service helping EMAA clients, increasing organizational efficiencies and building strong relationships with partners. In her current role as community services director she has provided direction and oversight for programs serving economically challenged communities and families, impacting 18,000 individuals annually. In 2008, McCrorey won the Charles Braithwaite Community Action Leadership Award for her hard work to assist the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. McCrorey is a Certified Community Action Professional (CCAP) and holds a Master of Science Degree in Community and Economic Development. She is currently the secretary of the board of directors of the Missouri Association for Community Action (MACA) and sits on the boards Long-Term Planning Committee. McCrorey is a life-long resident of St. Francois County. She is married to Mike McCrorey and has two children, Olivia and Lexxi. Tom Reel /San Antonio Express-News Bexar County added 4,350 jobs in 2015 as companies such as Alorica Inc. and Cytocentrics Inc. expanded in the area, according to a study published by the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. The jobs come with a total payroll of $176 million, according the Institute for Economic Development at the University of Texas at San Antonio, which wrote the report. In 2014, the county added 4,762 jobs with a payroll of $178 million. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate HAVANA, CUBA Generations spent shrouded from the American eye allowed Cuba to maintain a distinctive way of life. Though cultures between the United States and Cuba differ greatly, similarities in some aspects, art being one of them, exist. However, the subject matter proves a stark contrast. While locals and tourists make pit stops at San Antonios I love tacos so much wall near The Pearl for a lighthearted Instagram photo opportunity - the walls in Havana make the life Americans know little of, bluntly realized as soon as foot hits Cuban soil. RELATED: 19 elements of Cuban life that may not be found in the United States The sprawling gallery of street art commences early on in a tour of the area. The words SOCIALISMO O MUERTE on wall near the roadway exiting the airport greet visitors, followed by another, promoting CONTROLDISCIPLINAEFICIENCA in bold lettering to reiterate the first. A stroll through the residential areas neighboring El Malecon emanate love and adoration on every corner, wall and light post as Havanas amorous use any free space to profess tenderness for their loved ones. The public displays are obviously a popular sign of courtship within the Cuban community, especially at El Cristo de La Havana. The site's breathtaking scope of Havana, paired with the a blanket of scribblings on the parks benches, sets a romantic feel and makes it a growing, living art scene where Te quiero messages are added daily. RELATED: What happens when you let Instagram become your tour guide around Cuba Though narrow and dimly lit, the streets of Havana Vieja create a vivacious, robust backdrop where the chatter of various languages float through the evening air as visitors count pockets of CUC to exchange with locals for handcrafted goods. While Cubans go about the housework of their beautiful, yet dilapidated dwellings, newcomers marvel at the colonial architecture and art encircling it. Murals of revolutionary leader Che Guevara look over the interchange. Along with being a picturesque travel photo, the setting is a symbol of another transition. Reminders of the past remain in the corridors artworks, setting the scene while foreigners including Americans trade smiles and handshakes with locals as relations between the once embroiled nations normalize. El Callejon de Hamel (Hamel's Alley) is a showcase in itself. Locals explain their pride in the stretch of Havana streets, which has been transformed into a living art piece created by the Cuban artist, Salvador Gonzales Escalona. The intricate work of Escalona, tactfully incorporates recycled items like bathtubs, broken tile and pieces of cars. His creative labor has transformed the run-down neighborhood into a center for the Afro-Cuban community, locals said. Hamel's Alley is Havana's version of Barcelona's Park Guell. Click through the gallery above for a glimpse into the wide array of murals Cuban artists have created using Havana as their canvas. mmendoza@mysa.com Twitter: @MaddySkye One of three people accused of holding a family hostage last March and stealing their financial information was charged Tuesday in the case. Anthony Ray Mari, 32, faces three counts of aggravated robbery, according to the Bexar County central magistrates office. His bail totaled $225,000. Armed with firearms and knives, a man and two juveniles broke into a home in the 2800 block of Fred Haise in the suburban city of Kirby early on March 26, according to an affidavit. Investigators said the assailants restrained a family of three. Once tied up, the father was forced to give his captors the PINs for his credit cards and sign the familys SUV over to the man, the affidavit said. The family told detectives the man identified himself only as Necio. He left in the SUV, according to the affidavit, and returned with a rental truck and an unidentified fourth person. The captors moved the family into the truck and left one of the juveniles to watch them, but the father managed to break free and overpower the juvenile, and then a family member called police, detectives said. Police detained a juvenile, who was charged with three counts of aggravated robbery. A few days after the incident, the San Antonio Police Department SWAT unit arrested Mari and another juvenile, who was listed as a runaway, at a home in the 200 block of Earl Street, according to the affidavit. It was unclear if the raid was related to the home invasion or if Mari was held on other charges. One of the victims of the home invasion later identified Mari in a photo lineup, the document said. jbeltran@express-news.net Twitter: @JBfromSA This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A jury deliberated most of Tuesday before sentencing a San Antonio man to 50 years in prison for sexually abusing a relative. Ivan W. Sanchez, 42, was convicted Friday. He was sentenced to 50 years on one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony, and 20 years for each of three counts of indecency with a child by contact, a second-degree felony. The prison terms are to be served concurrently, state District Judge Ron Rangel said in passing the sentence. The charges are a decade old and the crimes date to 2001. Sanchez was charged in a 17-count indictment in 2006 and was found guilty of four counts of indecency with a child by sexual contact and one count of aggravated sexual assault of a child, in another court. He served four years of a 28-year sentence. His lawyers appealed because the judge allowed the outcry witnesss testimony from a pretrial hearing to be read to the jury. The Fourth Court of Appeals denied the appeal, ruling the testimony was admissible, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed that decision in 2011 and sent the case back for retrial. Prosecutor Stephanie Boyd told the jury that the victim was younger than 17 at the time of the abuse, and that the case was about betrayal and retaliation. The child lived with mom and the defendant and always thought the defendant was her father, Boyd said. When mom started using drugs, the defendant would go to her bedroom and assault her. Boyd said the girl eventually went to live with an aunt and even at that home, was so afraid that her brother would sleep at the foot of her bed to protect her. She needed a light to sleep, and she would put on extra clothes, Boyd said. Defense attorney Robert Porter told the jury that Sanchez and his wife were caring for six children, and when he moved out of the house because of his wifes heroin abuse, and subsequently restricted some of the childrens visits to their mom, the children started conspiring to run away, and the allegations of abuse surfaced. During the punishment phase, prosecutors called a cousin of the victim, who testified that Sanchez tried to kiss her on two occasions when she was 13, a court official said. Sanchez will have to serve at least 25 years before he is eligible for parole. The Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce, along with Washington-Franklin Elementary, planted a butterfly bush in front of the school in memory of MaKennah Barron, 8, who recently lost her battle with cancer. Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce Events Coordinator and Member Services Manager Brittany Gladbach said they really didnt have a certain plan with the butterfly bush Tuesday morning. We knew God would take us through it and we want to thank the pastor, Mike Harrison, from Parkland Chapel, who was MaKennahs pastor, for leading us through the program, said Gladbach. As we thought, he made it such a smooth transition and it was a beautiful thing to be a part of. Gladbach wanted to thank the community, as well as the Barron family, and Fox Farm Nursery for the donation of the butterfly bush. I also want to thank the Parkland Chapel for being a part of it and everyone who came out, said Gladbach. The teachers, the Farmington School District and also Gary (Phillips) for preparing the area where the bush was planted. The butterfly bush that was planted had pink/purple flowers on it and it will grow to be approximately 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide. The school district plans to redo the landscaping in front of the elementary building where the bush was planted and have the bush be the center focus of the area. Gladbach has said they decided to do this because MaKennah was so fascinated with butterflies and she really touched everyone's hearts. She also said the Farmington Chamber loves to support their community. She said MaKennah was an inspiration for all and they wanted to leave a mark where she went to school. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate A man accused of holding a family hostage and stealing their financial information during a home invasion in March has been arrested. Anthony Ray Mari, 32, faces three counts of aggravated robbery, according to the Bexar County Central Magistrate's Office. His bail totaled $225,000. Mari and the two alleged accomplices, both juveniles, broke into a home in the 2800 block of Fred Haise in Kirby in the early morning hours of March 26, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Investigators said the three were armed with firearms and knives as they restrained the family of three. Once tied up, the father was forced to give his captors the pin numbers of his credit cards and sign the familys SUV over to Mari, the affidavit said. The family told detectives that Mari only identified himself as Necio. He left in the SUV, according to the affidavit, and returned with a rental truck and a fourth person who was not identified in the affidavit. The captors moved the family inside the truck and left one of the juveniles to watch them, the affidavit stated. Thats when the father managed to break free of his restraints and overpower the juvenile, and then a family member called police, detectives said. When police arrived, they were able to arrest one of the juveniles and transfer him to a juvenile detention center. A few days after the incident, the San Antonio Police Department SWAT unit arrested Mari and another juvenile, who was listed as a runaway, at a home in the 200 block of Earl Street, according to the affidavit. Mari was later identified by one of the victims in a photo lineup, the document said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO A former nurse convicted of killing a 15-month-old girl and trying to kill another baby in San Antonio during the 1980s could walk free in 2018 even though she was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Genene Jones, called the "Angel of Death" by some headline writers, is projected to be released from the Dr. Lane Murray Unit prison in Gatesville on March 1, 2018, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. But, law enforcement officials are looking to tie her to any of the dozens of infant deaths that occurred during her time at hospitals in San Antonio and Kerrville during the early '80s. "I absolutely believe she has killed more babies and we are looking for any legal and ethical way to hold her accountable. Period," Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood said in an interview with mySA.com Tuesday. LaHood added, "She deserves to die in prison." RELATED: Sheriff: California mother connected to 'horrific' child abuse case in San Antonio Jones could walk free because of a state mandatory sentencing law designed to prevent prison overcrowding that was on the books when she was convicted in 1984. The law allowed inmates convicted of violent crimes to be released if their calendar time served and accrued "good time" added up to equal their entire sentence. Jones, 65, has been eligible for parole but was last denied parole in August 2014. RELATED: San Antonio police officer charged with sexually assaulting child weekly for 4 years The former nurse worked at hospitals in San Antonio and Kerrville including University Hospital, formerly Medical Center Hospital, during 1981 and 1982. Jones was sentenced to 99 years in the death of 15-month-old girl named Chelsea McClellan, who was given a fatal dose of muscle relaxers in 1982. She was also convicted in Bexar County on a charge of injury to a child. The infant survived in that case. RELATED: Good Samaritan in Texas killed by soldier who allegedly shot wife at Walgreens However, Jones has long been suspected in the deaths of more than 40 infants. Some estimates say more than 60 deaths could be possibly be traced to Jones, LaHood told mySA.com. He acknowledged that "everybody has a different opinion" regarding the exact tally. LaHood would not discuss specific allegations or details regarding possible charges, citing an ongoing investigation. LaHood said that his office has appointed a prosecutor to oversee the efforts, which include examining old case files and speaking to former medical examiners and families of the infants. RELATED: Officials: New Mexico couple shot son with pellet gun, stomped on daughter's stomach The district attorney's office hopes to file additional charges before Jones' projected 2018 release date, but said charges could also be filed after her release. Murder, LaHood noted, does not have a statute of limitations. "We're working hard to hopefully bring charges before she's released," LaHood said. "I don't want this lady walking the streets. She deserves to die in prison and that would be our goal." jfechter@mySA.com Twitter: @JFreports An inmate sentenced to life terms for the murders of two women in the 1970s and 1980s died Tuesday morning at a St. Louis hospital. Robert Lohman, 58, was incarcerated at ERDCC in Bonne Terre for two counts of murder from Madison and Greene counties. He was received into the Missouri Department of Corrections on Aug. 10, 1983. He died of apparent natural causes at Barnes-Jewish Hospital early Tuesday, according to Corrections officials. According to a 2005 St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, Lohman, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a 22-year-old woman from south St. Louis whose body was recovered from a lake in Washington County, Mo., in August 1982. Authorities alleged that Lohman and his older brother, Gene, killed Donna A. Roberts because she had refused to pose for pictures showing her engaging in sex acts with the Lohman brothers. Robert Lohman later was charged with the 1975 fatal stabbing of Sabrina Cattron, 16, whose body was found in a deserted barn near Bonne Terre, in October 1976. In a plea deal, Lohman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a promise from prosecutors not to seek the death penalty. Who can argue against making higher education in Texas more affordable? A college degree or a post-high school certificate is a must in todays competitive job market, but it comes with a hefty price tag. Many middle-income families who dont qualify for need-based financial aid are finding themselves priced out of the market. Most families, even those that have set aside college funds for their children, are finding they must dig deeper to meet tuition costs, which have grown by 147 percent since 2002. We can understand Lt. Gov. Dan Patricks outrage over skyrocketing tuition costs and support his call for keeping tuition at the states institutions of higher education in check, but he needs to come up with a better plan for getting the job done. Limiting tuition growth at state colleges and universities and eliminating a state law that requires universities to set aside 20 percent of tuition for financial aid play well to a certain constituency, but they do not adequately address the issue. Where is the funding to make up for those cuts going to come from? Texas is trying to build more top-tier universities to remain competitive in a global market. Ordering schools to cut back and reducing funds for scholarships, work-study jobs and other financial aid are counterproductive measures. At a recent Austin news conference, Patrick railed against the administrators of public higher-education institutions, questioning their fiscal-management skills and their pay. He questioned why they were raising tuition when the Legislature increased university funding by $282 million in 2015. On its face, $282 million appears to be a lot of money, but the sum needs to be put into context. There are 38 state universities; each individual schools share of that wasnt particularly generous. As state budgets get leaner, universities reliance on tuition has grown. In 1990, tuition covered about 25 percent of the costs; today it is about 46.5 percent. State funding per college student in Texas has dropped $1,800 since 2008. At present, the state only spends $7,748 per year for each college student; it was spending $9,548 a year in 2008, according to the State Higher Education Finance report released late last month by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. This was not unique to Texas. State funding for higher education also dropped in 44 other states during the same period. Texas cannot afford to shortchange higher education. For the last 15 years, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has worked diligently to close the gap in higher education among Texas and other states. The state is hoping to build on that success under its new 60X30TX education plan to have at least 60 percent of Texas residents between the ages of 25 and 34 with a certificate or degree by 2030. We support efforts to make higher education more affordable for Texas families, but it must not be achieved by compromising the quality of education or reducing funds for financial aid. Finding the right balance will require the finger-pointing to cease and lawmakers to make some tough decisions when they convene in January with budget estimates looking far less robust than they did in 2015. Quality higher education is crucial to building the Texas economy in the 21st century. Any retreat from higher educations needs will damage the states future economy. The TV ads flash the noble faces of American retirees and urge Washington to help protect their savings. The back story is kept rather vague. Its that many older people invested in Puerto Rican bonds. The U.S. territorys economy is in deep crisis, and it has begun defaulting on this debt. The question here: What prompted ordinary investors to put their savings into Puerto Rican bonds? But first lets look at who is running the ads. No, the retirees havent pooled their Social Security checks to make their case. These ads are being run by hedge funds and other big Wall Street players who made their own bad bets on Puerto Ricos debt. They are now hiding behind the average Joes to press Washington for a bailout. The obvious solution to this crisis is to let the island restructure its debt under U.S. bankruptcy rules alongside a federal oversight board that would keep a close eye. Municipalities are allowed to declare bankruptcy, but as a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico needs congressional approval first. A bankruptcy would not cost the U.S. taxpayer anything. This approach would also be the most humane. The setbacks for investors pale next to the trauma being suffered by Puerto Ricans. The islands government has already raised taxes and cut spending on social services to the bone. Thousands, meanwhile, are fleeing to the U.S. mainland. Turning the language around, the big financial interests are now calling the bankruptcy route a bailout. Its not the first time theyve forgotten the clause in capitalism saying that when an investment goes sour, the investors are expected to lose money. Many average buyers of Puerto Rican bonds didnt quite know what they were getting into. The bonds may have been rated as fairly safe at the time, but they were not something to put in a drawer and forget about. In 2012, Morningstar issued a warning after the rating agency Moodys downgraded Puerto Ricos general obligation debt to just above junk bond level. Moodys does not believe that Puerto Rico enjoys the same level of fiscal stability as any of the official 50 states, Morningstar wrote. Even lowly Illinois GO debt is rated firmly within the investment-grade spectrum at A2. Study after study shows that the general public poorly understands the nature of risk. Small investors scooped up Puerto Rican bonds because they offered higher yields than U.S. municipal bonds and were exempt from local, state and federal taxes. When an investment with super tax advantages offers an unusually good yield, theres a reason: It comes with risk. Again we see the limitations of the ownership society, the doctrine that Americans should be managing their own money for retirement rather than relying on Social Security to send monthly checks. Remember President George W. Bushs push to let workers direct some of their Social Security taxes to stock funds and other privately run accounts? Skeptics questioned whether ordinary Americans had the expertise, but Bush assured them in fatherly fashion that he wouldnt let them do crazy things with their money. There would be a list of acceptable investment vehicles. Fortunately, the plan never got off the ground. In 2008, the market tanked, humbling the most conservative stocks alongside the high fliers. Yes, we should all save and invest, albeit with great care. At the same time, let us give thanks for boring old Social Security. Its something to fall back on, just in case. fharrop@gmail.com For the third consecutive year, most homeowners across Bexar County have opened their annual tax appraisal notices to find that their property values and thus probably their tax bite have gone up. Bexar County Appraisal District officials said this week that residential real estate values have risen an average of 7.5 percent, compared with 2015, which comes on the heels of an 11 percent jump last year and a 7 percent increase in 2014. Thats a three-year tax jolt that generally mirrors the reheated San Antonio housing market. The average market value for a single-family house in Bexar County was $188,000 for this year. The total 2016 value of all property in the county was roughly $163 billion, an increase of $13 billion over 2015. RELATED: 2015 average residential property value increases in Bexar by ZIP code Owners of some 532,000 properties of all kinds received notices that their valuations had gone up by $1,000 or more. People are very upset, said Mary Kieke, the districts deputy chief appraiser. The tax system is absolutely broken. But they have been exceedingly civil at our offices when they come in to complain. A 12-year veteran with the district, Kieke said Texas property tax system has been manipulated by an army of tax agents and lobbyists at the Legislature who have defeated any effort to require disclosure of real estate sales prices, making it nearly impossible to systematically know the fair market value of larger commercial properties shopping centers, corporate campuses, resorts and to tax them accordingly. Sales prices are sometimes available from secondary sources. For example, Kieke said, the Bank of America building at 300 Convent sold in December 2014 for $105 million. We had it valued at $57 million. That happens all over the city. Virtually every (hotel) sues us every year (to lower their valuations.) So do the apartment complexes. They always have. They always will. She said Bexar County had $19 billion in 2015 commercial valuation tied up in litigation. All of this shifts the tax burden to homeowners, Kieke said. A record 89,000 property owners protested their valuations last year, but the sad fact is that commercial property owners do so much better than residential people in tax protests, she said, adding that most middle-class homeowners cant justify paying some professional and taking time off work to come down here and fight. Daniel Gonzalez, legislative director for the Texas Association of Realtors and a longtime opponent of real estate sales price disclosure, rejected Kiekes argument. I think its unfortunate, said Gonzalez, that your great city has to put up with people like the Bexar County Appraisal District. Sales price ultimately has no bearing on what market value is of the property. We think all property in Texas is fairly valued (because) the state comptroller says it is within a 5 percent margin of error. The system isnt broken. But maybe there is a lack of knowledge at the local level. By sector, Kieke said, there were across-the-board increases. Industrial property valuations went up 24.6 percent, apartments 15.7 percent, offices 15.9 percent, raw land 20 percent, hotels 21 percent and residential 7.5 percent. Asked if those numbers contradict her belief that commercial property owners arent pulling their weight, Kieke said the figures reflect valuations for commercial owners, not what they actually pay after lengthy protests and lawsuits. In 2015, she said, commercial property owners were able to reduce their valuations by $4.16 billion, while tens of thousands of residential owners managed reductions totaling only $639,000. Suzanne Simpson, a real estate agent who lives in Olmos Park in a 1930s-era, four-bedroom stone and stucco home with a big yard and pool, felt slightly conflicted by the appraisal notices. She benefits from increased sales in the active market but saw her home appraisal jump some $76,000, or 9 percent, compared with 2015. Im disappointed, Simpson said. But I wasnt surprised. Ill go downtown to fight it again. They dont take into account the actual condition of the home just the neighborhood. My kitchen and bathrooms are outdated. We live on a very busy street. I dont think we could ever sell our house for what they appraised it at. Tim Brown, a broker with RE/MAX Corridor who has sold several homes in Schertz and Cibolo, said that while he thought most county appraisals were roughly equal to market values, he agreed that protesting homeowners should document the actual condition of their houses. If the valuation is way too high for the neighborhood, Brown said. They need to work with a Realtor to get comps (comparable values) of similar nearby homes and protest it. The appraisal district is responsible for supplying fair market valuations to some 63 taxing entities within the county, including 17 school districts, 27 cities or towns, the Alamo Colleges district and the San Antonio River Authority. Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti, who at this time of year is quick to remind voters that he does not set their tax rates or their tax appraisals his office just collects the money said he must constantly remind senior citizens, the disabled and disabled veterans that they are often entitled to exemptions on their property taxes. Uresti also offers what he said is the states only 10-month, interest-free payment program for property taxes. Those unhappy with their propertys appraisal have until May 31 to file a protest. It can be done my mail, fax or in person at the appraisal district at 411 N. Frio St. Email is not accepted. Details are available at www.bcad.org. bselcraig@express-news.net Victoria Forsythe Victoria Forsythe has been selected to receive the MAC Board of Trustees Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Forsythe is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in General Studies. Hannah Lewis Hannah Lewis has been selected to receive the MAC Board of Trustees Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Lewis is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Biological Science. Gabriel Landrigan Gabriel Landrigan has been selected to receive the MAC Board of Trustees Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Landrigan is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Taylor Jones Taylor Jones has been selected to receive the MAC Board of Trustees Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Jones is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Michaela Williams Michaela Williams has been selected to receive the MAC Board of Trustees Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Williams is planning to pursue an Associate of Science Degree, in Nursing. Bayli Rawson Bayli Rawson has been selected to receive the Judy Steska-Latham Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Rawson is planning to pursue an Associate of Science Degree, in Nursing. Garrett Wilfong Garrett Wilfong has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship and the MAC Foundation Charles & Velma McCord Memorial Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Wilfong is planning to pursue an Associate of Applied Science Degree, in Engineering Technology. Megan Cheney Megan Cheney has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Cheney is planning to pursue an Associate of Science Degree, in Nursing. Ericka Sumpter Ericka Sumpter has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Sumpter is planning to pursue an Associate of Science Degree, in Nursing. Garrett Jackson Garrett Jackson has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Jackson is planning to pursue an Associate Degree. Kaitlyn Moore Kaitlyn Moore has been selected to receive the MAC Board of Trustees Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Moore is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Jacklyn McClain Jacklyn McClain has been selected to receive the Caledonia/Valley High School Alumni Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. McClain is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Psychology. Krista Firebaugh Krista Firebaugh has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship and the William Jay and Roney Louis (OBannon) Parsons Educational Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Firebaugh is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Caleb Earney Caleb Earney has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Earney is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree. Jennifer Walter Jennifer Walter has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Walter is planning to pursue an Associate of Applied Science in Horticulture. Dillon Carl Dillon Carl has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Carl is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Lilly Pecaut Lilly Pecaut has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Pecaut is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Emily Gipson Emily Gipson has been selected to receive the Scholastic Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Gipson is planning to pursue an Associate Degree. Morgan Smith Morgan Smith has been selected to receive the Bob Ward Political Science Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Smith is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Political Science. Molly Strothmann Molly Strothmann has been selected to receive the Robert A. (Bob) Burns Memorial Scholarship and the Viola J Elvins Memorial Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Strothmann is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Elementary Education. Makayla McEntire Makayla McEntire has been selected to receive the MAC Alumni/Buck a Month Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. McEntire is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Jason Parker Jason Parker has been selected to receive the Kathy Wright Memorial Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Parker is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Alissa Ballew Alissa Ballew has been selected to receive the Rob Skaggs Memorial Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Ballew is planning to pursue an Associate of General Studies Degree. Elizabeth Bacar Elizabeth Bacar has been selected to receive the William Hunter Memorial Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Bacar is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Pre-Medicine. Lana Stegall Lana Stegall has been selected to receive the Ellen Volner Memorial Nursing Scholarship and the First State Community Bank, Bonne Terre Branch, Board of Directors Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Stegall is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Nursing. Charles Gaines Jr. Charles Gaines Jr. has been selected to receive the Charles Bess English Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Gaines Jr. is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Teaching. Carly Conway Carly Conway has been selected to receive the Bond Prevalence Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Conway is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Psychology. Rebecca Tyler Rebecca Tyler has been selected to receive the Classified Staff Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Tyler is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Business. Adrianne Klempert Adrianne Klempert has been selected to receive the Esther Rose Batten Teacher Education Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Klempert is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Sarah Ferrell Sarah Ferrell has been selected to receive the Glen and Louise Pettus Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Ferrell is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Nursing. Emily Krastanoff Emily Krastanoff has been selected to receive the James and Grace Faulkner Memorial Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Krastanoff is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Travis Stam Travis Stam has been selected to receive the James Wilkinson Memorial Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Stam is planning to pursue an Associate of Applied Science Degree, in Paramedic Technology. Ashlee Blunt Ashlee Blunt has been selected to receive the Jewel Wood Elementary Education Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Blunt is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Kayla McClain Kayla McClain has been selected to receive the Missouri Natural Gas Company Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. McClain is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Education. Christian Pozo Christian Pozo has been selected to receive the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. Pozo is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Nursing. Elijah White Elijah White has been selected to receive the Rob Skaggs Scholarship to attend Mineral Area College for the 2016-2017 Academic Year. White is planning to pursue an Associate of Arts Degree, in Nursing. The latest Convenience Matters podcast focuses on trends that could affect your business. ALEXANDRIA, Va. The U.S. convenience store industry had a very good year in 2015, with record in-store sales and profits. Retailers are also optimistic about their sales in 2016, both because of their enhanced food offer and broader consumer trends. The latest Convenience Matters podcast looks at a few trends that made 2015 so successful and those that could impact the retail landscape this year. Dae Kim, NACS vice president of research, discusses in the episode both the trends within the convenience retailing industry and the broader economic trends that affect the industry as a whole. Can any other industry say its sales dropped by $100 billion yet they had a great year? said podcast co-host Jeff Lenard, NACS vice president of strategic industry initiatives. And retail analysts project that convenience stores will be the strongest brick-and-mortar channel over the next five years. It was great to get insights into why the channels future continues to be so bright. Kim is the featured guest in this weeks podcast, The State of the Industry Is, which can be downloaded on iTunes by searching for Convenience Matters. It also is available at www.nacsonline.com/podcasts. A new Convenience Matters podcast will be released every week, focusing on topics related to convenience stores. NACS Daily announced the podcasts in late January. SAN FRANCISCO The Fuels Institutes Annual Meeting in San Francisco last week attracted 100 industry professionals from oil companies, research labs and advocate organizations. The disparate but cohesive group came together for two and a half days to attend field trips, discuss the future of fuels and listen to finalists from three universities present in the annual University Case Competition. The meeting kicked off on Wednesday, April 27 with a field trip to the Joint BioEnergy Institute and Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration UnitLawrence Berkeley National Lab (ABPDU) in Emeryville, California. Participants toured the facility and heard about the organizations quest to grow plants, break them down for their sugars, and create biofuels. In the afternoon, field trip participants toured a hydrogen refueling station, as well as an operational Loop convenience store and one under development, allowing them an up-close look at a fueling infrastructure. A staff member of True Zero hydrogen brand demonstrates how to refuel a Toyota Mirai. Fuels Institute Annual Meeting attendees toured a hydrogen distributors station on the first day of this years conference. On Thursday, presentations focused on the future of fuel retailing and liquid fuel, quality assurance and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, and the future of powertrains and technology, including autonomous vehicles. The day concluded with presentations from the three University Case Competition finalists: Duke University, Morgan State University and the University of California at Berkeley. Each school spent 30 minutes presenting and fielding questions from attendees about their vision of an ideal future transportation sector, including both mass transit and consumer vehicles. UC Berkeleys proposed natural gas and electricity model took home the top prize this year. Students from the University of California at Berkeley took home the top prize in the 2016 Fuels Institute University Case Competition. Keynote speakers from the fuels industry included Paul Machiele of the EPA and John Melo, CEO of Amyris Biotechnologies. Ellen Peters, psychology professor and director of the Decision Sciences Collaborative, presented the closing keynote session on Friday, April 29, titled Consumer Decision Making Processes. Founded in 2013 by NACS, the Fuels Institute is a nonprofit, research-oriented think tank dedicated to evaluating the market issues related to consumer vehicles and the fuels that power them. Its governing structure incorporates a diverse set of stakeholders including, but not limited to, fuel retailers, fuel producers and refiners, alternative and renewable fuel producers, automobile manufacturers, environmental advocates, consumer organizations, academics, government entities and others with expertise in the fuels and automotive industries. The Fortune 100 Best Company to Work For will host open interviews in three states this month. ALTOONA, Pa. On the heels of investing more than $15 million in 2016 to increase employee wages, Sheetz announced yesterday it plans to hire more than 8,000 employees companywide. The initiative aims to increase the company's total employee count and full-time positions by creating and filling jobs at stores throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina. Stores in select Pennsylvania, West Virginia and North Carolina market areas will host open job interviews in May for prospective employees to learn about Sheetzs commitment to offering employees sustainable careers built on an inspiring culture, community engagement and disrupting the convenience category. Sheetz is proud to attribute our significant companywide growth to our dedicated employees, and we are thrilled to roll out an extensive hiring initiative aimed at adding thousands more to our Sheetz family, said Stephanie Doliveira, vice president of Human Resources of Sheetz, Inc., in a press release. At the heart of our hiring efforts is an unwavering commitment to stay ahead of the curve and to do what is right for our people. Sheetz offers competitive benefits packages to employees, including medical and dental insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, flexible schedules, opportunities for advancement, adoption assistance, wellness and gym reimbursement, bonuses, vacation time and more. Even though California was first to have a state official propose path-breaking private equity transparency legislation, as weve written, that effort was already falling short of its promise due to the lack of definition of key terms in the bill. That lapse allows crafty private equity general partners and their captured investors wriggle room to circumvent a key aim of the bill: to report fees and expenses paid by the portfolio companies to the general partner and any related parties, since those monies do not flow through the limited partnership and are thus not subject to disclosure and oversight. The California initiative, led by California Treasurer John Chiang, who also sits on the boards of CalPERS and CalSTRS, has been seriously outclassed by a bill that was introduced via amendment yesterday in the Illinois Senate. Sponsor Daniel Biss, a mathematics professor turned legislator, has proven to be an extremely quick study of the private equity industry. Weve embedded the text of HB6292 at the end of the post. You can also read it here. It is a vastly more ambitious and painstakingly drafted bill than its California counterpart, AB 2833. A key difference is that Biss bill opens new terrain by requiring disclosure of some of the most troubling terms of private equity limited partnership agreements, specifically, the indemnification provisions, the clawback language and management fee waivers. As weve discussed, typical private equity indemnification provisions are tantamount to a waiver of fiduciary duty. Its incomprehensible how fiduciaries like public pension funds, which insist on strict adherence to fiduciary duty by contractors who exercise discretion or provide important advice, deviate from this practice so radically with the managers of one of their highest-risk investment strategies. And the indemnification language is often unconscionable. For instance, we discussed how the terms of the Apollo VIII fund indemnify the operators for criminal acts if they can muster a case that they didnt know their conduct was against the law. In other words, the new dog ate my homework is I didnt understand what my lawyer told me. Similarly, we have been advised that the limited partnership agreement for one of the Bain flagship funds (and presumably others) indemnifies Bain even in the event of SEC violations, meaning investors are explicitly on the hook for SEC fines. The Illinois measure also requires disclosure of any indemnification payments, indemnification-related deductions made against monies owed to the limited partners, as well as documents justifying the demand for payment. Clawbacks, another target of HB6292 disclosure, are problematic because they are designed not to work as popularly understood. The high concept is that a clawback provision is supposed to remedy for a defect in how carry fees are paid. In US-style deals, the carry fee, which is what tax mavens call a profits interest and is a share of the gain, typically 20%, once a hurdle rate is met, is calculated and paid on the sale of each portfolio company. Since investors have incentives to realize profits on at least some well-performing deals early in the funds life, this raises the possibility that early stars can be offset by later dogs, with the result that the carry fees withheld were excessive in light of the funds eventual performance. There are several problems with clawback language. The first is that the limited partners will not recoup the full amount of over-payment. Typical terms provide get back the amount after deducting the general partners tax liabilities, calculated at the highest applicable rate. Since when is a vendors tax problem made a customer tax problem? Only in the heads I win, tails you lose world of private equity. Second, as we observed yesterday, clawbacks are pretty much never paid. General partners will simply not sell the last dog asset in a fund so as to avoid triggering the clawback, or alternatively, will offer the limited partners a special deal in the next fund in lieu of a cash payment. Third, limited partners seldom, if ever, keep tabs on what if any clawbacks they are owed. For instance, SEC examiners have warned that private equity waterfalls, which among other things, determine how carry fees are computed, need further scrutiny. HB6292 also lifts the veil on management fee waivers. This is an abuse that the IRS is in the process of ending via recent guidance. Hence it is fair game in current agreements. HB6292 requires both that the management fee waiver provisions in limited partnership agreements (including all definitions necessary to understand how the provision operates) be among other things, published material on its website, and the amount of all management fee waivers made be disclosed annually. The bill also provides for disclosure of the signature block of the executed limited partnership agreement. On the fee transparency front, while the Illinois bill focuses on issues similar to Chiangs legislation, the approach is dramatically different. HB6292 has an exacting set of definitions. I spoke to Senator Biss about his approach and whether he had conferred with Chiangs office. Biss said that hed not known about the shortcomings with private equity disclosure until Chiang announced his intention to sponsor legislation last fall: I thought I should learn more about it. I spoke to as many people as I could. The more I learned, the more troubling I found it. I didnt think it was sustainable in the long run. I thought there was an opportunity and I wanted to play a role in this change. The bills terms are precise and detailed; you can see a great deal of thought has been given to cutting off general partner escape routes. I encourage you give the language a look. Heres an example: (d) External manager group means (1) the external manager, (2) its affiliates, (3) any other parties described in the external managers marketing materials for the relevant alternative investment fund as providing services to or on behalf of portfolio holdings, and (4) any other parties described in the external managers affiliated advisers SEC Form ADV filing as receiving portfolio holding fees or portfolio holding other compensation. External manager group does not include the affiliated alternative investment fund in which the public retirement system is an investor, nor does it include an alternative investment fund used to effectuate investments of the affiliated fund in which the public retirement system is an investor. If youve been following media coverage of private equity abuses, youll recall that one of them was that the general partner would present a team when marketing its fund. Investors would naively assume all were employees of the entity that was acting as the manager to the limited partnership and therefore their compensation (ex participation in the carry pool) came out of the management fee. That matters because many investors look at the size and composition of the team and compare it to the management fees to assess the reasonableness of that charge. As we and others have discussed, in fact, its commonplace for many of these team members to be contractors, which means they are instead billed as expenses to the portfolio companies. The net effect is to enable the general partner to treat the management fee, which was intended only to cover overheads, as a source of profit. Biss explained his approach: Vagueness has been an opportunity for the industry. He volunteered that he didnt pretend to be able to write a bill that would put a fence around all misconduct. But this is a very impressive effort. Because Illinois has a shorter legislative calendar that California, if this bill stays on track, it will pass both houses before its West Coast cousin. That could pressure California legislators to up their game. One has to wonder if California and Illinois are blazing trails for the rest of the nation because their public pensioners have much better legal protection of their benefits than in the vast majority of states. That means that any pension fund shortfalls hit taxpayers, rather than being subject to renegotiation, as in cuts. The taxpayer risk is turning out to have the upside of giving state legislators strong incentives to ride herd on cognitively captured public pension fund employees and trustees. HB6292 is due to come up for hearings this month. If you are in Illinois, I hope youll e-mail, call, or write your state Senator and Representative and urge them to back HB6292. If you have family, friends, or colleagues in that state, please send them this post and encourage them to voice their support. It would also be helpful to cc or call Biss as well. You can find contact information for the Illinois Senate here and the House, here. And again, thanks for your interest and help! You can see how the efforts of Naked Capitalism readers, which were a major impetus to Chiang proposing his bill in California, are having even broader effects. So keep up the good work! Illinois-General-Assembly-Full-Text-of-HB6292 Illinois General Assembly Full Text of HB6292 Second strongest shock wave found in merging galaxy clusters (Nanowerk News) The discovery by a physics doctoral student at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) of the second-strongest merger shock in clusters of galaxies ever observed has generated excitement that is opening doors to further scientific exploration. Sarthak Dasadia, who is advised by assistant physics professor Dr. Ming Sun, discovered the very strong shock in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 655 using observations from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Sarthak Dasadia explains his research in his office. The shock to the north of this cluster is second in strength only to the Bullet Cluster shock. The shock is traveling with an astonishing speed of 2,700 kilometers per second, about three times the local speed of sound in the cluster. By comparison, NASAs Juno spacecraft in 2013 became the fastest man-made object when it was slingshot around Earth toward Jupiter at a relatively pedantic 40 kilometers a second. Studying mergers of galaxy clusters has proven to be crucial to our understanding of how such large scale objects form and evolve, says Dasadia. Shocks provide unique opportunities to study high-energy phenomena in the intra-cluster medium the hot plasma between galaxies. This could open a door, where people can do a number of different studies based on what I have found, Dasadia says. Already, scientists are targeting shocks in galaxy clusters to study dark matter, the magnetic field in the intracluster space, particle acceleration and energy transfer in the intracluster medium. In only 10 days, Dasadias research was accepted for publication by The Astrophysical Journal Letters ("A Strong Merger Shock in Abell 665"). Dasadia recently received one year of research support from the Alabama EPSCoR Graduate Research Scholars Program (ALEPSCoR). He also gave an oral presentation on his research in August at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly in Honolulu, Hawaii. The universe is populated with galaxy clusters that are relaxed and unrelaxed, Dasadia says. The relaxed ones are mellow theyve been around a lot longer, have seen lots of past mergers and really arent dynamically active. Its the unrelaxed clusters like Abell 665 that are good candidates to study merger features such as shocks and turbulence. These galaxy clusters are not boundary objects, he says. They do not have a very well-defined boundary around them. When the undefined boundaries of massive clusters of galaxies 3 million light-years across are drawn together in a slow-motion collision, their cold cores and surrounding hot gases are disrupted into shock waves and gas fronts of various temperatures. When two cold cores collide, they may create a shock of heated gas, Dasadia says. Such mergers are actually among the most energetic events in the universe, other than the Big Bang itself. If talking about fronts and shock waves and temperature differentials sounds lot like the weather on Earth, Dasadia says thats because there is not much difference as far as the physics involved. Technically, we observe the same features in space that we do on Earth, he says. This area has been studied extensively before at small scales, but few had done the work to discover what I found here at such big scales. He was able to measure the velocity of the collision and the dynamics of what is happening in it or rather, what was happening in it. It took 3.2 billion years for the light in the observations to reach Earth, so the events all happened that far back in time. Dynamic observations included the energy in the collision, the gas movement, and measurements of the discrepancy between the visible and dark matter involved. It amazes me how long it takes for this information to even reach the Earth, Dasadia says. Then I am also amazed by our technology, by how much we have advanced in developing the telescopes and equipment it takes to be able to observe and study these interactions. Americans consume half the world's coffee supply, and 52 percent of Americans over the age of 10 drink coffee. Doris Reynolds Let's Talk Food Doris Reynolds is the author of When Peacocks Were Roasted and Mullet was Fried and a four-part DVD, A Walk Down Memory Lane with Doris Reynolds. They are for sale in the lobby of the Naples Daily News. SHARE It was during the ninth century in Ethiopia that Kaldi, a goat herder made a discovery that changed the drinking habits of millions (or should I say billions) of people. Kaldi has been credited with the discovery of coffee, although no authoritative recognition exists and this world-changing incident has no monument to mark the incident. While herding his goats in a forest where trees and bushes were awash with red berries, he noticed that his charges were suddenly animated and energized after eating them. Well, this guy was no dummy. He surmised that if these magic berries worked for his goats, surely they were a panacea for his own sluggishness. Kaldi eagerly shared his secret beans with his neighbors who used the coffee beans to achieve success in raiding forays. They wrapped the beans in animal fat to preserve them and used them as a stimulant while conquering their enemies. The Turks were the first to adopt coffee as a drink, often adding spices such as cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and anise to the brew. Coffee mavens are thankful to the participants of the Boston Tea Party for successfully making coffee popular among former tea drinkers. After the chaos, there was no alternative but to turn to coffee as the national drink, and the two beverages have been competing ever since. In 1876, the first ground coffee was offered to American coffee drinkers by Chase and Sanborn. These entrepreneurs also were responsible for marketing the beverage and became one of the pioneers of advertising in newspapers and magazines. President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1907, provided the famous slogan for Chase and Sanborn coffee when he finished a cup of the brew and pronounced it "good to the last drop." Americans consume half the world's coffee supply, and 52 percent of Americans over the age of 10 drink coffee. These coffee drinkers imbibe in 100 billion cups of the brew, which means an astonishing 23.5 gallons per person. Coffee is mainly enjoyed as a beverage, but numerous gourmets have found it a rich and satisfying addition to other foods. German bakers often add coffee to their pumpernickel bread, and what would red-eye gravy be without the addition of the blessed brew. Cooks and chefs have found that coffee adds zest, flavor and color to spice and fruit cakes, custards, gravy, mousses, ice cream, dessert sauces and cake frostings. "A cuppa Joe" has been elevated to gourmet status. Coffee has gone upscale and the 5-cent brew is just a memory. Coffee now is some kind of religion to those dedicated to finding just the right beans and a friendly coffeehouse to read the paper and discuss politics. Coffee houses have become the new country club and confessional to many of the herd of coffee addicts who are up to date on the latest offerings in the realm of coffees. Now that I have turned you on to coffee, I've a bit of advice for the uninformed regarding its brewing. Studies have determined that for optimum flavor and body, water temperature should be slightly less than boiling, or about 200 degrees. Higher temperatures extract too much of the coffee solids and result in a bitter brew. We have much to thank Kaldi, the goat herder. He brought coffee into our lives and joy to those who relish and appreciate a liquid blessing from those tiny, red beans. Just the aroma of brewing coffee sets our minds on our energy and appreciation for those blessed coffee moments. ASK DORIS Q: Every time I go out to eat fish I order it blackened. It is a favorite and now I would like to know how to fix it at home. Gerald Malnick, Estero A: Be sure you have a good exhaust fan when you cook the fish and remember the fish cooks very quickly. Also, a cast-iron skillet is necessary. BLACKENED FISH Ingredients cup unsalted butter, melted 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper teaspoon freshly ground black pepper teaspoon dried thyme teaspoon paprika 4 fish fillets (about 2 pounds) each inch thick Directions 1 Place a cast-iron skillet over high heat until white hot (about 10 minutes). 2 Combine butter with oil in a shallow bowl. 3 In another small bowl mix salt, cayenne, black pepper, thyme and paprika. 4 Dip each fish fillet in butter-oil mixture and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon seasoning mixture. 5 Place fish in hot pan for exactly 2 minutes. 6 Turn fillet over and cook second side for exactly 2 minutes. 7 Remove from pan and serve immediately, drizzled with remaining butter. Serves 4. FEEDBACK FOOTNOTE Sharing a letter from a reader concerning last week's column on Greek cuisine: "Your article was great. I would like to note that there are more people of the Orthodox faith, not only Greeks: Serbian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Rumanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian and many others. It would be nice to have them mentioned once in a while. I do admit that the rest of us do not do as good as the Greeks in promoting ourselves. I really appreciate your article, it was well researched. My best, Spiro Jankovich." Doris Reynolds is the author of "When Peacocks Were Roasted and Mullet was Fried" and a four-part DVD, "A Walk Down Memory Lane with Doris Reynolds." They are available for sale in the lobby of the Naples Daily News. All proceeds of these sales go to the Doris Reynolds-Naples Daily News Scholarship Fund. Contact Doris Reynolds at foodlvr25@aol.com Whiskey Park opened April 26 in the space formerly occupied by The Captain's Cabin, 3380 Mercantile Ave., East Naples. (Tim Aten/Daily News staff) Tim Aten In The Know SHARE Whiskey Park opened April 27, 2016, in the former space of The Captain's Cabin, 3380 Mercantile Ave., East Naples. (Tim Aten/Daily News staff) The outdoor patio at Shea's at Lansdowne Street, a neighborhood bar that opened Monday, May 2, 2016, at 720 Fifth Ave. S. in downtown Naples. (Tim Aten/Daily News staff) The recent opening of two new pubs provides two more casual dining opportunities for lunch, dinner and late-night bites in the Naples area. Although both are bar-centric establishments, each offers a menu beyond typical taverns. Whiskey Park opened April 26 in the space long occupied by the Captain's Cabin in East Naples, and Shea's at Lansdowne Street launched Monday off Fifth Avenue South in downtown Naples. Whiskey Park The rustic look inside Whiskey Park almost has the feel of an Old West saloon. Large whiskey barrels provide the base for many of the tables, and naked bulbs, some in chandeliers, hang overhead. It's hard to see any resemblance to the local bar that occupied this space in the industrial park off Airport-Pulling Road for nearly 30 years. Tearing out the old drop ceiling gives the new place at least another 10 feet overhead and provides the entire business with a spacious look. Patrons will notice a big difference between Whiskey Park and Hoelzer's original bar, Grumpy's Ale House, which closed last year after it operated eight years in The Pavilion shopping center. "We went into a totally different direction with this place, having food and a whiskey list and a beer list," Hoelzer said. "That was more of a bar. This is a restaurant." The menu, created by chef and co-owner Chris Prattini, was inspired by dishes from his past, such as a smokehouse brisket he recalled from before he went to culinary school. Born in New Orleans, Prattini gave many items on the menu a Cajun twist. "When I was putting it together, I really took some of things I grew up with and some of the things that influenced me," he said. "I kind of re-created each dish to be my own." An executive chef at Truluck's for several years, Prattini was the original chef when it opened in Naples years ago. He also was assistant general manager for eight years at Brio Tuscan Grille in Waterside Shops. The menu showcases Prattini's culinary roots. It's hard to overlook a couple of chicken-and-sausage rice dishes: gumbo ($7.99) and jambalaya ($15.99). Muffuletta sliders ($8.99) feature olive salad, sliced ham, salami, provolone and mozzarella. Three different po'boy options provide a choice between fried shrimp with remoulade ($9.99), cold turkey with a garlic aioli, ($8.99) and thinly sliced roast beef with horseradish aioli, mashed potatoes, pickles and au jus ($10.99). "Chris has done an amazing job with the food. He's got a lot of positive feedback," Hoelzer said. The top-selling appetizer so far has been the fried green tomatoes ($6.99), Prattini said, while the most popular entrees have been the burgers ($8.25 to $11.99), and roast beef po'boy and sliced brisket sandwiches (both $10.99). The roast beef is slow-cooked for eight hours, while the brisket is slow-roasted for 12 hours overnight, Prattini said. Other entrees include four-cheese ravioli ($12.99), braised pot roast ($13.99), a fried or scampi-style shrimp platter with fries and coleslaw ($16.99), and bow-tie pasta ($14.99) with olive oil, white wine, Parmesan, andouille sausage, shrimp, tomato and peas. Starters range from spinach and artichoke dip ($6.99) to cilantro and lime shrimp cocktail ($11.99). Wraps roll from Buffalo chicken or portobello ($8.99) to spicy Gulf shrimp ($10.99). Salads are available from $6.99 to $8.99. Of course, Whiskey Park's name immediately tells you it's more than a restaurant. The new bar has more than 50 different whiskeys to choose from, including specialty whiskey cocktails. It claims to be the only place in Southwest Florida with Jameson Irish whiskey on tap, and is planning to add Jack Daniel's on tap, as well, Prattini said. Whiskey Creek has 30 beers on tap at its large horseshoe bar, which offers happy hour 3 to 7 p.m. weekdays. A couple of pool tables provide splashes of color, and leather couches are tucked away for lounging. Outdoor seating is planned near its entrance. Whiskey Park, 3380 Mercantile Ave., is open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. every day. For information, call 239-263-6777, or go to www.whiskeypark-naples.com. Know more For the latest in local restaurants coming and going, see Tim Aten's "In the Know" columns archived at naplesnews.com/intheknow, and on Facebook at facebook.com/timaten.intheknow. Money Talks SHARE By William F. Hague This time of the year rings in yet another round of the relatively quiet summer season here in paradise. By now, we all know that Southwest Florida is synonymous with all things real estate. Yes, this sacred cow has long been the standard by which all things are measured, economically speaking. On the heels of a nearly unheard of run up in prices only matched by the real estate bubble from nearly a decade ago, we are now seeing at least some similarities with both stocks and real estate. Both have had "unnatural" growth patterns during the last six years. Both are now experiencing what any market can expect after such a massive run up in values, and that is the corrective actions which should not only be expected, but accepted as part of the natural order of cycles. Recent headlines in the real estate industry have confirmed what many have previously observed, and that is that we are now experiencing a slowdown in not only price appreciation but one recent front page headline actually used the word "overpriced." Now before the Kool-Aid drinkers get all up in arms, these headlines and quotes are from sources within the real estate industry, neutral third party research with no agendas for buying or selling here in paradise. A national economist as well as Realtytrack and others have simply stated the obvious in that where we go from here is likely to be a cooling down from the white hot appreciation we have seen in recent years. Now, this is not to say that another crash is inevitable, rather simply that prices cannot and will not sustain current levels. As far as what's next, well we can confidently expect both the stock and real estate markets to take a collective breathe. Speaking of the stock market and money management, we are beginning to hear from more high profile names in the industry as to what we may expect next. Just this week Warren Buffett came out with a warning that, " no one can predict the effects of prolonged low rates because it has never happened before " He goes on to state; " very few people in 2009 would have dreamed that we could have this duration of low rates " In other words, in addition to the warnings that we all have become acquainted with regards to pending downward pressure that rising rates can and will have on the stock markets, the reality is that this too is unprecedented territory. What is next from here may be an unknown, yet at the same time we do not necessarily need to know the exact direction of markets to design and implement an investment plan which can weather all storms. History has shown us that there are options with proven track records that are available for retired investors who are simply fed up with the same old mutual fund and stock investing. We have encountered numerous retired investors who have complained about the lack of meaningful returns while paying an "adviser" for the privilege of ownership. The time has come for investors to embrace strategies other than the same old tired stock and bond investing. Mutual funds have perhaps lead the way in the category of "lackluster performance" as a direct result of the compounding effect that the annual fees can have on already watered down performance. The only thing worse than investing losses is compounding those losses with useless annual fees. Meanwhile, the fee friendly world of both insured index investing combined with the power and risk management of managed futures offers retired investors relevant options from both ends of the investing spectrum. The insured index generates the confidence that comes with safety, while the managed futures offer not only effective risk management, but also offer perhaps the best performance alternative with documented annual returns far greater than that of the stock markets, with significantly less risk. Going back to 1980, which by the way, represents the last 36 years of our investing lives, we have seen as much as four times more return with four times less risk. What's next is the confidence that comes with the life of a SWAN, Sleep Well At Night. William F. Hague is a managing partner of Hague Wealth Management; 239-389-1999 or WFHague@earthlink.net. As part of its seasonal Sicilian menu, Campiello Ristorante & Bar in Naples offers this pasta dish with spaghetti, tomato, bell peppers, eggplant and capers. Campiello SHARE Regional menu Campiello's monthly regional menu for May explores Sicily, the large island at the base of Italy. Chef Mike Dalton's menu includes Sicilian-style calzone, grilled tuna, and spaghetti with tomato, bell peppers, eggplant and capers. Dessert features cannoli cheesecake with lemon, ricotta and dark chocolate. 1177 Third St. S., Naples. 239-435-1166 Wine dinners Ristorante Ciao will feature fine wines from Badia Coltibuono during a special wine dinner May 12. Roberto Stucchi, the owner and winemaker of the vineyard, located in Tuscany, will be at the dinner to discuss his wines that will be paired with each of the four courses prepared by Chef Gianfranco Loreti. A welcome reception will begin at 6:30 p.m., with dinner to follow. Cost to attend is $75 per person. For more information or reservations, 239-263-3889. 835 Fourth Ave. S., Naples. ristoranteciao.com Sea Salt restaurant features a special dinner 7 p.m. Wednesday, showcasing special wines from the Donnafugata winemaking family with centuries of experience in the heart of Sicily. The wine-inspired menu is created by Corporate Chef Jason Goddard and Executive Chef Josh Zeman. Each course is paired with a wine that evokes the authentic flavors and fragrances of Sicilian terroir. The wine dinner is $95 per person, plus tax and gratuity. 1186 Third St. S., Naples. SeaSaltNaples.com. Reserve at 239-434-7258. Watermelon fest Seed-spitting, speed-eating competitions and sweet local watermelon will be featured at Fleamasters Sixth Annual Watermelon Festival, May 27 to 29. This year's free festival will have activities for the entire family. Enjoy free slices of sweet, local grown melon and purchase a melon or two to take home. 4135 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers. 239-334-7001 Sunset cruise dinner Chez Boet and the Sweet Liberty sailing catamaran are now offering a special sunset cruise dinner package for $64 per person. The package includes a two-hour sunset cruise on the Sweet Liberty, a 53-foot sailing catamaran, followed by a two-course dinner at nearby Chez Boet. Advance reservations are required. A package for children 12 and under is offered at $26 per child. Groups are welcome to participate. The Sweet Liberty is docked at the Naples City Dock and Chez Boet is located at 755 12th Ave. S., Naples. 239-595-7002 Jimmy Keys returns Comedic entertainer Jimmy Keys returns to perform at Barbatella at 9 p.m. Saturday. Keys' audience-involved act showcases his talents as a piano player, vocalist, comedian, and visual impressionist. His high-energy comedy shows include popular Broadway songs and impressions of celebrities such as Elton John, Rod Stewart, Mick Jagger, Prince Charles, Willie Nelson and more. 1290 Third St. S., Naples. 239-263-1955. barbatellanaples.com Mother's market Whole Foods Market is celebrating Mother's Day early this year with an in-store celebration, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Shoppers will be able to take part in gift-making activities such as decorating a heart-shaped cookie cake ($11) with the Whole Foods Market bakery team and creating hand-drawn Mother's Day cards with store artists. Activities recommended for children ages 5 and up. Ladies will also be treated to complimentary mimosas by the Florida Whole Foods Market specialty teams. Compiled by Sebastian Gonzalez, sebastian.gonzalez@Naplesnews.com, 239-435-3432 A 23-year-old Naples man was arrested Tuesday on charges of attempted robbery and making false reports of a bomb after trying to rob a Golden Gate Estates bank, according to the Collier County Sheriff's Office. An arrest report states that Aaron Brown went to a BB&T on Collier Boulevard and Immokalee Road around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, demanded $100,000 and told a bank employee he was the leader of ISIS. Brown threatened to blow the bank up if employees didn't give him the money, according to the report. A bank employee asked Brown if he had an account with the bank, and he stormed off and left in a red Ford Explorer, according to authorities. Sheriff's deputies found Brown down the street from the bank. The FBI, the Southwest Florida Bomb Task Force, CCSO K-9 and crime scene units searched the area and found no bomb. By Ben Brasch, The News-Press David Levin thought he was doing the right thing. Instead, he ended up in handcuffs on state charges and jailed for six hours Wednesday. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement accused the 31-year-old Estero man of hacking into the state elections website Jan. 4 and Jan. 31. He hacked into the Lee County elections website Dec. 19. Levin, a political consultant and owner of Vanguard Cybersecurity, turned himself in to FDLE on Wednesday for three third-degree-felony counts of property crimes. Levin was the youngest person to run for the Estero village council when The News-Press profiled him in February 2015 two months before his 30th birthday. He was booked into Lee County Jail just before 10 a.m. and was released just after 3:40 p.m. on a $15,000 bond. The FDLE described the attacks in an arrest report: "An SQL (Structured Query Language) is a code injection technique used to attack data-driven applications. An SQL injection enables an individual to obtain secure information, such as usernames and passwords, from vulnerable sources." DOCUMENT: Read the arrest warrant. Levin told the elections office what he did under the auspices of helping its cybersecurity and explained how he hacked into the databases in a YouTube video also featuring Dan Sinclair, who is one of the candidates running for the supervisor position against incumbent Supervisor of Elections Sharon Harrington. This all started, Sinclair said, when Levin called him in December after taking an online federal course that included some Department of Defense officials and penetration testing of online systems. Levin told him that he could easily get into the Lee elections website. The arrest report was clear that Sinclair did not ask Levin to hack into the sites, but that Levin called him to tell him what he had done afterward. Still, Harrington said she feels this is a political stunt by Sinclair, and added that "the timing of it was interesting." "I wasn't surprised," Harrington said Wednesday of the arrest. "It's not really closure ... It just think it's unfortunate this is happening." According to the report, Harrington reported the "intrusion" and the Lee County sheriff's deputies directed her to the FDLE. After investigating, state agents seized Levin's MacBook and iPhone 6S Plus along with other digital storage from his home on Feb. 8. Larry Long, FDLE spokesman, said during a press conference Wednesday that there are no other suspects in the case. Sinclair also attended the press conference and ask several questions of Long about particulars of the case. Between questions by reporters and Sinclair, Long said: "FDLE is not in the business of politics." Harrington said she first heard about the hacking in a short voicemail Sinclair left her and then when she started to get media inquiries about it. "I had nothing to do with it. They opened the door and walked through it," Harrington said. Sinclair accused Harrington of using her office for personal gain by smearing Sinclair and Levin. "Dave didn't do anything wrong," Sinclair said. "This is political corruption." When asked to respond, Harrington said: "I just sat back and let the FDLE do what they need to do." SHARE A sea turtle nest sits marked off on the beach behind a Port Royal home on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Naples. The nest is the first discovered by sea turtle monitors in Collier County this sea turtle nesting season. (David Albers/Staff) A sea turtle nest sits marked off on the beach behind a Port Royal home on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Naples. The nest is the first discovered by sea turtle monitors in Collier County this sea turtle nesting season. (David Albers/Staff) A sea turtle nest sits marked off on the beach behind a Port Royal home on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Naples. The nest is the first discovered by sea turtle monitors in Collier County this sea turtle nesting season. (David Albers/Staff) A sea turtle nest sits marked off on the beach behind a Port Royal home on Wednesday, May 4, 2016, in Naples. The nest is the first discovered by sea turtle monitors in Collier County this sea turtle nesting season. (David Albers/Staff) By Eric Staats of the Naples Daily News It's happening again on Southwest Florida beaches. A loggerhead sea turtle emerges from the darkness of the Gulf of Mexico, digs a hole with its rear flippers, lays 100 or so ping-pong ball-sized eggs in it, covers it with sand, and then crawls back below the waves. Mama was long gone by the time turtle trackers found the telltale flipper tracks at daylight Tuesday. They came out of the Gulf in front of a mansion in the 2600 block of Gordon Drive leading monitors to the first nest of the young turtle nesting season in Naples. One of Southwest Florida's most awaited natural cycles officially began Sunday and runs through Oct. 31, along with lighting restrictions that are meant to keep beachfront lights from discouraging nesting sea turtles or confusing hatchlings racing to make it back into the Gulf. As of Wednesday morning, monitors also had found two nests on Keewaydin Island including one that could be from a loggerhead the Conservancy of Southwest Florida has been tracking since 1988 one at Lovers Key State Park, two on Fort Myers Beach and four on Captiva Island. Loggerheads are not storming the beach like they were last year in Collier, where turtles laid 16 nests in the first week of nesting compared to just one nest this year, said the county's sea turtle program coordinator Maura Kraus. "We're hoping for a good one," Kraus said. "It's off to a slow start, but we always hope for a good one." There's still a long way to go: Last year, countywide turtle monitors counted 1,511 nests, of which 921 hatched. That compares to 1,378 nests laid in 2014 on Collier beaches. The number of nests only tells part of the story. Last year, of the 881 nests monitored by Collier County, predators destroyed 116 of them, an increase from 59 in 2014. And, of the nests that hatched, monitors estimated 43,500 baby sea turtles made it to the Gulf, a decrease from 2014, when monitors estimated almost 58,000 hatchlings climbed out of the nests. Only one in 1,000 baby sea turtles survives to adulthood. Florida's loggerheads, which are considered one step removed from endangered species status, have been posting improved nesting numbers since a low of 28,000 in 2007 on the state's core index beaches. Last year, monitors counted more than 47,000 nests on those beaches in 2015, still fewer than peak years of almost 60,000 nests in 1998 and 2012. Of all the thousands of turtles, there's Emily. That's what Conservancy of Southwest Florida senior biologist David Addison calls her. He's been watching her comings and goings from Keewaydin Island since 1988, at first using flipper tags to keep track of her, and then electronic chips. But when they put a satellite tag on the back of Emily's shell in 2009, that's when she really showed her stuff. Trackers watched on computer screens, ping by ping, as Emily made the slow migration from Keewaydin Island, through the Florida Straits to Andros Island in the Bahamas, a roughly 350-mile journey. She wouldn't come back until 2011. Monitors almost missed her. Addison said Emily's satellite tag had failed, leaving trackers in the dark, but she still had her electronic chip. Monitors routinely scan nesting turtles for the chip, and when they scanned Emily, she was re-revealed to them. They replaced her satellite tag and let her go on her way, which was back to Andros Island. She came back to Keewaydin Island in 2013. Curious, monitors replaced her satellite tag again. Emily returned to Andros Island. Then trackers waited, and watched, as Emily missed the 2014 nesting season at Keewaydin. She missed last year, too. And then she started moving again. She was pinging off the Keewaydin coast, between Naples and Marco Island, last week and over the weekend, about the same time monitors found the new nests there. Addison can't say for sure they are Emily's. The nests are due to hatch in late June. Addison said monitors will check the nests for dead hatchlings or embryos, take a sample of tissue and compare it with Emily's DNA. Then he will know. "They do what they do, and if you're patient, they'll tell you a story," Addison said. By Patrick Riley of the Naples Daily News If the state won't buy Edison Farms a 4,000-acre swath of environmentally sensitive land in south Lee County the county might. Lee Commissioner Larry Kiker said Tuesday he would go after Edison Farms under that scenario. The county could use money from its own conservation fund, he said. "It is important and has been for a long time," Kiker said. "It might be in a position now where we might be able to do something." Edison Farms, east of Interstate 75 between Corkscrew and Bonita Beach roads, consists of more than 3,500 acres of wetlands. Conservation groups have long described the stretch of land as significant, both as a habitat for rare species and as a resource to help restore flowways and enhance water quality. In 2014, Florida voters approved Amendment 1, a conservation provision that sets aside one-third of money collected through taxes on real estate document stamps to protect land and water. It will collect funds for the next 20 years. Lee County's preservation program predates Amendment 1. In 1996, Lee voters created Conservation 20/20, a taxpayer-funded program that purchases open land and protects it from development. It set aside 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable property value for land preservation. The county has eyed Edison Farms in the past. In 2011 the county agreed to vet the land through the Conservation 20/20 process, but its $170 million asking price and pending foreclosure litigation brought the parties to an impasse. The property is owned by Investors Warranty of America Inc., a real estate investment firm that won a judgment against the site's former owners in 2012. Kiker may find support for his plan in Bonita Springs, where a number of councilors have indicated that preserving the Density Reduction Groundwater Resource area, which includes Edison Farms, is a top priority. Bonita Springs Deputy Mayor Peter O'Flinn told fellow councilors during a Tuesday workshop that Kiker was "extremely supportive" of preserving Edison Farms. O'Flinn met with Kiker on Monday to talk about a variety of issues, including the county's plans to purchase and conserve lands in south Lee County. Those acquisitions could include Bonita Springs parcels near Edison Farms, O'Flinn said. Kiker "was very open-minded with respect to that, the possibility of considering that collectively with Edison Farms," O'Flinn said. Kiker said Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, was the one "carrying the flag" to try to secure Amendment 1 money to buy Edison Farms. But Rodrigues' efforts fell short. "It did not happen this year," Kiker said. "Sometimes you have to sit through two legislative sessions." City of Naples seal SHARE By Joseph Cranney of the Naples Daily News The Naples City Council signaled support Wednesday for a new assistant chief position in the city's fire department, considering adding a job after previously rejecting proposals to increase staff. Acting Chief Pete DiMaria will ask the council to approve the new position during budget talks in September. The deputy chief would be in charge of operations, review the work of subordinate firefighters and respond to complaints from the public, among other responsibilities, according to a draft of the job description. A majority of council members during Wednesday's regular meeting said they favored adding the position. "I think it's needed," Mayor Bill Barnett said, even though the council voted against former Chief Steve McInerny' request to add at least four new firefighters to the department in 2012. But after a city-paid consultant released a report last year recommending the department add staff, including a deputy chief, "it changed a lot of our thinking," Barnett said. Councilman Doug Finlay, who opposed adding staff in 2012, said he was leaning in favor of the new position because he's comfortable "putting my faith" in DiMaria. "I have confidence that he'll only ask for what he needs," Finlay said. Councilmen Reg Buxton and Sam Saad also said they favored adding the position. "This gives the chief the opportunity to do more of what we expect of the fire chief, not just to be a great firefighter, but an administrator and run the department," Saad said. The new position could also allow for internal promotions. McInerny has suggested a lack of promotional opportunities was the reason the union stood against him. The deputy's projected salary hasn't been determined, but the department is working on a cost-benefit analysis and looking at pay ranges of deputies in other fire departments in the county, DiMaria said. In the Naples fire department, battalion chiefs, who report to DiMaria, have a base salary of up to $99,000. McInerny was paid $124,345 last year. The council agreed last fall to staff two of its fire stations with six more firefighters when it pulled the firefighters from their regular shifts at the airport. The fire department now uses overtime to provide service at the airport from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. McInerny was fired in March after the union president told an investigator that McInerny gave orders to increase the intensity of the department's fire responses to convince the council to give the department more money. McInerny, who was hired in 2009 from Ft. Lauderdale, lobbied the council for additional staff. In 2010, he said it was "dangerous" that the fire department's number of personnel had stayed virtually the same for two decades. The council added two firefighters to the department in fiscal year 2010-11. In 2012, he told the council that 12 additional firefighters would be ideal for the department, but requested an increase of four as "a step in the right direction." The council voted, 4-3, against the new firefighters. DAVID ALBERS/STAFF - The Collier County Government Center on Dec. 30, 2013. SHARE By Greg Stanley of the Naples Daily News The five candidates vying to represent most of eastern Collier on the county commission squared off Tuesday, discussing development and affordable housing for an area expected to see the most growth. Three Republicans, a Democrat and an independent write-in candidate are fighting for the commission's District 5 seat, which covers Immokalee, Ave Maria, Everglades City and most of Golden Gate Estates. As the county prepares for expected growth in the area, commissioners need to make sure firefighters, police officers, teachers and other working-class families have a place to live, the candidates said. But the question is, how? Democrat Tamara Paquette pointed to the county's impact fees, which are among the highest in the state. Impact fees work like one-time taxes imposed on developers and homebuilders as they erect new buildings. For years the county charged impact fees on a sliding scale, Paquette said. Smaller homes worth $60,000 paid less impact fees than waterfront mansions. "Now the county charges a flat rate," said Paquette, who runs a general contracting business with her husband. "So for a builder there's a sweet spot where the incentive to build is a $500,000 home. That's why you see so many bird houses for snow birds. We need to fix that impact fee system, so if you want a lower cost house you should be able to build one." To really spur affordable housing, the county needs to require developers to build a certain percentage of affordable units when their projects are approved, said Republican Randy Cash. "Especially in larger developments, they need to be held to a standard," Cash said. "The situation is abysmal." Republican Bill McDaniel, owner of a mining and excavation company and chairman of the Collier County Housing Authority, said he would work to reduce impact fees on new development and introduce a plan to incentivize, not require, developers to build units teachers and police officers could afford. "You do this through density transfers, so they could build more units," McDaniel said. "As chair of the Collier County Housing Authority, we oversee Section 8 housing and rental-based assistance. I can say that government subsidization doth not be the answer." Republican Doug Rankin, an attorney and local Habitat for Humanity board member, said he knows firsthand the problems impact fees can cause when trying to build affordable housing. "We have one of the most successful Habitat for Humanitys in the country and, until recently, we didn't even get impact fee waivers," Rankin said. "I would suggest that large developments have to set aside an area for affordable housing or make some contribution to it. If we're going to bring in a lot of high-income people, there is going to be demand for services. Our affordable housing problem can't just go up to Lee County." Marvin Courtright, a longtime Immokalee aviator and flight-instructor who is running as a write-in candidate, didn't directly say how he would spur affordable housing, but said the county needs to take better advantage of assets like the Immokalee airport to bring money into the area. He proposed that Immokalee consider incorporation to become its own city. "Immokalee has been a cash cow to Collier for years," Courtright said. "There's a lot of money in Immokalee. Let's incorporate it. Changes might come." SHARE H.H. Hermann, Naples Behind the facade Collier County School Board member Erika Donalds' recent guest commentary in the Naples Daily News in support of Florida's recent legislative provisions on education is just another cover-up through verbiage and euphemisms. Behind the facade of concern for the education of children lies the motives to privatize public education through charter schools and to facilitate private profits and control of government educational funding. George Orwell would have loved titles like "personal learning scholarships" or "competency-based learning." Even the animals in his novel "Animal Farm" would be impressed by new public programs, but on close examination still are based on two plus two equals five. When referring to public education, it means taxpayers' dollars for charter schools. What the Legislature is doing is creating a system increasingly controlled by firms bent on privatization of the entire system, promoting high profits and a packaged curriculum. Talk about Common Core. Their design is to habituate students to a model of economic and social inequalities. The tea party efforts to gain control of school boards is a poisonous assault on public education. They will flood us with a culture of anti-intellectualism, commercialism and privatization. Watch the tea party representatives in action at a Collier School Board meeting. They work to strip education of its civic values and its role as a democratic public good. It is shameful that the Florida Legislature has enabled them to shamelessly parade under the banner of new educational opportunities. SHARE Kathy Lowers, Naples Solidifies my opinion I see that David Goldstein, who is with the American Civil Liberties Union of Collier, started his attack (in a letter to the editor) on conservative candidate John Brunner, who is running for Collier County School Board, District 2. That the ACLU activist sees Brunner as a threat makes me all the happier to vote for him. I am tired of a small group of radical liberals trying to make our school system an expense-bloated, politically correct mess. Brunner is a pro-family values, fiscal conservative who is a father of young children. For 18 years, Brunner worked as a teacher and administrator in both public and private schools. For only one of those 18 years did Brunner teach at Mason Classical Academy, which hardly makes him a representative of that form of schooling, as Goldstein's letter insinuates. And although Goldstein dismisses Brunner's time running a private Christian school, voters like me appreciate someone with private sector educational experience being on the board. That means Brunner knows what it is like to operate on a real life, limited budget and he knows how to listen to parents. I cannot wait to line up and cast my vote for Brunner and I hope everyone who finds the ACLU a blight on the country does, too. SHARE Linda Chan, Naples Wasting taxpayer money As an avid watcher of the Collier County Commission meetings, it appears to me that for over a year Commissioner Georgia Hiller has used the commission meetings for self-promotion, ingratiating herself to county staff by attacking the clerk and interfering with his authority to audit county expenses. Isn't this campaigning on taxpayers' dime? On the Golden Triangle issue on the April 26 agenda, Hiller expressed no opinion on the issue until after the other commissioners enthusiastically supported the proposal. Hiller then said that she would support the plan only if the county manager hires a private escrow company, instead using the clerk. When the county attorney stated that the clerk is the most appropriate agent, Hiller interrupted, insisting that the county hire an escrow company. She was unconcerned that her proposal would waste taxpayers' money. The clerk can do the job competently; proof being that the clerk has received numerous awards of excellence from the state. Hiller's propensity to place herself above all else should be cause for concern. If she becomes clerk, will she continue to acquiesce to county staff or will she re-assert the clerk's authority? Enough tax dollars have been spent on challenging the clerk's authority to audit the county's expenditures. This matter has been settled by the courts. As a taxpayer, I do not wish Hiller to use my tax money to litigate again. Our Florida Constitution separates the powers of the County Commission and the Clerk of Courts to ensure checks and balances in government. The clerk's primary responsibility is to protect taxpayers' money. Taxpayers should be alarmed when the clerk is too chummy with the county staff. SHARE Nick Lichter, Naples Why we need Dixon A year ago, when U.S. News and World Report released its national high school rankings for 2015, the Naples Daily News decided it was front-page worthy news to announce Collier County placed three high schools Barron Collier, Gulf Coast and Naples High in the top 1,000. Not only was it front-page news, the Daily News published the story on the morning of a scheduled School Board meeting, so Superintendent Kamela Patton could be showered with praise by the local ACLU, and other organizations that support the status quo. Fast forward to the 2016 release of the U.S. News rankings, and the Daily News published the results on page 3A, the morning after the School Board meeting. Why? Because the 2016 results clearly demonstrate Patton's stated goal to marginalize, and eventually phase out teachers, via her transformation to "digital learning" has been an unmitigated, billion-dollar disaster. Specifically, Barron Collier dropped from 545 to 608; Naples dropped from 883 to 1,846 and Gulf Coast went from 953 to unranked, out of 2,500+ schools that were ranked. Couple this with, since her arrival in 2011, she has presided over an 83 percent reduction in the number of Collier County students scoring a 5, the highest score, on AP Biology, AP Chemistry and AP Physics, and Collier County taxpayers have quite possibly funded the most expensive educational failure in Florida history. This is why we need to elect School Board members like Lee Dixon. He wants to return control of classroom content back to teachers, rather than Patton's bloated administration. This August, vote Lee Dixon for School Board. Our children, teachers and your wallet will thank you. SHARE Michael A. MacDowell is the managing director of the Calvin K. Kazanjian Economics Foundation. He lives in Estero. By Michael A. Macdowell, Estero President Emeritus, Misericordia University Conflicting policies of the Obama administration are placing some institutions of higher education in very difficult positions. One such policy is the Department of Labor's proposal to substantially raise the salaries of those with mid-level and graduate positions at our nation's colleges and universities. While the new rule applies to all employees, it would hit higher education particularly hard. Colleges and universities are already under tremendous pressure to keep tuition rates from rising. The proposed rule would, in many instances, double the pay for graduate students and staff without any commensurate increase in productivity. Colleges and universities employ many graduate students whose benefits, such as tuition waivers, housing and board, are not counted as part of their salary by the government. These individuals are usually paid less than the $50,440 salary level that the Labor Department's proposed policy considers minimum. How significant a problem is this? The University of California system alone estimates that the cost will exceed $39 million a year. The vast majority of those funds will need to come from increased tuition. This places colleges and universities on the horns of a dilemma. Should institutions raise salaries, or should they instead reduce their mid-level workforce substantially and by so doing offer significantly fewer services to students? If they comply with higher salaries, they will undermine the president's goal of making colleges more affordable. According to the Wall Street Journal, the administration would not comment on this obvious dilemma. To be sure, however, the policy, once enacted, will inevitably increase tuition and the amount of debt with which students will graduate. Some have suggested it would be easy to address a dilemma by simply cutting back on highly paid administrators and faculty. But these are not the employees who will be directly impacted by the new policy. Rather, lower-level staff and students will suffer. Many of them will be graduate and postdoctoral students. Most are in the process of honing their skills to qualify for research grants, teaching or other positions in the private and public sector where they will help create the nation's wealth of tomorrow. New state policies regarding minimum wages will also harm colleges because they employ many student workers who are paid the minimum wage. This will be particularly true in California and New York, where a gradual rising yet substantial increase in the minimum to $15 an hour has been put into place. Competing studies exist, but the generally held opinion of economists is that a significant increase in the minimum wage causes unemployment among those it is supposed to help. A survey of 166 U.S. economists, conducted by the University of New Hampshire for the nonpartisan Employment Policies Institute, found that 83 percent thought the new $15 minimum wage would have a negative impact upon youth employment, 52 percent believe it will diminish adult employment and 76 percent said it would lower the number of jobs available overall. Faced with increasing labor costs, employers will inevitably reduce the number of employees usually starting with those working at close to minimum wage. This will certainly be true with colleges whose student workers are paid minimum wage. It is not only the Democrats who are advancing dichotomous economic policies. Leading Republican presidential candidates advocate significant limits on immigration from Mexico and Central America. This will inevitably raise the cost of labor and hence the prices we pay for goods and services, stunting economic growth so important to the nation. It would be a refreshing change if those advocating new policies spelled out the intended and unintended consequences of their recommendations. It is not a matter of who will pay for the new Department of Labor salary increases. Students and their parents will. Nor are the consequences of a significant jump in the minimum wage unknown. Restricting immigration will raise labor costs in this country and the price of the goods and services we enjoy. So when a new policy is advanced or a new program is put into place, remember to think through its implications. It may sound good but there really is no such thing as a free lunch. __ MacDowell is the managing director of the Calvin K. Kazanjian Foundation The Florida Department of Healths Tobacco Free Florida program and Tobacco Free Collier are launching a new initiative, Secondhand Smoke Exposed, as part of the eighth annual Tobacco Free Florida Week, taking place May 8-14, to educate Collier County residents about the dangers of secondhand smoke. This years theme, Secondhand Smoke Exposed, focuses on dispelling the common myth that secondhand smoke is harmless. The fact is that breathing even small amounts of secondhand smoke can be dangerous. Many people are unaware of how detrimental secondhand smoke exposure can be to ones health, said Tobacco Free Florida Bureau Chief Valerie Lacy. The goal of this years Tobacco Free Florida Week is to make sure all Floridians are aware of the dangers of secondhand smoke. The Tobacco Free Collier Partnership supports local tobacco-related interventions, including raising public awareness about subject areas related to secondhand smoke. Partnership members in Collier County offer guidance and support services, from guiding a multiunit housing property through the process of going smoke-free, to presenting the benefits of a tobacco free college campus.* Despite the growing trend of smoke-free policies and the substantial decrease of smokers in the state, many of Collier Countys most vulnerable are still involuntarily affected by secondhand smoke, which has hundreds of toxic chemicals including about 70 that are known to cause cancer. Secondhand smoke greatly increases the risk of lung cancer, which is Floridas number-one cancer killer. Each year, primarily due to secondhand smoke exposure, an estimated 7,300 non-smoking Americans die of lung cancer. Local housing communities and businesses in Collier County are taking action to protect residents and employees from harmful secondhand smoke. Two communities, Vanderbilt Towers II and Moorings Park, have taken steps in recent months to become smoke-free properties. Residents in Collier County and throughout the state benefit from the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act (FCIAA), which was amended in 2003 to prohibit smoking in indoor workplaces and restaurants. Floridians can help protect themselves and their families by reporting unlawful smoking through a Department of Health phone line (1-800-337-3742), making the state an even better place to live. May is also Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, and tobacco smoke is one of the most common asthma triggers. Children with asthma who are exposed to secondhand smoke are likely to experience more frequent and more severe attacks, which can put their lives in danger. In fact, more than 40 percent of children who go to the emergency room for asthma attacks live with smokers. If you smoke, the best thing you can do to protect your loved ones is to quit. Floridians who want to quit smoking are encouraged to use Tobacco Free Floridas free and proven-effective services. More information is available at tobaccofreeflorida.com. The eighth annual Tobacco Free Florida Week takes place from May 8-14. Join the conversation on social media using #SHSExposed. The Florida Department of Healths Tobacco Free Florida campaign is a statewide cessation and prevention campaign funded by Floridas tobacco settlement fund. Tobacco users interested in quitting are encouraged to use one of the states three ways to quit. Since 2007, more than 137,000 Floridians have successfully quit, using one of these free services. To learn more about Tobacco Free Florida and the states free quit resources, visit www.tobaccofreeflorida.com or follow the campaign on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TobaccoFreeFlorida or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/tobaccofreefla. The department works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts. Follow us on Twitter at @HealthyFla and on Facebook. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.floridahealth.gov. Professional Pilot magazine named Naples Municipal Airport the 23rd best fixed-base operator and the 12th best independent FBO in the United States in its May issue. An FBO provides fuel, hangar space, parking and other services to private and corporate aircraft and other general aviation operators. We are honored by this ranking, which reflects our commitment to safety and providing outstanding customer service from arrival to departure, said Chris Rozansky, executive director of Naples Municipal Airport. The magazines 48th annual Preferences Regarding Aviation Services and Equipment survey rankings are selected from ballots that are completed by qualified Professional Pilot readers and carefully vetted. The data was analyzed and tabulated independently by Conklin & de Decker, an industry-leading aviation consultancy. Professional Pilot is a monthly business-aviation trade magazine founded in 1967. Readership includes professional pilots and other flight-crew members, maintenance technicians, and ground support staff. Naples Municipal Airport welcomed the return of scheduled airline service on Feb. 27 when Elite Airways began flights to Newark, New Jersey, and Portland, Maine. The airport is home to flight schools, air charter operators, car rental agencies and corporate aviation and nonaviation businesses, as well as fire/rescue services, mosquito control, the Collier County Sheriffs Aviation Unit and other community services. During the 2014-15 fiscal year, the airport accommodated 99,569 takeoffs and landings. All funds used for the airports operation, maintenance and improvements are generated from activities at the airport or from federal and state grants; the airport receives no property tax dollars. The Florida Department of Transportation values the airports annual economic impact to the community at $283.5 million. For more information or to subscribe for email updates about the airport, visit www.FlyNaples.com. Banks that feast on commercial real estate better have plenty of capital set aside. Many institutions stacked their balance sheets with CRE loans in recent years, particularly in areas such as multifamily lending. Now there is evidence regulators may soon require those banks to maintain higher capital ratios. Suffolk Bancorp in Riverhead, N.Y., expects the Office of Comptroller of the Currency to require its bank to maintain a 12% total risk-based capital ratio, Howard Bluver, the $2.3 billion-asset company's chief executive, said in a press release tied to quarterly results. Suffolk, as a result, will "temporarily pull back" from CRE lending, despite having ample capital, he said. Bluver's comments come five months after federal regulators sounded a warning about increasing concentrations and loosening underwriting standards in certain CRE sectors. While it is unlikely Suffolk is facing a formal regulatory order, Collyn Gilbert, an analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, wrote in a note to clients that it is possible that regulators are quietly pushing new capital requirements on other CRE-heavy lenders. Regulators have been paying close attention to banks where CRE loans make up 300% of total risk-adjusted capital, particularly as a result of ramped-up originations over the last three years, industry experts have said. Those trends are evident at more than two dozen banks covered by KBW. While several institutions are multifamily lenders in New York, the list also includes California companies such as Opus Bank, BBCN Bancorp and PacWest Bancorp, as well as Bank of the Ozarks, BNC Bancorp and Stonegate Bank in the Southeast. At Suffolk, CRE loans were equal to 356% of total risk-adjusted capital, based on Sept. 30 data compiled by KBW that includes loans for multifamily projects and farmland. Bluver, who once worked for the Office of Thrift Supervision, also said he expects the OCC to require Suffolk's bank to maintain a 9% Tier 1 leverage ratio and an 11% Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio. He said Suffolk, where capital levels current exceed those targets, could sell selected investment securities and multifamily loans, if necessary, to maintain those ratios. Those capital requirements would be significantly higher than the typical standard for well-capitalized banks, which have to maintain a 5% Tier 1 leverage ratio, an 8% Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio and a 10% total risk-based capital ratio. An OCC representative declined to comment. So far, no other bank has publicly discussed higher capital requirements, though First of Long Island, another company with significant CRE concentrations, recently disclosed plans to raise $35 million to support organic growth. Gilbert called the timing of the $3.2 billion-asset company's stock offering "interesting," given Suffolk's disclosure. "While we do not believe that [First of Long Island] is explicitly subject to similar minimums at this point, this capital raise will bolster regulatory ratios and should allow for continued CRE growth," she said. A call to First of Long Island, where CRE loans were equal to 330% of total risk-based capital at Sept. 30, was not immediately returned. Why hospitals are a safe haven for hacking The empire hacks back (NaturalNews) An anonymous member of Kaspersky Lab's research team has disclosed how easy it is for cyber-criminals to alter the way medical devices work , putting the lives of patients at risk, and potentially costing hospitals hundreds of thousands of dollars.Computer hackers have deployed a malicious piece of malware known as ransomware against hospitals in both the U.S. and Canada in recent months. Ransomware works by locking computers and thwarting users from accessing vital information until they pay a ransom. Bitcoin is usually the type of currency demanded by hackers, since it is difficult to trace.Hospitals are an ideal target for ransomware, because they offer critical care and are dependent upon the most current information from patient records. Without easy access to a patient's drug, medical and family history, patient care can be stymied, which puts pressure on hospitals to succumb to the hackers' demands. Interfering with patient hospital care jeopardizes the lives of hospital patients and is considered low even by hacker standards.Kaspersky Lab, an international software security group, was able to hack a hospital in an experiment in order to demonstrate that they could obtain access to hospital machines, and in turn, patient data. As a result, hackers can change patient information, resulting in the prescription of potentially gratuitous and dangerous treatments.Conventional clinics and hospitals harbor advanced medical equipment dependent upon working computers equipped with an operating system and several applications. Since medical equipment is expensive, difficult to fix and is not updated regularly, it is particularly susceptible to the malicious activities of computer hackers The anonymous expert claimed that internet hackers could implement the Shodan search engine to seek particular medical equipment connected to the internet, including MRI scanners and defibrillators. Hackers could have easy access to medical devices dependent on outdated operations system too, like Windows XP.In particular, the software firm was able to access several medical devices listed on Shodan, which did not require an access password because the local network was trusted. While navigating the network, the experts at Kaspersky Lab discovered a "common shell" in the device's user interface, enabling the hacker to obtain potentially sensitive patient data.A computer hacker could use the same method to access patient medical records, including their addresses and ID information, which they could in turn sell or change. Even more disturbing, hackers could alter the way in which medical devices routinely function, which could potentially harm and even kill patients.According to Sergey Lozhkin, senior researcher at Kaspersky Great Lab: "Clinics are no longer only doctors and medical equipment, but IT services too."The work of a clinic's internal security services affects the safety of patient data and the functionality of its devices."Medical software and equipment engineers put a lot of effort into creating a useful medical device that will save and protect human life, but they sometimes completely forget about protecting it from unauthorised external access."When it comes to new technologies, safety issues should be addressed at the first stage of the research and development process. IT security companies could help at this stage to address safety issues." Country Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Cows, monkeys, chickens, dogs ... 'What else is in there?' (NaturalNews) Physicians in training learn a great deal about disease processes, signs, symptoms and potential treatments many of which involve the use of vaccines . But they are not actually taught about the controversy surrounding them, or what damaging ingredients vaccines actually contain.As noted in this video , Americans are simply fed the mantra that " all vaccines are safe and effective ," and that all doctors are "expert" scientists when it comes to vaccination.Dr. Suzanne Humphries, MD., speaking at a podium in the video, says that many people don't know that doctors are not taught about vaccines in medical school."Doctors are not taught about vaccines in medical school. We are not taught what's in vaccines in so far as the adjuvants. We are not taught how vaccines are manufactured, as far as what kind of animals go into them. We are not taught the potential dangers of vaccination, and we are basically given a piece of paper that says when the vaccines are due, and when to give them."A geneticist, Dr. Mark Geier, MD, Ph.D., then noted:"I've been in vaccines for 35 years. I didn't know that rhogam [given to mothers whose blood types are Rh-negative] had Thimerosal in it, so, I think a lot of the doctors were unaware; they were unaware that even the word 'Thimerosal' meant mercury ."Dr. Geier, along with his son, David, produced a study that was published in the Spring 2003 issue of the, tying Thimerosal found in some childhood vaccines, to neurodevelopment disorders like autism and heart disease in the United States. The study essentially confirmed that with increasing doses of mercury, there were greater risks that children would develop autism and other disorders.Next, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, D.O., a long-time vaccine truth advocate , noted in the video that in her "first life," she was an emergency medicine physician and emergency department director at a hospital in Ohio for about 12 years, who thought that vaccines only contained "a little sterile water and a little dead virus or a little dead bacteria." One day she decided to look into vaccine ingredients a little further, just by reading the inserts, and she learned that many vaccines were made using various animal serums cows, monkeys, chickens, dogs and even human embryos.Dr. Tetyana Obukhanych, Ph.D., an immunologist, states in the next portion of the video that researchers like her don't read any studies other than those that pertain directly to their, because they either don't have the time, or don't want to get bogged down with information that doesn't pertain to their work."We don't really deal with [the] real world," she says. "We do research in labs, a sort of Ivory Tower profession, and we don't really even read these [other] publications, because this is too far away from our field. We only read what is specific to our research, and usually it's immunization and how antibodies are generated, and details of the immune responses."Dr. Lawrence Palevsky, MD, says that when he graduated medical school in 1983, he knew nothing about what was actually in vaccines. But about 15 years later, he says, he found out that there was mercury in some vaccines, and wondered why he was not taught as much in class."So my question was, 'Well, whatis in there?'" he said. "So I just started to explore more of the package inserts, more of the manufacturing processes, more of the adverse effects , and started reading the literature [on vaccines] that doesn't get near medical schools and residency programs. And I started to realize that there was more information to learn than what I was originally taught."Mind you,in their respective medical and medical research fields; they are not kooks, crazies or lunatics. They are just ordinary people with extraordinary qualities curiosity and an open mind who are not prepared to simply swallow the standard medical lines about vaccines.Watch the full eight-minute video here Despite the email, residents in that jurisdiction were later notified of the high lead level. The Chateaux Du Lac Condominiums, a homeowners association in Fenton, Michigan, operates on a private water system. Since its inception, records show, the association has struggled with high lead levels time and again. The system has exceeded federal lead action levels, set to trigger remediation efforts such as public education campaigns or expensive corrosion control, eight times over the past 20 years. "Bump this one out" (NaturalNews) In recent days so-called "smoking gun" evidence has surfaced in the Flint, Michigan, lead contamination scandal.is reporting that a state environmental official suggested that a water collection technician who was gathering samples for a suburban Detroit private water system 'bump out' a test result that contained very high levels of lead by testing more homes.By doing so that could eliminate the need to send out a "lead public notice," according to the 2008 email, which would then have alerted residents that their water contained dangerously high levels of the neurotoxic heavy metal "Oh my gosh, I've never heard [it] more black and white," Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech professor and lead expert who helped uncover the Flint water crisis."In the Flint emails, if you recall, it was a little bit implied... this is like telling the strategy, which is: 'You failed, but if you go out and get a whole bunch more samples that are low, then you can game it lower,'" he continued. "It just shows that this culture of corruption and unethical, uncaring behavior predated Flint by at least six years."reported further:Many of the water pipes in and around Detroit and Flint were installed early in the 20th century.In September 2008, a water lab technician gathered five samples from the nearly 45 homes in the association, which was the minimum amount of samples required for analysis. As per protocol, the technician submitted the five samples to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for testing.Of those five, one registered 115 parts per billion (ppb) of lead, 10 times higher than the federally mandated level of 15 ppb, when enforcement action is triggered. That level technically put Chateaux's water system out of compliance,noted."On 16 September 2008, Adam Rosenthal , an MDEQ environmental quality analyst, sent an email to the technician to discuss the results. He copied Mike Prysby, the state employee who was criminally charged last week for his role in the city of Flint's two-year lead contamination crisis, along with state employee Stephen Busch," the news site said. Prysby and Busch have been accused of "improperly [manipulating] the collection of water samples" and for "removing from samples to be included" in federal reports by the state attorney general's office."I just saw the results 115 ppb for lead is a bit high," Rosenthal wrote in the email. "Since this is an annual round of monitoring, which ends 9/30/08, there is still time to collect more samples and possibly bump this one out."As Natural News has reported, the state of Michigan is not solely to blame for this mess. The federal Environmental Protection Agency was aware of the problem but did not intervene. The regional EPA director, Susan Hedman, was not prosecuted, however, or even charged with criminal negligence. Rather, she was just allowed to resign.And it's not just the EPA that is guilty of this kind of malfeasance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to cover up the link between MMR vaccines and autism,When some Americans argue for more and bigger government at the local, state and federal level, you have to wonder why, considering how often government entities fail us, lie to us and cover up wrong-doing.Could your family unknowingly be drinking or bathing in water contaminated with toxic chemicals? Visit EPAwatch.org to learn how you can find out while helping to contribute to a safer water supply for all Americans! Large coalition of anti-glyphosate activists rally outside White House Science shows widespread glyphosate contamination (NaturalNews) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting a "registration review" of glyphosate to determine if the chemical is safe to use for another 15 years. For it to be approved, the chemical must be in compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which requires that under proper use the chemical "will not generally cause unreasonable adverse effects on the environment."Though the agency says its cancer assessment on glyphosate is not yet finalized, on Friday, the EPA published what appeared to be their conclusion, which stated that the weed killer is not carcinogenic to humans, contradicting earlier reports from the World Health Organization stating that it is.In a peculiar move, the EPA quickly yanked the documents from the web, saying they were "inadvertently" published, according to Reuters. The documents, which were retrieved, show the agency based its assessment entirely on industry data, including slideshow presentations from none other than Monsanto.Though disappointing, activists are hopeful the EPA will make true on its promises, including a pledge it made to have its data peer-reviewed before reaching a final decision regarding the carcinogenicity of glyphosate, Alexis Baden-Mayer, Political Director for the Organic Consumers Association, toldHowever, individuals concerned with the health and environmental impacts of glyphosate don't intend to wait for more bad news. Today at 11:30 a.m. EST, citizens, activists, and scientists will spring into action and rally outside the White House demanding the EPA revoke the license for glyphosate.Following the rally, a large coalition of national organizers will march over to the EPA headquarters located at 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW at 1:00 p.m. EST to deliver 400,000 petitions demanding the government immediately halt the use of glyphosate on American's farmland, parks, and schools.The event was organized by Moms Across America and Care2, and has received assistance from the Organic Consumers Association, Beyond Pesticides, Friends of the Earth, SumOfUs, CREDO Action, and Food Democracy Now.The rally is scheduled just one week after the European Union voted to renew the license of glyphosate for another 10 years, in light of fierce opposition.The EPA's premature and unofficial ruling that glyphosate is not likely to be cancerous to humans has led event organizers "to believe the EPA will renew the license of glyphosate, an act which many say, due to health implications, America cannot afford," according to the event's press release "The EPA is simply ignoring hundreds of scientific studies showing harm. The fact is that plenty of science shows that the contamination of glyphosate in our wine, beer, tap water, urine, breast milk, cotton products, cereal and breakfast foods is a major contributing factor to America's skyrocketing illnesses," said Zen Honeycutt, with Moms Against America."This widespread contamination of this probable carcinogen, neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor must stop. The EPA MUST revoke the license of glyphosate now and protect the people, not the profits of the chemical companies."This is a pivotal moment for the EPA and the United States government, where they have the chance to show how much they value the health and safety of the people of the United States by revoking the license of glyphosate," said Honeycutt."More than 400,000 concerned citizens have signed petitions demanding that the EPA take responsible action against this toxic chemical. There is an outpouring of concern and anger about our government's continued appeasement of corporations that do not have our best interests at heart. We will hold the EPA accountable, and we challenge the EPA to demonstrate its commitment to democracy and to our well-being."Stayed tuned ascontinues to follow this important event Monsanto celebrates renewal of glyphosate license More proof regulatory agencies serve industry, not the people The epidemiological evidence at this time does not support a causal relationship between glyphosate exposure and solid tumors. There is also no evidence to support a causal relationship between glyphosate exposure and the following non-solid tumors: leukemia, multiple myeloma, or Hodgkin lymphoma. Co-formulants more dangerous than glyphosate Activists rally outside White House, demand an end to glyphosate use (NaturalNews) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently assessing the toxicity of the widely used herbicide, glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup. The agency reviews each registered pesticide every 15 years to determine its safety and whether or not it's still in compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).Though the EPA says it has not officially completed its review of glyphosate, the agency published what appeared to be the results of the assessment to its website Friday, which claimed to find that glyphosate is not carcinogenic to humans, contradicting earlier reports from the World Health Organization stating that the weedkiller is a "probable carcinogen."In a surprising and strange twist, the EPA quickly pulled the assessment results, which were labeled "FINAL," from its website, saying the documents were "inadvertently" published and that it had not yet finished its review.Though disappointed in the premature ruling, activists are hopeful the EPA will complete a thorough and fair review and make good on its promise to have its data peer-reviewed before reaching a final decision regarding the carcinogenicity of glyphosate, Alexis Baden-Mayer, Political Director for the Organic Consumers Association toldDespite the EPA's statement that their cancer review on glyphosate is incomplete, Monsanto quickly began celebrating the news, confirming the agency did in fact rule the widely used weed killer is not cancerous to humans.The EPA's document was "clearly labeled and signed as the final report of EPA's Cancer Assessment Review Committee," said Monsanto.Documents deleted by the EPA include summaries of three meetings in 2015 between agency officials and Monsanto; "preliminary ecological risk assessments of glyphosate on milkweed;" "a report discussing possible label amendments to two of Monsanto's Roundup products when used on oilseeds, fruit and other crops; and a six-slide Monsanto presentation to the EPA officials," according to "EPA has not completed our cancer review," the agency told Reuters. "We will look at the work of other governments as well as work by (the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services') Agricultural Health Study as we move to make a decision on glyphosate."But the damage was already done, as the documents reveal once again that the agency used industry-funded research to determine the "safety" of glyphosate. "All they're doing is reviewing studies that are funded by the industry," said Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist at Natural Resources Defense Council."EPA's determination that glyphosate is non-carcinogenic is disappointing, but not terribly surprisingindustry has been manipulating this process for years," said Nathan Donley, a scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). "The analysis done by the World Health Organization is more open and transparent and remains the gold standard."As reported by, the documents EPA deleted from its site include the following statement:The analysis cited data from "private biochemical firms like Inveresk Research International, Nufarm, and Arysta Life Sciences," according toThe Center for Biological Diversity highlights the fact that the EPA's assessment focused only on glyphosate as a singular ingredient, ignoring its co-formulants, or other ingredients used to increase the chemical's effectiveness that could potentially be more toxic than the primary ingredient Little is understood about the health effects of co-formulant chemicals. However, French researcher Gilles-Eric Seralini showed that glyphosate's co-formulants are often endocrine disruptors and are 1,000 more toxic than glyphosate alone.On Wednesday, May 4 at 11:30 a.m. EST, citizens, activists, and scientists will spring into action and rally outside the White House demanding the EPA revoke the license for glyphosate.Following the rally, a large coalition of national organizers will march over to the EPA headquarters located at 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW at 1:00 p.m. EST to deliver 400,000 petitions demanding the government immediately halt the use of glyphosate on American's farmland, parks, and schools.The event was organized by Moms Across America and Care2, and has received assistance from the Organic Consumers Association, Beyond Pesticides, Friends of the Earth, SumOfUs, CREDO Action, and Food Democracy Now."The EPA is simply ignoring hundreds of scientific studies showing harm. The fact is that plenty of science shows that the contamination of glyphosate in our wine, beer, tap water, urine, breast milk, cotton products, cereal and breakfast foods is a major contributing factor to America's skyrocketing illnesses," said Zen Honeycutt, with Moms Against America [PDF]."Tragically, the EPA's preliminary cancer finding doesn't only contradict the WHO determination that glyphosate is a probable carcinogen. It also contradicts the lived experience of many members of the Organic Consumers Association and people in the US around the world who have been exposed to glyphosate and now have cancer," said Baden-Mayer."There's a word for the harm Monsanto has caused with poisons like Roundup and Agent Orange: ecocide. Ecocide should be a crime and Monsanto should be charged. That's why OCA is helping to organize the Monsanto Tribunal at the Hague on World Food Day."Stay tuned ascontinues to follow this important event. The process of commercializing the discoveries made in university laboratories has come a long way over the past 30 years or so. I didn't even know what that meant when I started out, says biomedical engineer David Kaplan at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Fifteen years and eight companies after his first patent, for a knee ligament made of silk, Kaplan is now well versed in the ways of technology-transfer offices (administrative infrastructure for ushering innovations out of the lab and into private development). The wisdom he has gained boils down to a few simple words: It's an evolution, he says. And with shifting economic pressures, a drive to accelerate public access to innovations and changes to intellectual property law, technology transfer may be on the cusp of a major evolutionary leap. Working with the Structural Genomics Consortium, researchers at the University of Oxford, UK, study new and often difficult to target proteins. Credit: Peter Canning Most historians agree that patent legislation originated in the Italian city of Venice in 1474. But for many centuries, universities in Europe and the United States were not involved in bringing new inventions to society. Because many universities were publicly funded, discoveries were published in the scientific literature, but were not patented. Industry and academia operated in vastly different spheres. Licensing of inventions by academics became more prevalent in the early twentieth century. US chemist Frederick Cottrell received a patent for his device to reduce industrial pollution an electrostatic precipitator in 1908. The University of WisconsinMadison founded its technology-transfer office in 1925 to disseminate biochemist Harry Steenbock's discovery that irradiating food to increase vitamin D could treat rickets. Steenbock paid his own patent fees of US$300 (equivalent to roughly $4,000 today). When Quaker Oats offered him $1 million for his invention, Steenbock worked with university administrators to create an office that would allow the academic institution to benefit financially. The office licensed Steenbock's technology to Quaker Oats in 1927, leading to the introduction of breakfast cereal fortified with vitamin D. Bodies such as the US National Science Foundation, established in 1950, and the German Research Foundation, founded in 1951, increased government funding for academic research, but legislation allowing the commercialization of discoveries did not keep pace. Discoveries made by scientists through publicly funded research grants became the property of the governments that provided the money. A few pathways from public invention to private commercialization did exist. The UK established the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) in 1948 a government body that led to innovations such as the first hovercraft in the late 1950s. In the United States, private companies could enter into institutional patent agreements with universities, but it was a fraught process, with rules varying among universities and government agencies. By the late 1970s, of the estimated 30,000 patents accrued by the US government through federally funded research, only around 1,200 were licensed and even fewer had made it to market. In Europe, legislation was mostly lacking. Germany's Employees' Inventions Act of 1957 gave more autonomy to academic inventors, but in general there was little interest across Europe in commercializing publicly funded research. In the United States, the 1980 BayhDole Act catalysed a surge of interest in commercializing academic research. The landmark legislation continues to provide a legal framework for patenting discoveries made using federal grant money. In the United Kingdom, the biggest shift came in 1985, when the government eliminated the monopoly that the British Technology Group, a public body, had on commercializing publicly funded innovations a move that was followed by an increase in academic entrepreneurship. Several other European countries, including Germany, Denmark and Belgium, also have technology-transfer legislation, but laws governing this practice vary widely. Some are more restrictive on individuals, allowing universities to retain ownership of an invention instead. Others permit inventors to own patents derived from publicly funded research. This variation led the international group the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to consider whether a BayhDole-type policy should be adopted by the organization's member countries. Since BayhDole was enacted, technology-transfer offices have proliferated at universities in the United States and elsewhere. In 2014, at least 6,300 licences were secured by technology-transfer offices in the United States. Technology transfer has made available discoveries such as cancer drugs, recombinant DNA, imaging diagnostics and nanotechnology in the United States alone, more than 23,000 patents have been filed by universities. But technology transfer is facing several challenges. In the United States, which is the largest generator of academic innovations, federal grant budgets have shrunk or at best remained flat since 2003. In the United Kingdom, despite some capital investment, the budget for basic-science research has remained at 4.7 billion (US$6.7 billion) annually for the past 6 years. And how changes to the US patent system will impact commercialization is unknown the United States has adopted a first-inventor-to-file rather than a first-to-invent structure, initiated by the 2011 LeahySmith America Invents Act, bringing it more in line with the rest of the world. The first-to-invent system awards patents to the individual who first conceived the idea, created a workable prototype and then filed a patent. The first-to-file approach awards the patent to whoever submits the paperwork first, regardless of when the idea was conceived. The change to the US system may reduce interference proceedings lengthy and costly battles that follow claims to a patent by separate parties, as is currently happening between the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and the University of California, Berkeley, over CRISPRCas9 gene-editing technology. However, the first-to-file approach could shift the focus away from carefully ensuring that an innovation is workable in favour of racing to file paperwork on an incomplete idea. The change could also favour large companies with the resources, such as staff and attorneys, to handle large volumes of patents over smaller companies or independent inventors. We can never forget that we are, at core, an academic institution. We're at another inflection point, says John Swartley, executive director of the Penn Center for Innovation (PCI), the technology-transfer office at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. To face these challenges, technology-transfer offices need to find new ways to work with private companies, scientists and outside investors, while maintaining their own integrity. We can never forget that we are, at core, an academic institution, says Swartley. Coping strategies One of the most difficult aspects of moving a technology from academic concept to valuable product is crossing the chasm between early innovation and readiness for licensing a stretch often referred to as the 'valley of death'. One of the greatest challenges for academic technology transfer is trying to interest either established companies or venture investors in our early-stage discoveries, says Fred Reinhart senior adviser in the technology-transfer office at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Almost all of them have gone to later-stage, less risky investments. High-volume crystallization plates used by the Structural Genomics Consortium. Credit: Ella Hughman That hurdle also exists outside the United States. There's always been a relative shortage of cash at this early stage, says Steven Schooling, director of engineering and physical sciences at University College of London Business (UCLB), the technology-transfer office at UCL. Many universities are providing internal funding to bridge the valley of death, along with seed funding for even earlier stages of research when no other grant support exists. At North Carolina State University in Raleigh, the Chancellor's Innovation Fund provides awards of up to $75,000 to researchers whose work has garnered encouraging feedback from an outside company. It's not huge money, acknowledges Kelly Sexton, director of the office of technology transfer at the university. But the amount is enough to help academics through the proof-of-concept stage. There's kind of a sweet spot where this can be useful, says Sexton. In January 2016, UCL launched a 50-million UCL Technology Fund, which can be used to support researchers through the proof-of-concept stage. The money is provided by the European Investment Fund (EIF) and technology-commercialization company Imperial Innovations, and will be managed by the venture-capital firm Albion Ventures, which is also a contributor. The aim is to overcome the challenge of attracting and sustaining interest from investors who generally have to wait a long time to see a return. To make the long-term investment more attractive, the fund will pay out an annuity over 1520 years an approach that may avoid the drop-off that is frequently seen with the conventional venture-capital model of raising capital in multiple rounds with the hope of reaping benefits from a trade sale or initial public offering. UCLB and Albion decide which researchers receive the funds, but follow strict return-on-investment criteria set by the EIF. This isn't charity money, says Schooling, and that means we have to be selective. Charitable foundations that focus on a single disease are also becoming an increasingly prominent piece of the tech-transfer puzzle a variety of venture philanthropy (see page S43). The approach has already led to several drug licences. For example, an experimental treatment for multiple myeloma, ricolinostat, was created as a result of research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The investigators formed Acetylon to develop the technology, and the US-based Leukemia and Lymphoma Society contributed $5 million towards the phase I clinical trial. US biotech firm Celgene subsequently invested $100 million in the development of ricolinostat, a payment that included an exclusive option to buy the licence from Acetylon. The drug is now in phase II trials for multiple myeloma. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society have also partnered with Celator Pharmaceuticals in Ewing, New Jersey, to speed up the study of the acute myeloid leukaemia drug CPX-35, including an initial $4.1 million for the phase II study followed by an additional $5 million for the phase III trial. Some technology-transfer offices are changing their entire approach to working with private companies. At the Penn Centre for Innovation, the focus is shifting towards cultivating a few strong business relationships, rather than cold-calling hundreds of companies for every invention, says Swartley. At some institutions, pharmaceutical companies enter into research agreements with a specific laboratory or investigator, this offers a more collaborative approach to academic research. The trend towards a more holistic relationship, as Reinhart puts it, is allowing technology-transfer offices to avoid investing too much time in specific deals. Focusing instead on a long-term relationship between universities and companies enables a better understanding of mutual needs, says Reinhart. That's what the smart universities are doing these days. Reinhart cites the Office of Industry Engagement at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, the Office of Innovation and Industry Engagement at Michigan Technological University, and the Office of Technology Commercialization at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, as examples of technology-transfer offices moving towards this approach. Start-up companies launched by principal investigators are becoming increasingly common, particularly when large companies are unwilling to assume the risk, even after the proof-of-concept stage. Building a successful product through a spin-off company can lead to lucrative deals later and allow the original researcher to continue working largely autonomously. In the United States, 818 start-up companies were formed on the basis of academic patents in 2013, a 16% increase from 2012 (L. Pressman et al. The Economic Contribution of University/Nonprofit Inventions in the United States:1996-2013; BIO, 2015). Model of the CRISPRCas9 gene-editing complex. Credit: Molekuul/SPL The increase partly stems from universities being seen as sources of innovation and job creation, not merely sheltered places of learning, teaching, and getting degrees, says Schooling. We've moved beyond that. According to the US Association of University Technology Managers, 4,000 start-up companies in the United States have formed as a result of university innovations since 1980, and these have led to 3 million jobs. Schooling recalls that in the early 1990s, when he and fellow researchers founded a spin-off for work they had done at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, his group was viewed as slightly failed academics. Colleagues questioned their commercial activity. Nowadays its part of how university academics are assessed, he says. More serious repair Although these approaches are changing how technology-transfer offices operate, some researchers see the need for a more severe overhaul. For medical advances in particular, profit-driven privacy and competition spurred by the licensing infrastructure may be obstructing progress. The current way we're doing drug discovery is too costly, too risky and too slow, says Chas Bountra, a member of the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) at the University of Oxford, UK. The whole process is incredibly inefficient. Companies duplicate efforts and a large proportion of the compounds developed fail to show a benefit in clinical trials. Most troubling of all, he says, is that patients are sometimes treated with experimental medications that would already have been shelved, if data were shared earlier and more openly. It's a horrendous waste of money, a waste of people's careers, and a waste of patients' willingness to participate in research, says Bountra. As part of the SGC, Bountra is taking a radically different approach to therapeutic innovation. The consortium receives funding from several pharmaceutical companies, charities and government organizations. The large collection of funders means that resources are pooled and risk is shared, so that no single investor is shouldering the burden of early-stage development. Research is focused solely on novel proteins often substances that have been deemed impossible to target. The tools developed to generate a potential drug are then made freely available. Data from preclinical studies are published immediately. We tell the whole world about it, says Bountra. He is not alone in encouraging the open-innovation approach. The Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the Biodesign programme at Stanford University, California, for example, are also taking steps towards a more open approach. David Brindley, who studies health-care translation at the Centre for the Advancement of Sustainable Medical Innovation (a partnership between Oxford and UCL) contends that the translation of technology from lab to bedside has been slowed by disincentives for people along the chain to communicate and work together effectively. Brindley says that changes that better align the interests of academia with industry would help. Tenure applications, for example, could take entrepreneurial activities into consideration. He also advocates altering the conventional financial arrangements that surround university-born innovation. Academia shouldn't expect industry to pay huge licensing revenue for research they funded in the first place, says Brindley, and industry needs to be more reasonable in their expectations of research timelines. Whatever route technology-transfer offices take, the most important need is to stay flexible, particularly in light of the increasing number of gene-based discoveries that raise ethical and proprietary questions that may not have been accounted for when the Bayh-Dole Act was passed. Who owns a gene? Can a gene be owned? The current legal battle over the patent for CRISPRCas9 may have a considerable impact on scientific innovation. The gene-editing technique is allowing all manner of genome alterations that could bring huge benefits, such as cures for disease and pest-resistant crops. Although the financial stakes for the opposing parties are high, the broader relevance of the case may be minimal. Interference proceedings are connected with the first-to-invent patent system, and so when the ruling is made, it may not carry much weight in the first-to-file era. Still, the case could have broader ramifications on university-driven innovation, potentially forcing the creation of new legal frameworks for gene-based discoveries, such as the right to patent these innovations or to specify what can be done with them. Whether the quest to fill personal and university coffers will delay broader distribution of the lifesaving fruits of taxpayer-funded research remains unclear. Sango, a 3-year old male lion at Denver Zoo, has recently passed away after experiencing severe medical condition. Sango began experiencing seizures late last month. Despite the tremendous efforts of animal care and veterinary staff, performing several full examinations with extensive and intensive treatment, Sango's condition didn't get better. His muscle tremors worsen and become so unbearable that Sango started to have difficulties in walking and positioning his body for a drink. According to the report of Denver Post, Sango's medical condition is most likely caused by liver disease. Using an abdominal scope, veterinarians at Denver Zoo has discovered that Sango has a highly abnormal liver and enlarged gall bladder. After all options were exhausted, veterinarians decided to put an end in the misery of Sango. He was subjected to euthanasia last April 30. "This is devastating for us. Our time with Sango was way too short. His condition worsened so quickly and so severely that euthanasia was our only option," said Staff Veterinarian Betsy Stringer in a statement. Sango is one of the three adult lions being cared at Denver Zoo. The other two are females namely: Neliah and Sabi, both are also 3-year olds. Last September, Sango fathered male and female cubs Kalu and Kamara to Neliah. According to the zookeepers the cubs gave Sango boosts in confidence. Sango was a very patient father. He lets the cubs play with his mane and used to chase them around their yard. "This is truly a tragedy. Sango was adored by staff and delighted guests. He will be dearly missed," said Denver Zoo Vice President for Animal Care and Association of Zoos and Aquariums Lion Species Survival Plan Coordinator Hollie Colahan. Sango was born July 28, 2012 at Ellen Trout Zoo and was hand-reared by zookeepers after being shunned by his mother. He was transferred to Denver Zoo in 2013. Lions being held and cared at zoos are expected to have an average life span of 16.8 years, making Sango's passing untimely and surprising. There are less than 100 days before a manmade spacecraft reaches the biggest planet in the Solar System. Jupiter, known to be the King of the Planets, has always been a goal for NASA. In 2015, they completed a successful flyby which produced various high-resolution images of the planet. This year will also be a momentous year for Jupiter exploration projects as Juno, NASA's spacecraft, is about to arrive at its destination this July. Although some argue that the motive of NASA to explore Jupiter is questionable, whether they are searching for alien life or planning to develop the planet, it is not surprising that experts would want to explore Jupiter. It is the biggest planet in the solar system with a dozen moons. Clapway said that the Jupiter Mission, with Juno Spacecraft is part of the $1 billion New Frontier space program by NASA. They said once Juno reaches Jupiter, scientists will begin a more extensive study on the planet. "Interestingly, the pressing questions they want to be answered have a "possible existence" ring to them. Does the planet have a core? How much water is there? Why is the weather so stable? How about the magnetic field and plasma of the planet? It really seems that alien exploration may be underway, or Jupiter is simply another candidate to support human life and future colonization." According to NASA Juno was launched in spaced in 2011 and is expected to arrive in Jupiter by July 2016. Juno is also equipped with solar panels to aid its 5-year journey through space. NASA said Juno is a record-breaking spacecraft "NASA's Juno mission to Jupiter has broken the record to become humanity's most distant solar-powered emissary. " It also has a "JunoCam" which consistently sends images of its journey back to Earth. And because of its proximity to Jupiter, NASA said the JunoCam was able to catch a glimpse of its destination as early as 2013. Last March, Juno was approximately 659 million kilometers from Earth. According to NASA, Juno has already managed to travel 1.73 billion miles since 2011 and still needs to complete 34 million miles before entering Jupiter's orbit. "The Juno spacecraft is in excellent health and is operating nominally." It is expected to arrive in Jupiter on July 4, 2016 at exactly 8:35pm. NASA added that the ETA of Juno in Jupiter within schedule and they will be able to initiated further studies (possibly discover some alien life forms?) on the largest planet in our solar system. Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus elephants are now officially retired after their final performance on Sunday at Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. After their 145 years of circus life, the last group of elephants from the circus bid farewell to their fond viewers, and say hello to their new home and join their fellow retired elephants. After receiving a series of criticism from animal rights groups, the company finally decided to let all their circus elephants stop from performing and enjoy the rest of their lives at the company's Center for Elephant Conservation in Florida. "They are missing the most important experience, which is freedom in the wild," said a spokesman for the Performing Animal Welfare Society, according to Huffington Post. In what seemed to be like a very emotional farewell performance, Ringmaster Johnathan Lee Iverson expressed his grief over the girls' separation from the team and gratitude for their more than a century of service and performance. "That's history tonight there, ladies and gentlemen, true American icons," Iverson said as the show ended. Audiences from different parts of the city came that night to watch as the last batch of elephants said goodbye to the circus. Sheila Oliver, of East Providence even brought her daughter for her last chance of seeing an elephant perform live in a circus. But not everyone came to watch. Prior to the show, a group of protesters waited outside in objection to Ringling's animal use, as per The Denver Post. Ringling's Florida center has been receiving demands from The Humane Society to stop the breeding program on their site. They area also requested to surrender the elephants to accredited sanctuaries having two acres of land. These sanctuaries can be found in Tennessee and California. Ringling's Center for Elephant Conservation have been called "flat and treeless," by a National Geographic reporter. He found that the elephants are staying inside the cages and some of them are in chains at night to prevent from stealing one another's food. These exercises however have been proven to be unnecessary to elephants and could possibly be making them uncomfortable, as reported by the Associated Press. Take a glimpse at the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus elephants' final performance through this video. ABC'c late night host Jimmy Kimmel lashes out on Sarah Palin regarding the former Alaska governor's skepticism on climate change during the program "Jimmy Kimmel Live." Sarah Palin is one of the die-hard supporters of the documentary "Climate Hustle", a film suggesting that climate change is a hoax and that people don't need to be concerned about it. In a clip shown in the program, Palin commented that climate change is perpetuated and repeated so often that too many people believe that "Oh, well, if 97 percent of all scientists believe that man's activities are creating changes in the weather, who am I to question that?" Kimmel responded to the video saying, "Exactly, who are you to question that?" The late night show host then theorizes that maybe Sarah Palin wanted global warming because it's cold in Alaska. In addition, Kimmel noted that the idea of Sarah Palin knows more than 97 percent of the scientist is offensive and dangerous. "No matter what Sarah Palin and these geniuses she surrounds herself with try to tell you, climate change is not a liberal versus conservative thing, but the people who profit from ignoring it want you to believe it is," Kimmel continued. Kimmel then proceeded to explain that climate change is not a matter of political opinion, but a matter of scientific opinion, which in this case overwhelming scientific opinion. For Kimmel, people can know that climate change is real when the hottest year in record is whatever year it currently is. But still, Kimmel don't have that much credibility to talk about climate change. That is the reason why Kimmel showed a 2-minute video of climate scientist and experts talking about climate change. Just last month, during the preview of "Climate Hustle," Sarah Palin questioned the credibility of the Bill Nye, the science guy, saying that he is as much as a scientist as she is. Captain Cook's ship HMS Endeavour Bark which disappeared 230 years ago may have been found near the Coast of Rhode Island in Narragansett Bay. Endevour also known as Lord Sandwich was one of the 13 intentionally sunk ships by the British force prior the Battle to Rhode Island. Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project or RIMAP believes that the nine archaeological sites they mapped may be related to the ruins of the ship. RIMAP is now partnering with Australian National Maritime Museum for this quest, as per The Daily News. The organization considers all the 13 ships as important parts of the American history yet considers it something to call for a national celebration if they will be able to identify the Endeavour with the ruins they have cited. Although Cook, a British explorer was not the first European to come to Australia, his team's journey to the country marked a significant part of history. They were the first ones to do an extensive study on the eastern coastline of the country for four months, according to The Daily Mail. The ship was originally named Earl of Pembroke when it was first launched in 1764. Four years later it was purchased by the British Royal Navy and was named His Majesty's Bark the Endeavour. In August 1768, it was sent to the Pacific Ocean to search for the continent called Terra Australis Incognita also called the unknown Southern Land. Its journeys gave many contributions to scientists and astronomers by providing information about the solar system and the universe. A fight with the Hawaiians on the island marked the end for Cook's life. The Endeavour then became a transport ship and just before the beginning of the Revolutionary War was sold to a shipping industrialist. When the British demand for ship increased, Endeavour was attempted to be sold back but the attempt failed because of the ship's physical condition and age. After some repairs and renovations, the ship was renamed The Lord Sandwich and was finally sold back to the British navy to serve as a prison ship, as Fox News reported. An announcement is set to be released by the RIMAP this week on the final results of their investigation. "For RIMAP to be closing in one of the most important shipwrecks in world history, for that ship to be found in Newport, and for it to have an international reputation, should be an intriguing birthday gift for all of Rhode Island," wrote the organization. Find out more about the historical ship and its discovery through this video. The United States of America Jury ordered the multinational medical devices, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson to pay $55 million to a woman who contracted ovarian cancer after she used the company's talc powder products for feminine hygiene on Monday The 62-year-old woman in South Dakota, Gloria Ristesund, was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 after she used J&J's talc-based feminine hygiene products for almost 40 years. On Monday, the state court jurors decided to award $5 million in compensation and $50 million in punitive damages to Ristesund. Ristesund's lawyer Allen Smith told jurors on Friday that his client was unaware about the health risk of talc powder that she was using for four decades. "Science has been simple and consistent over the last 40 years: There's an increased risk of ovarian cancer from genital use of talc,'' Smith said. Bloomberg reports that the company lost $72 million verdict to the family of a woman named Jackie Fox who died of the disease. J&J plans to appeal, however, they lost the second straight trial. Reuters reports that the company is now facing 1,200 lawsuits accusing them of not giving warning to consumers about its talc-based products' cancer risks, and ignoring studies linking its Shower-to-Shower product and Johnson's Baby Powder to ovarian cancer. The giant company of health-care products denied the link between talc and ovarian cancer, and any need to warn women about the health risk. A J&J spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said in an e-mailed statement that the company will appeal to the verdict. Talcum powder is made from talc. According to Cancer.org, talc is a mineral made up of the elements oxygen, magnesium, and silicon. This mineral is used in cosmetic products such as baby powder and adult facial powders because it absorbs moisture to keep the skin dry and helps prevent rashes. About the talcum powder causing cancer issue, the source said that it is important to distinguish if the talcum powder is asbestos-free or contains asbestos. If the talc contains asbestos there is a chance it can cause cancer if it is inhaled. In the latest report by NASA Spinoff, they recognized the contribution of Ames research in developing a "miracle suit" which treats new mothers' postpartum hemorrhaging. It is part of NASA's technology transfer program to "bring NASA technology down to earth". In an article by Space Coast Daily, they recounted an incident which happened in 1969 when the NASA Ames research center received a call asking for help when a mother was bleeding non-stop despite nine surgeries after giving birth. Ames responded to the call for help and suggested to apply pressure to the entire lower body using an inflated anti-gravity suit similar to tightly wrapping a wound. The Ames team modified an anti-gravity suit and rushed it to the hospital and 10 hours later, the woman started showing signs of recovery, and she was fully healed after three months. Ames managed to convert the anti-gravity suit into a pressure suit which is more useful for applications on Earth. The astronauts use the anti-gravity suits to put pressure on arms and legs during re-entry to push blood back to the head. It also prevents pilots from blacking out during "extreme acceleration". Ames thought this technology could work to stop postpartum hemorrhage. NASA said in their own press release that there are at least 700,000 new mothers who die from obstetric hemorrhages in developing countries annually. Because of that incident in 1969, NASA further studied the use of the suit in helping new born mothers who are suffering from hemorrhaging, they stated that "the realization that even lower pressures could be used effectively to decrease bleeding and shift blood back to the heart and brain." This study became the inspiration behind the California-based Zoex Corporation to make a suit specifically designed for this purpose. "The company scrapped the old-style G-suits for a non-pneumatic version using simple elastic compression." By 2004, the study by Ames researchers and Standford professor Paul Hensleigh found out that in a 2004 "The garments saved 13 out of 14 patients in Pakistan who were in shock from extreme blood loss." In Egypt and Nigeria, the suit was able to reduce blood loss and mortality rate by 50 percent in 2007. Suellen Miller, Founder of the Safe Motherhood Program, said "In the field of maternal health, we generally don't see that kind of a reduction, and even more so when it's the result of a single, simple intervention." She proceeded to create a low-cost version of the pressure suit called LifeWrap. "We've determined that these suits can be used at least 70 times...So we're looking at a life-saving device that costs less than a dollar per use." Miller's new low-cost version of the "miracle suit" enabled more developing countries to purchase the cheaper version. In 2013, LifeWrap donated suits in the Philippines to aid women from the disaster prone areas. Today, it can be said that it is one of the most beneficial spinoff from NASA. LifeWrap continue to provide affordable help for new mothers in Africa, Tanzania, Philippines and many other developing countries. But despite the success of their modified pressure suit, Miller never forgets to give thanks to NASA and Ames research who helped developed the "miracle suit" which is saving lives today. "We're taking this suit to the village, we're taking it to the hut, we're taking it to the poorest, most vulnerable, voiceless, powerless people grounded into the Earth, and making a difference for them...Thank you, NASA." With various space technologies sending satellites, rocket ships and other spacecraft into outer space, it is inevitable that some debris may get left behind. That's the problem this Singaporean startup wants to address, cleaning the manmade debris in space using a satellite. The debris can be parts and fragments of old satellites and once they accumulate, it can create pollution in space. It can pose a threat to mathematically and scientifically calculated functions of existing systems and satellites in space. Motherboard recently introduced the Singapore-based startup called Astroscale who built a satellite not intended to beam any information back to earth, but to clean the debris in space. Miki Ito said in an interview that "In March, after a series of tests, we finally made a glue that manages to trap bits of space debris while withstanding harsh space environments." According to their website, ASTROSCALE "is a Singapore-based satellite services company that was founded in 2013 with the objective of developing innovative solutions against the growing number of space debris." They are currently preparing for their first missions IDEA OSG and ADRAS 1. IDEA OSG 1 will be tasked to collect data. To perform the waste collecting process in space, ADRAS 1 satellite is equipped with the technology Astroscale have developed. ADRAS 1 can automatically detect and maneuver towards space waste. And then the two-piece satellite will separate from each other sticking out an adhesive pad to pull the debris inside. What's interesting is that ADRAS 1 is designed to disintegrate by itself upon re-entry on earth so that both itself and the wastes collected will burn said Ait-Mohammed Nori, engineer at Astroscale. Because space is a harsh environment exposed to cosmic radiations, solar light and other unpredictable elements, Ito said it wasn't easy to produce a glue strong enough to survive the harsh environment ADRAS 1 is scheduled to be launched in 2018. Last March Astroscale was able to secure $35 million in funding. Their mission is to prevent manmade problems from hindering further development in space and to promote interest in space technology with the younger generation of Asian kids. She said based on her Japanese roots, space technology should not be developed for profit. "They want to be part of something that will benefit the world, and getting rid of human-caused space debris will ensure the safety of future space missions." United Nations' Independent Expert Ikponwosa Ero warns during her first official visit in her new role, that people with albinism could be completely extinct in Malawi because of the systemic killings, UN reported. Over 10,000 albinos in Malawi are being hunted like animals because of the cultural belief that they are bad omen and they possess black magic. "In some African countries, albinos' body parts are believed to bring wealth and good luck. As a result, attackers chop off their limbs and pluck out organs, and sell them to witchdoctors, CNN noted. Emphasizing that the attack rates are alarming and the current predicament of Albinos should be called an emergency, Ero, who recently visited Malawi said, at least 65 cases of violence against albinos have been recorded by police since late 2014. "Persons with albinism, and parents of children with albinism, constantly live in fear of attack. Many do not sleep peacefully and have deliberately restricted their movement to the necessary minimum," UN press release said, quoting Eros. To make things worse, the statistics showed that albinos are also attacked even by their relatives, making them dread for their lives more because even their own blood cannot be trusted. Even after their death, attackers go as far as stealing from their graves because an Albino's limb can be sold to hunters for $2,000 and an entirecorpse amounts to $75,000. Ero said while there's already a response plan to address the issue, the absence of resources in the plan has delayed the implementation. Moreover, penalties are not much grave, saying that stealing a cow may attract a higher penalty that albino killing. The killings are atrocious and vile as most of the people in Malawi believe that the body parts will be more effective in black magic if the victim screams louder. Furthermore, they believe that children have more potent body parts for the potion. "We talk about protecting wildlife while not even prioritizing efforts in protecting people with albinism," she told CBC in a phone interview. According to Albinism.ohchr.org, albinism is a rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited condition which occurs worldwide regardless of ethnicity or gender. It most commonly results in the lack of melanin pigment in the hair, skin and eyes (oculocutaneous albinism), causing vulnerability to sun exposure. World Health Organization estimates there are at least 1 in 5,000 to 1 in 15,000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa affected with the disease. In the United States, about one in 20,000 people have some type of albinism. The Google Self-Driving Car Project, together with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles confirmed their collaboration for integrating Google's self-driving technology, and the all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans will be used for this project. The Chrysler Pacifica minivans, which are set to start rolling by the end of 2016, will utilize Google's self-driving later this year according to PR Newswire. The engineering responsibilities include designing cars and intergration, and these will be shared based on the expertise of the two giant companies who collaborated for this project. FCA will design and engineer around 100 vehicles uniquely built for Google's self-driving technology, and Google will be the one to integrate the suite of sensors and computers that the vehicles will rely on to navigate roads autonomously. The goal of this self-driving project, according to Gizmodo, is to allow unprecedented independence for people who are blind, deaf, and disabled, catering even to the aged. The minivan can be easily adapted for wheelchairs and other assistive devices so it will be easier for disabled and aged people to get in and out of the car. Aside from that, the minivan can be easily shared so it will function like public transportation. "The minivan design also gives us an opportunity to test a larger vehicle that could be easier for passengers to enter and exit, particularly with features like hands-free sliding door," wrote on SelfDrivingCar's official Google plus. The collaboration project will help FCA and Google to be leaders in developing self-driving technology that will get automated cars onto the world's roads according to FCA chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne. "The experience both companies gain will be fundamental to delivering automotive technology solutions that ultimately have far-reaching consumer benefits," he said The latest Chrysler minivans were unveiled on Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, CBC reports. The Research vessel (R/V) Falkor successfully completed its research mission to explore the newest island in the Kingdom of Tonga found in the Southwestern Pacific. R/V Falkor is equipped with state-of-the-art mapping capabilities which enabled the completion of the study in record time. It was deployed to map a large area of the undersea section of the newly discovered volcanic island which is currently unofficially called Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH). NASA partnered with Schmidt Ocean Institute and Columbia University to produce high-resolution map of the submerged part of a volcano which was initially discovered in January 2015. With the help of NASA's technology, Schmidt and Columbia University was able to "produce a high resolution submarine topographic map" of the undersea portion of the volcano discovered in 2015. The images will provide scientist with better view of the typographic details of the land which is significant for further studies and in understanding the new island as a whole. The RV Falkor completed its 28-day expedition in the Southwestern Pacific. RV Falkor surveyed the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai Island with the help of with Dr. James Garvin, Chief Scientist at NASA' Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA is committed to bring their technology for Earth-bound projects so that the expertise, machinery and skills may also be beneficial to projects concerning the Earth. According to the press release by Schmidt, the landscape dynamics concerning new oceanic island volcanoes occur underwater. "This unique project of opportunity provides scientists at NASA and Columbia's Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory with an integrated view of the three dimensional character of the new island from the seafloor to its approximately 130 meters tall summit above sea-level, all at spectacular meter-scale resolution." This study will also help scientists understand future assignments and in recognizing the topographical behaviors of newly discovered volcanic islands. It may also be of help to NASA's space exploration since the " hydro-volcanic processes on planets such as Mars where similar-appearing volcanic have been observed." Volcanic islands are known to develop and diminish rapidly. Based from the initial findings by Dr. Vicki Ferrini and the Goddard Space Flight Center, they found out that the new island lost almost 30 percent of its land area in less than two years since its active eruptive phase in January 2015. This means the surrounding environment of HTHH affects the island drastically. Because of the rapid changes in this volcanic island the orchestrated work of experts and agencies geared towards a common goal is intrinsic in producing factual findings in the fastest and most effective way possible. Just like the High-Resolution 3D Mapping Technology used by experts in studying the newest volcanic island Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai. A hiker has made an incredible discovery in the hills north of Barcelona when he found a well-preserved footprint of a dinosaur that wandered the area about 230 million years ago. According to Mirror UK, the hiker discovered the prints at Olesa de Montserrat area, about 25 miles from the city. Catalonia's Department of Culture said that the footprint is the best preserved print they have seen so far in Iberian Peninsula. #Enterate: Hallan huella de #dinosaurio de 230 millones de anos. La huella de un reptil llamado Isochirotherium https://t.co/7xaWMqGPww El Universal Ciencia (@Univ_Ciencia) May 3, 2016 Experts who validated the print said it might be from an extinct species called Isochirotherium, an ancestor of both crocodiles and dinosaurs - a massive reptile which lived in the Middle Triassic era. In an interview with The Local, Eudald Mujal, a paleontologist at Barcelona's Autonomous University (UAB) who is studying the imprint said the prehistoric reptile may have existed about 240 million years ago. "The reptile that left its mark has been dubbed a type of 'hand beast' because its tracks have five fingers with a small toe extending outwards like a thumb. It is thought this morphology allowed it to get a grip in slippery mud during the Triassic, 252 to 201 million years ago," Daily Mail notes. They also believe that the prehistoric reptiles has long legs that make it appear as if they walked straight and upright whenever hunting for prey. With the skin and claw impressions being visible on the imprint, it is claimed as one of Spain's biggest discoveries unlocking the history of the area For further investigation, plaster cast of the print was handed over to the region's archaeology and paleontology department by the council. Meanwhile, this is not the first time a hiker has come across a dinosaur footprint. In 2014, a hiker has discovered over 200 footprints left behind 125 million years ago by a number of different dinosaurs. Palo Alto residents are demanding action from city leaders to increase oversight of a program intended to protect teens. In March, the NBC Bay Area Investigative Units hidden cameras captured video of security guards, hired to watch for at-risk youth, missing from their posts for more than an hour at a time. Now, more than a month after our investigation, parents, a former teacher, and a city council candidate say the problems persist. New photos taken this week and sent to the Investigative Unit, revealed empty guard posts during hours when the trains are running. Its a life or death issue, former Gunn High teacher Marc Vincenti told NBC Bay Area. After losing several students as a teacher, Vincenti formed Savethe2008, a community group dedicated to addressing mental health. Those empty chairs cant help but sent out a discouraging signal to the kids who pass by, the motorists that pass by, that something is not being taken care of. Guards for Cypress Security are supposed to stand watch around the clock at four train crossings throughout the city. These sites include locations where more than a dozen teens have taken their own lives since 2009. But over the last seven days, Vincenti and Palo Alto City Council candidate Todd Collins say they documented 27 instances of guards absent from their posts. Their spot checks come on the heels of our four days of surveillance in March where NBC Bay Area undercover cameras captured guards sleeping, texting, and missing from duty. Following our report, the Investigative Unit received an outpouring of viewer comments and emails sharing similar findings. Our situation here in Palo Alto has disturbed the nation, Vincenti said. In February, a team of researchers and mental health experts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent two weeks studying teen deaths in the city. Just last month, another recent high school graduate ended her life on the tracks at an unguarded location. The city has now added a new post there to prevent future tragedies. Palo Alto City Manager Jim Keene declined to be interviewed for our previous reports on this issue. The city has yet to respond to our request for comment on these new concerns. Meanwhile, Vincenti and others are calling for more accountability to address the issue before anyone else is hurt. The city and the school district must do whatever it takes to make sure that there are guards out there. The only way to do that is to have someone going out and checking," Vincenti said. Adding to the problem, residents tell us theyre also worried about the working conditions for the guards who expressed theyre working overtime and double shifts. The owner of Cypress Security has not responded to our request for comment, but said he intends to later in the week. SUICIDE PREVENTION: If you know someone who needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255). If you have a tip for Vicky Nguyen about this or any other story, you can email her directly at vicky@nbcbayarea.com or you can email theunit@nbcbayarea.com or call 888-996-TIPS. Follow Vicky Nguyen on Twitter www.twitter.com/VickyNguyenTV and Facebookwww.facebook.com/VickyNguyenTV Click here to submit tips online It's right around the beginning of May when some devoted Disneyland regulars get down to the business of setting a few important summer #goals. For instance, how many times can a person ride the Matterhorn Bobsleds over the course of a 16-hour day? (Answer: Probably at least two dozen, factoring in bathroom breaks, meals, and parade-watching, if the person frequents the single-rider line.) Of course, Disney-based goals can stretch beyond a day, and even a single theme park. Look to Christopher Wing, a Seattle-based Disney buff, for inspiration. Nope, he didn't just take on one attraction over the course of a day. Rather, Mr. Wing visited every Disney park on the planet in one long, plane-tastic, stay-mostly-awake stretch. It took the theme park adventurer under 80 hours, in fact. (Should you want to think of his Mouse-major plan as a contemporary adventure akin to Jules Verne's "Around the World in 80 Days," well then, go for it.) But Phileas Fogg didn't start his 19th-century jaunt in Anaheim, like Mr. Wing did at the very beginning of April 2016. From Disneyland Resort, where he visited both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, Mr. Wing took wing for Florida, where he called upon the quartet of Walt Disney World Resort parks in Orlando. Disneyland Paris followed, then Hong Kong Disneyland, then Tokyo Disney Resort, with a return to Disneyland at juuuust about 75 hours after the clock started ticking. If your first question "but did he ride something in every park?" the answer is "yes, he did." (Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was his pick at the Happiest Place on Earth.) Mr. Wing's grand 'n Goofy dream truly has a way of upping any fan's Disneyland ambitions. Remember the couple who visited Disneyland every day in 2012? Which made for 366 days in a row, as 2012 was a leap year? Mickey mavens do bring the popcorn-scented passion when they get a notion as big as Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Mr. Wing's big notion has a Disney-cute title -- "Mouse Around the World" -- and details on how he mapped out his trip and made it happen (including, of course, the funds) can be viewed at his site. Want a peek at the process, Disneyians? There are videos, natch, including this one shared on the Disneyland blog: A Mill Valley, California doctors office became Ground Zero for all-things Prince on Wednesday, a day after a newspaper reported that the late pop artist had been trying to get drug recovery help from him the day before he died. But Dr. Howard Kornfeld, who runs Recovery Without Walls, did not answer the door or phone at his practice, which became a media stakeout in the affluent Marin County city. News outlets from NBC News to Extra! were there, all trying to get an interview with the man who reportedly was trying to help Prince overcome his problems. While Kornfeld didn't want to speak, his attorney in Minneapolis did speak with reporters. "Dr. Kornfeld felt his mission was a life-saving mission," William Mauzy said. "He felt it to be urgent." At Kornfeld's home nearby, a Do Not Disturb sign hung on the door. When a reporter went to the door of the doctors home, a man came out to say no comment. [[378148331, C]] The Minneapolis Star Tribune first reported that Mauzy said Prince had been trying to seek Kornfelds help on April 20. But Kornfeld was busy, the newspaper reported. So the doctor sent his son, Andrew Kornfeld, from San Francisco International Airport to Paisley Park in Minneapolis to help. "Andrew's purpose for being there was to describe the Recovery Without Walls Program to familiarize Prince with that," Mauzy later told a bank of reporters on Thursday. "Prince could go there for pain management and any addiction issue." It was Andrew Kornfeld, a consultant at the practice, who made the 911 call when he found the 57-year-old unresponsive. Prince died on April 21. "He arrives to see him dead in the elevator," Mauzy said, deeming it "certainly a difficult time." Complicating matters, however, is that Andrew Kornfeld, who is not a doctor, brought pills with him to help Prince and carried them over state lines. Mauzy said that Andrew Kornfeld intended to deliver the pills to a Minnesota doctor, who would administer them to Prince. Andrew Kornfeld never gave Prince any drugs, Mauzy said. The Kornfelds hoped that Prince would agree to go to California for long-term care, Mauzy said. Prince's Purple Shadow in San Francisco, Oakland The artist had performed in San Francisco and Oakland, less than a month before he died. On his website, Kornfeld described his practice as a personalized outpatient clinic, specializing in innovative, evidence-based medical treatment for chronic pain and drug and alcohol addiction. Kornfeld described himself as a nationally recognized leader in the utilization of the opioid pain medication, specifically buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone or Subutex. In 2013, he was profiled in the San Francisco Chronicle in an article called "Controlling Chronic Pain Without Dangerous Drugs." Kornfeld is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Medicine and teaches at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicines Pain Medical Fellowship Program. According to his biography, Kornfeld is the founding medical director at the Alameda County Medical Center, Pain Management and Functional Restoration Clinic. His son, Andrew Kornfeld, is a University of California at Santa Cruz graduate, where he studied neuroscience and psychology. He has worked on several papers with his father, his biography states, and occasionally, he's acted as a peer mentor to younger patients. Riders were stuck on the California Screamin' ride Monday at California Adventure, the sister park to Disneyland, after someone took out a selfie stick and the ride was halted, officials said. The riders were escorted off the ride by 6 p.m. after waiting for 20 minutes, a Disneyland spokesperson said. Disneyland officials said someone whipped out a selfie stick, which is banned from the park and rides. Disneyland officials said the ride is stopped any time a selfie stick is taken out as it poses a safety risk. The ride was to resume shortly after evacuating riders. Selfie sticks were banned from Disneyland and California Adventure in 2015. In a similar incident in June, California Screamin' was stopped because a rider pulled out a selfie stick. Free trade has been a loaded topic this campaign season, and one Bernie Sanders has drawn on numerous times to criticize his opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. On Monday, the Vermont senator launched this claim leading up to the Indiana Primary on Tuesday. "Secretary Clinton,as you know, has supported virtually every one of these disastrous trade agreements," he said. "And that is an area of strong disagreement that the voters of Indiana and America will have to consider, I think." Is Clinton actually tried-and-true on free trade? NBC Bay Area reviewed Senate voting records and found that Clinton largely supported free trade while in office as a Senator from New York. Of the nine free trade agreements that came across her desk, Clinton voted yes on six, no on one and abstained from two. Thats not to mention NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. Hillary Clinton didnt vote on that, but she was first lady when it was passed into law by her husband, former President Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton was an outspoken supporter of the agreement and wrote about it in her memoir, "Living History." "Creating a free trade zone in North America the largest free trade zone in the world would expand U.S. exports, create jobs and ensure that our economy was reaping the benefits, not the burdens, of globalization," she wrote. The reality is, she also backed off this position in recent years, criticizing NAFTA for not delivering on its promise. Sen. Ted Cruz, who despite an early victory in the Iowa caucus struggled to stop Donald Trump from cutting into his support from evangelical Christian voters, dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday. Cruz lost the primary in Indiana on Tuesday, the latest in a string of defeats to the billionaire from New York, who considers himself the party's presumptive nominee. "I've said that I will continue on as long as there is a viable path to victory. Tonight, I'm sorry to say that it appears that path has been foreclosed," Cruz said at a rally in Indianapolis. "We gave it everything we've got, but the voters chose another path," he continued, vowing to continue to fight for liberty, a constant theme of his campaign. Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich had battled to be the alternative to Trump. Kasich said in a statement Tuesday night that he continues to seek the nomination at an open convention. "Gov. Kasich will remain in the race unless a candidate reaches 1,237 bound delegates before the Convention," his statement said. But the head of the Republican party indicated for the first time Tuesday night that the establishment was finally ready to back Trump. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted that Trump will be the party's presumptive nominee. "We all need to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton," Priebus said. Reversing course after weeks of calling Cruz "Lyin' Ted," Trump said Tuesday night that the senator has "an amazing future" and congratulated him on the race he ran. "I don't know if he likes me or if he doesn't like me, but he is one hell of a competitor. He is a tough, smart guy," Trump said in a speech at Trump Tower. Cruz based his campaign on appealing to the most hardline conservatives and evangelical Christians. He outlasted over a dozen other Republican contenders, but despite winning 10 states, including his home state of Texas, Cruz was losing ground to Trump by March. When an outright win proved out of reach, Cruz turned to a strategy of forcing a contested convention preventing his rival from amassing the 1,237 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. But after Indiana, Trump was less than 200 delegates shy of doing so, with California among the states left to vote. Cruz had expected to leverage his role as a Washington outsider where he is known for stalling legislation and insulting other members of the Senate and where he planned to shut down the government his first year in office in a protest over Obamacare. Cruz was popular among voters who described themselves as very conservative but Trump outdid him with white evangelical voters, including in the Indiana primary, according to NBC News exit polls. And in the contest for the nomination, he was quickly overshadowed by Trumps outsized personality and non-political standing. On Tuesday morning, Cruz attacked Trump as "a braggadocious, arrogant buffoon." He didn't mention Trump in his concession speech Tuesday night. Cruz is unpopular among his fellow senators and others in the Republican establishment, some of whom worked quietly on behalf of Sen. Marco Rubio, who dropped out of the race in March. Afterward, the so-called "Never Trump" movement turned to Cruz, but some in the Senate still only managed lackluster endorsements. Sen. Lindsey Graham, himself a former candidate, called Cruz a reliable conservative he endorsed over Trump, but said Cruz was "certainly not my preference." Cruz was born in Canada to an American-born mother and a father from Cuba. The legitimacy of his candidacy was challenged, particularly by Trump who threatened to go to court. Following news that the George Lucas museum may not be built in Chicago due to a lawsuit filed by a group aiming to protect park land in the city, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said hes concerned the city could face a similar problem when it comes to building Barack Obamas presidential library. The presidential library is expected to be built in one of two parks on Chicagos South Side -- Jackson Park or Washington Park -- but Emanuel said Wednesday hes worried once an announcement on the location is made, Friends of the Parks may file another lawsuit. "In about two months, hopefully, the president of the United States will pick -- because it could have been in New York, Chicago -- and he will either pick Jackson Park or Washington Park for his library," Emanuel said. "Jobs, economic development. Either one of those are Olmsted parks. God willing, there wont be a lawsuit." Friends of the Parks did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they plan to file such a suit. On Tuesday, the group announced that it opposes any site on the citys lakefront, including the recently announced McCormick Place Lakeside Center plan, for the highly-anticipated Lucas Museum. The plan would put the "Star Wars" creator's museum on the site of a parking lot south of Soldier Field. The move prompted the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art to say it is now seriously pursuing locations outside of Chicago. "You have someone ready to donate almost a billion dollars and we are arguing about whether it will remain a parking lot," Emanuel said Wednesday. Mellody Hobson, the wife of George Lucas, claimed efforts to build the museum have been co-opted and hijacked by Friends of the Parks. When the Friends of the Parks sued the city in order to preserve a parking lot, we were offered a different and feasible solutionthe replacement of an underutilized and outdated convention space that would also add more than 12 acres of new parkland, Hobson said in a statement. Yet, even with this additional park space, an organization that claims to preserve, protect, improve and promote the use of parks and open space' now opposes this as well. The Barack Obama Foundation announced the location of the future Barack Obama Presidential Center last May, capping an intense campaign for the library. The city of Chicago was instrumental in demonstrating to the President and First Lady the advantages of locating the future Obama Presidential Center in the city, and the University of Chicago brought to life the broad potential and vital energy of the South Side, foundation chairman Martin Nesbitt said in a statement. Emanuel called the project a "unique opportunity" for Chicago and advocated aggressively for the selection. It is expected to be completed in 2020 or 2021. A Civic Federation report released Tuesday found that Gov. Bruce Rauners recently proposed Fiscal Year 2017 budget has an operating deficit of $3.5 billion. The Civic Federation, a non-partisan research organization that focuses on Illinois governments, said it opposed the governor's budget saying it presented an "insufficiently detailed plan for closing the gap." The $3.5 billion figure appears to be understated because it does not fully account for the actual cost of essential state services and is based on projected saving that are unlikely to be realized," the report reads. Rauner proposed his FY 2017 budget in February. The proposal was dubbed the Unbalanced Budget Response Act. Rauner previously vetoed FY 2016 budget proposals for being unbalanced. Illinois has been without a budget since July of last year. The impasse has largely hinged on a battle between Rauner and Democratic lawmakers over the governors pro-business, union-weakening Turnaround Agenda. "Governor Rauner inherited years of fiscal mismanagement and has proposed the clear path to turnaround the state," Rauner spokeswoman Catherine Kelly said in a statement. "The preferred option is to work together with members of the General Assembly to pass structural reforms and a balanced budget ensuring priorities are funded." Last week, the governor said he was hopeful that a grand compromise for a 2016 and 2017 state budget could be reached before the legislature adjourns in June. If not, he said his staff was looking into the possibility of him picking up the tab for additional special sessions. The Civic Federation report also highlights concerns about the states pressing unpaid bill backlog. The Federation cannot support a financial plan that allows the States backlog of unpaid bills to stand at $9.3 billion at the end of FY2017 if the operating deficit is eliminated and rise to $12.8 billion id the gap is not closed, the report reads. Because of the backlog, the State begins each fiscal year in a hole, using revenues from the current year to pay off the previous years obligations. The group is also unsupportive of Rauners plan to reduce General Funds pension contributions by nearly $750 million for FY2017 by deferring payments to later years. Additionally, the Civic Federation is opposed to a projected reduction of $445 million in group insurance payments. The savings depend on the outcome of labor negotiations or the removal of health insurance from collective bargaining, the report reads. The projection follows a long history of underfunding health insurance contributions, which has fueled growth in the backlog of claims. The group also voiced concern over a plan to save nearly $198 million on the Community Care Program, which works to keep the elderly out of nursing homes, by creating a new program for seniors who do not qualify for medicaid. That plans details have yet to be made public. The report also notes that Rauners proposal relies on $475 million in one-time revenues, including the entire balance of the Budget Stabilization Fund and the sale of Chicagos James R. Thompson. In response, the group opposes the depletion of Illinois rainy day fund and the use of money from an asset sale to fund operating costs. The Civic Federation report calls for a comprehensive plan including increased revenues and spending restraints. "Although Illinois' financial condition has been precarious for years, the current situation represents a new low in fiscal management by the General Assembly and the governor," the report reads. The Illinois General Assembly reconvened Tuesday after a week-long break. According to Politico, two bipartisan groups are currently working on separate budget proposals, one of which accounts for the remainder of FY 2016 and FY 2017. Governor Bruce Rauner was set to attend his first GOP Presidential Convention as the governor of Illinois. But on Wednesday-- as Donald Trump is declared the likely nominee -- there is silence from his office on whether Rauner will actually go to the Cleveland convention in July. "We don't have anything on the record at this time," a Rauner spokesperson told Ward Room. In March, Rauner said he would support Trump if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich suspended their campaigns after Trump won Tuesday's pivotal Indiana primary, leaving the billionaire as the last candidate in the GOP field. The Illinois Republican Party meets in Peoria in a few weeks to pick delegates to the convention, and Rauner was expected to be at that meeting, but now there's no confirmation on whether he will actually attend. Other GOP elected officials from Sen. Mark Kirk to Congressman Bob Dold have already decided they will skip the national convention in July. Four men were killed and at least 13 other people were wounded in South and West side shootings Tuesday. Most recently, a man was killed and another man wounded in a drive-by shooting late Tuesday in the South Side Pilsen neighborhood. The men, ages 43 and 35, were standing on the sidewalk near South Halsted and West 18th streets at 11:40 p.m. when a male suspect fired shots from a silver-colored SUV, according to Chicago Police. The 43-year-old, identified as Jesus Juarez, was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at the scene at 12 a.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiners office. He lived in the 5400 block of South Luna. The 35-year-old was shot in the left knee and taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, police said. About 9:10 p.m., another man was shot to death in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, police said. Jeremy Parker, 21, was standing in the street in the 7400 block of South Maplewood about 9:05 p.m. when someone in a passing vehicle shot him in the chest, authorities said. Parker, of the 7900 block of South Damen, was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:40 p.m. Another man died after he was shot Tuesday night in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. At 8:24 p.m., a 25-year-old man was shot multiple times in the South Side Bronzeville neighborhood. Timothy Hill was standing in the back yard of a home in the 600 block of East Bowen Avenue when another male walked up and opened fire, authorities said. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:14 a.m. Wednesday, according to the medical examiners office. Hill lived in the 500 block of East 40th Street. Shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday, two men were shotone fatallyin the West Side Austin neighborhood. The men were sitting on a front porch in the 4900 block of West Monroe at 1:52 p.m. when someone walked up and opened fire, according to police. Antonio White, 29, was shot twice in the chest and taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:37 p.m., according to police and the medical examiners office. Whites home address wasnt known Tuesday night. The other man, an 18-year-old, was shot in the back and right leg and taken in serious condition to Stroger, police said. The most recent nonfatal shooting was reported at 11:25 p.m. in the South Side Gresham neighborhood. A 30-year-old woman was standing on the street in the 8800 block of South Laflin when she heard shots and realized shed been hit, according to police. She suffered a graze wound to the back and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where her condition was stabilized. About 10 minutes before that, a man was beaten and shot in the Marquette Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. The 27-year-old was walking on the sidewalk in the 6300 block of South Artesian at 11:15 p.m. when several males started beating him, police said. During the attack, he was shot in the right shoulder. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. A police source said the man is a documented gang member. Another male was shot about 10:35 p.m. in the Chatham neighborhood. The victim, whose exact age was not immediately known, was shot in the foot in the 8200 block of South Maryland, police said. He refused medical attention and additional details were not available late Tuesday. About 90 minutes earlier, a woman was shot in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side. The 22-year-old woman was in a vehicle in the 7000 block of South Wabash about 9:05 p.m. when a male on the sidewalk shot her in the left knee, police said. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where her condition stabilized. Two men, both thought to be in their 20s, were outside on a porch in the 6800 block of South Throop Street just before 6 p.m. when two males walked up and shot them, according to police. One of the victims suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and shoulder, and the other was shot in the left leg and abdomen, police said. They were both taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in serious condition. A man was shot in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side Tuesday night. The 31-year-old was walking in the 12100 block of South Emerald shortly before 6 p.m. when someone in a passing vehicle shot him in the back, police said. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition. Two men, 31 and 34, were outside shooting dice at 3:15 p.m. in the 200 block of North Lockwood Avenue in Austin when a male suspect walked up and shot them, police said. The 31-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the hip and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. The 34-year-old suffered a gunshot wound to the back and was also taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. A man was shot in the leg Thursday afternoon in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood on the South Side. The shooting happened around 1:30 p.m. in the 5100 block of South Prairie, according to police. The 41-year-old was shot in the leg and taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition. Tuesdays first non-fatal shooting was reported about 11 a.m. A 41-year-old man was shot in the leg in the 4200 block of West Iowa, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition stabilized. We all have the traditions we share with our visitors who come to Chicago the architecture tour, the Signature Room, a trip to the ballpark, Navy Pier but Choose Chicago says it's time for the city to raise its game. On Wednesday two Chicago businessmen unveiled a new vision to increase tourism along the Chicago River: a suspended gondola system that would travel from Chinatown to Navy Pier, offering unprecendented views of the skyline. Its an investment that would reportedly generate millions in tourist dollars. Also, the Choose Chicago board has a desire to bring the opera to the people with new video projections that would play on the Lyric Opera House coordinated with the live broadcast. In addition, the board wants to re-think lighting and video elements in the citys subways to allocate all the money at night. Last week, Mayor Emanuel announced Chicago broke tourism records in 2015. For the first time in the citys history, 50 million domestic tourists visited Chicago in a single year. According to the mayors office, the total number of visitors to the city, including international travelers, is set to exceed 52 million for the year. Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court Dorothy Brown has requested a pay increase from Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Cook County Board of Commissioners, according to a letter from Brown obtained by Politico. I am writing to advise you of a gross inequity between the salary of the position of Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County, in comparison to the salaries of other Cook County Public Safety officials, the Clerks of the Court of the next two largest counties in Illinois (Dupage and Lake), and other Cook County-wide elected officials, Brown wrote in the letter, dated May 3. The comparison relates to the number of employees managed by each official, which is indicative of his or her level of responsibility. Brown added that her $105,000 salary is lower than other Cook County public safety officials, like public defenders ($194,574), states attorneys ($192,789), sheriffs ($160K) and chief judges ($188,076), despite the fact that some manage fewer than the Clerk's 1,684 employees. Brown also claimed that other officials elected county-wide, like assessor, county clerk, treasurer, and recorder of deeds, receive similar salaries to that of the Clerk of the Circuit Court but are responsible for fewer employees. Again, there is no logical explanation for the salary inequity of the Clerk of the Court, who is responsible for managing such a large number of employees compared to the other county-wide elected officials, Brown wrote. Brown asked Preckwinkle and the board to add an ordinance to the May 11 Cook County Board agenda that would adjust the Clerk of the Circuit Court's salary to with an amount that would "be fair and equitable to close the disparity gap." "Understandably, this is not the most opportune time to make this request, but it is only being made at this time because Illinois law requires that an increase for this position be made at least 180 days prior to the commencement of the next term," she wrote. Brown recently beat out Ald. Michelle Harris and attorney Jacob Meister in the March Democratic primary. She will face Republican Diane Shapiro in the Nov. 15 general election. Brown was first elected to the role in 2000. In 2015, Brown's cell phone was seized by the FBI as part of a federal investigation into a 2011 land deal involving a campaign donor. Brown and her husband made tens of thousands of dollars from the deal. Additionally, a former Brown employee pleaded guilty last month to lying to a federal grand jury about the sale of jobs and promotions within the clerks office. Sivasubramani Rajaram admitted to lying about the corruption in Browns office last July. He will be sentenced in September and faces up to 16 months in prison. A group of Illinois congressmen wrote a letter Monday to Boeings CEO Dennis Muilenburg addressing the aircraft manufacturing companys ongoing conversations with Iran about the sale of airplanes. Rep. Bob Dold, Rep. Peter Roskam and Rep. Randy Hultgren wrote that they fear that a relationship between Boeing and Iran could lead to the country turning American planes into Iranian warplanes. The companys international headquarters are located in Chicago. It is our strong belief Western companies should not sell, lease, or otherwise aid (Iran) in the procurement of aircraft, parts, or related services, the letter reads. Such commercial transactions would effectively subsidize the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism, significantly augmenting the regimes ability to sow the seeds of death and destruction around the globe. The letter references 2015's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which removed certain sanctions previously imposed on Iran over their illegal nuclear program. An exemption in the plan was made for the sale of aircrafts. We are confident Boeing is in compliance with the law, the letter reads. This is not about doing what is legal- it is about doing what is right. Roskam, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has been a staunch opponent of American companies doing business with Iran. Last week, he introduced a bill which looks to prohibit the Department of Defense from offering contracts to any company that does business with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other hostile entities. Roskam also recently spoke out about a potential $25 billion deal between French aviation company Airbus and Iran. In addition, Roskam penned a Wall Street Journal opinion piece last month urging companies not to do business with the country. Boeings board is expected to meet this week in Chicago. The company did not immediately respond to Ward Rooms request for comment. Three corrections officers were placed on administrative leave after a 22-year-old inmate escaped from a northwest Indiana jail and made it more than 1,000 miles before he was caught. Richard N. Campos and his girlfriend Elysia Jeronimo, were arrested in San Antonio, Texas while attempting to flee law enforcement, according to the Lake County Sheriff's office. Police alleged Campos escaped from the jail with Jeronimo's help after being arrested a week earlier for DUI. Campos was last seen working as a trustee assigned to laundry detail at the Lake County Jail complex in Crown Point, according to a statement from the sheriffs office. Authorities believe the escape was planned in advance and that Campos slipped passed security guards and met Jeronimo, who was waiting in a parking lot in a getaway car. "Investigators learned through three different recorded phone calls that Campos and his girlfriend Elysia Jeronimo planned the escape in advance," said Lake County Sheriff John Buncich. Campos, a member of the Latin Kings, was arrested April 25 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and also on active warrants from Whiting and Hammond, according to the sheriffs office. An intense manhunt followed and pair were arrested three days later and more than a thousand miles away. But Buncich said a preliminary investigation revealed "there was an improper classification of a prisoner and failure to properly supervise an inmate." Three corrections officers at the jail were placed on administrative leave and Buncich is seeking to have them terminated. Both suspects remain in Texas and are expetced to extradited back to Indiana. A student at the University of Iowa is recovering after a violent assault that he believes to be a hate crime. Marcus Owens says he was on his way back to his dorm around 10 p.m. Saturday night after going to a pub with friends when out of nowhere a man yelled a racial slur and began punching him. The college freshman was left with a busted lip, damaged eye socket and cracked front teeth, but Owens says he is determined to fight back. Owens family met with the University of Iowas dean of students Wednesday as police continue investigation into the incident. It's appalling in the year of 2016 we're still dealing with such ignorance, Pastor Melvin Owens Jr. said. Wednesday morning the University of Iowa commented on the claims on Twitter: UI officials first learned of the incident when called by a Chicago television station and are working to learn more, the tweets wrote. We are deeply disturbed by the incident & concerned for the student. We will inform the campus community as soon as we know more. Iowa City Police said the incident remains under active investigation and asks if anyone has any information related to this incident, or may have been a witness, to call 319-356-5276. A 22-year-old inmate who escaped from a jail Saturday afternoon in northwest Indiana with the help of his girlfriend was taken into custody Tuesday evening, police said. Richard N. Campos, 22, and his girlfriend Elysia Jeronimo, were arrested in San Antonio, Texas while attempting to flee law enforcement, according to the Lake County Sheriff's office. The department plans to file for extradition for both suspects. Campos was last seen working as a trustee assigned to laundry detail at the Lake County Jail complex in Crown Point, according to a statement from the sheriffs office. Authorities believe the escape was planned in advance and that Campos had assistance from his girlfriend, 20-year-old Jeronimo of Hammond. Campos, a member of the Latin Kings, was arrested April 25 for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, and also on active warrants from Whiting and Hammond, according to the sheriffs office. He is described as 5-foot-3 and 135 pounds, with a tattoo of a rose/diamond on his left hand. Jeronimo is described as 5-foot-1 and 140 pounds. The escape is under investigation, but the sheriffs office said human error may have occurred. A suburban Chicago family said a known defect with their Nissan vehicle left them stranded on a cold, wintry day and with a nearly $1,000 repair bill the car company refused to pay. Nissan owners across the country have reported an issue with some of the companys vehicles, saying a defect has left them stranded and in potentially dangerous situations. Widespread problems in the Electronic Steering Column Lock (ESCL) can disable the push button ignition on 2009 Nissan Maximas and Altimas. A similar issue exists on the 2009 Cube and 2009-2011 370Zs. It was that very problem that left Kristen Kuchyt and her 7 year-old daughter, Nicole, stranded in the cold in Lockport, without warning. It was in the middle of January and I was very cold, the 7 year-old recalled. I got kind of nervous and I thought nobody would come and help us. Kristin Kuchyt says she tried repeatedly to start the 2009 Nissan Altima, but it wouldnt budge. Thats when she called her husband, Chris. I received a call from my wife saying that she was stranded at swim practice with my daughter, so I quickly raced out there, Chris Kuchyt said. Chris says he had the car towed to a nearby Nissan dealer, where he was stunned to learn two more Nissans had just been brought in with the same problem. As I was talking with service manager, Im noticing that a couple other cars are being brought in, Kuchyt said. There was two other cars being brought in that same exact day with the same exact issue. And so I went over to the tow truck driver and said, Hey whats going on? And sure enough he said, The ladys button wouldnt start the car. NBC 5 Responds uncovered 746 similar complaints on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations website, from drivers who say they were stranded without warning, some in the middle of nowhere, and could have been in life-threatening danger, insisting Nissan should be held accountable. Nissan has issued technical service bulletins to dealerships about this problem, and because of it, extended its 3 year/36,000 mile warranty to 72 months/unlimited miles on 2009 Maximas and Altimas. The automaker never issued a recall. Chris Kuchyt says his extended warranty had just expired when his family got stranded. He called Nissan and says he got nowhere, fast. "They just kept giving me the runaround. Theres nothing we can do, Chris Kuchyt said. "And for a consumer to have to repair a faulty part that Nissan has acknowledged is a problem, that's concerning." Stuck with a nearly $1,000 repair bill neither the carmaker nor the dealer would cover, he turned to NBC 5 Responds. In response to our questions, Nissan issued this statement: Nissan Consumer Affairs team reviews and considers every customer request on a case-by-case basis, taking into account many factors. Mr. Huchyt has been a loyal customer of Nissan, and Nissan decided to reimburse Mr. Huchyt for the cost of his repairs. As for any other complaints that were not addressed to our company directly, we have no comment. NHTSA tells NBC 5 Responds it is aware of the issue, is monitoring it, and will take action as warranted. Chris Kuchyt believes Nissan should further address this issue that he says puts many drivers in a dangerous situation. The Chicago Cubs are dealing with yet another injury on their roster, as outfielder Matt Szczur has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. Szczur, who was filling in for the injured Jason Heyward in right field for the Cubs, sustained a hamstring injury while running the bases in Mondays victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Szczur underwent an MRI on the injury on Tuesday morning, and the team elected to place him on the disabled list after the examination. The Cubs made a corresponding roster move as they shift Szczur to the DL, with outfielder Ryan Kalish coming up to the big league team from triple-A Iowa. Kalish last made an appearance in a big league game in 2014 with the Cubs, when he drove in five RBI and stole three bases in 130 plate appearances with the north siders. This season, Kalish has already scored 15 runs and driven in four RBI in 70 plate appearances with the Iowa Cubs. He is also sporting a .368 batting average and an excellent .471 on-base percentage in the limited sample size. With both Heyward and Szczur out of the mix, the Cubs will turn to Kris Bryant for the start in right field on Tuesday night. Bryant is still dealing with some lingering effects from an injury himself, having suffered a sprained ankle last week. Not long after she was born, Caryn Tatelli recognized that her newborn daughter Susan had a serious peanut allergy. We had an emergency landing on a flight, and then 9 months later she had a reaction while sitting next to me in a movie theater," Tatelli, who lives in Highland Park, said. Susan is now 13 years old, and remembers vividly the days when her allergy dictated her every move. I couldnt go to the movies. I couldnt fly on an airplane. It was hard to go to friends' houses and sleep over, Susan said. But 18 months ago, the Tatelli family discovered a clinical trial at Lurie Childrens Hospital in Chicago, where doctors used oral immunotherapy to help battle Susan's lifelong allergy. It made sense to me, the idea of starting with a really, really miniscule amount of the allergen and then slowly teaching the body tolerate it. That made sense," Caryn said. At first, Susan had a bad reaction to the therapy, but as the trial went on, her tolerance for peanuts began to increase. Now, her allergy has subsided to the point where she can enjoy life in ways she never thought possible. Ive gone to the movies. Ive been on a plane and I can eat things that have been made in a facility with cross contact," Susan said. While the therapy is not a 100 percent cure for the allergy, she can now live without fear of an allergic reaction from simply being in the same room as a peanut product. And that, her mother says, is a great source of comfort and relief. I can actually envision sending her off to college, doing things I never imagined being possible for her," Tatelli said. Dakota Yorke has dreamed about being prom queen since she was little, and now shes finally getting that chance. The transgender teen from northwest Indiana is in the running for prom queen at Portage High School and with just days before the big dance, the senior student took her excitement to social media. I cant even say it because I get like teared up even talking about it, Yorke said in a YouTube video that has since received more than 2,000 views. Yorke asked her school if she could run for the coveted title, and was given a green light by school officials, according to the Post-Tribune. Yorke told the publication she attended the dance last year sporting a tuxedo, but felt embarressed by the decision. Now, shes taking her senior year to show off who she really is. I just want to show people that no matter who you are, no matter what kind of label society wants to try to put on you that you can truly do whatever it is you want to do, she said. I just want to show people that no matter who you are, no matter what kind of label society wants to try to put on you that you can truly do whatever it is you want to do. Yorke fully transitioned last summer, identifying as female, the Post-Tribune reports. She has since been attending cosmetology classes and routinely posts videos on her YouTube channel. Everyone needs to break out of their shell, everbody just needs to be confident, love themselves, love the body theyre in, love their thoughts, love their soul, love their heart, love people, she said, adding that she doesnt want people to be scared of being judged. Yorke was recently named one of four finalists for the prom queen title based on student votes. The school's dance is scheduled to take place May 7, when the winner will be announced. Aeropostale, once the vibrant epicenter of the U.S. mall scene, is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The New York company said Wednesday it will close 113 of its 739 U.S. stores and all 41 locations in Canada. Going-out-of-business sales at those U.S. stores will begin this weekend. In Canada, sales will begin during the week of May 9. Aeropostale expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection within six months as a smaller company after renegotiating contracts and resolving an ongoing dispute with the investment firm Sycamore Partners, a major shareholder that pushed through changes in company leadership. "We appreciate the loyalty and support of our customers, employees and business partners as we complete this process," CEO Julian Geiger said in a statement posted on the company's website. Aeropostale says it has also filed a series of motions that, pending court approval, will allow the company to pay employee wages and benefits without interruption and honor all gift cards in full. The company's shares traded for more than $30 six years ago, when annual sales exceeded $2 billion. Two weeks ago, it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange with shares having failed to break the $1 barrier since last year. Aeropostale's market capitalization by this week had fallen to around $14.4 million. Early this year, Aeropostale said it would cut expenses by $35 million to $40 million annually and trimmed its corporate staff by 13 percent, about 100 jobs. "Fast fashion" outfits like H&M and Forever 21, with more inexpensive clothes, have emerged in recent years to take a growing market share from former mall staples Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters. A complete list of stores closing is available here. In the latest in a string of incendiary and often conspiratorial comments, Donald Trump on Tuesday linked Ted Cruzs father to President John F. Kennedys assassin. Trump, on the day Indiana went to the polls, repeated assertions made by the National Enquirer that the Cuban-born Raphael Cruz was pictured with Lee Harvey Oswald handing out pro-Cuba pamphlets in New Orleans in 1963. "I mean, what was he doing what was he doing with Lee Harvey Oswald shortly before the death? Before the shooting?" Trump asked in an interview with Fox News. "Its horrible." Cruzs campaign called the article garbage. From Muslims celebrating en masse after the World Trade Center fell to disparaging the qualifications of his rivals for the presidency, here are some of Trumps most provocative statements. "Thousands of people were cheering" Trump claimed to have seen thousands of Muslims rejoicing in Jersey City when the Twin Towers fell during the 2001 terrorist attacks. "Hey, I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down," he said at a rally in Alabama in November. "And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down." "So somethings going on," he said. "Weve got to find out what it is." There were no verified reports of mass jubilation on Sept. 11 though NJ.com found some residents and a police officer who said they saw small groups of people celebrating. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop tweeted that Trumps statement was "absurd." Either @realDonaldTrump has memory issues or willfully distorts the truth, either of which should be concerning for the Republican Party Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) November 22, 2015 Cruzs Canadian birth Before the Iowa caucuses, Trump speculated that Cruz was not eligible to run for president because he was born in Calgary, Canada, and had held both American and Canadian citizenship. According to the Constitution, the president must be a "natural born citizen" though it does not specify what that term means. The Texas Republican is a U.S. citizen because his mother is one and some scholars say the Constitutional issue is not settled. In February, angry over ads, Trump threatened to sue Cruz. If @TedCruz doesnt clean up his act, stop cheating, & doing negative ads, I have standing to sue him for not being a natural born citizen. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2016 And what about Rubio? In another tweet in February, Trump raised questions about whether Marco Rubio could run for the White House. But the Florida senator, who has since dropped out of the race, was born in Miami, though to parents who had immigrated from Cuba. Trump claimed simply to have retweeted an argument that neither Rubio nor Cruz were eligible. "@ResisTyr: Mr.Trump...BOTH Cruz AND Rubio are ineligible to be POTUS! It's a SLAM DUNK CASE!! Check it! https://t.co/NjqWP0pP6X" Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2016 "I've never looked at it, George," Trump told George Stephanopoulos, on ABCs "This Week." "I honestly have never looked at it. As somebody said, he's not. And I retweeted it. I have 14 million people between Twitter and Facebook and Instagram, and I retweet things and we start dialogue and it's very interesting." Born in Kenya? Trumps birther claims began with President Barack Obama in 2012, when the New York businessman repeatedly questioned whether Obama was indeed born in the United States. At one of his campaign events, he allowed a false claim that Obama is Muslim to go unchallenged. Pigs blood Another discredited story that Trump repeats: Gen. John Pershing shot Muslim extremists in the Philippines with bullets dipped in pigs' blood. [NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail Top lawmakers in the Connecticut General Assembly said Wednesday night that they would not consider a revised budget for the 2017 fiscal year until after its adjournment deadline. "Were going to come back and make sure everybody has had a chance to read it and review it," said Bob Duff, the Majority Leader of the State Senate Wednesday night. Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney told reporters that there wasn't enough time for the budget bill to be printed, distributed to members and debated in an fast or adequate fashion to justify passage before the statutory midnight deadline. Instead, lawmakers will return to the state capitol early next week when debate, discussion, and passage are expected on the more than $18 billion spending package. Republicans criticized Democrats early Wednesday afternoon, complaining that the budget had been crafted in secret, but they later stood shoulder to shoulder with top Democrats pleased by the delay. Theres a lot of numbers, a lot of commas, a lot of info, a lot of periods" said Sen. Len Fasano, the Minority Leader. "Youve got to get them right and you know taking a step back and saying this is a big document, lets hold off, lets let it sit out there. Lets let people read it, take a glance at it makes a lot of sense. House Speaker Brendan Sharkey said Wednesday of the spending plan, In my 16 years in the legislature this is the most fully vetted public transparent that Ive ever voted for. "One hundred percent, we would pass the budget," he declared, before later announcing they would delay to a special session. Governor Dannel Malloy said in a statement late Wednesday that the move to pass the budget during a Special Session is not an excuse to change the agreed upon budget by him and legislative leadership. He said, If this delay begins a discussion about re-opening the agreement in order to find a way to avoid difficult decisions, thats unacceptable." NBC Connecticut Responds found several laws many consumers didnt even know about when it comes to buying a used car. I just feel like they took advantage of me, said consumer, Maria Hart. Hart is a hard working single mother, trying to put her daughter through college. We share a car, she goes to college full-time I work full time and she works part time and we needed something reliable that we both could share and use, said Hart. She poured her hard-earned cash into a 2008 Nissan Altima. It looks shiny and new but its a clunker that didnt come cheap. She bought the car for $7,500 at Empire Auto in South Windsor. A couple days after I bought the car, I noticed that the breaks were squeaking and there was a grinding noise and I brought it back it was within that week that I bought the car, said Hart. Hart said Empire Auto told her the problem was fixed but it wasnt long before the car was back in their shop. It was six times over the course of five months; once for a broken catalytic converter, next for a bad transmission, then again for a leak in the new transmission. Each time, she was without a car and relying on friends for transportation. Frustrated, she filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Department of Consumer Protection and NBC Connecticut. The manager at Empire Auto declined to speak on camera but said he sold the car in as is condition. According to Connecticut law, a dealer has the right to sell a vehicle in as is condition, if the car is more than six model years old or bought for under $3,000. Harts car is eight years old. The dealership is still required to do a comprehensive safety inspection and theyre supposed to give the consumer a certification that the vehicle is safe and proper for use on Cpnnecticut highways and roads, said Dan Blinn with the Consumer Law Group. Blinn with the Consumer Law Group said if dealers dont provide that documentation, its considered unfair trade practice and they can be fined $500. I showed Hart a copy of the inspection form Blinn said she should have received. She said shes never seen it before. When we asked Empire Auto for a copy of the inspection for Harts car, they said they would send it but they never did. NBC Connecticut calls havent been returned. For their own protection, consumers can print the inspection form right from the DMVs website, and have the dealer sign it. They should also ask about the history of the car and if its been in an accident. But make sure to get it all in writing. Dan Blinn with the Consume Law Group said every car MUST pass emissions. He also said that state law requires dealerships to allow an independent mechanic to perform an inspection upon request. It can be on the premises or at their mechanic shop. He said if the dealership refuses to allow the consumer to take the car off the lot to have the inspection, thats a pretty good sign that maybe this is a dealership that you dont want to do business with. Consumer groups met with a White House policy adviser today to discuss the three biggest issues in the retail industrys transition to chip card readers. Groups in attendance included the Electronic Transactions Association, Merchant Advisory Group, Consumer Policy Solutions and American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research, alongside White House adviser Camille Fischer of the National Economic Council. All parties agreed that both consumers and retailers have expressed concerns amid the rollout. One concern: banks havent upgraded 600 million credit or debit cardsroughly half of the cards out there. If this trend is consistent with what the United Kingdom faced during its decade-long chip card transition from 2004-2014, consumers can expect fraud to increase significantly during this in-between period. Retailers have also had issues switching to the new card readers. Most blame the delay on a backlog in the certification process. The third major complaint comes from consumers who say the new process of inserting the card, rather than swiping it, takes too long. To that, officials urge shoppers stay patient. Companies like Visa are working on ways to expedite the process, but in the meantime, experts say the added layer of security is worth the wait. When you put the card reader in, it takes a few seconds to register and authenticate, said Fischer. And it takes those few seconds because it is actually authenticating, creating an additional security step. Kerrville, TX (78028) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Some clouds early. Mostly clear skies along with windy conditions overnight. Low 48F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. Governor Dannel Malloy's Second Chance 2.0 initiative to raise the age of a juvenile has hit a snag in the state Senate. Debate on the issue was delayed and now it's unclear whether the issue will come up for a vote at all before the midnight deadline Wednesday. The House approved the measure in April. What were trying to do is align the law with the new knowledge that we have, so those of us who are supportive of Second Chance, raise the age, think this is the proper way for the state to move forward," said Sen. Gary Winfield. The bill would make Connecticut the first state in the country to raise the age of a minor from 17 to 20 in one-year steps by 2019. Winfield agrees with the governor's proposal, which is based on recent research completed in Europe and the United States that showed that human brain doesn't fully develop until age 25. Winfield contends that shows many people who commit crimes, may not quite understand both their actions and potential consequences. I think at its core what weve been trying to deal with is young people that might do some foolish things dont find themselves in our system," Winfield said. Opponents, like minority leader Sen. Len Fasano, said there are many circumstances where even 17-year-olds need to be prosecuted as adults. He also said the current system leaves a gap when it comes to punishment. "They want to treat them as a separate group so if they get probation and they violate probation, they cant go to a juvenile jail which we have, or an adult jail which we have, so theres no place to put them," Fasano said. Fasano said as a whole, the bill is, "not well thought out". Winfield said raising the age will lead to decreased recidivism. What we know is that when young people find themselves in our system, they tend to come back to our system and thats a cycle that were trying to avoid in the state of Connecticut. Three people traveling from South Carolina to Connecticut were killed when the small plane they were in crashed on Long Island on Tuesday. The tail number on the plane is registered to a Bristol, Connecticut resident. Two men and a woman were on board the single-engine Beech BE35 aircraft when broke up mid-flight on Cold Spring Road in Syosset just after 2:30 p.m., the FAA said. The plane took off from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, at 12:45 p.m., and was headed to Robertson Field in Plainville, Connecticut, according to the FAA. During the flight, the pilot made a distress call over Farmingdale, New York, reporting some type of instrumentation problem -- something to the effect of, "'I have a partial panel loss,'" according to NTSB senior investigator Robert Gretz. The plane then disappeared off the radar and broke up in flight, leaving behind a debris field of about two miles. "Sometimes the higher up it breaks up, the larger the debris field," Gretz said. Recordings between responding police officers and dispatch revealed the sheer amount of wreckage that was scattered on the ground. Gretz said it's not clear why the plane broke apart in the sky. "It's not a common investigation for us," Gretz said of the plane breaking apart in the sky. "It does happen. In 18 years, I've probably worked five or 10 of them." Officials are looking at several factors in the crash, including whether the pilot was caught in bad weather. If the pilot didn't have functioning instrumentation in bad weather, it would be like driving through fog without lights or a dashboard, Gretz said. Gretz said Nassau, New York police was assisting in the investigation by documenting each piece of plane debris. A preliminary report is expected to be issued within five to 10 business days, and a final report, including a probable cause, will be issued in about nine to 12 months. The FAA will investigate the crash and the National Transportation Safety Board will determine the cause. State lawmakers are taking action to try to help hundreds of homeowners struggling with crumbling foundations. Late Tuesday night, the Senate unanimously approved House Bill 5180, which will provide homeowners in Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties a measure of relief, while they grapple with this financially devastating problem. Last July, the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters first uncovered an issue that's plaguing hundreds of homeowners across eastern Connecticut. Their foundations are crumbling beneath them and experts said there's no fix. The only remedy is replacing the concrete at a cost of $150,000 and up. The bill looks to give the homeowners short term relief by requiring local towns to revalue homes with foundation problems. That could save owners thousands in taxes while they wait for a permanent solution. The bill also requires the state keep any records related to the failing foundations confidential for at least seven years. According to State Senator Cathy Osten, that's the key to getting reluctant homeowners to register with the state and set the wheels in motion for a long-term financial solution. "We need to have the real numbers where the problems are. Anecdotally, we think about 2000 homes that have crumbling foundations yet we only have about 200 homeowners who've come forward," said Osten. House Bill 5180 also establishes increased record keeping related to newly poured concrete foundations moving forward. Now, the bill move on to the Governor's desk. If he signs it into law, most of the provisions in the measure would take effect July 1. The greatest climatic scene in any superhero movie yet didn't involve explosive violence, at least not of the physical variety. At the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, the star-spangled soldier wakes up in what appears to be a World War II-era hospital recovery room. But the Brooklyn Dodgers game playing on the radio a game he remembers attending tips him off that he's a character in a play of someone else's making. He flees the building to find himself in 2011 Times Square. The chilling scene set the stage for the subsequent ascent of the most unlikely superstar of the movie superhero world: a 1940s patriotic throwback whose strength pales next to most of his contemporaries, but whose character is as unbendable as his mighty shield. Former milquetoast Steve Rogers faces his toughest fight in "Captain America: Civil War," which opens nationally Friday and pits factions of The Avengers one led by him, the other by Iron Man in a battle over a government bid to regulate superheroes. But as we've seen with the champion of the red, white and blue, things are never as black-and-white as they appear. Captain America fights his wars on multiple fronts, battling time and even himself as hes morphed during his initial four movie outings from a straight-arrow do-gooder to the most deceivingly complex figure in the Marvel Universe. Hes an independent hero and perhaps an anti-hero for our times, an era filled with political turmoil, upended expectations and more than our share of ambiguity. As embodied by actor Chris Evans, who effectively conveys brains and brawn, Steve Rogers is a case study in innocence lost. The government created Captain America to fight the good fight, without question, against a defined enemy with the world at war. Now, hes heading the Avengers crew thats resisting government interference spurred by the destruction wrought in battles with the likes of the Tony Stark-created Ultron. Rogers determination to save his World War II sidekick, Bucky Barnes, from a fate as a brainwashed assassin also drives his defection from authority. The film brims with parallels, not only to real-life tensions over war, weapons and human rights, but to the recent "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice," which also centers on the conflicts over unchecked superhero powers. Like DC stalwarts Batman and Superman, who were born in the late 1930s, 75-year-old Captain America has endured thanks to constant reinvention. The Marvel star got his first comic book case of future shock when Jack Kirby and Stan Lee yanked him out of a state of suspended animation in early 1964, shortly after the assassination of President Kennedy and on the eve of a new era of upheaval. Steve Rogers movie persona has been similarly updated, keeping the spirit of the comic book original while upping the intricacy of what it means to be an American hero. He seems determined to redefine not only himself, but also loyalty and winning. Civil War is shaping up as Captain Americas turn to deliver a rude awakening of his own. 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. Radiohead has put out a new song ahead of a world tour that opens later this month. The alternative rock band put out snippets of "Burn The Witch" on social media Tuesday before posting the full music video to its website and YouTube. The claymation-style video has fueled speculation that a new studio album could be forthcoming. It would be its first since 2011's "The King of Limbs." Radiohead begins a world tour May 20 in The Netherlands. The band will visit New York and Chicago in July and California in August. Documents obtained by NBC 5 Investigates detail how the Texas National Guard has spent $62 million and counting on a mission to help secure the Texas/Mexico border. National Guard receipts detail millions spent to rental cars, televisions, copy machines and office trailers. Troops also racked up tens of thousands of dollars in state credit card charges buying office supplies used to set-up remote work locations for guard troops. The guard deployed very quickly when Gov. Rick Perry first ordered them to the border in 2014; records show that set off a flurry of spending. Some of the expenses are for things you might expect, like hotels. Records show more than $10 million was spent to house the troops at hotels near the border. The records also detail expenses for items including basics like food, bottled water and bug spray. And then there are rental cars. A lot of rental cars. The records show the guard has already spent $1.8 million on rental cars and some of the priciest rentals were not driven very far. Receipts show one van was rented for $1,100 and only driven 47 miles. Another receipt shows a van traveled just nine miles and they paid $1,300. Brig. Gen. Patrick Hamilton is in charge of the mission. In an interview, NBC 5 Investigates asked if it was a good use of taxpayer money to spend $1,300 for a rental car only driven nine miles. "We activated very rapidly. We made estimates on what it was going to take to get our guys around," said Hamilton. It turns out the guard didn't need as many rentals as they initially thought. "We rented that first set of vehicles as we noticed we weren't using them we turned them in," said Hamilton. The guard was sent to the border to be a visible deterrent, so why not drive military vehicles? Hamilton decided his troops should travel through neighborhoods more low key, so people who live near the border didn't feel like they were living in a militarized zone. Plus he said the rentals saved wear and tear costs on military trucks. "It was more efficient and it was also less obtrusive, less noticeable," said Hamilton. Still, for $1.8 million the state could have bought more than 50 vans like the ones they rented. Or that money could have paid the first year salaries for about 30 DPS troopers the state is hiring to bolster border security. Documents obtained by NBC 5 Investigates detail how the Texas National Guard has spent $62 million, and counting, on a mission to help secure the Texas/Mexico border. NBC 5 Investigates found cars aren't the only thing the guard rents. Through an open records request with the Texas National Guard, NBC 5 Investigates obtained more than 3,500 pages of expense reports and receipts detailing the guard's expenditures for Operation Strong Safety. Records show more than $85,000 on copy machine rentals and hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent office trailers and portable toilets. The guard even went to places like Rent-A-Center, spending more than $12,000 at various outlets to rent TV monitors. Which raises questions about whether renting will cost more over time than buying. Hamilton told NBC 5 Investigates they "didn't know how long the mission was going to go." Records show more than $27,000 was spent on office supplies like pens, staplers, binders, tape, shredders, highlighters and other items bought by guard members using state purchase cards. The general insists all of it necessary to set-up remote officers for soldiers on the ground. "Three shifts a day, 45 locations, over 100 miles. That requires some office supplies," said Hamilton. "With any operation there's always, there's always a certain amount of waste, mismanagement and maybe misspending," said Texas Sen. Juan Hinojosa (D-Dist. 20), who represents the McAllen area along the border. Hinojosa said a senate committee plans to look closely at all of the border expenses. "We intend to ask those questions because we need to make sure taxpayer money was spent wisely," said Hinojosa. That may include questions about some costly mistakes. Records obtained by NBC 5 Investigates show the state guard had to cut a $117,000 check to the federal government to pay for damage to spotting scopes mounted on top of federally-owned Humvees. Texas National Guard Troops smashed them driving under low bridges not once, but twice. "We have to reimburse the federal government for the damage," said Hamilton. Whatever the cost, rancher Mike Vickers said the mission is worth it. He's seen fewer illegal immigrants crossing his land since the guard arrived in 2014 along with more Department of Public Safety State Troopers and Border Patrol agents. "If the state can provide those resources with DPS agents and National Guard, I'm all for it, regardless of the cost," said Vickers. "There's always money involved. These operations are not simple," said Brooks County Chief Deputy Benny Martinez. Sheriff's deputies in Brooks County said the number of illegal immigrants dying while making the trek through the country is down by about 20 percent compared to last year. Martinez is convinced the guard is helping. "There are a lot of moving parts and they're just one part of that. You've got your Border Patrol too where they increased their assets," said Martinez. But other local sheriffs argue the National Guard expenses are ridiculous. "It's just a waste of money. You're throwing the money down the drain because you're not accomplishing anything," said Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio. Lucio is part of the Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition who believe the money would have been better spent to build up local law enforcement agencies in the Rio Grande Valley, a more permanent solution than the Guard's short-term deployment. "This is not a fix, not even a temporary fix," said Lucio. The guard has no power to arrest anyone so it's dependent on other agencies to help capture people. When a guard unit spots someone trying to sneak across the border, they call the Texas Department of Public Safety. DPS then often notifies the Border Patrol -- which has authority to enforce federal immigration law. In April, NBC 5 Investigates uncovered records that show when the guard calls, sometimes the Border Patrol does not respond or doesn't respond fast enough to catch people -- raising questions about coordination and whether the guard is the most effective solution. "They don't have arrest powers. They are not very cost effective," said Hinojosa. "I'm confident that we have been the best stewards of taxpayer dollars that we could be on this mission," said Hamilton. Hamilton said the mission is actually under budget but some legislators still vow to look closely at where the millions went. "There will be situation where money maybe could be put to better use and we intend to review all of those costs and expenses," said Hinojosa. The $62 million the guard spent so far is just for one part of a much larger $800 million state border security plan. Much of that money is being spent by DPS which has sent state troopers to the border. The DPS has declined to release expense receipts. The agency is now suing the Texas Attorney General after the AG ruled NBC 5 should be able to see the records. [[378049801,C]] Last year, 359 liver transplants were made possible by live liver donation. Its a number that has grown over the past three years and experts say it may be evidence that more people are learning about what can be, for some, the only life-saving option. Twenty-one-year-old Ashley Ray suffered from liver disease since age nine. When she was 19, her liver failed. I deteriorated very fast, and Dr. Hemming said I wouldnt have made it waiting on the transplant list, said Ray. Her uncle, Keith Garcia, found out he was a blood type match and he volunteered to donate half his liver. I felt confident that I would survive what the surgery entailed, said Garcia. Alan Hemming, M.D., chief of transplantation at UC San Diego Health says live liver donation allows patients to get transplants before they get too sick. It doesnt take away the risk of transplantation, it just takes away the risk of dying on the waiting list, Hemming explained. In an eight-hour surgery, Hemming and his team removed 60 percent of Garcias liver and transplanted it into Ray. Both halves of Garcias liver will grow back to nearly full-size. It was just a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see my uncle standing on the other side with half of his liver inside me, keeping me alive, said Ray. Donors risk complications or death, but Garcia recovered quickly, returning to work in two weeks. Despite the live liver option, the American Liver Foundation says about 17,000 people are on the waiting list to get a liver transplant. Only a third of them will get a liver, and every year, as many as 1,700 people die waiting. Doctors say because of the increased risk, live liver donation is still rare. Less than 5 percent of liver transplants have a live donor. Patients and their families should only make a decision about living donor transplantation after being fully informed of the risks and benefits from a physician. To become an organ donor, a blood test will have to be done to determine if a donors blood and tissue types are compatible with the organ recipient. All thats needed to match is blood type to be a live liver donor. A donor will also go through a thorough physical examination and psychological evaluation and several other tests to ensure that they in good health and that their liver can be safely divided. Since the liver does not grow back as well in older people, donors must be less than 55-years-old. To register to be an organ donor, click here. An injured worker at a construction site near American Airlines Center in Uptown Dallas had to be rescued by firefighters Wednesday. Dallas Fire-Rescue said they were called to perform a technical rescue at the site along the 2500 block of Alamo Street. The condition of the worker, and the cause of the injury, is not yet known. The rescue took place where a large, multi-story building is being constructed east of the arena on the corner of Houston and Payne streets. Check back and refresh this page for the latest information. Dallas Police are investigating an early morning shooting in Deep Ellum. Police responded just before 6 a.m. to reports of shots fired at a recording studio in the 2800 block of Main Street. According to police, people were inside the studio working when someone rang the bell or knocked on the door. Before someone inside could open the door a single shot was fired through the glass door striking someone inside. The victim was taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Police crime scene documented the damage, before officers left the scene around 7 a.m. No motive or suspect description has been given as of yet. The building houses two recording studios, with the one in question called Legacy. The door way glass was shattered with a visible bullet hole on Wednesday morning. The Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition got an update Wednesday on a proposed high-speed rail route connecting Dallas, Arlington and Fort Worth. A high-speed rail line connecting Dallas to Houston, being put together by Central Texas Railway, has been talked about for a number of years and currently faces some legal battles with opponents and the eminent domain being used to secure its route. The DFW high-speed route is being planned by local governments, including the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and the counties of Dallas and Tarrant. Bill Meadows is the chairman of the Commission for High-Speed Rail in Dallas-Fort Worth. He provided the coalition with an update on where things stand, most notably highlighting meetings with federal transportation and rail authorities in Washington D.C. late last year. The irony of high-speed rail is that it is a slow moving process to take from dream to reality. In March of this year the DFW line began seeking private sector proposals for the planned line. Routes are currently being analyzed and could be picked by the end of the year or in 2017. The Dallas to Arlington to Fort Worth route would tie-in to the Houston line, creating a system of high-speed rail. Its something Meadows said is important to the regions transportation needs. I think people recognize the importance of some alternatives as we begin to recognize that our effort to continue to build roadway infrastructure is not going to meet the demands of the Texas in 2030 or 2040, Meadows said. Meadows told the coalition you have to believe in these projects and work on the next steps to make it a reality one day. He highlighted the decades long desire to build what is now the Chisholm Trail Parkway in Tarrant County. Currently a local government corporation is being developed by the partners on the DFW line. That corporation would put the local project together. The local entities are also working on a memorandum of understanding with Central Texas Railway. Meadows said its critical to that line to have the two million or so residents on the western edge of the Metroplex to have access to it. A forum on high-speed rail in DFW is slated to take place later this summer. Meadows said Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is supportive of the line because it is a local or regional initiative, not a state or federally created transportation network. A 20-year-old man has been convicted of aggravated assault over the 2014 death of his prom date at a Houston hotel following the dance. Eddie M. Herrera faces up to life in prison after being convicted Wednesday in the case involving the death of 17-year-old Jacqueline Gomez. She attended MacArthur High School in the Aldine Independent School District. The couple went to the prom at the same hotel where they later shared a room. Houston police say the boyfriend said the couple drank alcohol before falling asleep. Prosecutors say Herrera and his girlfriend took prescription painkillers and the girl was choked during sex. Herrera's mother, Melissa Ann Martinez, awaits trial on charges of providing drugs and alcohol to the underage couple. The Texas legal drinking age is 21. Three American citizens abducted last month in the northern state of Tamaulipas, across the border from Texas, were rescued by Mexican police in a confrontation in which a suspected kidnapper was killed, authorities said Tuesday. The victims were said to be from Dallas and described as in good condition. The Tamaulipas state government said the victims were freed Monday from a criminal band's camp along the highway between Ciudad Victoria and Zaragoza. It said the alleged leader of the band was killed in the operation and two suspects were detained. It added that the Americans, two women and a man, are members of the same family and are of Mexican descent. They were kidnapped April 13 while driving to a relative's funeral in the central state of San Luis Potosi, and their captors demanded a ransom. The following day U.S. consular officials sought help from Mexican authorities to search for the victims, who were located Monday evening. The Tamaulipas government said the suspects are under investigation for other abductions along the highway. The area is being fought over by two warring factions of the Zetas drug cartel. Midlothian police released the search warrant issued the day after 45-year-old Terri "Missy" Leann Bevers was killed inside the Creekside Church of Christ last month. The warrant issued late in the afternoon of April 19 and obtained May 3, states that Bevers "had multiple puncture wounds found on her head and chest" that "are consistent with tools the suspect was carrying throughout the building." // BEVERS-SW16-060 (PDF) BEVERS-SW16-060 (Text) Midlothian police released surveillance video showing a person of interest in the Bevers case walking through a church shortly before the married mother of three was killed on April 18. The warrant describes the person as wearing "a black helmet, black balaclava, dark pants, dark long sleeve shirt, black gloves, and a black vest with Police in white lettering on the front and back." The warrant says the subject is seen "walking throughout the building holding a hammer, breaking windows and going through offices." Bevers was attacked after arriving just after 4 a.m. to teach an early-morning Camp Gladiator workout class, police said. Police released a few frames of the video, 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 a longer clip showing the person walking through different parts of the church and swinging what appears to be a large hammer. Police 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 is a man. They later 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. 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 previous search warrant that Bevers had a head wound, but offered no other details about her death. 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. Tuesday was eviction day at the homeless encampment under Interstate 45 and Interstate 30 near Fair Park known as "Tent City." At one point this year, several hundred people called it home. They even had portable restrooms and a makeshift store with food and drinks for sale. But early Tuesday morning, Dallas police officers and city workers kicked out the last 80 people from the last section of the encampment. "They came over and shut one section down, gated it off. Woke us all up this morning and said, you gotta go. If you dont, go youre going to jail. So we all came down here," said Rhonda from Indiana, who declined to give her last name. Rhonda is one of roughly 60 people who are setting up a new encampment roughly 500 yards away under a different underpass---near Good Latimer Expressway and Logan Street. "So, is this now the new Tent City?" asked NBC 5."Actually, from what I hear, this was the old Tent City," she replied. There is frequent violence in those camps, according to residents--shootings and stabbings, largely because of drug sales. "They need to let us be. Theres rowdy people who do their drugs or whatever. Im not one of them, I drink. I stay to myself," Rhonda said. But city officials say it's a public health and public safety issue to let these homeless villages grow. And after increasing complaints from nearby homeowners and community groups, the city is re-focused in fencing those areas off. Yet, new tent-encampments are starting to pop up in that same area near Fair Park. Within an hour of the official City of Dallas tweet announcing that "all sections of Tent City are closed", NBC 5 spotted dozens of people shuffling down the street, trying to find a new spot to set up a tent, all while trying to avoid being stopped by patrolling police officers or city staffers. "This is my opinion. Let the people be that dont make no problems. But the people who come down here and shoot off guns and stuff, thats who they need to do deal with, that sell dope," Rhonda opined. The City of Dallas in recent weeks has helped dozens of homeless Tent City residents. Volunteers have helped get IDs for folks, offered them rides to shelters, provided information on long-term housing and helped connect homeless veterans with VA resources. Elected city leaders, county leaders and health officials have made frequent visits to the Tent City camp to speak with residents and try to get them into better situations. On Tuesday, Dallas street crews put up many new signs on concrete pillars that warn people to stay away; and in recent weeks, many new chain-link fences have gone up to close off those underpasses. The message is clear-- underneath Dallas overpasses, is not a place to call home. Ted Cruz is ending his campaign for president, putting Donald Trump on a glide path to claim the Republican Party's nomination. "The movement that you have started is incredible. From the beginning I said I will continue on as long as there is a path to victory. Tonight Im sorry to say that path has been foreclosed," Cruz told a group of Indiana supporters Tuesday night. "Together we left it all on there on the field in Indiana. but voters chose another path. With a heavy heart we are suspending our campaign." The conservative firebrand and Texas senator had tried to cast himself as the only viable alternative to the billionaire businessman. But his campaign said he was to announce his decision to drop out of the race after losing to Trump in Tuesday's Indiana primary. Trump took a major step toward sewing up the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday with a victory in Indiana's primary election, dashing the hopes of rival Ted Cruz and other GOP forces who fear the brash businessman will doom their party in the general election. Donald Trump took a major step toward sewing up the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday with a victory in Indianas primary election, dashing the hopes of rival Ted Cruz and other GOP forces who fear the brash businessman will doom their party in the general election. While Trump can't mathematically clinch the GOP nomination with his victory in Indiana, his path now becomes easier and he has more room for error in the remaining primary contests. The real estate mogul will collect at least 45 of Indiana's 57 delegates, and now needs less than 200 more in upcoming contests. "Thank you Indiana, we were just projected to be the winner," Trump wrote on Twitter. "We have won in every category. You are very special people -- I will never forget!" Cruz, who hasn't topped Trump in a month, campaigned vigorously in Indiana, securing the endorsement of the state's governor and announcing businesswoman Carly Fiorina as his running mate. But he appeared to lose momentum in the final days of campaigning and let his frustration with Trump boil over Tuesday, calling the billionaire "amoral" and a "braggadocious, arrogant buffoon." Tuesday evening, Cruz dropped out of the race. Cruz formally suspends campaign Julie Fine (@JulieFineNBC5) May 4, 2016 Trump responded by saying Cruz "does not have the temperament to be president of the United States." Earlier Tuesday Trump had rehashed unsubstantiated claims that the Texan's father, Rafael Cruz, appeared in a 1963 photograph with John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald -- citing a report first published by the National Enquirer. Whether a united Republican Party is even possible with Trump at the helm remains highly uncertain. Even before the Indiana results were finalized, some conservative leaders were planning a Wednesday meeting to assess the viability of launching a third party candidacy to compete with Trump in the fall. One outside group trying to stop Trump suggested it would shift its attention to helping Republicans in other races. Rory Cooper, a senior adviser to the Never Trump super PAC, said the group will help protect "Republican incumbents and down-ballot candidates, by distinguishing their values and principles from that of Trump, and protecting them from a wave election." Only about half of Indiana's Republican primary voters said they were excited or even optimistic about any of their remaining candidates becoming president, according to exit polls. Still, most said they probably would support whoever won for the GOP. The exit polls were conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks. A fall showdown between Clinton and Trump would pit one of Democrats' most experienced political figures against a first-time candidate who is deeply divisive within his own party. Cruz and other Republicans have argued that Trump would be roundly defeated in the general election, denying their party the White House for a third straight term. Trump has now won seven straight primary contests and has 80 percent of the delegates needed to secure the GOP nomination. With his victory in Indiana, Trump now has at least 1,041 delegates. Cruz has 565 and Ohio Gov. John Kasich has 152. Pace reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Stephen Ohlemacher contributed to this report from Washington. Oakland could very well be the most pot-friendly city in the United States. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to approve sweeping new medical marijuana expansions and combat the racial equity issue that has plagued people of color, siding with those who have most been hurt by the War on Drugs. Perhaps most notably, the council voted to give half the business licenses to applicants who live within parts of Oakland that have a reputation for having higher marijuana-related arrest rates. Oakland Magazine and the East Bay Times were the first to report the news. As far as councilwoman Desley Brooks knows, Oakland is the first city in the United States to present an Equity Amendment ordinance in respect to marijuana. When you look at cannabis industry across nation, Brooks told NBC Bay Area on Wednesday, its dominated by people who are white and they make money. And the people who go to jail are black and brown. I wanted some parity. There needs to be equity in this industry. Brooks authored the amendment. Adam Steinberg, the business manager at Flow Kana a marijuana collective that stands to financially benefit from the new rules, was at the meeting. He told NBC Bay Area he thinks it's a good idea to give back to "a community that's been negatively impacted by the 'War on Drugs' and our nation's failed drug policies." In addition, the council voted to add eight medical marijuana dispensary permits each year, and an unlimited number of marijuana-related type businesses to operate within city limits, giving a nod to the fact that delivering pot to medical card holders on bikes and Uber has been taking off recently. All this is great news for Steinberg's company. "Oakland now has a huge opportunity to take the lead," he said, "to be the cannabis capital of California." Even though he is white, Steinberg said he thinks the move by the council is the right one in terms of racial justice. The decision, no matter how controversial, also means more medical marijuana money for Oakland. Last year, the eight dispensaries already operating in the city generated roughly $4 million in taxes, Greg Minor, an assistant to the city administrator, told the council. Just imagine, he said, how much more money the city would glean with nearly 100 more pot-related businesses. At the meeting, nearly all of the people who addressed the council were pro-cannabis, the East Bay Times and Oakland Magazine reported. But, many also were critical of a late-agenda add that requires half of the business licenses be issued to applicants living within certain swaths of the city identified as having higher marijuana-related arrest rates. Under the amendment, applicants who live in those neighborhoods would be required to maintain at least a 51 percent ownership in the business. A second amendment also includes people who had previously been arrested in Oakland and incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses. Brooks downplayed any worries that giving business licenses to those who have been arrested for pot would yield any harm. Sixty seven percent of people in Oakland voted for marijuana to be a low-level priority, Brooks said, meaning that most people in the city dont consider being arrested for having pot a big deal. Coincidentally, the federal government decided not to prosecute Harborside Health Center in Oakland on Wednesday, after a four-year effort to seize the dispensary. She also cited the most recent news, where a coalition that includes former Facebook President Sean Parker and backed by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the nation's leading marijuana advocacy groups says it has collected 600,000 signatures, a lot more than the 365,000 needed, well ahead of the July 5 deadline. Legalizing marijuana is most likely going to be put to California voters in November. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved a $1.3 million settlement for the family of a father of three who was struck and killed by a sheriff's patrol car during a pursuit. On Oct. 8, 2012, Alfonso Cerda was riding his bike when sheriff's deputies tried to make an arrest. The squad car from the South Los Angeles station collided with Cerda about 1:25 a.m. in the 3500 block of West 107th Street in Inglewood. Cerda, 44, was pronounced dead at a hospital. The Sheriff's Department initially reported that deputies believed Cerda was armed with a gun, but later retracted that statement. "While the deputies exited their vehicle, the suspect fled on his bicycle," according to the original statement released by the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau. "Seconds later, the suspect brandished a gun toward the deputies. One deputy took cover, while the other deputy followed the suspect in his marked unit. The deputy attempted to get ahead of him, and a traffic collision occurred between the marked unit and the suspect." Four days later, the Sheriff's Department issued a statement saying the earlier report of a gun was inaccurate. "No weapon was recovered or was believed to be in Mr. Cerda's possession at the time of the incident," according to the later statement, which failed to disclose the original reason deputies tried to make an arrest. At a vigil for his father, Alfonso Cerda Jr. said his dad never carried a weapon. "If he was on his bike he had a flashlight, his wallet, and that's it and his happiness," his son said. Cerda died of blunt force upper body injuries, according to records on the county coroner's website, which also listed "cardiomegaly; probable methamphetamine effect" under "other significant causes." Cardiomegaly is an enlarged heart. Citing the risks and uncertainties of litigation, county lawyers recommended settlement. Requests for the board to approve a settlement in excess of $100,000 typically include a Corrective Action Plan that includes some detail about the incident that sparked the lawsuit, a review of investigations that followed and actions taken in order to avoid similar future incidents, including disciplinary action. In this case, the Corrective Action Plan was not publicly disclosed because it contains "confidential peace officer personnel matters," according to a county spokesman. Streets were closed in a Hollywood neighborhood Wednesday morning during a search following a shooting that involved an off-duty officer. The officer on his way to work opened fire at about 5:30 a.m. near Van Ness and Franklin avenues during what police described as a confrontation with a man. Details regarding the confrontation and the man's description were not immediately available. Other officers responded to the area after a call for help from the officer, a 20-year veteran. Residents reported the sound of at least one gunshot followed by a police response. "Other residents were out, trying to figure out what was going on," said resident Clay Summers. Authorities said they are searching for at least one person in the area. SWAT and K-9 units responded to the neighborhood, just northeast of the 101 Freeway. Police called off the search by 5 p.m. No injuries were reported. It was not immediately clear whether the subject sought by police has a weapon. Franklin Avenue was closed near Taft Avenue during the search. Students at Cheremoya Elementary School were re-directed to Le Conte Middle School due to the police activity. A 24-year-old Southern California artist who painted a portrait of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump in the nude said she was punched in the face by an attacker who yelled "Trump 2016." The Los Angeles Police Department was investigating the assault Tuesday, but Illma Gore said the attack wasn't the first she has dealt with since painting Trump in a portrait depicting the GOP front-runner with small genitals. "I have received threats of violence and people say they were coming to kill me," Gore said. Illma Gore On Friday, Gore was suddenly confronted by a violent, shirtless stranger in broad daylight. She was walking to an art supply store near La Cienega Boulevard at the time. "All I could hear was 'Trump 2016,'" Gore said. A group of men traveling in a black Honda Civic stopped beside her on the sidewalk, according to Gore. "He got out and punched me in the face and said 'Trump 2016' then he drove off," Gore said. Gore went to the LAPD and immediately reported the assault. "She sustained severe injuries," said Mike Lopez of the LAPD. "We are aware of the incident and we are investigating." Gore's controversial pastel drawing of a naked Donald Trump titled "Make America Great Again" shows the Republican front-runner with small genitals because of how he was "boasting" about his endowment during the March presidential debate, she said. [NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail "I have no regrets. I would do it all over again," Gore said. But it does make her concerned about free speech. "I am scared for America, and for the future for myself and for artists," Gore said. "Whoever hit me should take responsibility for their actions as well. It's cowardly not to." In an interview with police, Gore described the man who hit her as shirtless and wearing a red cap and red shorts. She estimated he was about 25 years old. The LAPD is looking into whether any surveillance from the area may help lead to an arrest. More than a month after Verizon sold off its landlines by the millions, angry customers are reaching out to NBC4 to say that the problems persist. Eighty-three-year-old Santa Fe Springs resident Marlene Vernava said her service was out for seven days. On an oxygen tank 24 hours a day, Vernava said her landline is critical because it is connected to her medical alert system that tells family and doctors if something is wrong. The day after NBC4 investigated Vernava's story, Frontier and Verizon technicians came out to fix the problem the next day, she said. On Sunday, her line which she calls quite literally her "life line" went dead again. "I've no phone, no Lifeline. Zippo!" Vernava said Tuesday night. And she is not the only one complaining since Frontier switched over more than a million Verizon customers on April 1. Weeks ago, dozens of Verizon customers now Frontier customers reached out to NBC4, frustrated with the switch over. Two weeks prior, Vernava thought her problems were solved when the technicians helped her. "I'm going, 'Oh no, not again. Don't do this to me,'" Vernava said. Vernava says it's not anything she's doing wrong. "I've had this same phone number for 50 years," Vernava said. The only change she says is the phone company. Frontier Communications responded to NBC'4s inquiries about Vernava's phone Tuesday night. The communication company said her phone wasn't working initially because the plug was accidentally knocked out. Vernava's family said that claim is not true. Frontier Communications issued the following statement to NBC4 in the original story: "As you know, Frontier Communications is in the process of completing the transition of over one million voice, video, data and FiOS customers in California to the Frontier network. We are working quickly to restore any service issues. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience. If any of your viewers are expressing concern over Video on Demand (VOD), please let them know VOD content has been available since Saturday, April 2. We are working to complete the transition of more content to our VOD library and the most popular titles are available now. "Residential customers in need of assistance should call 1-800-921-8101. Business customers should dial 1-800-921-8102. Customers can also contact Frontier Customer Service via Live Chat, by going to the Contact Us page in the Help Center at www.MeetFrontier.com." Following NBC4 sharing Vernava's story, her sister reported Wednesday that the phone was fixed at 8 a.m. She also said a Frontier Executive, Conrad Christian, apologized and gave them his personal line to call if they have future issues. Dozens more customers reached out to NBC4 via email, social media and more expressing frustration over the takeover after Vernava's story aired. Assemblyman Mike Gatto also issued a statement, saying: "These problems need to be resolved swiftly. Cities are unable to live stream council meetings and residents are at risk because of the inability to dial 911 in an emergency. My committee will hold hearings on the impact on our constituents and the appropriate government response if these problems persist." Editor's Note: This story was originally posted on Tuesday, May 3, 2016. A man has been arrested in the abduction and death of an 11-year-old girl whose body was found on the Navajo Nation land in New Mexico, the FBI announced Tuesday night, NBC News reported. The arrest was made hours after the FBI pledged to "leave no stone unturned" in the hunt for whoever abducted Ashlynn Mike near her home Monday. The child's body was found Tuesday morning near the Shiprock monument. Tom Begaye, 27, of Waterflow, New Mexico, was arrested late Tuesday and is due to appear in court Wednesday, the FBI said. Further details were not immediately released. The girl was kidnapped along with her 9-year-old brother at around 2:30 p.m. MT Monday outside their San Juan County home, and the boy was later found walking on a road south of the monument, officials told NBC affiliate KOB. Her body was found at around 11:30 a.m., the Navajo Nation and FBI said. What to Know Police say man who attacked a Metrobus driver and hijacked his bus is now in custody. A pedestrian was fatally struck in gas station parking lot. The bus driver managed to get off the bus, but suffered a back injury in the process. A man attacked a Metrobus driver with needle-nose pliers Tuesday morning and took control of the bus, D.C. police said. The hijacker then crashed the bus into a gas station parking lot, hitting a man who later died. Over the course of just three minutes, the hijacker boarded the bus in Northeast D.C., attacked the driver and ran over the pedestrian, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said. "People were just screaming, 'Somebody hit, Somebody hit,'" said Darius Johnson, a worker at a nearby Wendy's restaurant. "When we looked, it was just chaos." The victim, Anthony Payne, 40, of northwest Washington, was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police said the hijacker, Keith Loving, 30, of northeast Washington boarded the bus in the 3800 block of Jay Street in Northeast D.C. about 10:30 a.m. When the bus arrived at its next stop, Loving got up and attacked the driver with the tool, police said. The driver managed to get off the bus but suffered a back injury. He was expected to recover. Passengers on the bus saw the attack and ran out the back door, Lanier said. Loving then drove the bus a short distance, causing several crashes along the way, police said. He sideswiped a van carrying senior citizens, its driver told News4. "We were trying to call the police and let the police officer know that this bus was being attacked. The person that hijacked the bus, he was going so fast," the van driver said, asking that her name be withheld. A short time later, police said Loving veered over a curb into the parking lot of a gas station at the corner of Minnesota and Nannie Helen Burroughs avenues. The bus ran over a gas station worker, identified later as Payne, who had been taking out the trash. Payne was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead. He picked up odd jobs and had been working for the gas station, employee Isas Haile said. "He's honest. He's very good guy. He's good person," he said. Police officers surrounded the bus, guns drawn, and were able to subdue and arrest Loving, police and witnesses said. "He was violent and resisting the officers when they took him off the bus," Lanier said. "It's a bizarre incident," she added. It wasn't immediately clear if Loving had an attorney. Police initially said juveniles hijacked the bus, but later said just one man committed the crime. Loving is known to police in the area, sources said. Police said he was charged with second-degree murder. The hijacking is raising questions about the safety of bus drivers and their passengers. No protective shield separated the bus driver from passengers. All new buses purchased by Metro will be equipped with the shields, Metro Transit Police Chief Ron Pavlik previously said. Fewer than one quarter of Metrobuses were equipped with the shields as of Tuesday, a Metro representative said. Of the 1,542 buses Metro operates, 326 buses have the shields. Another 531 buses will have the safety devices by the end of 2016. The shields are typically used in areas where drivers have previously had trouble, the Metro representative said. Metrobus drivers suffered at least 170 assaults on the job within a three-year span, a 2014 report by the News4 I-Team found. Bus passengers have assaulted drivers in broad daylight, in front of children and because they didn't want to pay bus fare. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren blasted Republican front-runner Donald Trump after his victory Tuesday in Indiana, saying the billionaire businessman has more support from the KKK than the GOP. "There's more enthusiasm for @realDonaldTrump among leaders of the KKK than leaders of the party he now controls," Warren, a Democrat, tweeted after Trump was declared the winner of Indiana's primary and rival Ted Cruz ended his bid for the White House. Warren criticized Trump for "[building] his campaign on racism, sexism, and xenophobia." [NATL] Highlights From the 2016 Campaign Trail She also called him out for "cheerleading illegal torture" and fostering warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In her final thought, Warren vowed to fight "to make sure Trump's toxic stew of hatred & insecurity never reaches the White House." The senator has yet to endorse a candidate, but her name has been floated as a possible vice presidential pick for both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Trump has not publicly responded to Warren's criticism. The mother of one of the three teens charged in the killing of a young boy in Miami-Dade who is accused of tampering with evidence will be allowed to post bond. Tameka Thompson appeared in court Wednesday where a Miami-Dade judge agreed to a $40,000 bond with house arrest. She's also been ordered to stay away from her son, 18-year-old Leonard Adams. Detectives said Adams, Irwen Pressley and Tamar Teems got into a shootout sparked by a social media feud in February. King Carter, 6, was outside the apartment complex where he lived and was caught in the crossfire. Police said Thompson tried to get rid of the car used in the shooting, which was full of bullet holes, by paying an acquaintance $50. The black Lexus was later found at a junkyard. Thompson has been charged with one count of tampering with physical evidence and witness tampering in a capital felony. Adams, Pressley and Teems are all being held without bond. The senseless death of the young boy angered the community and many held vigils and marched in Carter's memory. Wealthy fashionistas and celebrities from around the world flocked beneath klieg lights on a grand Havana colonial avenue transformed into a private runway for French fashion house Chanel. With hundreds of security agents holding ordinary Cubans behind police lines blocks away, actors Tilda Swinton and Vin Diesel, supermodel Gisele Bundchen and Cuban music stars Gente de Zona and Omara Portuondo watched slender models sashay down Prado boulevard in casual summer clothes that seemed inspired by the Art Deco elegance of pre-revolutionary Cuba. With the heart of the Cuban capital effectively privatized by an international corporation under the watchful eye of the Cuban state, the premiere of Chanel 2016/2017 "cruise" line offered a startling sight in a country officially dedicated to social equality and the rejection of material wealth. Chanel welcomed the chance to show its creations in an unusual spot. "To explore new horizons is a way to fire imaginations and renew the vision of our brand while sharing the culture and heritage of the locations chosen for our fashion shows," it said in a statement. The show was the most extreme manifestation to date of the hot new status Cuba has assumed in the international art and cultural scene since the December 2014 declaration of detente with the United States. President Barack Obama visited in March, the Rolling Stones performed in Havana the same week, the first U.S. cruise in nearly four decades docked Monday and the latest installment of the multibillion-dollar "Fast and Furious" action movie franchise is filming here now. Many Cubans say they are delighted their country is opening itself to the world, offering ordinary people a firsthand look at celebrities and extravagant productions. But the rampant display of wealth on the streets of Havana is providing fodder for many already disenchanted by Cuba's failure to deliver on promises of socialist equality. Mabel Fernandez, a radio announcer, arrived four hours before the start of the show eager to give her 14-year-old daughter a taste of a world of international fashion that the girl had only seen on television and in movies. "We need this type of novel event so people can know more of culture," she said. But as police swarmed the area in the hours before the show, virtually all residents of the capital were swept behind yellow barricades and unbroken lines of uniformed and plainclothes police at least a block away. Reinaldo Fonseca, a local model, stood with a group of friends similarly trying to make their careers in fashion and watched as rich foreigners with invitations arrived at the event in specially rented antique American sedans. "It's a shame they don't let us pass," she said. Firefighters were able to rescue a man who nearly drowned while trapping crabs in a canal in North Miami Beach Wednesday. The incident happened in the area of Biscayne Boulevard and 163rd Street. The man, identified as Alfredo Ramon, got tied up in a rope when he went to retrieve a trap. When firefighters arrived they say he was in eminent danger as the current was moving fast. Firefighters were able to bring Ramon back to shore where he was checked out. Police say the grandson of a couple found slain inside their north Florida home is a person of interest in the case. The Ocala Star-Banner reports 32-year-old Terrance Hurst was arrested Monday in Pinellas County on an unrelated charge of driving with a suspended or revoked license. He remained in jail there and records don't indicate whether he has a lawyer. The bodies of 81-year-old Robert Roy Schwamberger and 77-year-old Ruth Amelia Schwamberger were found Sunday in their Ocala home. The newspaper reports detectives drained the couple's pool on Tuesday, but didn't say what they were looking for. The cause of death has not been released either. Police in Largo stopped Hurst on Monday after spotting him driving the couple's car. Detectives spoke to him on Monday night. Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board have released new details after a small plane to crashed into a Pompano Beach neighborhood last week. According to the NTSB report, the Beech 76 twin-engine airplane was destroyed just after takeoff from the Pompano Beach Airpark on Monday, April 25. Smoke was seen for miles after the plane went down around 3 p.m., crashing next to several houses in the 900 block of Harbour Drive. Two men and a woman were on board the plane. All three survived the crash but suffered severe injuries with burns on 30-40 percent of their bodies, according to officials. According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, 40-year-old Geoffrey White was piloting the plane. Students Sylvia Mena, 23, and Fernando Diaz, 25, were also on board. Mena remains at Jackson Memorial Hospital in good condition. The NTSB report indicates that an air traffic controller cleared the plane for takeoff and watched it make a normal departure and right turn. When the plane was about 400 to 500-feet in the air, it made a sharp right then a sharp left then took a steep nose down toward the ground. The plane then disappeared behind a tree line followed by an explosion. The controller told investigators he didn't hear the plane but said the landing gear was retracted. A second controller on the ground told investigators that the plane made a "hard left turn from a southerly heading to a northerly heading" before disappearing behind trees and appearing to level out. That controller also reported seeing smoke and fire soon after. Investigators also looked at the plane wreckage and determined that the plane initially hit a home. The plane's fuel tank breached, causing a section of that home to catch fire. As the plane continued to descend, investigators say it hit a wooden fence, several trees and a concrete wall of another home before landing in a backyard. They say the plane finally came to rest about 150 feet away from that initial point of impact. A fire started in the plane's cockpit, fuselage and portions of the left and right wings. The plane also sustained damage from the impact of the crash. The report indicates that the flight instructor was certified and had reported 1,000 flight hours in his last first class FAA medical. The male student had logged about 218.6 hours, 2.4 of which were on the plane involved in the crash. No information was available on the female student. The report did not specify what caused the plane to crash. Officials say it could take up to a year for that information to be determined and released. The plane was registered to N6709Y LLC and operated by Florida Aviation Academy in Pompano Beach. According to FAA representatives, the instructor was providing multi-engine training for the two students at the time of the crash. This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available. Billionaire Thomas Golisano is suing his New York-based interior decorator, claiming she overcharged him hundreds of thousands of dollars for furnishings for his 240-foot Palm Beach County, Florida yacht. The Democrat and Chronicle reports that Golisano, founder of Rochester-based payroll processing firm Paychex Inc., has filed a civil lawsuit against Norma Goldman in state Supreme Court in Rochester. Golisano claims Goldman's $845,000 bill for work she did on the West Palm Beach-based Laurel was $400,000 too high. The furnishings reportedly included $7,692 on four chaise lounges and $2,252 for "dream cushions" to cover them, as well as a $3,338 ottoman that cost $600 to upholster. He says the decorator overcharged him by reneging on a verbal agreement to sell Golisano the furnishings at her wholesale price. Goldman denies promising that the furnishings wouldn't be marked up. The 74-year-old Golisano's main residence is in Florida. The former owner of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres also has a home in suburban Rochester. Laurel, a 240-foot, custom-built "superyacht" sleeps 12 and has a crew of 22. Interested customers can lease Laurel for roughly $605,000 per week. A Pompano Beach, Florida, homeowner, whose backyard was obliterated after a small plane crash in April, said Tuesday he is lucky the plane missed the house. Robb Shannon's backyard was annihilated eight days ago when a single-engine plane tore through his property. "We're so lucky it didn't hit our house," Shannon told NBC 6. "Our neighbor's house got hit and there's damage over there. So tough because it's really inconvenient for them." Two men and a woman were on board the plane. All three survived the crash but suffered severe injuries with burns on 30-40 percent of their bodies, according to officials. The plane was piloted by 40-year-old Geoffrey White and flight students Sylvia Mena, 23, and Fernando Diaz, 25, were also on board, according to the Broward Sheriff's Office. Cellphone video shows how fierce the flames were after the crash. Neighbors tried to put the fire out with hoses. Shannon rushed home to find his backyard ruined and covered in soot. But his neighbor to the south got it much worse. The back-end of the house was torched; a pile of mangled metal that used to be furniture now sits in the backyard. "The plane clipped the wires and between the fire and damage to the electrical, they'll have to do a total remodel. So it might be weeks before they even have power reinstalled," Shannon said. Contractors have been working nonstop to clean up the mess and repair fences. Crews even drained Shannon's pool to make sure there were no submerged plane parts. The entire wreckage was removed and loaded onto tow trucks last week. The FAA and NTSB are trying to figure out what caused the plane to come down, although a pilot flying behind the aircraft reported the engine stalled. Despite all the damage, Shannon said he's not worried about it happening again. "They say lightning only strikes once in the same place so, the plane is out of the way. It's time to put everything back together and it'll be better than before," he said. Florida Aviation Academy owns the plane. Shannon said the company's insurance, AIG, had been quick to respond. An animal farm on Stock Island in Key West has a very uncommon set of caretakers. From a pig named Wilbur to an alpaca named Snowflake, those are just some of the welcoming faces you'll see at the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Children's Animal Farm. But this isn't your every day petting zoo. In true Key West style, there is something a little different. The animals are taken care of by inmates. "It is very unique to actually be in jail and at the same time be out in the open, in the air, enjoying. So it's kinda like a positive alternative to a negative consequence," said Seth Beckman, inmate. "This is a unique, unusual situation at the jail and it's really the only one in the country that has a petting zoo," said Jeanne Selander, animal farm supervisor. The sprawling farm is located underneath the Stock Island Detention Center which is elevated 11-feet above the ground to withstand hurricanes. "We take in animals which have been abandoned, abused, confiscated or donated and we provide a forever home and one of the unique things about this farm is that the inmates actually provide the labor to care for the animals," Selander explained. All the inmates who volunteer in the program are serving time for non-violent offenses. They leave their cells daily to feed and tend to the animals and even build and improve their enclosures. They say it's a win-win, with benefits for the animals and the inmates. "You could say it's therapeutic in a way. It's peaceful. It's actually a cool feeling. When a bull runs up to you because he knows you're bringing him food, so it is a pretty cool feeling," said Adam Korzen, inmate. "I feel free. I feel like I can escape without technically escaping. So it's always a plus to get outdoors, interact with animals," Beckman said. "Animals give unconditional love and you can really see the changes in the inmates from when they start working on the farm until they leave," Selander said. The farm started in 1994 with just a few ducks and now it's expanded to over 150 animals. "We have a ring tailed lemur, we have two kinkajous, we have a sloth named Mo who is our famous animal on the farm," Selander said. The South Florida SPCA has donated some of the animals. But the cuddly creatures have had some tough lives too, either being abandoned, rescued or confiscated, so they live out their days in these forever homes, a life sentence of sorts. As for the inmates, they say they are grateful for this time with the wildlife which helps get their minds off being behind bars. Some inmates even want to come back after they've served their time, wearing different clothes of course. "I'll come down and visit the animals not wearing orange," Korzen said. "They bring their kids back to the farm which is amazing because who wants to come back to the jail? And I love an open house day where I see inmates come back in regular clothes with their families and they're proud of what they did," Selander said. Selander wants to keep improving the farm and hopes to inspire more programs like this one, "You don't feel like you're at a jail when you come here. You do see razor wire, you do see a couple of inmates in orange, but they're very respectful." The animal farm relies completely on donations. If you are interested in checking out the animals, the farm is open to the public every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month from 1-3 p.m. For more information, call (305) 293-7300 or click here. The farm is located at 5501 College Road. A man who abducted a woman at gunpoint outside her Hollywood home and forced her to drive to an ATM was arrested after the woman jumped from her moving car to escape, police said. Bernard Deandre Owens, 21, was arrested Tuesday on charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to a Hollywood Police report. Owens appeared in court Wednesday where he was ordered held without bond. It's unknown if he's hired an attorney. According to the arrest report, the victim said she had picked up her mail and was sitting in her car talking to her husband in the 5800 block of Lincoln Street Tuesday evening when she was approached by Owens, who was on a bicycle. Owens pointed a handgun at her and told her to open the back door of her car or he would kill her, the report said. He then jumped in the back and ordered her to drive and she started driving while he pointed a gun at her head, the report said. The woman's husband who was still on the phone was asking what was happening but she was too afraid to tell him, the report said. The husband called 911 and officers responded to their home. Owens took the woman's purse and cellphone and demanded she drive to an ATM, where he made her withdraw $400, the report said. He then ordered her to drive back home and called someone and told the person that the woman was doing good and that the person should meet him at the home, the report said. The woman said when she turned onto her street she saw police cars in front of her home and she jumped out of her moving car, the report said. Owens also jumped out of the car and tried to flee on foot but was quickly caught, the report said. "Thank God I'm alive," victim Priscilla Cercone said Wednesday. Carcone also said she had compassion for Owens' family. "He has family I believe because nobody comes out of nothing and he probably has family and he doesn't know how his family is right now," she said. The report said Owens is a convicted felon in Florida for robbery with a weapon. Sean Penn has settled a defamation lawsuit he filed against "Empire" co-creator Lee Daniels over remarks that accused him of domestic abuse. The confidential settlement Wednesday ends the case filed after Daniels made comments comparing Penn to "Empire" star Terrence Howard, who's been repeatedly accused of domestic violence. Daniels apologized to Penn and retracted his statements. He also made a donation to Penn's charity. No details of the size of the donation to Haitian relief were made public. Penn accepted the apology. The statements were contained as exhibits in the legal paperwork. Penn filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against Daniels in Manhattan civil court in September denying he had abused women, including ex-wife Madonna. Madonna filed a sworn declaration in December supporting Penn and saying the two-time Oscar-winning actor had never physically abused her. Penn won best actor awards for "Mystic River" in 2004 and "Milk" in 2009. Schools in several New Jersey town were placed on lockdown Wednesday morning because of reports about an escaped prisoner in the area, a law enforcement source told NBC 4 New York. Barnegat Township police announced that schools in the Ocean County town were being placed on lockdown at about 11 a.m. but said there was no threat to the schools. Police were also urging motorists and pedestrians to avoid West Bay Avenue while the looked for the escapee, identified as Arthur Buckel. Surf City police also said that schools there were placed on lockdown. Corrections Department spokesman Matt Schuman said the 38-year-old inmate was missing when guards at the Ancora unit of Bayside State Prison in Winslow Township did a count at 6 a.m. Tuesday. Schuman said Buckel, whose last known address was Clifton, was serving a sentence at the minimum security lockup for aggravated assault. He was scheduled to be paroled on May 21. It wasn't clear how -- or if -- Buckel could have made the more than 40 miles journey from the Camden County prison to the Ocean City township. Schuman said Buckel could face an addition 3 to 5 years in prison for escaping once he's recaptured. Anyone with information should call the Barnegat Township Police Department at 609-698-5000. A vigil has been held for a New Jersey Institute of Technology student shot to death during a burglary at a fraternity house near the school. Joseph Micalizzi was killed early Monday at the Tau Kappa Epsilon house. People formed a ring at the Newark campus Tuesday night, lighting candles in Micalizzi's memory and sharing memories they had with him. The Freehold man had been a member of the fraternity and a mechanical engineering major. He was in his second year at NJIT after transferring from Brookdale Community College in Monmouth County. The university says it plans to ramp up patrols and distribute information on safety resources, including campus police escorts. Essex County prosecutors say no arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified. A Connecticut race car driver was among the three people killed in the small plane crash on Long Island Tuesday afternoon, NBC Connecticut reports, citing multiple friends of the man. David Berube was one of three people on board the single-engine Beech BE35 plane when it broke apart in the air and crashed onto the ground in Syosset, friends told the Connecticut news station. The bodies of Berube, another man and a woman were recovered from the scene. Berube is also the registered owner of the plane. The Hartford Courant reports Berube, 66, raced at numerous tracks in New England between 1990 and 2013. He was also a small business owner in Bristol. Berube drove in the Valenti Modified Racing Series from 2004 to 2013, the Courant reported. The organization mourned his death in a Facebook posting, calling him a "true gentleman." Nassau County Police Chief of Department Steven Skrynecki said police tentatively identified the three victims in the crash, but that they were not yet releasing their identities. The families have been notified. Skrynecki said that the bodies of the three victims were found near a school. One was found in a school parking lot, a second was discovered in the woods nearby, while the third was located about 50 yards from that. The revelation comes less than an hour after National Transportation Safety Board senior investigator Robert Gretz said Wednesday that the nose, tail and wings from the plane, and that they'd been able to clean up enough of the wreckage from the one-third-mile debris field to reopen roadways. But he added that they still don't know what caused the plane come apart and crash. That determination could take six to 12 months as investigators look into the mechanical, weather and human factors that may have played a part. "This is day two of an investigation that will take six to 12 months," he said. Gretz said that most of the debris from the plane -- which was traveling from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to Plainville, Connecticut -- collected around five sites over the 1/3 mile site, making cleanup and preliminary investigation difficult. He said there was no evidence that there was an explosion midair, and that the spread of the wreckage suggested the plane came apart while it was flying. Gretz said that while it's not unheard of for a plane to come apart midair, it's not a routine investigation. "It's not a common investigation for us," Gretz said. "It does happen. In 18 years, I've probably worked five or 10 of them." Gretz said that they're looking into the failure of instruments in the plane's instrument panel -- similar to a car dashboard -- before the plane broke apart. In mayday calls, the pilot of the craft mentioned the plane's vacuum pump, which controls pressure to several parts of the instrument panel, failing. Police said that there was only minor property damage at one house that was hit by a falling wing in Tuesday's crash. No other damage or injuries were reported. They also asked anyone who found small pieces of debris over the next several days to call police or turn the wreckage into local police precincts. The NTSB confirmed the Beech plane was 43 years old but said that wasn't unusual for a general aviation plane. NTSB records show the typat of plane has been involved in two prior fatal crashes in the past decade, and in one of those cases, the plane broke apart when the pilot lost control. A man with Alzheimers disease who went missing on Long Island this week has been found, police said. Thomas Webb, 81, was last seen at his home on Middle Island Boulevard in Middle Island on Tuesday afternoon. Police say he left his home in a red 1999 Chevy Suburban. He was found unharmed sometime Tuesday or Wednesday. A middle school student was stabbed while walking to school in Westchester County Wednesday morning, police said. The 14-year-old boy was stabbed in the abdomen by another student during a fight near Isaac E. Young Middle School on Centre Street in New Rochelle, police said. He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx where authorities said he was being treated for minor injuries to his abdomen. Shaketta Johnson was dropping her child off at school when she saw the 14-year-old hunched over. She and crossing guard Veronica Brown rushed over to help as the child fell down. Brown radioed for police, as Johnson aided the child. "We lifted up his shirt and saw that he had a stab wound," Johnson said. She added that it was "a nasty wound." The other student, a 13-year-old boy, was taken into custody at the scene and will be charged as a juvenile, police said. He was released into his mother's custody Wednesday. Both students are eighth graders at the school, the principal told NBC 4 New York. Parents of Isaac E. Young students have been notified of the stabbing and were allowed to take their children home Wednesday. One dad, Derek Dunston, went to check on his son after hearing about the stabbing. "I'm a single dad," Dunston said. "My son means the world to me and I just wanted to know if he was all right." The school was placed on lockdown after the stabbing. Anyone who might've witnessed the stabbing should call the New Rochelle Police Department at 914-654-2318. Kenyan police said Wednesday they have foiled a "large-scale" biological attack using anthrax by an ISIS-linked terror group, NBC News reported. Mohammed Abdi Ali, an intern at a hospital in the south of the country, is accused of radicalizing and recruiting university students and other young people into "terrorism networks," Kenya's National Police Service said in a statement. Ali was arrested under the country's terror laws in connection with the alleged plan, the statement said. Police added that Ali's wife, Nuseiba Mohammed Haji a student at Uganda's Kampala International University and her alleged "accomplice," Fatuma Mohammed Hanshi, were also arrested in Uganda. The statement did not provide further details on their alleged involvement in any plot. A Turkish parliamentary committee has approved a contentious ruling-party proposal to strip legislators of their immunity from prosecution despite punches being thrown and water bottles hurled during the debate. The proposed constitutional amendment, which could pave the way for the trial of several pro-Kurdish legislators on terror-related charges and their possible ouster from parliament, was cleared by the committee late on Monday. Pro-Kurdish party lawmakers walked out of the meeting following the brawl, which left one person with a dislocated shoulder and a second with a bloodied nose. Video filmed by legislators inside the committee room showed people throwing water bottles at each other and engaging in fist-fights. One legislator jumped into the fight from a table top and another was seen kicking an opponent. Pro-Kurdish lawmaker Mithat Sancar was heard saying that the party "would not be part of this theater that is being staged," before he and his colleagues stormed out. The amendment, which still needs to be approved by the full assembly, was proposed by the ruling party after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the pro-Kurdish party, People's Democratic Party, HDP, of being an arm of the outlawed Kurdish rebels and repeatedly called for their prosecution. The move comes amid a surge of violence in Turkey's southeast after a fragile, more than 2-year-old peace process with the rebels collapsed. Hundreds of people, including close to 400 security force members, have died in the renewed fighting, which also displaced tens of thousands of people and left some towns and districts in ruins. The HDP, which backs Kurdish and other minority rights, denies accusations that it is the political arm of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. It has called on the government to end security forces' operations in the southeast to resume peace efforts. The PKK is considered a terror organization by Turkey and its Western allies. Although the measure would lift the legal immunities of all lawmakers who have legal cases pending against them, critics say the proposed amendment particularly aims to oust HDP lawmakers from parliament. The party's two co-leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, face possible prosecution for making statements last year in support of calls for Kurdish self-rule in southeastern Turkey. On Tuesday, both the ruling party and the HDP blamed each other for the violence. "They are attacking our legislators in order to prevent the process," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. "They are trying to show parliament as a place for fighting, chaos and deadlock." Pro-Kurdish leader Demirtas said of the ruling party: "They are trying to shape Turkey through violence, arms, bullying." He also suggested that expelled legislators could form their own de-facto Kurdish parliament. "If our colleagues are arrested, their terms as legislators are ended, then all options are open for discussion," Demirtas said. "It's not the parties that create parliaments, it's the people, and if the people want it they can create more than one parliament." Ruling party lawmaker Bulent Turan said the debate on the amendment was likely to take place on May 16, with a vote two days later. Five lawmakers were hurt last week on the first day of the discussions on the amendment, which also ended in a fight. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the last of Donald Trump's rivals for the Republican nomination, suspended his presidential campaign Wednesday. "The Lord has a purpose for me as he has for everyone, and as I suspend my campaign today, I have renewed faith, deeper faith, that the Lord will show me the way forward and fulfill the purpose of my life," Kasich said in Columbus. Kasich, 63, launched his campaign last summer, the 16th Republican to join the field. The Ohio governor has been under pressure to drop out, as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz did on Tuesday, following Donald Trump's decisive victory in Indiana. His campaign has struggled to build on a strong second-place finish in the Republican primary in New Hampshire. He was unable emerge from a primary field of candidates who were more conservative, had more money and got more attention. Kasich canceled a news conference in Virginia earlier in the day, as senior campaign advisers told NBC News he would end his run for president. Kasich announced he was suspending his campaign at the end of a nearly 20- minute speech in which he extolled the virtues of America and reflected on some of the more touching moments of his campaign, mentioning a despondent supporter who asked for a hug in South Carolina. "We are, as human beings, hard-wired to give someone else a lift, to give someone else an opportunity," Kasich said, summing up his campaign message. Trump said Wednesday he would consider Kasich for the vice presidency, because he would be helpful in taking Ohio in a general election. Kasich made no mention of whether he would accept such an offer. A veteran congressman as well as governor, Kasich has consistently pointed to his experience in three broad areas of political leadership: the federal budget, national security and state government. He also spent nearly a decade at the Lehman Brothers financial services firm. As budget chairman in the House, he became an architect of a deal in 1997 that balanced the federal budget. Kasich, now in his second term in swing-state Ohio, embraces conservative ideals but bucks his party on occasion. During the campaign, Kasich has rarely offered up the type of red meat that his rivals placed at the center of their speeches. He told voters, for example, that he doesn't believe in deporting the millions of people living here illegally, because ripping people out of their homes and away from their children is un-American. And he readily admitted that working with Democrats is essential to getting things done. In April, in a last-ditch attempt to stop Trump from getting the delegates he needed for the nomination, Kasich and Cruz announced they would coordinate their primary strategies. Kasichs campaign was to cede to Cruz in Indiana, while Cruzs side would do the same for Kasich in Oregon and New Mexico. But within hours of the announcement, the alliance was already fraying when Kasich said voters in Indiana "ought to vote for me" even if he would not campaign there. Kasich, who has won only Ohio, trails badly in the delegate count, with 153 delegates toward the 1,237 needed to win. Trump has 1,053 and Cruz earned 546 before ending his campaign. When Trump became the likely Republican nominee with his win in Indiana on Tuesday, Cruz quit but Kasichs side insisted he would stay in the race. His chief strategist, John Weaver, looked ahead on Twitter to the California primary on June 7. On Wednesday, after news emerged that Kasich was dropping out, David Axelrod, the chief strategist for President Barack Obama's presidential campaign, praised the Ohio governor in a tweet. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Minneapolis is joining the investigation into the death of famed singer Prince, according to NBC News. "The US Attorneys Office and DEA are joining the Carver County Sheriffs investigation," the office's spokesperson said. "The DEA and US Attorneys Office are able to augment this local investigation with federal resources and expertise about prescription drug diversion. While this remains an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment. Prince had arranged to meet a California doctor to try to kick an addiction to painkillers shortly before his death, according to a newspaper report published Wednesday. Prince's representatives called Dr. Howard Kornfeld on April 20, the day before the musician died, to seek emergency help, attorney William Mauzy told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Mauzy, who is representing the Kornfeld family, said Kornfeld couldn't immediately meet Prince, so he sent his son Andrew on a flight from San Francisco that night to discuss treatment in a meeting planned for the next day. Mauzy said it was Andrew Kornfeld who called 911 when the 57-year-old's unresponsive body was found in an elevator at Paisley Park, Prince's suburban Minneapolis compound. Mauzy and Howard Kornfeld haven't responded to messages from The Associated Press on Wednesday morning. NBC News has not independently confirmed Mauzy's claim. A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation has told AP that investigators are looking into whether Prince died from an overdose. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to talk about the investigation. The same official also said investigators are looking at whether Prince had suffered an overdose when his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, less than a week before he died. Federal law enforcement officials told NBC News prescription painkillers were found on Prince and in his home. It is unknown if they played a role in his death. Prince's longtime lawyer, Londell McMillan, has disputed reports suggesting the iconic singer had problems with drugs or that his death was narcotics-related. Kornfeld runs Recovery Without Walls in Mill Valley, California. His website describes the practice as "specializing in innovative, evidence-based medical treatment for chronic pain and drug and alcohol addiction." Mauzy told the newspaper that Prince representatives called Kornfeld the night of April 20 because Prince "was dealing with a grave medical emergency." Howard Kornfeld sent his son to explain how the confidential treatment would work, Mauzy said. "The plan was to quickly evaluate his health and devise a treatment plan," Mauzy said. "The doctor was planning on a lifesaving mission." Mauzy said Andrew Kornfeld arrived at Paisley Park at 9:30 a.m. on April 21 and was one of three people who found Prince's body. Mauzy said it was Kornfeld who called 911. A record of the 911 call shows the caller didn't know the address of the compound and mistakenly said it was in Minneapolis, rather than in the suburb of Chanhassen. Authorities haven't released a cause of death. An autopsy was done the day after Prince's death but results, including toxicology results, weren't expected for as many as four weeks. Mauzy said Andrew Kornfeld had been interviewed by Carver County investigators. Deputy Sheriff Jason Kamerud didn't immediately respond to an email message before business hours Wednesday. A tip led the NBC 10 Investigators to an unlicensed funeral home in Chester, Pennsylvania. When our cameras captured bodies prepped for burial it led to questions [of oversight and enforcement] for those watching Pennsylvanias funeral industry. We met Leychawne Johns inside an unlicensed funeral home. He was standing over a body in a casket. Another corpse lay in a back room. According to state records Leychawne Johns is a licensed funeral trainee, meaning he can only practice under the supervision of a licensed funeral director. There are two bodies in the process of being prepared for viewing, Deputy Chester Police Commissioner Otis Blair said. Police arrived when the buildings owner, licensed funeral director Louis Hunt, called them. Hunt rents an upstairs apartment to Johns. For months now Ive been trying to let the board know that theres unlicensed activity going on in the building, Hunt said. Im calling my attorney, Johns said when asked about his license status. Johns did not provide his attorneys name or contact number. It is not the first time recently weve seen unlicensed funeral activity in a Pennsylvania funeral home. Last summer, we saw it twice in one week in Philadelphia. First police discovered decomposing bodies in Blair Hawkins unlicensed funeral home. Days later they found three decomposing in an unrefrigerated Philadelphia garage. State records show Janet Powell-Dailey ran an unlicensed funeral home for three years. Both Powell-Daily and Hawkins were charged with abuse of a corpse and are awaiting trial. Hawkins said he wont talk to us until his trial ends. Powell-Dailey and her lawyer havent returned our calls for comment. You know what, this is a tough industry, former state funeral board chairman Gregory Burrell said. Burrell has been a member of the state funeral board for six years. As chairman he was in charge of overseeing the industry. When the NBC10 Investigators went to Harrisburg to see how the board enforces unlicensed activity we watched them remove Burrell as chairman. State records show he allowed his West Philadelphia funeral homes license to lapse for four days in February. I think its a technicality because the license was gone for three days and I mean the checks and the applications were in the mail to get there on time so we would not be late, Burrell said. According to the Department of State, Burrell ran the Terry Funeral Home in West Philadelphia without a license from February 1, 2016 to February 5, 2016. The Terry Funeral Homes website shows two funerals performed during that time. Burrell said he thought the license was active. It is just baffling to me because I know we wrote the checks way in advance. Way in advance, he said. The funeral board can issue fines and revoke licenses but whether its the board chairman or someone, such as Leychawen Johns, our investigation found the state powerless to stop the unlicensed from performing funerals. We do not have the statutory authority to actually stop a person from practicing, Deputy Secretary Peter Speaks said. Speaks is in charge of Pennsylvanias professional licensing. Court records show the state regulator tried to shut down Powells funeral home last fall in Philadelphia but couldnt. State law requires proof of immediate and irreparable harm to the living. We can be effective to the extent that we are bringing attention to the fact that they are practicing without a license, Speaks said. CLICK HERE to check for a funeral home or funeral director's license. An international flight bound for Philadelphia suddenly turned around before leaving Europe Wednesday morning so that an ill passenger could get medical treatment. American Airlines Flight 717 took off from Munich, Germany shortly after noon (6 a.m. EST) bound for Philadelphia but it never made its way over the Atlantic Ocean as it made a sudden U-turn over the United Kingdom before landing in Manchester, England about 2 and half hours later. Crews would do routine safety checks of the Airbus A330-200 before allowing it continue the trip toward America. It is scheduled to take off from Manchester shortly after 3 p.m. local time and then arrive in Philadelphia, said American Airline spokesman Justin Franco. The plane wound up actually taking off again around 3:30 p.m. and was expected to land in Philly around 6:20 p.m. EST. American Airlines didn't reveal the nature of the medical emergency. As the search for an inmate who escaped from a minimum security prison weeks before he was due for parole continued Wednesday, police advised all Barnegat Township residents to stay inside their homes and keep their doors locked. Police also said a helicopter would be in the air during the search. The advisory was sent out the same day some South Jersey schools were put on lockdown. Barnegat Township Police sent out a Nixle alert that all schools in town were on lockdown "however there is not threat to schools." The Surf City Police Department also put out an alert that LBI Schools, including EJ School, were put into a "shelter in place" as a precaution with "no immediate danger" to anyone. Wednesday night Barnegat Township Police announced all schools in the district would be open Thursday. They also said police officers would be present at each of the district schools during the entire day. The lockdowns in the Ocean County Township came as police searched for escapee Arthur Buckel in the area, said police sources with knowledge of the investigation. Corrections Department spokesman Matt Schuman said the 38-year-old inmate was missing when guards at the Ancora unit of Bayside State Prison in Winslow Township did a count at 6 a.m. Tuesday. Schuman said Buckel, whose last known address was Clifton, was serving a sentence at the minimum security lockup for aggravated assault. He was scheduled to be paroled on May 21. Barnegat Police posted surveillance photos of Buckel at a CVS Wednesday morning. Buckel -- who stands 5-foot, 9-inches tall and weighs around 180 pounds -- worked as a janitor in the prison. On Tuesday, Winslow Township Police sent out a Nixle alert about the escapee and asked anyone who spots Buckel to immediately call 911. It wasn't clear how (and if) Buckel could have made the more than 40 miles journey from the Camden County prison to the Ocean City township. Schuman said Buckel could face an addition 3 to 5 years in prison for escaping once he's recaptured. The driver of a minivan shot to death by a Philadelphia police officer early Wednesday morning was identified as Richard Ferretti from a northeast Pennsylvania town. Ferretti, 52, of Andreas, which is about 15 miles north of Allentown, allegedly failed to listen to plainclothes officers as they stood in front of his minivan and yelled at him to stop as he drove on Overbrook Avenue near Lancaster Avenue. "Police received several calls" from college students concerned about the man "casing the area," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross. "Police arrived and they saw the male doing just exactly what the callers indicated," said Ross. "They attempted to stop the male, initially he tries to flee." Homicide detectives investigated the shooting. It was one of two police-involved shootings late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. Another man, allegedly armed with a gun, was shot in Southwest Philadelphia two hours earlier. The incident that left Ferretti shot occurred shortly before 1 a.m. Crews rushed him to Penn Presbyterian Hospital but he was dead on arrival. Plainclothes officers cut off the driver around the corner and told him to stop, said Ross. "Apparently (the driver) attempts to flee from them, trapping one of the officers between the car and some other area where (the officer) didn't feel he could escape and he discharged his weapon," said Ross. "That male was struck, one time I think, and he was subsequently pronounced dead." "I heard a screeching sound and I heard a loud boom," said witness Gregory McCowin. "So I got up and I heard 'freeze, stop!'" "It's way too early" to determine if the shooting was justified, said Ross. An internal affairs investigation would determine the exact circumstances leading to the incident. [[378080781, C]] The incident played out on police radio. "All cars standby... shots fired," said police band traffic around the time of the shooting. "Do we have an offender hit?" asks one voice. "It's all under control," can be heard a short time later as officers are told to resume with regular police work. Investigators focused on the crashed minivan with its airbag deployed. Ross said officers didn't find a weapon in the vehicle. About 90 minutes earlier, officers on patrol heard gunshots then found a man shooting into the air from the back porch of a home along Grays Avenue near Lindbergh Boulevard in Southwest Philadelphia and asked him to drop the weapon, said Philadelphia Police. "Police are in the area in this case and they hear gunshots," said Ross. "They approach the male, tell the male to drop the weapon, and that male aims and fires one shot at police, misses," said Philadelphia Police Lt. Ray Evers. "And then one of the officers fires two times back and shoots the man in the leg" The man, later identified as 50-year-old Desmond Abernathy, then made his way inside the house where police arrested him and took him to Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition, investigators said. They also took another man who was inside the home, later identified as 47-year-old Curt Joseph, in for questioning. Philadelphia Police Police say they recovered a weapon and ballistic evidence at the scene. Abernathy is charged with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, violation of the uniform firearms act and related offenses. Joseph is charged with hindering apprehension, violation of the uniform firearms act, tampering with evidence, obstructing justice and other related offenses. A man's body was found in the backyard of a home in the Holmesburg neighborhood of Philadelphia Wednesday morning. Police said the man may have suffered some type of fatal head injury. He appeared to be in his late 50s and was pronounced dead at the scene in the 8100 block of Crispin Street. That block of Crispin runs right by the James Ramp Memorial Recreation Center and is about a block away from Father Judge High School. The body was discovered before 7 a.m. Police were working to identify the man. Investigators on the scene told NBC10 the death appeared to be a suicide. SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Privacy Overview This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Three spooked deer ran into the ocean at a New Jersey beach and one got caught in a rip current. Adam Holloway and a friend were headed to Manasquan beach to catch bluefish when they saw the trio on Monday. Holloway tells the Asbury Park Press two of the deer turned back and paddled back to the beach. But the third was pulled away by the current that runs near the jetty. Holloway says he ran along the jetty trying to turn the deer around, but the animal climbed up on the rocks. Holloway says the deer ran at him before jumping back into the ocean. The deer paddled ashore and headed off down the beach. Tractor trailers, many emblazoned with soda name brands on their sides, surrounded Philadelphia City Hall two hours before a public hearing Wednesday evening on Mayor Jim Kenney's proposed "soda tax." The drivers were joined by other groups who objected to the tax, including corner store coalitions and beverage distributors, which rely on soda and other sugary drinks for revenue. Most of the organizations and businesses against Kenney's proposed 3-cents-per-ounce tax on sugary drinks are part of an umbrella group called Philadelphians Against the Grocery Tax Coalition. Protesters with that group spoke at a rally outside City Hall before the 5 p.m. budget hearing in council chambers. The hearing was one of two chances the public will get to speak to council about the entire city budget proposal for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. The budget would begin July 1, if approved by council. Speakers at the rally included Dany Vinas, owner of CTOWN Supermarket; Anne McNally, owner of McNally Tavern; Danny Grace, business manager for the Philadelphia Teamsters; and Miguel Martinez, the head of the Dominican Merchants Association. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined in on the soda tax debate, contributing an undisclosed sum to a nonprofit group starting an $825,000 ad campaign in support of the tax. Bloomberg tried unsuccessfully to ban oversized sodas in New York, and supported successful soda-tax efforts in Mexico and Berkeley, California. The American Beverage Association has already spent more than $1.5 million on its Philadelphia anti-tax campaign. A former Louisiana television personality known as "Mr. Wonder", arrested in San Diego County on charges he sexually abused young children decades ago at a free camp, will be extradited to Louisiana to face charges. U.S. Marshals arrested Frank Selas, 76, at his home on Casa Verde Court in Bonita on Jan. 25. Selas has pleaded not guilty to a fugitive charge. Since his arrest, Selas has fought extradition and claimed marshals arrested the wrong man. Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the San Diego County District Attorney's office said Selas advised the court he did not wish to file a writ to challenge a governor's warrant. The move removes legal impediment to his extradition and he will now be extradited back to Louisiana. Selas was initially arrested on a warrant stemming from the late 1970s, when Selas was accused of abusing children during a camping trip near Valentine Lake at Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana. At the time, Selas hosted the "Mr. Wonder" show on KNOE-TV in north Louisiana. Louisiana law enforcement officials obtained a warrant for Selas' arrest in relation to two counts of obscene behavior with a juvenile. When officials went to his home, his wife told them her husband had fled in the family car. In the coming days, officials would find Selas' car in Dallas. Selas, then 39, allegedly fled the country and flew from Dallas to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, before investigators could arrest him. When Selas returned to the U.S., investigators say he changed his last name and Social Security number. The judge ruled at a previous hearing prosecutors and marshals proved Selas is the man wanted in Louisiana. Now, prosecutors say they will await a governor's warrant to proceed with extradition. Investigators say Selas spent the last three decades living in San Diego and volunteering with community organizations including the Cub Scouts and the American Red Cross. An officer with the Oceanside Police Departments Harbor Unit is being hailed a hero for rescuing a group of experienced canoers from rough waters over the weekend. In an exclusive interview with NBC 7 Tuesday, a group of San Diego canoers said theyre alive and well thanks to Oceanside Harbor Officer Dave Cunniff. On Sunday, Dave Hanson one of the founders of the Oceanside Outrigger Canoe Club went out for a recreational paddle with five friends off the waters of Oceanside in north San Diego County. When the group first paddled out, Hanson said the waves were not very big. But a short time later a buoy sounded off, meaning a big set was coming. Hanson said his group tried getting back in the safety of the harbor but things turned scary, quickly. We got pushed in at this angle, the wave break-over from behind filled the canoe full of water, Hanson recounted. So now were sitting at water level, all six of us in the canoe. And the next wave is coming. I told everybody, Out of the canoe! he continued. And then I reached around trying to pull the canoe straight down the wave so that the wave would pass it. And the first couple of waves, I can do that. And then all the paddlers began to disperse with the riptide. Moments later, Oceanside Harbor Police Officer Cunniff a 14-year veteran of the department got a call on his radio of a flipped canoe. He picked up two lifeguards en route to the scene. The officer told NBC 7 he was expecting to see one person, perhaps a fisherman, next to the flipped vessel. However, he said what he encountered was more like a horrifying scene straight out of a movie. As we come around the corner, it was something like out of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie where you first see where they're coming out of the fog and then all of a sudden there's that big burning ship in debris all over the water. It was something like that, Cunniff explained. I see debris all over the water and I just see bodies scattered across the entire harbor entrance. At that moment, Cunniff said 12-foot surf was pounding the area but he was determined to make his way through the waves to get to the canoers. He and the lifeguards began pulling the canoers onto the boat but the choppy conditions proved extremely challenging. In the middle of the rescue, just as another big wave came crashing down, the engine on Cunniffs boat died. The officer quickly fired up another engine and got his boat over the wave. At that moment, Hanson said the officers boat felt as if it was completely upright in the water. The canoers, now in Cunniffs boat, were terrified. The officer reassured them they would make it out alive. I said, Hey, its going to be okay. I promise you, youre going to be alright, Cunniff recalled. Indeed, Cunniff stuck to his word. All six canoers survived. Hansons outrigger canoe named Makana, which means precious giftwas destroyed by the force of the ocean, breaking into three different pieces. "The seats in the outrigger all broke out," Hanson explained. Hanson said the canoe weighs about 400 pounds without the outrigger. The extensive damage to the vessel goes to show how powerful the ocean can be, he said. Hanson said he and his fellow paddlers are incredibly grateful that Cunniff was the officer on the boat that day and credits him and the lifeguards for saving their lives. "They deserve it they totally do. It was amazing, Hanson said. At this point, Hanson isnt sure Makana is repairable. If the canoe cant be fixed, hes hoping it can eventually be restored and displayed in a museum since the vessel has a long history in Oceanside. A homeless man was beaten and killed in Santee, California following a dispute over a paintball gun, his wife told NBC 7 San Diego. Penny Lowery said her husband was killed because he tried to protect another homeless man a week before his death. "They were shooting him with a paintball gun. My husband took the paintball gun from him, Penny Lowery said in an interview with NBC 7 the day her husband was taken off life support. Two Santee brothers face charges or murder, robbery, kidnapping and torture in the death of George Lowery. Lowery, 50, was beaten with "fists and feet" in an assault that homicide investigators describe as "a very horrific event." He was hospitalized with head injuries after his wife found him unconscious April 24 near Chubb Lane and N. Magnolia Avenue. Lowery died five days later. Penny Lowery said her husband was hogtied and covered up by a piece of plywood. I seen a piece of plywood that goes to where we stay, Lowery said. I heard gurgling. When I picked it up he was gurgling for his life. Preston Mostrong, 19, and his brother Austin Mostrong, 20, have pleaded not guilty to charges in the case. Prosecutors told a judge Monday that the defendants gave statements to San Diego County Sheriffs Deputies putting them at the scene of the assault. Investigators have not released information on a motive and would not confirm the details surrounding a previous altercation between the defendants and the victim. A closer look at the criminal records of the Mostrong brothers reveals both were on probation for prior misdemeanor offenses. A 2014 criminal complaint shows Preston Mostrong pleaded guilty to petty theft. He was fined and given three years of probation. His older brother, Austin, was charged with two counts of battery and resisting an officer just four days before the alleged riverbed attack. He pleaded guilty to the misdemeanors and given probation. "This was a brutal, heinous, just cold-hearted case, and as the evidence comes out, Id say the murder charges and the torture charges are very much warranted in this case," said Deputy District Attorney George Modlin. In a post on an online fundraising site, family described George Lowery as someone who didn't have much but still managed to help others. "If someone was in need he would do what he could to help, no matter how hard the task. If he came across good fortune, he shared it," they wrote. Anyone with information about the incident can call the homicide detail at 858-974-2321 or after hours at 858-565-5200. A teacher from San Diego who contracted H1N1 on a school trip to Ireland remains hospitalized overseas with one wish: to come home in time to watch his teenage daughter attend prom. Officials with the Poway Unified School District confirmed Wednesday that Westview High School English teacher Bob McHeffey is recuperating in a hospital in Ireland. In mid-April, McHeffey accompanied a group of students including his daughter, Delaney McHeffey, on a spring break trip to Ireland. During the trip, he suddenly became very ill. He came down with a cough and soon enough he had a fever and could barely walk with us around the various towns, McHeffeys daughter, Delaney, wrote on an online fundraising blog. On April 19, McHeffeys condition took a turn for the worse and he had to be rushed by ambulance from his hotel to a hospital. McHeffey tested positive for the H1N1 strain of the Swine Flu. He was also diagnosed with Bi-Lateral Pneumonia, according to his family. GoFundMe/McHeffey Family The students flew back to San Diego but, due to his condition, McHeffey had to stay hospitalized in Ireland. His wife traveled to Ireland and has been by his side ever since. The Poway Unified School District told NBC 7 McHeffeys family started a GoFundMe fundraiser page online to help cover his medical care costs. As of 1 p.m. Wednesday, the family had raised nearly $23,000, surpassing their fundraising goal of $20,000. Now, McHeffey is working to get better so he can return to San Diego. We are hopeful to be home in time to see Delaney go to prom, said a message posted to the familys fundraising page Tuesday. The post said McHeffey is continuing to improve daily and is now able to get out of bed, get dressed and hold a conversation. Hes taking short walks every day and working to be more independent. Doctors are monitoring McHeffey for a rash and fever. Hes remains on oxygen support, but the family is hopeful he will soon be released from the hospital. In the meantime, students and faculty at Westview High School created an 18-minute video to cheer McHeffey up dubbed, We Miss You, Bob! The sweet video features many of McHeffeys students expressing how their beloved teacher is sorely missed. Class just has not been the same without you, honestly. The energy just is not the same anymore, said one student. You are the reason for coming to school for us. We really miss you every single day. Several students also talk about how much McHeffey has helped them with their English skills and influenced their writing. Basically, class is not actually class anymore without you sitting there in your chair, said one girl. Its not the same, her friends chimed in. Theres just no motivation to actually write. Theres no point of writing unless Bob is actually there watching us! the group agreed. We need you! McHeffey's influence has certainly made an impact on Westview High School senior Emmit Pert. Pert was recently named among 160 students in the 52nd class of U.S. Presidential Scholars. He told NBC 7 that, as part of the application process for the prestigious award, a teacher had to write a letter of recommendation for him. That teacher was McHeffey. Pert said McHeffey is due to travel with him next month to Washington, D.C., to attend the U.S. Presidential Scholars awards ceremony. The teen hopes the teacher is home and well enough by then to accompany him. The mother of the late rapper Tupac Shakur has died in Sausalito, California, according to the Marin County Sheriffs Office. She was 69. Deputies responded to the home of Afeni Shakur Davis around 9:30 p.m. Monday, after receiving the report of a person possibly in cardiac arrest, according to Lt. Doug Pittman. Davis was taken to the hospital, where she died about an hour later, Pittman said. The coroners office will lead the investigation into her death and a forensic autopsy is planned Tuesday afternoon, according to a statement. Officials said, however, that toxicology results won't be available for several weeks. Pittman called her a "well-loved and well-respected" woman in the community who served as a leader and activist, especially in southern Marin County. "This is a tragic loss to this community," he said. Pittman held a news conference Tuesday to assure the public that no foul play was suspected at this point. Davis was in the company of her friend when she started experiencing discomfort, he said. At that point, her friend called 911. Born Alice Faye Williams in Lumberton, North Carolina, Davis was a reformed drug addict and member of the Black Panther Party, according to biographer Jasmine Guy. Davis served nearly a year in prison for allegedly conspiring to bomb police stations and department stores in New York City just before giving birth to Tupac in 1971. She served as her own defense attorney and was acquitted multiple times, according to an account of her trial in a book called "The Briar Patch" by former attorney Murray Kempton. Davis was the subject of Tupac's Billboard hit "Dear Mama," released in 1995. Her fans on social media referenced that song in their tweets and posts. A year later, she founded the now-defunct Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia, to preserve her son's legacy. Tupac, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996. The hip-hop legend's best-selling albums include "All Eyez on Me" and "Greatest Hits." Shakur attended Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley and lived in public housing in Marin County. He started his career in the early '90s with Digital Underground, an alternative hip hop group from Oakland. On Cinco de Mayo -- May 5 -- people across the U.S., Mexico and the world will indulge in Mexican food and drinks in celebration of Mexico's history. The holiday remembers the historic Battle of Puebla, when Mexican military forces led by Ignacio Zaragoza turned back a French army in 1862. We've found 10 awesome events that are serving up unique food, creative drinks and great music: A.G. Kitchen (931 Ellsworth Drive, Silver Spring, Maryland) A.G. Kitchen will host free salsa lessons beginning at 9 p.m. Food specials include $5 guacamole and $5 shrimp tacos. You can also grab a margarita for $5 and some cervezas (beers) will be two for $5. Alero (1724 Connecticut Ave. NW and 1301 U St. NW) Alero is promising non-stop music, plus drink and food specials 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. for Cinco de Mayo. The U Street location will feature DJ Dregonzales and DJ Silenzio. BLT Steak (1625 I St. NW) This modern steakhouse plans to feature several special drinks and a $30 flight with three special tequilas and paired sangritas. The whole BLT Steak Cinco de Mayo party will be a celebration of sangrita, a Guadalajaran drink made with fruit, juice and chili power, is chased with shot of tequila. El Centro D.F. (1819 14th St. NW and 1218 Wisconsin Ave. NW) Of course one of D.C.'s favorite taco stops is celebrating Cinco de Mayo. Specials include $20 for "endless" Mexican food, $6 margaritas and $5 cervezas. Dress your best -- El Centro D.F. is known to enforce a dress code on busy nights. Hugo at WK Hearth (130 Purcellville Gateway Drive, Purcellville, Virginia) The Cinco de Mayo celebrations at Hugo kick off at 6 p.m. with food and drink. The main attraction is a favorite drink with a Latin twist: the tequila Old-Fashioned. Bar bites including oysters, hummus and steak will be available for between $5 and $7. Morton's Georgetown (3251 Prospect St. NW) Morton's Georgetown is celebrating Cinco de Mayo with an event where you can make your own margaritas, learn about tequila marking and sample different tequilas. Tickets are $60 on Eventbrite and include drinks and hors d'oeuvres like tacos, steak quesadillas and more. The Prospect (1214 U St. NW) Slow-braised goat, crispy cod and a pineapple and citrus-braised pollo asado topped with a fresh slaw make up the unique taco fillings that the Prospect plans to show off. Two tacos are $6; drink specials include $4 Coronas and Tecates, $5 tequila shows and $6 margaritas. The deals last from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Tico (1926 14th St. NW) Latin tacos with an American twist? Sounds delicious. Tico's tacos will cost you just $5 on Cinco de Mayo, including their specials like shrimp salad with Old Bay, crunchy edamame with tomatillo salsa, duck with mango salsa and crunchy fried chicken tacos. Pair those bites with some unique margaritas for $10. Running of the Chihuahuas (600 Water St. SW) This is probably one of the few (only?) places you can watch 96 chihuahuas race for the finish line while sipping a beer. The event was rescheduled due to the weather, but the beer, food trucks and dog competitions will take over the Wharf (600 Water St. SW) on Saturday, May 7 between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Bonus: All proceeds from the race will go to Rural Dog Rescue, a group that saves dogs from high-kill shelters. The Wine Kitchen on the Creek (50 Carroll Creek Way #160, Frederick, Maryland) You can munch on tacos with a twist in Fredericksburg -- the chef at the Wine Kitchen will serve up mini tuna tartare tacos for only $14. You can get them for lunch or dinner. Yum. NOTE: The Washington Regional Alcohol Program is offering free cab rides home (up to a $30 fare) from 4 p.m. Thursday to 4 a.m. Friday. Call SoberRide at 1800200TAXI. The mother of a man accused of killing a popular University of Mary Washington student activist last year took the stand for the defense Tuesday to explain her text messages with her son that day and describe his worrisome behavior in the previous weeks. Steven Briel, 30, pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, strangulation and abduction in the April 17, 2015, death of 20-year-old Grace Mann at the Fredericksburg, Virginia, home they shared with two other roommates. Police say Briel strangled Mann, and the defense is trying to show Briel was insane at the time. Mary Briel testified she began to worry about her son in the weeks before Manns death. When he sent his parents a rambling, troubling email, Mary Briel testified she thought he might kill himself. He also expressed concerns about his roommates. His mother recalled a visit home five days before Manns death. "He did mention he felt the girls were going to kill him and make it look like a suicide," she testified. Briels parents urged him to give his roommates notice and move out. The morning of Manns death, Briel confirmed plans with his mother to take the train home, she testified. That afternoon, he sent a text message saying he was cleaning the house. During the following 30 minutes, Mann was strangled. Then Briel sent another message to his mother, writing, Hey, made a mess. Someone's at the door knocking. What should I do? Run?" She wrote back, "Are you serious? Don't answer. A few minutes later she wrote, What the hell are you on? This is not funny. I know. I'm scared, he replied. Pack your clothes and get to a coffee place until the next train comes. Stat!!!! Mary Briel texted back. She testified Tuesday she did not know what he was scared about at that moment. He would send her another text, writing, Hey, I'm in the woods. What should I do? Get to the bus. You still have time, she wrote back. When she got home a short time later, she got a message from Fredericksburg Police and learned her son was accused of murder. Grace Manns Best Friend Testifies About Confronting Accused Killer Before the defense began its case Tuesday, Manns roommate Kathryn Erwin testified for the prosecution about confronting Briel, introducing herself as Manns best friend. She testified she received puzzling text messages from Briel as she and another roommate walked home that afternoon. "I made a mess in Holly's room," texted Briel, referring to roommate Holly Aleksonis. Once the roommates were in the house, Briel emerged from a room. "He'd sweated through his shirt. He seemed confused, Erwin testified. Briel then asked what she would you do if Mann wasn't there anymore. Erwin testified she demanded to know what was going on, and Briel answered, Grace came home and was a b---- to me. I slapped her. She bit me. So I strangled her. Erwin said she ordered Briel to go upstairs to his room, then she spotted Mann, whose skin was blue. Manns parents broke into tears as prosecutors played Erwins 911 call. She can be heard counting out her CPR compressions -- the number rising higher and higher -- with no response from Mann. Grace Mann's Roommate Testifies on First Day of Murder Trial Aleksonis testified Monday about returning to the home and finding Briel drenched with sweat and speaking very quickly. She testified he stood before a closed bedroom door and said, "Grace and I got in an altercation. She hit me so I had to defend myself ... She bit me. What would you do if she weren't here anymore?'" Aleksonis opened the door and saw her purple comforter on the floor. "I pulled the comforter off," Aleksonis testified, "and Grace was there with a plastic bag over her head. I pulled it off and screamed and ran from the room." As many in the courtroom sobbed, prosecutors played the 911 call from Aleksonis that day. She was so distraught, the dispatcher had trouble getting information until Aleksonis finally shouted, "My roommate strangled her!" Two Maryland police officers recently killed in the line of duty were honored Wednesday with the additions of their names to memorials. Montgomery County Police Officer Noah Leotta's name was added Wednesday morning to the Public Safety Memorial on Edison Park Drive in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The names of 20 fallen heroes were read aloud and a bell tolled as family members lit candles in their memory. Leotta died Dec. 10 after a suspected drunk driver crashed into him as he conducted an anti-drunk driving enforcement. Police Chief Thomas Manger said the 24-year-old officer has a lasting effect. "Officer Leotta's impact on public safety continues. This is a powerful, powerful legacy," he said. Leotta's family worked tirelessly to get Maryland lawmakers to pass Noah's Law, which requires ignition interlocks to be installed in the cars of convicted drunk drivers. "I know he's honored and he's proud, but it's still too great a sacrifice for my family and all the other families that have lost loved ones," Leotta's father, Rich Leotta said. Prince George's County Officer 1st Class Jacai Colson's name was added Tuesday night to a memorial in the County Administration Building on Governor Oden Bowie Drive in Upper Marlboro. Colson was killed March 13 after a man opened fire on police officers and officers returned fire. Colson, 28, was shot by a fellow officer who mistook him for a suspect, police said. A candle was lit for Colson in a ceremony held to remember the 54 officers that have died in the line of duty since 1932 in the county. Colson's parents fought back tears during the ceremony and were embraced by officers as his name was added to the memorial. He was an outstanding young man and an excellent role model for a lot of youths coming up," the narcotics officer's father said at the viewing of his body. Law enforcement officers from across the country are paying their respects to fallen officers during National Police Week, which runs from May 3 to 16. For a full schedule of events, see the website for the week. Here we go again. District citizens are going to be asked this November to vote on whether they support statehood for the District. Before the fall, the city intends to hold public hearings on a proposed constitution that would be the foundation for the state of New Columbia. As a citizen, your Notebook wants the full voting rights enjoyed by other Americans. Theres no practical reason New Columbia couldnt carve out a modest federal enclave for the seat of government. There are plenty of political reasons against statehood. Therell be no shortage of opposition. The Notebook just wants to point out that statehood efforts and excitement have risen and fallen more than the Kennedy Center curtains. Mayor Muriel Bowser has helped set off the latest and most aggressive round in a couple of decades. She is supporting the creation of the constitution, its passage in November and its presentation to Congress. The city could make public the constitution later this week. Therell be public hearings and, possibly, revision during the summer. Even the name New Columbia is not set in constitutional stone. WAMU reporter Martin Austermuhle has done a good job of wrapping up this entire subject in an easy-to-read report. You can find it at tinyurl.com/wamu-statehood. Bowser on WAMU. And you can join the Notebook and host Kojo Nnamdi by tuning in on Friday at noon. Mayor Muriel Bowser will be our guest on the Politics Hour, WAMU 88-5. We welcome your questions. Email us at kojo@wamu.org or tweet us at @kojoshow. LGBTQ suicide. At-large D.C. Council member David Grosso is being honored Friday night for his work with suicide prevention. The Trevor Project is honoring Grosso at the Monaco Hotel for the first law in the nation that requires school suicide prevention policies to specifically address gay and lesbian students. The Trevor Project is a national group focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth. Security camera cash. It seems with cellphones and security cameras, were all on camera all the time. Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen has been to more community meetings than you can count. He said when it comes to crime, anxious community members come back time and again to the idea that home and business security cameras help prevent and solve crimes. Now, the city is in the midst of Allens $500,000 security camera rebate program. More than 200 individuals and businesses have applied for rebates that are given once the cameras are installed. Homeowners neighborhoods can get up to $500 for their cameras, commercial and nonprofit groups $750, with priority given to police service areas with known crime issues; in Northwest, these are PSAs 103, 202, 207, 208, 302, 303, 305, 307, 308, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 409 and 501. Visit tinyurl.com/ovsjg-cameras to learn more and apply through the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants. Resisting Trump. As weve pointed out before, the TV version of the Notebook is going to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July. Weve been watching Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. He was an early supporter of Chris Christie in his partys presidential sweepstakes. But since Christie dropped out, Hogan has steadfastly avoided endorsing anyone else. At a news conference last Friday, the governor had had it with questions about whether hed end up supporting Donald Trump, who is closing in on the nomination. Im not going to answer any more stupid questions about Donald Trump, said Hogan, as quoted in The Baltimore Sun. The newspaper reported Hogan restated his intention not to endorse a candidate or be involved in the presidential race. Back in mid-March, Hogan had told The Associated Press he didnt think Trump should be the nominee. Im not a Trump fan, Hogan told the AP. I dont think he should be the nominee. At this point in time, I have no idea who the candidates are going to be or who Im going to vote for. The Maryland governor said he had no plans to attend the Republican National Convention this summer in Cleveland. I dont even want to be involved, he said. Its a mess. I hate the whole thing. You cant blame him. Hogan has tried to keep to a moderate-conservative, Maryland-oriented path. Hell want to run for re-election in 2018. As a Republican in a mostly Democratic state, he doesnt want to unnecessarily muddy his own political waters. Tom Sherwood, a Southwest resident, is a political reporter for News 4. It's possible you've biked or jogged past it. The Netherlands Carillon is a little-known structure with a towering view of Washington D.C.'s monuments -- and right now, it's in need of some major repairs. For more than half a century, the 127-foot-tall carillon has stood on Arlington Ridge between Arlington National Cemetery and the United States Marine Corps Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial). The carillon's 50 bells, the most recent added in 1995, chime throughout the hour, and the path in front of the carillon offers an incredible view of D.C., including the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol dome. News4 was offered a TV exclusive tour to the observation deck of the carillon, where National Park Service (NPS) guides pointed out some of the structural repairs badly needed. Along the carillon's exterior, water has corroded around the bolts and caused the structure's shell to noticeably peel off. "It really shows what's happening here at the carillon," said Aaron LaRocca of the NPS. "So you have a protective paint here that's failing, because it hasn't been painted in a number of years.... What we're seeing here is the deterioration of the skin [and] what we're concerned about are the bones." An observation platform that was once opened for the public to summit has been closed for several years now due to its deteriorating condition. The only person allowed up -- aside from NPS officials -- is the carillonneur, who plays the chimes and bells on a keyboard similar to an organ or piano. "Our hope is once it's restored or rehabilitated that we can allow access to the top viewing platform," said Alex Romero, superintendent of the GW Memorial Parkway of the NPS. The structural repairs would cost some $2.7 million and would take about two years to complete. Once funding is in place, officials hope to do a full assessment to determine how deep the corrosion goes. That will also determine the extent of the repairs needed. The assessment will also be able to help officials figure out whether the viewing platform is structurally sound to be reopened to the public. The Trust for the George Washington Memorial Parkway is hoping to raise money for educational aspects of the project. "Our goal is to bring back that educational component, bring back the life in the park," its chairman, Duncan Blair, told News4. "By doing that then you create a donor base to help sustain it." The carillon, a gift from Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, was given to the United States in 1952 as a sign of gratitude after World War II. "It was moved here in 1960, and it tells that story of 'thank you,' a story of gratitude," said Romero. The Dutch see it similarly. "We were liberated by the Americans and the Canadians," said Ambassador Henne Schuwer of the Royal Netherlands Embassy. "And this was our gift to the American people to say 'thank you' for liberating us." Seventy years after World War II, Schuwer hopes eventually more visitors will make the carillon a destination -- if anything, to remind future generations of the past. "We have to tell, especially the younger people, that it is not a given that we live in a free world like we live [in] today. That you have to defend that freedom... we're doing that," Schuwer said. Thursday marks the Day of Remembrance on which the Dutch reflect and honor the lives lost fighting in WWII. On Friday, they will celebrate the role the United States and other Allied nations played in liberating the Netherlands. Go here to find out when you can hear the Netherlands Carillon's bells chime. The driver of an SUV appeared to deliberately ram the entrance of a diner in McLean, Virginia, during the lunchtime rush Wednesday, hitting a man and causing the vehicle to burst into flames, witnesses said. A man driving a Hummer crashed three times into the front of the Silver Diner restaurant in Tysons Corner Center about 12:30 p.m., witnesses told News4. A Fairfax County Police spokesman said he could not confirm whether the crash was deliberate. The driver hit a man the second time he crashed into the Fletcher Street restaurant, witnesses said. The third time, the SUV burst into orange flames with the driver inside, sending a huge plume of black smoke over the diner. Raw video of a Hummer on fire after hitting the Silver Diner in Tysons Corner. (Courtesy Dan Hughes) "There was total pandemonium in the restaurant," witness Will Yeatman said. He was inside having coffee when the man slammed into the front door and customers scrambled to leave. Video Yeatman recorded shows people screaming and dragging people away from the fire and crash. The driver was a cook for the restaurant who had taken bereavement leave, Silver Diner spokeswoman Matilde Ott said. Neither she nor police immediately identified the driver. The mayhem began when the driver crashed into the front door and then backed up, witnesses said. He then rammed into the restaurant a second time, trapping a man between the SUV and the door. [NATL-DC] Fire at Silver Diner in McLean "Some people got inside quickly. He wasn't able to and he got pinned against the front door," Yeatman said. "It was really horrible. It was full-force. It looked like as soon as he got hit, he kind of passed out." The driver then slammed into the restaurant a third time. The SUV burst into flames, sparking a roaring fire. The flames appeared to start between the driver's seat and passenger-side seat, Yeatman said. Orissa Morgan was at the hostess stand when the driver slammed into the entrance. "It scared me to death. I thought the whole building was going to blow," she said. "I thought he was going to run those people over. He just didn't stop." People on the scene said they cut the driver's seat belt to free him, but he asked to be left in the burning car. "He was fighting. He said, 'Get away from me. Leave me alone, leave me alone,'" witness Janie Watkins said. Customers and workers managed to extricate the man the driver hit and pull victims into the parking lot before first-responders arrived. Three people were taken to a hospital, including the driver, police said. A fourth person was treated at the scene. Information wasn't available immediately on whether the man hit by the SUV was taken to the hospital. The driver, who had been a diner employee for two years, was fired after the crash, the Silver Diner spokeswoman said. He took bereavement leave starting April 5. Police did not say whether the driver will be charged with a crime. The crash is under investigation. The wreckage of the Hummer remained in front of the closed restaurant Wednesday evening. Silver Diner said in a statement issued Wednesday night that the company had "no indication that the employee would harm himself or others." "Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those injured," the statement said. The company is offering trauma counselors to affected employees and customers. Anyone desiring that service was advised to call 703-239-3324. Silver Diner has 11 locations in Maryland and Virginia, plus outposts at BaltimoreWashington International Airport and in New Jersey. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call police at 703-691-2131. Stay with NBCWashington and News4 for more on this developing story. Some area bus drivers are questioning their safety, one day after a man attacked a bus driver, stole the bus and fatally struck a man at a gas station in Northeast Washington. Police said the hijacker, Keith Loving, 30, boarded the bus in the 3800 block of Jay Street in Northeast D.C. Tuesday morning. When the bus arrived at its next stop, Loving got up and attacked the driver with a tool, police said. But the bus was missing one thing that may have helped the driver -- a protective shield. Fewer than one quarter of Metrobuses were equipped with the shields as of Tuesday, a Metro representative said. Of the 1,542 buses Metro operates, 326 buses have the shields. Another 531 buses will have the safety devices by the end of 2016. The shields are typically used in areas where drivers have previously had trouble, the Metro representative said. "He would've had to climb the dashboard to get over onto the bus driver, but the shield would've been of some help," said a Metrobus driver who didn't want to be identified. According to WTOP, the driver was able to hit an emergency button before he got off the bus. He suffered a back injury while getting off of the bus, but he is expected to recover. Passengers on the bus saw the attack and ran out the back door, D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said. A short time later, police said Loving veered over a curb into the parking lot of a gas station at the corner of Minnesota and Nannie Helen Burroughs avenues. The bus ran over 40-year-old Anthony Payne, a gas station worker who had been taking out the trash. Payne was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead. "It's just unbelievable. I'm just loss for words," said the Metrobus driver who didn't want to be identified. "I just stay prayed up. Before I enter these gates, I pray." The union representing bus drivers said they want more officers to patrol buses. "This union, representing more than 9,000 of the operators, station managers, clerks and mechanics of Metro, is calling upon Metro to take action and immediately increase police presence," Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 said in a statement. "The lives of transit employees and our riders are depending on it." Metro deploys officers based on where they see spikes in crime. Attacks on drivers have declined by about 30 percent in the past year, the Metro representative said. Two people have been hospitalized following a shooting in Boston. Boston Police said they responded to 65 Bailey St. Tuesday night around 9 for a report of a person shot in the head. Boston EMS said one victim was transported to Boston Medical Center with life-threatening-injuries. A second victim transported himself to an undisclosed hospital. No other information was immediately available. Nine more employees of a now-closed Massachusetts school for boys with autism and behavioral disorders have been charged with physically abusing students, raising the number of employees charged to 16. The Berkshire Eagle reports that eight former Eagleton School employees were arraigned on assault and battery and other charges in Southern Berkshire District Court on Monday. A warrant is out for the arrest of a ninth. All pleaded not guilty and were released on personal recognizance. Sixteen former employees of the private Great Barrington school have now been charged in the case. The state closed the school last month despite staff efforts to correct problems cited by state education officials. Forty-two students have been relocated to other facilities or schools. Police say the investigation is ongoing. (NECN) - All week long we have taken you to "secret islands" along New Englands coast. We finish our week-long special with a gem. You need a sense of adventure to get to this island. From Boston, it's about a three-and-a-half hour journey to mid-coast Maine and then a one-hour ferry trip to Monhegan Island. As our Marnie MacLean showed us, many people believe it is well worth the effort. Watch the attached video for your online tour. Check out these websites for ferry services to the island from Monhegan Boat Line, Hardy Boat Cruises and Balmy Day Cruises. One thousand trout have a new home in Jamaica Pond thanks to the efforts of Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, state environmental officials and local schoolchildren. Wednesday's annual spring restocking is one of several that occur during the year at Boston's largest freshwater pond. The 800 rainbow trout, 50 brook trout, 50 brown trout and 100 tiger trout were trucked in from state hatcheries in Belchertown and Sandwich, where they were raised. An enthusiastic Baker waded into the pond several times with a bucket of trout and tossed the fish into the shallow waters. He was helped by second-graders from the John F. Kennedy Elementary School. The pond, home to other species such as largemouth bass, chain pickerel and yellow perch, is open to fishermen with valid Massachusetts fishing licenses. A husband and wife were hospitalized one with life-threatening injuries after being attacked by a boar Tuesday night at their small farm in Townsend, Massachusetts, authorities said. Police and fire officials responded to the farm at 188 Fitchburg Rd. around 6 p.m. after the 150-pound male pig attacked 38-year-old Shannon Hernandez, according to the Townsend Police Department. "It was scary, because, you know, blood coming down, I didn't know how bad I was," Shannon Hernandez said. She said the 5-year-old boar she's had for three years escaped from his stall and went after her female pigs. "The girls come into heat every 21 days, so it's my responsibility to keep him quarantined enough that he's not going to break through. And he did, he broke through," she said. That's when she said the animal turned on her, goring her arm, leg and wrist. She was taken to Leominster Hospital, but less than two hours later, the same animal attacked her husband, 50-year-old Jose Hernandez, leaving him with serious, life-threatening injuries. "He had went over to pick up the water to clean it out and refill it. And Boss (the pig) just came at him and gashed him," Shannon Hernandez said. Two main arteries in his right hand were cut during the attack, she said. Jose Hernandez was rushed by Townsend EMS to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. A witness said he was conscious and alert on the way to the hospital. "He's lost a lot of blood. They said they put two pints of blood into him at the hospital," his wife said. Jose Hernandez was upgraded to "stable" condition on Wednesday and police said he is expected to survive." The pig is currently quaraintined on the Hernandez's property. Townsend Animal Control announced Wednesday afternoon that it had decided to euthanize the pig at some point on Thursday. A rabies test is also being conducted as a precaution. The mother of a Boston firefighter was forced to jump from her burning home in the city's Dorchester neighborhood on Wednesday. Her son rushed to her house as soon as he heard the call but only arrived after Regina Robinson was safely on the ground, thanks to a guardian angel and, she said, some help from above. "It's only by the grace of God, and God's mercy, that He helped me to get out of that house, because there was no other way out," Robinson said. Robinson says she's lucky to be alive, praising a man doing a gutter estimate at a neighbor's home for spotting the flames pouring from her home and hearing her frantic screams. "I was yelling, 'Somebody help, I can't get out.' So he said, 'Ma'am, can you get on the ledge?' and when I tried to raise up the screen, it wouldn't go up," Robinson said. "I had to wiggle my way to get out the window, and I was on the ledge. He said, 'Ma'am, you have to jump.'" Robinson said she was scared. Black smoke was filling her hallway, and "there was no other way but to go out that window." Robinson jumped to the ground from a landing right below the window. The fire was caused by a short circuit in a bedroom. The home is a now completely gutted inside, with damages estimated at $250,000, fire officials said. Necn spoke with the Edwin Julia, who alerted Robinson, over the phone. "I didn't catch her, but I broke her fall," he said. Robinson's son, Boston firefighter Steven Perry, was on duty in Dorchester at the time. He heard his mom's address over the box alarm and rushed to the scene. "Fires aren't kind to nobody," Perry said. "Just saying to myself, 'Please no, no no no,' just, 'Deny, deny, deny,' you know?" He got to the scene just as his mom was on the ground. "Just hugged and cried and was glad to see her," Perry said. "He was just in tears," Robinson said. "He's one of the macho men, don't cry a lot, but he was breaking down, and he was just holding me, saying, 'Ma, you are alright.'" Now Robinson has a message of thanks for her guardian angel. "God sent him for a purpose and a time to help me get out of that house," she said. Robinson is staying with her daughter. Her family is accepting donations at the Kingdom Church at 234 Norfolk St. in Dorchester. A New Hampshire business owner says vehicles outside are covered in human ashes due to a crematorium next door. Doug Frederick, owner of the Motorcycle Museum in Meredith, said the ashes come from the chimney of the Mayhew Funeral Home. "This was our dream, to come here and have this motorcycle museum," said Leslyee Frederick, Doug's wife. That dream became a reality for the couple six years ago, which has now, they said, become a nightmare. "To be thinking of wiping up someone's human remains, it's just disgusting," Leslyee Frederick said. Doug Frederick has documented the alleged problem with photos. He says ashes from the crematorium are landing on his property and that's not all. "Sometimes, the smell is so intense, it's nauseating," he said. He's taken his complaint to Meredith Town Manager Phillip Warren, who says the funeral home has the proper permits and isn't doing anything wrong. "It's similar to neighbors who can't agree on on a fence or an installation," Warren said Wednesday. "It really isn't an issue town gets involved in." In New Hampshire, crematoriums are inspected at least every three years. The owner of Mayhew Funeral home, Peter Mayhew, has an active state license. "The Mayhew family has been operating funeral homes in New Hampshire for over 45 years," he said in a statement to necn Wednesday. "Our crematorium is closely regulated by the state and inspected frequently. We have received no indication of violations of any law or regulation. While Mr. Frederick is clearly upset with us and disappointed with the town of Meredith, we will continue to serve the community as we have for decades." But according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, emissions from crematoriums should be rather clear and are usually odorless. Wednesday, a museum visitor caught a whiff while necn's cameras were rolling. "It wasn't of a diesel truck going up the road or someone's furnace malfunctioning. It was definitely a different odor," Brian Keating said. "It kind of turned my stomach a little bit." The office of Gov. Maggie Hassan tells necn that Frederick's latest complaint has made it's way to officials at the DES. "It's just affected our lives deeply," Frederick said. "All we want to do is get this problem corrected." DES will be meeting with Mr. Frederick in the near future. Meanwhile, Mr. Mayhew says he will continue serving this community as he has for decades. Boston Police have arrested a Roxbury man accused of pointing a rifle at delivery men over a refrigerator dispute. Police responded to 2 Folsom Ave. on Saturday morning for a report of a person with a gun. When they arrived they met with two delivery men from an appliance store who were scheduled to deliver a fridge. The two male residents allegedly became upset that the fridge was not the same size as their old fridge. One resident, identified as John Mahoney, 48, came out of a room with a rifle and pointed it at the delivery men, telling them to get out. Police arrested Mahoney and charged him with Assault by Means of a Dangerous Weapon. Police also charged him with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Unlawful Possession of Ammunition after finding more guns and ammunition in the home. It was not immediately known if Mahoney has an attorney, Police in South Portland, Maine, arrested three people for robbery and aggravated assault, as well as drug trafficking. According to the police, officers responded to the Days Inn located on the Main Mall Road for a report of man bleeding from the head on Tuesday morning. Once on scene, officers found Abdallah Dud, age 29, of Saco, Maine, who told officers he had been assaulted by two males while in his motel room. Dud had a severe laceration to his scalp area and was transported to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A female was also reportedly involved. Around 11:50 p.m. that night an officer conducted a traffic stop on the I-295 on ramp near outer Broadway and determined the vehicle's occupants, a male and female, were at least two of the suspects involved in the earlier assault. After discovering evidence at the scene of the stop, officers arrested Kokou Noulilo, age 24 of Lewiston, Maine, and Breanna Lee, age 25, also of Lewiston. Noulilo and Lee were charged with Robbery (a Class A crime) and Aggravated Assault (a Class B crime). Officers recovered a substantial amount of money inside the vehicle. Investigators later learned the money found in the vehicle was taken from the motel room during the assault. A search warrant was served to search the arrested suspects motel room and officers found 8 grams of suspected cocaine base under one of the beds. The attack was allegedly a drug rip off. No innocent guests were harmed. Noulilo and Lee were out on bail when they were stopped and were charged with Violating Conditions of Release (a Class C crime) as well. Both are being held without bail pending their arraignment which should occur on Friday. The victim, Abdallah Dud, was released from the hospital and charged with Trafficking in Scheduled W Drugs (a Class B crime) and Violating Conditions of Release (a Class E crime). He is also being held without bail. Stoneham Police say they will be filing charges against a man who allegedly entered the police station, assaulted an officer and made a bomb threat on Tuesday. The 35-year-old Stoneham man was taken to a local hospital for a mental health and physical evaluation. His name has not been released by police. Police said the suspect will be issued a summons to Woburn District Court for issuing a false bomb threat and assault and battery on a police officer. Around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said a man entered the Stoneham Police Station at 47 Central St. wearing a backpack. He approached the dispatch window in the lobby and made a bomb threat to a police officer at the window. The man then walked away from the window toward a training room where a community group was set to hold a meeting. Police officers attempted to calm the man, who allegedly tried to strike an officer multiple times. The man was ultimately restrained with the help of pepper spray. No explosives were found inside the man's backpack. The suspect had also been seen inside Town Hall earlier in the day, but a sweep of the building came up empty. "Thankfully, the public was never in danger, but the actions of this individual caused considerable concern," Police Chief James McIntyre said. "I commend our officers for bringing this situation to a successful resolution with no one injured and no disruption to the community." The Massachusetts congressional delegation is questioning a push by the Swedish government to declare American lobsters an invasive species. Sweden wants the European Union to bar imports of live American lobsters into the 28-nation bloc, a response to the appearance of 32 American lobsters in Swedish waters. Massachusetts' delegation has sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and others saying the Swedish claim needs to be backed up with scientific evidence. Massachusetts has the second largest lobster fishery in the country. The delegation says a ban on imports to Europe would hurt the state's economy. The U.S. State Department has said the administration is working to ensure that U.S. lobster exports are not "unjustifiably restricted." One woman was killed and two other people were injured in a car accident in Milford, New Hampshire, on Tuesday afternoon. According to the Milford Police Department, two cars were involved in a head-on collision on Route 101 on the overpass of Route 13. A grey 2011 Nissan Rouge was traveling eastbound and a white 2007 Kia Spectra was traveling westbound when the two collided. The driver of the Nissan, 52-year-old Roberta Odell of Winchester, New Hampshire, attempted to pass in a legal passing zone and struck the Kia head-on. The occupants of the struck Kia were a male and female, the male, 74-year-old Thomas Robbs of Belmont, New Hampshire was driving, and the female, 69-year-old Susan Robbs, also of Belmont, New Hampshire. passed away. Odell was air lifted from the scene to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical center in Dartmouth, New Hampshire. She is listed in serious condition. Thomas Robbs was also transported to an area hospital for non-life threatening injuries. There are no charges filed at this time and the accident is still under investigation. The road was closed from 10:30 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. but the scene is now clear. Now that Donald Trump is officially the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Massachusetts' governor, like many moderate New England Republicans, is not quite sure what he'll do on Election Day. "I've already said before that I'm not going to vote for Mr. Trump," said Gov. Charlie Baker. "I sincerely doubt I'll be voting for Hillary Clinton, either." Baker was asked if he'd do a write-in vote. "It'll depend who else is on the ballot, I suppose," he said. The governor's remarks came on the same day that John Kasich suspended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Ted Cruz dropped out of the race on Tuesday night after losing Indiana to Trump. That leaves Trump as the only Republican contender still in the race, all but ensuring that he will be the Republican nominee. Baker at least plans to vote. Former Massachusetts Republican chair Jennifer Nassour says she won't. She is incredulous, but mainly sad, she says, that her lifelong party has gotten behind the reality TV star. "I think that he's unstable," Nassour said. "I think that he's going to be dangerous. I think that the best case scenario is that he just damages the Republican Party." Nassour expects many Republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton - like Mark Salter, a former strategist to Republican Senator John McCain. "The GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks it's on the level," he tweeted. "I'm with her." The "vote for Hillary" option is definitely not happening for Republican political consultant Patrick Griffin, who opposes Trump and is hoping he will now start to channel his ability to energize the electorate in a positive direction. "It seems to me Trump has an opportunity," Griffin said. "The question is can he pivot into acting presidential, which so far he has not done." "It's odd and it's disappointing," Baker said of the situation he's now in. "I certainly have found this to be one of the most troubling election cycles across the board I've seen in my lifetime." New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte plans to support Donald Trump if he is the GOP's nominee for president. However, according to the Associated Press who obtained a statement from Liz Johnson, a spokeswoman for Ayotte, the senator will not endorse Trump. The statement also said Ayotte, "plans to support the nominee" but did not mention Trump's name specifically. Ayotte previously stated she would support whomever the Republican party nominated for president. According to a spokesperson for MSNBC, Ayotte intends to follow through on that promise. On Saturday St Stephens in Norwich hosted Bouncing Forwards as part of a national tour by the mental health charity Kintsugi Hope. On Saturday St Stephens in Norwich hosted Bouncing Forwards as part of a national tour by the mental health charity Kintsugi Hope. Painting and biblical feasting in Overstrand There will be opportunities to improve your painting skills and indulge in some biblical feasting next month at the Pleasaunce in Overstrand in North Norfolk. Read more National award for Dereham Christian bookshop The Green Pastures Christian bookshop in Dereham has won a national award for providing boxes of Christian books to 21 local schools. Read more Norma's care home jigsaw challenge complete A resident at Norwich-based care home Corton House has completed an incredible 70 jigsaw puzzles in celebration of the homes 70th anniversary this year. Read more Norwich charity's appeal to support Palestinian students A Norwich educational charity, set up in memory of a Norwich Anglican priest, to support students from a Palestinian refugee camp, is inviting people to support its Christmas appeal to be launched on November 29. Read more Norfolk drug and alcohol charity pays tribute to its founder Andy Sexton, CEO of the Matthew Project, introduces a series of tributes from the charity to its founder, Peter Farley. Read more Cliff look alike at Cromer Church breakfast Cliff Richard tribute performer Will Chandler will be the speaker at a special Mens Breakfast at Cromer Parish Hall next month, and all men are welcome to come along. Read more Heartsease Lane Methodist church to close As part of a reorganisation of the Norwich Methodist Circuit, Heartsease Lane Methodist Church will be closing towards the end of the year. Read more Free Julian of Norwich reflection and prayer day The Friends of Julian of Norwich present a free Quiet Half-Day with Robert Fruehwirth, author and former Priest Director of the Julian Centre, on Saturday November 12, 10.30am-2pm. Read more What it means for us to repent Nigel Fox believes that now is the time for a tide of repentance, and shares his thoughts about what that actually means for our society. Read more Christmas card shop opens in Norwich church Thousands of Christmas cards from around 30 local Norfolk charities have gone on sale today (October 19) at the Original Norwich Charity Christmas Card Shop inside St Peter Mancroft church in Norwich city centre. Read more Revelation Christian Resource Centre and Cafe Revelation in Norwich is a Christian resource centre, offering a bookshop, a meeting place and a welcoming refuge for refreshment open to visitors of any faith or none. Read more Farewell as Yarmouth church leader moves on Captain Marie Burr, the Salvation Army leader in Great Yarmouth, has paid tribute to everyone at the church and charity after she left her post at the end of last month to move to a new role. Read more Norwich Cathedral chorister in BBC final Norwich Cathedral chorister Alice Platten has her sights set on being crowned BBC Young Chorister of the Year after reaching the final stages of the prestigious nationwide competition. Read more Norwich to hear pastor, Policeman and tramp tale Essex Baptist Pastor Dave McDowell has been a Policeman, fed orphans in India and lived under a boat as a tramp. He will tell his remarkable story at the October dinner of Norwich FGB on Wednesday October 26. Read more Pioneer UK leader speaks at Sheringham church Ness Wilson, national leader of the Pioneer network of churches, was the main speaker at a day of teaching and worship held at Lighthouse Community Church in Sheringham on 12 October, to be followed up by Word and Worship sessions at October half term. Read more Norwich event to give tips on bouncing forwards St Stephens in Norwich will be hosting an evening in October with Patrick Regan OBE, as he explores themes from his book Bouncing Forwards. Read more Youth for Christ lights a fire in north Breckland North Breckland Youth for Christ will be putting on a mini residential camp this year to coincide with Bonfire Night. Read more Thursday, May 5, is World Password Day 2016. For the fourth year, youll surely see plenty of articles reminding you why you should change all of your passwordsa strong and unique password for every site where you loginand to start using a password manager if you dont do so yet. I still highly encourage you to get 2FA for Mothers Day. Intel/McAfee is again trying to persuade people to tweet a password confession. While Im not encouraging you to do so, I would like to pick two as examples. World Password Day is as good a day as any to talk about password sharing. Ah, yes, being in love is where password sharing may start. Or it could be a roommate or friend asking for your password so they can watch some show. Im not concerned with whether or not password sharing costs video on demand (VOD) services $500 million worldwide in 2015, or if 46 percent of American adults share logins for streaming media services with people who are not part of their household. But because the service is shared, that password might be one you hesitate to update to something new. At the rate that companies get hacked, that is an especially dangerous practice for people who reuse the same blasted password on other sites. ConsumerReports gave an example of how, for several years, an entire family had been logging into HBO Go using the credentials of a sisters ex-boyfriend. Apparently the breakup was amicable, or the guy who paid for HBO Go didnt believe in changing his password. The latter is the most likely, as nearly half of the people in one poll admitted to not changing their password for five years. A different study found that although 78 percent believe that its risky to share passwords with family members, 37 percent are likely to do so. The majority of respondents (54 percent) also admit to sharing their login information with family members so they can access their computers, smartphones and tablets. It's unrealistic to think password sharing doesn't happen. Share but follow good security practices Regarding the claim that a third of American Netflix watchers are moochers, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings isnt too worried about it. At CES this year, Hastings said, We love people sharing Netflix. Thats a positive thing, not a negative thing. Netflix handles shared passwords for streaming by limiting the number of simultaneous streams, not IP addresses accessing accounts. Currently it costs $9.99 to watch Netflix on two screens at the same time, or $11.99 for four. If you share your password and dont hit the streaming limit, you might not remember to change the password after a breakup. Amazon Prime previously was accused of not breaking up with your ex when you do, but there was a change to how Prime operated last year and an option was added to remove an adult from your household. Otherwise, like Netflix, Prime handles shared passwords for streaming by limiting the number of simultaneous streams. HBO CEO Richard Plepler previously said HBO was not unmindful of password sharing, but it just has no impact on the business. In fact, he called it a terrific marketing vehicle for the next generation of viewers. Were in the business of creating addicts. Then last year, Emmy Award show host Andy Samberg went so far as to share his HBO Now account credentials with everyone watching. While HBO is not too specific about the precise number of simultaneous streams allowed for HBO Nowother than a subscription applies to your entire householdit does have a limit, as it has a help page for subscribers who get simultaneous stream error warnings. Hulu and Dishs Sling TV allow only one stream at a time per account, so password sharing isnt as likely to happen. You should still change those passwords. Its not the smartest security/privacy move you could make, but I dont care if you share your VOD password with others. Keep in mind, however, that it is tied to an account tied to financial information to pay for it. I do care if you dont change that password regularly. If you share, then give those people the new password. What are they going to do, grumble excessively for needing to update the password they use to watch free TV? If someone else mooched the password from them, or if an ex was using it, do you really care if they get cut off? The video below is about password sharing, but it has some cussing so if that upsets you, dont watch it. Impossible password prank Hopefully you change your passwords more often than once a year. Hopefully you will change your shared password for your streaming accounts. When you do, please steer clear of the worst passwords such as 123456 or password. If you dont like password managers, you should try to create a password with no fewer than eight characters, preferably at least 12, with a mix of numbers, symbols, capital and lowercase letters. Intermixing those in a phrase is even better. Using a sentence, or a phrase, will make unique passwords easier to remember. For example, Level 3 said the password OnceUponATime could be changed to 0nce3Up0nAT!M3. But weve all visited websites with varying password rules for length and the use of special characters. That brings us to the second password confession. If the person couldnt figure out the rules to create a new password in two tries without giving up, then imagine the frustration experienced by the people in impossible password prank. Please change your passwords! NASA said that for the first time it has demonstrated that a wireless system can communicate sending route options and weather information for example -- with a jet on the ground. NASA said it tested a demonstration system known as Aircraft Access to System Wide Information Management (SWIM), to wirelessly send aviation information to an FAA Bombardier Global 5000 test aircraft taxiing 60 to 70 miles per hour on the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport runway. They sent the information over a prototype wireless system called Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System, or AeroMACS, developed by Hitachi. +More on Network World: NASA algorithms keep unmanned aircraft away from commercial aviation+ The Hitachi system is based on WiMAX wireless communication standards, but uses different frequencies --in protected AM(R)S spectrum (5091-5150 MHz)-- for airport surface applications to enable connectivity on the ground, according to NASA. The system includes authentication, encryption, digital certificates and a number of other communication controls. Pilots now rely on voice communication with air traffic control or their airline operations center for this type of information because traditional wireless technologies dont support high data throughputs. Together, AAtS and AeroMACS will improve situational awareness and reduce the potential for human error by giving pilots access to the information they need to make decisions, NASA said. This was the first time we provided this type of information to an airplane over a ground wireless network, said Paul Nelson, Glenns project manager for Cyber-Security and Secure Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) in a statement. The new wireless technology could allow airports to grow and change more affordably by replacing old underground systems, Nelson said. +More on Network World: NASA details bleeding edge communications ideas+ Airport communication systems use a lot of underground cables, which makes repairs and changes difficult. Replacing and eliminating the underground infrastructure with wireless technology will reduce maintenance costs and downtime and allow airports to enhance capabilities more quickly, Nelson said. The next steps for AeroMACS will include end-to-end testing involving multiple airports and evaluation of security. Check out these other hot stories: Massive identity theft schemer gets 4 years in slammer FBI: Ransomware threat at all-time high; protect company jewels CIA: Learn how to make invisible ink, photos from 1918 More protection needed to guard grid from electromagnetic storm threat Headaches likely to grow over auto cybersecurity concerns US Marshals set to auction fraudsters $1.5M high-end auto collection NASA gives solar ionic propulsion a monster boost DARPA: Researchers develop chip part that could double wireless frequency capacity Pangbourne Co-op stocked food ten days past use by date Supermarket giant Co-operative Food has pleaded guilty to stocking food as much as 10 days past its use-by date at a Pangbourne store. Representatives of the former Somerfield store at The Square, Pangbourne, were at West Berkshire Magistrates Court on April 21. The group, now owned by the Co-op, pleaded guilty to contravening food safety requirements. The offence related to an unannounced inspection in March, which found a number of food items on the market that were unsafe as use-by dates had expired. Prosecuting, Sarah Clarke of West Berkshire Councils legal services, said: Officers identified 10 items of food that were past their use-by-date. She said that two of the items both soups were 10 days past the maximum date when they could be safely eaten, and one other was five days out of date. The court heard that the Co-op has in place procedures and training to identify and check foods that are at the end of their life. However, when trading standards investigated they found that certain procedures had not been followed, including a crucial close of business check. Ms Clarke said: The COB check hadnt been completed on any day during that week. Store colleagues should have completed processes in line with procedures and staff should have raised this to the manager. She added: This is not a case where the defendant had a blatant disregard for food safety. Systems were in place. But the number of items found in the inspection below their use-by date is a further indication that this was not a one-off. The food products were deemed to be unsafe and they may have had an adverse effect on individuals if used. This is noted in the defendants own training manual. She warned that the level of harm could have been great if the items had been purchased and then consumed by the elderly. The court went on to hear that, after the incident, internal audits were conducted at the store and the manager, James Lee, has since left the business. Defending, Richard Banwell said: As far as culpability is concerned, first of all the group provides induction and ongoing training to all staff. It is not for want of procedures or lack of training. He added: This company has comprehensive systems and policies in place, but unfortunately there will be a need for store managers to do their job properly. There had been no complaints from this store in the six months before the incident occurred. He called the incident a case of human error and argued it was in the low-range penalty bracket. The case was ultimately sent to crown court for sentencing as the magistrates felt their powers were insufficient for an appropriate sentence. Sentencing will be made at Reading Crown Court at an undetermined date.